Chapter Seventeen

Lily spends the day wary of Tom and the producers after Becca’s banishment, secretly stockpiling supplies and resuming Personal Tasks for potential rewards. She forces herself to compliment Tom to win diamond earrings, then resists his attempts to control her movements.

That night, Tom insists on keeping Lily in sight, threatens her with a knife, and floats the idea of coexisting. Lily rejects him, warning that Andrew will banish Tom on return. Their tense exchange exposes Tom’s misogyny and insecurity, and Lily questions why the public still allows him to remain.

The next day, Lily proposes a trade: Tom boards up the broken window, and she cooks a special dinner. Tom completes a rough repair, and they share steaks and a bottle of champagne from his earlier Personal Task. Over dessert, Tom admits he was fired for anger issues, blacklisted by contacts, and hit with a restraining order from his ex, Amy. Lily, stalling for time, shares an embarrassing story about nearly being fired for botching cash-ups at work.

After Tom checks the big screen, a new task appears: guess the hours until Christmas to win warm clothes. Lily realizes the weather will turn and that the math-based task likely favors Tom. She plans an escape.

Waiting for Tom’s nightly shower, Lily readies steaks and garden shears, closes windows, then sprints out, locking the door behind her. She cuts the barbed wire along the southern perimeter, intentionally slices both hands to bleed, and slips into the desert under the moonlight through a widened gap.