I wasn’t sure if I could do it, but the $1000 prize money sure was tempting. I’d be able to pay off my credit card AND have money left to over to take my wife to dinner.

I worried though, could I keep it down, would I barf, what if it was poisonous, venomous or lethal? I looked around at the other contestants, all still alive and breathing. I decided to go for it.

The acrid stench in the room of others’ vomit made my eyes water and my mouth dry. The hairs on my arms and back of my neck stood at attention waiting for me to take the challenge.

I looked at the morsel in the bowl; long and thin, dark brown, almost black. It seemed to defy me to take a bite. I felt the bile rising in my throat and swallowed hard trying to visualize the trophy awarded to me.

Warily and with great trepidation, I reached for the repulsive tidbit. It was small; it would be fast I told myself. Saliva collected in my mouth and once again I heaved as I thought about what it would feel like slithering down my throat.

Enough’s enough, I convinced myself, now or never. I picked up the creepy Arthropod and slipped it quickly into my mouth. Its bristly legs repulsed every nerve in my body. Shuttering, I swallowed as hard as I could extricating every last drop of saliva to force it down. In a last ditch effort; it dug its tiny feet into my tongue and tonsils as I swallowed over and over again forcing it down my throat.

The muscles in my esophagus contracted as each of the 1000 legs made their way to my stomach. Halfway there, I groaned, – now I had to keep it down for a minute and a half.

Retching could not be an option. I’d come this far, now I had to win. Ninety seconds seemed like an eternity. My stomach rebelled, rolling and churning begging to be free of it.

86, 87, 3 seconds to go, 88, 89, 90!  The bell rang and I was named the victor!

I wonder if Survival Island is in my future?