07x01 - Eye of the Storm

[bunniefuu]

The pain is so overwhelming.

I'm trying to make it through.

Don't know how long
I can bear this.

I've never felt my body do
what it's doing right now,

And it just feels like
it's kind of giving up on me.

I hate to feel like
I'm burdening somebody,

And that's what I feel
like with lacey.

Lacey: see those big cat prints?
Compared to my hand.

That is a big
freaking cat print.

Sounds like something
big is walking behind me.

Jason?

Narrator: one man...

-Narrator: ...and one woman...
-I'm not leaving!

Narrator:
...alone for 21 days...

Woman: what is that?

...with no food...

Oh, god,
I'm freezing.

...no clothes...

...no water.

God. Move! Move!

Do they have the skills
and the will...

-It hurts.

Narrator: ...to overcome
the most primal survival

Challenge of their lives?

Aah! Aah!

Woman: I can't even think
about all the things

That could potentially k*ll me.

Narrator: south central belize,
the day before insertion.

The survivalists
are on their way

To the most demanding
adventure of their lives.

I'm already looking
for wild animals.

Last step of the journey,
thank goodness.

And I'm ready for this.

It just got real.

Narrator: but within hours
of arriving in belize,

The challenge could be over
before it even begins.

Narrator: a devastating
hurricane threatens

To destroy everything
in its path.

Man: all residents
in south central belize

Are advised to stay indoors

And seek cover
wherever possible.

I mean, it's just craziness
right now, really,

'Cause next thing you know,
we're gonna have up

To 70-mile-an-hour winds.

I've never been this close
to a hurricane before.

It's...
It's scary.

It's getting louder and louder.

Jason: we got hammered by
a hurricane last night.

There's water everywhere.

There's trees and limbs

And stuff that fell
all over the place.

And, of course,
now it's super humid,

So it's gonna constantly test us
with the climate here.

I'm jason.
I'm 44 years old.

I'm from palo cedro, california,

And I'm a retired
shasta county sheriff sergeant.

I had a law-enforcement career
for about 20 years.

I did undercover narcotics.
I was on the s.w.a.t. Team.

If it was dangerous,
I was in the middle of it.

People see me and they're like,

"Oh, here comes the muscle head
that's got no brains."

There's a lot more depth to me

Than this big gym rat,
rock-head guy.

I've trapped and hunted
all my life,

So my skill level there
is gonna be pretty high.

My shelter-building
is top-notch.

I'm not worried about
the physical part.

But mentally, I'm gonna be
tested on this challenge

More than I've ever been tested
with high-stress situations

That I had when I was on
the s.w.a.t. Team.

And I want to show people
that I still got it.

21 Days naked?

What could possibly go wrong?

Lacey: I'm super excited.
This place is amazing.

It's beautiful.
It's scary.

It's wet.
It's gonna be awesome.

I'm lacey.
I live in du quoin, illinois.

My husband and I
own a g*n store --

Gunsmithing, buy, sell, trade.

And we both have
a passion for safety

And teaching others safety.

I grew up on an island
in liberty, maine.

You know, no running water
or electricity.

My father taught us
everything about hunting,

Trapping, fishing,

While my mother
was more of an herbalist

And dealt with plants
and taught us all that stuff.

I have children at home.

It's delicious!

Oh, my gosh.
It's tootsie roll.

So good.

I love my children.
I will miss them dearly.

But my life kind
of got stagnant as a mom,

And I need more in my life.

I need adventure.
I was a very wild child.

It really was my life.

And I just want to show people
that I'm still there.

Time to get naked.

The biggest misconception

About me is that I'm petite

And I'm gentle
and I'm kind,

And that I'll be sweet.

But all I need
to survive out here

Is a big, strong, dumb man.

Well, belize,
you saw hurricane earl.

Now it's time
for hurricane jason.

And I'm a category 4.

Oh.
Yep.

Thorn.
My first thorn.

Yep.
Working through it.

I am on my way
to see my partner,

And I am excited.

You can definitely
see all the trees

And everything that's
fell down in this thing.

When I think about a partner,

I want a solid female
that's open-minded,

That will take my ideas
and we work together,

And we just kick a*s
in this challenge.

Oh, hey.
You must be my partner.

Hey. How are you?
I'm jason.

-I'm lacey.
-Nice to meet you.

-It's nice to meet you.
-Pleasure.

Yes.

Gonna kick some
belize butt, huh?

Yeah.

Narrator: jason and lacey have
been given a fire starter.

She's also brought a machete,
and he has mosquito netting.

I figure it'll be great.
Bugs, one.

Two, fishing.

I completely agree.

We would be lost without that.
All right.

-Yes, we would.
-We have our map.

Okay.

So, we'll just work our way up
and then come back down?

It looks like we may
have fishing up there.

And fruit trees
across the river.

-Snakes.
-And, I'm sure, snakes.

-Yeah. Snakes are good eating.
-Absolutely.

Narrator: lacey and jason
have been inserted

Into the remote
bladen river basin

Of southern belize,

Located along the caribbean's
hurricane alley.

Kind of makes it a little eerie
when you think

About the possibility
of another one

Hitting while
we're out here.

The powerful storm has left
the environment in chaos.

Rivers overflow with
tons of debris.

Many animals have been
driven from the area,

Which will make
procuring food difficult

For lacey and jason.

The most fearsome predators

That remain are fighting
to survive

And will be more
unpredictable than ever,

Including the jaguar and puma
and the deadly,

Six-foot-long fer-de-lance,
whose bite is so potent,

A single strike
contains enough venom

To k*ll 32 humans.

-So, shelter, number one?
-Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, we can just --
wherever, you know,

We land, we can
just kind of look

And see what we have
in materials and do it.

Okay.
Holy...

Holy crap.
Lookit, there's a --

-...crap.
-It's a fer-de-lance.

-Do you see its head?
-I can't see its head.

Go around that way and see
if you can see its head.

Oh-h*-h*-h*-h*!

Oh! Oh, my god.

Watch it gets in the water.
Those things can swim.

Um, yeah, he's about to.

-Yeah.
-So, uh...

Well, we're
at an impasse.

We can pin
his head down.

Wait. We won't get fire
for the first two days.

Yeah, you're right.

We wouldn't be able
to cook him.

-Yeah, let's just leave him.
-Okay.

It's not worth
the risk right now.

We got to get around
and get to camp

And get shelter built.
Shelter.

Lacey: this hurricane
has obviously

Displaced a lot of animals.

We're gonna have to be
really, really careful.

We don't know what to expect.

We need to do
a risk assessment

And make sure that the reward
is better than the risk,

Otherwise one of us
is not gonna make it.

Oh, I know.

Lacey: oh, *bleep* really?
Honestly, I think

There's great resources
over on the other side.

How the hell are we
gonna get into here?

I'm jumping.

There's no way.

Growing up in maine,
ever since I was 3 years old,

I've been outside.

I am part of the woods.
I really am.

I'm bringing out
my inner monkey.

Holy crap.

Ow!
Thorny branch.

Lacey is just like
a stick of tnt.

Could've been the end
of this whole thing

If she would've
missed that snag.

So, pretty risky.

Don't do stuff like that
without warning me first.

My partner is great.
He's big and he's strong.

But he is maybe overprotective.

Look at that thing.
That'd get you, that'd hurt.

More debris from
the hurricane.

Jason:
ugh. So, I mean,

This looks pretty darn
good right here.

I mean, for what
we're looking for.

And it's getting late,
so we got to get go-go-going.

All right.
Timber.

Whoo!

Narrator:
during the next 21 days,

Jason and lacey will be tested
in their ability

To adapt to an environment

That has been turned upside down

By last night's
catastrophic storm.

Based on their unique
individual survival skills,

They've each been given
a primitive survival rating.

As a former
tactical team leader,

Jason is well-equipped to deal
with stressful situations

And always takes the most
pragmatic approach

In high-risk scenarios.

Jason has been given
an initial psr of 6.8.

Lacey has strong
survival skills,

But her impetuous nature
could clash with a conventional,

Military-minded partner.

Lacey begins with
a psr of 7.1.

He's the hulk. Yes.

And this is
lacey the hurricane.

Yes.

She's my small package
of tnt.

Yeah.

Jason: day 2.
We have to hydrate up.

I already can feel it.
I'm sweating buckets.

Oh, check this out.

Oh, my gosh.
It's beautiful.

See if there's any fish.
Ohh!

Okay.

We could probably drink that.
Right there?

Yeah, it's filtering
right through.

Look, it's fed
in under the water.

-Absolutely.
-Oh, my gosh. The water is cold,

And it looks
freaking delicious.

It's coming right through
all the rock and gravel.

If there's cold water
coming out,

It's coming from
a spring somewhere.

So it's a spring-fed water
coming to you.

I am 100% positive

That this would be clean
because of the filter

That it's got going
through it, so...

I mean, that's big for us.

-So, we do it?
-Yeah.

-We do it.
-I'm drinking out of it.

Oh, that's good.

I'm worried about
your sunburn.

Jason: this place
is brutal on my skin.

I'm definitely
getting really red.

Oh, man. This is *bleep*
not comfortable at all.

Ohh.

Oh, yeah. Ugh.
Oh, my god,

This is -- I don't know
if I can do this all night.

Ugh!

My partner, he got
pretty bad sunburn,

And he's having
a hard time.

My head just feels
like it's gonna explode.

And he has a headache,
he's got a fever.

It's not looking good.

*Bleep*

His headache's getting worse,
and his fever's getting worse.

Jay?

And I hate to see him
in all this pain.

He's in a lot of pain.

And he won't leave 'cause he
doesn't want to leave me here.

Lacey: my partner
is still struggling

Physically due
to his severe sunburn.

So I really think I need to jump
ahead of this and get proactive.

There are quite
a few natural remedies

That have been used
since the beginning of time.

I mean, this is
the mayan mountains.

Growing up,
I was taught there is a tree --

It's the gumbo-limbo tree.

I know it better as,
like, the tourist tree.

Problem is, I can't
find them anywhere here.

So I'm thinking about
crossing the river.

We're on the tail
end of this hurricane,

So this is extremely dangerous.

Like, there's logs,
there's sticks and stuff.

The water is --
it's moving pretty fast.

I don't know
what I'll find over there.

Hopefully it's what I need.

If it's not, I don't think
I'm gonna tell my partner

I even attempted this.

I'm torn between
whether I want to do

A risk assessment
with my partner.

But he might feel that the risk
to me is not worth helping him.

And I've always
lived my life on the theory

That it's better
to ask forgiveness

Than ask permission.

No way.
I think that's it.

Narrator: the resin
of the gumbo-limbo,

Or the tourist tree,
was first used as a mayan remedy

For skin inflammation
thousands of years ago.

Yeah.
See?

Tourist tree.
Peeling skin.

I don't want to hurt
the tree too bad,

But my partner is hurt,

And I don't know

That he'll make it
without this.

I actually have something
for both of us.

-Nuh-uh.
-Yeah.

-It's for your sunburn.
-Really?

If you smell it,
it smells very medicinal.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah. So, I'm just gonna hack
a little bit along here,

Help it release
some of the juices.

-Oh, it smells good.
-Oh.

And then we're gonna
just rub it all over.

It might hurt
a little bit.

That's all right.

-Just, like, full disclosure...
-Mm-hmm.

I did have to go across
the river to get this.

It was, like,
three or four hearty strokes.

-Okay.
-I did some recon,

And I found
the safest spot.

I did a risk assessment
without you, though.

-So you're not mad?
-I'm not mad,

But maybe next time
come get me

So that we're doing it together
if something does happen.

I know you're a strong swimmer,
but at least I could be there.

-Yeah.
-I can't have you get hurt.

The last thing I want
is you to be gone.

Okay.

Jason: the risk versus reward
is something

That I really look at
on everything I do.

She took a chance.
It worked out.

But it could've
been disastrous.

This is our beach
getaway by the water.

So on sunny days we can
just chill down here.

So, here it is.

It's actually
pretty sweet.

And this is what
we're sitting in front of.

The bladen river.

What we need to
really focus on now

Is how to get some good protein.

So, I'm getting bait using
the cohune nuts that I found.

The oil in them
is like coconut oil,

Which mayans used for soap
and cooking.

But it's also really sweet,
and the fish love it.

What I'll do is
I'll chew it up,

And once the net sits
and settles on the bottom

For a couple of minutes,
I'll throw it on top of the net,

And the fish
just swarm to it, so...

-Oh.
-Oh, one jumped out.

Little bugger.

I know we got some.

I think we got to chew it up
a little bit --

Oh!

-A little bit more.
-I love that.

-Yeah, there's two, four...
-Look at that!

I'm proud of us.

Looks like we're gonna be
eating really good tonight.

Lots of protein,
and we need it.

-I can feel myself...
-Oh, yeah.

Getting weaker
every day.

Here we go.

Lacey: this area has all these
wild tomatoes growing,

These little baby tomatoes,

And they're gonna go great
with our fish kebabs.

Not bad.

-Tastes like fire and tomato.
-Yeah.

And fish.
Mmm.

Minnows may not seem like a lot,
but minnows to us are "mwah!"

Jason: son of a b*tch.

-Are you getting eaten by bugs?
-Unh-unh.

But my feet are
*bleep* k*lling me.

I am *bleep*
not happy right now.

I just feel miserable right now,
you know what I mean?

I mean...
But look at my feet.

Look at that one.

Oh, my gosh.

That is morbidly
disgusting.

So, they're just
so swollen.

It's like I got
tons of water.

And I just take
and I push down,

I can, like,
move it around.

I don't know what it is,

But you can see it leaves
an indent in my foot.

But it's slowly becoming
harder and harder to walk.

Narrator: hot environments
can cause water retention,

Resulting in painful swelling
in the ankles and feet.

Lacey: my partner is still
struggling physically.

I didn't think it was something

I would have to deal
with out here

Because my partner's
a big, burly man.

But it just seems to be
one thing after another.

You have a *bleep*
ton of bug bites.

Like, you have bug bites
on your bug bites.

I hurt.

I've never had this
happen before.

I'm just gonna go explore
and look for new resources.

Cool.

Lacey:
my goal today is to help him

As best I can to heal

So that he won't be
tempted to tap out.

So, when we first came in,

I saw some small
rodent tracks,

So I'm going to bring
a rock over there

And set a deadfall trap

And hope for the best.

If I was gonna k*ll anything,
I think this is the spot.

So, I have some bait,
some nuts, for the agouti.

It comes over, it eats the bait,

And this will smash down
onto these rocks

And hopefully break its neck.

All right.
That's it.

Either it works or it
doesn't work.

Whew.

Yeah, so I'm hoping for...

Small rodents.

Like large rats.

Maybe a big lizard.
I don't know.

See those big cat prints?

They go all the way up.

Look at them.
Compared to my hand.

That is a big
freaking cat print.

Either puma or whatever

Large feral cat is out here.

Sounds like something
big is walking behind me.

Lacey: sounds like something
big is walking behind me.

*Bleep*

Whew.

They move so fast.

It's bad enough being
laid up with my foot,

But this hard rain,
it's uncomfortable,

And I can't move
or get out of it.

And now we're stuck in here.
It's crazy.

I've never felt my body
do what it's doing right now,

And it just feels like it's
kind of giving up on me.

But the bottom line
is we're gonna need food.

I'm worried.

I mean, I've gotten
to know this guy.

He's grown into a friend,
a really good friend,

And he's hurting.

Jason: I'm a big guy.
I usually eat a lot of food

In my normal, everyday life.

Up to 5,000 calories.

And I would say, you know,

We're living on maybe
100 calories

To 200 calories a day.

I just saw a snake.

And it was really fast.

I see it.

Don't want it
to get to the water.

*Bleep*

No!

My spear broke on the rocks.

He's hurting, and I can't
do anything about it

But make sure he drinks
and hydrates.

And I can't fix it.
I'm not a doctor.

Breakfast in bed.

-Oh, did you crack some nuts?
-Yeah.

Jason: I hate to feel like
I'm burdening somebody,

And that's what I feel
like with lacey.

Kind of feel
useless right now.

I certainly wish that I didn't
have to help him as much,

Because then, you know,

I think we would be
more productive.

So I get frustrated.

Jason: just *bleep*
pisses me off.

I'm just *bleep*
irritated now.

The swelling in
my *bleep* foot

Has got to my knee now.

It's just crazy
painful right now.

I'm just --
I'm just done with this.

Feel like my body
has just given up.

It's like my body
won't fight it off.

I don't know why.
Now my -- oh!

My other foot's
starting to hurt.

Narrator: with jason's
swelling spreading

To other parts of his body,
the producers call in the medic.

Yeah.
Oh, my hands are numb.

-Yeah, right there.
-Why are his feet so swollen?

Jason: ohh.

Narrator: the edema,
or swelling, in jason's feet

And legs has been
caused by heat

And overexposure to damp,
unsanitary conditions.

Man: right. Right.

Ugh.

That's just the organs
are having problems?

Yes.

Right.

So, he's at risk
of intestinal paralysis

Unless we get him
out of here.

Yes.

Okay.
All right.

Narrator: intestinal
paralysis could lead

To an obstruction in the bowel.

If not treated immediately,

It can develop into
a life-threatening situation.

I'm sorry.
I-i...

I wanted to be
there with you.

It'll be okay.
I'll be fine.

I know you have it in you.
You're strong.

Kick a*s.

Lacey: I keep thinking,
"what could we have done?

What could I have done
to help him more?"

I sacrificed food.
I sacrificed time.

I sacrificed energy to help him,
to keep him in the game.

Now that he's gone,
yeah, I'm alone,

But I also have lost this rock

That has been pulling me down
for these last five days.

The strong, sensible,

Determined side of me says

That I am going to finish.

I'm gonna finish!

I'm not leaving!

It's just me now.

I'm just a survivor,

And I'm gonna continue
surviving until day 21.

So, this is shelter 5.0.
I have made a smaller area

For myself so the rain
will deflect down.

I try to conserve
as much heat as I can.

Hopefully it works.

Holy *bleep*, right?

I'm still semi-dry,

But I've got quite a few leaks.

This night is gonna suck.

It's going down
really bad out there.

Oh, wow.
Yeah.

This was my pathway
down to my cabana.

Completely flooded.

Holy cow.

Look at the size
of those swells over there.

It's dangerous for me
to even be down here.

All it'd take is
one flash flood

And I'd be long gone.

With the river so murky
and moving so fast,

I'm worried I won't be able
to get the protein that I need.

Agh. Son of a *bleep*.

Oh, I got one that time.

Mm.

This is just not working.

What I do when
I'm missing my family

Is a sort of meditation.

I close my eyes.

And I think of them one by one.

My daughter, olive.
Her beautiful face.

My kind, gentle,
sweet oakley.

Last, but definitely
not least, my husband.

I miss them all dearly.

But it's so cold.

The wind and the thunder.
The lightning.

I'm covered in bugs.

Creepy-crawlies.

My shelter smells like urine,

And it's sticky and gross.

Looks like
my deadfall has been tripped.

Cross your fingers.

I really need this.
I am low on energy.

I'm running low on
any kind of body fat.

Oh.

I don't see anything.
Ugh.

Some of the bait is still there.

Damn.
I could've set it back up,

But the game here is so scarce,

My strength isn't
what it used to be.

I can't hold those rocks up.

Day 2 lacey could have held

Three rocks up
at the same time.

Day 17 lacey's having
trouble walking.

This is -- this is no joke.

I never imagined it
would be this way.

My shelter works great for rain

When it comes straight
from the sky,

But this rain
is coming sideways at me,

And i...

I'm so cold.

Ow.

I've been laying here

In my shelter
for like 40 hours now.

My mind is running wild.

I feel like I'm going crazy.

Oh.

*Bleep*
I just want to go home.

I miss my family.

Thank god it stopped raining.

Holy crap.
Those are humongous cat prints.

It's right where
I walk every day.

Look how deep those are.

That must be a heavy, heavy cat.

It's a little close to home.

Cabana is destroyed.

This means no protection
from the sun.

I'm gonna have to spend
more time in the jungle.

I hate the jungle.

Oh, this sucks.

I know physically I can do this.

But the mental portion
is just kicking my a*s.

I'm a mom, you know?

I don't have anyone here
to take care of or talk to.

It's rough.

It seems wasteful for me
to be out here...

When I could be home.

I missed my daughter's
first day of kindergarten.

And I feel like
an a*s*bleep*.

I thought I was a lot stronger

Emotionally
and mentally than this,

But this has been
a huge wake-up call.

I need my family just as much
as they need me.

Narrator: lacey has been alone
in the hurricane-ravaged

Jungle of belize
for the past eight days.

On day 12, her partner, jason,

Was airlifted out
of the challenge.

He was taken to a hospital

And treated
for intestinal paralysis

And severe edema
of his legs and feet.

I really wanted
to complete the 21 days.

Unfortunately, my body
didn't want me to.

Narrator: as a result,
his psr falls to 5.6.

As lacey struggles to survive,

She's battling hunger
and loneliness,

And her emotions
have been stripped raw.

I missed my daughter's
first day of kindergarten.

Narrator:
with two days remaining,

She is dangerously close
to her breaking point.

My body is breaking down fast.

I need to protein up
for my extraction.

I prayed last night.

And this morning.

Holy crap.

He may look cute
and adorable to you,

But he looks delicious to me.

Sorry, not sorry.

I'm very grateful
for this turtle.

Trying not to waste
any of the precious meat

That this amazing little guy
has provided me.

Trying not to get
too choked up about it.

Your emotions tend
to run away with you

When you're this tired
and this hungry.

It's freaking delicious.

I needed this.

I feel so much better already.

Thank you, turtle.

My last day here.

Out came the sun.

And it is blazing hot now.

It looks like my extraction
is straight that way.

Narrator:
to make it to extraction,

Lacey will need
to cross the river

And head west over three miles
of dense, thorny terrain,

Past camouflaged
snakes ready to strike,

To an emergency access road
where she will be rescued.

At this point, I'm exhausted,
and my body's so weak,

I'm gonna need to take
the easiest route.

And I think it's right here.
But with these cliffs,

There's absolutely no way
I'm gonna be getting up there.

I'm gonna have to go down
and cross the river.

I can't risk getting swept away
by the current.

That would be a death sentence.

I'm gonna have to build
a raft just in case.

This vine doesn't
like to be tied,

So I'm doing a lot
of twisting and turning.

I'm not doing any set knots.

Trying to listen
to the materials.

My back is k*lling me.

Whew.

Oh, it's freaking cold.

Whew!

I'm all right.
I don't know

If I would have made it
without this little raft.

Ow!
Damn thorns.

Oh.
This is like running barefoot

Through barbed wire
and fire-ant holes.

This thorny, dense jungle,
I can't even see.

It's so different
from the other side.

This is getting a lot denser.

Kind of looking for a tree that
I can climb to get a viewpoint.

All right. I need to make it
to that first branch,

And then I should get
a pretty good vantage point

Of where I am.

Oh, yeah.
I see that road.

It's not too far.

Oh, my god.

A road. Oh!

Oh!

Oh!

Oh, my gosh.

I expected it to be hard
physically and mentally,

But I did not expect
being alone.

There's nothing that can
prepare you for that.

I struggled,
and I'm grateful for it.

I've learned a lot about myself.

I know now that I'm a lot
stronger, especially mentally,

Than I give myself credit for.

It feels so good
to have completed this.

I just...
Whoo!

At one point, I didn't think
I was gonna do it,

And here I am.

Good-bye, belize!

Whoo!

I made it!

Narrator: after 21 grueling days
in the belizean rainforest,

Lacey lost a total of 19 pounds.

Alone for over a week,

She battled the elements
and crushing solitude

Before finally scoring
a much-needed source of protein

And persevering through an
arduous trek to her extraction.

As a result,
her psr rises from 7.1

To 8.2, earning her a place

In the elite club
of adventurers

Who have survived
naked and afraid.

-That good?
-Let me see.

My beautiful
family's helping me

Gain all my weight back.

-Yeah!
-You helping mommy get fat?

What, what!