The Will to Win - Gold_Lotus (2024)

Chapter 1: Going Live, Part 1

Chapter Text

As the cameras went on, the audience was treated to the sight of an island, upon which stood a seemingly rundown summer camp and docks.After a moment, a man with dark hair, five-o-clock shadow and a blue shirt rose into frame. “Yo!” he called. “I’m your host, the incomparable Chris McLean, bringing you the hottest new reality show here at Camp Wawanakwa, located… somewhere in Ontario!”

“Here, we will bring together twenty-four unique contestants, who will have to face dangerous wildlife, disgusting campfood and, worst of all, each other. Every three or so days, two teams will compete in a challenge, with rewards going to the winner, while the losing team votes one of their own out of the show in a dramatic bonfire ceremony. The last person to remain on the island will be awarded with cheesy tabloid fame as well as a cash prize of... One. Hundred. Thousand dollars!” Chris told the audience.

“Who will withstand the pressure? Who will crumble under it? Find out right here, right now, on Total… Drama... Island!”

In post-production, the editing team added the intro to the show following Chris’s announcement. As that played, a young man stood at the edge of the boat carrying him to the island. The breeze passing through his short red hair was nice, but he couldn't help but frown.

'Unless my eyes deceive me, there's no resort on that island,'he thought. He was looking forward to nine weeks in the lap of luxury, and the idea that the showrunners were willing to lie about this did not say good things about his time here... Oh, well. He'd win either way.

As the boat brought him closer, he could make out the familiar form of Chris McLean, the show's host and effectively their boss. At the other end of the dock were five other people, making him the sixth contestant to arrive. Wonderful; an early arrival meant he'd be able to observe most of his new 'friends' as they arrived.

The boat came to a stop next to the dock, and he jumped onto land with his suitcase in hand. "Liam, my man! Glad to see you made it," he said.

'First impressions aren't made twice,' Liam thought. It was why he had filled his luggage with casual clothing, such as the blue jeans, brown shoes and Nirvana T-shirt he was wearing now. Between that, his easygoing smile and half-asleep expression, he hopefully gave off the impression of being a total slacker. Which, to be fair, he was… when he could get away with it.

As it was, Liam gave the host a lazy smile. “Glad to be on the show, Chris,” he said, taking in the sight of the camp.

“I’d think so,” Chris said, before leaning in. “Just so you know, your requirement to attend sessions is suspended for as long as you behave, got it?” he whispered, his smile fading for a moment.

He nodded. “Got it loud and clear,” he confirmed, before walking over to join the other contestants.

There was a blonde girl in shorts and a light blue jacket holding up a surfboard. She gave him a friendly wave as he approached, which he dutifully returned. Next to her was a thin brunette boy wearing a formal shirt, striped sweater and jeans. He held his hand out, saying "Nice to meet you, man. I'm Cody."

Liam maintained his smile and grabbed Cody's hand with his right before placing his left over it. "Liam. It’s nice to meet you, Cody," he replied cordially. While he kept his left hand in place long enough to convey a sense of sincerity, he also gave the boy a quick look over.

'Wearing a formal sweater to the show. Low amount of strength in his hands. Friendly demeanor…' he thought, before coming to a conclusion: Geek.

There was also a very muscular girl with black hair, blue gym clothes and a mole on her left cheek. However, she didn't even glance in his direction, and Liam decided not to approach her for now. Fourth was a brown-haired boy wearing a blue cap, green hoodie and stubble on his chin, but he appeared to be too fascinated by his surroundings to really notice Liam. And finally, a young woman with pale skin, blue-and-black dyed hair and a similarly colored outfit.

As soon as she laid eyes on him and his relaxed demeanor, however, her lip curled and she looked away. Not a fan of slackers, then. That, plus her choice in makeup and the fact she stood slightly apart from others… 'Loner.'

His analysis of his competition came to a halt, however, as the seventh camper arrived. She was an Asian-Canadian girl with long black hair, a red crop top and green cargo shorts, as well as a pair of black sunglasses. Once she removed them, they could see her intense expression, looking at her surroundings with a glare strong enough to melt steel.

“Heather, good to see you,” Chris said with more cheer than he felt.

“You want us to stay here?!” she said, incensed. “I’m contacting my parents; you can not make us compete in a place like this!” she protested, waving a hand in the direction of the camp.

As she stomped over to stand with the other contestants, Chris simply produced the sheaf of papers again, a happy grin on his face. “Ah, I love our legal team,” he said, while the other campers had mixed reactions to Heather.

Gwen frowned and looked away, already uninterested in making friends with her. Both Eva and Ezekiel basically ignored her, though for different reasons. Bridgette took a half-step away from her, put off by her hostile attitude. And Liam raised an eyebrow with a vaguely interested look on his face. A spoiled one, then. But her parents…'Wealthy, political, or both?' he wondered. Knowing what kind of family spoiled her when raising her could offer some key insights into how this 'Heather' girl thought...

Cody, in contrast to all of them, stepped forward. “Nice to meet ya, beautiful. The names Cody, or rather, the Codemeister if you–”

“Don’t care. Not interested,” Heather told him bluntly, not even turning to look at him. That stopped the nerd cold, but he simply shrugged, willing to try again later.

Meanwhile, the next boat had arrived bearing an orange-haired girl wearing a light green sarong-esque skirt and green top with a window cut out. “Hey, everyone, it’s Izzy!” Chris called.

“Hi, Chris!” Izzy called, beginning to walk to the edge of the boat. “Hi, everyo–” she started, before slipping and falling over the boat’s railing. She flipped over and slammed face-first into the dock before falling into the water, making everyone watching wince.

Bridgette quickly ran over, saying “Oh my gosh, are you okay?!” She reached a hand out and Izzy quickly grabbed it, using it to climb onto the deck.

Once aboard, she shook herself to get rid of the water and stood up. “Wow. That felt… great!” she said, making Bridgette pause. “Well, except for the part where I hit my face. So, we’re at a summer camp? Will there be paper mache? Is lunch soon?” she asked in rapid succession.

“Yes, maybe, and in a while,” Chris answered. “Now move along, we’ve got other contestants to introduce!” he told her, and she and Bridgette both walked back to the others. Liam had to stop himself from blinking at the whole scene. Well, he found the crazy one. But what lie alongside the insanity?

The next boat dropped off two campers at once. Both of them were girls, and both had their dark hair up in pigtails while they wore matching pink short-shorts and striped tops. “Katie, Sadie, welcome to your new home for nine weeks,” he greeted them.

The left girl, who was both thinner and more tanned, gasped happily. “Oh gosh, Sadie, it’s a summer camp!” she declared.

The apparently-named Sadie clapped her hands. “Oh gosh, I’ve always wanted to go to summer camp with you, Katie. Eee!” she cried out, with Katie repeating her “Eee!” as they both ran over to join the others.

'Apair of 'besties' joined at the hip,' he observed. Any alliance with one of them would, by default, include the other. Unless, that is, he removed one of them. Then he could play guardian angel when the other floundered, securing him their help. Hmm… something to ponder.

As Chris was watching the duo, it distracted him from the next camper’s arrival. At least, until they landed on the deck and shouted “Woo-hoo!” Turning, he got an eyeful of a very large blonde boy wearing khaki shorts and a white shirt, in the middle of which was a blue Canadian leaf. “Chris! Being here is just awesome! Woo!” he declared.

“Owen! Welcome!” Chris cheered back, happy to have such an excited vict– participant. Owen laughed and scooped him up in a bear hug, making Chris gasp as the air was squeezed out of his lungs. “...Alright, man. Alright!” he said, getting more and more hoarse.

Owen quickly let him go. “Sorry, man. It’s just that this is so… so…” he said, trying to find the right word.

“Awesome?” Izzy helpfully supplied.

“Yes! Awesome! WOOO!” he cheered again, before joining them next to Izzy, who gave him a friendly smile. Owen’s boat then departed, moving noticeably faster than it had on arrival.

Liam had two words to describe his impression: Party Boy.

The next boat came and left, leaving behind a male dark-haired teen wearing an olive shirt with a handprint in the center and camo sleeves, half-tucked into a pair of dark jeans. He was also carrying a guitar case in his right hand, indicating he was a performer. “Contestant number twelve: Trent!” Chris announced.

Giving the host a fist-bump, Trent said “Hey, it’s good to meet you, Chris. Nice job on that figure-skating show.”

Chris’s smile, if it was possible, grew wider. “I knew I rocked that show. Thanks, man!” he replied.

Looking at the camp and docks, Trent said “So… this is it?” Chris nodded, and he took a look at the campers that had been assembled so far. “Oookaayy…” he said, before hesitantly making his way over.

As he did, he and Gwen looked at each other and he gave her a smile. She quickly looked away, but after a moment she glanced back and returned it. Liam also observed that Gwen's foot, which had been impatiently tapping against the dock, had stopped and even turned slightly in Trent's direction. Interesting...

The next boat, rather than ferrying its passenger, was pulling them behind it on water skis. They were male and wearing a red tracksuit with the letter ‘T’ on it, as well as red sweat-band over brown hair.

“Ladies and gentleman, Tyler!” Chriss announced, and Tyler waved at them. Unfortunately, doing so caused him to lose his grip on the handle, and he tumbled forward across the water, skipping like a stone until he hit the docks. Which launched him into the air, over the other campers’ heads, and directly into the pile of luggage. “Ooohh!” Trent called, with most of the other campers sharing the sentiment.

One of the luggage bags was sent into the water, where it caused a splash high enough to reach up and cover Heather, who had been standing on the edge of the dock away from the rest of them. “My shoes!” she called, completely soaked and furious.

Chris, meanwhile, was ecstatic, and yelled “Wicked wipeout, bro! That’ll be great for the ratings!”

From the depths of the luggage pile, Tyler’s hand emerged and gave a thumbs up. The other contestants, sans Heather, relaxed upon seeing that the jock was fine. Liam had to fight to keep his smile from becoming a smirk as the scene played out before him. Eager, clumsy and--based on his outfit--a jock, too? He may have just found his first pawn.

The next boat left a girl with pink pants, a teal-and-olive shirt, and glasses with a notable set of braces. “Beth, you made it!” Chris said.

Upon seeing Chris, Beth gasped and immediately ran over to hug him, much to his discomfort. “Chris McLean! It’s so incredible to meet you!” she said, before letting go and looking at him in mild surprise. “You know, when I saw you on TV, I thought you were taller,” she remarked.

“Uh… sorry?” Chris said, not sure what to make of that, while Beth smiled and waved nervously towards the camera.

Scratch that, here was an excellent pawn. Nervous, socially awkward, apparently eager for affection? He needed to be quick, before someone else poached her. With that in mind, once Beth was close enough to them, he was the first to give her a polite wave.

As expected, she moved closer to him. "Hi! Looks like we're going to be each other's new friends!" she said, her tone excited while also containing an element of hopefulness. Not just eager for friends, then, but desperate for them.

Her speech also caused a small amount of spittle, which Liam ignored with little more than twitch. "I'm glad to have made a new friend," he said, getting Beth to grin widely before moving to stand next to him.

By then another boat was coming, this one bearing a dark-skinned girl with brown hair, a white shirt, gray vest and green capris. “Courtney, welcome!” he said, using the chance to avoid Beth as he helped Courtney off the boat.

“Thank you,” she said politely. Once she was before the rest of them, she waved. “You must be the other contestants. Nice to meet you all!” she said.

Owen, still charged up, grabbed her hand and rapidly shook it. “How’s it going? I’m Owen!” he said.

“Nice to meet you, Owen,” she automatically replied, before her eyes landed on the soaked Heather, who was in the process of wringing out her hair. “Um… do you need a towel?” she asked.

The rich girl gave her a look of surprise, momentarily flummoxed by the act of kindness. Quickly pulling herself together, she nodded. “That would be appreciated,” she said, and wordlessly accepted a fluffy white towel when Courtney opened her luggage bags to provide one.

Liam narrowed his eyes. He couldn't tell if this Courtney was being nice or 'nice'. Either way, she was already making connections. He'd have to keep an eye out.

The next camper to arrive was a tall, muscular Jamaican teen with a white cap, beard and a green shirt with the letter ‘D’ on it. However, his friendly expression was at complete odds with his intimidating statue. “DJ!” Chris greeted, giving him a high-five.

“Yo, Chris McLean!” DJ said, high-fiving him back. Giving his surroundings a look, he said “Hey, man, are you sure you got the right place?” When Chris confirmed that this was indeed the right place, DJ grunted and picked up his bags, looking decidedly miffed. “Hope they at least have a decent kitchen…” he muttered, though the other campers still heard it.

A gentle giant, then. Probably terrified of small vermin. That, or he'd try to make a pet out of one. Good for physical challenges, but not for ones that required courage. 'Likely too honest to consider an alliance,' Liam thought. Just then they heard rock music going off, making them all look at the next boat with interest.

The music was coming from a speaker, over which stood a male teen with hair that was black except for a lime green mohawk, as well as several piercings in his ears, nose and brow. A spiked collar was around his neck, and his black shirt had a green skull on it. Once the camp was in view, his already-grumpy expression turned angry, and he threw his bag onto the dock before jumping off. “I don’t appreciate surprises, McLean,” he declared.

“Yeah, your parole officer warned me about that, Duncan,” Chris said. “He also said to give him a call if we ever need to have you thrown back in juvie,” he revealed, chuckling.

That got Duncan to scoff, and he said “Whatever,” before walking over. As he passed by Heather and Courtney, he smirked. “Meet you later by the campfire, gorgeouses,” he said, prompting a disgusted look from both of them.

“Drop dead, you criminal,” she said, while Courtney ‘hmped’ and looked away with her nose held high.

'A convicted criminal. Definitely someone who'd agree to an alliance--the right one, anyway--and willing to go unpleasant distances to succeed,' Liam observed. His reaction to Heather and Courtney might also mean he was willing to let his hormones talk… or it could be an act. So either a potential asset or a threat. Maybe even both.

The next boat also was playing music, though this time it was much more of the ‘partying’ variety. Rather appropriately, the one jamming out to it looked to be even more of a party animal than Owen, with blonde hair, an open pink shirt and a cowboy hat. As he came onto the dock, he said “Chris McLean, man! Nice to finally meet you, man!” and gave the host of fist-bump.

Returning it, Chris said “Geoff, my man! Welcome to the island, man!”

“Thanks, man!” Geoff replied, and Gwen grimaced.

“If those two say ‘man’ one more time, I’m going to hurl,” she declared, making Beth and DJ move slightly away from her in case she wasn’t joking. Liam, on the other hand, made sure to chuckle just loud enough for her to hear, getting a glance from her that was slightly less displeased than before.

The next boat dropped off an athletic young woman with light brown hair in a ponytail and brown eyes, wearing a red T-shirt, black knee-length shorts and black boots. “Daphne! I was wondering if you were going to make it,” Chris said.

Daphne smirked. “No way am I missing out on a chance for this much fun,” she told him, cracking her knuckles and looking around the island with a chuckle. "No resort, huh? That's fine; fewer fire extinguishers around."

The host leaned back. "Uh, right…" he said, making a mental note to have the interns restock on extinguishers. "Well, glad to know you'll make this interesting," he settled on.

"Hopefully," she replied, and walked over to join the others. As she did, Liam mentally hoped she and Izzy weren't put on the same team. Or at least, not the same team as him. He could only handle so much chaos in his daily life.

Chris failed to notice the next camper until they were right behind him and released a loud sigh. Whirling around, he saw a thin young man with red hair and stubble, glasses and a blue T-shirt with a spaceship on it. Under one arm, he was carrying an electric keyboard. “Ah, Harold. Welcome to camp,” he said.

Harold was silent for a moment, looking around. “You mean the competition takes place at a crummy camp instead of a five-star hotel?” he asked. Chris nodded, and the redhead surprised them by pumping his fist. “Yes! My skills are so much more applicable here,” he stated, and gladly joined the others.

Liam hummed. Another geek, it seemed. However, the mention of his 'skills' made him give Harold another look over. He held himself with confidence, like Cody, but this was less swagger and more self-assuredness. Not only that, but the keyboard he carried meant he at least could play music, if nothing else. Maybe he would be worth keeping an eye on.

Suddenly, Courtney called “Oh, wow…” and every female camper–plus Owen–looked to the next boat. On it was quite possibly the most attractive man they had ever seen, tanned and muscular with perfect skin and dark flowing hair. Clearly, he had to be a model of some kind, and he flashed them all a smile full of perfectly white teeth as he came ashore.

“This is Justin!” Chris announced, before shaking the young man’s hand. “Just so you know, dude, we selected you entirely due to your looks,” he said.

Justin shrugged. “I can deal with that, Chris. Great to be here,” he said, and joined other campers, many of whom were still spellbound by his beauty. That was enough for Liam to at least place him in the 'potentially useful' column of his mental list.

Harold was not affected, however, which enabled him to gasp at the sight of the next contestant. They were a large girl of African-Canadian descent with long black hair, a beige shirt with apples on it and blue shorts. “Hey y’all, Leshawna’s in the house now! The rest of y’all might as well leave now, ‘cause I came here to win!” she declared, stepping off the boat.

Heather had to resist snorting at that while Liam raised an eyebrow, already wary, and Daphne grinned at the potential challenge. Harold stepped forward to talk to her, but failed to notice that Duncan had stuck his foot out until he tripped over it.

"Ah!” Harold shouted as he face-planted into the deck, nearly hitting his glasses against the wood. As Duncan snickered, he stood back up and glared at the punk. “Idiot!” he muttered, his chance to make a good first impression on Leshawna now ruined. In his place was DJ, who gave her a high-five and a wide smile.

The penultimate boat arrived, and Chris introduced them as they stepped off. “Everyone, this is Lindsay.” The now-named girl was caucasian and had long blonde hair held back by a blue bandana. Her hourglass figure was clothed in a tight brown tank-top, an orange miniskirt and brown cowboy boots. Combine all this with her large blue eyes, and her entire image screamed ‘beauty queen’. “Not too shabby,” Chris said to the cameras.

“Hi!” Lindsay said as she stepped onto the deck. Then she paused, leaning closer to Chris. “I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere…” she said.

Frowning, the host said “I’m Chris McLean.” When all that got him was a confused look, he said “The host of the show? That you’re on?”

“Ooohh, that’s where!” Lindsay said in realization.

“Uh… yeah…” Chris said, before deciding to move right along.

As Lindsay joined them, Liam had already placed her in the 'pawn' category and looked at the other campers for their reactions. To his concern, he noticed a calculating expression on Heather's face. Perhaps he wasn't the only one inspecting their fellow 'campers'. “And last but not least, Noah!”

The final camper was as thin as Cody but with darker skin, as well as wearing a red vest with blue sleeves over a white shirt and brown shorts. The moment he was on land, Noah asked “Did your crew get my email about my life-threatening allergies?”

Chris shrugged. “I’m sure one of them did!” he said.

Noah rolled his eyes. “Great…” he said sarcastically. “And of course this is where we’re actually going to be staying,” he said, taking a look at the camp.

Now that all of the contestants had arrived, Chris pulled a camera from his pocket. “Alright campers, we need a group photo for the promos. Everyone gather around and make sure you’re in the shot!” he announced.

Each of the twenty-four campers assembled together, all of them smiling while several waved or struck poses. “Okay. One, two… Oh, hold on!” he said. “Forgot to clear memory for the photo.”

After doing that, he said “Alright, one… Wait, lens cap!”

“Come on, man, my face is startin’ to freeze!” Leshawna complained.

“Okay, all set. Everyone say ‘Wawanakwa’!” he called, preparing to take the photo.

All of them began to say the camp’s name, before the dock suddenly groaned beneath their feet, too rickety to support all their weight on one end at once. And sure enough, it collapsed just as the camera went off, leaving the ‘promo’ shot as one of all of them floundering in the water below.

Despite this, Chris said “Perfect, guys! You all have ten minutes to dry off and make it to the bonfire pit!”

The campers all groaned, some of them climbing back onto the dock and helping others up while others decided to simply swim to shore. Each of them was handed a towel by a pair of interns, who took them back and guided them to the bonfire once done.

Once all of them were assembled there, Chris began “This is Camp Wawanakwa, your home for nine weeks. Or, sixty-three days depending on how you want to look at it.” A few of them groaned at thinking of a number that high, which was exactly the reaction he was going for. Chuckling, he said “The campers around you will be your teammates, your competition and possibly even your friends.”

Duncan cleared his throat. “Hey, what are the sleeping arrangements going to be? Because I’d like to request a bed under her,” he said, jerking a thumb at Heather.

Rearing back in revulsion, Heather quickly asked “They’re not co-ed, right?”

“Nope!” Chris answered, causing Duncan to snap his fingers. “Each cabin is separated into a Boy’s side and Girl’s side. Any other questions before I announce the teams?” he asked. Lindsay, Katie and Sadie all raised their hands, but he said “No questions? Great! Now, when I call your name, go stand over there,” and pointed off the left.

“Justin, Cody, Bridgette, Liam, Duncan, Katie, Courtney, Beth, Sadie, Ezekiel, Harold and Tyler,” he rattled off, and the dozen named campers moved to where he indicated. Tossing them a green cloth, he announced “From now on, you guys are officially… the Screaming Gophers!” The cloth unfurled to show an emblem of a raging Gopher with fisticuffs.

“Wow. That’s… awesome,” Harold said in slight awe.

“Yay! We’re on the same team!” Katie said, and she and Sadie both ‘eee’-ed loud enough to make several of their teammates wince.

Chris continued “The rest of you–Geoff, Leshawna, Eva, Trent, Owen, Heather, Izzy, Lindsay, Daphne, Noah, Gwen and DJ–are now… the Killer Bass!” Like with the Gophers, they were also given a flag with their team emblem, in their case an angry bass that was out of water and ready to smack someone with its tail.

“Oh yeah, I’m a bass! I always dream of swimming with fishes! Woooo!” Owen declared, causing several of his new teammates to give him perplexed looks.

“Alright, campers, a few more things to go over,” Chris said. “First off, cameras have been installed in all public areas, so you’ll be recorded anytime you’re out and about. Between that and the fact that you’re all old enough to be summer camp counselors yourselves, you’ll be otherwise unsupervised in your free time,” he said, to the delight of several of them, especially Duncan and Geoff.

“Gophers, you have the east cabin, and Bass get the west one. I’ll give you all half an hour to get settled in, and then lunch is served in the dining hall.” Pointing to the hall in question, he said “And I’d advise not making a bad impression with our cook by being late. So… move it!” At his sudden shout, each camper scrambled to grab their luggage.

Confession Stall - Chris

“You will also have this confessional outhouse to air your innermost thoughts in. Let our ravenous viewers at home know how you really feel, or just get something off your chest. This is Total Drama Island, and we are here for it!” he declared.

Confession Stall - Gwen

“Okay. Well, so far I have to say… this sucks,” she stated plainly.

Confession Stall - Liam

Liam leaned back, resting his head on his arms and propping his feet up in the corner. “Well, my team certainly seems… interesting. At a glance, the biggest threats seem like Duncan and Courtney, though I can’t rule out Harold or Justin just yet. I also need to start talking with some of my more ‘naive’ teammates. In a game where my own team could decide to vote me off, their loyalty is worth their weight in gold,” he said, before yawning. “I just hope the first challenge they give us ends before sundown. I have trouble sleeping, and spending the last day on a boat did not help,” he said, appearing briefly uncomfortable before his lazy smile returned.

Confession Stall - Daphne

Looking directly into the camera, she said “I’ll say this now, for all of you watching. I don’t care about the cash prize, the tabloid fame, or anything of that. I came to have fun and hopefully score some friends along the way. If anyone tries to turn this into a miserable experience for me… I’ll smash right through them.” She punctuated this by slamming a fist into the palm of her right hand.

Chapter 2: Going Live, Part 2

Chapter Text

As the male members of Gophers reached their side of the cabin, they opened the door and got a look at their new living quarters. Sure enough, it fit the theme of a summer camp, right down to bunk beds. "Well, this stinks," Duncan bluntly stated as he looked around.

Harold looked between the beds and them. "There are four sets of beds, and seven of us. We need to decide who…" he began, before trailing off as he recounted the number of guys and noticed something. "Where's Cody?"

The other guys looked around, surprised to see that the geek was not with them. They got their answer a moment later when they heard Courtney shout "OUT!" and looked outside. Sure enough, Cody was sailing out of the cabin from the girls' side, landing mouth-first in the grass.

Duncan snickered. "Okay, that was good," he remarked, and Liam chuckled as well at the schadenfreude.

Tyler hummed as he looked at the beds. "With eight beds, one of us will end up sleeping by ourselves," he finished Harold's thought.

Ezekiel opened his mouth, but Duncan said "Not a chance, homeschool. I get my own bed."

Harold frowned. "And who made you captain?" he challenged. "I think we should vote for who gets it."

Liam shook his head. "If we knew each other, that would be fine. But we'd all vote for ourselves," he countered.

By this point, Cody had made it back to the cabin, and raised his hand. "How about we draw straws?" he said.

That made each of them pause to consider that. After a moment, however, Ezekiel asked "Where would we get straws?"

Duncan smirked. "I don't know about straws, but I can get us sticks," he said, before whipping out a pocket knife. Walking over to one of the beds, he began to scrape off seven strips of wood. Liam raised an eyebrow at the token act of vandalism, but said nothing. Both Harold and Cody frowned in disapproval, but the fact the knife was out kept them silent as well.

In short order, the seven of them gathered around and drew sticks. The one with the longest stick, and therefore their own bed… was Justin.

The model grinned and placed his luggage on the top bed. Meanwhile, the others groaned but quickly broke off into pairs. One bunk bed went to Cody & Harold, while the others went to Liam & Duncan and Tyler & Ezekiel. That minor issue resolved, the guys began to unpack their luggage and put it away in the drawers they were provided. However, they were less than a minute into that task when an incredibly loud, female scream rang across the island.

They looked in the direction it had come from, the same direction as the Bass cabin. All of them quickly rushed over to see what happened, as did the other campers. As the scream came to an end, Leshawna uncovered her ears. "Dang, that white girl can scream," she remarked, causing several of the campers to nod their heads.

Lindsay, meanwhile, had leaped onto a stool inside the cabin and was quivering in fear. "Kill it! Kill it!" she shouted, pointing at a co*ckroach standing on the floor. DJ gasped and screamed as well, leaping onto Gwen's bed and nearly crushing it under his weight. As the roach began crawling around, several of the other campers also screamed, while some of them tried to step on the roach only for it to crawl out of the way.

It then switched direction and began rushing for the door. Its mad dash for freedom came to an end, however, in the form of an axe-wielding Duncan. With a grin, he swung the weapon down, and Liam could swear he heard a voice say 'Help me' just before the co*ckroach was cut in half.

"Well, that's one way to kill it," Gwen remarked, smirking slightly.

Tyler, who was among those that tried to step on it, quickly approached Lindsay. "You know, I could do that too," he boasted. "So if you see one of those again, just let me know," he told her.

The blonde smiled and giggled, touched by the offer. "Aw, you're so sweet," she said, causing Duncan to roll his eyes.

"Always with the jocks," he muttered, before hefting his axe and heading back to his team's cabin.

'Where did he even get that?' Liam wondered, before shaking his head. Some questions, he had learned through bitter experience, were better left unanswered. For now, he returned to his cabin and finished putting away his luggage. Doing that left him enough time to talk with one person before lunch, two if he was lucky. So he needed to be wise in choosing who.

That decision was made for him when Berh emerged from the girls' side of the cabin. Future pawns were nice, but he needed to secure this one now. And so, as he approached her, he made sure to bow his head slightly, grab his left bicep with his right arm and add a small frown to his face.

"Hey, Beth?" he said, getting her to look at him. "I'm not sure how being new friends works. Do we help each other with challenges? Keep us both from being eliminated? Or just talk?"

Beth hummed, looking at the ground. "You know, I'm not sure. I haven't... really had a lot of friends either, except for my pet pig Bertha," she admitted, making Liam blink at the knowledge that her only friend was an animal. "But all that stuff you said sounds like a great start!" she added, looking back up.

Liam gave her a smile filled with relief. "That’s great; I wasn't sure if you would like my ideas," he told her. "So, should we start with talking?" When she nodded, he sat down on the cabin steps, and she quickly sat down next to him. "I'm curious: what made you want to join the show?" he asked.

Beth smiled. "Well, I've talked to a lot of people at my school, and not a lot of them like farm animals, even the boys. So I'm hoping to make some friends that do," she told him.

The redhead considered that. Between that and the pet pig… "You lived near a farm, then?" he asked.

"Lived on one, actually. That's why I got to know animals as well as I do," she answered. "What about you? Do you like animals?"

Liam waved his hand. "I've been to a farm a few times," he answered vaguely. "But every time I was there, I enjoyed being able to interact with the animals. Especially the horses," he claimed.

Beth nodded. "Horses are pretty great," she agreed. "But out of the bigger animals, I prefer cattle. They're way less picky about their food."

Liam grunted in acknowledgment, but didn't have a reply. After sitting in a comfortable silence for a minute, he eventually stood up. "Well, it was fun talking with you, Beth. We'll have to do it again soon," he told her.

She grinned. "I'd like that," she said, and he returned the smile before walking away.

Well, that was one resource secured, and he had enough time to talk with one other person. Looking around, he noticed both Katie and Sadie were admiring Justin as he suntanned, and mentally dismissed the three of them. Duncan was an option, but he wasn't so sure yet if making a friend out of the delinquent was a good idea. Being associated with that kind of attitude could earn him more enemies than allies.

As he looked further, he noticed Harold was still in the cabin, reading a comic book. Hmmm… why not?

He entered the cabin and sat across from the nerd, saying "Big fan of Batman?" and waving at the comic.

Harold looked up from the comic at him. "Yeah, ever since I was a kid. Why do you ask?" he questioned, somewhat wary.

'Not as quick to trust as Beth, I see,' Liam mentally remarked. Aloud, he said "I figured I should get to know my teammates. We are going to be living and working together. Being able to get along will be important."

He was silent for a moment, thinking that over. "I guess I can see the logic in that. So let me ask you: do you like comic books?" he asked.

The redhead's initial thought was to lie and say yes, he was an avid comic reader. However, with how closely Harold was looking at him, there was the chance he would catch a lie. Honesty it was, then. "I've never actually read one," he admitted. "But I've yet to find a film adaptation I didn't enjoy, so I'm sure I could get into the comics."

Harold nodded. "I get that a lot. They'll come out with a movie or show, and that will get people to look at the source material," he said. Looking down at his luggage case tucked under his bed, he said "You know… I could lend you one of mine. See if it's your cup of tea."

Liam considered it. Devoting a few minutes each day to reading, and making sure it was in a place Harold could see him do it? He could do that. "Sure," he said. "It could be fun."

The nerd smiled and reached for his case. He soon produced another Batman comic, which he handed to Liam. "Just take care of it, and give it back when you're done, okay?" he said.

He nodded. "I promise to keep it safe," he said honestly. It was an easy promise to keep. And to display his sincerity, he immediately climbed up onto his bunk and began reading the comic.

That task consumed the remaining time until Chris came on the loudspeaker, telling them all to gather at the main lodge. Two large picnic tables were set up inside, one for each team. And standing behind the serving counter was a tall, heavily muscled man with dark skin and a chef's outfit.

"Listen up!" he shouted, causing all of them to stand straight. "My name is Chef Hatchet. I serve it three times a day. And three times a day, you will eat it! So grab a tray, get your food, and sit your butts down!" he told them, dispensing plates with Sloppy Joe-esque sandwiches and bowls of some unidentifiable gray mash.

Owen chuckled. "Have a cow, why doesn't he?" he said to Noah.

"What was that?!" Chef called, causing him to freeze. "Come closer, big boy. I don't think I heard you," he challenged.

Owen immediately backed down. "Oh, I didn't say anything worth hearing," he said, laughing nervously.

"I'm sure you didn't," Chef replied. "You, scrawny kid!" he said, getting Cody, Harold and Noah to all perk up.

Rolling his eyes, he pointed to Noah. "Get over here," he said, and the bookworm obediently approached the counter. He scooped up a second serving of Sloppy Joe mix and added it to Noah's plate. "Need to put some meat on those twigs," he said, making Noah thin his lips in annoyance.

"Thaaaanks," he replied, but refrained from adding anything else.

Behind him in line, Leshawna and Gwen were standing next to each other. Leaning over to her new bunkmate, Leshawna whispered "You think it's real meat in there?"

Gwen frowned. "Probably not," she admitted. As she received her tray, her sandwich twitched, and she stopped. Looking at Chef, she said "Okay, I hate to be a cliché and complain on Day One, but I think my food just moved."

Chef's response was to produce a hammer and smash her sandwich with it, splattering bits of sandwich 'meat' over both of them and Leshawna all while fixing her with a flat stare.

"...Great!" Gwen said, smiling and walking away rather than find out what happened if she asked for a new sandwich.

Behind both of them was Liam, who approached with his usual smile. Taking one look at his lanky stature, Chef said "Double helpings for you too, maggot. Any problems with that?!"

"Sir, no, sir!" Liam replied automatically, eyes briefly opening fully as he stood straight.

Chef raised an eyebrow. With a response like that... "Army family, son?" he asked much more calmly.

Relaxing, Liam shook his head. "No, sir. Three years in the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets program," he said.

That got Chef to nod approvingly. "I was a navy man myself. Here," he said, reaching into a pocket and producing a packet of black pepper. "Helps improve the taste," he explained even as he added a second scoop of 'meat' to the teens plate.

Liam smiled. "Thank you, sir," he said, taking his tray and walking off to sit at the Gopher table.

As Daphne sat down at the Bass table and examined her sandwich, she muttered "I wonder…" before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a lighter.

Izzy, who was sitting across and to her left, perked up. "Oh, are we burning bread?" she asked with excitement.

Daphne shook her head. "Maybe later, but first…" she said, before flicking the lighter and bringing her sandwich closer to it. Her teammates all watched the scene with various expressions.

And once the sandwich was only inches from the flame, it let out a screech before leaping out of her hand. They all watched it slide across the floor like a worm as it bolted for the door, sliding under it and escaping outside. The other Bass looked at their sandwiches and--except for Owen, Izzy and Eva--pushed them away. Those three just shrugged and bit into their sandwiches, ignoring the small screams they gave out before going limp.

Once everyone was served, Chris entered the lodge. "Well, I hope you're all enjoying your food," he said with a smile.

Several of the campers glared at him, and Geoff said "Yo, Chris. Can we, like, order a pizza or something?" His answer came in the form of a meat cleaver flying right past his head, imbedding itself in the wall. "Whoa! It's cool, man! Gray paste is fine!" he hastily, waving his hands at the angry Chef who threw it.

Distracted as they all were, none noticed Daphne reach up and pull the cleaver out of the wall. "Izzy," she whispered, getting the girl to look at her. "A gift," she said, passing her the knife under the table.

Izzy's eyes widened, and she grinned at the sight of the deadly weapon. "Awesome!" she said, taking it with a nod of thanks.

Undeterred by the sudden violence, Chris pressed on. "Your first challenge begins in one hour. Be in your bathing suits, by the way. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get a gourmet meal from the craft services tent," he told them, irritating them further as he strutted out.

Katie and Sadie, who were obviously sitting together, leaned closer to each other. "What do you think they'll make us do? A swim race?" Sadie asked nervously.

Katie smiled. "It's the very first challenge. It can't be that hard."

The cameras then cut to all of them standing with Chris next to a several-hundred foot cliff.

"Oh, f@#$," Katie said, the editors censoring it for their U.S. audiences.

Taking a moment to savor their expressions of terror, Chris began his explanation. "Your first challenge on the show has three parts. First up, each of you will jump off this 1000-foot cliff into the lake. On the beach below, you'll find a set of crates; the second part is to move all of your crates back to camp. And finally, you'll use the supplies in them to build a hot tub, to be judged by yours truly."

Pointing down to the water, he added "You'll notice two designated areas. The larger area has been filled with man-eating sharks…" At that, each of them stared at Chris like he was insane, but he didn't let that stop him. "And the smaller area within is a safe zone. At least, it looked safe enough during testing," he said with a chuckle. "The team with the best hot tub will win a sweet party tonight. The losers, meanwhile, will be sending someone home."

Taking a look at the two teams, he hummed before concluding "Gophers, let me see what you got!"

Bridgette leaned over the edge, looking down at the target area, and how small it looked from up there. "Oh, wow…" she said nervously. "So, who wants to go first?"

There was a moment of silence as each of the Gophers looked at each other.

Confessional Stall - Liam

"Jumping into possibly shark-infested waters? No, I did not want to go first!" he said unhappily. "But if I want to start connecting with my teammates, I need to be seen doing my part."

"I'll do it," Liam announced, missing a look of surprise from Courtney as he did. Walking up to edge, he sighed and closed his eyes. "Imagine jumping into dollar bills, imagine jumping into dollar bills…" he said, before taking a breath and leaping.

While keeping his eyes shut did help him to not scream, it prevented him from aiming, and he just barely landed inside the target area. Quickly coming up for air, he looked around. "Well… I'm not dead," he concluded, before looking back up. "Seems fine!" he called back up to his team.

Emboldened by his success, Tyler cheered "Yeah! We got this, come on!" and ran off the cliff. Unfortunately, he didn't get nearly far enough from the cliff, and smacked off of it before falling to land against one of the metal buoys that surrounded the safe zone. "Mommy…" he said faintly, before sliding off and into the water.

Seeing how to not cliff dive, Bridgette was much more careful by contrast, swan-diving into the dead center of the safe area. "Geronimo!" she called as she went down. Duncan didn't say a word, jumping straight down with his arms crossed and an angered expression, and Ezekiel was next to make it, followed by Cody.

However, Beth shook as she stood at the edge, looking down the cliff in abject terror. "I… I can't do it. I'm too scared," she admitted.

Chris nodded in seeming understanding. "That’s alright," he said gently, getting her to relax. "Unfortunately, that also makes you a chicken! So, for the rest of the day, you have to wear this," he declared, slapping a hat shaped like a chicken onto her head.

"Aw. Seriously?" Beth asked. When he nodded and began imitating clucking sounds, she hung her head and began walking back down the hill. Either willing to jump or just unwilling to wear one of those hats as well, Katie and Sadie both jumped afterwards.

Harold was next, and he said "Yes!" Before jumping. He fell down… down… and landed with his legs split, causing him to hit the water with his groin first. Although it wasn't in the safe zone, Harold's resultant screams of pain inspired such empathy in the sharks that they let him go.

Seeing that pretty much made up Courtney's mind, and she said "Excuse me, Chris? I have a medical condition."

Not believing it for a second, he challenged "Oh yeah? What condition?"

"The kind that prevents me from jumping off cliffs," she lied plainly.

Nodding along, he said "You can choose not to jump, but… it might cost your team the win. And then they'll hate you."

Courtney was about to refuse anyway, before taking another look at the Killer Bass. While DJ appeared utterly terrified, the rest of them either were waiting with bored expressions, giving her challenging looks--especially Eva--or were Lindsay and appeared uninterested in anything besides their bikini. 'If one of them can convince DJ…' she thought, and then took another look at her teammates that were waiting on the beach. 'And if all of them can do it…' Groaning, she said "Fine! Look out below!" and dived over the edge.

Thankfully, she aimed her dive right to make it to the safe zone, and she was transported to the beach amidst her team's cheers. The last to jump was Justin, whose own dive put him outside the safe zone. As he surfaced, everyone from both teams gasped, and several began shouting for him to get out of the water.

Those cries grew when two sharks emerged behind him, mouths wide open to bite him in half. But then the man-candy turned around and flashed them a smile, and both saw the water dripping from his hair and along his washboard abs. Despite being sharks, they were instantly charmed, and swam under Justin to lift him up and ferry him to shore. During the whole exchange, he didn't say a single word.

"Well… that just happened," Chris said, before shaking his head and holding up a clip board. "So, that's eleven jumpers and one chicken. Killer Bass, if you can beat that, we'll throw in a cart for you to carry your crates with," he offered.

Trent grinned. "Sweet. So, who wants to go first?"

Unsurprisingly, none were eager to leap to their potential deaths. Heather crossed her arms. "I'm sorry, but I'm not doing it," she said firmly. "I'll get my hair wet on national television."

Gwen blinked. "You're joking, right?" she asked.

Lindsay piped up. "If Heather's not going, then I'm not either!" she declared, smiling at the rich girl and getting a smile in return.

"Oh, I don't think so!" Leshawna said. "I am not losing this challenge just because a spoiled daddy's girl like you got your hair done!"

Heather leaned forward, leaving less than a foot between them. "Back off, you too-tight-pants-wearing ghetto rap star wannabe," she ordered.

But she didn't back down, firing back with "Boutique-shopping, gossip-starting, new-car-for-your-birthday prom queen!"

For a moment Heather said nothing, and then she smirked. "At least I'm popular," she stated.

That caused the rest of the team's eyes to widen, and they all backed away from the two of them. As for Leshawna, she appeared one shot away from losing it. "You're jumping off this cliff!" she demanded.

"Make me!" Heather said, and that was it. Leshawna glared at her before grabbing the girl and lifting her over her head. "Wha-?! Hey! Put me down!" she yelled.

Marching over to the cliff, Leshawna replied "Absolutely!" and threw her over the side. Heather screamed as she fell, landing in the water, before landing in the safe zone.

She emerged a moment later, shivering and glaring. "Leshawna, I will get you for this!" she vowed.

Smirking, she called down "Hey, I made sure to throw you into the safe zone, didn't I?" Then her smirk faded, and she muttered "Now I just gotta make sure I make it too," before jumping.

Luckily for her, she did land in the safe zone, and her jump was followed by a terrified Lindsay, Gwen and Noah, a cheering Geoff and Daphne, and a cackling Izzy. But then came DJ, who had yet to make a move closer to edge.

Shaking his head, he said "Uh-uh. No way, man. Not doing it."

Chris grinned. "What? Scared of a little water?" he taunted.

The muscular boy surprised him by nodding. "Yeah, man. Ever since I was a little kid," he stated.

"Aw, that's okay. One chicken hat for you, then, Mr. Chicken," he said, reaching up to place said hat on DJ's head. He accepted with silent shame, already walking back down the hill.

Trent gave Owen a high-five, saying "Let's do this!" before jumping, with a stoic Eva following him up.

That left just the big guy left. As he hesitated, Chris pulled out a megaphone to take down to the rest on the beach. "Okay, campers, just one left. Killer Bass, you need this to keep the Gophers from winning."

Most of the other Bass immediately started cheering, most of various versions of "Go, Owen!" while Heather called "Just do it, Owen!"

Said camper slowly pulled on a pair of arm floaties, trying to gather his courage.

Confessional Stall - Owen

"I'll admit, I was pretty nervous. See, the thing is, I'm not that strong of a swimmer," he admitted.

Confessional Stall - Geoff

"Okay, since the dude's on my team, I'd want him to jump. At the same time, I'm looking at him and thinking 'There’s no way he'd make it'."

Confessional Stall - Gwen

"I honestly thought that if he did this, he was going to die."

Both teams waited with bated breath. Chris, eager for some good footage, said "Take a run at it if you need to, buddy. You can do this!"

Taking his suggestion, Owen began backing up. "This is it. This is how I'm freaking dying," he said, coming to a stop. Then he clenched his first, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. A moment later, when he opened them, his gaze was filled with determination. Giving a battle cry, he charged past Chris, up to edge, and leaped.

"OH CRAAAAAA--!" he screamed, before hitting the water with a belly-flop so massive it sent up a wave half as high as the cliff itself.

That wave sent Trent, the boat being used to ferry him, and even one of the sharks onto the beach. Every other camper was re-soaked, while a second shark had been launched into a tree. But once the water settled, floating in the center of the safe zone was Owen. "Yeah! Who's the man!" he shouted.

The rest of the Bass cheered, and Chris called over his megaphone "Only one person from both teams chickened out! We have a tie!"

Beth raised her hand. "Does this mean we both get a cart, then?" she asked hopefully.

"Hmm… Nope!" he said, happily dashing those hopes. "We only had one, so since nobody won, both teams get to move them by hand. Have fun!" he told them, laughing and ignoring their complaints as he walked away.

Chef was quick to arrive and take the cart away before they could use it anyway, and both teams groaned before starting to push or carry each of their crates.

The two teams, by way of mutual distrust, had moved far enough away from each other on the beach to be mostly unheard. Thanks to having both Eva and DJ on their team, the Bass began to gradually pull ahead, to the visible irritation of Courtney.

"Come on, guys, we can't let them win! It's mind… over… matter!" she said angrily, before lifting the crate she had been pushing over her head and marching forward.

Ezekiel, who was pushing his crate next to Liam, said "Man, she's pretty strong for a girl, eh?"

The redhead raised an eyebrow. "'For a girl'? What does that mean?" he asked.

Looking at him in confusion, the farm boy said "Well, guys are stronger, faster and smarter than girls, right? That's what my Pa told me."

Liam's eyes opened fully, and he quickly looked around. Luckily, the others seemed too preoccupied with their own carts to listen to them. Leaning closer, he asked "Have you mentioned that to anyone else?"

Ezekiel shook his head. "I didn't see a reason to. It's supposed to be obvious, eh?" he said.

Liam sighed in relief, before looking at him. Suddenly, his relieved expression turned to one of realization.

Confessional Stall - Liam

"When I learned that Ezekiel had been homeschooled all his life, it didn't click for me at first. Now I see: he's completely ignorant of the outside world! And an ignorant teammate…" He smirked. "Is a pliable one."

"Alright, Ezekiel, let me ask you something: Do you want to make it past the first elimination?" he asked. When the other camper nodded, he said "Then imagine for me, if you will. I just walked up and told you that, due to something you don't control, you will never be as fast or smart or strong as I am, no matter how hard you try. How do you feel?"

Thinking about it, he said "Well, since we're both guys, I'd be pretty upset. If I were a girl… I'd probably still be upset, but I think I'd get over it. It's just the way it is."

Liam did his best not to roll his eyes at that justification. "Regardless, you understand that hearing such a thing would upset the women on our team. And if they're upset with you, they'll want to vote you out, even if they do 'get over it'," he explained, failing to suppress the eye roll at the quote.

"I guess…" Ezekiel said slowly.

Seeing that he had a foothold, Liam said "How about this? Anytime I think you're about to say something that would upset our teammates, I'll give you a signal to stop. This will keep them from voting for you. And in return, you'll follow my advice on who to vote for yourself."

The farm boy was silent for a while, thinking about it. "Can I say no to voting for someone if I like them?" he said.

Liam hid a grimace at that. Okay, maybe he wasn't completely ignorant. "Sure," he allowed.

"Then I say yes," Ezekiel declared, extending a hand. Liam shook it, and the homeschooler said "Really appreciate the help, man."

"Don't mention it," he replied, before focusing on his own box.

Elsewhere, Tyler put down his crate. "I gotta take a leak," he announced.

Courtney stared at him. "You couldn't have done that before the challenge?" she said.

Before he could answer that, Katie spoke up. "I also have to use the bathroom."

"Oh my gosh, Katie, me too!" Sadie said, and they both smiled.

Courtney looked incensed. "Ugh, fine! Just hurry: we're already falling behind!" she told them, and Tyler nodded before dashing into the woods.

With the Bass, meanwhile, Leshawna was carrying her crate over one shoulder, and moved over next to Gwen. Seeing her come close, the goth said "Something I can help you with?"

"Just wanted to get your thoughts on something," Leshawna replied. At Gwen's wave to continue, she said "I see it like it is, and we're not going to win every challenge. Sooner or later, we're gonna have to pick someone to boot off."

Gwen frowned. "And you want that to be Heather?" she guessed.

"Exactly. You saw how bossy she's being. And that I had to throw her to get her to help this team. She's bad weight that we need to drop, the sooner the better," she stated.

The goth hummed. "I'm with you about the bossiness… but I don't know. Maybe she'll be helpful for something besides diving. And she'll be far from the only headache I've had to deal with," she said.

Leshawna grunted, obviously disagreeing. "Well, I can't force you to change your mind," she conceded. "But keep what I said in mind, you hear?" Gwen nodded, and she changed direction to begin carrying her crate away.

At the same time, Daphne had been slowly angling her crate towards Izzy, until she was eventually close enough. "Hey, Izzy," she said.

"Hah?" the orange-haired girl said, carrying her crate with a strength that belied her slim frame. As she turned to look at Daphne she swung the crate around and nearly hit her on the head with it, stopping at the last second. "Whoops, sorry! What's up?" she asked.

Rubbing her temple where the crate had grazed it, Daphne said "Be honest: Are you in this competition for the money?"

Izzy tilted her head from side to side. "Not really. I mean, a hundred-thousand is nice. But when you can live among the beavers, it isn't something you really need, you know?" she said.

She stared. "You… lived with beavers?"

"Beavers, prairie dogs, Sasquatch. Potato, tomato," Izzy said, which didn't clear up matters at all.

"Right…" Daphne, before shaking her head. "The point is, I'm not in it for the money either. I'd like to make friends, and you seem like a fun girl to be around. So, what do you say? We keep each other in the game, help each other have as much fun as possible?"

Izzy didn't need to consider it. "I'm always up for more fun!" she said with a grin. "Just don't tempt me to blow any buildings up. I've done it before," she warned.

The brunette grinned back. "Oh, if it's burning something, I'll be the last person to stop you," she promised, which only made Izzy smile more.

The Gophers made it about three-fourths of the way to camp when Katie and Sadie both stopped. "What's the hold up?" Duncan asked.

Both of them were scratching over their shorts. "Our butts, they're really itching!" Katie said, and Sadie added "And burning!"

Bridgette brought her hand to her chin, considering. "Did you two squat down over any plants when you peed?" she asked. Katie nodded, and she continued "Did you happen to see what they looked like?"

"They were green, oval-shaped and on the ground," Sadie answered.

"About this big?" the blonde asked, holding her hands apart. When they nodded, she said "You both squatted over poison ivy."

Both of them froze, before both girls started panicking and running around. Harold and Tyler both laughed at the ridiculousness of it, while Courtney was mute with shock that someone could be so careless.

Between already being behind and Katie and Sadie no longer being available to move their crates, the Killer Bass arrived at the campgrounds fifteen minutes ahead of the Gophers. As they began opening the boxes, Heather approached Leshawna with Lindsay in tow.

"Hey... I just wanted to apologize," Heather said, her expression contrite. "I didn't mean it when I called you a rap star wannabe. And I love your earrings," she said earnestly.

Leshawna looked at her with surprise. "Straight up?" she asked, and Heather nodded. "Well… I'm sorry about throwing you over the cliff," she said.

"Don't worry about it; I needed it," she assured her. "Truce?" she offered, holding her hand out for a shake.

Instead, Leshawna gave her a fist bump, saying "Yeah. Truce." As Heather smiled and walked away, she thought 'Maybe Gwen was onto something.'

By the time the Gophers made it to the camp, the Bass had already finished opening their carts and were laying out tools. Seeing how far ahead the other team was, Courtney was quick to take charge.

"Alright, people, we have a hot tub to build and little time in which to build it. We need a project manager, and since I'm the only one who was a C.I.T., I'm nominating myself. Any objections?" she asked.

None of the other Gophers seemed to have an issue with this, or at least not enough to object beyond a raised eyebrow from Liam. "Where do we start, princess?" Duncan asked mockingly.

"We start by opening these crates. Bridgette, go get Katie and Sadie from wherever they ran off to; we need all the help we can get," Courtney ordered. The blonde nodded and ran off.

To make opening the crates harder for both teams, Chris decided they could only open them using their teeth. Which, as it turned out, took up most of the fifteen-minute lead the Bass had. With Courtney directing each Gopher to their task, none of their roles conflicted with each other, helping them to catch up.

Not only that, but their lack of physical players became an unexpected advantage. Being more geared towards academics made Beth, Harold, Liam and Cody more able to follow instructions, whereas Geoff and Owen required the other Bass to repeat some instructions. But some hiccups came from Bridgette's clumsiness, which caused several light injuries, and Katie and Sadie, who both took frequent 'scratching stops' even when Courtney cracked the whip at them.

By the time Chris arrived to inspect the hot tubs, both of them appeared to be completed. He inspected the Bass' tub first, feeling the heat rise from it, as well as the working jets and the boards, which had been placed together seamlessly. Placing a finger in to gauge the water, he finally smiled. "Now this is a hot tub!" he declared, getting several of the Bass to smile hopefully.

Walking over the Gopher tub, he noticed how some boards were damaged or held together with tape, a result of Bridgette having dropped a pump on them. Some of the jets were also not functioning due to the team not having time to install them all. After dipping a finger into their water as well, he eventually said "A good effort… But not as good as your opponents."

Spreading his arms, he declared "The Killer Bass win!"

The Bass cheered, and Owen burst out of the water. "Yeah! We get to stay~! We are so awesome~!" he sang, while the others traded high-fives or, in Heather's case, just applauded. The Gophers, meanwhile, collectively looked to the ground in dismay.

Chris continued "Your reward is safety from elimination and being allowed to keep your rocking hot tub for the rest of the competition." Turning to the others he said "Screaming Gophers, I wouldn't want to be you right now. I'll see your sad behinds tonight at the campfire."

After Chris finished having some interns dismantle the Gophers' hot tub, the two teams were served another bowl of gray mash by Chef as dinner. The difference in mood between the two tables was palpable, with the Bass downright cheery while the Gophers were somber.

"So… what do we do now?" Sadie asked.

Liam answered. "Now we have to decide who to vote off. Any suggestions?" he said.

"Well, I think it should be Braces over there," Duncan stated, jerking a thumb at Beth.

Said girl froze. "What? But… but why?" she asked.

Leaning forward, he said "Because as far as I see, you're the only one at this table with a chicken hat."

Looking desperate, she said "But I helped with the other parts! And what about Courtney? She was the one in charge of the hot tub. She even wanted to be!"

"That is true," Katie said, slightly miffed over Courtney bossing them around so much without a victory to show for it.

But the delinquent didn't appear moved, and pushed away his bowl before standing up. "I've had enough prison food for one day. I'm going to take a nap."

"Wait! You can't leave yet!" Courtney protested. "We still haven't decided who to vote for!" But he walked out anyway. "UGH!" she angrily shouted, burying her face in her hands.

Ezekiel opened his mouth, about to remark on their loss despite the Bass having two more girls than them. But seeing how irate Courtney was caused him to flash back to his conversation with Liam earlier that day. And thinking about that caused him to snap his mouth shut.

Said redhead remained silent during the exchange, before he looked at Courtney and a ghost of a smile passed over his lips.

Later that evening, the dozen members of the Screaming Gophers had assembled and seated before the lit bonfire. "Campers," Chris greeted them. "At a normal summer camp, marshmallows are a treat that symbolize safety, deliciousness and fun. Here at Camp Wawanakwa, marshmallows represent life."

He held up a plate for them to see. "Your votes have been cast and your decision made. On this plate are eleven marshmallows. When I call your name, come and collect one. The camper who does not receive a marshmallow must take a walk on the Dock of Shame, catch the Boat of Losers, and never return. Ever," he told them, causing several of them to look nervous at the prospect of never getting a second chance.

"First marshmallow goes to… Duncan," he said, getting the punk to fist-pump as he stood.

"Bridgette…" She smiled and walked over.

"Cody…" The nerd grinned and strutted to the front.

"Liam…" He stifled a yawn and ambled over to grab a marshmallow.

"Ezekiel…" The farmboy happily ran up to collect.

"Katie and Sadie…" The two girls 'eee'-ed and hugged before grabbing marshmallows together.

"Justin…" The male model silently accepted his.

"Harold…" Clutching a paper towel with ice to his groin, he hobbled over.

"Tyler." The jock cheered and grabbed one. "One marshmallow left. And the person it goes to is…" he said, deliberately trailing off.

Both Beth and Courtney looked at each other with differing levels of nervousness. That only grew as Chris drew the wait out, building up tension and even pretending to aim at them.

…

…

...

"Courtney."

The C.I.T. sighed and stood up to claim her prize. Beth, meanwhile, slumped sadly. "And I was just starting to make friends..." she said, before standing and walking towards the dock. To none of their surprise, her luggage was already on board, Chef having gathered it once the votes were tallied.

As her boat pulled away, Chris said "Screaming Gophers, the rest of you are safe. For tonight."

After taking the time to roast and enjoy their marshmallows, the Gophers began to trickle back to their camp. As they did, they passed by the Killer Bass, some of whom were dancing to music as part of their hot tub party.

"Go Bass team! Go Bass team!" Leshawna said as she danced, with Owen, Noah and Geoff quickly joining in.

As the other team passed by them, Courtney noticed one of the cameras. Facing it, she said "Are you recording?"

In response, the camera zoomed in on her.

"Good. They can enjoy their party while it lasts. But I'm going to win that prize, make no mistake," she promised, before walking away. As she did, the camera faded to black.

Chapter 3: Up and At 'Em

Chapter Text

The following two days were without challenges, giving the campers a chance to get settled into their new routine. For Liam, this included some key observations.

One, do not touch Eva or Duncan's stuff. Ever. Second, waking up before Owen was a smart idea; the bathrooms smelled better during that time. And most all, Izzy wasn't just quirky. She was insane.

In that time, he had seen the girl chase down a raccoon that stole her toast, kick a shark in the nose when the Bass went swimming without even noticing, and vanish into the woods before emerging for dinner with a deerskin blanket.

All on the second day.

And Daphne, he was discovering, was hardly any better. The brunette seemed to treat every crazy thing Izzy suggested as a chance for a thrill ride, and would even provide her own ideas for how to make their activities more 'fun'. Over half of those ideas seemed to include fire, something that made him much more wary to be around her.

Thankfully, it seemed some of the Bass also weren't fond of her. Gwen and Leshawna in particular seemed irritated by the sheer volumes of tales Izzy wove when she was around them.

Speaking of which, he was surprised to see Leshawna and Heather talking civilly with one another, despite their clash during the challenge. That was worrisome; Lindsay was already following Heather around like an eager puppy. If the queen bee managed to form an alliance with Leshawna, their combined cunning could make outlasting them… difficult.

So, what to do? What to do...

On the third morning after the challenge, Chris approached the cabins. Holding up an air horn, he was about to blow it before pausing. With an evil grin, he pulled out a megaphone and flipped it on, holding the air horn to it.

The subsequent screech nearly shattered the windows in both cabins, and effectively woke up all twenty-three campers at once. Gwen, in fact, shot upright fast enough to hit her head on the bunk above her. "Ow! CHRIS! It's…" she said, before looking at her bedside clock. "Seven a.m.!"

Leshawna nodded, opening the window and leaning out it. "There's only one farmer on this island, and it ain't us!" she yelled.

Despite everyone's irritation (sans Ezekiel and Eva) at the early wake-up call, they soon showered, dressed and formed a line outside. "Morning, campers! Hope you all slept well," he greeted tauntingly.

Heather gave him a cheery smile. "Good morning, Chris! Can I just say that you look great in those shorts?" she told him.

Rather than fall for the flattery, Chris just said "I know," and started walking past them, making Heather grimace. "Hope you're all ready, because your next challenge begins in one minute."

Owen frowned. "Aw, come on! Can't we have breakfast first?" he complained.

"Oh, there will be breakfast, Owen," Chris assured him. "Right after your twenty-kilometer run around the lake!" he announced.

Eva glared at him, unamused. "Oh, so you're supposed to be funny, now?" Marching towards him, she began winding up her right arm. "You know what I think would be funny?" she said, before Trent, Leshawna and Heather held her back.

"Eva! Save your anger for the challenge!" Heather whispered.

That got her to pause, and she snapped "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" to Chris.

He nodded unashamedly. "A little," he said. "You all have thirty seconds."

Confessional Stall - Heather

"Eva is a complete pain to live with. Our cabin now has a draft because she threw her suitcase through a window, and I refuse to use one of the bathroom stalls after she broke the lock on it. But she could be useful for winning challenges, so I'll try to rein her in… for now."

Once the run started, several of the campers were putting their all into it and sprinting, while others jogged or walked at a more sedate pace.

One of the people sprinting was, surprisingly, Ezekiel. As he passed by Duncan, Harold and Liam, he called "Come on, guys! We can do this, eh!" and kept running.

Duncan watched him with a raised eyebrow. "Guess doing manual labor his whole life helped build him up," he commented, but made no move to start running.

Cody, meanwhile, panted as he tried to keep pace with a determined Courtney. "You… really… want to win, huh?" he said between breaths.

She nodded. "I am not starting this show with a losing streak," she said fiercely. "Now pick up the pace! We are going to win this race and taste those marshmallows!" she declared, before starting to run faster.

Cody's eyes widened, and his panting increased as he also sped up to remain with her.

Confessional Stall - Cody

"I'm starting to think Courtney might not be the girl for me. I can do bossy, but she seems more controlling than I can handle," he said, briefly looking down. Then he smiled and looked back up. "But it's cool! There are still plenty more ladies at camp for the Codemeister," he said confidently.

As the walking campers passed by the river, they saw Owen on all fours lapping from it. "Can't go on… Must have a condition…" he said hoarsely.

Heather rolled her eyes. "Yeah, it's called 'overeating'. Look into it," she said bitingly.

Leshawna, who was leaning against a tree further ahead, looked back. "And what's your excuse for not running? Miss... Bossy… whew… too tired for this!" she said, before starting to run again.

Just then, Chris sped past them on a moped. Using his megaphone, he called "Pick up the pace, people. If you're not back by dinner, you don't eat!"

This was enough to get those walking to at least start jogging. Already jogging next to DJ, Daphne said "I'm really starting to not like him," and DJ nodded in agreement.

Eventually, most of the campers made it back to the main lodge, where they all sat to relax their tired muscles and wait for their teammates. The Gophers were missing Harold, Tyler and Liam, while the Bass were waiting on Leshawna, Owen, and Noah.

Suddenly, the door slammed open and Owen and Tyler emerged, the former holding Noah over one shoulder. "Clear a table!" he yelled, and the other Bass were quick to clear theirs. As he laid Noah out on it and began administering CPR, Leshawna staggered in after them.

Harold and Liam were last to arrive, and Courtney asked "What took you both so long?"

Harold gasped for air, unable to answer. Liam, meanwhile, looked unwinded and said "Saving my energy in case there's more."

The C.I.T. looked at him suspiciously, but then Gwen spoke up. "Wait. If we all got here first, then… we won the challenge!" she realized.

There was a pause before the Bass began cheering, even Noah. But then Chris waved his hands. "Hold on, campers. That wasn't the whole challenge!" he said.

Geoff paused. "Come again, man?"

Chris chuckled, before walking over to a curtain against the back wall. "But let me ask all of you: Who's hungry?" he said, and the curtain parted to reveal a giant buffet table of varying foods.

Confessional Stall - Gwen

"After three days of paste and brown sludge, I almost cried at the sight of that table."

Confessional Stall - Eva

"I wish I could say I held myself back. But after three days of Chef's gruel, I tore into that turkey faster than Owen," she admitted.

Confessional Stall - Owen

"That Eva girl can be pretty scary. But you know, I can respect someone who isn't ashamed to eat. And when I tried to take a leg from the turkey she was holding, I nearly lost my fingers," he said, his expression equal parts intimidated and impressed.

Half an hour later, the previously full table had been picked clean, and every camper groaned in either displeasure or comfort at their full stomachs.

Of course, Chris chose that moment to speak up, and did so with his megaphone despite being indoors. "Okay, campers! Time for Part Two of your challenge!" he said, making Liam's eyes open fully.

"I thought the food was Part Two," Owen said in confusion.

"Incorrect!" Chris shouted. "Now, it's time for… the Awake-a-thon!" he announced. "Rules are simple: the team with the last camper to stay awake wins!"

Eva's eyes widened, and she muttered "Crap…" under her breath.

Gwen's eyes also widened. "So the early wake-up, the long run and the buffet--it was all just to make staying up harder for us?" she asked.

Chris grinned. "Yes, yes it was," he confirmed. "Now, to the bonfire with all of you!"

Daphne thinned her lips. "That is cruel," she stated, rising to her feet.

As the campers began exiting, Trent stopped next to Gwen. "How long do you think everyone will last?" he asked.

Thinking it over, she answered "A few hours, give or take." Then Owen staggered past her, and she amended "Probably take."

Contrary to her expectations, no camper fell asleep within the first twelve hours. However, almost all of them gained bags under their eyes, and several were yawning. That changed a moment later, when Owen fell over and started snoring, bringing the Bass down to eleven.

"This. Is. Brutal," Eva declared, and Leshawna nodded.

"So boring…" Gwen said, prompting Trent to look over at her.

"Hey, it could be worse," he reckoned.

She quirked an eyebrow. "How?"

He smiled. "I could be here without you to talk to," he said, getting her to smile in return.

Next to her, however, Heather had a calculating look on her face as she examined her teammates.

Confessional Stall - Heather

"In an ideal scenario, I would pick two gullible campers to do whatever I say in order to get to the semifinals with me. Unfortunately, my team has too few idiots for that to work. So… I'll have to go with Plan B," she said reluctantly.

"Lindsay, Leshawna, can I talk to you for a moment?" she said, walking off to the side.

Lindsay, who had been standing on her head, said "Sure!" while Leshawna nodded.

Once they approached, she declared "I have a plan to get me and two other people into the final three, and I chose you guys."

The blonde gasped. "Really?!" she said excitedly, while Leshawna didn't look convinced.

"Oh yeah? And what is this plan?" she asked.

"Simple: The three of us work together to vote off whoever we need to, especially if one of us does badly in a challenge. And we don't let anyone else know about it, so they never suspect," Heather explained.

Leshawna hummed. "I don't know... We got a truce and all, but we won't be on teams forever. I don't know if I can trust you past that point," she stated.

That got her smile to dim, but she rallied. "Trust is a two-way street, I understand," she replied. "How about this? For now, we agree to be in an alliance until the teams break up. Once we've gotten the chance to gain each other's trust, we'll reassess, 'kay?" she offered.

"Sounds good to me!" Lindsay said, despite already agreeing.

Leshawna crossed her arms. "You wanna start gaining trust? Then stop talking down to me and everyone on the team. We do not need that mean girl routine up in here," she said, making Heather freeze.

Confessional Stall - Heather

"That 'mean girl routine' has served me well ever since elementary school!" she stated, using up her hands for air quotes. "I may not like doing it all the time, but it's always worked."

Then her expression grew further annoyed. "But I saw my other teammates already starting to 'bond' with each other, especially the guys and the two psychos. If I don't make an alliance now, I'll fall behind. I refuse to be at a disadvantage, even if it means… playing nice."

There was a long moment of silence as the two girls stared at each other. Eventually, however, Heather let out an explosive sigh. "Alright," she said angrily. "I'll keep my comments--about the Bass, at least--to myself. Happy?"

Leshawna smiled victoriously. "Peachy," she said, holding out her hand to shake.

Heather shook it, and Lindsay called "Yay!" before hugging both of them. "We're going to the final three!" she cheered, the part about 'reassessing' completely lost on her. Both girls hugged her back, though with reluctance from Heather, and she said "By the way, speaking of alliances…" while looking in the direction of Tyler.

Heather's eyes widened. "Oh, no, you can't date him," she said firmly, making both girls frown.

"And why not?" Leshawna immediately asked, placing her hands on her hips.

She scoffed. "Because he's on the other team! You know, the same people we're trying to get booted off?" she said condescendingly.

"And?" Leshawna shot back. "That don't mean she can't have fun while it lasts. Heck, they might even get together after the show!"

Lindsay gasped. "You think so? That would be amazing!" she said, hands clasped as she envisioned it.

Heather looked between the blonde's now-distant stare and the thick girl's glare. She was giving up more ground than she wanted, but her pride wouldn't allow her to walk away with nothing. Gritting her teeth, she said "Fine! Date him! Just don't come crying to me when he's on the Loser Boat!" before stomping off.

Lindsay clapped happily. "Eee! You're the best, LeFonda!" she said, giving Leshawna another hug before running off to sit next to Tyler.

Confessional Stall - Leshawna

"Do I trust Heather? Heck no! Girl's sketchy as hell; I doubt she even meant that apology before!" she said, waving her hand. "But I'll give her a shot to prove she's for real. And if she's not? I'll knock her skinny ass down."

A few hours later, Eva removed the earbuds to her MP3 and stood up. "I'm going to the bathroom," she announced, and Chris nodded before letting her go. As she walked away, the MP3 fell from her pocket.

Daphne, who had been sitting with her head propped on one arm, noticed and sat up. Frustrated as she was, Heather noticed a moment later, but before she could get up, the other girl had already picked it up and handed it to Chris. When Eva returned a few minutes later, he handed it to her.

Nothing else of note passed for nearly another twelve hours, by which time night had fallen. Bridgette, Izzy, Noah, Katie and Sadie had all fallen asleep, leaving the Gophers down 10-8 on awake campers.

Tyler, who was seated at the back of his team, bobbed his head up and down as he struggled to stay awake. As he looked at the sleeping forms of Sadie and Katie, the exhaustion created the image of a bear, which burst out of the bushes and swiped at the girls. "AAAAHHH!" he screamed, startling his remaining teammates to full alertness.

Chris chuckled, before saying "Alright, contestants, you've reached the twenty-four mark. And that means it's time to kick it up a notch," he said. As Chef walked up next to him, holding a harp and wearing a sheep costume, he unveiled the surprise. "Fairy tales!"

Gwen stared in horror. "Oh, he is not serious," she said, before seeing him pull up a chair and grab a book from the pile. Both her and Trent groaned.

As Chris began reading, he did so in the slowest, most monotone voice possible. "Once... upon a time, inside a boring kingdom, there lived... a boring village filled with boring people. And these people in this boring, sleepy village…" he began.

The longer he went on, the more Geoff struggled to keep his eyes open. Finally, with one more yawn, he fell off his seat and was asleep, leaving the Killer Bass with nine.

Once Chris had wrapped up that storybook, Chef left. But halfway through the next one, he returned, this time dressed as a ballerina. Several of the campers rubbed their eyes, not quite sure if they were dreaming or not. But then, as he danced, Chef flung small handfuls of sparkling powder at several campers, who immediately yawned afterwards.

In an effort to stay awake, DJ tied himself to a tree. But when Chef hit him with a cloud of sleeping powder, he not only fell asleep, but he took the tree to the ground with him.

"Timber," Gwen tiredly called, getting Trent to chuckle.

Courtney, who was trying to stay awake by staying mobile, was pacing around their side of the bonfire. That's when she noticed that Harold and Liam were gone. Looking around, she saw them seated on a log a ways off into bushes, though right next to a camera to ensure they were still watched. Narrowing her eyes, she crept around behind them and slowly sneaked closer.

Once she was close, she heard Liam ask "Have you considered the offer?"

Harold responded "From a strategic point of view, an alliance does make sense. Not every challenge will involve one of my many mad skills, and having a safety net is smart."

Courtney managed to cover her mouth to avoid a gasp. That let her hear him continue "But if we're both being honest, Cody and I already have an agreement to look out for each other. I don't want to add more people without discussing it with him."

There was miniscule pause, almost short enough for Courtney to not notice. But she did, and heard Liam casually reply "That’s cool, man. We don't want you to feel pressured, so take all the time you need."

"I appreciate that," Harold said. Then she heard him yawn. "Well, I'm going to get back," he said, and heard him walk away.

She waited until he was gone and heard Liam get up. Then she stood up and saw him walking away. "Liam!" she said, causing him to freeze.

After a moment, he turned around to face her, still smiling and looking half-awake. "Courtney," he greeted her. "I'm going to guess you heard all that?"

She nodded, crossing her arms. "You're darn right I did. I thought you wanted an alliance with me!" she said angrily.

After the first challenge…

Liam ate his food slowly as he waited for Courtney to finish hers. When she did, he dumped the rest of his and followed her out. Once they were a respectable distance from the lodge, he said "Courtney? Excuse me?"

The brunette stopped, looking back at him. "What is it Liam?" she asked, impatient to go take a shower after losing the challenge.

Seeing that, he went straight for the throat. "You're in danger of being voted off," he said bluntly.

Her eyes widened, and she turned to face him fully. "What? Wh-What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean that our team is uncoordinated enough that Beth only needs half of them to vote for you. She makes one, and the fact they also set us back in the challenge means she can get two sympathy votes from Katie and Sadie. If she convinces one other person, she'll have what she needs," he explained.

Courtney considered that, before frowning. "Hold on. That's only four votes," she said.

His smile moved into a small smirk. "Correct. But there's also me, and Ezekiel will vote however I tell him to," he revealed.

The C.I.T. froze, letting him see surprise and a small hint of flicker of fear across her face. Then it turned to anger, and she said "Are you threatening to vote for me?"

He waved his hand. "Of course not, just making you aware," he said, which didn't defuse her anger but succeeded in pausing it. "I'm letting you know this because there is a way out: We vote out Beth instead."

Courtney grunted. "How? You, me and Ezekiel would only be three votes. Duncan seems to have made up his mind, so he'd be the fourth. The other two?" she asked.

Liam chuckled. "Now, now, I'm not telling you my entire plan," he said, to her irritation. "But I am making you an offer: I can swing the votes in your favor tonight. In return, you consider forming an alliance with me to the final two."

She raised an eyebrow. "What about Ezekiel? Not going to take him along?" she inquired.

His smile dimmed. "Ezekiel is… an investment," he said. "But to be honest, I don't think he's 'final-round material'. You, on the other hand, are someone I can see making it there, and I want to be on your good side until then," he told her.

Courtney was quiet for a while. Eventually, however, she shook her head. "I think you're bluffing. I don't think you could get Beth voted off," she said tauntingly.

Liam raised an eyebrow, acknowledging the reverse psychology for what it was. Deciding to play along, he said "But if I could, would you consider an alliance?"

Smiling, she said "Prove to me that you can put your money where your mouth is, and we'll see."

The redhead nodded. "Then I will," he promised.

As Courtney glared at Liam for his betrayal at talking to Harold, he gave her that same small smirk. Seeing it a second time, she realized it suddenly made the slacker seem much more… ominous.

"Courtney, what are we on this island to do?" he asked.

She gave him a look that said exactly how smart she considered that question to be. "To win a competition for a hundred-thousand dollars," she answered dully.

"Precisely. And to do that, we need to survive being voted off for as long as possible," he said. "I already had Ezekiel by the time I approached you with my offer. With a victory on national television on the line, did you really think an alliance with you was my only iron in the fire?"

Courtney looked away. Truth be told, she had thought that, but only because the slacker had done nothing but sleep and lie around for the two days after the challenge. Apparently, she had miscalculated. "So what now? You ditch me in favor of Harold and Cody?"

He shrugged. "I don't see why I have to," he said, getting her to look at him. "Myself, Ezekiel and those two make four votes. If you were to join, that would become five. And after a few more eliminations, that becomes a controlling majority on our team." Liam smiled. "At that point, the only people being voted off would be the ones we choose."

She was silent, mulling it over in her mind. Then she looked him in the eye. "Tell me this: How did you get two more votes against Beth?"

Liam's smile widened.

After leaving Courtney, Liam sat on the steps of the lodge until another certain camper left. "Justin!" he said, standing up and walking with him.

The male model gave him a winning smile by way of greeting.

Smiling back, Liam asked "Tell me this: What would I need to trade for one of your shirts?"

Justin's expression turned questioning.

Five minutes later, Liam walked away from the Gophers' cabin with an olive green shirt in one hand. Approaching the lodge again, he sat down until his final targets left. "Katie, Sadie," he said, getting them to stop. "I have an offer for you."

Courtney stared at him. Not only was it two votes in her favor, but they had been votes taken directly from Beth's potential bloc, and in such a simple way… She had indeed miscalculated regarding the redhead. And she needed time to restrategize.

"I see. I'll keep my word and consider your proposal," she said.

Liam nodded. "That makes me glad. I look forward to hearing from you," he said, getting her to smile. She began to walk away, but once she passed him he continued "I wouldn't take too long to decide, however. Irons and all that."

Courtney paused, but didn't respond and continued walking a moment later.

Confessional Stall - Liam

"The fact that I'm good with scheming… I wasn't planning on revealing it so soon, since it makes people tend not to trust me," he said, before chuckling. "Can't say I blame them. But Courtney's competitive enough to be a problem, and the sooner I turn her into an asset, the more I can kick back and relax."

By the time forty hours had passed, both teams had been whittled down further. For the Gophers, it was Courtney, Duncan, Cody, Justin, Liam and Eva, while the Bass still had Heather, Gwen, Leshawna, Daphne, Trent and Lindsay.

Stifling a yawn, Heather said "We need to talk strategy, Lindsay." When she didn't respond, Heather nudged her with her elbow.

"Huh?" Lindsay said, her eyes fluttering open. A moment later, she fell backwards and off her seat, snoring.

The sound of it began lulling Daphne to sleep, before he shook her head. "Come on, Daph, come on!" she said, lightly slapping her cheek. "You've gone through longer runs than this!" she said, standing up to stretch.

Gwen and Trent were now seated on the ground, backs resting against the wooden stump seats. "Alright. Favorite song?" Gwen asked him.

He hummed. "She Will Be Loved," he answered. "Favorite color?"

"Midnight blue," she quickly answered.

He smiled. "How mysterious," he remarked. "I like it." Gwen smiled, but then yawned and began to lower her head. He quickly grabbed her shoulder. "Don't fall asleep yet! Quick: Favorite movie moment?"

She shook her head. "You'll think it's silly," she said.

"I promise I won't," he assured her.

Accepting, she said "You know that road trip movie with the guy and three girls?" He nodded, and she said "The kiss scene at the end of it."

"Nice. Didn't think you'd like a movie like that," he said.

Before Gwen could respond, however, Owen suddenly walked past them, still asleep... and now naked. Both were stunned wide awake by the sight.

Confessional Stall - Owen

"So… that buffet table had baked beans on it, which I love with maple syrup. But, uh, the thing about baked beans… They make me sleepwalk," he admitted.

Eleven hours later, Justin had yet to move from where he was standing since the first day. Liam shook his head. "I… underestimated the man," he said tiredly. "Only sheer force of will… could keep someone immobile in one spot...for that long."

Slowly rising to his feet, he yawned and approached the model. However, once he was close enough, he realized the truth: Justin's eyes were closed, and he had applied paint to his eyelids.

The supposed slacker let out a dry chuckle. "Now that's… a good one," he said, eyes fluttering closed. He fell to his knees and then sideways, going to sleep at the model's feet without touching him. A moment later, Leshawna followed.

Another thirty hours later, and Duncan had refused to fall asleep yet. In order to break the boredom, he took a mug he had swiped from the lodge and filled it with water. Placing it on the ground next to Harold, he slowly lifted the nerd’s hand and placed it in the water.

Sure enough, a dark wet spot soon appeared on the front of Harold's pants. Duncan laughed. "Awesome!" he said loudly.

Between that and the sudden sensation, Harold stirred awake and immediately realized what had happened. "Aah!" He said, snapping to full awareness. He quickly stood up and began running for his cabin, Duncan's laughter following him. Elsewhere, Cody had fallen asleep next to Noah, and the second boy had cuddled him from behind. However, once he began kissing his ear, both of them woke up, screamed, and ran away from each other.

The only Bass left now were Trent, Gwen, Daphne and Heather. Justin's trick had been discovered around the seventy-hour mark, leaving the Gophers with just Duncan and Eva.

Gwen groaned. "I'd kill for a coffee right now," she said.

Chris then walked up to them, looking well rested and with a coffee in hand. "What is the matter with you all? Sleep already!" he taunted, taking a sip.

Daphne stared at the cup and leaned over to Gwen. "I'll distract him, you swipe the cup, we each chug half," she offered, and the goth did not appear uninterested.

Having heard them, Chris quickly moved along. "Okay, you six stay here. The rest of you, hit the showers!" The remaining campers did as bade, waking those that were asleep. Once they were gone, Chris turned to face the camera. "I didn't want it to come to this. I even told Chef Hatchet that I didn't. But darn it, these campers are tough! So I have prepared the most mind-numbingly boring activity I could think of."

Confessional Stall - Gwen

"Oh, come on! You know what? Bring it on," she challenged.

Holding up a book, Chris announced "The History of Canada: A Pop-Up Book. Chapter 1: The Beaver."

Daphne’s eyebrows rose. "Oh, shhhiiii…" she said, before trailing off. Just the idea of listening through that was too much, and she finally toppled over in defeat, eyes closed.

Five hours later Eva had fallen as well, leaving it 3-1 against the Gophers. But then Heather fell only minutes after her. And as Chris began the chapter on the War of 1812, Trent began to slowly fall over.

Seeing that, Gwen reached out to him. "Trent, no! Don't leave me," she said, but he was already out, and hit the ground.

Once that chapter was over, Chris momentarily closed the book. "Alright, time for a bathroom break. Any takers?" he offered.

Duncan smiled nervously. "I've held it for this long; I can keep going," he said.

Gwen smiled. "Maybe, but can you go another ten chapters?" she asked, making his smile vanish as he got to his feet.

"You've got five minutes," Chris warned.

Duncan nodded and began heading for the washroom, one of the cameramen following. Once he was gone, Gwen yawned and sat down, nodding her head.

Slowly, her eyes began to close.

Duncan moved for the washroom as fast as possible. But just as he was approaching it, none other than Ezekiel crossed his path. As he tried to move around him however, he moved to intercept him with a smile. "Hey, Duncan! Good to see you, eh!" he greeted.

Duncan nodded, eager to use the bathroom. "Cool, man, cool. Hey, can you do me a favor and…?" he said, trailing off.

The naive farmboy frowned. "A favor and what? Another favor?"

The punk stared. Did he not notice how he had been squirming as he held it in? "No dummy, can you do me a favor and move?" he asked bluntly.

Ezekiel looked confused. "Did I say something wrong? I'm trying to work on that, y'know," he remarked.

Duncan groaned and shoved Ezekiel out of the way, ignoring his shout and running to the washroom. Just as he slammed the stall door shut and sat down, Chris's voice came on the loudspeaker. "And Gwen has just gone down! Meaning that the winners of this challenge are the Screaming Gophers!"

"Yes! Oh, thank Mama!" Duncan cried, though whether that was for winning or for making it in time was unknown.

Later that night, the Killer Bass were gathered before the bonfire for their own first elimination. After Chris repeated the proceedings to them, he said "You cast your votes, and it's time to serve your marshmallows."

"Our safe contestants are Gwen…" When Chris tossed it to her, she was tired enough that it hit her face.

"Trent…" He smiled and walked over.

"Geoff…" He caught his with a grin.

"Leshawna…" She smirked and claimed her marshmallow.

"DJ…" He took his with a tired smile.

"Heather…" She caught hers with a look of satisfaction.

"Lindsay…" Said blonde was already asleep again, and didn't catch hers.

"Daphne…" She sighed and caught it with both hands.

"Eva…" She stoically caught and said nothing.

"Owen…" The large boy cheered and caught his in his mouth. That left one more marshmallow.

"And our last safe camper is…" Chris said, once more drawing it out. Both Izzy and Noah looked at each other, nervous and unsure.

…

…

...

"Izzy."

"Woo-hoo!" Izzy called, and ran up to claim hers.

Noah stood up, turning to face the others with a glare. "Oh, so just cause I fainted during the run and fell asleep first, I'm suddenly dead weight?" he angrily said. "Well fine, 'cause you just got rid of ninety percent of the brains on this team!" he said, getting several of them to glare back as he stomped down the Dock of Shame.

Chuckling at the bookworm's outburst, Chris said "Sleep well, tonight, Killer Bass. Sleep while it lasts," before walking away.

Confessional Stall - Heather

"Yeah, it was pretty much what he said. I need someone who can keep up in competitions, not drop out of them. Plus, Noah wasn't aligned with anyone yet, so it was an easy sell to Leshawna," she explained. Then she frowned. "Though the fact that I even have to sell it to her is beyond annoying. Making an alliance with Miss Loud 'n Proud better be worth it."

Chapter 4: Dodge This

Chapter Text

Unlike last time, Chris decided to have the next challenge only a day after the last, likely to capitalize on any lingering exhaustion from the Awake-a-thon. (The fact that the Awake-a-thon itself took almost four days to complete may have also factored into it.) They were at least allowed breakfast first, thankfully.

Neither team was very festive as they ate. Duncan, Gwen, Heather and Eva were the most visibly tired, while several others were yawning or stretching. It would have been worse for the Gophers due to Harold's snoring, but Ezekiel proved his worth with a suggestion: placing a blanket on the nerd’s face. It had worked surprisingly well at muffling the snores, which was the only reason Duncan was awake and eating.

But the moment Harold entered the lodge, the criminal couldn't contain his laughter, nor could several other campers. Drawn onto Harold's face was a short mustache, which he appeared completely oblivious to. However, he wasn't deaf to the laughter, and once he sat down he asked "What?"

"It's your face, man," Cody told him, holding up a spoon to him to look at himself in.

Harold did, but rather than be angered by the drawing, he smiled. "Sweet 'stache," he said, turning his head to either side to get a better view. That caused Duncan to shrug, somewhat dismayed. Gwen staggered in a moment later, placing her face against the table and going right back to sleep.

Chris chuckled at the sight. "Alright campers, you have fifteen minutes until your third challenge begins!" he declared.

The awake campers quickly began eating their breakfast with zeal--those that were willing to eat it, at least. Once they were done, they were led to a clear plastic box on the beach, inside of which was a court and two sets of bleachers, each with a flag for one of the teams. Gwen and Duncan were the last to enter, and both collapsed against the bleachers for their teams.

Before he fell asleep, however, Duncan warned his team "Unless the whole island's on fire, do not wake me up."

They all nodded, several of them appearing intimidated.

Chris spoke up "Your challenge today is a classic: dodgeball! Again, simple rules: Each team starts with five players. If you hit an enemy player with a ball, they're out. If they catch the ball, you're out and they can bring a teammate in. You can use a ball to deflect a ball, but if doing so knocks the ball out of your hands, you're out," he explained to them.

Lindsay frowned in confusion. "Wait, what do I do if the ball comes at me?" she asked.

"You dodge!" Chris answered, throwing a ball at her at the same time. However, she did not dodge it, and was knocked over for her troubles. "You were supposed to dodge!" he told her.

Rising to her feet with Tyler's help, the rest of them could already see a bruise starting to form in the center of her forehead. "Oww… Right," she said.

Chris gave them a minute to decide their starting lineups. With equal numbers on each team, none were allowed to sit out. In the center of the Bass, Heather stood with her hands on her hips. "Alright, this is the time to get serious. The teams are even, so the Gophers will be trying extra hard to get the advantage," she warned them.

The others took her advice to heart and their starting group contained DJ, Leshawna, Heather, Eva and Owen. The Gophers, meanwhile, went with Cody, Tyler, Harold, Liam and Katie. "Bring it on, rodents!" Heather taunted them.

Chef, who was dressed as the referee, blew his whistle. "First team to three victories wins the challenge. Ready?" he asked. "Then play ball!" he called, and blew the whistle again.

Both teams dashed towards the center and managed to acquire three balls each before backing up. Sparing at glance at Lindsay, Heather threw hers directly at Tyler. The jock ducked under it, to her frustration. However, when he threw his ball, he did it by spinning around like a helicopter before firing, and the ball hit Sadie in the face instead.

Liam stared at him. "What was that?" he asked incredulously.

Tyler frowned. "It's to build up speed, okay?" he defended.

The redhead raised an eyebrow. "If you don't aim, that speed and the dodgeball in your hand will be worth one dodgeball," he said bluntly.

That got the jock to glare at him, but before he could retort, Owen let loose a war cry and threw the ball with enough force that it sent Tyler flying into the wall. 'Ouch,' he thought, wincing.

Leshawna didn't wait for them to retaliate and threw hers at Harold. But the nerd leaped up and over the ball, nearly performing the splits in mid-air. Landing on his feet, he said "I told you I have awesome skills!" and threw his own ball.

However, it landed on the ground well short of her, and she snorted as she picked it up.

"Sure you do, Stringbean!" she said, throwing it again, only for Harold to dodge this one by leaning back until his head almost touched the ground. Blinking in surprise, she muttered "Huh. White boy's got moves…"

Now with all six balls on their side, Cody looked between them and Eva. Quickly running to her left, he then threw both balls at her, one at a time. As expected, she dodged the first ball by moving to the right. But the second ball, rather than where she had been, was aimed for where she would be, and it managed to clip her on the shoulder.

Chef whistled, and Chris called "Out!"

"What?!" Eva shouted, stomping over to him. "There's no way that managed to hit me! I demand a replay!" she said angrily.

Their host pretended to consider that for a moment. "Yeah, no. Now, it's the bleachers, or the Dock," he said, getting her to growl before stomping over and sitting in the stands.

Katie and DJ both picked up a ball, and their gazes locked in a standoff. Slowly, very slowly, the two raised their balls, waiting for the other to react… before they both burst into motion at the same time. However, while they both threw at the same time, DJ's strength made his ball travel faster. His ball hit Katie in the stomach before she could dodge, while DJ was able to dive to his left. "Sorry!" he called, seeing her cover her stomach in pain.

"All good!" she said with strain.

As that was happening, Liam calmly reached down to grab a ball. Then he suddenly sniffed, opened his eyes all the way, and pointed past the Bass. "Is that some interns with a spare pizza?" he asked.

Owen’s eyes widened. "Pizza? Where?!" he said, spinning around to look. The moment he did, however, not only did he see no such interns or pizza, but he felt a ball hit him in the back. "Hey!" he protested, before turning to see Liam with a confused look on his face, but a ball in hand. Cody, meanwhile, was pulling his arm back from throwing.

"Guess I was daydreaming," Liam said, his expression apologetic.

Confession Stall - Liam

"Like I said, I don't like revealing to everyone I'm a schemer. Which I would have if I hit Owen in the back myself. But I didn't have to do that, because my teammates are smart enough to take an opportunity when it appears." Then he paused. "Some of them, anyway."

Both teams were now at three balls and members each. But before either side could react Heather threw hers and clocked Liam directly in the face, knocking him onto his back. "Done dreaming now?!" Heather called, grinning sad*stically.

The redhead, who was indeed more awake than he was before, frowned and stood up. "Ow," he muttered, rubbing his face slightly as he sat down in the bleachers.

The tension broken, both sides moved. Cody and Harold both threw their balls at Leshawna, who deflected one but was hit by the other. DJ responded by grabbing one of those balls and throwing one at each player. However they both managed to dodge them. Heather grabbed one and threw it at Harold, but then he caught it.

"Yes!" he said, while his teammates cheered and Bridgette stepped onto the court.

Cody was quick to pass her a ball, but that temporarily left him without one. Which DJ was quick to capitalize on, hitting him in the chest. Harold tried to hit him in return, but it was also caught. Even as Gwen began to stagger onto the court, DJ easily caught a desperate throw from the surfer girl.

Chef whistled, and Chris said "That’s a wrap on game one! Winners: Killer Bass! One minute for a huddle, then onto game two!"

The Gophers quickly huddled together. "Okay, between Owen, DJ and Eva, they have three of the hardest throwers on this island. Any suggestions?" Courtney said.

Tyler crossed his arms with a confident smile. "That first throw was just a warm-up! Trust me, I can crush the other team if I get all the balls," he assured them.

Liam raised an eyebrow, not quite believing him. "As much as I'd like to see that, we shouldn't put all our eggs in one basket," he said, getting the jock to glare at him again.

Cody raised his hand. "I have a trick or two up my sleeve that could take care of them. But they take a moment, so I'll need cover," he said.

Courtney nodded. "Good. And Harold, you did great at dodging, but you catch a ball?" she asked.

Harold hesitated, before shrugging. "I can definitely try," he said honestly.

Although that didn't do much to assure her, she said "Alright. Cody, we'll watch your back while you do your thing. Harold, try to catch a ball from the other two on their team. Tyler, if those both fail, we'll try your idea. Sound good?"

Most of the team nodded, though Tyler did so with some reluctance. Just then, Chef's whistle went off. Like before, the Bass started with the aforementioned trio, while Geoff and Daphne joined in. Facing them were Cody, Harold, Tyler, Bridgette and Courtney.

This time, Eva barely waited for the whistle before throwing her ball, aiming straight for Cody. Bridgette quickly moved in the way and used her ball to deflect it, though she just barely managed to keep hold of hers. Using the moment, Cody furiously rubbed his ball against his sweater.

The ball began to be surrounded with small, crackling arcs of electricity, and he called "Down!" Bridgette ducked and Cody threw the ball at Eva. Seeing it coming a mile away, she ducked under it… then raised an eyebrow as the crackling didn't fade.

Turning around, she saw the ball coming right back at her. "What the--?!" she shouted, before just managing to dive to the side to avoid the ball. But as it passed by her, it swerved again and hit her in the leg before she could stand up. Chef's whistle rang out.

"OH COME ON!" Eva shouted, rising to her feet. "That had to be against the rules!"

Slightly stunned by what he had just seen, Chris nonetheless shook his head. "I can already tell you our rulebook has nothing to say about that," he told her.

The muscular girl roared and prepared to lunge at Chris before Izzy, Daphne, Trent and Leshawna pulled her back. "Whoa, and people call me crazy!" Izzy said with a giggle.

Once they had managed to pull Eva to a seat, the game resumed. This time, realizing the value of Cody, both teams acted accordingly. The other four Gophers all formed a wall in front of and around him, while the Bass threw all four balls in their possession at once.

Harold managed to catch one from Geoff, but then was hit in the stomach with one from DJ. Bridgette was also taken out at the hands of Owen, while Courtney dodged the throw from Daphne. As both Bridgette and Harold stepped off the court, Sadie stepped onto it. By then, Cody had prepared his next throw, and launched it at DJ.

After seeing what happened last time, DJ moved to the side and prepared to catch the ball as it passed him… only for it to curve mid-flight like a baseball and hit him in the torso.

Staring incredulously, Courtney said "I am… really impressed, Cody." And she wasn't even lying.

Unfortunately, seeing DJ go down woke a fire in Owen. "That's it. GAME ON!" he yelled, and grew his ball hard enough that it struck Sadie and bounced off her to hit Tyler. He then ripped the ball from Daphne’s hand and launched it at Courtney like a cannon. It hit her in the chest, and just like that, Cody's defense was gone.

Something Daphne was quick to utilize, as she picked up another ball and threw it the moment Courtney was down, hitting Cody in the arm. "That’s for DJ!" she said triumphantly.

Chef blew his whistle again. "That’s another one for the Bass! Are the Gophers fated to lose this?" he announced tauntingly.

The Bass quickly huddled. "Okay, this is bad. If we lose this game, we lose the whole challenge!" Courtney said.

Harold nodded. "I agree. We need an edge, something we have that the Bass don't. Something that could flatten them," he said.

A moment later, all of them looked at the sleeping Duncan.

Bridgette took a step back. "Didn't he say not wake him up? He seems like the type to get really violent when woken up," she remarked nervously.

But Liam nodded. "I'm not usually one for violence…" he fibbed. "But this is violence that can be inflicted on the other team," he said. "And Duncan values winning just as much as us."

"Thank you, Liam," Courtney said politely. "Now go wake him up!"

He raised an eyebrow, tempted to ask why him. Then he blinked and smiled. "If it makes you all feel better, fine, I'll be the sacrifice," he said, suppressing his satisfaction at seeing a small amount of guilt on Cody, Katie and Bridgette's expressions. Turning to the delinquent, he shook his shoulder. "Duncan…" he said. Duncan groaned, but otherwise didn't move. Liam frowned, before shaking him more firmly "Duncan." Another groan, thus time with a hand shoving his own away.

'This is getting nowhere,' Liam thought irritably, before an idea came to him. 'Sis would be proud of this one.' Taking a deep breath, he yelled "Attention! Officer on deck!"

While the navy terminology didn't quite connect, hearing the word 'officer' in a loud and authoritative voice more than did the trick. Duncan's eyes snapped open and he jumped to his feet. "I'm awake, sir!" he said, before blinking and realizing what had happened. Glaring at Liam, he said "Oh, real funny, Scarecrow. Real hilarious!"

While Liam's brow furrowed at being called 'scarecrow', Courtney placed herself between them before Duncan could go on a warpath. "Look, we are one game away from losing. I understand you're tired, but we need your help!" she said firmly.

He crossed his arms. "And why should I help you, princess?" he asked challengingly.

Not backing down, Courtney leaned less than a foot from his face. "Because if you don't, I can guarantee you'll be the one going home," she threatened.

The two of them glared at each other, until Duncan saw that she wasn't joking or relenting. Letting out a sigh, he said "Fine. On one condition: You do what I say, when I say it."

They all nodded, though Harold added "You should know that Cody can create homing or curving dodgeballs, given the time."

That did cause the delinquent to pause. "Is that true?" he asked, and Cody frantically nodded. "Can you pass them to someone afterwards?"

He thought about it for a moment. "For the homing ones, I should be able to, yeah. But you'll need to throw it really soon afterwards," he answered.

Duncan smiled. "That'll do. Okay, this is going to be a variant of something I experienced my first week of juvie: Rush the New Guy," he said with a grin.

After explaining the strategy to them, the Gophers surprised their opponents by standing in a line rather than around Cody. From left to right, there was Sadie, Cody, Duncan, Ezekiel and Courtney. Still, the Gopher team--Izzy, DJ, Trent, Owen and Eva--weren't about to let the chance go to waste.

They quickly gathered all six balls and, like before, launched at Cody all at once. Despite this, the nerd made no move to dodge… and suddenly Sadie stepped in front of him. The larger girl took all six shots at once, sending her flying back and sliding across the ground.

"Oh my gosh, Sadie!" Katie cried, getting up from the stands to rush over to her.

Sadie blinked several times. "Ooh… That… Ow," she said dizzily, but managed to get to her feet with Katie's help and walked over to the bleachers.

Meanwhile, all of the balls were now suddenly on the Gopher side. Each of them held up one… and then Duncan quickly moved behind Cody. While the nerd used the front of his sweater to charge his ball, Duncan repeated the motion in the back with his own. Once both balls were charged, they both quickly passed them to Courtney and Ezekiel, who launched them both at Owen even as they started charging another pair.

As Owen was staggering back from the hit and his teammates scrambled to get the balls, Duncan and Cody finished charging the next volley. However, while Duncan did pass his to Courtney and start charging a fifth ball, Cody threw his himself. Both of them flew at Izzy, who dived under the ball from Courtney to reach the one from Cody… when Cody's ball swerved to the left and struck Eva.

The girl's subsequent scream of rage startled Izzy enough that she landed face-first on the court, unable to dodge as Duncan's electric ball turned around and hit her. Eva gripped the ball in her hand hard enough it burst apart with a low, loud pop. DJ recovered a ball and immediately threw it at Cody, followed closely by Trent. But like before, Ezekiel moved in front of Cody and used himself as a shield.

Courtney quickly picked up one of those balls and threw it at DJ while Cody and Duncan threw the last two electric ones. DJ dodged the normal one and reached out to catch one of the electric ones. But that ball quickly swerved to hit Trent, while the other homing ball struck his outstretched arm.

The Screaming Gophers all cheered, ecstatic at having blitzed through the entire team. During the next huddle, Courtney said "That was amazing. Are we doing that again?"

But Duncan shook his head. "You don't commit a crime the same way twice in a row. No, this time we'll show them the classic," he said.

The classic, as it turned out, was dodging all the balls, then throwing them all back at once at the same player. The Killer Bass were prepared for the same tricks as before, and thus Owen was immediately hit. But then, after the balls were thrown at them again, the Gophers switched tactics again, going back to the homing balls.

By keeping the Bass off-balance, they were quickly able to wipe them out.

Now with the teams tied 2-2, it was down to a final match. Heather, incensed at seeing her victory in peril, gathered her team in their own huddle. "Alright I have had enough. They want to play with attitude? We'll give them attitude," she swore. "DJ, sit this one out."

DJ frowned, as did the others. "But why?" he asked.

"Because you're strong, yes, but for this match, we need to be mean," she said. "And you… well, aren't."

The tall boy was quiet for a moment, before sighing. "Can't say that's not true," he said, nodding in acceptance.

"Good. Eva, Leshawna, Daphne, Owen, can I count on you to get violent?" she asked them.

Daphne grinned. "Has Christmas come early?" she asked in reply, while the others nodded.

The huddle broke soon after, and the five of them stepped onto the court, facing Harold, Bridgette, Cody, Liam and Duncan, all in a line again. Despite this, and despite the Gophers letting them grab all six balls again, Heather was unworried. Because as before, all five of them threw their balls at once… all at Duncan.

The delinquent had just enough time to widen his eyes before five balls slammed into him at once, causing the world to turn dark for a few seconds. When it returned, he was on his back, hearing Chef whistle that he was out.

Confessional Stall - Heather

"Conventional wisdom says to target the biggest threat first. So I did... just not one they were expecting. You think I wouldn't notice that they only started winning once Duncan was awake?" she said with a malicious smile.

Even as the rattled Gophers hurried to gather up the balls, Eva held up the sixth, having kept it behind her back at Heather's orders. "Eat THIS!" she said, launching it at Cody with a savage grin.

As it rocketed towards him, Bridgette, who had kneeled down to grab a ball, leaped up to try and take it for Cody. But rather than his chest, the ball was aimed low at his legs, and it went right under her. As she sailed past Cody and landed on the ground, the nerd's legs were taken out from under him, causing him to face-plant against the court.

Now suddenly without Cody's skills, the team defaulted to a regular rush. Holding one ball in each hand they threw three at once at Owen, then another three at Daphne. But then Daphne ran and kneeled behind Owen, allowing his wide frame to tank all six shots at once. Then, as he fell to the ground, Daphne darted out from behind him and grabbed two balls before leaping high into the air.

Naturally, Liam, Harold and Bridgette's gaze switched to her, and she gave them a grin as she yelled "Distraction!" Back on the ground, Leshawna and Heather threw their balls the moment she did, taking out both Liam and Bridgette.

That left just Harold against the four of them, and once Daphne landed she handed her spare ball to Leshawna, while Eva and Heather picked up their own. The two sides paused, realizing the stakes and the odds.

In the bleachers, Duncan sighed and leaned back. "Well, it was a good shot," he said, already writing off Harold.

That got the nerd to frown, and his expression suddenly became determined. As Izzy and Leshawna threw their balls, he jumped over one with another split, before landing and dodging another with a pirouette. Heather, having seen his acrobatics before, said "Hold!" just before Eva threw hers.

The muscled girl stopped, growling. Harold likewise came to a stop. Four balls lay on the ground around him. However, he would need to reach down to get any, during which time he would be vulnerable. Both sides knew it, and now the girls were waiting for him to move.

The wait stretched on… and on… and just as Chris was about to yell for someone to move, Harold dived for the ball in front of him, grabbing it with one hand. Heather and Eva immediately fired at at him, but then Harold surprised them again by slapping his hand against the ground, flipping himself forward and over their shots.

As he finished the flip on his feet, he landed less than three feet from Heather, and yelled "Hah!" before throwing his ball at her with both hands. From that close, she had no chance of dodging it, and it smacked her on the side of her head. The moment it did, Heather gave an unusually loud cry of pain and collapsed to the ground, unmoving.

Harold froze, his sense of empathy poking through despite her being on the other team. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Heather did not respond, and Eva used that moment of distraction to collect the ball he had thrown before launching it into his stomach. The wind was knocked out of him and he fell onto his back, gasping for air. Just then, Chef's whistle rang out one more time.

"We have a winner for the challenge! The Killer Bass!" Chris announced, causing that team to cheer. As they did, Heather opened her eyes and stood up, dusting herself off.

Harold to breathe in. "You were… just faking?" he wheezed, getting to his feet with Cody's help.

"Uh, yeah. What gave it away?" she said dismissively, before walking off to join her team.

Chris continued "It had the making of a great comeback, Gophers, but it wasn't to be. I'll see all of you tonight for your second bonfire ceremony!" He then walked off, letting them stew in their loss.

Duncan sighed and stood up, heading for the exit. "I figured Dweebie wasn't going to win it with four on one. I'm going back to bed," he said.

The other Gophers followed him out, though two campers sent glares into the back of another camper’s head.

Later that night, the bonfire was lit, and votes were made in the confessional stall. Afterwards, the eleven campers sat on stumps to await their fate.

Chris kicked things off, as usual. "Campers, you've made your decisions. One of you will be leaving the island tonight. And you can't back. Ev-er," he told them. "When you hear me call your name, come claim a marshmallow."

"Bridgette…" The surfer chick smiled and stood up.

"Tyler…" The jock shouted "Whoo!" and ran up for his marshmallow.

"Sadie…" The larger BFF walked over, nervously looking back at her friend.

"Katie…" Both sighed and ran up.

"Liam..." The lanky teen nodded and collected his.

"Cody…" The thin boy sighed and stood.

"Ezekiel…" The homeschooler grinned and collected his prize.

"Harold…" The nerd muttered "boo-yeah" and walked up.

"Courtney…" The bossy girl sighed and happily ate her marshmallow.

Chris paused. "And the final marshmallow goes to…" he said, causing Justin and Duncan to look at each other. Justin appeared nervous, while Duncan was calm.

…

…

…

As the edited-in music swelled, it reached a cymbal clash and--

"Justin."

Several of the Gophers gasped, and Justin himself looked surprised. But he recovered quickly and stood up, taking the marshmallow.

Duncan's mouth hung open for a long moment, before it closed and his expression turned angered. "Seriously? I gave you all a chance in not just this challenge but the last one, and for what? So you can blindside me?!" he said.

None of the campers answered, and he scoffed. "Ah, who needs this show?" he said, walking away from them and down the docks.

Chris watched him go, before looking at the camera. "Well, I get paid no matter who gets booted, so I hope you all tune in next time!" he said with a laugh.

After the Gophers had dispersed, some of them met inside the communal washroom. One on side was Harold and Cody, while on the other was Ezekiel, Liam and Courtney.

Courtney crossed her arms. "Well, you named the price, and we paid it. Are you in or out?" she demanded.

The two nerds looked at each other, and then nodded. "Okay, we agree to this idea of yours," Harold said, missing the C.I.T.'s twitch as he said that. Looking back at her, he added "But we reserve the right to leave this alliance should it prove advantageous. We will, as a matter of honor, let you know beforehand."

Liam nodded, smiling. "Good. Then the deal is made," he said, holding his hand out.

Both Harold and Cody shook it, as well as Courtney's and Ezekiel’s. The nerds quickly left for the cabin, though the other group had yet to separate. Courtney looked at Liam. "I still can't believe you told them this was all my idea," she said irritably.

He gave her a wide, sleepy smile. "It got them to agree, did it not?"

"Duncan being a jerk is what got them to agree, not me," she replied.

Ezekiel nodded. "I was already planning to vote for him for being rude to me yesterday. This just made it easy," he remarked.

But Liam shook his head. "I disagree. You're a natural leader, Courtney. With the right words, a few nudges and some tough decisions, you can make people work wonders, I know it," he told her.

The brunette was silent, momentarily paused by the praise. It took her a second to regain her footing, and when she did, she found it in her usual refuge: charging forward. "Well, thank you for saying that," she said brusquely. "Good night!" she added, and walked away.

Once she was gone, Ezekiel said "So, remind me why we agreed to Courtney's alliance idea when she's a girl."

Liam sighed, and turned away from Ezekiel so he wouldn't see him roll his eyes. "Because if Courtney can come up with this alliance all on her own…" he fibbed. "That makes her a threat. Being her ally is better than being her enemy," he told him.

"I guess…" the farmboy said, unsure.

Plastering a smile on his face, the redhead turned back around to face his ally. "Tell me, Z, has my advice steered you wrong yet?" he asked. When Ezekiel shook his head, Liam continued "Then trust me on this too. It'll be fine."

After a moment, the homeschooled teen nodded, and they both left to go to bed.

Chapter 5: Stage Drama

Chapter Text

The two days between the dodgeball challenge and the next passed fairly uneventfully. The only things of note were that Tyler and Lindsay were often seen with each other, either talking or going for a swim. They didn't seem to be an official couple yet, but Liam knew they were quickly reaching that point.

He… wasn't sure what to make of that. On the one hand, he sincerely doubted both of them would make it to when the teams broke up, so what they did before then was of little concern. Nor did he have to worry about Tyler leaking intel about the Gophers to Lindsay because, well, it was Lindsay.

Still, there was the chance, however small, that they both would make it that far. And if they did, that relationship would ensure they always supported each other in both challenges and eliminations. That would be problematic, especially since Lindsay was already allied with Heather.

First Leshawna, now potentially Tyler. He had not, it seemed, given Heather's social skills the attention they deserved.

That would have to change.

The first thing Daphne heard upon waking was, unfortunately, complaints. “Now I’ll have to actually suntan. In the sun!” Lindsay said sadly, holding up an empty bottle of fake tanner.

The brunette rolled her eyes and rose from bed, stretching. “If it makes you feel better, I have a spare bottle of sunscreen you can borrow to keep you from burning,” she offered. Then, after a moment, an idea came to her and she added “We could even tan together.”

The blonde smiled. “Really? That could be super fun! Thanks, Delphi!” she said, making Daphne pause before she let it go. Having also been woken up by Lindsay, Heather observed the exchange between them but made no comment.

Less than five minutes later, the loudspeaker let out a loud klaxon, waking those that weren’t up already. “ Alright, campers, enough shut-eye! ” Chris called to them. “ Time to see what you’re made of! ”

Once the campers were up and fed breakfast–overcooked eggs and burnt toast–they were given directions by an intern to a stage near the woods. In front of it were two sets of wooden benches, where the campers naturally separated by team. “Gwen! Saved you a seat,” Trent said, waving her over.

“Thanks,” the goth said, sitting next to him with a small smile. Behind them, Lindsay blew a kiss to Tyler, who happily caught it. Heather saw this and gritted her teeth, but with Leshawna nearby she remained silent.

Chris stepped out onto the stage. “Campers, welcome to our brand new, state-of-the-art amphitheater!” he declared, arms spread wide. “Today’s challenge is something recognizable to any summer camp veteran: the talent show!” he told them, making several of the campers smile or cheer.

“You each have eight hours to select your team's three acts to show off. And like everything else on this show, those performances will be broadcast on television. Sing, juggle, dance, whatever you want that's legal. Former DJ, VJ and rap legend Chef Hatchet will award points via the Chef-o-Meter." He then pointed at the air above him. While the campers couldn’t see anything, it was assumed that the producers would have said meter edited in. “Good luck!”

Following his announcement, the two teams moved to opposite ends of the campgrounds to avoid being spied on by each other. With the Gophers, Heather obtained a clipboard and whistle, which she quickly blew. “Alright, I’ll be team captain for this!” she declared.

Gwen grunted. “How come you get to be captain?” she asked.

Putting away the sneer that she wanted to show, the mean girl answered “Because if it was my strategy that won us the game last challenge. So, I’m making the strategy this time.” That got frowns from the goth, Daphne and Leshawna, so she quickly moved along. “You can be a judge, along with me and… Geoff,” she said, seeing the party dude as no threat.

“Alright,” he said. “Let’s do this, dudes!” he cheered.

While the Bass were debating that, the Gophers had already selected their captain–Courtney volunteered, and none of them wanted to argue with her–as well as her, Bridgette and Harold as judges. Katie and Sadie were eager to audition first, showing off a peppy dance routine set to some pop music. While their coordination was great, the dance themselves and choice of music were… not.

“We’ll… keep you in mind,” Bridgette said politely, doing her best to cover her aghast expression with a smile.

Next was Justin, who also went with a dance set to music. However, his choice in song matched much better with his movements, most of which showed off one part of his body or another, such as his abs or arms. At one point, he even ripped off his shirt, mesmerizing every girl on the Gopher team. Then he grabbed a bottle of water and dumped it over head, letting the water soak his hair and run down his face and neck.

Courtney cleared her throat, pulling on the edge of her vest collar. “Well, um, I think we can safely say he’s in,” she said feverishly, making the rest of them nod.

Tyler sought to try out a routine with a pair of yo-yo’s. However, less than ten seconds after he started, the jock had both yo-yo’s wrapped around him, leaving him bound. The three judges didn’t even need to say that he was out, he simply began slowly walking towards the washroom.

Harold stepped into place, and he took a deep breath as his teammates watched.

With the Bass, Trent had been voted to be a competitor after he played a song. Geoff performed some impressive tricks with his skateboard, which earned him good ratings from the others. Following that was Owen, who took a moment to chug down an entire 2-liter bottle of lemon-lime soda.

As he did, Trent asked “Hey, Gwen. Are you going to audition?”

She shook her head. “No way. I'm glad you did, though. You’re… really good at playing your guitar,” she said, hesitating slightly. When that got him to smile, so did she.

That was when Owen finished chugging, and the others leaned forward. “A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-ZEEED!” he belched, getting cheers from every male member of his team.

“Awesome, man!” Trent called, running over to give him a high-five.

Heather, however, was less than impressed. “That is disgusting ,” she said. “No way.”

“Aw, come on!” Trent said. “You may not like it, but I’m sure Chef’s gonna love it!”

That got Gwen to hum. “This is the sort of thing guys like, and Chef’s definitely a guy,” she pointed out.

Geoff grinned and nodded. “I think it would be awesome, man. I say we do it!” he declared.

Heather stared, looking back and forth between her two fellow judges. “But that’s… you…!” she said angrily, before going still.

Confessional Stall - Heather

“Have to play nice, have to play nice, have to play nice…! ” she chanted, gripping handfuls of her hair hard enough to almost rip them out.

Taking a deep breath, Heather throttled her anger, stuffing it deep down. In her mind, she pictured both Gwen and Geoff’s names written on a wall. And beneath both of them, she added a single tally. She then slowly exhaled, feeling her calm return. “Okay, if you say so.”

“Yes! Awesome!” Owen said, making her eyebrow twitch before she swiftly regained control. Heather did notice Gwen looking down at the spot next to her, where a gray book with a lock was sitting. An interested look passed over the queen bee’s face. But she put it aside for now to show off her ballet routine, which got her a round of applause from the other Bass.

Meanwhile, Cody had just finished playing a song on Harold’s electric keyboard. It was actually rather impressive, making several of the Bass clap.

“We’ll consider it,” Courtney answered. “Next?”

Bridgette raised her hand. “I can stand on my hands for twenty minutes,” she offered.

Harold thought about it, before shaking his head. “That is impressive, but I think Chef would get bored watching someone stand around for twenty minutes,” he told her.

The surfer chick frowned, before looking down. “I guess so,” she acquiesced. “Liam? What about you?”

The sleepy teen shook his head. “My best skill is coding, which isn’t a stage skill. Sorry,” he said, getting Bridgette and Harold to nod in understanding. Courtney glared at him for not contributing, but he pretended not to notice.

That just left Ezekiel. The farmboy stood from his seat on a tree stump with a bow in hand. "I can shoot a bow and arrow!" he said. "I use one all the time when I'm out hunting with Pa."

She raised an eyebrow. "Okay, and how do you plan to show that off?" she asked.

Ezekiel held up the bow, looking around for a target. Seeing a soda can, he pointed to it. "Put that on this stump!" he said.

As Liam moved to do that, Ezekiel walked away, until there was a total of fifty yards between it and him. Once there, he drew his arrow, aimed, breathed in… and left out a half breath before firing.

The arrow sailed through the sky, flying forward in an arc, and stuck the can dead-center. The surprised Gophers applauded, and the farmboy grinned. "Just doing what I was taught!" he said proudly.

Courtney nodded in surprise, having already mentally written Ezekiel off. "Well, that eliminates the need for me to play my violin. I think we have our three acts," she announced, and the other Gophers voiced their agreement.

The Bass were wrapping up auditions, having observed both Leshawna and Izzy dance. Although Heather wasn't fond of either, she refrained from saying so, and after them was Daphne.

She surprised her teammates by walking out of the cabin in a white gi, a blue belt around her waist. "Where did you get that outfit?" Gwen asked.

Daphne shrugged. "I had it packed with my clothes in case there was a fighting challenge," she answered. She moved in front of two concrete planks, on top of which were a total of five wooden planks. Taking a breath, she exhaled and yelled "Hah!" before swiping down and breaking all five at once.

Both of Trent's eyebrows rose. "Not bad," he said.

Eva, however, scoffed. "Big deal; I could do that," she said dismissively.

Daphne frowned at that, glaring at Eva. "You could, but you chose not to try out," she said bitingly.

Eva glared in response. "If you're trying to imply that I'm not a team player, I'd be happy to correct that opinion," she said, standing up with her fists clenched.

Daphne didn't back down. "Then how about you stop throwing a temper tantrum every time something upsets you? You nearly were thrown out of the last challenge for that and could have cost us the win," she responded.

The muscular girl growled. "You want to go, tough girl?!" she said, moving closer until they were right in front of each other.

"I can take you, meathead!" she shouted back.

The two were about to swing fists when DJ placed himself between them. "Hey, we're on the same team! We don't need to be fighting each other," he told them.

Both girls glared at each other. "We don't need someone who can't manage their anger on our team," Daphne said.

"Oh, I can show you 'anger management'!" Eva promised.

But Heather blew her whistle. "That’s enough! Both of you, go cool off in separate directions. Now ," she said firmly.

There was a moment where neither of them moved, continuing to glare. Eventually, however, Daphne switched her gaze to DJ and said "Only because we're friends." Then she turned and walked away. Another moment later, Eva did as well.

There was an awkward silence, before Heather spoke up. "Well, that wraps up the auditions. We already have Trent and Owen, and out of all the dances shown, I'm nominating my own," she said.

Gwen frowned. "I figured you would," she commented, before shrugging. "I'm fine with it," she said.

Geoff nodded. "Same here. I liked Leshawna’s dance too; something happens, she can dance instead," he suggested.

"Great! Let's all take a break, and then we'll practice," Heather said. The rest of the team quickly agreed, and began to head in separate directions.

All it took was asking a cameraman for directions. They had radioed Chris, asking if it was okay, and of course the host had allowed it, ever eager for more drama. On the condition that a camera follow her to capture it, that is. After getting those directions, Heather was able to take the right path into the woods.

Soon, she heard the sound of repeated shouting, as well as the sound of something impacting. Coming around a tree, she saw Daphne still dressed in her gi, repeatedly delivering palm strikes to a mat that had been nailed to a tree. Each hit was punctuated by a "Hah!" and sweat covered her brow. The longer she went on, the more frequent her strikes gradually became.

Five minutes after she started watching, she saw Daphne release a larger shout and her palm strike became a punch, one that drove her fist through the mat and against the bark of the tree. "Ow! F@#%!" she swore, pulling back and nursing her hand. Looking up at the hole in the mat, she sighed. "And I had to bribe Chef for that, too…" she muttered. Then the spend of Heather chuckling reached her ears, and she turned to look at her. Frowning, she said "Come to tell me I shouldn't have argued with Eva?"

But Heather surprised her by shaking her head. "Eva is good to have around for challenges," she said. "But otherwise, we all know how much of a pain she can be to live with," she added with a smile.

Despite herself, Daphne could feel a small one flash across her face. "We are down to one bathroom stall with a working lock…" she said.

The rich girl rolled her eyes. "Don't remind me; unless you wake up early, there's a line to use it every morning," she remarked, before sitting down on a log and patting the spot next to her. Daphne stared at it, then at her, her expression wary. Then she shrugged and sat down. "Now that you bring it up, though, I am curious: Why did you react that strongly?"

There was a moment with no response, while Daphne looked down at her hands. Eventually, however, she quietly said "I hate being dismissed. That look in someone's eye, the one where you gave your best and it wasn't enough for them…" She shook her head. "Only a few things can get under my skin as quickly as that."

Heather was also silent, before looking in a direction where she knew the camera couldn't capture her expression. "... I get that," she said, her tone even. "I'm the same way with losing. I hate it when I put my effort into something and it doesn't work out."

Daphne suddenly chuckled. "Does that extend to competitions?" she asked, referencing the attitude that won them the last challenge.

Heather nodded. "Darn right," she said, not ashamed in the least. "Look, Eva's too volatile to not self-destruct eventually. If you want her gone, just bide your time and wait until then, okay?"

Daphne leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands as she thought about that. Then she looked back at Heather. "And when that happens, you're going to offer to help, aren't you?" she said frankly.

Heather froze, slightly stunned at being read correctly. She didn't account for this; most people didn't look deeply enough to guess her what her ulterior motives were , just that she had them. "I…" she said.

She wasn't sure what to do. Most of her said to lie, deny it, and retreat to restrategize. But another part of her--one that she realized wasn't there before she started being 'nice'--said to be honest with her intentions. To be open about her feelings. To be vulnerable.

The rest of Heather promptly told that part to sit down and shut up.

"I hadn't thought that far yet," she lied. "But if you want my help at that point, I'll consider it," she said.

Daphne stared, and it was only thanks to the queen bee’s considerable willpower that she kept her expression neutral. After a long pause, she said "Alright…" Dusting her hands off, she stood. "I'll think on your advice. And… thanks for coming to check on me," she said, before leaving.

Confessional Stall - Daphne

"I don't usually trust friends unless I approach them . And Heather seems like just the sort of manipulator that causes me to have that rule," she said. "But… maybe, given a lot of time, I could see myself giving her a chance."

Since the Killer Bass weren't currently using the amphitheater, the Gophers had decided to move there for their rehearsals. Courtney and DJ were practicing their violin and ribbon dance just in case one of their main lineup went down. Meanwhile, Ezekiel was inspecting his bow and Justin was making sure he had the right make-up applied.

Cody, who had been passing the time by playing cards with Liam, said "Hey, Bridgette?" Once he had her attention, he said "Was that thing about standing on your hands for twenty minutes true?"

Bridgette smiles. "Wanna make a bet and find out?" she offered.

Cody grinned. "You know it!" he said, pulling out a five-dollar bill.

Katie crossed her arms. "I'm in too; doing it for that long has to be impossible," she declared, putting down her own cash.

Liam was quick to join in, then frowned when he noticed a certain someone wasn't. In fact… "Where's Tyler?" he asked, looking around.

The other Gophers paused, even the ones practicing. "Huh," Harold said. "I remember seeing him leave to remove his yo-yo, but nothing since then."

Courtney scoffed. "He's probably off making out with that Bass girl, Lindsay," she remarked.

Bridgette shrugged. "Guess he's out of the bet, then," she said. "Twenty minutes. Starting… now!" she said, going into a handstand. Rather than stay in one place, she began to walk around.

As he watched, Liam noticed a rope in her path. And following that rope up to the top of the amphitheater showed it was connected to a stage light… positioned right over Courtney.

Eyes widening, Liam quickly shot to his feet and walked over, grabbing the upside-down Bridgette by the waist. "Maybe we do that off the stage, hmm?" he said, deliberately looking up at the light.

The others looked as well, and Courtney blanched as she realized that could have just fallen on her head. "I agree!" she said, quickly stepping to the side and away from any other lights.

Bridgette nodded, a slightly embarrassed look on her face as her clumsiness almost led to disaster. ' And it's only on land, too ,' she thought. In water, she could move with a grace that amazed her friends back home. But put some ground beneath her, and you had, well, that.

With Liam helping guide her, she was able to hand-walk the steps down onto the grass. "Thanks," she said, looking up to smile at him.

The lazy teen returned her smile. "I have no performance, so helping's the least I can do," he said simply, letting go of her legs and walking back on stage.

Once Heather returned to camp, she saw Gwen walking away from the Bass cabin in her bathing suit, Trent soon following her. Unfortunately, Lindsay was nowhere in sight, which meant she'd have to make do without someone keeping watch. Entering the girls' side of the cabin, she said "Alright, if I were a secret book, where would I stash it?"

Looking around, she noted Gwen's pillow, underneath her mattress, and the drawer for her underwear. Between the three, she could at least make up an excuse about the drawer, so she started there. It took all of thirty seconds to find the book underneath her bras, making Heather smirk.

"Now, let's see what we have here…" she said. Opening it to the first few pages, she paused when she saw that it was handwriting instead of print, but reading the first few sentences cleared it up for her. This wasn’t just a book, it was a diary . "Oh, this is good … " she said, beginning to grin widely.

However, a breeze coming from the window Eva broke caused the cabin door to creak. Heather froze, worried someone was opening the door, before relaxing. She didn't have the time right now. But now she knew where Gwen kept this, so she could learn more later.

For now, she skipped to the last page with anything on it and began skimming. "Cute… Custom distraction for me… Only one I can relate to… Guys who play guitar?" she muttered. Weird Goth Girl had a crush ? And on Trent? This wasn't just good, it was great .

Heather quickly closed the diary and put it back. And just in time, too, as just then the sound of someone walking up the cabin steps reached her, giving her just enough time to move away from the dresser and into the center of the room. The door opened a moment later and in walked Gwen, completely soaked and appearing very irritated.

Raising an eyebrow, she calmly said "Back so soon?"

Grunting, Gwen began marching over to her dresser. "Owen and Geoff decided to jump off the dock. Right next to me," she said, pulling it out a towel and beginning to dry off.

Heather gave an exaggerated scoff. "Those guys…" she said, before taking the moment to walk out. Gwen, eager to be alone, didn't try to stop her.

Once the eight hour time-limit was up, both teams were once more assembled on the seats in front of the amphitheater. Night had fallen, giving the production team the chance to use those stage lights. All of which we pointed at Chris.

"It's time for the TDI Talent Extravaganza! Here, six campers will desperately try to avoid humiliating themselves in an effort to show off their skills," he announced with a chuckle. "First up, from the Screaming Gophers, we have Justin!"

The model stepped into the spotlight, placing a chair next to him. Once the music started, he began dancing, including several moments where he posed or flexed, which were accompanied by camera flashes. Halfway through the dance, he removed his shirt, further mesmerizing the audience. Then, to cap it off, he sat down in the chair and pulled a rope, letting a bucket of water splash over him and his abs.

The Gophers cheered for Justin, and Chris smiled. "Well, I can never fault someone for capitalizing on their looks," he said, flashing a grin to the camera immediately afterwards. "And it seems neither can Chef. Six out of nine points!"

While Justin gave a smile and walked off-stage, Chris continued "Next is the first from the Killer Bass: Owen!"

The large boy stepped out, carrying not one but two two-liter bottles of soda. "Just one moment while I prepare!" Owen called, before opening one of them. About a minute passed as Owen chugged both bottles rapidly, surprising some of them with his speed alone. Then, tossing away the empty bottles, he loudly belched "A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-ZED!"

The male Bass began to cheer, but then Owen held up a finger. Taking a breath, he then also burpled " ZED-Y-X-W-V-U-T-S-R-Q-P-O-N-M-L-K-J-I-H-G-F-E-D-C-B-Aaaaa !"

That time every guy from both teams cheered, and Chris walked over with a huge smile. "That was awesome , dude! For burping the alphabet forward and back, Chef awards you eight points!"

"Yes! Awesome!" Owen cheered, as did the Bass.

"Yes, yes, you're in the lead," Chris said. "Moving on, next up is Ezekiel!" There was a moment of silence, however, and he looked around. "Uh, Ezekiel?"

"Over here!" they heard him say, and they all turned to see the farmboy standing fifty meters from the stage. "I'm ready to bag a moose!" he called, drawing an arrow from his quiver. As he did, a pair of interns pushed three targets onto the stage. One was indeed a cardboard cutout of a moose, while another was of a Canadian black bear seen from the side. And the third was just a white disc with a red dot in the center.

Nocking his first arrow, Ezekiel took a deep breath, released, took another one, then held it as he fired. The arrow sailed through the area before penetrating the moose cutout. From this distance, however, the farm boy frowned. "Just left of the heart," he muttered.

For the second shot, he took another deep breath, but released half of it rather than hold it all in. This time, when the arrow struck the 'bear', he cheered. "Woo-hoo! Got him in both lungs, yeah!" Repeating it with the final shot, it struck the red dot with a satisfying thunk .

As the Gophers cheered, Chris used his megaphone to call "Nicely done, man! As a holder of an advanced manhunting degree, Chef enjoyed the display of lethality, improvable only with human-shaped targets. Seven out of nine!"

Ezekiel grinned and gave a fist-pump, returning to sit with his team. As he did, Trent walked onto the stage and sat on a stool with his guitar.

"This one goes out to someone special," he said, before he began to both play and sing.

" They say that we've only got summer. And I say that's really a bummer.

But we'll swim in the sun and have lots of fun.

It'll just be the two of us, nothin' to do but just hang

So let me say only this

Stick around for just one kiss ."

That got the teen applause from both teams, while Gwen did her best to hide her blushing face. Now that she knew what to look for, however, Heather saw it and smirked.

"Sweet music, Trent; I'm loving the style. And so did Grandmaster Chef, with six points," Chris declared. Quickly shoving Trent off stage, he said "That’s two performances each, and the Gophers are trailing by one point. Since the Bass just went, I'll raise the stakes and have them go next!"

That got him several frowns from the Screaming Gophers, but there was nothing they could do about it. Heather walked out on the stage in her ballerina outfit, and orchestral music began to play from the amphitheater speakers as she danced. Those who recognized the piece realized, with some irony, that Heather had chosen to dance to a section of The Firebird .

As her performance came to an end, Chris came out with a look of faint surprise. "Well, Heather, I personally didn't think much of your performance. Not a ballet guy, really," he said, ignoring Heather's glare. "Grandmaster Chef, however, has decided to give you a whopping eight out of nine points!"

"What?!" several of the Gophers called, while Heather preened under the cheers of her fellow Bass.

Confessional Stall - Chef

The large man was holding a handkerchief to his eyes and dabbing away tears. "Did y'all see me during the Awake-a-thon? I know what good ballet looks like. And that… that was beautiful ," he said emotionally, before blowing his nose into the handkerchief.

Chuckling at the turn of events, Chris said "Gophers, if my math is correct, you'd tie the score even with a full nine. And frankly, I find ties boring. So, I'm going to give you an opportunity!" The cheers of the Bass paused, and he continued "For the final performance, we'll do a variation of sudden death. Either you do something worth a whopping ten points or the Bass automatically win. But be warned, your last performer will need to blow. Chef's. Mind." The host gave an overly sinister chuckle, and the Bass gave the Gophers challenging looks.

But rather than show fear, the Gophers surprised them by smiling. At the front, Courtney stood and called "Oh, Harold~!"

Said nerd walked on stage, standing before a microphone. Taking a deep breath, he began.

" Poh, Poh, Poh, cr cr chi. Poh, cr cr chi. Poh, cr cr chi chi chi cr cr cr. Poh, cr cr chi chi cr cr- Augh! Chi cr cr cr chi chi chi chi- Awesome!

Cr chi- Huh. Cr chichi! Cr chi- Huh. Cr chichi! Cr chi- Huh. Cr chichi! Cr chi- Huh. Cr chichi!

Plu chi ch ch. Plu chi ch ch. Plu chi ch ch. Plu chi ch ch. Plu chi ch ch. Plu chi ch ch. GOSH!

Cr chi chi chi cr- Awesome! Chi chi cr chi cr chi cr- Wha-what? Chi chi cr chi cr chi cr- Huh, uh huh! Chi chi cr chi cr chi cr- Wha-what? Chi chi cr chi cr chi cr- Huh?

Ch ch ch ch… Boo-yah . "

For a moment, the entire amphitheater was silent. Then nearly every camper from both teams burst into cheers, while Chris walked on stage with an amazed expression. "Stellar beatboxing, Harold! According to Grandmaster Chef, that's worth ten points and then some!"

Turning to face the cameras he added "That means our winners are the Screaming Gophers!" That caused several of the Bass to look down, while others tried to burn holes in Chris with their glares. "Killer Bass, pick the next loser for the Loser Boat. I'll see you tonight!"

The Bass were quiet at dinner that night, none wanting to bring up the question of who to vote for. No camper was solely to blame for their failure, so there was no scapegoat to rally against.

However, that didn't stop certain factions from meeting on their own…

Later that evening, the team was assembled before the bonfire for their second time. Chris greeted them all with a smile. "What a night. Dancing, Music, Shooting, and the best kind of tension: the kind made by me!" he said with a chuckle. "But now, it is time for me to throw you your marshmallows. Those marshmallows go to our performers, Heather, Owen and Trent…" All three of them caught their marshmallows with smiles.

"Lindsay…" The blonde caught her and clapped.

"Gwen…" The goth caught hers one-handed with a smirk.

"Geoff…" The party boy called "Woo!" as he was thrown his.

"Leshawna…" Seated next to Geoff, she caught hers and gave him a high-five.

"DJ…" He smiled and caught his, giving Geoff a high-five.

"Izzy…" She shouted "Alright!" and caught hers with her teeth.

Chris paused. "Just one marshmallow left. And the camper going home is…" he said, looking between Daphne and Eva.

…

…

...

"Eva."

The muscular girl sat there for a moment, stunned, before whipping around to look at Daphne. " You! You did this, didn't you?" she demanded.

The fire-happy girl smirked. "Would you believe me if I said no?" she said tauntingly

Eva gritted her teeth. "You know what? I don't need this, or any of you!" she shouted, and turned to stomp down the Dock towards the Boat of Losers. As she passed Chris, however, she gave him a kick in shin for good measure.

"Ow!" he said, holding his leg for a moment. "Well, that leaves the rest of you safe… for now."

Confessional Stall - Daphne

"Yeah, I could have taken Heather's advice and waited. But then I thought 'Why strike later when I could strike first ?'" she said with a smile.

Confessional Stall - Heather

"Although I gave Daphne that advice, I couldn't know if she trusted me enough to follow it. So since someone had to go, I decided to hedge my bets and try removing Rageaholic." Her smirk grew. "And now, when I approach Daphne and tell her my votes were the ones that sealed it--without expecting a reward--she'll feel indebted to me. I am so running this game."

Chapter 6: Camping Trip

Chapter Text

Given that the talent show challenge was relatively light on physical activity, Chris decided to have no rest days before the next one. So, as soon as the clock struck noon, he had all of them assembled before the bonfire.

"Campers, the time has come for your most daunting challenge yet!" he declared. "Your survival skills will be challenged. I'm not gonna lie, some of you may not come back alive."

That elicited several gasps from the contestants, while others rolled their eyes. Chris chuckled and continued "Each team will be given a compass and a map leading to your team's campsite in the woods, where you'll be staying for the entire night. First team back to camp after sunrise wins!"

Tossing the compass and maps at each team, Heather and Courtney were the ones to catch them. "One more thing," Chris added. "We lost a few interns to bears in pre-production, so be on the lookout for them," he warned, before firing an air horn. "And go!"

As he walked away, Leshawna worriedly asked "Did he say bears?"

But Owen waved his hand. "Aw, no biggie. I encountered a bear once. And now he has a place of comfort on my mantle back home," he claimed.

Izzy turned to Daphne. "Oh, I remember this one time my family caught a bear going through our trash! He had eaten spaghetti, so it looked like his face was covered in blood and guts! We thought he was eating our neighbor's cat Simba, but he was just gone for a week," she recalled.

Daphne raised an eyebrow. Rather than be disgusted by the guts part, she focused on the fact her family had a bear in their trash. "How did you get rid of it?"

"Huh? Oh, my Uncle covered himself in this black plastic bag and ran right at him, waving his arms and screaming. Black bears can actually be pretty timid," the crazy girl replied.

Heather rolled her eyes. "We'll keep that in mind if we run into any black bears. Now let’s go, people!" she called, and began walking towards the forest.

As they began to go, Trent approached Gwen. "Mind if I walk with you?" he asked.

Gwen paused, before shrugging. "Sure," she said with faux calm. But once they began to walk side-by-side, a small smile appeared on her face.

Confessional Stall - Gwen

"Okay, so I know it might be a cliché for the loner to have a crush. But Trent seems like a great guy. Polite, a good listener, talented…" she said, beginning to look away with a fond expression.

Then she paused and her face returned to neutral. "That doesn't mean I do like him, though," she quickly said.

As the Bass walked through the woods, Courtney had them travel loosely in a line to keep them together. Near the back of this line were Katie and Sadie, who were happily chatting with each other while Courtney led at the front.

Once they arrived at their campsite, they saw that a tent, fire pit and backpack had been left for them. However, there was no sign of any food.

Tyler frowned. "Think Chris wants us to forage for food?" he asked.

"I seriously doubt he was nice enough to leave us any," Courtney remarked, but checked the backpack to be sure. Finding none, she said "Okay, so we need food, firewood to cook it with and to put up the tent. Who wants to do what?"

Ezekiel quickly raised his hand. "Me and Pa did a lot of camping; I could do the tent!" he offered.

"Cool. I'll help out," Bridgette said, getting a slightly confused look from the homeschooler.

"I can gather the firewood," Liam said, which Cody offered to help with.

Courtney nodded. "Good. Then Katie and Sadie can…" Then she trailed off, looking around. "Where are Katie and Sadie?" The other Gophers stopped and also looked. Sure enough, the two 'BFFFLs' were nowhere to be found.

"Well, that isn't good," Liam dryly remarked. "I don't suppose they're just trailing behind."

Courtney groaned. "Great. Juuuust great," she muttered. "Harold, Tyler, you're on food detail. Justin, you come with me and help me look for those girls," she ordered, and the model smiled in acceptance. "Let's go!" she shouted, and the team dispersed to their assigned tasks.

The Bass, meanwhile, had made it to their camp together, and Owen had volunteered to go find food. The rest of them quickly raised the tent and started the fire, leaving them to simply wait for his return.

Trent had gone with him, and the musician said "Hey, Owen? Mind if I ask you something?"

"What's up?" Owen asked.

"Well, it's just…" he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "There’s someone at camp that I like. But I'm not sure if it's too soon to tell her or not."

The larger boy hummed. "Gosh, I wouldn't know. I haven't had a girlfriend yet. But… if it were me, I think I'd want to know if they liked me back first," he said.

Trent frowned. "But how am I supposed to find out if G--this person likes me without asking?" he asked.

Owen shrugged. "I don't know; this isn't the sort of thing I handle a lot," he said honestly. Then he stopped, the sound of rushing water reaching their ears. "Hey, I think that could be a river. And a river means fish!" he said excitedly, before running ahead

Trent let him go, sighing. In retrospect, perhaps Owen wasn't the best person to approach about this. But what other guy was there, at least on his team? Geoff was a possibility; he had caught the Bass occasionally trading glances with one of the girls on the other team, that surfer chick Bridgette. Not that he had a problem with that--Lindsay and Tyler had established that inter-team romances could happen, and Chris hadn't said anything against it. But it was probable that Geoff was in the same situation.

There was also DJ, which… was actually not a bad option, now that he thought about it. The gentle giant may have been in a relationship before, and would know what to do. Either way, he knew DJ was polite enough to keep who his crush was a secret, which was why he'd avoided saying it to Owen.

His mind made up, he resumed walking and soon came upon Owen next to the river, two fish already on the ground with ropes around their tails. Trent stared. "How did you already catch those?" he asked.

Owen grinned. "My grandpa and I used to go hunting and fishing all the time. That's how I met that bear!" he explained.

"Huh," he replied. "You'll have to tell us the whole story when we get back."

A few hours later, sunset was approaching yet Courtney and Justin were still searching for Katie and Sadie.

"Ugh! Where could those two be?!" Courtney said angrily.

Justin said nothing, simply shrugging his shoulders.

The C.I.T. turned to him. "Is there a reason you don't talk? I know you can," she said.

"Oh, I can talk," the model answered, slightly stunning her at the verbal response. "I just have no reason to. My looks usually do the talking for me," he said, giving her a grin full of perfectly teeth

Despite herself, Courtney looked away to avoid being distracted. "I see. Well, since you can talk, do you have any where they might be?"

He just shook his head, making her groan from equal parts frustration and exasperation. The two of them continued walking, occasionally calling out the duo's names. Eventually, Courtney said "Okay, let's think about this. Katie and Sadie may share a brain cell, but it is there. If they're lost, they'd look for shelter, right?"

Justin nodded, and she continued "The best place for shelter would be a cave. But Chris said there are bears, so if they did sleep in a cave, and that cave had one in it…" Then she turned to directly face the camera. "Hey, camera guy!"

Said cameraperson, a male intern with a white shirt, green pants and orange bandana, blinked at being addressed. "Uh… yeah?" he asked.

"Can you contact Chris and let him know not to expect Katie and Sadie in the morning? They were likely mauled by bears," she requested politely.

The intern hesitated, unsure whether to comply. Then Courtney flashed him a serene smile while at the same time nearly searing through him with her eyes. Terrified, he quickly pulled out his walkie-talkie. "Uh, Chris?" he said into it.

A moment later, the host's voice came from the other end. "I heard all of that on camera. Courtney, your teammates are fine. Well, other than being lost," he said, irritated at being called and cutting it short.

Courtney had to resist screaming in anger. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at the sky. "You know what? They can stay lost. We're going back to camp before it gets dark and we end up lost too," she declared.

Justin raised an eyebrow, silently impressed with her callousness. He nodded in agreement, and began following her back to the campsite.

At said site, Liam and Cody had returned with firewood and were in the process of starting the fire, while Harold and Tyler had caught a couple of squirrels and found some blueberries. Ezekiel and Bridgette, meanwhile, were putting the finishing touches on the tent.

As they were, Ezekiel turned to her and said "Hey, you put up a tent really well for a girl."

To his right, Liam stiffened.

Bridgette frowned. "What do you mean 'for a girl'?" she asked.

The farm boy opened his mouth to answer, but then he saw Liam reach up and begin rubbing his left earlobe--their signal for him. Quickly switching to a smile, he said "Uh, you know what? I don't even know what I meant. Forget I said anything."

She stared at him for a moment with a look between irritation and confusion, while Ezekiel did his best to project sincerity. Either it worked or she decided not to pursue it, as she shrugged and focused on the tent. Behind her, Liam released his breath.

Confessional Stall - Liam

"Ezekiel, I'm finally in a position where I can influence at least half the votes. That means I can stay out of the spotlight and relax . Do not screw this up for me," he said grumpily.

When Owen and Trent returned, they had a total of five fish between them, which were currently on a spit over the fire. As Owen was finishing up a story about him and his grandfather shooting a ten-foot-tall grizzly bear, DJ suddenly emerged from the bushes.

"Hey guys, look what I found!" he said, showing off a small, adorable rabbit in his arms.

Heather took one look at it and shrugged. "I've never had rabbit, but it's better than grubs," she said.

But he reared back, a horrified look on his face. "This isn't food! This here's my new pet. I'm calling him Bunny," he declared.

Daphne raised both eyebrows. "Well, it's certainly on the nose," she remarked, getting to her feet and coming closer to get a better look. Once she was within arm's reach, she added "He is pretty cute."

Leshawna shrugged. "As long as he's house-trained, I'm cool with it," she said, and the other campers nodded in agreement.

Just then, the bushes on the edge of camp began rustling. Leshawna walked over to investigate, but once she was close enough she froze stiff. "H-Holy…" she began. "BEAR!" she screamed, and said bear rose onto his hind legs and roared.

"Great Giza's Pyramids!" Owen cried, while every other Bass let out their own exclamations of fear.

"The trees!" Daphne frantically. "Start climbing!" All of the campers immediately ran for the tree next to their tent, scrambling up the trunk and out of the grizzly bear's reach. The bear didn't retreat, however, and instead began circling the tree and growling up at them.

As the Bass's night was taking a turn for the worse, all the Gophers except the BFFFLs were gathered around the campfire. A faint breeze caused the trees around them to occasionally rustle, and Bridgette gave them nervous glances every time she did.

When an owl hooted somewhere behind her, she nearly jumped off the ground. Beside her, Liam raised an eyebrow. "It's only a bird," he advised her.

The blonde rubbed her left arm. "Sorry," she said. "I just get really scared out in the woods."

The redhead slowly nodded. "I can imagine. The middle of a forest is probably as far from the ocean as it gets, hmm?" he said.

"Exactly. When I'm surfing, I can see everything around me for miles, and I can move without tripping over something. Out here, I'm lucky if I don't step on a rock or snake, into a gopher hole or something , and I can't see past the next tree," Bridgette said, briefly wrapping her arms around herself.

Tyler frowned. "I guess telling scary stories to pass the time wouldn't help, then," he said, and she nodded emphatically. "Well, then what should we do?"

Harold brought a finger to his chin. "Maybe we could tell stories about ourselves," he suggested.

Courtney frowned. "Like what?" she asked.

He hummed. "...How about why each of us joined the show? We've never really talked about it."

That got the C.I.T. to consider it. "It could be a good team-building exercise…" she muttered.

"I'm down with it," Cody said, and the other Gophers gave various sounds of agreement. "At my school, I'm one of the coolest kids around," he began. That got raised eyebrows from a couple of them, but he continued "But I haven't spent a lot of time outside of there. So, if I wanted to meet and swing with some cool people, I needed to get out into the wider world."

Ezekiel's brow furrowed, trying to parse through that. "So you auditioned in order to meet people?" he asked, and Cody nodded.

Bridgette smiled. "That’s sort of why I wanted to be on the show. I really like surfing and living on this world of ours. So I joined to hopefully spread love of both to others," she said.

Courtney shrugged. "I have plenty of friends back home," she digressed. "But I enjoy the competition aspect of the show. If I can win on a reality show, I'll feel more prepared to make it to the top in the real world."

"I like the challenges too!" Tyler said with a smile. "Almost every one so far--except the talent show--has been pretty wicked. I've been loving all the wild stuff we do."

Harold spoke up. "I've also been enjoying the challenges. Almost all of my skills were acquired at different camps, so when Chris revealed we were staying at one instead of a resort, I knew I'd have a chance."

Liam frowned. "I was… less excited when I got here and found out about the lack of resort. But I enjoy being able to have fun and make friends, so it's been a blast so far," he claimed.

That got him smiles from the rest of his team save Courtney, who sent him a look plainly telling that she hadn't fallen for it. Ezekiel decided to go next. "My doctor was worried that being at home so much was giving me a vitamin D deficiency. So he told my parents I needed to spend some time outside," he told them.

"I… can believe that," Courtney said. Looking at their last present teammate, she said "What about you, Justin? Was it for the fame?"

The model shook his head, and surprised the other campers by talking again. "I don't really need the money, and I've already got plenty of modeling agencies calling me. If I do win, I'll just donate it to charity," he said.

"Aw, that's sweet," Bridgette told him, and Tyler, Harold and Ezekiel nodded in agreement. Cody, Courtney and Liam, however, didn't fail to notice that he hadn't answered with what he was on the show for.

The rest of the night proceeded similarly, with each of them trading facts or snippets about each other. Eventually, it grew dark, and before they went to lie down Ezekiel had them collect some water.

"One of Pa's Rules of Camping: Always put out your fire before going to bed," he told them. Once the water was collected and fire doused, the Gophers turned in for the night.

About an hour later, none of them had managed to fall asleep except for the homeschooler, who was snoring peacefully while curled into a ball. Bridgette in particular was shifting about every few seconds. This continued until Liam, who was lying to her left, dryly asked "Need to use the bathroom?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but I'm too scared to go outside alone," she admitted.

He was silent for a moment, mulling it over. Be polite, earn goodwill, get a chance to rest quietly? Yes to all. "I could go with you," he offered. "I'll stay about ten paces away once you've found a spot."

Bridgette smiled at him. "Really? Thanks," she said, and he nodded as they both stood up and exited the tent.

Less than ten seconds after they walked out, a swarm of bats of all things flew out of the trees in their direction. Both teens instinctually failed their arms in an effort to bat them away, but one of them managed to catch on Bridgette's face. "Hey! I can't see!" she said, staggering from side to side as the other bats flew away.

Liam tried to reach out to pull it off her, but she kept moving out of his reach. Eventually, as she was stumbling backwards towards the fire pit, the bat flew off. But the damage was done, and as she stepped into the fire pit she fell backwards, kicking up a large cloud of ash… right in Liam's face.

The surfer girl gasped and rose to her feet. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" he asked.

Slowly, Liam reached up and wiped some of the ash away from his face. "Given that none of this was hot anymore, I'm not injured," he said. "I'll be okay once I get all of this off."

As if fate willed it, the clouds overhead rumbled right after he said that. A moment later, those clouds let loose a torrent of rain, making Liam tilt his face upwards.

"...I'm not sure if I should say 'thank you' or not," he said.

Over with the Killer Bass, the grizzly bear had yet to move from their campsite even after an hour had passed, though it had stopped growling at them.

"What should we do now?" Owen asked fearfully.

Heather looked up at him. "You were just telling us about when you killed a bear!"

"With a gun, yeah! I don't have one on me!" he protested.

Daphne grimaced. "Izzy would probably know what to do, but she's been gone for over an hour," she stated.

Trent blinked and looked around, seeing that the insane girl was indeed absent. "Wait. Why are you only mentioning that now?! She could be hurt!"

She stared at him. "This is Izzy we're talking about. She's not about to be outdone by a bear of all things," she said matter-of-factly.

The guitarist frowned but didn't offer a protest. Just as well, as that was the moment when several cracking sounds came from the branch Leshawna was on. It quickly snapped, causing the larger girl to fall to the ground with a shout. As she rubbed her head to shake off any cobwebs, she became immediately aware of the large, muscled wall of fur less than three feet away from her.

"H-Hey big guy…" Leshawna said, trying to scoot backwards. But the bear moved with her and maintained the distance. "You don't w-want to start something," she warned. All that got her was a growl, and her back hit the trunk of the tree. "Someone help me!" she yelled.

Daphne gripped the branch she was on. The rest of the campers all appeared too terrified to do anything, and she was hardly any different. It was one thing to risk injury in a challenge; it was another to tackle a bear in the hopes of accomplishing anything. But if she didn't, if Leshawna died because she failed to act…!

But just as she was about to leap down, a voice said "Hey, are you alright?" A voice that came from the direction of the bear.

The brunette paused, as did the other Bass. Leshawna opened her eyes. "Uh... did that bear just talk?" she asked.

In response, the bear reared up on its hind legs and grabbed the sides of its head… before removing it to reveal a familiar head of orange hair.

"Izzy?!" all of they shouted, and she nodded at them with a smile.

Upon realizing they had been duped, Gwen quickly traded her surprise for anger. "What are you, some sort of weirdo?" she said.

"I thought it would be funny," Izzy justified with a giggle. "And it was! I was all 'Raargh!' and all of you were like 'Aah! I'm gonna die!' It was great!"

Relaxing now that there was no danger, Daphne exhaled and slid off the branch to land on her feet. "Okay, that was a pretty good prank," she admitted, smiling slightly. "And I'm glad to see you weren't mauled."

Geoff raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you the one who just said there was no way she would?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Yeah, but being confident about a friend doesn't stop me from worrying about them," she said with blunt honesty.

By this point, the rest of the Bass had made it back to the ground, and were taking seats around the campfire. Izzy joined them, choosing not to remove the lower half of her bear costume. No one decided to ask why.

As the grilled fish were handed out, however, the bushes began rustling again, and another 'bear' emerged from them. Izzy, who was the closest, said "Wow, and I thought my costume was good."

Trent smiled. "It's probably an intern that Chris sent to mess with us," he said.

Owen waved closer and tapped it on the nose. "We're not falling for it, man!" he stated, and poked its nose.

The 'bear' growled, and Gwen's expression turned worried. "Guys? That looks pretty real…" she said.

Heather began backing away. "Chris did say there were bears…" she added, and the other campers also began backing up save for Izzy, Daphne and Owen.

Owen laughed. "Guys, they're just trying to see if we can be fooled twice. This isn't a real bear, and I'll prove it," he claimed. He then grabbed its head and tugged once, twice. On the third tug, a tuft of fur came away with a rip, making Owen stare at it.

Seeing where this was going, Daphne sighed. "Izzy?" she asked.

"Hmm?" she hummed, looking away from the scene.

"Didn't you say that the deerskin blanket you made wasn't helping with the cabin's draft, since Chris refused to fix it?" she asked.

That got Izzy to tilt her head. "I think I did say that…" she said, before turning to face the genuine bear as it lost its patience and roared in Owen’s face. Before the rest of the campers could panic, Izzy walked closer and gave it a wide, toothy grin.

The bear froze, every danger sense in its body going off. Then Izzy took a step forward, and the bear took a step back. Another step, another, and then the bear whimpered and turned to run away.

"Come here, Blanket!" she called, and jumped out of her costume to chase after it. As the other Bass watched her leave with incredulous expressions, Daphne sat down with a smile. It was official; Izzy was the best friend she had ever made.

By the time Izzy returned, she had her new bear fur blanket wrapped around her shoulders, and the team crowded into the tent as it began to rain.

When the sun rose the next morning, the first thing Liam became aware of was the weight on his front. Cracking one eye open, he looked down and couldn't help but blink. At some point in the night, Courtney had rolled over next to him and was now cuddling against his chest.

As he debated what to do about this, especially given that Courtney had yet to wake up, he did notice something else. When her expression was relaxed like this, she looked very… pretty. 'Though now that I consider it, her glare can make her fairly attractive as well,' he mentally added, picturing the several scenarios that glare had appeared in so far.

That train of thought was quickly cut off as Courtney stirred, her eyes slowly opening. As she realized the position they were in, she gasped.

"Before you say anything," Liam quickly said. "You cuddled up to me."

For a moment, the C.I.T. appeared truly at a loss for words. Then she managed to get out "But I… you… AAGH!" and shot to her feet. If her shout wasn't enough to wake their teammates, the sudden sunlight as she opened the tent and stomped outside was.

The others were quick to rise and begin disassembling the tent, since the first team to make it back would be the winners of the challenge. As they did, Bridgette asked "What do we do about Katie and Sadie?"

"We don't know where they are, but they know we all have to get back to camp," Harold pointed out. "Unless we want to look for them, our best bet is to just head back," he said.

Courtney frowned. "I hate the idea of gambling our victory on their sense of direction," she stated. "But I agree with Harold. We don't have a better option."

With that decision made, they finished clearing the campsite and quickly began running for camp.

When the bonfire pit was in sight, they could see Chris waiting there for them, preparing the bonfire for later that night. Coming to a halt in front of him, Cody quickly asked "Have Katie and Sadie made it back yet?"

"That’s a negative, Codemeister!" Chris said, grinning. "So I guess the Bass have plenty of time to try and beat them here."

The Gophers stood there, anxiously waiting for their teammates. The longer the wait was, the more the tension grew. Then, once DJ broke through the treeline, Courtney said "No, no!"

The tall teen was soon followed by Izzy, Geoff and Daphne, then Trent and Gwen. As Heather and Lindsay came into view, hope was quickly fading. Then, when Leshawna arrived, Ezekiel looked at his teammates. "Those two have to be faster than Owen, right?"

Liam grimaced. "If they became lost before…" he said.

Then, five minutes later, a panting Owen slowly walked out of the forest and arrived at the bonfire. He did so to the cheers of his team and Chris calling "And with that, the winners of this challenge are the Killer Bass!"

"NO!" Courtney screamed, gripping her hair in anger. As luck would have it, that was the exact moment that the BFFFLs arrived, and she fixed them with the most concentrated rage Liam had seen in one glare outside Eva.

As they arrived, Katie declared "We're safe!" with a relieved smile.

Sadie looked at the others. "Oh my gosh you guys! We got totally lost and got into this massive fight!" she told them.

"And there was a cave, and we were so scared that a bear was going to come for us, but it didn't, so we were able to sleep in safety," Katie added. Then she turned to her friend. "Sadie, I'm so sorry I said I was prettier than you!"

Sade replied "And I'm so sorry for bringing up the Snack Shack!"

"And I'm sorry for saying that your butt was so big!" Katie said.

At that one, Sadie paused. "You did?" she asked.

Katie also paused, not having realized that she was unaware of that. "Um, well not anymore," she said.

Sadie thought about that for a moment, before shrugging. "Oh, whatever. We're safe, you're my best friend, and that's what matters. I love you, Katie!" she said.

"I love you, too!" Katie said, and the two of them happily hugged each other.

As the cameras captured this tender moment, Courtney walked up next to them. "Very touching," she said, getting them to look at her. "But while you two were having a fun time being lost, we lost the challenge!" she yelled.

Before she could go on a tirade, Chris said "Alright, Screaming Gophers! I'll see your butts back here tonight! Bass, as part of your reward for winning, you're going on an all-expense paid trip to… the Tuck Shop!" The Bass cheered at, while the Gophers glared at the duo for the lost opportunity.

Both Kadie and Sadie smiled nervously.

Confessional Stall - Liam

"Oftentimes, I have to work to head off a potential threat. But every once in a while, life gives you a freebie."

Once night had fallen, the Screaming Gophers were assembled at the lit bonfire once more.

"You've all cast your votes," Chris recited. "The camper who does not receive a marshmallow must walk the Dock of Shame, catch the Boat of Losers and get the heck out of here. And you can't ever come back. Now, since you all got a good night's sleep in a tent, come up and get them as I call you."

As he called for Harold, Tyler, Cody, Justin and Bridgette, all five of them accepted their marshmallows with smiles on their faces.

Courtney took hers with another glare at Kadie and Sadie, while Liam yawned as he was handed his and Ezekiel gave a "Whoo-hoo!"

That just left both Katie and Sadie. "Ladies, this is the final marshmallow of the night," Chris said. "The one of you staying on Total Drama Island will be…"

…

…

...

"Katie."

"No!" Katie immediately called. "Why eliminate Sadie?!"

Sadie nodded. "This is so unfair!" she protested.

Katie shook her head. "I can't! I've never gone anywhere without Sadie! I'll totally die!"

Chris had a look on his face that said he had zero qualms with that. But before he could say as much, Sadie grabbed her friends by the shoulders. "You can go on, Katie! You're strong and smart and pretty. You can win this for both of us!"

By that point, Chef had arrived and dragged Sadie onto the Loser Boat. As it sailed away, the other BFFFL waved her hand. "I miss you already!" she called tearfully.

"I miss you more!" Katie said, openly crying. "Bye!"

"Bye!" Sadie yelled, and the boat pulled out of view.

After Sadie had left, Katie remained standing at the edge of the dock, loudly crying and looking out over the waters. Over two hours had passed, and she had yet to move. Eventually, it was Cody that tried approaching her.

"Hey, Katie? Are you gonna be okay?" He asked gently.

Katie hiccuped. "Sadie… she's gone. I don't know what to do without her," she told him.

The nerd rubbed his arm. "Well… she said she wanted you to win, right? That starts with going on," he said. "Come on, the others are all sitting around the bonfire."

Katie didn't reply, merely continuing to cry. However, she offered no protest when Cody placed a hand on her shoulder and began to gently guide her back down the docks.

Sure enough, the other Gophers were seated there. Many of them were contemplating their chances now that the Bass were, yet again, one member over on them. Every challenge so far, they had either equal or more members than the Screaming Gophers. Courtney in particular was frustrated; she despised going for so long without the advantage.

As Katie sat down with the others, she muffled her cries to sniffles, preventing Courtney and Liam from sending her annoyed looks. Instead, those were pointed at the entirety of the Killer Bass, who arrived at the bonfire within moments of Katie. "Come to rub your victory in our faces?" the C.I.T. asked.

Trent shook his head. "We had some desert leftover from our trip to the Tuck Shop and wanted to offer it," he said peacefully, pointing to a plate of green jello in Owen’s hands.

Liam raised an eyebrow. "You had extra food and Owen didn't eat it?" he remarked.

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Okay, the food we had so far made Owen pass gas. We're letting the cabin air out," she admitted.

Owen looked down. "Sorry, guys. Must have been all those Choco-diles," he said, before walking forward. "Here," he said, holding the plate out.

"No!" Courtney suddenly shouted, making a couple of them blink, and Owen to rear back. "I mean, no thank you," she said politely. When the large boy didn't relax, she added "I'm just not a fan of green jello."

"I'll take it, then," Harold offered from his seat next to DJ.

However, as Owen approached to hand it to him, DJ screamed "SNAKE!" and knocked it out of his hands.

The jello splattered across the ground, and Cody reached down to examine the 'snake' that had been in it. "It's just a gummy worm, dude," he revealed.

The gentle giant shook his head. "Sorry, y'all. Snakes just freak me out," he told them.

Tyler nodded sympathetically. "I have the same problem with chickens, dude," he revealed.

Gwen raised an eyebrow as she took a seat at the bonfire. "You're afraid of chickens?" she said. "That’s… wow." The other Bass also began sitting down, with the Gophers making room for them.

Confessional Stall - Gwen

"Once DJ and Tyler revealed their fears, it kept dominoe-ing, and soon everyone else did too. Like Harold saying he was afraid of ninjas, Leshawna hating giant spiders, or Ezekiel saying he's freaked out by public transport. Even Heather admitted to being afraid of Sumo wrestlers."

"I have claustrophobia. So being buried under something would be my worst fear," Gwen said.

Owen stated "Flying, man. That stuff is nuts."

That got Izzy to quickly nod in agreement. "I could never go up in a plane! Uh-uh!"

"I'm scared of hail, man," Geoff said with a haunted expression. "It's small but deadly, dude."

Bridgette looked at her team. "I told you guys during the last challenge that it was being in the woods. But being alone in the woods is even worse."

Katie blew her nose with a napkin. "Being apart from Sadie is already my worst fear," she said frankly. "But after that, I suppose losing all my hair would be bad."

Lindsay quickly grabbed her hair. "Oh my gosh, losing my hair?! That would terrify me, too!" she said.

Justin abruptly said "I wouldn't want to lose my looks." The rest of the campers sans Courtney gave him surprised looks, many having forgotten that the model could speak at all.

Cody tapped his finger to his chin. "Having to defuse a bomb, especially one with a countdown, would be mine," he declared.

Liam grunted. "The sound of helicopters makes me freeze, so I'm sure riding one would be unpleasant," he admitted.

Courtney raised an eyebrow, tempted to ask why that was the case. Instead, she simply smiled and said "I'm not afraid of anything." Absolutely none of the campers believed that, and all of their expressions said so.

In the silence that followed, Trent spoke up to keep the ball rolling. "I'm afraid of mimes. What about you, Daphne?"

She shook her head. "You'll laugh. Or thinks it's stupid," she said.

At that, Gwen shook her head. "We promise not to laugh at your fear or insult it. Right, guys?" she said, looking at the other campers.

Several of them nodded while others shrugged their shoulders. Seeing that, Daphne sighed and looked at the ground. "Triskaidekaphobia," she said quickly.

"Come again?" Geoff said.

"Triskaidekaphobia," she repeated slowly. "It means I'm afraid of the number thirteen."

Heather blinked. "I know we agreed not to laugh. But… why?" she asked.

Daphne sighed and gave her a flat look. "You can blame five year-old me. Who decided watching Friday the 13th in the dark was a great idea," she said flatly. Eager to change the subject, she looked at the C.I.T. "Come on, Courtney, everyone's afraid of something."

"Not me!" Courtney insisted, causing Heather to snort while several others rolled their eyes. None of the others decided to bother pressing her, and the conversation soon shifted from their fears to other, more mundane topics as the night wore on.

Chapter 7: Terror Time

Chapter Text

The next morning seemed to start off well. No air horns to wake them up, the morning paste was half-way decent, even Chef seemed to be in… well, not a good mood, but at least he wasn't glaring at them.

With everything going so well, they all should have known it wouldn't last.

"Campers!" Chris called, facing both teams as they ate. "The time has come for your most terrifying challenge yet!" he declared.

"Worse than this?" Leshawna said, picking at her food. When Chris nodded, she frowned in concern.

"This challenge is a little something I like to call 'Phobia Factor'. Each of you will prepare to face your worst fears!" he told them. As Heather took a sip of coffee, he said "Heather, you're up at the amphitheater. It's… Sumo time!"

He timed the announcement just as she sipped. And as expected, Heather immediately spat out her coffee in shock. Which, of course, went in front of her and hit Trent.

The guitarist slowly blinked, his expression flat. "Not. Cool. Man," he stated.

Chris chuckled, and continued "Gwen, I'll see you at the beach. With about six feet's worth of sand." That got the goth to gasp.

"Wait," Lindsay said, appearing confused. "How did they know those were your deepest fears?"

The rest of the campers all came to the realization at about the same time, creating a chorus of slaps to the forehead. "Oh, man!" Geoff exclaimed.

"We told them! Last night!" Gwen moaned.

"Oops," Cody muttered.

"But that’s like… eavesdropping!" Lindsay protested. And although it was correct, all of them were too preoccupied to remind her that the staff were always listening.

"By the way, Chef? Didn't you have a special order for Tyler today?" Chris asked.

In response, Chef grinned and held up a fryer grate, inside of which was a fried full-body chicken. Although the jock's eyes twitched, since it appeared dead, he was able to grab it. He slowly opened his mouth and bit off the 'head' with a crunch.

A second later, the head of a live chicken emerged in its place, clucking.

While Tyler screamed in absolute terror, Liam's brow furrowed in confusion. 'How did he manage to fry that chicken without killing it? Also…' he thought, before looking at their host. "Would we even be having this challenge if we hadn't said all those things last night?" he asked.

"Nope!" Chris exclaimed, making Liam grimace. "And that's why, after I'm done setting up the other challenges, you and I are taking a ride in my personal chopper!"

The redhead went stiff, eyes opening. "Oh fffff…" he muttered, trailing off with a groan.

The first to start their challenges were Katie and Lindsay, both of whom were given bald caps to wear. Justin was also given one as well as a costume-and-make-up team. By the time they were done with him, the model had been transformed into Quasimodo's tanned, bald brother. A hand mirror was then placed in his hand by Chris, allowing him to spend the entire time reveling in horror at his lack of beauty.

Chef, meanwhile, changed into a stewardess outfit and led Izzy and Owen to a rickety old plane held together with duct tape, making both of them gasp in horror. Those gasps became screams as the plane took to the sky and some of the tape peeled off.

Harold's challenge, however, did not come immediately. Instead, Chris waited until he was using the communal bathroom to strike.

As Harold conducted his business, three interns dressed as ninjas slowly descended from the ceiling. But despite their best efforts to be as stealthy as real ninjas, one of them grunted as they landed on the ground. That distracted the nerd from the comic he was reading, and he looked up.

"Hello?" he asked. When he got no reply, Harold frowned and put away the comic. "If this is some sort of prank, I'm not going to be happy," he warned. Still nothing, so he stood and swung open the door. Then blinked as he stared at three 'ninjas' who had, quite literally, caught him with his pants down.

For a moment, neither side moved, the 'ninjas' ready to draw their fake swords while Harold wasn't moving. Then the moment passed, he exhaled, and the paralysis left him. Reaching down towards his pants, rather than pull them up, he instead pulled a pair of nunchucks from his pocket.

The interns paused and looked at each other. This wasn’t in the script.

Then Harold smirked. "You may be my mortal fear, shinobi, but that's why I went to Ninja Steve's Ninja Camp!" he revealed, before spinning the nunchucks around.

As the suddenly-very-intimidated 'ninjas' tried not to move and look like targets, Harold continued to spin the nunchucks. He kept going, faster and faster, even passing them back and forth between his hands--"GAH!" he suddenly yelled, smacking himself on the forehead hard enough to make him see stars. As Harold tried to take a step back, his pants reminded him that they were around his ankles by making him fall, landing headfirst in the thankfully-flushed toilet.

When the nerd didn't get up, one of the interns reached into his outfit for a radio. "Chris?" he said into it. "The ninja guy is out cold."

Chris's voice came through. "Wait. Out cold? As in he saw you and passed out? Aw, man, that is great!" he said.

The intern frowned. "Er… not exactly. He pulled some nunchucks on us, looked like he was about to attack us and, uh, knocked himself out," he explained.

There was a moment of silence, then Chris said "Please tell me you got that on camera."

"Yep. Every second," he replied.

"Then that's even better. As for the challenge, since he was about to hit you… Eh, why not? I'll say that counts," Chris told them.

Once the interns had returned, Chris had one of them dress up a giant spider and began chasing Leshawna. As brave as the 'girl with attitude' was, spiders were where she drew the line, especially giant ones.

As she ran away screaming, Heather facepalmed in exasperation. However, that feeling soon turned to sympathy as she arrived at the amphitheater and found a Sumo wrestler waiting for her.

All Heather had to do was stand her ground as the Sumo charged at her. And despite curling up into a ball as said wrestler ran forward with a loud yell, she did remain on her feet and didn't run. Which unintentionally worked to her advantage, as the Sumo tripped over her and began bouncing away from the stage, ricocheting off various trees and shrubbery as he went.

Confessional Stall - Heather

"There’s a reason my life's goal is to conquer Europe and not Asia. Well, several reasons, but one of them is 'No Sumos'," she said frankly.

Bridgette began her challenge—six hours alone in the woods—with confidence. "I've got this. After a night with my team, six hours alone is nothing," she bragged. Then she heard chittering, and looked down to see a chipmunk on the ground.

"AAH!" she screamed, kicking the rodent. They sailed in an arc into the sky and out of the forest. After an unknown amount of flight time, they landed on the beach a short distance away from Chris, Gwen and Trent. Picking itself up, the dazed rodent quickly ran away.

Chris waved his hand to a medium-sized rectangular glass box. "Alright, into the box you go. Once we cover the box in sand, you'll be in there for thirty minutes. If you stay inside that long, you pass," he explained.

Gwen crossed her arms anxiously. "I don't know if I can do this…" she said.

But Trent approached her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "It'll be okay. There's enough air in it for an hour, and you only have to do it for half that," he said comfortingly.

Gwen looked at him, and he gave her a smile that hopefully showed his confidence in her. It must have worked, as she nodded and woodenly climbed into the box.

Chris held up a pair of walkie-talkies. "If you want to bow out of the challenge early, you can use this to let us know," he told them, tossing one to Trent and another to Gwen.

Gwen looked up at Trent. "You promise you'll dig me up if I ask you to?" she said.

Trent nodded. "I promise," he told her, and slid the air hole shut.

As it did, Gwen gave what she hoped were not her last words. "Goodbye, cruel world!" she said. She was thus left to watch as sand slowly covered the box, blocking more and more light until she was left in complete darkness.

After burying Gwen, Chris led Daphne to the boathouse by the docks. She followed with her arms crossed, looking this way and that. "Well, Daphne, I hope you appreciate the work I put into this one," he said, before opening the door and waving for her to enter.

Giving him a distrustful look, Daphne muttered "Might as well…" and stepped inside. The interior was full of various fishing supplies and gear, including several harpoons, fishing rods and crates, and even a bear trap. In the middle of the room, however, was a projector on a stand with a screen against the back wall.

Eyes widening as she realized what was happening, she said "You're going to make me watch Friday the 13th again?" She could do that. Sure, it terrified her as a kid, but now?

Then Chris chuckled. "Not quite. For your challenge, we've had our interns splice together the most terrifying and graphic scenes from thirteen different horror films, with each scene being thirteen minutes and thirteen seconds in length," he said.

As Daphne’s expression turned to horror, he continued "All you have to do is watch all of them here, in the boathouse. In the dark." Waving his hand, he said "You may also notice some other details we added, such as the boathouse having only thirteen fishing poles and thirteen crates of supplies, or that the bear trap has only thirteen teeth in it." She did indeed look at each of those details as Chris mentioned them. As he finished, she was petrified and stared at Chris with a look of naked terror. To which he smiled and said "Well, have fun! Feel free to exit early for no points." As he walked out, he slammed the door shut behind him, momentarily leaving Daphne in the dark before the projector started.

Slowly taking a seat on one of the crates, Daphne cleared her throat. "It's decided," she muttered. "If I win, I'm going to buy enough gasoline to set this entire island on fire. With Chris on it," she swore.

Chris and Liam walked to a small clearing in the forest. Sure enough, a small two-person helicopter sat in the middle, making Liam freeze as he laid eyes on it. His expression was wide-awake, as it had been since he was told of his challenge. Now, he appeared genuinely terrified.

'This is happening. It's really happening,' he thought. Not for the first time, he hated the fact that he had this fear, that the sight or even sound of a helicopter caused his pulse to race. It was so damn exploitable that it wasn't even funny. Not to him, at least.

It was funny to Chris, however, who said "Looking to give up, my man?"

The redhead honestly considered it. The teams were 1-1 so far, with Harold’s and Heather's successes and Leshawna’s failure. He might be able to afford not doing this… then he grimaced. He might but he didn't know.... Damn it all. "Let’s go," he declared.

Chris grinned with a raised eyebrow. "You sure? No shame, man," he offered.

Liam frowned, more visibly angry than the host had seen him. "Start the damn chopper, McLean," he said shortly, walking towards the co-pilot seat.

As he passed by him, the host shook his head and sighed. "Everyone's so tense today," he said before chuckling. "I love it."

While Chris began to take off with a rapidly breathing Liam next to him, the rest of his team was watching Ezekiel tremble in front of a replica of a subway car on rails. Once he boarded it, the rails would take the car along the tracks of an old mine on the island, simulating the experience of an underground subway ride.

"It's okay, Ezekiel. You can do this!" Courtney called.

But the homeschooler shook his head. "I ain't never seen one of these in real life. I… I thought they were made up for TV," he said. The door to the replica subway car was open, but he didn't take a step forward.

Frowning, Courtney called "It's just one ride along a safe track. Come on!"

"I… I…" he said, looking back and forth between the C.I.T. and the door.

"We're not falling behind the Bass on points. Get on there now!" she shouted.

While some of their teammates gave her disapproving looks, it nonetheless was the whip that cracked Ezekiel into motion. "Alright, eh!" Stepping into the car, he looked back. "I… I'm ready," he said.

While Courtney nodded with a smile, the door slid closed and began to wheel forward, entering the mine.

After the Sumo was recovered and given a boat ride back to the mainland, DJ was up for his own challenge at the amphitheater: To pick up a live snake out of its enclosure. Said snake was the size of an earthworm and just as harmless, but it was nonetheless enough to set the tall teen trembling.

In the bleachers was Geoff, who called "You can do it, man! I know it!"

But DJ continued to shake, not approaching the snake or its enclosure. The tiny reptile turned to DJ, looked him in the eye… and blinked. He gave a small shout and curled into a ball. "It blinked!" he cried.

"Oh, I blink when I like something!" Lindsay said. "Maybe it likes you, too!"

Leshawna gave her 'ally' a befuddled look before shrugging. Looking towards DJ, she frowned and said "That thing is the size of your finger, DJ. It can't hurt you!"

DJ shook his head. "Yeah, but it's still so slimy, scaly…!" he said.

Leshawna and Heather, who were seated next to each other, both rolled their eyes. "Then you can wash your hands afterwards. Now we need this point, so do it!" Heather said viciously.

DJ was silent. Slowly taking a deep breath, he exhaled and put one foot forward. Then another, then another until he was standing before the enclosure. Leaning forward, he placed his finger in front of the snake before looking away. A moment later, he tensed as he felt the snake begin to coil around it. Not enough to hurt but enough to not fall. When he pulled his arm back a microsecond later, the feeling didn't abate. And opening his eyes, he saw the snake was still there.

DJ smiled as his teammates cheered at him. In fact, he could have sworn the snake smiled at him too.

Seeking a distraction from her buried state, Gwen turned around her radio. "Trent?"

"What's up? Need me to dig you out?" Trent immediately replied.

Gwen shook her head before remembering that he couldn't see it. "No, not yet. But I did want you to tell me a story, if you could."

Trent hummed. "Okay, sure. What kind of story were you thinking?" he asked.

"Well… how about why you're afraid of mimes?" she asked.

"Alright. When I was four, my mom took me to a carnival to see the elephants. And I loved it. But while I was there, I got separated from her. I called to her, but when I turned around, all I saw was this pale white face copying my every move," he told them.

Gwen frowned. "That would be pretty scary," she agreed.

"Tell me about it. I screamed and ran, but every time I turned around, he was always there—" he began.

Then the radio cut off. "Trent?"

…

"...Trent?" Gwen said, her voice rising an octave.

"I hate this. I hate this. I hate this so much," Liam muttered, unable to even hear himself over the sound of the helicopter. The constant noise of the rotor in his ears, the vertigo as Chris flew in one direction or another like a maniac…

The slacker groaned and grabbed his mouth. Chris immediately leveled out, saying "Puke on the controls and you're wiping them clean, man!"

The redhead shook his head, swallowing. "How much more of this?" he asked.

The host hummed. "Well, we've been up here for ten minutes… so let's do ten more!" he said happily. "Feel like chickening out?"

Liam glared at him. "Just fly," he said through gritted teeth, making Chris chuckle as he stopped hovering and began flying wildly in all directions again.

Cody gulped as he looked back and forth between the book in his left hand and the wire cutters in his right. He was kneeling before a stink bomb with a large analog countdown on it, his worst nightmare made real. He had to follow the instructions in the manual Chris left him to carefully disarm it in order to score his team a point. If he failed to disarm it or ran away, he was out.

"I can do this, I can do this…" he muttered, pausing to wipe his forehead of sweat. Every second lost on that timer sent another shot of adrenaline through him. Only ten minutes left on it, and he was about halfway through the manual. He could make… right?

As he was pondering that and doing his best to disarm the stink bomb, Chef finally landed the plane. The door was thrown open and both Izzy and Owen dived out of it onto solid land. They immediately dropped to all fours and started kissing the ground.

"Sweet, sweet solid earth. How I missed you!" Owen exclaimed, crying tears of relief.

Not ten feet from them was Geoff, who had decided to pass the time before his challenge by taking a nap. As he kicked back in a chair by the Bass cabin, he tilted his hat forward to block out the sun. Unfortunately, this prevented him from noticing the sky darkening over his head.

It became much more obvious once the small cloud hanging over him became releasing tiny pieces of hail. Not enough to hurt, but more than enough to terrify the party boy.

"Aaaaahh!" he screamed, lunging out of his chair and running away. The cloud somehow followed him, keeping up the deluge even as he tried to run from it. In his run, he passed by Trent, who was trying to outrun an adult mime chasing him and copying his movements.

Ostensibly, Trent knew the challenge was to face his fear, which would translate to asking the mime to leave. Unfortunately, his reaction to a phobia held for over half his life overrode any logical thought… or short-term memory.

Inside the abandoned mine, the replica subway car reached the end of the tracks it had been set along. An intern quickly opened it, showing Ezekiel was still seated in it and sitting straight.

The intern, who happened to be the same one Courtney had spoken to before, said "Alright, man, challenge is over. You can get out now."

There was no response, however, prompting the intern to raise an eyebrow. "Ezekiel?" he asked. Still no response, so he entered the car and walked up to the seated farm boy. His eyes were wide open, so he wasn't sleeping. "You alright, man?" he asked, grabbing him by the shoulder and giving him a good shake.

That shake caused Ezekiel to tilt forward and fall onto the floor. Though now he wasn't frozen, and instead was trembling head-to-toe.

The intern hummed. So Ezekiel had been literally scared stiff the whole ride. One could argue whether that counted, but the challenge had just been to ride the car, not ride in comfort. And since he hadn't used the emergency brake to quit… Wait. Did they tell him about the emergency brake?

After a moment, the intern shrugged and radioed Chris. "The homeschool guy completed his challenge," he reported.

Amidst the sound of flying, he could make out Chris say "Great! I'm almost done here, and Chef just let me know that he's done too. Get Ezekiel back to camp and he'll be fine," he assured him.

The intern looked from the radio to the trembling, unmoving Ezekiel before sighing.

The moment the helicopter landed down in the clearing, Liam instantly unbundled himself and nearly threw himself out of the co*ckpit. Looking behind him, he flipped their host the bird and called "You are a sad*stic piece of work, McLean."

Chris chuckled. "Thanks. I try," he said, walking away. "Now, while you become reacquainted with the communal toilets, I have a few more challenges to oversee."

Liam simply raised the bird again, before covering his mouth and running for a toilet to throw up in.

While he was doing that, the host accepted the controls for Geoff’s storm cloud from another intern once he reached the cabins. Seeing the teen run around with the cloud still chasing him, Chris pulled out a loudspeaker. "The hail won't hurt you, man! Just stop running and stand in it!"

Unfortunately, Geoff was too busy screaming to respond, and he continued to run. Shaking his head, Chris walked over to where most of the Screaming Gophers were assembled next to a wooden pen. Stepping into the pen, he said "Alright, Tyler, time for an easy one. You just have to stay in this pen for three minutes… with these chickens!"

He punctuated it by lifting the lid of a box. Inside of that box was indeed a live adult chicken, as well as two chicks. Tyler stared at the three of them in horror.

As he continued to stare, Katie called "Come on, Tyler! We believe in you!"

"Yeah. You can totally do this!" Harold encouraged.

The jock took a deep breath and very slowly climbed into the pen, keeping his eyes on the chickens the whole time. Once he was inside, Chris picked them up and set them on the ground. And the moment one of them took a step closer, he screamed and curled into a ball, rocking back and forth.

Chris quirked an eyebrow, but said "I don't think we're getting anywhere here. Sucks for you, Gophers."

Courtney frowned. "Now, hold on!" she began. "All you said was for him to be in the pen, and he is. He may be acting like a huge baby…" she said, pointing at how Tyler was currently sucking his thumb. "But at least he's inside!"

Chris opened his mouth, before pausing. After a moment, his expression curled into a grimace. "Okay, I'll give you that. But will he stay for the whole three minutes?" he challenged.

It turned out the answer was 'yes', as Tyler appeared completely oblivious to the world outside those chickens. And said birds were completely uninterested in him, resulting in three minutes so boring the editing team later cut them. Nonetheless, the Gophers cheered as Tyler got them another point.

While Geoff and Tyler were failing and succeeding respectively at their challenges, Trent was still trying to outrun the mime. He had reached the docks, however, and was swiftly running out of road. As he reached the end, he spared a look back and saw the mime hot on his heels. Left with no choice, Trent took a breath and leaped into the water.

As he came up for air, he saw that the mime had skidded to stop right at the docks' edge, imitating being stopped by a ‘wall’. Smirking as he realized what was happening, Trent called "What? Can't swim?" In response, the mime stopped imitating and began inhaling, making Trent's smile fade. Before it could dive in, however, he hurriedly called "Wait! You'll… you'll run your makeup!"

That got the mime to stop. After a moment, he sadly nodded and walked away. Trent gave a fist-pump, muttering "Yes!" He then began swimming for the shore, eager to dry off. However, in his eagerness, he couldn't help but feel like he was forgetting… something.

As he began to contemplate what that was, however, he was distracted by the sound of an explosion accompanied by a small shake in the ground. He quickly looked in the direction the noise came from and saw a small green cloud rise up from the forest.

"What in the world…?" he said to himself.

Not far from where the explosion went off, Bridgette was walking through the woods with her hands in her hoodie. "Okay, Bridgette, you can do this. What's six hours, anyway? That literally a quarter of a day," she told herself.

That was when the sound of the blast reached her, and she looked around in shocked confusion. That certainly didn't sound like something Chris would use to scare her. So what was it?

Then something Bridgette was pretty sure wasn't a zombie emerged from between the trees. That said, it was humanoid-shaped, smelled like the dead, and was walking towards her while moaning with its arms raised.

Already on edge from being in the forest, Bridgette took the logical response and nope-ed right the heck out of there, screaming the whole time.

A short while after that, the door to the boathouse slammed open and Daphne staggered out, wheezing. Things had been going well until after the first clip, where she found a surprise that Chris 'failed' to mention. That in addition to all the other stuff set up to trigger her phobia, the film started simply flashing the number 13 in small Roman numerals in each corner of the screen.

Every thirteen seconds.

Once her heightened breathing, racing pulse and nausea were joined by lightheadedness, Daphne knew she had two choices: escape and lose the point for her team, or throw up, pass out, and lose the point anyway.

It wasn't a hard choice.

As Chris continued enjoying himself with raining hail on Geoff, Leshawna came out of the Bass cabin and behind him. "Don't you think he's had enough?" she asked, concerned for her fellow teammate.

Chris shrugged. "Maybe. But the longer I do this, the more chances he has to stop running from it. So in a way, I'm helping," he 'justified', though the grin on his indicated he intended to continue either way.

Leshawna frowned. "Speaking of chances to win, how are Daphne and Gwen doing?" she asked, not having seen either in the cabin.

Chris paused, thinking it over. "Well, I think Pyro Girl's still in the boathouse, so she's not out yet. I left Trent to keep an eye on Gwen and dig her up once her time was up. And I gave them radios so she could contact him," he told her.

As if by fate, that was the moment that Trent emerged from the male side of the Bass cabin, a towel against his head. "What are you guys talking about?" he asked.

Leshawna looked back at him. "I was wondering how much longer Gwen had underground," she told him.

Trent's eyes instantly went wide. "Oh crap!" he shouted, and took off for the beach. Leshawna, realizing what happened, also took off with a panicked expression.

As they reached the beach, they saw that not only was the timer over the spot blinking, but Trent's radio was lying there in the sand. Right where he dropped it when the mime first approached him. The two of them quickly grabbed shovels and began shoveling sand away. Less than a minute later, they were able to open the box, revealing a very angry goth inside.

"Gwen, you're okay!" Trent said, and received a radio to the face in reply.

An hour later, Katie and Lindsay were both given permission to finally remove their bald caps, and Justin was allowed to remove his Quasimodo-esque outfit and makeup. For going the entire time on camera looking like they did, all three of them were given points.

"Oh my gosh, I forgot how cute you look!" Katie exclaimed upon seeing Lindsay's hair again.

"Oh, you too!" Lindsy gushed, and the two hugged despite being on different teams. Justin, meanwhile, was once more looking at himself in a mirror with pride instead of horror.

Confessional Stall - Justin

"Going without my good looks in public reminded me how lucky I am. That I have been blessed with this near-supernatural beauty, and that I shouldn't take it for granted." Rubbing his cheeks softly, he added "I'll cherish it forever."

Once the three of them were presentable again, Chris gathered both teams. "Alright, campers, we're just about done. Originally, I was going to say that the Bass were two points ahead since Bridgette ran out of the woods," he began, making the surfer chick look down. "But a certain someone…" he said, glaring momentarily at Courtney. "Argued that her challenge was to be in the woods alone, and Cody's interference nullified that. So I'm giving Bridgette the point, mostly to shut that person up."

Courtney crossed her arms with a proud smirk, while the other Gophers smiled at the fact that the C.I.T.'s bossiness worked in their favor for once.

Chris said "That means the Bass and Gophers are currently sitting at 8-7. And only one person has yet to go."

Ezekiel raised an eyebrow. "But everyone already did the fears they talked about," he said in confusion.

The host chuckled. "Courtney, if you would follow me," he said, causing her to tense before slowly doing so. The rest of the campers, eager to see this, followed along. He led them to a ladder and diving board, which was suspended over a pool full of…

"Green jelly?" Heather said incredulously.

Courtney stared at the pool, shoulders slumped as she realized there wasn't a way out. She did indeed have to face her worst fear. As Chef used an oar to stir it, she shuddered. "Like surgery snot…" she said.

"The choice is yours, Courtney," Chris told her. "Just to make it interesting, I'll sweeten the deal and offer two points if you jump, meaning you have a chance to win this for your team. Or you can choose not to jump and let you all lose."

Courtney gulped and looked up at the diving board. Then, heaving a sigh, she began to climb the ladder. "This is insane. I could die!" she warned, but Chris was unmoved.

As she climbed, Gwen gave a look of exaggerated sympathy. "Man, that is harsh. It's probably even warm by now. Warm, green jelly!" she said loudly.

Courtney glared down at her. "You won't make me quit!" she called down. However, there was a tremor in her voice that made Liam frown. She nonetheless reached the top and looked down, gripping her knees hard enough for her knuckles to pale. "I…" she said, tapering off into a distressed keen. Every fiber of her hyper-competitive spirit said to jump. But standing there, feeling her heart pound and terror blank her mind, she couldn't act.

Down on the ground, a redhead grimaced.

Confessional Stall - Liam

"It's like the first challenge. If I want my team to succeed, I'll have to draw attention to myself," he said unhappily. "For this, she owes me big time."

Liam walked over to their host. "Chris," he said, getting his attention before he leaned in to whisper something.

A moment later Chris pulled out a small booklet, skimming through it. "Well, since I can't find a rule against it…" he said, before shrugging. "Just make it look good," he finished, and the redhead nodded.

As Courtney stood on the board, she was unable to hear anything beyond the blood rushing in her ears. As such, her first indication that something had changed was when she felt the board shift. Looking back, she saw that Liam was right behind her. "What are you doing?" she asked.

He raised an eyebrow. "Taking in the view," he said with flat sarcasm, before stating "I'm up here so we can jump together."

The C.I.T. blinked. "What? But… but you already did your fear! Why would you…?" she said, before looking down. "It's just for the win, huh?"

Now, Liam could have been honest and said that was the only reason. And in most cases, that wouldn't help him, so he wouldn't do that. But as he was coming to realize, the hunger for victory that drove him was also in her. Possibly even more so. And that meant, for once, he found no need to lie.

"For the win, yes. You and I are partners," he said, getting her to look up. "To the finals, no matter the struggle, or what either of us have to do. That is what we agreed, isn't it?"

Courtney looked at him, slightly stunned by the show of devotion. Then, a small smile appeared on her face. "We did, yeah," she agreed. "Alright, let's do this."

With that, the two of them moved to be standing next to each other at the end of the board. "On the count of three," Courtney said. "One… three!

Liam blinked before jumping reflexively. He closed his eyes while the C.I.T. let out a short scream as they fell, and the two landed in the pool of jelly with a thick splash. Everything in both their lines of sight turned green, and the jelly's thicker consistency made it somewhat harder to move. Nonetheless, both were able to swim upwards until they broke the surface next to each other.

As they did, Courtney quickly looked around. "I'm… I'm alive," she gasped. Then she smiled widely. "I'm alive! Which means we won!" she cheered, reaching over and hugging Liam.

The redhead paused, blinking. However, a small smile appeared on his face, unbeknownst to even himself. He did not return the hug, however, which worked to his benefit when Courtney realized what she was doing a moment later. She instantly let go of him and moved back, letting her teammates surround them and cheer.

"Alright! Awesome teamwork scene, brah!" Chris called, also giving a thumbs-up to the cameraman that caught it. "And thanks to it, the Screaming Gophers are our winners!"

The Killer Bass looked down, the team a mixture of frustrated and sad.

Once night had fallen, the Bass were at the bonfire, none of them pleased to be there. Chris, by contrast, appeared giddy.

"Well, it's certainly fun to see you all here. All but three of you participated in your challenges, so it could be anyone. On the other hand, I have access to all the footage, so I know the social game afoot," he said. That got several of the campers to look at Heather, who predictably had Lindsay next to her. Heather, by contrast, was looking directly at Daphne and Izzy, who likewise often sat together. DJ and Trent, meanwhile, looked around worriedly due to having no alliance of their own. "With that thought hanging over you, come up and claim a marshmallow if you hear your name!" Chris happily declared.

"Izzy…" The crazy girl took hers with a wide grin.

"Gwen…" She gave a small smile and accepted her marshmallow.

"DJ…" The gentle giant happily stood and walked over.

"Lindsay…" She applauded and ran over for her prize.

"Owen…" The large teen whooped and ate his.

"Heather…" The queen bee snatched hers off the plate with a smirk.

"Daphne…" The pyro sighed and grabbed hers.

"Trent…" The guitarist smiled and confidently took his marshmallow. "And last, potentially least…" The remaining two, Leshawna and Geoff, looked at each other nervously.

…

…

…

"Leshawna."

Leshawna sagged in relief before taking his marshmallow, while Geoff looked at his teammates. "Wait. For real, guys?" he said.

Several of the campers appeared saddened by the result, especially Trent, Owen and DJ. Heather, Leshawna and Lindsay, however, were unsurprised. Slumping his shoulders, he said "Well, it was fun while it lasted.

Getting to his feet, he gave fist-bumps to the three guys. As he boarded the Boat of Losers, he held up a 'hang ten' sign with both hands.

"Party on, dudes!" he called, getting several of the campers to smile and wave goodbye as the boat left.

Chapter 8: A Twisted Island

Chapter Text

After the Phobia Factor challenge, Chris gave the campers a few days to rest and recoup. Some used the time to genuinely relax. Others, however, used the time to make plans. As they sat together in the main lodge, Liam and Courtney checked to make sure there were no other campers around before beginning. "Okay, so thanks to Cody and Harold, we have five out of the now-nine votes for our team. It'll be impossible for us to be eliminated now," Courtney said.

Liam nodded. "We've done well in following two of the three Rules," he remarked.

Courtney paused, frowning in confusion. "What rules?"

"It was distilled from a very interesting book I read," he answered. "In essence, these Rules are what need to be followed to obtain and keep power."

The C.I.T. leaned back. "Elaborate," she told him.

Giving her a smile he said "Rule 1: Obtain the loyalty of the key supporters. In the context of this show, that would be our teammates. Rule 2 is to maintain that loyalty by controlling the flow of income. For us, that would be the votes that determine if we 'live' or 'die'."

She raised an eyebrow. "And the third rule?"

"That would be the one we'll need to consider soon: Minimizing the number of necessary supporters," Liam said. "With our bloc of five, we'll soon be down to eight teammates. And once that happens, we won't need one of the others anymore."

Courtney hummed, considering that. "If we do need to get rid of one of them, I suggest Ezekiel. He's been useful so far, but he hasn't made any other alliances, so removing him would be an easy sell," she said.

'And the fact he's in my pocket has nothing to do with that,' he thought sarcastically. He had to give it to her; for all the cunning he possessed, Courtney had it alongside a much smaller sense of mercy. But that was fine, because while she might have less mercy, Liam had fewer morals. Put them together, and it made these planning sessions thrilling.

He didn't voice these thoughts aloud, and instead listened as she continued "But we won't be cutting anyone out of our bloc until we've lost twice. For now we need to decide who to get rid of after our next loss."

Liam raised an eyebrow. "And who did you have in mind?" he asked curiously.

Across the camp, a similar meeting was taking place in the female side of the Bass cabin. Heather, Leshawna and Lindsay sat on their respective beds, the other girls having gone out for one reason or another.

"So, girls, I was thinking…" Heather began. "What would you say about bringing Gwen into the alliance?"

"Gwen?" Leshawna repeated. Thinking it over, she said "Girl's definitely smart enough to be worth it. And unlike Izzy, she doesn't give me a headache nearly every time we talk."

Lindsay said "I think it would be fun. We could do our nails together, or get tans…" Then she perked up and raised her hand. "Oh, oh! Maybe we can bring Tyler into the alliance!"

"Tyler's on the other team, girl," Leshawna patiently reminded.

"So?" Lindsay replied. In a rare moment of insight, she said "He may not be able to vote with us, but he can tell us what the other team is doing."

Heather stopped. "That…" she said, before trailing off.

Leshawna was also quiet, tapping her chin as she mulled it over. "It could be pretty helpful," she said, and the queen bee slowly nodded in agreement.

The fact that it came from Lindsay of all people made Heather doubtful, but she supposed the girl had some working neurons. "It's definitely something to consider," she allowed. "But for now, we should focus on getting an ally on our own team."

Leshawna nodded. "I agree. Just one problem: Why would Gwen want to join us to begin with?" she asked.

Heather gave a victorious grin. "Well… I have it on good authority that our loner goth likes a certain someone at camp," she revealed.

Both girls stared at her in surprise. "For real?" Leshawna asked, and she nodded, though Heather declined to provide the details of her source. "So what, you hook them up and she's grateful enough that she joins us?"

"Exactly," Heather confirmed. "I offer to help Gwen get what her heart wants, and in exchange, she gives me what we want," she reasoned.

The larger girl crossed her arms, considering it. "...As long as we're being honest about it, I suppose there's no harm in offering," she said.

That made Heather frown, not having intended to be upfront with Gwen about her intentions. Then again, maybe Weird Goth Girl was smart enough to figure it out when she offered. For now, she just nodded to appease Leshawna.

Then Lindsay raised her hand again. "Wait. So who's Gwen's crush?" she asked, making Heather smirk.

She managed to get rid of Geoff after the last challenge, even if she was unsure who cast the fourth vote for him. Now she was going to finish making things even, and turn Gwen into the resource she used to get rid of Leshawna.

Once their break ended, Chris had the eighteen campers assembled next to the beach. "Hope you enjoyed your rest, campers, because your challenge begins with a camp classic: a canoe ride," he declared. Waving his hand at the beach, they saw a total of nine canoes waiting for them, each with a number from 1 to 9 painted on them and all colored brown except the ninth canoe, which was painted half-red and half-green. "Each of you will partner up and paddle across the lake… to Boney Island!" he said, adding a tone of horror to the island's name.

"Once you get there, you will walk with your canoes to the beach on the opposite side. There, you will build a rescue fire to be judged by me. First team to do that and make it back to camp wins immunity!" he explained. "When you arrive on the island, however, wait a sec before running off. I've got a surprise for everyone!" he revealed, putting each camper on edge. "Don't worry, this one is completely harmless. Now each of you pick a partner and stand next to a canoe."

As the two teams broke apart, Katie looked between the Bass and Gophers, wondering who she could pick. A sad frown came to her; focused as she had been with spending time with Sadie, there wasn't anyone else she had become friends with. No one she could easily approach.

Then she felt a finger tap her shoulder, and turned to see Cody. "Wanna go together?" he offered politely.

Katie smiled thankfully. "Thanks, Cody," she said, and the geek returned her smile as they walked to the canoe labeled #4.

Gwen looked over to Trent, debating whether or not to canoe with him. However, Lindsay abruptly walked over and grabbed his arm. "Trent, you and I have to ride together!" she told him.

Trent reared back in surprise. "I guess. I mean, sure," he said, giving her a confused but friendly smile. She grinned and pulled him over to the first canoe, leaving Gwen behind them.

Gwen sighed, and that was the moment Heather chose to walk over. "Care to paddle with me?" she asked innocently and the goth shrugged apathetically. Smiling, the queen bee led them to the canoe farthest from Trent's, i.e. canoe #9.

Daphne and Izzy looked at each, shared a grin, and darted for the fifth canoe together. As they put on their life jackets, Izzy said "Just follow my lead, Daph. I'm 1/87th Cherokee, so the tribe could, like, claim me at any time!"

As with most of Izzy's stories by this point, Daphne simply quirked an eyebrow. It could be true or it couldn't, but the brunette could never tell. And to her, that was half the fun in hearing them. "Then I'll let you paddle at the front," she said, and Izzy crossed her arms with a proud grin.

Courtney took one look at her teammates and grabbed Liam's arm. No way was she sitting in a canoe with any of the other Gophers. Except maybe Bridgette. "Let’s go," she declared, and Liam acquiesced with a nod and a yawn as they began to push canoe #7. Ezekiel and Owen gave each other shrugs before walking together to canoe #2, while Justin and Leshawna picked up the third canoe and Bridgette and Harold partnered up in the sixth.

DJ gave the side of his canoe a small kick. "Hey, man?" he asked, getting Tyler's attention. "How often do canoes flip over?"

The athletic teen gave him a confused look. "They, uh, don't. That's kayaks," Tyler said, getting him to sigh in relief. "Why? Scared of water?"

DJ nodded. "Ever since I was a kid," he confirmed. "So if we could take it easy out there, I'd appreciate it."

"No problem, man. I got your back," he said, making the gentle giant smile.

When all the campers had their canoes in the water and were seated, Chris held up a revolver. Pointing it skyward, he said "On your marks… get set… GO!" He punctuated that exclamation with a shot, and the campers began pedaling.

A moment later, a dead bird fell out of the sky, having been shot by Chris. "That's… gonna get some folks angry," he remarked.

Once the campers were out on the water, Izzy was passing the time with another of her stories. "...And then we ran into this group of bushwhackers. They taught us how to trap and hunt alligators. Oh, and koalas!" she concluded.

Daphne hummed. While she wasn't quite sure if koala hunting was legal or not, she quite doubted something like hunting laws would stop Izzy. "So how does that tie into the Emu War?" she asked, referencing Izzy's claim to have been in the war during a past life.

The orange-haired girl just grinned, pleased to see that she had been following the conversation.

The two of them continued rowing in silence. However, after a few minutes had passed, Izzy suddenly spoke, sounding far more serious than Daphne had ever heard her. "...Hey, Daph?" she asked.

She raised an eyebrow. "What's up?"

"Well... we're friends, right?" Izzy said.

Daphne automatically replied "Of course," making her smile.

"I wasn't sure if I'd make any on the show. A lot of people find me funny, but most of them aren't willing to help and encourage all the stuff I do," she admitted. "But since day one, you never got mad at me, even during the bear prank."

The pyro shrugged. "Well, it was pretty fun," she replied. "But also, when I make a real friend, I take that friendship seriously. And the best friends are the ones that do crazy things together."

That made Izzy laugh a little. "I'm glad you see it that way," she said, before looking ahead. "And friends… they trust each other, right?"

"Yeah…?" Daphne said, wondering where she was going with this.

At that point, her teammate turned to face her. "Then can I trust you?" she asked.

Daphne nodded once more.

In contrast to the previous pair, Harold and Bridgette were mostly silent as they paddled. For Harold, this was because he noticed that Bridgette seemed down, and wasn't sure how to broach the subject.

Eventually, he decided to be blunt and asked "Something on your mind?"

She looked back at him. "It's well… it's Geoff," she said.

He raised an eyebrow. "The guy on the other team? Who got voted off after the last challenge?" he asked for clarity.

Bridgette nodded. "He and I had been spending time together and… I don't know, I feel like there was something there. Maybe someone to go out with. But now he's off the show, and I won't be able to find out," she explained.

The nerd thought about this. "Hmm… Well, you two could always go out once the show's over," he suggested. "If he felt the same way about you, I don't see why he'd turn you down."

"Maybe…" the surfer chick said. "But how do I know if he'll still feel the same after so long apart?"

Harold shrugged. "If it's meant to be, it'll happen. There's someone at camp I like," he said frankly. While Bridgette's eyes widened, he continued "But I'm not ready to admit it to her yet. Still, I believe in true love, and that I'll work up the courage eventually."

Bridgette looked down for a moment. "And… if 'true love' is what exists between Geoff and I, it'll still be there after the show?" she asked.

He nodded. "I think it's worth taking the risk to find out. You miss every shot you don't take," he replied.

That got her a smile slightly. "Yeah… You might have a point," she said, before looking back up. "You're a good listener, Harold."

Harold smiled back. "Thanks," he said, and the two of them continued rowing.

As Heather and Gwen paddled in their own canoe, Heather sat in the back. She also had a smirk on her face, but she made sure to remove it before she cleared her throat. "Gwen?"

The goth grunted but didn't respond.

"I was hoping to get your thoughts on something. It's about Trent," Heather stated.

As expected, that got Gwen to look behind her. "What about him?" she asked.

She didn't sound as interested as Heather hoped. Then again, Trent had just left her buried alive a few days ago. Still, this was her chance. "Well, I noticed he seemed to be spending an awful lot of time with you. In fact, I think he has a crush on you."

Gwen's eyes widened. "I… Are you joking with me?"

Heather chuckled. "Not at all. I saw how often he steals an extra muffin or coffee for you at breakfast. Or often how he goes swimming with you. Or how you both support each other in every challenge," she listed off.

The goth was silent, choosing to look ahead so Heather couldn't see the blush on her face. However, the queen bee was able to read her reaction from her posture, and fought to not grin. "You know, if you want, I could talk to Lindsay about rowing with her on the way back. That way you and Trent can have a canoe all to yourselves."

Gwen looked back. "You'd do that?" she asked, before frowning. "What's the catch?"

"Well…" Heather said, pretending to consider it. "I didn't come up with anything specific," she fibbed. "But if you wanted to just owe me one, that would be fine."

She was quiet, mulling it over. Once she came to a decision, Gwen smiled. "Alright, deal," she said.

Heather allowed her grin to appear.

Confessional Stall - Heather

"It starts with making them indebted to me. Gwen can have her romance if she wants—because if she gets together with Trent, their votes become a package deal. And calling in that favor, plus Lindsay and a one-time truce with the crazy girls, will be enough to vote off Leshawna," She grinned. "I'm so close to finally getting rid of her, I can taste it."

Only a few minutes later, all the campers paused their conversations. A bank of fog had abruptly appeared and was quickly enveloping them. Not only did it obscure sight, it also deadened sound, leaving nothing audible save for the waves as each of them paddled.

Any sense of joy about the trip faded in face of such a foreboding atmosphere. The further they rowed, the denser the fog grew. At one point, none of them could see more than ten feet beyond their canoes. Then, just as quickly as it appeared, the fog parted to show them an island with a skull carved into one of its cliffs.

Boney Island, the "deadliest island in Muskoka".

As promised, Chris was standing on the beach, having flown ahead of them on his chopper. Once each canoe made it onto the beach, he gave them all a smile. "Glad to see you all made it our lovely haunted island."

"So it is haunted!" Daphne said victoriously, and Izzy grinned in excitement.

Ignoring them, Chris said "In a moment, all of you will resume your race to reach the other end of the island, build an acceptable rescue fire and row back. But first, you can toss that canoe." He pointed at the multicolored one. "Because you two won't need it when you row back with your new teammates !"

"Huh?!" several campers called.

Chris gave them all his most gleeful smile yet. "Over the last six challenges, we've been watching the social game between all of you. Friendships have been made, alliances formed, all of it fun to watch. Unfortunately, it seems like the voting blocs are mostly set by this point, making the next few eliminations more predictable. Which I find to be boring. Therefore, I'm reorganizing the teams!"

Each of the campers froze at that, trying to think of the implications. Heather's eyes went wide, and she vocalized what many of them were thinking. "You what?!" she shouted. "You… You can't do that!"

"I can, I have, and I am," Chris replied, making her gnash her teeth in rage. "Heather and Gwen, since you both happened to pick the last canoe, you'll each be going to separate teams. Time to pick which of you goes to which."

The goth and queen bee looked at each other, both appearing unsure, though Heather's look was tinged with anger.

Confessional Stall - Heather

"NOOOO!" she screamed in frustration. "The whole reason I had Lindsay go with Trent was so I could get Gwen's vote! If we're on separate teams now, what good is she?!"

As Heather fumed, Gwen looked around uncertainly. Her honest answer would have been 'the same team as Trent'. Yet she didn't know if Trent would be on the team she picked or not.

After a moment’s hesitation, she said "I'll… go with the Gophers.

Heather crossed her arms. "Fine. Just fine," she bit out, unwilling to speak further.

Chris nodded in seeming understanding. "Alright, then Heather remains on the Killer Bass. Your teammates will be the campers in canoes 5 through 8. Canoes 1-4, you're the new Screaming Gophers."

The new teams looked at each other, trying to decide what to make of this change. Heather was especially incensed at the realization that she had been separated from Lindsay, Gwen and Leshawna. Gwen sighed in relief at picking the right team, while several of the others gave smiles or high-fives to their rowing partner.

One such pair was DJ and Tyler. As they high-fived, Tyler called "Alright! Same team! Whoo!"

Harold gave a handshake to Bridgette. "To the Gophers for us both, it seems," he said.

Bridgette smiled. "I'm happy to be on it," she replied.

Courtney, meanwhile, leaned in closer to Liam. "This changes everything," she whispered, and he nodded in agreement.

Confessional Stall - Liam

"You know, I have a sneaking suspicion that Chris is only doing this because I practically controlled my team's future eliminations with my alliance. Now I've lost both Ezekiel and Cody, and Harold was only in because Cody was too. Courtney seems to be playing it smart and sticking with the allies she has. Namely, me. Still, there goes my majority…" he said before sighing. "And my time taking it easy."

Confessional Stall - Ezekiel

"I'm grateful to Liam for helping me stick around this long. But although he seems like a good guy, I was always just following him around." The homeschooler grinned and held up a fist. "But now, I finally have a chance to show the world what the Z can do!"

Confessional Stall - Lindsay

"You know, it's kind of a bummer not being on the same team as Helen anymore," she said, looking down. Then she perked back up. "But at least Lequisha and I are still teammates! And then there's Justin. Between me and him, we're like, the two most beautiful people on the island! That means we'll definitely win, right?"

Given that her canoe was no longer needed, Gwen quickly joined Trent and Lindsay in carrying theirs, getting a smile from Trent. "I'm glad to see we're still on the same team," he said.

Gwen was silent for a moment. As much as she didn't want to compete against the musician, she was still upset about being left underground. Still, she managed to respond "Likewise," before focusing ahead.

Heather, meanwhile, was looking between her teammates. Out of all of them, the only ones she had already been teammates with were DJ, Daphne and Izzy. But DJ was carrying a canoe with Harold, and just imagining spending time around that geek made her lip curl. Then again, the thought of putting up with 'The Pyro and the Psycho', as she mentally labeled them, gave her a headache.

Then Daphne, who had seemingly noticed her uncertainty, said "Hey, Heather. Want to walk with us?"

The queen bee frowned. Beggars couldn't be choosers, it seemed, and she walked over to join them. As the teams separated into their new arrangements, the new Gophers were quick to pick up their canoes and resume the trek for the other side of the island. The new Bass quickly did the same and darted into the island's dark forest.

As they ran, Courtney suppressed a grimace. A two-hour hike through the woods on a potentially-haunted island. Lovely. Still, this did present an opportunity. "We need to restrategize," she said.

Behind her, Liam nodded. "I agree. We lost two of our alliance members, and we shouldn't count on Harold to stick around. Which means we need new allies."

"At least two," Courtney replied. "Unless one of us screws up and becomes a scapegoat, the teams haven't had time to unify enough to force someone out. If we recruit two people and all four of us survive the next elimination, we'll be safe again."

"Right. That just leaves the question of who to recruit. If we're optimistic, Harold does stay on and fills one slot. Whoever we want to fill the other should be who we target first, regardless of which scenario plays out," he reasoned. "And I'm thinking of DJ."

She raised an eyebrow. "DJ? Don't get me wrong, he can be amazing in challenges. But he doesn't strike me as the 'join a secret alliance' type," she pointed out. "What about Bridgette?"

Liam hummed. "Hmm… Polite, useful in challenges, probably willing to keep a secret…" he muttered. "The idea has potential. I'll consider it if you consider DJ. Sound fair?"

She nodded, and the two of them continued walking. While they did, he mentally noted with some amusem*nt that neither of them had even thought to suggest recruiting Heather. Then again, Courtney's reason and his were probably the same: she would never accept Courtney taking the lead in such an alliance. Oh, well.

About ten minutes into the hike, the Killer Bass were beginning to pull ahead when a tree suddenly fell in their path, bringing both teams to a halt before it. The shrubbery around the path began to rustle, and Cody worriedly said "I think I see something moving."

Then, from the bushes emerged something that somewhat resembled a beaver. However, these beavers not only had the size and proportions closer to a bear, but each of them sported a pair of gleaming curled tusks in addition to their large front teeth. As one of them stepped closer with a loud thud , each of the campers' eyes widened.

"Killer beavers!" Katie cried out in fear, and all campers began running away, screaming.

Confessional Stall - Chris

"A holdover from the Pleistocene Era, the Woolly Beaver is a rodent primarily active during daylight hours, and indigenous to Boney Island. Oh, and they're carnivores," he added with a chuckle.

As the two teams ran away from the beaver herd, they eventually came to a cliffside next to a small puddle. Said cliff wall was dotted with several large nests, though they could not see anything in them at the moment.

While the campers charged right in, the beavers came to a stop at the edge of the puddle. After a moment of glaring at the campers, the beasts slowly turned away. Trent sighed in relief at the sight. "They're really leaving," he said.

Owen looked from side to side. "Um, did anyone pack a spare change of underwear?" he asked. When the other campers laughed at the assumed joke, he said "No, seriously," and punctuated it with a fart.

A fart loud enough to wake the residents of the nests. Rising into view, they saw that the creatures appeared to be massive geese, far larger than any they had seen. Additionally, a row of sharp teeth peeked out from their bills and they glared at the campers with uncanny intelligence.

Confessional Stall - Chris

"Did I forget to mention the Stymphalian Canadian geese? They may be omnivores, but they are very territorial. And can fly for long periods of time."

The campers raced to escape this new threat, and Owen stated "Yep, gonna need new underwear later."

Ezekiel was, thankfully, in front of him under the canoe. When the farmboy looked back, however, his expression grew panicked. "They're gaining on us!" he told the others.

Cody glanced down at his pockets. "Now I'm wishing I had brought that bread," he muttered.

"Someone do something!" Gwen yelled.

Daphne grinned. "Oh, oh! I can do something!" she offered. When Gwen just nodded, she let go of her canoe and spun around, reaching for her pockets. From one, she pulled out the lighter she always kept. And from her back pocket, she produced a bottle of hairspray.

Flicking the lighter on, she held it before the spray can as the other campers ran past her, both to escape the geese and Daphne. She waited until just before the geese reached her and yelled "BURN!" Pressing down on the nozzle, the improvised flamethrower spewed forth a jet of flame at the birds.

The man-eating geese responded by shrieking and flapping their wings, coming to a halt away from the fire. As Daphne cackled and began spraying fire in arcs, the flock began breaking apart rather than stay and get burnt. The rest of them soon followed, retreating to their nests and the eggs likely therein. Despite that, Daphne didn't appear to be in a rush to stop making fire.

Her pupils were huge, and she had even begun humming a tune as she kept her flamethrower going. "Burn~, How I burn~ , How I burn~, How I~" she sang softly, utterly enraptured.

As she came perilously close to setting one of the trees on fire, Heather frowned. "Daphne, you can stop now."

When the brunette gave no indication she heard her, she said "Daphne, I'm talking to you."

Still nothing, but then Izzy shouted "HEY DAPH!"

"Hmm?" the pyromaniac said, cutting off the fire and looking over.

Grinning at her, Izzy gently said "We have to go make that rescue fire, remember?"

Daphne blinked. "Rescue fire… right," she said, nodding as she quietly rejoined her teammate under their canoe.

During that exchange, the Screaming Gophers had pulled ahead of them. Once they came to a fork in the road, they quickly took the right path due to it being straighter. The Bass, seeking to gain an advantage, went left.

Due to DJ helping carry the canoe, he and Tyler were near the front. However, their difference in height also meant that the canoe was obscuring his vision. This came to haunt him when, halfway through their hike, he suddenly felt himself sinking into the ground.

"What the—?" he said, before he looked down and his eyes widened. "Quicksand!" he yelled.

Confession Stall - Chris

The host was struggling not to break down in laughter. "I can't believe that actually worked. I set that up because we had a surplus in the budget, not because I expected someone to fall for it!" he said, wiping a tear from his eye. "Oh, I love this show."

The other Bass came to a stop in front of the quicksand. "Oh, no! Someone find something for him to grab!" Bridgette told them.

In a display of ingenuity, Tyler looked up at the canoe he was still carrying. "Here, man!" he said, and held one end out to him. DJ quickly grabbed it, and the jock called "Everyone, help me pull him out!"

The others were quick to comply, and over the course of a minute they were able to slowly and safely pull DJ out of the quicksand.

Once he was out, DJ breathed a sigh in relief. "Thought I was a goner, there," he said. Giving Tyler a smile, he said "Thanks, man. For real."

Tyler grinned and nodded, while Heather crossed her arms. "Very touching. Now let’s get back to winning this challenge!"

Because they had taken the path with the quicksand, the Bass were the first to arrive at the beach, where Chris was watching from his chopper. By the time the Gophers made it, they had already gathered the sticks for their fire and had gotten one started thanks to the remaining fuel in Daphne’s lighter.

With both Ezekiel and Owen on their team, they thankfully had the knowledge of how to quickly build a decent fire. A circular space was cleared on the sand, which Trent and Gwen lined with rocks from the forest. Katie, Cody and Lindsay had been tasked with gathering sticks which formed the base of their fire, followed by a layer of dry grass and leaves. Due to not having a lighter of their own, they had to use Ezekiel's pocket knife to carve notches in planks of bark, which they began spinning sticks on.

As they were trying to light their planks, Heather emerged from the trees with some more sticks, which served to make their team’s fire bigger. "So far so good. Anyone have any ideas for sealing the deal?" Heather asked.

"I've got this," Izzy said from behind the team, causing them to turn and look. She was holding a brown-orange ball with twigs coming out of it. She explained "It's a homemade firestarter with tree sap and sand. This baby can make that fire big."

Daphne’s eyebrows rose. "How big a fire are we talking?" she asked. When Izzy's answer was to just grin, the brunette and all of the other Bass took several steps backwards. And then several more.

The orange-haired girl looked to be sure the coast was clear, and then gently lobbed the ball into the fire. Instantly, the somewhat small campfire blossomed into a miniature mushroom cloud of pure heat. It reached even higher than Chris's helicopter, forcing him to quickly swerve away to avoid being engulfed. Every camper stopped and stared at the inferno, watching as it slowly died down to a fire the size of an adult human.

Heather looked over at Izzy, who was seated on the ground with her front entirely covering in ash. "Where did you learn that?!" she asked.

Izzy waved her hand casually. "I spent a summer training with the RCMP. They taught me stuff like that and... I may or may not have blown up a kitchen of theirs," she explained. That just got the others to stare at her, which made her smile more. "Yeah, I'm totally AWOL."

Daphne looked from the fire to Izzy, eyes comically huge. "You have to teach me that," she begged, falling to her knees in pleading. When Izzy just shrugged and gave her a nod, her expression lit up like a miniature sun.

Chris whipped out his loudspeaker, happily calling "That’s a winning rescue fire for the Bass! Now get paddling!"

The Bass quickly loaded up into their canoes, with Heather taking her chances with DJ and Tyler instead of rowing with Izzy after that display. The Gophers, still without a lit fire of their own, took almost five more minutes to get theirs large enough to pass muster.

Leshawna, in no mood to waste time, picked up Justin and threw him into their canoe. "Let’s move it, people!" she called, and her teammates nodded.

To Gwen's surprise, as they were getting ready, she saw Lindsay join Leshawna, also getting into her canoe. 'I guess Heather came through,' she thought in surprise. Still, she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth, and she and Trent began pushing their canoe into the water together.

Both teams began to hurriedly canoe back. However, due to their early lead and the fact they had DJ, the Bass stayed far ahead of the Gophers. Even with Leshawna and Trent providing encouragement, it wasn't enough to close the gap. As DJ's canoe touched the camp's shores, Chris declared "Today winners: the new Killer Bass!"

Looking at the new Gophers, he said "Sucks to be you guys. Still, since I'm a nice guy, I'll let both teams sit at the campfire tonight. Give you all one last time to sit down with your former teammates." And with that he walked away, leaving the Gophers to look among themselves on who to vote for.

As both teams sat at the campfire, Chris held up a plate with eight marshmallows. "And now for my personal favorite part: the anxiety-inducing marshmallow ceremony. And with everyone here, the shame for the one who walks the Dock of Shame will be even more… shameful," he said. While the campers gave him various unamused looks at the joke, he ignored them and continued "When you hear your name, come get a marshmallow and enjoy another night of safety."

"Trent…" The guitarist grinned and gave a smile to Gwen as he stepped up.

"Gwen…" She returned that smile and joined him to get a marshmallow.

"Cody…" The nerd muttered "Sweetness!" as he walked over.

"Leshawna…" With the other team, Heather crossed her arms and did her best to appear calm as Leshawna got her marshmallow.

"Justin…" The model gave a dazzling grin as he triumphantly accepted his prize.

"Lindsay…" The blonde clapped her hands together and ran over to get her treat, while Tyler silently cheered.

"Ezekiel…" The home-schooler sighed in relief at not getting eliminated right after the swap, and Liam hid a frown.

The last two, Owen and Katie, looked at each nervously. "Only one will be leaving tonight. The one who will remain on Total Drama Island a little longer is…" Chris began.

…

…

…

"Owen."

"Yes! Whoo!" the large boy shouted, shooting to his feet and running over for a marshmallow. Katie, meanwhile, looked down at the ground in dismay. Some of the other campers also appeared sad, notably Cody, Bridgette and Lindsay.

As she stood up to leave, she looked back at the three of them. "I had a great time here, guys, even without Sadie. Thanks for being so great," she said, giving them a smile while holding back tears.

"I really wished you had stayed…" Cody muttered.

Katie's smile widened and she gave the nerd a quick hug. Surprised, he returned it. "You're a sweet guy, Cody. I hope I get to see you again after the season's over," she told him, before giving Bridgette and Lindsay waves goodbye.

As she walked out onto the Dock of Shame, she continued looking at the ground. But when the sound of the Boat of Losers' engine reached her ears, she looked up and gasped.

Standing on the boat was Sadie.

"Sadie!" she shouted, tears breaking free and she ran forward. Leaping onto the Boat, the two BFFs embraced with shared cries of "Eee!"

Those campers that had followed to watch her leave smiled at the scene, seeing the two of them literally ride away into the night. Once Katie was gone, the campers began to head for their beds.

One that lingered, however, was Izzy, who stared into the sky with a perplexed expression.

"Hmm…" she hummed.

Chapter 9: Hunters and Prey

Chapter Text

Following the creation of the new teams, all campers that were moved to a new team had to move their luggage to the other cabin. For Liam, who slept best the fewer people were around, this meant he had a net loss of two roommates, losing Justin, Ezekiel and Cody in favor of DJ. He still had Harold and Tyler, which he was glad for since it gave him a chance to keep the nerd in his sphere.

As he put away his clothes, he looked over as Harold did the same thing next to the bed across from him. He reached for his bag and produced a familiar comic. "Here you go," he said, holding it out to him.

Harold looked over and nodded, taking it without a word. That caused Liam to raise an eyebrow. Given how into the idea of 'honor' his fellow redhead was, he usually said 'thanks'. "Something on your mind?" he asked.

Harold was silent for a moment… and then sighed. "I'm bummed that Cody and I aren't on the same team anymore," he admitted. "After we joined forces to stop Duncan from picking on me… I don't know. I guess we became friends, you know?"

Liam nodded in understanding. "And now you're going to have to actively work so he loses in order for you to stay in," he pointed out.

"No kidding. I just hope, even when I win challenges and he doesn't, he stays long enough for the teams to break up," Harold replied.

There was an opening, Liam realized. "But until then, we need to stay alive whenever our team loses as well," he said.

"We?" Harold repeated, looking over at him. "Meaning you still want an alliance with me?"

Liam raised both his hands. "How could dumping you help me?" he asked honestly.

Harold lowered his head, considering it. "...I suppose you and Courtney are still working together?" he asked, to which he nodded. "With me, that makes up a third of our votes. That isn't a lot," he said.

Suppressing a frown, Liam replied "Courtney did point that out. She suggested we also recruit a fourth person to be safe."

"Anyone in particular?" the nerd questioned.

He shrugged. "Not really; if you stayed in, she wanted to get your input before we made a decision," he claimed.

The lie did its job of making Harold smile slightly, hearing that someone else valued his opinion. "Well, there is someone I can think of," he said, making the other redhead look at him curiously. "We can discuss it later though. For now…"

And with that, Harold reached into his luggage and handed him the next Batman issue. He then resumed putting away his clothes, missing Liam's annoyed expression.

The next morning, before most of the campers had woken up, two were busy in the lodge's kitchen. Daphne and DJ were moving to and fro, the smell of sizzling meat and baking goods filling the kitchen.

"How in the heck did you convince Chef to let us do this?" Daphne asked, looking back at DJ.

The larger teen shrugged. "Turns out, Chef doesn't really like all the cooking he has to do. He's required to make it all bland and barely edible as part of the show," he revealed.

She leaned back in surprise, thinking it over. "Huh… Makes me wonder what Chef's real cooking tastes like," she thought aloud. "If one of us wins, we should use some of the prize money to hire him and find out."

DJ smiled. "Sounds like a plan," he agreed. Then he stepped over to the stove, where he had one pan with bacon and another with eggs. "Now for Mama's special ingredient," he added, producing a spice shaker from his pocket. As he began adding its contents to both items, Daphne moved in front of the oven next to him.

As she put on a pair of oven mittens, she grimaced. "I hate that it's bad if I don't wear these," she muttered. If humans were fireproof, she could surround herself in all the fire and heat she wanted without any worry. Alas, she had to be as cautious as anyone else. Flipping the lid open, she then slowly extracted her own culinary creation: a dozen banana-blueberry muffins.

By the time they had finished cooling, DJ had finished his portion of the cooking. Nine of the muffins were placed on one plate, as well as most of the bacon. The remaining bacon, eggs and other three muffins were divided among three other plates, which DJ then carried on both arms into the dining area.

Seated at one of the tables was both Owen and Tyler, both of whom perked up upon their arrival. "Hmm, that smells really good," Owen said, visibly salivating as the plates came closer.

Daphne chuckled and placed the plate with the muffins in front of him. "Thanks again for agreeing to taste-test our stuff. It's been a while since either of us has cooked," she told them.

Tyler nodded. "No prob. I'm probably gonna need a lot of protein and carbs for today's challenge," he said. It wasn't a bad guess; whatever the challenge would end up being, Chris would probably ensure it was physically exhausting. Or mentally exhausting. Or both.

"And I'm always up for trying out food!" Owen enthusiastically added. He then picked up one of the muffins and tossed it into his mouth, eating it whole. As he chewed, his eyes gained a sparkle and he moaned. "Fruity… buttery… so good!" he said, before grabbing one more in each hand and biting into both at once.

While Daphne was making a fist-pump–"I knew the extra butter would do it!" she muttered–Tyler stabbed a forkful of eggs and began to eat them. Similar to Owen, a set of hearts appeared in his eyes and he looked at his plate in awe. "It's like scrambled Heaven…" he said, tearing into his eggs with a gusto.

DJ crossed his arms and smirked in pride. "I owe it all to Mama," he declared, before sitting down to eat his own plate. Daphne did the same, though she did take one muffin back from Owen to save for Izzy.

The day after that, Chris had apparently decided the new teams had gotten enough time to get used to each other. Rather than use the loudspeaker or a megaphone, Chris decided to be a little 'creative' with their latest wake-up call. As in, by flying a helicopter over the cabins.

For Liam, the sound of the helicopter was enough to snap him wide-awake, eyes bulging in terror. "Get away!" he screamed, lunging out of bed and waving his arms around him. "You're not getting me today!" he added, before diving under the bunk bed that DJ was using. Even in a frenzy, he recognized the value of putting a large meat shield between him and his fear.

DJ looked down from the top bunk with a raised eyebrow, but refrained from commenting.

On the other side of the Bass cabin, Heather woke up much more calmly. As she took in her new roommates, she grimaced. 'Right. No Lindsay to warm up my shower for me,' she thought. On the other hand, at least she was finally away from Leshawna. She'd have preferred to have her eliminated, but this would do for now. She just needed new minions allies to secure herself on her new team.

As she began to gather her clothes, she took stock of her options. There was the Psycho Duo, but she was loath to pick them. Courtney was a possibility, especially because she suspected she had an alliance with that sleeper Liam. 'He probably just does whatever she says so he can get back to lazing around,' she thought. Hmm… if she did form an alliance with them, and then kicked Courtney out down the line, she could have her own Lindsay 2.0 to boss around. One with an actual functioning brain.

She put Courtney on her list of 'maybes'.

And then there was Bridgette… who she knew nothing about aside from being a surfer chick and having a fear of being in the woods alone. Oh, and she had seen her drop things several times during the first challenge. Not enough to go on yet, but learning more would have to wait.

For now, she had a shower to heat up. By herself. Ugh. Though, as she exited the Bass cabin, she could hear Leshawna finishing shouting "...Getting on my last nerve!" and she grinned.

Ooooh, she was going to enjoy trying to crush her.

After the campers were given time to shower and dress, Chris informed them via loudspeaker to gather at the bonfire pit for breakfast. When they all arrived, they found him standing next to a pyramid of… canned beans? Before they could ask what that was about, he began "Alright, campers. Are you ready for today's… extreme, maximum-impact challenge?!"

Tyler grinned. "Yeah, baby! Bring it on!" he cheered, making Lindsay giggle next to him.

Owen likewise yelled "We're ready!" while Leshawna rolled her eyes to his right.

Chris grinned. "Loving the enthusiasm! But first, incoming!" he called, before grabbing one of the bean cans and pitching it at Gwen. Her eyes widened as the can sailed towards her face. Its impact was halted by Trent, who caught it and gave her a grin. Gwen looked away, though with a smile that she knew he saw. "This is breakfast!" Chris added.

Ezekiel gave the can a look-over. "Sure beats Chef's eggs," he remarked.

Heather shook her head. "Even that stuff is at least cooked. Raw food from a can is not breakfast," she scorned.

Cody, meanwhile, raised his hand and asked the most pertinent question. "Can we get a can opener?" Chris's answer was to toss him a bean can and can opener at the side time, clocking him on either side of the head with both. "Thanks…" Cody moaned as he swayed before falling over.

Turning away from the geek with a satisfied grin, Chris said "Today's challenge is one of survival. But instead of camping this time, we're going hunting." And with that, he pulled out a green painted gun from behind his back.

Courtney took a look at the gun and her brow furrowed. "We're hunting with paintball guns?" she asked.

"Correctamundo, Courtney," Chris confirmed. "This will be the first paintball deer hunt! Eat up and then follow me into the woods where I'll explain," he told all of them.

All of the campers heard a large belch, and they looked back towards the can pyramid. Seated next to it was Owen, over a dozen empty cans scattered around him. "Got any more?" he politely asked with his face covered in beans.

After eating and following Chris, he led them to a billboard that had several paintball guns racked on it, all of them planted either green or red. And in front of it was a small green chest.

"Now for how the teams will be broken down. For the Screaming Gophers, your hunters are Ezekiel, Lindsay, Leshawna, and Justin," he said, tossing them each a green rifle. "The paint in your guns will be orange. And using blue paint for the Bass, we have Izzy, Liam, Daphne and Bridgette."

Each of them was tossed a red rifle, and Izzy grinned. "Alright, now we're talking," she said, holding it up to aim down the sights.

"You also get these wicked orange sunglasses and awesome camo hats," Chris said, pulling a pair of such items from the chest to show them off. "Stylish. The rest of you, meanwhile, will be today's deer." Reaching into the chest again, he finished "Here are your antlers, shining red noses… and cute fluffy tails."

Heather crossed her arms and glared at Chris. "There is no way I'm wearing one of those," she said flatly.

But Chris placed the antlers on her head anyway, saying "Take these off, and your team is out. Feel free to gamble your odds if you do that." While Heather's glare turned positively nuclear, he simply turned his back to her and faced the other campers.

"For those of you who are deer, your goal is simple: don't get shot. For you hunters, you have to try to hit as many of the other team's deer as possible. Whichever team has the least painted deer when the time runs out wins," he explained.

As Heather and Courtney raised their hands, he quickly added "We'll know if you try to wash it off." Their hands went back down. "Screaming Gophers, since you have one fewer deer to worry about, I'm giving you a head start. Get ready…" he said, and Trent, Owen, Gwen and Cody quickly tensed. "And… go!"

They quickly took off into the woods. A minute later, he let Harold, DJ, Courtney, Tyler and Heather run off as well.

Once they made it far enough from camp, the Gophers deer slowed to a walk.

Looking down at her bright red nose, Gwen sighed. "Just when I thought I couldn't be made to do anything lamer," she groused.

In an attempt to lighten her up, Cody said "Come on, it could be fun!"

While that got him a glare from Gwen and a raised eyebrow from Trent, Owen nodded. "Yeah! It's a classic game of hunter and prey! And we, as the prey, must be able to evade and outwit the hunters for survival!" he said, looking left and right with narrowed eyes and an excited smile.

Cody grinned. "And I'm both small and quick, so I'm great at dodging."

Owen grinned back. "Then shall we be the elusive prey together, and outsmart the hunting Bass?" he asked over-formally.

"We shall, good sir," Cody replied just as formally, adding on a bow. Then he turned to face Gwen and Trent. "See ya, guys!" he said, and they both turned to run off in another direction.

The other two watched then equally, equally flummoxed by what just happened. "O...kay," Trent eventually said. Shaking his head, he then said "Guess that leaves just us… alone. In the woods. Away from everyone else." By the end, his expression had transitioned to a smile.

Gwen looked around, just to be sure. They were indeed alone. A smile of her own, much wider than she usually showed, grew on her face. "So we are," she agreed, and the two of them walked deeper into the forest.

Once the Bass deer were allowed into the woods, the first to speak up was DJ. "Good luck to y'all, but I'm out of here," he declared. He then proceeded to prance away on all fours at high-speed, making the others stare.

Tyler was the first to recover, and he said "So should we stay together or, like, scatter?"

Courtney crossed her arms. "I say we should stick together. We'll be better able to tell if a hunter is coming if there's more than one of us," she stated.

"I don't think so," Heather suddenly disagreed. "Maybe if we were actual deer, but we just have these stupid tails. I say we scatter so that if one of us gets caught, the others don't."

Harold looked between the two of them. While he did agree with Courtney, the thought of staying around Heather caused him to flash back to the dodgeball game. And the trick she played on him then. "I agree with Heather," he said, causing Courtney to look at him in surprise. "If we scatter, the hunters will be forced to do the same instead of working together," he quickly justified.

In his mind, he added 'And we don't have to save her if she gets cornered.'

The C.I.T. flight back the glare she wanted to send him. Harold was part of her alliance, but couldn't he take her side? And Liam assured her that he had taken care of him… She'd have to have a talk with him after the challenge. For now, she ground out "Fine. Every deer and doe for themselves, then!" before turning and angrily sprinting away.

Heather grinned, turning and walking off.

Confessional Stall - Heather

"That was a little test to see how well Courtney would respond to being overruled. And now I know: not well at all," she said with a smirk. Then it switched to a frown. "But this does mean that, if I want to avoid making more enemies, I'll have to keep being polite to my teammates. Even when they should be the ones going out of their way for me," she said, looking away.

Then she glanced back at the camera. "What? Any and all people should worship me. Sooner or later, someone's going to figure that out," she said matter-of-factly.

As they waited for Chris to let them start hunting, Ezekiel couldn't help but grin. "This challenge is right up my alley. We've got this," he said confidently.

Lindsay smiled as well. "Tyler's a deer, right? So I should go look for him! Then we can find somewhere quiet, talk for a while…" she trailed off with a sigh.

"And shoot him, right?" Leshawna asked her.

"Huh?" She blinked. "Oh, right! Yeah, that too!" she assured them.

From the looks of Leshawna and Justin's faces, they were not convinced. The former exhaled and looked at the model. "At least you not talking is gonna help here," she said.

The model grinned.

With the Bass, Bridgette was less enthusiastic, and she sighed as she held up her gun. Seeing that, Liam said "Just remember: These paintballs will only sting slightly. We're not hurting anyone."

"I know, but I'll still feel bad," she said. "Especially if we find Cody. He was a teammate."

He bowed his head, choosing not to argue the point. "Then if we see him, you can choose to let him go. That still leaves three other deer," he offered.

She smiled. "Thanks, Liam," she said. Then she paused. "Um, by the way. Since we'll be going into the forest, I was wondering if, um…"

He could see where this was going. "If I could stay with you so you don't have to relive your phobia again?" he asked, and she nodded. "Sure thing," he said, before turning to Izzy and Daphne. "How about we split into pairs?" he called to them.

"Sounds good to me!" Daphne replied while Izzy gave a thumbs-up.

Just then, Chris came onto the loudspeaker. "Hunters, start your paintball. It's… game on!" he declared, and all eight hunters rushed into the woods.

"The prey is a tensely-coiled spring, ready to snap into motion at any second," Owen muttered. "His senses are sharpened in anticipation of the hunt."

He crawled along the ground through the bushes. Not far from him, Cody was using his greater speed to dart from tree to tree for cover. "He never knows when the moment will strike. And that is why, at all times, he must remain calm and controlled…" he said.

And then a large fart ripped through the space, making both his and Cody's eyes widen. Cody sniffed and groaned. "Beans…" he muttered.

DJ stopped at a clearing in the forest. Seeing a small patch of grass on the ground, he leaned down and ripped it with his teeth before he began chewing. Birds sang from the treetops above that, combined with the sunlight, turned it into a picturesque setting.

He took a moment to sigh and relax. It wasn't often he had the chance to just be at one with nature during these challenges. Even the camping challenge hadn't really given the time besides finding Bunny. But now, he could bask in it.

As DJ continued to enjoy the woods, he was unaware of a pair of eyes trained on him. They moved closer, unseen amidst the foliage.

Once the Gopher hunters split up to find more deer, Lindsay quickly became lost in the woods. She sighed at reaching the start of the hunting grounds again. "That's the third circle I've gone in… or maybe the fourth?" she thought aloud, before sighing. "I should have asked LeSheena if I could stay with her."

Then she heard a voice say "Lindsay?" and perked up.

Turning around, she confirmed her suspicions and smiled. "Tyler! How'd you know I'd be here?"

The jock grinned. "I didn't. But I figured if I wanted to find you, I should start with looking where you were, you know?" he said.

She did follow that, actually. Reaching up, she twirled a lock of her hair arpund her finger. "So… we haven't gone under the docks since the talent contest…" she began.

Tyler grinned. "Blowing off another challenge to be with my girl? Sign me up," he declared. Challenges and thrills were nice, but this was love, he was sure of it.

"Then let's go!" Lindsay said, running forward to grab his arms.

However, just then, the heel of her boot landed on a small pebble.

"Wh-Whoa!" she said, windmilling her arms. Tyler rushed closer to steady her, but she fell forward before he could get close enough. As she landed on her front, her hands instinctively tightened and a ding resounded as a paintball fired from her gun, sailing through the air and hitting Tyler… right in the groin.

His eyes bulged. "Whhhyy…?" he managed to squeak, before falling over with his hands going to the front of his now-orange pants.

"Tyler?!" Lindsay cried, scrambling to her feet and rushing over to him.

As Leshawna continued through the forest, she stopped upon hearing the sound of running water. "A river…" she muttered, moving slower. As she reached the edge of the bushes next to it, she peeked over them for any campers.

Luck was with her, as she spotted Harold standing in plain view. And he was, for some reason, in the middle of the river.

"Don't move, string bean!" she called, rising to her feet and aiming at Harold. "Stay still, and I'll be sure to hit you somewhere painless.”

Harold did freeze, but otherwise didn't appear concerned. "You won't be able to get me in here," he boasted. "Several species of deer ward off predators with their antlers by standing in deep water."

Leshawna raised an eyebrow. "And did any of those predators have a gun?" she asked, raising her own to take aim.

He smirked. "No, but when that fails…" he said, before diving into the water. Her shot went wide and he kept his head down, letting the current propel him as he swam downriver.

"Oh, no you don't!" she called, taking off after him and firing whenever he came up for air.

Not far away from that was the clearing DJ was in. The sounds of her shooting made him open his eyes and look around, body tensing. Seeing that, the eyes in the brush sharpened and a single shot range through the air.

Acting on pure instinct, DJ sprang forward and to the right. An orange paintball sailed an inch from his side, and he quickly took off in the opposite direction.

From inside the brush, Ezekiel's head popped out with a frown as he watched DJ flee. "Man, I almost had him!" he complained. "Now he's gonna be expecting an ambush. I'm gonna need to think of a plan," he said, before disappearing into the foliage again.

Owen and Cody had found a small cave to take shelter in. However, Owen's gas had picked up in frequency. And being in a somewhat-confined space caused Cody to definitely notice. "Dude, how many cans did you eat?" he asked, covering his mouth. Thankfully, the fake nose blocked his sense of smell.

Owen hummed. "I kind of wasn't keeping track. But… maybe twenty?" he said. Another fart ripped, and he continued "Sorry, man. It's just that beans are my favorite food. Well, that and pizza." Then he smiled. "Ooo, a pizza with baked beans on it…" he thought, nearly salivating at the thought.

Cody shook his head, eyes nearly watering. "Well I'm sorry, fellow prey, but I need some air," he said, walking towards the exit of the cave.

As he exited the cave, he breathed in a lung full of fresh air and wiped his eyes. Sighing in relief, he opened them… and froze.

Bridgette and Liam were right in front of him, rifles raised.

Liam smirked. "I thought we picked up a scent-trail," he said, making Cody wince. "Now don't shout, and we won't shoot."

Bridgette nodded. "Since we were teammates, I said I'd let you go," she told him, before waving her gun at the woods. "So get going," she said.

Cody stared at her a moment, before smiling. "Thanks, Bridgette. You're pretty great," he told her, before running off.

As they waited, they eventually heard Owen call "Hey, was it really that bad, Cody?" When he stepped out of the cave, however, Liam had his gun aimed at the entrance. His shot struck Owen in the forehead and knocked his antlers off, sending him onto his back as well.

The two of them turned and gave each other a high-five.

After fleeing the first shot, DJ had come to rest by a small stream that connected to the river. However, he was there for less than a minute before another shot came from the woods. Unlike the last one, this one only came close to DJ, hitting the dirt next to him.

Already on edge from before, the larger teen turned and galloped away. The pattern repeated itself three more times, with each shot slightly changing the course he was traveling on. Eventually, however, it became clear: whoever was pursuing him was corralling him towards the mountain.

Only once he was at edge did Ezekiel reveal himself. "Sorry about this DJ, but I gotta bag ya," he said.

DJ looked to the left and the right. On either side was nothing but rocky cliffs, the same as behind him. The only way to escape was past Ezekiel. He tensed his arms and legs, ready for a single massive leap.

Ezekiel aimed.

DJ tensed further.

He began squeezing the trigger.

DJ leapt higher than the ball would travel.

The barrel was raised further, and then Ezekiel finished squeezing the trigger.

This one struck DJ in the stomach, and he went down to the ground curled into a ball.

Ezekiel grinned. "Thanks, Pa," he said. Knowing he was on camera, he only mentally finished 'Some of the other stuff, I'm unsure about, but no one knows hunting like you.'

Half an hour later, Chris came onto the megaphone again. "Attention, hunters and human. Please report back to camp to tally up the scores," he announced.

As the campers slowly trickled back to camp, Chris waited for them by the totem pole. As he did, he raised an eyebrow at seeing Daphne and Izzy come from the direction of the main lodge, rather than the woods. "Mind telling me what you were doing?" he asked.

Daphne shrugged. "We thought Gwen and Trent might have blown off the challenge, so we came back to camp to look for them," she told them. Seeing the aforementioned duo walk out of the brush, their shoulders practically rubbing against each other, she added "I guess we were wrong."

He locked eyes with her for a second, before shrugging. As the others arrived from the forest, he saw the paint marks on DJ's stomach and Tyler's groin. The latter made him chuckle. "I'm going to enjoy watching the playback on how that happened," he said, making Tyler bow his head in embarrassment. Cody then arrived without a spot on him, making Chris nod in respect.

One of the last two to arrive were Leshawna and Harold. While both of them were soaking wet, Leshawna had a triumphant smirk on her face while Harold had an orange stain on his shoulder. Owen was the final arrival, and once he made it Chris tallied up the hits.

"Well, with three hit Bass versus one hit Gopher, we have a clear winner: The Screaming Gophers!" The Gophers began cheering, with Leshawna and Owen even breaking out into dance. Cody was ecstatic as well, but as he celebrated, he sent a grateful smile to Bridgette.

She sent one back, which Liam watched with a smile. That is, until Heather sent a venomous smile at Courtney. "At least they didn't shoot us all," she said, referencing her and Courtney's lack of paint. "Good thing we split up, huh?"

As she walked away, he felt a familiar hand grab his arm. "We need to talk," Courtney said, and he nodded as he let her drag him away.

"There are only eight marshmallows on this plate," Chris began. "When I call your name, come up and claim one. The camper who does not receive a marshmallow will board the Boat of Losers, never ever to return." He held up the plate.

"Our survivors are Bridgette…" She caught it with a grateful smile.

"Harold…" He let out a quiet "Yes!" as he caught his in both hands.

"Tyler…" Tyler caught his then winced as the movement of his core caused the pain in his groin to throb.

"DJ…" He caught his with one hand and a smile.

"Izzy…" She took hers without reacting.

"Liam…" He caught his marshmallow with his trademark yawn.

"Daphne…" Next to Izzy, she had similarly little reaction to being spared. "And the last remaining camper is…"

The last two, Courtney and Heather, looked at each other. Both of them had defiant glares, but it was easy to see their nervousness. Chris inhaled, prepared to announce it...

…

…

…

Before Chris could drag it out farther, the sound of a helicopter rotor reached their ears. Liam's eyes widened and he unconsciously tightened his grip. The marshmallow in his hand was turned to paste, while the others and Chris looked skywards.

A chopper bearing a Canadian leaf flew down and hovered over them. A floodlight on its front turned on and aimed down at them. "Izzy!" the pilot called over a megaphone. "You are under arrest!"

All of them turned to look at the crazy girl, who was sporting a wide grin. "Wait. All those stories you told were true?" Courtney asked incredulously.

"Aw, of course not," she assured them. "Well, except for the part about the RCMP." Then she stood and pointed at the chopper. "You'll never take me alive!" she yelled, before running off into the woods.

"Good luck, Daph!" she called behind her.

"What? Izzy, wait!" the brunette called with wide eyes.

But by then, Izzy had already disappeared into the woods, her cackling growing more distant as the chopper pursued her. While the others stared with varying degrees of shock, Chris was quick to recover. "Well, that was exciting. Good night, you all," he said, before walking away.

Eventually, the other Bass began to head back to the cabin. One that lingered, however, was Daphne, who continued to stare at the woods long after Izzy had vanished.

Heather, seeing her not moving, said "Going to spend the night here?"

But then Daphne turned to face her, and the queen bee had to avoid taking a step back at how… empty the look on her face was.

"Izzy's gone… I just lost my best friend to a bunch of cops. Just like that,” she said faintly. "Maybe forever," she added, hugging herself. "What… what am I going to do?"

Heather looked at her for a moment, unsure how to respond. Then she reflected on her thoughts earlier today… and had to suppress a grin that threatened to appear. "It's tough, losing friends," she said gently, sitting back down next to the brunette. "When we lose that one person we can count on."

Daphne nodded, not looking up from her lap.

Seeing that, Heather took another step and wrapped her arm around her comfortingly. "But don't worry about it. Even if Izzy's gone, you can rely on me," she stated.

She did look up at that, giving Heather a look that just screamed hopeful. "You really mean that, Heather?" she asked.

Like before, Heather felt a flicker of something at seeing so trusting an expression. Guilt… remorse… regret, maybe? But then also like before, she crushed that feeling and nodded. "Of course I do. Come on, let's head back," she said.

Daphne nodded and stood, not dislodging Heather's arm from around her. The two of them began to walk to their cabin together. Both of them wore smiles, though for entirely separate reasons.

Earlier that day...

"So… what should we do now?" Daphne asked, looking over at Izzy. Once the other hunters ran off into the woods, they had started walking.

The orange-haired girl hummed. "I'm… not sure. But I say we give it a few days. If nothing changes, we'll change it," she said.

The brunette nodded in acceptance. "Hopefully it will be during a challenge we lost anyway."

"Well, that's why we're here, right?" Izzy suggested, waving a hand at the area they arrived at. "Nice choice, by the way."

Daphne smirked. "As long as someone with Owen’s weight isn't up here, this place is really sturdy," she said, giving the surface under them a knock. "And hardly anyone looks here."

Izzy nodded in acceptance. "Just gotta wait 'til the challenge is done, and we should have this in the bag."

Chapter 10: Cutthroat Kitchen

Chapter Text

The day after the hunting challenge, Liam, Courtney and Bridgette were lying together on the beach in their bathing suits. A sufficient space had been cleared of trash, and they could now lie back in a set of chairs they had stolen from the boathouse.

"This was a great idea, Courtney," Bridgette said, leaning back with a sigh. "The sound of the waves is really calming."

Courtney smiled. "I usually enjoy relaxing by doing work. But it is nice to unwind like this every now and then," she admitted.

Liam chimed in, a relaxed grin on his face. "I'm more of a 'catch up on sleep' person. I guess we all have our ways of relaxing, right?"

Bridgette laughed and nodded in agreement. "Definitely. It's all about finding what works for you."

Courtney nodded, her expression calm. With a light tone, she said "...Speaking of finding what works, have you ever thought about alliances? You know, in the game?"

Bridgette's brows furrowed slightly. "Alliances? Yeah, I mean, I guess they could be a good strategy. But it seems sort of underhanded, you know?"

Liam stretched and yawned. "I totally get what you mean. But if it's between people who trust one another, that just means they're looking for each other, right?" he asked.

Courtney glanced at her. "Like there was between Katie and Sadie. Daphne and Izzy were definitely in an alliance, too," she pointed out.

Bridgette hummed as she thought about it. "Both of those examples were between friends… I guess friends working to help keep each other in the game does make some sense," she admitted. "But like Liam said, it would have to be with friends I really trust." She crossed her arms, looking down and to her right. "I wouldn't want to be a part of something that would cause drama between us or us backstabbing each other."

Courtney's smile sweetened. "Absolutely. And building trust takes time. You need to know the people you're working with really well."

As the sun began to dip toward the horizon, the surfer girl turned her head back to them. "...You two seem pretty tight. I can tell you've got a good dynamic."

Liam stifled another yawn. "It's pretty simple. Courtney makes good leadership decisions, and I'm happy to follow them," he said. While the C.I.T. preened slightly from that statement, he continued "But more friends is always merrier, I say."

Bridgette slowly nodded. "I can agree with that," she said. She then looked towards the afternoon sun, seeing it slowly descend towards the horizon while the sound of waves lulled them into a comfortable silence.

Confessional Stall - Bridgette

"An alliance with Courtney and Liam? I'm not sure. I mean, I can see that Heather's not the nicest person, and Daphne makes me worry every time she's near an open fire. But Harold and I had that great talk, while DJ's such a sweet guy, and I think he's friends with Tyler! I don't know about trying to get rid of any of them," she said with a worried expression.

She brought a hand to her chin. "Can you do temporary alliances? Is that a thing?" she thought aloud.

The day after that, Liam had been doing his daily comic book reading, making sure to do it in view of Harold. Once he had done that for over twenty minutes, he began walking in the direction of his cabin to put it away. As he did, he spotted Gwen sitting and reading some dark gray book on a bench across from Leshawna. Meanwhile, Daphne and Heather were walking towards the docks.

The latter scene made him frown. Just one day and someone was already playing guardian angel? He had to give Heather credit, she worked fast. And given how much time Daphne and DJ spent in the kitchen together, this could be a real prob–

"–ith Heather? " he heard Gwen say incredulously, and snapped his gaze in her direction even as he kept his head turned towards the cabin.

"Shhh!" Leshawna said hurriedly, looking around. He quickly averted his gaze before they could lock eyes and continued with his walk. She spotted him, of course, but didn't seem alarmed and merely waited until he was out of sight. Once he was inside, Liam grimaced.

Was Heather also making alliances outside the team? Setting up for the future merger? Or was their conversation not about an alliance with her at all, and he was being paranoid? He sighed. Either way, he doubted he'd be able to listen in on that conversation, not with Leshawna keeping an eye out. Following Heather and Daphne it was, then.

Putting the comic book away, he stepped outside, absently noting Gwen and Leshawna walking away towards the lodge and suppressing a chuckle. But when he turned towards the docks, he heard a familiar voice call "Hey, Liam! Eh!"

Stopping, he suppressed an annoyed frown and turned to face the voice's owner. "Can I help you, Ezekiel?" he asked.

The homeschooler smiled. "I just wanted to thank you for helping me out, man. All that stuff about guys being faster, stronger or better hunting than girls? That last challenge really got me thinking," he revealed.

Despite himself, the slacker stopped and fully faced him. "Oh?"

"Yeah. I mean, Owen and I told each other stories about how much we like being outdoors with our Pa's, but he still got hunted during the challenge. And so did Tyler, even though I know he's really athletic. And Leshawna’s a girl, but she's really strong and she hunted Harold," he listed off.

Liam raised an eyebrow. "This isn't the first time you've brought up hunting with your dad," he said, remembering the talent show challenge.

Ezekiel nodded. "Hunting with Pa was one of my favorite things to do growing up. Ma would never go with us, and we'd talk when we weren't trying to sneak up on something. But if what he told me about hunting with girls can be wrong, what else was he wrong about?" he said.

The redhead stared at him for a moment. This… was a level of maturity he wasn't expecting from the farmboy. "...And because I helped you stay on long enough to see this, you now feel indebted to me?" he asked.

"Sort of.” He shrugged. "I know we can't really do anything when we're on different teams, but I heard Owen mention that these shows always get rid of the teams eventually. Maybe we can team back up then?"

Liam was silent. After a moment, he said "I don't see why not.”

Ezekiel grinned. "Sweet! Good talking to you, man," he said, and walked off.

As he did, Liam allowed a grin to form. He had been fairly annoyed at losing his investment during the canoe challenge. Maybe it would pay more dividends than he expected? And if he was right about Heather, he might need it.

The morning of the next challenge, several snores could be heard throughout the male side of the Bass cabin. With each of them having a bunk bed to themselves, everyone had their pick of top or bottom bunk. Tyler, most comfortable on the top bunk, was also the first one to be hit in the face by the morning rays.

As the light went straight for his eyes, he groaned and rolled out of bed. He landed on his fingers and, miraculously, held himself up perfectly vertical. Not even opening his eyes, he then began to take deep breaths as he did a set of handstand finger push-ups. Three reps into his morning exercise, however, a smell consisting of sweat and lotion reached his nose. Opening his eyes, he saw a pair of underwear on the ground right in front of him.

"Ah, gross!" he called, stumbling back and hitting his legs against his bed. "Whoa!" he called, losing his balance and tumbling to the ground.

The noise was enough to wake his fellow cabin mates. Liam groaned at being awake, while DJ chuckled at seeing him sprawled out on the floor.

"Harold, dude! Not cool!" Tyler said, glaring at the nerd.

Harold glanced at the pair of briefs. "You have no proof those are mine," he declared.

DJ, who had gotten out of bed at this point, pointed. "Isn't that your name sewn on 'em?" he asked.

"Whatever! I'm going to take a shower!" he replied, grabbing his towel and walking out of the cabin.

The other redhead peaked one eye out from under his blanket. "It's too early for this nonsense…" he muttered.

After breakfast, Chris had the campers join him on the beach. As they stood in a line before him, he began "This challenge will test your minds, your teamwork and, above all, your skills in the kitchen."

That made both DJ and Daphne smile, while he continued "Both teams will cook a three-course meal consisting of an appetizer, a main dish and a dessert, and then serve them to me for tasting. Each team will also elect a head chef to oversee the cooking and devise the theme of the meal."

He then waved his hand towards the shore. To their collective confusion, a food truck backed out of the water and onto the beach, appearing perfectly fine despite being underwater. "Every day, a food truck delivers food to the island. Your meals must be made from the ingredients inside," Chris told them. Then, to add to their confusion, the driver window rolled down and a dolphin wearing a driver's outfit leaned out, saluting them.

"...I have so many questions," Courtney muttered, staring at the dolphin, while Chris chuckled and left them to get started.

Seeing that she was distracted, Heather said "I call head chef! Any objections? No? Great!"

The C.I.T. blinked. "Wait. But I–You–!" she said, before gritting her teeth. "Rrrgh, fine! What's the theme, then?" she asked.

Heather's response was to walk over to the food truck and open the rear door, letting both teams take a look inside. They could see crates full of different fruit, eggs, several meats, the list went on. 'I see that when it's his taste buds on the line, Chris spares no expense,' Liam thought. Something told him their host wouldn't have gotten ingredients this nice and varied if they had to eat their own food.

As she examined the truck's contents, Heather said "Since we are at a summer camp, I'm thinking we should go with a summer barbecue theme." Spotting a rack of ribs, she said "We can oven-bake those."

Daphne grinned. "If it's working with an oven, I can do it," she offered.

DJ smiled. "I'm really good with spices. If we make ribs, I can put together the spices and sauces for them," he said.

"Perfect," Heather said with a smile. It was so nice when people obeyed her. "That'll be our main dish."

Courtney crossed her arms and pouted. But as much as she wanted to take charge, she could also see the others getting into the idea. "...I know a glazed fruit salad I could make for dessert," she ground out.

Seeing her willing to help, Liam quickly added "I can help with that and make strawberry lemonade to drink. Chris might give us bonus points for that."

"He might," Heather allowed. "But do that only once you and Courtney have finished making dessert," she said sternly, and Liam acquiesced with a nod. Seeing the others in such a volunteering mood, she said "Any takers for the appetizer?"

As a vegetarian, Bridgette looked away from the meat and towards the other parts of the truck. And as her eyes landed on a crate of cheese, her memories of the Surf Shack came to mind. "How about fried cheese bites with a dipping sauce?" she suggested.

Heather thought it over before nodding. "That'll do. Tyler, you help her with that. Harold, you're also on ribs duty," she ordered.

Harold frowned. "I think I would be better served helping with the appetizer. I'm a black belt at cutting cheese," he declared.

That made several of his teammates snort or chuckle, while Heather rolled her eyes. "Whatever, fine. Tyler, you help make the ribs," she said. Once she got nods from them, she said "Then let's move it!" and they quickly moved to gather their ingredients.

Meanwhile, with the Gophers, none of them were as quick to take the role of head chef as Heather. "So… who wants to be the leader?" Ezekiel asked.

Leshawna crossed her arms. "I can do it if none of y'all mind," she said. The others gave various nods or shrugs. "Good, 'cause I know a recipe for pineapple chutney that'll knock Chris's socks off," she proclaimed.

Owen spoke up. "Speaking from experience, chutney is usually best served with grilled meat," he told them, starting to salivate at the thought. "How about a nice, juicy steak? Oh, oh! Or steak and potatoes?"

Cody hummed. "What if we cut steak into strips and served it over rice?" he suggested.

"I like that idea," Leshawna replied. "Gwen, can you help Lindsay make the rice?" she asked, giving a meaningful glance over at the blonde.

Gwen grimaced, but when she looked over at Lindsay playing with her hair she sighed. "Sure," she said, to which the larger girl gave her a thankful look.

"Justin, you can help me with the pineapple part of my chutney. Stuff gives my skin a rash," Leshawna told him. The model gave her a nod, and she said "Owen, since you wanted to do the steak, you and Ezekiel do that."

"Sounds good to me!" Owen said, while Ezekiel replied "Can do!"

Cody and Trent looked at each other. "Guess that leaves you and me for dessert, man," the former said. "Any ideas?"

Trent rubbed his chin. "Hmm… Well, Chris is pretty vain, right?" he said.

"That's an understatement," Gwen said flatly, and the other team members chuckled.

Trent laughed as well, and continued "So he'd probably want something fancy for dessert. And my mom had this really simple recipe for chocolate mousse," he said.

"Sounds great! Let's get what we need and get started," Leshawna said, and they joined the Bass in crowding the back of the truck in search of ingredients.

Once the teams made it back to their respective kitchens, they broke off into their arranged groups to handle each of the courses. In the Bass kitchen, Harold and Bridgette were taking a large mound of mozzarella and pulling pieces off it, then rolling the pieces into balls.

As they worked, the latter looked over at her teammate. "So… I had a nice time with Liam and Courtney the other day," she began with forced casualness. "We had a conversation. About alliances."

Harold looked over from the tray they were laying the cheese balls on. "They told you about our alliance?"

Bridgette blinked. "Wait. Our alliance? You mean you're already with them?" she asked.

He winced, realizing that he had given it away by accident. Well, since he was being honest… "Before the swap, it was actually us plus Ezekiel and Cody. That was how we were able to vote off Duncan," he revealed.

She was silent for a moment. "...Wasn't he giving you a hard time at the start of the show?" she asked.

"Exactly. So Cody and I agreed to join them if they helped kick Duncan off the show before he could keep bullying me," Harold explained. "Then once he was gone, it made more sense to stick together. Did they invite you to join too?"

Bridgette frowned. "Sort of. I told them I wouldn't make an alliance without taking the time to build up trust. And they seemed to take it pretty well."

"That makes sense. Liam's definitely okay with taking time to do something, even if he's pretty smart," the nerd told her.

She raised an eyebrow. "How do you figure that? It seems to me like he does nothing but sleep or whatever Courtney tells him to," she pointed out.

"Maybe. But you remember during the phobia challenge, when he jumped with Courtney to make sure she would?" he asked. She nodded, and he continued "And don't forget that he was the first to jump off the cliff in the first challenge. Which made it easier for the rest of us to work up the nerve."

Bridgette looked across the kitchen to the other redhead, who was busy chopping fruit. "So you're saying that he knew we'd definitely lose if he didn't do those things?"

"I'm saying he might have guessed it, and decided to act on it," Harold replied. "Between that and him being in an alliance at all, I think he may be smarter than he lets on."

"Hmm…" she said. "...And what about Courtney? Do you think she can be trusted?"

He nodded. "Courtney really likes winning, and being an alliance makes it more likely for her to do that. Once it's just us, though, I don't know how far she'll go. I just hope I have someone else to watch my back by then."

Bridgette slowly smiled. "Well… you've got me, right? We could look out for each other and our alliance-mates," she said.

Harold smiled back. "Our alliance-mates?" he quipped.

She chuckled and lightly tossed a cheese ball at him, which he caught. "It sounds better if you're a part of it. I think I can trust you." Then she leaned forward, smiling fading somewhat. "And if Duncan had stayed and you got hurt, I'd have definitely said something."

Harold nodded. "I believe that. It's why staying in this alliance sounds better to me if you're joining," he said, before extending his hand. "I see this as the start of an awesome friendship," he said.

Bridgette shook his hand with a grin, and the two of them switched to making the bread crumbs for the balls.

Their handshake did not go unnoticed by Courtney, who said "That seems to be going well."

Liam nodded. "I hope so. Things are looking more and more troublesome," he said quietly, switching his gaze to Daphne, DJ and Tyler. From this distance and over the kitchen noise, he could make out a few words of their conversation. It appeared to be about spices.

Courtney glanced in the same direction long enough to know what he was talking about, then both looked back down at the fruit they were cutting. "I saw her come back into the cabin with Heather the other night. She was pretty quick to make friends once Izzy was gone, wasn't she?"

He shrugged. "I saw it as the reverse–that Heather was quick to make friends with her."

She tilted her head. "Maybe so. Either way, if she gets either DJ's or Tyler's vote too… Or worse, both," she said, shaking her head. "You're right, this could be trouble. Even with Bridgette, we'd be evenly matched."

"Exactly. So we need to deal with this before it becomes a problem," he said, sticking his cutting knife into the board. He then wiped his hands off with a cloth and said "That’s all the banana slices you needed. What's next?"

"Next, you can start making the glaze. Get some sugar, lemon juice and strawberries," she ordered.

"Yes, ma'am," Liam replied, walking off while she smiled.

Standing in front of one of the stoves, Lindsay rubbed the back of her head. "So, if we're going to steam some rice, how do we make the steam?" she asked.

Gwen had to resist facepalming. "We need a pot of water to boil. Here," she said, reaching into one of the cabinets and pulling out a measuring cup and a pot. "You see this mark here?" she asked, pointing at the 1 cup mark. "Fill this to that point with water. Add that to the pot and then do it again. Can you do that?"

"That's it?" Lindsay asked. "I can do that!" she said, taking the cup and walking off.

The goth sighed. Maybe if she finished making this early, she could have some time to write in her diary. It had been a moment since she had written anything. As she looked over at Trent, who was carrying a carton of eggs in, the two of them exchanged glances.

Once she had a pot on the stove and was awaiting water, she walked over to him. "Where's Cody?" she asked.

He jerked his thumb back towards the door. "I think he went with Owen to get the steak. Was worried he'd eat it even though it's not cooked yet," he explained.

She raised an eyebrow, but the flatness of her expression showed she was unsurprised. "We should probably have someone watch the food after it's cooked, too," she stated.

"I can do that. Plus, I'm making a second serving of mousse just for him, in case he gets any ideas," Trent told her, setting the eggs down.

Gwen paused. "That's… really nice of you," she said.

He grunted. "Owen's not such a bad guy… once you get past the food and smell. He's pretty cool," he said. She was about to remark on that when she heard a voice behind her.

"Gwyneth? I finished adding the water," Lindsay said, holding the measuring cup up as she turned around.

A full measuring cup.

Gwen frowned, replaying her earlier words. Then she groaned and walked over to the pot. Sure enough, it had a single cup of water in it. "I meant to add them both to the pot," she snapped, grabbing the cup and pouring the rest of the water in while she threw her a glare.

"Ooohhh," Lindsay said in realization, before blinking. "Sorry..." she said, bowing her head and grabbing her arm.

Despite her irritation–both at Lindsay and being interrupted–a part of her twinged at that. With the sorrowful look Lindsay was giving her, and those wide eyes… she felt she'd be kicking a puppy if she kept going. Her glare faded, and she said "It's… it's fine. Can you get me the bag of rice now?"

The blonde perked back up, grinning at being trusted to do something else too. "Be right back!" she said, and rushed off.

Once she was gone, she refocused on Trent and saw him smiling at her. "You know, you can be pretty nice, too," he said.

Slowly, she smiled back, before walking over and helping him crack the eggs. She had definitely some writing to do.

Once the spices for the ribs were mixed and the sauces prepared, DJ and Daphne nodded in satisfaction. "Now we just got to get this baby ready for the oven!" DJ said.

"I'll get the ribs!" Tyler said eagerly, running over to where they had the rack on a platter on another counter to give them space. As he rushed back with the platter in front of him, Heather stepped into his path, looking down at a clipboard and pen in her hands. "Comin' through!" he called.

Heather looked up and quickly jumped back. In doing so, however, her pen slipped from her clipboard and rolled across the floor. Then, as Tyler passed over it, his foot landed on the pen and he immediately slipped. "Whoa!" he called, falling onto his back and reflexively tossing the heavy metal platter up so he could brace himself.

Every Bass's eyes widened as, in almost slow motion, both the platter and the ribs went into the air. The rib rack was sent forward towards DJ, who opened his arms to catch it. The platter, meanwhile, went upwards. As it came to stop, Daphne could see where it would fall: directly onto Tyler.

"Watch out!" she called, diving forward. The platter fell in front of her and she caught it with both hands. A moment later she landed, and both she and Tyler froze.

The platter had nearly landed on his family jewels.

"...Well… that was a close one, huh?" Tyler said. Two nut shots in two challenges, and on international TV? He couldn't imagine the humiliation. "Thanks, Daphne."

The brunette nodded and stood up. "Don't mention it," before giving him a hand to stand up.

Heather reached down to pick up her pen. "Yeah, catastrophe averted. Great. Now, shall we get back to work?" she called, getting her teammates to refocus on cooking.

As he cut strawberries into small chunks, Liam's eyes narrowed in Heather's direction. He honestly couldn't tell if that whole event had been planned or not. That… unsettled him.

Cody, Owen, and Ezekiel walked briskly back to the lodge kitchen, Owen hoisting a massive steak over his shoulder. Both Ezekiel and Owen were laughing over a joke Cody had made, but said laughter halted once they rounded a corner. A low buzzing sound reached their ears, and their eyes widened in alarm as they stumbled upon a nest of angry hornets. The insects swarmed around the nest, forming a small dark cloud that appeared ready to move.

"Oh, jeez. What should we do?" Owen asked fearfully, backing away and hugging the steak to himself.

Cody's forehead creased in worry. "I have no idea, man. I say we just run; I don't want to get stung if those hornets get to us."

Ezekiel spoke up. "Well, I know that peppermint oil usually repels hornets. Maybe if we can find something that smells minty, we can keep 'em away," he suggested.

Cody's eyes lit up with a spark of inspiration. "Mint, huh? I got this!" With a swift movement, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bottle. A large label on it read 'Super-Strength Mint Mouthwash’. Ezekiel and Owen exchanged puzzled glances, but Cody was undeterred. He uncapped the bottle, allowing the potent scent of mint to waft through the air.

As the fumes diffused, the hornets seemed to hesitate, their aggressive flight patterns disrupted. "Whoa, dude, it's actually working!" Owen exclaimed, relief washing over his face.

Cody waved the bottle of mouthwash until there was a wall of fumes between them and the hornets, creating a barrier. With the hornets reluctantly retreating, the trio cautiously edged along on the path to the lodge, keeping Cody between them and the hornets the entire way.

Once the nest was out of sight, the three of them finally relaxed. Small bits of laughter began to erupt from them as they realized how absurd the situation had been. "Well, glad that went well," Ezekiel said, looking over at Cody. "How come you have that stuff on you anyway?"

The geek grinned. "Cause ya never know when some pretty lady's gonna want some action with the Codemeister," he said 'smoothly', capping the mouthwash and pocketing it.

"Wow. I have so much to learn about being around women," Owen said in awe, and Ezekiel nodded in agreement.

Cody's grin grew, and he placed an arm over each of their shoulders. "Then friends, let me introduce you to the Cody School of Awesomeness with the Ladies, name pending," he declared.

A few hours later, both teams were putting the finishing touches on their meals. While Chris sat at one of the bench tables (covered in cloth for the occasion) Heather pulled out a set of matches and lit the candles on the table. "Your dinner will be ready momentarily," she said gracefully.

Chris, ever used to be waited on hand and foot, simply nodded. "Nice presentation," he said, making her smile while, behind her, Liam and Courtney did the same.

Then Leshawna and Justin walked out, and their smiles faded as they saw the pitcher of iced lemonade in the model's hands. Leshawna smirked at them. "I had extra time after I made the chutney. It was Justin's idea," she said. That got them to glare at the model, who gave them a shrug and an apologetic smile.

Chris grinned as he accepted a glass and took a sip. "Aah, nice. No points just for this, but it certainly puts me in a better mood for your actual courses," he said, making Leshawna pump her fist as she went back to the Gopher kitchen.

Once he was gone, Heather hissed "That chiseled man-candy stole our idea!"

"If only we had time to make it," Courtney muttered.

Liam frowned, tempted to point out that he would have had time to make at least a little lemonade if the C.I.T. hadn't forced him to triple-check the ingredient portions while they were cooking. Then again, seeing her upset, it probably wouldn't help.

As it was, the appetizers were the first to be served, with the Gophers being allowed to serve theirs first. What Chris received was a bowl containing several chunks of pineapple in a thick brown sauce along with… "Is that garlic and onions?" Chris asked warily.

Leshawna nodded. "My own pineapple chutney. Trust me, you'll love it," she assured him.

Chris raised both eyebrows, but nonetheless scooped up some with a spoon. "Well, I can always score a zero…" he muttered, making some of the Gophers appear nervous.

As he took a bite and chewed, he hummed. "Tangy… spicy… Yet sweet… And do I taste cinnamon?" he asked, and Leshawna nodded. Swallowing, he smiled. "You know what, I think I like it. Eight points for the Gophers!" They cheered and Heather stifled a grimace.

For the Bass, she brought out a small plate covered in golden brown balls along with a small saucer of red sauce. "Fried cheese balls with marinara dipping sauce, our gracious host," she said, backing away.

Chris hummed and took one of the balls, squeezing it between his fingers. When it didn't immediately break into crumbs, he nodded and dipped it before popping it in his mouth. After swallowing it, he said "On their own? I'd give these a six…" The Bass began to deflate, and he added "But since I have weakness for tomatoes, the inclusion of the sauce gets you another point. So seven."

Courtney pouted but didn't protest in case Chris decided to dock them points. "We'll just make it up with the main course," she declared.

Chris hummed. "Sounds promising. But first…" he replied, looking away as the next Gopher course arrived. Looking down at it, he said "Nice idea to follow that stuff up with meat." Picking at the rice, he said "But steamed rice, instead of fried? And you didn't even add any cilantro to it."

"Cila-wha?" Lindsay repeated.

As he bit into one of the steak strips, he added "And I prefer my steak medium rare, not well done."

"How were we supposed to know that?" Ezekiel muttered, but was also ignored.

"Still, the steak's not that bad. Decent texture. And this…" Chris continued, taking a sip of lemonade. "Makes it go down easier," he said, making Justin grin. "Seven out of ten points," he finished.

Once that tasting was done, DJ carefully placed the platter of oven-baked ribs in front of him. "Made will tender love and care," the teen said.

Chris inhaled. "Hmm… Smells like good barbecue," he said. Taking a rib, he attempted to pull off a piece of meat. It came away easily, making him smile. "Almost ready to fall off the bone. No burnt edges, not too thick on the sauce…" Then he ate the piece while also taking a bite into the rest of the rib.

A moment later, his eyes flew open. And if the competitors didn't know better, they could have sworn there were stars in his pupils. "Holy mother of pearl! That is good rib meat," he said, taking another bite with gusto. "Mmm, not just good, but great. A perfect ten!"

Now it was the Bass who cheered, including Daphne and DJ giving each other a double high-five. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" DJ exclaimed, and Daphne nodded.

Confessional Stall - Daphne

"I knew it! I knew my cooking skills would come in clutch eventually! Every reality show has cooking!" she cheered, before facing the camera. "Mom, if you're watching this, I'm sorry for all the stuff I ever set on fire trying to cook new things! But, uh, it always smelled nice! Usually…"

"Well, that puts the Killer Bass up by two points. Screaming Gophers, I hope your dessert wows me," Chris said.

Owen, who was holding an empty glass bowl and a spoon, nodded. "Oh, it will," he promised, licking any traces off the spoon.

Chris blinked. Before he could ask whether Owen had just eaten his dessert, Trent walked out of the kitchen with another glass bowl, this one filled. "Chocolate mousse, my man," he said, handing him the spoon.

The host accepted it and grinned. "And here we have my other culinary weakness: cocoa," he said, causing the Bass to have worried expressions. He took a scoop and swallowed it. "Creamy, smooth as velvet, yet light. A fancy dinner for a fancy host…" Their worried expressions grew, while the Gophers grew excited. "Almost perfect. Nine points!"

The Gophers cheered again, and several of the Bass looked down. Courtney, on the other hand, took a deep breath and did her best to appear confident. Walking forward, she placed the final course on the table. "Fruit salad with a glazing strawberry sauce," she announced.

Chris hummed. "Looks to me like you made the sauce from actual strawberries, instead of just using syrup," he remarked.

"Of course," Courtney replied. "Only the best for your judge."

"As it should be," Chris agreed, spearing pieces of orange, banana, grape and blueberry onto his fork, all of them covered in sauce. As he chewed, he said "Good choices in fruit, nothing too heavy. And the sauce… all the flavors complement each other. No one ingredient stands out over the others…"

At that, Courtney threw a smug look Liam's way, which he pretended not to notice.

Chris swallowed, and waited for the teams to become good and tense. "For the final dish, I award… eight points!" Those quick to do the math gasped, and were confirmed when Chris called "The Killer Bass win it!"

"Woo-hoo!" the Bass celebrated. Daphne and DJ traded high-fives again before doing the same with Tyler, Bridgette and Harold both began dancing, and Heather crossed her arms and smiled victoriously.

Courtney and Liam, meanwhile, reached forward and grabbed each other's hands. "We did it! And because of my recipe!" Courtney declared.

Liam nodded. "You were right to be exact about it," he conceded. The two of them smiled at each other and prepared to face their teammates… when they realized they were still holding hands.

Both of them immediately let go, neither saying a word as they focused on Chris's next announcement. "Screaming Gophers, I'll see you at the bonfire after you enjoy Chef's mandated dinner gruel. Killer Bass, your reward as winners is… a five-star dinner under the stars."

Cue further cheering from the Bass, while the Gophers appeared either angered or dismayed.

Confessional Stall - Courtney

"Me and Liam? As if. He may like making little schemes, but he's got zero motivation about his career! He also slouches almost all the time, he'll wake up at noon and start the day with lunch if someone doesn't wake him up sooner, and don't even get me started on how worn and faded his clothes are! As if he doesn't care enough to even look nice!" she ranted, turning her nose up at the thought. "Still, he's at least smart, doesn't get up to trouble for no reason, and actually does what I tell him to. So there's that."

At the bonfire ceremony that night, several of the Gophers were looking at each other nervously. No one person was to blame, so they didn't have a scapegoat to boot out. Which meant that none of them knew for certain who was going.

Chris didn't help things by saying "I've got eight Gophers in front of me, and only seven marshmallows of sweet salvation. I wish you all luck… not that it'll help much in a voting system." He chuckled, and then said "Catch your marshmallow when I call your name."

"First one goes to Leshawna…" She caught hers with a smirk.

"Trent…" He caught the marshmallow and gave a thumbs-up back.

"Owen…" The larger boy caught his marshmallow with his teeth.

"Cody…" The geek almost caught his marshmallow with one hand, then briefly fumbled it before catching it with both.

"Gwen…" She reached up and caught hers with barely a glance.

"Justin…" He caught his with a dazzling smile and flex towards the cameras.

"Ezekiel, Lindsay, it's down to you two. Whoever does not get this last marshmallow must walk the Dock of Shame and leave via the Boat of Losers. For good," he said, causing them both to sit straight. "The last marshmallow goes to…"

…

…

…

"Lindsay."

"Yay! Alright!" the blonde cried, leaping up and catching her marshmallow with both hands.

Ezekiel sighed before looking at the ground. Chris came forward and told him "Gotta say, man, you lasted longer than I thought you would."

"Yeah… I guess so," he said morosely. Then he stood and looked up towards the sky. "But I'll be back, eh. Sooner or later, I'll be back, and I will get my hands on that prize! I swear it!" he declared with determination.

Chris leaned back. "Yeah… sure you will," he said skeptically. "Now get outta here."

Ezekiel nodded and stood up, walking along the Dock with his head held high.

As he stepped onto the Boat, he looked towards the camera. "I left a wiser man than when I arrived. I'll see you again, Total Drama!" he said, before the Boat powered on and carried him away.

Chapter 11: Trust and Deception

Chapter Text

Breakfast a few days after the cooking challenge was the same as it had been the first day after. "Presenting, pineapple-steak-rice casserole!" Chef said as he scooped some 'breakfast' onto Gwen's plate.

The goth raised an eyebrow. "As in, more leftovers from the last challenge?" she asked.

He glared at her. "That's right. Is that a problem?!" he shouted.

"Nope! No problem… sir!" Gwen said, hasty adding a salute. Chef gave her one back, and she sighed in relief as she sat down to pick at her breakfast. As Leshawna sat down next to her, the larger girl gave her a raised eyebrow. Gwen just nodded in response.

At one end of the Bass table, Liam and Courtney were, as usual, seated across from each other and speaking quietly. "What do you think?" Courtney asked.

Liam lifted his gaze from the day's breakfast to glance at his teammates. "Bridgette and Harold are close enough that we shouldn't need to worry. As long as he stays, so will she. As for the others… we suggested DJ before. As long as it's just against Heather, we may also have his vote."

She smiled. "Great. This team can't handle two bosses; one of us has to go," she said frankly.

"And that 'one' should be her," he agreed, before looking over at the Gopher table. "I see Cody hasn't been idle either," he said.

Courtney looked back long enough to see him seated with both Owen and Justin, making her raise an eyebrow before she faced forward. "If they all make it to the merger, Harold might ditch us to join his old pal. And take Bridgette with him."

He nodded. "Precisely. But unless we're willing to sabotage the other team during a challenge, they're out of our reach for now," he pointed out.

She looked over at him. "And you're… against that?" she asked, sounding slightly surprised.

He shrugged. "It would be taking a big risk. I'd only do it if it guaranteed victory," he told her, making her hum.

At the other end of the Bass table, DJ was holding Bunny while he ate his breakfast. Once he finished chewing, however, he opened his mouth and let a mash of breakfast fall out to land in Bunny's open maw.

Tyler, sitting across from him, leaned back. "That's… gross, man. Almost as gross as Harold's underwear," he stated.

"Hey!" Harold called from further down the table, but was ignored.

DJ shrugged. "Bunny's teeth haven't finished coming in. I got to feed him soft food until they're done," he told him. Nonetheless, he took his next biscuit and simply soaked it in water before giving it to the rabbit.

Daphne chimed in "We've already made a deal with Chef for once he does. He adds some broccoli to the next food order he has shipped to the island, and we clean the kitchen for him."

The jock shuddered at that image. "Good luck to you both, dudes," he replied.

Once breakfast was finished, the campers were gathered at the Docks, Chris began "Campers, over the past few challenges, there's been a lot of friendly smiles. There's also been a lot of plotting and little real trust. So I thought the best solution… would be to exploit it for more drama!"

The campers gave him unimpressed looks and he laughed. "Therefore, today will have a series of challenges that require trust. Each one will require a pair of competitors from each team. And no, you won't be deciding the pairs; I will."

Chris then led them to a large rock wall, making some of them gulp at the sight "For the Gophers, we'll have Trent and Gwen for this challenge. Bass, your fates rest with Courtney and Heather. One of you will be climbing up this wall, while your trusted teammate attaches the harness and holds the belay in case you fall. I should warn you that the wall is also rigged with some 'minor inconveniences' such as… explosives, sharp nails and oil slicks. You know, the fun stuff," he told them.

"Awesome," Harold declared in awe.

At that, Chris gives them all a grin. "One more warning: Do not let go of your partner's belay while they're climbing for any reason. Their life may depend on it," he said, causing the pairs to look at their partners.

Confessional Stall - Gwen

"I trusted Trent with my life once already. And how did that turn out? With me in a box, trapped underground," she said with her arms crossed.

"I promise, I won't let go of the rope. Not for anything," Trent assured her. Gwen looked away without saying anything, but neither did she protest as he began to attach the harness.

As they stood there, both Heather and Courtney gave each other looks of blatant distrust… before the former sighed.

"Look. I don't like this, and neither do you. So let's just win this thing, stay ahead of the Gophers and be done with it, alright?" Heather said.

Courtney stared at her a moment. "Okay… but I'm watching you," the C.I.T. warned, getting her to roll her eyes as she placed the harness on.

As Courtney and Gwen began climbing, Courtney began to reach for a rock that promptly exploded beneath her hand, sending her flying off. She stared at the descending cliff, then looked back down to Heather as she fell in silent plea. The two of them locked eyes… and then Heather pulled the rope taut.

Her line went taut as well and Courtney's fall came to a halt. Heather then called "See? Trust. Now stop failing and climb that wall!"

Courtney glared but did as asked, getting back on the wall and climbing with all due haste.

Chris smirked. "Time for a surprise!" he announced, revealing a large water gun. Giving it a few pumps, he then aimed at Heather and fired a stream of not water, but hot sauce.

The blast hit her right in the face, causing her to cry out in surprise and pain. "Chris! What's your deal?! I can't see!" she called, letting go of the rope to wipe at her eyes. Seeing that, Courtney froze on the wall and didn't move an inch.

As he was doused, Trent yelled "That burns, man!" However, he didn't let go of the rope even as his eyes watered. Gwen looked back down in concern, but he called "Don't worry about me! Keep going!"

Confessional Stall - Gwen

"Is he trying to show he cares after he ditched me before?" she wondered aloud. "If so… there are worse starts than taking hot sauce to the eyes."

Gwen was now in the lead, but then her foot landed on a patch of oil. She immediately slipped and lost her grip. "Oh crap! Aaaaah!" she screamed, falling halfway back down before her line went taut thanks to Trent.

Heather, meanwhile, finished getting the hot sauce out of her eyes and grabbed the belay again. "I've got it!" she called, and Courtney began climbing like a madwoman while Gwen struggled to catch up. Then, just as she reached the top, Courtney saw a small red tube in the rock above her.

"Not this time!" she called, and pulled it out before tossing it below her.

Gwen's eyes widened as the dynamite went off only twenty feet above her head. "Hey! Watch it with the deadly explosives!" she yelled.

Courtney called down a distracted "Sorry!" before grasping the top of the wall and hauling herself up.

"And with that, Courtney and Heather win it for the Killer Bass!" their host said. The Killer Bass all began cheering at taking the lead. Except, that is, for Heather, who scoffed at seeing Courtney cheering high above her.

The next challenge began with Justin & Cody for the Gophers and Bridgette & Tyler for the Bass, who stood inside the main lodge. An intern dived and performed a front flip before landing behind an announcement podium. A moment later, Chris emerged from behind said podium. "Campers, the time has come for… the Trust Eating Challenge!" he announced. After his declaration, all the contestants noticeably watched the intern crawl away behind Chris, but since the host declined to comment on it, so did they. "For this challenge, one of your team will be making the dish, while the other eats it," he explained.

Cody turned to Justin. "So, I saw you helping Leshawna last challenge. How good are you at cooking on your own?" Cody asked.

Justin simply shrugged, making the geek say "Okay… How about I do it, then?" and the model nodded in consent.

Tyler turned to Bridgette. "Those cheese balls you made before were the bomb. Why don't you handle this one?" he offered.

She smiled. "I appreciate the vote of confidence. I'll do it," she said, and the two of them bumped fists.

"Great! Now, your meal will consist of a takifugu, the traditional Japanese blowfish," Chris continued. Chef then emerged from the kitchen with a small fish tank on a cart, floating in which were two blowfish. "According to the biologist we asked, a single fugu contains enough lethal toxin to kill thirty people. You'll have to trust your teammates to very carefully cut around any poisonous organs. So… good luck with that." Chef then tossed a blowfish onto each of their cutting boards, and Chris called "And now, begin!"

Picking up his knife, Cody gave his teammate a nervous grin. "Well… good thing I've had steady hands ever since that bomb went off on me, right?" he said, making Justin pale.

Bridgette, on the other hand, smiled confidently and picked up the knife. "Making fish? I've got this," she said bravely.

An hour later, both teams finished preparing their dishes. Bridgette revealed a plate of sushi rolls, while Cody presented a collection of small fried filets.

Tyler picked up a roll and looked at it nervously. "Uh, does the poison have an antidote?" he asked.

"Nope!" Chris happily replied, making him gulp.

Tyler then looked at Bridgette, who gave him an encouraging smile. Returning with a nervous one, he muttered "Hope Lindsay doesn't see my face if this goes wrong," then opened his mouth and tossed the roll in. Chewing a moment, he then swallowed… and then smiled. "Good stuff!" he declared, making Bridgette sigh in relief while both Gophers frowned.

Justin then speared a filet with his fork and eyes it, before beginning to eat it. Once he also finished, he swallowed, looked over to Chris… and shrugged.

"Well, that was anticlimactic," Chris deadpanned. "I might need to adjust future challenges so things are exciting whether they go right or wrong," he said. "For now, this challenge ends in a tie. More challenges to come after my lunch break, so get ready."

During the break, Liam approached Courtney as she was sitting on the bench next to the cabin. He was wearing his swim trunks, and said "Care to join me for a swim? We can talk strategy there privately."

Courtney tilted her head for a moment, considering. "Why not? Wait for me to get changed," she said, and stood up to go inside. Once they were both ready, they began to head for the front of camp.

However, as they neared the Dock, they could already hear sounds of splashing, making them frown. Sure enough, they could soon see DJ and Daphne swimming in the water while DJs pet Bunny was sitting on the lifeguard chair.

"Well, so much for privacy," Courtney remarked with a frown.

Liam shrugged. "They're pretty far out. We can talk here," he said, walking over to the chair to pick up Bunny and place them next to the chair while they sat in it. However, as he walked closer, Courtney saw a purple, scaled shape rising up the other side of the chair.

"Look out!" she called, and the snake reared its head up to hiss at him across from Bunny.

Neither Liam, Bunny or the snake moved. While Bunny was quivering in fear, the snake and Liam locked gazes. Both of them waited for the other to react, while Courtney looked between them. Then Liam slowly said "Back. Away ."

In contrast to his normal disposition, the redhead appeared wide awake. More than that, he was, for once, visibly angry. His posture was tense, and an air of outright danger seemed to come off him. After a moment, the snake did pull back and slithered away from the dock with an annoyed hiss. Liam then quickly rushed over and collected Bunny without a word. Checking them over, he relaxed and sighed "They're alright."

Courtney then approached him and, seeing him gently cradling Bunny, had to shake her head at the feeling of whiplash. As a small smile appeared on his face, she remarked "You know… I think this is the kindest I've ever seen you."

Liam looked up at her. "...I admit that I'm lazy, conniving and can be merciless… but I have a weakness for small animals," he admitted. "Not babies; they annoy me. Mostly puppies."

The duo then heard DJ call "Guys!" and looked to see him frantically climbing onto the deck with Daphne behind him. He rushed over and Liam handed Bunny to him. "I saw what happened. Thanks for looking out for Bunny, man. I owe you one," he said.

Liam's smile grew. "It was no big deal, man," he said.

But the tall teen shook his head. "I'm serious. If anything had happened to Bunny, I don't know what I'd do. So seriously, thanks," he told him.

The redhead reared back, surprised. "Well… you're welcome, dude," he said, before looking at Courtney. "Maybe a dip in one of the rivers?"

"Sounds good," she said, and the two of them left while DJ and Daphne fussed over his pet.

Once the break and lunch was over, Chris regathered the teams in the forest. "Your next three challenges had been grouped into one. But thanks to last round's tie, I'm now scoring these separately. First up is the Blind William Tell." He then accepted two arrows and sets of orange protective glasses from the same intern who did the flip and dive.

He handed the glasses to Daphne and Owen, before placing the arrows on their heads. "For this challenge, one of your teammates will be blindfolded and tasked with knocking the arrow off your head with crabapples, like the famous William Tell himself," he explained. He then demonstrated by blindly shooting a crabapple at Owen.

The fruit bounced right off his stomach, making him rub the spot. "This won't be so bad," he replied.

Daphne, on the other hand, looked down at her much less doughy frame and muttered "Well, crap."

"Excuse me, Chris, but didn't William Tell shoot the apples with arrows?" Courtney asked.

"Oh, I wanted to have it that way," he told her. "But the producers said that the idea of contestants blindly shooting arrows at each other made them 'nervous'. Pssh," he said. "Anyway, the team that knocks off their apple while causing the least injury wins. Leshawna, Liam, take your best shots," he concluded, tossing them both a blindfold and a slingshot.

The shooters walked over to stand next to their apple crates a dozen paces away from their 'targets'. They placed their blindfolds on, and each took a crabapple and aimed with their slingshots. "Let’s rock and roll!" Chris declared.

While Leshawna hesitated, not eager to potentially hurt a teammate, Liam made the first shot with practically no pause. His shot struck Daphne in the shoulder, making her wince while Owen took one to the chest with barely a blink. "Higher up!" he said while Daphne called "Up and to the left!"

"My left or yours?" Liam asked, and when she replied that it was his left he fired again. Leshawna’s next shot got Owen on the chin, making him momentarily lose his smile as he rubbed that spot. "Almost. That was the bottom of my head," he told Leshawna.

Liam, meanwhile, fired and his crabapple soared over… towards Daphne… in the direction of her face. Her eyes widened and she had just enough time to say "Oh, fu—" before the apple struck her in the nose.

There was a low crunch.

"MOTHERFU—Ah!" she shouted, holding a hand up to her bleeding and broken nose as she instinctively tried to exhale through it.

Liam, hearing her shout, frowned and said "I hit something important, didn't I?"

Pinching her nose shut to stem the flow, Daphne glared at the blind redhead and managed to get out "You can say that." Some of her teammates, particularly Bridgette, looked ready to intervene, but she wasn't quitting. "Now go higher!"

Liam dutifully nodded and aimed slightly higher. Leshawna did the same, and while Liam's next crabapple went directly over her head, Leshawna’s clocked Owen in the forehead. His gaze turned slightly glazed, and spots danced in front of his vision. "Just a bit more, Walking Pineapple," he said.

The other contestants gave him odd looks at that while Daphne said "A little lower. Just a little."

"Got it," Liam said, and fired his apple at the same time as Leshawna. This time, he struck the arrow and knocked it clear off Daphne’s head, while Leshawna's hit Owen in the same spot. His smile turned more vacant, but the next shot was true and knocked off the arrow.

"And that's a wrap!" Chris declared, and the shooters quickly removed their blindfolds. Liam frowned at seeing his teammate injured and glaring at him, while the host examined the damages. "Well, I did say the winner would have the least injuries…" he said, looking from Daphne’s face to Owen's. "And weighing a possible conclusion against a very visible broken nose…" he continued, before smiling. "The Screaming Gophers win!"

Leshawna and the others began cheering, while Owen grinned widely. The Bass appeared generally incensed, especially Daphne. "Does this mean we get to ride the Steakmobile?" the large boy asked hopefully.

Chris paused and sent him another look. "Yeah… You know what? Why don't you two see Chef in the medical tent? The rest of you, follow me," he said, beginning to walk away.

Daphne just nodded and kept her nose pinched shut with one hand while she grabbed Owen's shoulder and began to steer him towards the tent. "Steakmobile this way?" Owen asked.

"It sure is, buddy," she replied absently, gently rubbing her nose. "This better set right…" she muttered.

Chris led them to the sight of the penultimate challenge, waving his hand to a pair of Trapeze lines suspended over a pool of water with a small platform on either end. "Welcome to the Blind Trapeze. As a forewarning, this pool was added to reduce injury… so I had it filled with live jellyfish!" The campers gasped, while Chris chuckled and handed a blindfold to Courtney and Lindsay. "You two will stand on the platforms until your teammates, who will be on the Trapezes, tell you to jump. If they time it right, they'll catch you and your team passes. If not…" Then he glanced at the water and chuckled. "Cody, Harold, you'll be the catchers," he said.

Their eyes widened and they looked at each other. "So… it's finally come to this. Directly competing with each other," Harold said gravely.

Cody nodded. "We always knew it would," he said just as seriously. Then he extended his arm. "May the best man win?" he offered.

Harold smiled. "Absolutely," he said, and grabbed his forearm with his before the two shook.

Chris faked a yawn. "Touching stuff, guys. Very manly. Now get on those ropes!" he snapped, and the two of them jumped before rushing to climb into position.

Once the geek and nerd were suspended over the water, Courtney and Lindsay placed their blindfolds on. "You better time this right!" Courtney said, unable to keep a small tremor from her voice.

"I can do that. Just trust me," Harold assured her.

That almost made her scoff. 'Trust? Not even my alliance with Liam is based on trust,' she thought. 'We're useful to each other, nothing more . Not one thing,' she mentally insisted. And now she was being asked to take a literal leap of faith and hope she wouldn't get hurt.

"Okay. Now one, two, three, jump!" she heard him call. She bent her legs and prepared to jump… then froze.

Did she trust Harold? Did she at least trust him to win this?

The moment passed and Harold grunted in frustration. "We're not gonna win this if you don't trust me!" he told her.

Right, winning. That was what mattered. And to win, she needed to jump. At least this time it wasn't over a pool of jello.

"...Alright. Ready!" she called.

"Great. One… two… three... jump!" he called, and Courtney sucked in her breath before leaping.

For a terrifying, heart-stopping moment, she felt nothing but the wind and pull of the earth. Her mind went blank. There was nothing but fear.

Then she felt a pair of arms grab hers and she exhaled. She barely even heard Chris announce that Harold caught her or her team's cheers due to the blood thundering in her ears. A moment later she was deposited on the platform and quickly ripped the blindfold off. "Okay, Gophers, see if you can match that!" Chris declared.

Cody smiled up at Lindsay. "You ready?" he called.

"Ready! Just tell me when!" Lindsay chirped.

"Alright. When you hear 'three', that's when you jump, got it?" Cody told her.

She nodded, and Liam went stiff on the sidelines as an idea hit him. A terrible, wonderful idea.

He was frozen. His senses of caution and schadenfreude warred with each other. 'I could—But should—? Sis definitely would. But it—' he rapidly thought. It would give his team the win. But he'd be exposing himself in a big way.

"Okay. One…" Cody began as he swung back.

Liam started sweating. He was a planner, a professional procrastinator. He couldn't make split decisions like this! He needed time to plan!

"Two…" He swung forward.

Screw it, he was doing—!

"Three!" a voice called, and everyone looked over… at Courtney.

Everyone, that is, except Lindsay, who obediently jumped on hearing 'three'. "Wait! Lindsay, don't!" Cody yelled, but by then her feet had already left the platform. As he swung away, the blonde had just enough time for her eyes to widen behind her blindfold before she landed in the water.

"KYAAAAH!" she screamed, resulting in horrified looks from not only the Gophers, but from most of the Bass as well. Even Liam and Heather appeared stunned, while Courtney winced.

"Ooh, that looks like it hurt," Chris said, stepping away from the pool as her thrashing sent some water over the edge. "But that does score another win for the Killer Bass."

None of the Bass responded, still preoccupied with Lindsay's flailing… which was slowing down. Chris quickly had a pair of interns pull Lindsay out. A pair of jellyfish were attached to her head and back, prompting them to begin carrying her in the direction of the medical tent.

With that handled, Chris began escorting them to the area of the last challenge. As they walked, the campers were mostly silent, reliving the previous scene in their head. Several of the Gophers were sending dirty looks at either the Bass in general or Courtney in particular. Some of the Bass, notably Bridgette and DJ, also had expressions of disapproval. For her part, the C.I.T. remained silent.

Then Leshawna split off from the Gophers. Both teams watched her, everyone aware of her and Lindsay's friendship by this point. Courtney remained silent as she approached, looking her in the eye without breaking away.

Once she was within a few feet of her, Leshawna said "What you just pulled, and just keep your team ahead in a challenge… that was cold. Real cold." Giving her a hard stare, she said "If that's what you're willing to do to win, I can't stop you. Just know that I'm watching, and I can take the kid gloves off, too. You hear me?"

To her credit, Courtney kept her voice even as she replied "Loud and clear."

"Good," Leshawna said, before walking away to rejoin her team. Once she was gone, the Bass began to slightly separate themselves. Heather and Daphne backed away. In the middle were DJ and Tyler, who looked at each uncertainly … before Tyler sent a glare at Courtney and walked over to Daphne’s other side. DJ hesitated, looking back, before he followed him.

Courtney winced at that, then looked over at Harold and Bridgette. They had yet to walk away, but Bridgette did send her a glare. "I thought I said I didn't want to be a part of something underhanded," she said.

Courtney shook her head. "You said you didn't want to be in an alliance where we stabbed each other. I stabbed the other team. Metaphorically," she said. When that didn't cause Bridgette's glare to lessen, she continued "You wanted trust between us, right? I just trusted Harold with my safety. And you can trust that I would never, ever sabotage my own allies."

Bridgette crossed her arms, not responding. Then she looked over at Harold. "What do you think of this?" she asked.

Harold frowned and was silent for a moment. Eventually, he said "It was a dishonorable tactic… but it did get us the win. Now we just have to tie or win this last challenge, and we win the whole thing, right?" He gave Courtney a wary look. "And it's true that you haven't done anything you said you wouldn't… yet."

"And I won't!" Courtney quickly assured them. "I give you my word that I won't sabotage our team or this alliance! Scout's honor!" she said, even going so far as to salute.

Harold frowned deeply. "You should know I was in a scouting group. I take that very seriously," he warned.

The C.I.T. nodded. "I understand. And I still promise."

He leaned in and gave her a hard stare of his own. The intensity of it nearly made her falter; he could maybe even give Leshawna a run for her money on glares if he was pushed. Then he sighed, and pulled away. "I'm willing to believe her," he declared.

Bridgette looked from him to her. "...Then I suppose I can try," she said, making Courtney begin to relax. "But!" she added, making her straighten again. "Even if you mess with the other team, it can't be something that gets them hurt like that, okay?"

"Definitely," Courtney assured her, and she nodded before walking ahead with Harold.

Once they were far enough away, she exhaled and relaxed. "You'd think they'd be happier I practically guaranteed that we'd win…" she muttered.

Then she felt a bump on her shoulder, her left one, and looked behind her. Standing there was Liam, who was looking at her… and smiling. Her only teammate doing that.

"Hey," he began. "I just… thought that was clever, that plan with Lindsay."

...

"...You really think so?" she asked, smiling slightly in return.

He nodded. "I really do. What made you think of doing that?" he asked.

Courtney looked to the side. "I saw an opportunity and I… just jumped," she said.

When she looked back, Liam's eyes were fully open. "You're incredible, you know?" he said. And unlike whenever he just agreed with her on something or was remarking on her leadership skills, this look, this compliment seemed more… real.

Her smile widened, before quickly turning mischievous. "I know," she quipped, making him chuckle.

Then he looked ahead and frowned. "Still… I think we can give up recruiting DJ. Or Tyler, if you had plans for him."

"I was thinking about it. In case Harold couldn't convince Bridgette to join," Courtney admitted. "But it looks like the lines have been made. It's going to be the four of us against Tyler, DJ, Daphne, and Heather."

"One big chain of friendship…" Liam muttered.

She nodded. "Exactly. And now we can't do anything about Harold or Bridgette before the final four without them suspecting it. Which means we're stuck with them until then, for better or worse," she said.

"Perhaps," he replied, nodding. "Or… we just don't get caught." Then his smile shifted in a familiar smirk. "What was that expression? 'If camper gets voted out in the confessional, are they around to read it?'"

Fortunately, their fellow Bass were too far away to hear Courtney's muffled laugh.

"And now, the final of today's challenges: the Blind Toboggan Race. Each team will have a driver moving the Toboggan, and a navigator. The driver, of course, will be blindfolded. It's the navigator's job to give them the directions to avoid any obstacles as they both ride downhill. First pair to cross the finish line wins," Chris told them.

"Screaming Gophers, if you manage to win this one, don't worry, I have an explosive tie-breaker challenge saved up for ya," he said, making them groan at the confirmation. "For this one, we'll have… DJ & Bridgette and Justin & Gwen." He then handed a blindfold to DJ and to Justin.

As he took his, DJ looked down at his pet, who was resting in his arms. "Hey, Tyler. Can you hold Bunny for me?" he said.

"Sure thing, man," the jock easily replied, and gently accepted the rabbit. Bunny stared at him with wide, innocent eyes, making him smile. "Hey there, little fella," he said.

DJ smiled at seeing a teammate bond with his pal before heading up the hill. Once he was at the top, he gave Bridgette a thumbs-up before tying his blindfold on.

As Gwen and Justin also got ready, the goth said "It's a good thing you're not the navigator. You might have to actually talk." Justin smiled and nodded in agreement before sitting down at the front of the Toboggan.

Once both teams were ready, Chris stood between them with an airhorn while Chef stood behind DJ and Bridgette. "On your marks… get set…!" he began, and then blew the horn while both of them gave the Toboggans a push with their feet. The steepness of the hill caused them to quickly pick up speed, enough that the air rushed past them and tossed their hair. They soon came to their first obstacle: a wide tree.

"Left, DJ!" Bridgette called.

"Right!" Gwen shouted.

The teams followed their navigators' guidance, the wind whipping past them as they continued their descent. Gwen saw a rock coming up and yelled "Left!" The model did as ordered and they moved left, avoiding being sent flying.

As the two teams descended, DJ's greater weight was causing them to pick up speed. That meant they were the first pair around whom the ground started exploding. "What the heck was that?!" DJ cried out in fear.

Back at the top, Chris chuckled. "Oh, I love me some explosions," he muttered, before pushing down on another detonator.

Seeing a set of dynamite sticks ahead of them, Gwen quickly called "Left!" They moved but she soon spotted another one and frantically called "Right!"

Bridgette, meanwhile, tried her best to ignore the blasts and focus on the movement of the wood beneath them. If she pretended hard enough, it was almost like surfing. "Left, then another left!" she said, and DJ drove that way.

As the Gophers sped down the hill, the finish line came in sight with the Bass shortly ahead. Then another explosion went off right behind Gwen, pushing them ahead faster and past the Bass. "Looks like it's neck and neck!" Chris called with a megaphone. Leshawna and the other Gophers began cheering, as did the other Bass. Justin began to smile, as did Gwen behind them.

Then Bridgette blinked, remembering something. "DJ! Lie back!" she said, moving next to him to do the same.

"Got it!" he replied, and did so. Without the air resistance from their frames, they were able to pick up even more speed. They caught up to the Gophers, kept pace with them… and crossed the line with one foot to spare.

"Right on!" Harold called, while his other teammates either whooped or applauded.

Using his megaphone again, Chris called "And the Bass win the Toboggan Race, taking the challenge with it! Gophers, I'll see you tonight for elimination!"

After the challenge, as Trent was walking by the boathouse, he heard a voice say "Psst, Trent!"

"Huh?" he said, looking over at the building and seeing a single eye peek out from the door.

Once he came closer, the door opened fully and a few pairs of arms yanked him in. "Hey!" he began to yell, before claiming down at seeing who it was. Cody, Owen and… Justin? "What's going on?" he asked.

"We wanted to talk to you, man. We've got something important to tell you," Owen said.

Trent raised an eyebrow. "Well, don't keep me in suspense," he said.

"Okay. So, you know how Lindsay and Leshawna are in an alliance, right?" Cody asked.

"Makes sense. They're friends," he replied.

"Right. But here's the thing: Last week, I tried voting Lindsay off to break that up," Cody revealed. "And since Owen and Ezekiel owed me a favor, they voted for her too."

Now both eyebrows went up. "So there were three votes against her? But then, if Ezekiel was still eliminated…" he began.

Cody nodded. "Then Leshawna somehow got four people with her against him," he finished. "And I think Gwen was one of them. That she's joined their alliance."

"What?" Trent said, shaking his head. "I mean, I know they get along better than Gwen does with most people. But joining their alliance? She finds Lindsay annoying," he told them.

"Maybe. But if it wasn't her, it was two of us, and I don't think you voted for him, did you?" the geek said.

Trent was quiet, before crossing his arms. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Guy was a weirdo anyway. And even if all the girls voted together, that still leaves one of us," he pointed out.

Cody nodded, looking between him and Justin. "Yeah, and he says he didn't do it either," he said, to which the model nodded. "So here's my idea: we make a one-time guys' pact to vote out Leshawna before she gets rid of any of us. After that, we can do our own thing. Sound good?"

Owen nodded in agreement. "Sounds good to me," he said.

Justin held his hand out as his answer, which Cody and Owen quickly placed theirs over. Then Cody looked to Trent. "What do you say, man?"

Trent looked at them and then at their hands, considering. "...Just a one-time pact?" he asked.

Cody nodded. "This is just to stop the girls from teaming up while we have the numbers," he said.

That got him to nod. "Alright, then. Guys' pact it is!" he said, placing his hand in the center.

After an early dinner, a similar conversation was happening in the Gopher girls' room. "So, who are we gonna vote for this time?" Leshawna asked as she filed her nails.

Gwen shrugged. "I don't know. How about Owen? He's okay, I guess, but it'd be nice to not have to air out our cabin next time we win some food," she stated.

Lindsay frowned. "But I kind of like Otis. He may smell bad sometimes, but he's also really nice and super sweet. Like a big, smelly teddy bear," she said.

The goth frowned, but let it go. "So not Owen. Then who?" she asked.

"How about Cody? That steak over rice last challenge was his idea, and it cost us the win," Leshawna recalled.

Gwen shrugged. "Works for me. Guy's like an annoying brother at times. I already have one of those," she said.

"What about Justin?" Lindsay suggested. "He's the hottest out of all the guys, which makes him super dangerous."

Leshawna was about to remark on that when they heard a knock on their door. Since she was the closest, Gwen got up and walked over to the door. As she opened it, her expression turned surprised. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

At the bonfire just an hour later, the seven Gophers sat together in a tense atmosphere.

Chris soaked in and held up his platter. "Who wants a treat? A tasty marshmallow symbolizing safety, peace of mind, the chance to continue scrambling for that prize money. Well, only six of you are getting one. The one who doesn't has an appointment with the Boat of Losers, which they will ride and not come back on. Ever."

"Let's see. I got two here for Gwen and Trent…" he began. The two of them shared a look as they accepted theirs. Trent appeared apologetic, making her frown in confusion.

"One for Owen…" He caught his and immediately ate it, before sending a glance towards Leshawna.

"One for Lindsay…" She caught her marshmallow and smiled.

"One for Justin…" He caught it one-handed with a smirk.

"Just one left." Cody and Leshawna turned to face each other. Both of them had a confident smile on their face, not a hint of worry in sight. "And the camper going home tonight is…"

…

…

…

"Cody."

Leshawna's smile widened while Cody's vanished. "What? But… How?!" he exclaimed.

"Sorry, short stuff. Looks like you got outplayed," Leshawna taunted, catching her marshmallow and biting it in half.

He looked to his teammates. Lindsay and Gwen appeared unsurprised, which didn't surprise him. But all the guys appeared shocked as well. Then Chris said "The Dock of Shame awaits."

Cody stood and began to slowly walk away from the bonfire. As he walked, he muttered "But how? We had the votes, it was four-on-three…" Then, as he stepped onto the Boat, his eyes widened. "Unless…" he said, before his eyes narrowed.

"Trent," he muttered, glaring back towards the camp as he left.

Before he decided to read in front of Harold and go to bed, Liam spotted Daphne sitting on the bench next to the cabin. "Daphne?" he called. When she looked over at him, he suppressed a grimace at the tape covering her nose.

"Yeah?" she said shortly, not really in the mood to speak and irritate her nose.

He rubbed the back of his head. "I just wanted to apologize for… well, that," he said, waving his hand at her face. "If there's anything I can do to make up for it, let me know."

There was a moment of silence… then Daphne gave him a look. "And how does Courtney feel about my injury?"

He froze. That look… she saw him. Not just the slacker, the casual facade he kept up so much it barely was one anymore… she saw him.

But how? He tried to hide it, he let Courtney take the lead… there was no way she could have seen through all that so soon after joining the same team as him. So how did she…?

Oh.

...But then, if she had known about him, why was she with…?

…

"Ohhhhh," he said, eyes going wide. Then they narrowed and he looked at Daphne. "What does Heather think?"

Daphne’s eyes narrowed as well. "...I think it's best if we don't speak with each other again," she eventually said.

Liam nodded in agreement. "For now, at least," he said, and she grunted before standing up to head inside.

As he watched her go, Liam frowned. His initial read was off. This was… worrying.

Chapter 12: Strained Relations

Chapter Text

Given the injuries that had been sustained in the last challenge, Chris decided to give the campers their usual two days of rest before springing the next one on them. Rather than make them relax, however, this just made everyone more tense.

It meant whatever the next challenge was would definitely suck.

Still, none of them were going to argue against getting a break, regardless of what horrors were in store. The next morning, the two camps the Bass had been divided into could be seen. Heather and Courtney's alliances were grouped at opposite ends of their table, with a noticeable gap between them. Tyler was also seen frequently shooting glares at Courtney, but otherwise didn't cause a fuss. In fact, neither side spoke with the other, simply acting like they weren't there.

At the Gophers table, Leshawna hummed. "Think they're gonna win the next challenge?" she asked Gwen.

The goth looked at the other table before snorting. "With a cold war like that? I doubt it," she replied.

Lindsay said "Then we know who to vote for, right? And how much longer is it until we're all on the same team anyway?"

"Probably not long. Maybe once we're down to half of us left," Leshawna told her. "But we need to be careful to last that long. Especially if someone isn't voted out by then," she said, deliberately looking in Courtney's direction.

While Gwen saw it and nodded, Lindsay missed it and said "I know, right? If me and Tyler are here when there are no teams, we can compete together!" She punctuated that with an excited clap.

Gwen grunted, not particularly concerned with what the blonde did at that point. Then Trent walked into the lodge, and she said "You guys mind if we talk about this later?"

Also nothing the guitarist, Leshawna smirked. "Go on, girl," she said with a wave of her hand. Giving her a thankful smile, Gwen picked up her tray and moved over to sit next to him.

At the Bass table, Heather was looking back and forth between the two new 'official' members of her camp. "Just so we're clear, this alliance has rules. I'm in charge, so if I tell you to do something, you do it, okay?" she said.

DJ raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "What kinds of things are we talking about?" he asked.

Daphne shrugged. "For me, it's mostly doing things for her in the shower or sharing hygiene products, which I don't mind," she said frankly. "But I doubt you guys will be doing that."

Heather was about to agree… before noticing that both boys were looking between them with raised eyebrows. She mentally replayed what her 'ally' just said, before connecting that to their reactions. A spot of red appeared on her cheeks. "She meant clipping my nails or washing my back! Not… no," she quickly blurted.

Daphne blinked, also realizing how her words could be interpreted. An even larger blush appeared on her face, and she nodded. "Yeah, that! We're not… I don't… Heather's just been a really nice friend since Izzy had to leave. That's it," she said.

DJ shrugged. "It wouldn't have made much difference to me. I don't judge," he said, and Tyler nodded. "So, what would we be doing?"

"Simple. If I need you to get me something, act a certain way in a challenge, or vote for someone, you do that. It'll always be a part of my strategy," Heather explained.

Tyler frowned. "That sounds fine to me, as long we aren't trying to hurt anyone. I'm firmly against winning like that," he told her.

"Same here," DJ added.

Heather grimaced. "You do understand that we'll be competing against other people, right? In physically painful challenges? There's no way they won't get hurt," she said slowly.

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean we gotta be the ones that hurt 'em," the jock argued. Then he glanced behind him at the other table. "How about this? We agree to keep this alliance clean, and I'll see if Lindsay wants to join once we merge."

That got Heather to pause. That offer also implied that, come the merger, Tyler would stay with her rather than leave. If that were the case, plus she kept Daphne as well as swallowed her bile enough to reconnect with Leshawna for as long as she was useful… And if she got rid of Courtney and poached her lazy sidekick before then…

Ooh, this was starting to look good. And she had kept up the 'somewhat nice' routine so far. She was strong enough to bear it for longer. "Deal," she said, and both boys nodded with smiles.

Daphne smiled as well. "See? She is a good friend," she stated, making Heather resist smirking.

Confessional Stall - Heather

"Oh yeah, Fire Girl is practically in my pocket. If I had gotten to her before, I could have isolated her and made her completely dependent on me. Then she'd never vote me off." Then she sighed. "But sadly, Izzy got to her first and let her make other friends. I need more time to figure out a way to make one-hundred percent sure I have her obedience."

After that breakfast, the campers spent the rest of that day and the next performing various activities in their cliques. Couples such as Trent and Gwen or Tyler and Lindsay mostly spent the break together. Harold, Liam and Courtney spent time playing chess, keeping tallies of who won how many matches, or reading.

DJ, Leshawna and Bridgette proved how much they valued friendship over alliance boundaries by going swimming or surfing together, while Daphne 'confirmed' Heather's earlier feelings by recruiting Owen to taste test more baked goods for her, which the queen bee reluctantly joined when Daphne asked her to. (Chef wouldn't let her touch his charcoal grill, much to the pryo's dismay.) Justin spent the time admiring himself, as usual.

All good things had to come to an end, however. Too soon, the third morning rolled around, and an aura of dread hung over them as they waited for the challenge to begin. Was this one going to be as dangerous as the last?

Then the intercom finally came on after breakfast, and that dread felt prophetic when it was not Chris that came on over it, but Chef.

"Attention, all co*ckroach campers! All of you are to report to the Dock of Shame at 0900 hours," he declared. There was a moment of silence. They were all outside, and not one of them was wearing a watch. "That means NOW!" Chef yelled, and they hurriedly all started for the Dock.

Chef was waiting for them in a set of olive green military fatigues minus the blouse, as well sun glasses and a campaign hat. Next to him was a bell with a rope. Once they were close enough, he pulled out a megaphone and said "Line up and stand at attention!" The fourteen campers quickly formed a line, and Chef began to walk past them with a baton in his other hand. "You call this proper formation?!" he said, still using the megaphone. As he passed by Harold, he barked "Knees together!" and smacked him in the left knee with his baton.

"Ow!" Harold cried, but brought his knees together when Chef raised his baton to do it again.

He repeated that process with Leshawna’s crossed arms. "Arms down! Eyes forward! Head up!" he continued, also hitting Heather, DJ and Owen. The only camper he gave a nod to was Liam, who was already holding the right posture. "I expected nothing less, Cadet," he said.

For once, Liam was wide awake despite it being the morning. "Sir, yes, sir," he replied, not even glancing at Chef as he faced forward.

Gwen grunted. "Well, this is gonna be fun," she sarcastically whispered to Trent.

But then Chef whirled around. "What was that?! You say something, soldier?!" he shouted, making her hair fly back.

"No, sir! Nothing!" Gwen replied.

"Good! And you will continue to say nothing until I tell you to say something!" he told her, before turning back around. As he walked away, he began "Today's challenge will not be easy. In fact, I expect that some of you will not come back alive."

That got several of them to look worried. That was… hopefully a joke. Chef continued "Starting now, you are all part of the Chef Hatchet Boot Camp! My orders are to ensure that all of you maggots drop out of my camp except for one. The one camper that does remain wins immunity for their team."

Heather crossed her arms. "This is our challenge? What happened to Chris?" she asked.

"Arms DOWN!" Chef yelled, and smacked her on both arms with his baton until she was ramrod straight. Courtney nearly snorted at that, but managed to keep it down to just a smile. "Now, Rule #1: Every response you give me will start and end with 'sir'. Rule #2: At all times, you will address me as Master Chief. Am I understood so far?!"

"Sir, yes, Master Chief, sir!" all the campers shouted with varying levels of fear.

He nodded. "Rule #3: You will eat and sleep when I tell you to! Is that clear?!"

All of them replied "Sir, yes, Master Chief, sir!" again, this time louder.

"Rule #4: When you are ready to drop out of the challenge, walk to the end of the Dock and ring the bell. Which brings me to the final rule: Until one camper drops out, your first day in my Camp does not end! So get your butts down to the beach! Now, now, now!" he finished.

Confessional Stall - Gwen

"Whoever had the sick, twisted idea to put Chef in charge of a challenge… Good one," she said, smiling slightly.

Confessional Stall - Daphne

"Not ending the first day without a quitter, who then has to ring a bell?" she said with a frown. "I feel like I've heard this somewhere before…"

Once the teams were at the beach, they found a pair of canoes lying there, each one painted a team color.

Unfolding a chair for him to sit on, Chef said "Listen up: Each team will hold a canoe over their heads. If I catch you taking your hands off the canoe, you're out. And until someone's out, you're not getting any lunch either."

"Aww…" Owen began, before Chef started to glare his way and he continued "As in, aw, that's great!" He gave a nervous chuckle, and Chef let it pass.

"Wait a sec, the Bass have two more people! It'll be easier for them," Leshawna pointed out. That got her some annoyed looks from the Killer Bass, but none of them had a counter.

Chef hummed and looked like he was considering her point. "I see that. I see it as a lesson not to be a team of wimpy losers! And what did I say about saying ‘sir’?!" he yelled into his megaphone again. "Now, canoes up!" he shouted, and the Bass raised the red canoe while the Gopher raised the green one.

After about thirty seconds passed with nothing else happening, Trent said "Well, this is easy."

Tyler grinned. "I can carry stuff with just my thumbs! We've got this!" he boasted.

The challenge began shortly after 9am. It was now past noon, and the two teams were in the exact same positions they were before. There had been some shuffling from side to side by various campers, but none had let go of their canoes just yet.

As the afternoon sun beat down on them, several of their stomachs grumbled from the lack of lunch, particularly Leshawna’s and Owen's. Harold and Liam, meanwhile, had grimaces as their lower strength came back to bite them despite having more teammates. Then, to make matters worse, Chris joined them in the second hour and hopped on top of the Gophers canoe. Chef, meanwhile, parked his greater weight on top of the Bass.

"Looks like they missed lunch," the host remarked.

Chef nodded. "I guess they just aren't that hungry! Unless… someone wants to drop out now?" he offered.

Owen's stomach grumbled again, and Gwen quickly said "Don't even think about it."

"I wasn't!" he protested. A third grumble, and he hastily amended "I won't think about it anymore."

Whether or not Owen kept his word on thinking about dropping out, he at least didn't follow through with it. Even as the sun went down, the feeling of the canoes (and Chef or Chris, whenever one of them got on) growing heavier and heavier, the large boy went to sleep standing rather than drop out.

Once night had fallen, the hungry, thirsty and exhausted teens were given some torches to see with. That bit of light cast deep shadows over Chef's face as he told them various war stories. "Twenty five of us went in that day. Twenty did not make it out," he said as he started the next one.

By that point, Liam couldn't help it. "Sir, Master Chief, sir? I was just wondering: which war were you in, sir?" he asked with a yawn

Chef paused before glaring at the redhead. "Did I ask you to speak?!" he demanded angrily.

Keeping his smile for showing, Liam bowed his head. "Sir, sorry, sir," he obediently stated.

Chef nodded in acceptance. Before he could resume his story, however, Lindsay moaned. "Guys… I can't go on," she declared. "I can't even feel my arms."

That was enough to jostle Owen awake, and he shook his head. "Don't let go, Lindsay!" he urged.

"Yeah! I believe in you, babe!" Tyler called.

That got both Courtney and Heather to stare at him. "What are you doing?! She's on the other team!" Heather said.

"For once, I agree with her," Courtney added.

But Tyler didn't back down. "Gopher or Bass, she's still my girlfriend," he declared.

That got Lindsay to smile. "Aw, you're the best, Tyler," she said, making some of them blink at her not mispronouncing his name. "And you know, this thing feels a bit lighter now!"

Harold grimaced. "Good… for you," he said, arms trembling.

"Don't you let go, either!" Courtney swiftly said.

Despite her warning, only ten more minutes passed before Harold groaned. "If it were anything other than an endurance challenge… I'm sorry, guys," he said, before letting go and falling to the ground.

Or tried to, at least, as Chef caught him by the arm and hauled him to his feet. "You want out, ring the bell!" he reminded him.

Harold dutifully staggered to the end of the Dock. With herculean effort, he lifted one aching arm and pulled on the rope, letting the ball clang once. The moment he did, both teams let out sighs of relief as they put down their canoes. Chef walked over to Harold and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Soldier, you have nothing to be ashamed of… except for letting your team down like a big baby! Now get lost!" While he quickly made himself scarce, Chef turned to the rest of them as they placed their canoes down. "The rest of you report to the mess hall for dinner!"

"Oh, finally!" Owen said, rubbing his stomach as they all walked on tired legs to the lodge.

Whatever dinner he or any of the others was envisioning, however, faded as they entered the main lodge to see a line of trash cans set up against the wall.

Before they could ponder it, Chef walked in behind them and moved to stand beside Chris next to the cans. "Alright, soldiers! Y'all have got ten minutes to eat your supper. After that, we move on to night training!" he told them.

"Night training? But I thought the day ended when one of us dropped out!" Heather protested.

"TRAINING ENDS WHEN I SAY IT ENDS, MAGGOT!" Chef roared, making her back away in terror as a vein bulged in his forehead.

Lindsay raised her hand. "Um, Master Chief? Where's the food?" she asked.

Chef gave them a grin that said he hoped they'd ask that. "You're looking at it," he said, waving a hand at the trash cans.

Curious, Owen was the first to walk over and open one of them. Peering inside, he said "Sir, this is just garbage from breakfast today and dinner last night. Uh, sir."

At that, Daphne frowned. "This is sounding more and more familiar…" she muttered to herself.

"Precisely. In war, you eat what you can get!" Chef told them.

Chris chuckled. "Well, seems like I don't need to weigh in here. I'm off to get something from the craft services tent," he declared.

"Mmm-mmm. I'll take some of that myself," Chef said, joining him in walking out of the lodge. "And don't even think about sneaking into my fridge for anything!" he warned them, before leaving them to dig through the trash for anything edible.

The moment he was gone, Heather crossed her arms. "I am not eating any of that," she said firmly.

"Me neither," Courtney said, getting them both to look at each other. That was twice now that they had agreed on something during a challenge. They quickly took a step apart from each other.

Liam shrugged. "If you two want to train on an empty stomach, go ahead," he said, before opening one of the cans and starting to dig.

Courtney scoffed. "Unlike you, I have plans to run for office someday. And no one is going to pull up a clip or photo of me eating garbage!" she said.

"And how do you know I don't want to run for office?" the redhead asked, raising an eyebrow.

That got him a flat look. "Because you're you. You'd never be the leader of anything if you could help it," she said frankly.

Liam chuckled. "Ah, you know me so well," he said. "It's one of the things I like about you."

While he resumed scavenging, he missed Courtney's surprised look behind him. "Like about me…?" she muttered, though quietly enough that he did not hear it in favor of finding a somewhat-rotted orange. Borrowing a multitool from Harold, he cut away the rotten parts and dug in.

Once the ten minutes for 'dinner' was over, Chef led them back to the beach, where he had a platform set up with a radio next to it. As the radio began playing music, all of the campers were expected to copy Chef's moves as he danced to it. The ones who had actual dancing experience—i.e., Heather, Harold, Lindsay and DJ—had the easiest time of it. For some others, such as Owen or Tyler, it was less 'easy' and more 'trying not to trip over their own feet'.

At one point, Chef even switched to dances from multiple Michael Jackson songs. Daphne wondered if the show's studio had to pay anything to use the Thriller pose on television. The longer the dancing went on, the more tiring it was to keep pace, especially with the lack of sleep and quality food. After Chef shouted at Heather, however, none were willing to gamble if willingly dropping out would make him decide to be merciful. Once Chef finished making them dance to 'Smooth Criminal'—all eight minutes of it, twice—the exhausted campers were led back to the lodge.

When they were seated, they were each handed a pencil and a stack of blank paper. "Your next challenge is to write a 300-word essay. The subject will be: 'Why I Love Master Chief Hatchet'," he declared with a relish.

That was when it clicked for Daphne. "Wait a minute!" she said, making Chef and the others look at her. "Starting the day with at least one dropout, having us eat the morning trash, and now writing an essay when we're exhausted…" she counted off with her fingers. "This entire challenge is one big G.I. Jane reference!"

There was a moment of silence, those campers familiar with the film gaining looks of realization.

Owen looked around. "Um, I'm guessing that's a military movie?" he asked, not being an avid fan of such himself.

Trent nodded. "Yeah, but one about the U.S. military, not Canada's," he pointed out.

That was when Chef managed to recover. "Yeah, so? A film's a film, and so what if I base a challenge off of it?" he said with crossed arms. "In fact, since I don't have to be subtle about it, let me make the experience more immersive," he said, before taking out his radio again. Pressing it, what came out was not music, but the sound of rain mixed with the occasional thunder. Setting that on the table, he then walked over and turned a dial to dim the lights until the entire room was barely lit. "Now y'all can write your essays. And anyone who falls asleep is out. You've got two hours," he warned smugly.

That got all of the campers to groan, while Daphne also face-palmed. "Should've just kept it to myself," she muttered.

Once the timer began, the campers picked up their pencils. Not all of them immediately began writing, however, some trying to plan their essay out first. Liam barely had to think before he began, a smirk on his face.

As the challenge progressed, the rain and thunder soundtrack was making the boring task even harder to stay awake in. DJ and Owen yawned loud enough to be heard over a rumble of thunder, while Tyler began to slowly nod his head.

Fifteen minutes into the challenge, however, Courtney scooted over next to him. "What's up?" he whispered, hopefully quiet enough to not be heard over the rain noise.

"I'm worried," she whispered, making him blink. "Whether it's this challenge or not, we're going to lose sooner or later. And when that happens, Heather's side will all vote together to get rid of me."

Liam titled his head, appearing confused. "For you? Why?" he asked in a curious tone.

She scoffed. "Because I'm the alliance leader," she said, looking down to jot down more to her essay. In doing so, she missed his smirk at hearing what he thought confirmed. "Once I'm gone, Heather will be able to take over the whole team, so she'll want me gone now when she has the numbers for it."

"I see. There is also Tyler, who I imagine is still mad about the whole Lindsay thing," he pointed out. "Even though you were obviously right to secure us a victory," he added.

"Obviously," she agreed. "But right now that's our four votes against her four. Even if we picked a target Harold and Bridgette agreed with, we'd still tie. And who knows what Chris would make us do for a tie-breaker." Then Courtney hesitated. "I might… even lose."

Liam raised both eyebrows. "You are worried," he stated.

"I said that, didn't I? So what are we going to do?" she asked.

The redhead was silent, looking out over his teammates. Several thoughts and possibilities ran through his head, ideas examined and then discarded. Eventually, he said "I can think of two solutions. One is more expensive than the other, but more reliable. The other is… tricky."

Courtney opened her mouth to ask for details when Chef walked past them, and she quickly looked back down at her essay. "Whatever you're thinking, I can't take a risk on something that won't work. Go for the reliable option."

He nodded. "You got it," he said, before continuing to write.

The timer Chef had set went off with a helpful ding once the two hours were up. That ding was loud enough to wake up Lindsay, who had passed out once her essay was written.

"Pencils down!" Chef called, raising the lights and switching off the music. As he walked around and collected their essays, his foot landed in a puddle next to Owen. "Whoa!" he yelled, landing on his back. He swiftly got back to his feet and glared at the large boy. "Clean up that drool!" he angrily ordered.

Owen just exhaled and stared ahead, too tired to even notice he was being yelled at. Chef glanced down at his papers and, seeing a completed essay, walked on.

As he came to Liam, who was leaning back with a smirk, Chef snatched up his essay and began to read. "I love Master Chief Hatchet because he is handsome. I love Master Chief Hatchet because he is strong. I love Master Chief Hatchet because…" he said, before trailing off. Skimming the other pages, he said "This is just the same sentence over and over with different adjectives at the end!"

"Sir, it's still three-hundred words," the slacker rebutted. "Three hundred and six, in fact. I counted, sir."

Chef growled, but didn't doubt that the teen was telling the truth. As he passed by DJ and Trent, both of them were still asleep even after the ding. A slammed fist into each of their tables fixed that, though. "You two are out!" he declared, making both boys groan in either dismay or relief.

"The rest of you get some shut-eye. Report back here at 0500 hours!" he ordered. Despite that being only two hours of sleep, all those still in the challenge didn't dare complain and rushed to their cabins.

One brief rest later, and Chef led them to the front of an obstacle course. There was a wall to climb over, a rope to swing, tires to jump through, and even a pair of giant axes to crawl through the mud under.

"Are you trying to kill us?" Leshawna asked, seeing the torchlight glint off the axe blades.

"No more than an enemy in war would," he answered. That made several of them gulp, but Chef firmly ignored them and continued "You will all run this course until each of you can complete it in less than one minute. Everyone understand?!"

"Sir, yes, Master Chief, sir!" they all replied.

"Then go, maggots! Go!" he yelled, and they all took off.

The ones with the most energy left were at the front of the pack, that being Leshawna, Gwen and Bridgette. While the latter two were able to easily clear the wall, Leshawna struggled for a moment. Justin grimaced as the axes came dangerously close to his hair. He lowered himself further to the ground, and his disgust only grew as that caused the cold mud to begin seeping into his clothes.

Tyler looked behind and saw Lindsay. Grinning, he ran towards the ropes and confidently called "Piece of cake!" He then swung on the rope, released it, performed a triple forward flip… and landed face-first in the mud.

"Ooh, that's gotta suck," Trent remarked, wincing in sympathy.

To make matters worse, Lindsay, running practically on auto-pilot from exhaustion at this point, also grabbed the rope, swung, and landed right on top of him with a surprised shout. "Oh my gosh! Are you okay, Tyler?" she asked, quickly scrambling off him and to his side.

Tyler's face had been driven into the mud. He placed his hands on the ground to either side and tried to push himself up. However, all that did was get his arms to sink halfway into mud as well. At that point, the jock started flailing his legs while letting out muffled screams as he lost oxygen.

Chef was quick to walk over and grab him by his collar, ripping him out of the mud with one hand. "Your tour ends now! Ring that bell and hit the showers!" he ordered. "You as well, sleepwalker!" he added, pointing at Lindsay.

Lindsay gasped, waking fully. "A shower? Finally!" she called, before happily grabbing Tyler's arm and dragging him to the washroom.

Seeing that, Chef felt the need to add "I meant shower separately!" but whether the blonde heard him was unknown. "As for the rest of you, get going!" he barked.

The other campers quickly resumed the course. Among the unpleasant experiences were Owen causing the climbing wall to collapse, then Bridgette slipping and hitting the tires with her chin. Heather, somehow, ended up hanging from the rope by her ankle until Daphne untied her.

As Leshawna made her second crawl under the axes, she also slightly sank into the mud. "Uh, a little help here?" she asked, glancing at the blades swinging over her head.

Slightly behind her, Heather frowned.

Confessional Stall - Heather

"Ever since the teams were redone, I haven't been able to do a thing to get rid of Leshawna. This could be my chance to let her sink and get eliminated. But... I did have that idea before about joining forces with her again at the merger. Hmm, strategy or satisfaction?" she wondered.

After a moment of debate, the queen bee sighed and crawled next to her. "Here, take my hand," she offered, holding it out.

Leshawna quickly grabbed it and began to use Heather as an anchor to pull herself out. It took almost half a minute for her to finally get out. Once she was, she sighed in relief and said "Thanks for that."

"Don't mention it," Heather replied, before focusing on the course.

Ahead of them, Liam stood up at the end of the course. "My time, sir?" he asked.

Chef held up a stopwatch. "Seventy-three seconds. You've still got thirteen to shave off, so back to the start!" he ordered.

Liam groaned but offered no further protest. The last thing he wanted was for Chef to punish him with more exercise. Or even worse, with manual labor. "Can I at least use the restroom before I start again, sir?" he asked.

Chef grinned.

Inside the washroom, Liam stood with a mop, a bucket, and an annoyed expression.

"I don't know why I didn't see that coming," he said flatly.

Later that night, as the campers sat in the main lodge, they were served bowls of gruel once more in place of more trash. Several of them just picked at their bowls, either too tired to stomach the stuff or not wanting to.

Eventually, Gwen pushed hers away. "That's it, I can't eat any more of this stuff," she declared.

"Goth Girl's right," Heather said, making Gwen stop in surprise. Heather was agreeing with her? The queen bee continued "After all the torture they've thrown at us this challenge, we at least need something that doesn't taste like sawdust."

Trent hummed. "There is the stuff in Chef's kitchen fridge," he pointed out.

Daphne quickly shook her head. "Chef told me he dusts the place for fingerprints every morning. We steal from there, he'll know and ban us from ever using the kitchen," she said.

Those that had tried her and DJ's cooking gulped, and Owen said "Uh, any other ideas?"

Courtney hummed. "Well, there is the craft services tent… But we can't steal from there!" she hurriedly said.

"And why not?" Heather asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because Chris and Chef will be there! If they see us stealing food, and decide to drop us out of the challenge as punishment…" the C.I.T. began. "Or worse, they'll just kick us off the show."

Leshawna snorted. "I doubt they'll kick us off the whole show just for taking some food," she said. "And you know what? I think we deserve some of what they got in there after all we've been through."

But Courtney still appeared unsure. "I don't know…" she said.

Tyler gave her annoyed look. "So what? It's not good if we break the rules, but it's okay to hurt each other to win?" he near-snarled.

She glared at him and crossed her arms. "For your information, I already made a promise not to do that sort of thing anymore," she said, to which both Harold and Bridgette nodded in confirmation.

Liam quickly added on "But if you don't believe us, we can sneak in and get it for everyone else."

That got Tyler to pause, while Courtney looked at him. "We?" she repeated.

He shrugged. "Did you like the idea of sneaking in there alone?" he asked, to which she quickly shook her head. "Then it's decided. We'll see you all back at the cabins," he told the others. They all nodded, even Tyler, leaving Courtney to groan in acceptance. He quickly left with her, holding a bag to carry food in.

Once they were far enough away, she gave him a suspicious look. "Okay, fess up. Why did you just volunteer us like that?"

"For one, it mitigates some of the social damage your strategy caused," he said. "For another, this gives us a chance to talk."

"Already? What else has happened since we were writing?" Courtney asked.

"Oh, not much. Just Harold approaching me while I was cleaning the bathroom. He offered a solution to our problem with the votes," he told her.

She raised an eyebrow. "And how does Harold intend to help me not get eliminated?"

"Pretty simple, really. He claims to have figured out where Chris keeps the votes after we make them, but before they're read. He told me he could swap out the votes and eliminate whoever we wanted," Liam explained. At that stare she gave him, he added "I was surprised, too."

"No kidding," she remarked. "And after I made that promise that I wouldn't mess with our own team…"

Liam shrugged. "You made the promise, but did he?" he pointed out. "Still, I'm not sure it's a good idea."

"How come? This sounds like an easy solution. We just tell him to swap out one of the votes from Heather's side with one for her," Courtney said.

"That would definitely get Heather eliminated, yes," he agreed. "But it would also give Harold leverage over us. And with it being something this big… This is the sort of thing we could get disqualified for. We'd have to actually consider taking him to the semi-finals with us to keep him quiet."

Courtney hummed, neither agreeing or disagreeing with him. Just as well, as that was when they made it to the rear entrance to the craft services tent. "Okay, just stay quiet and move slowly," she whispered.

Rather than point out the obviousness of that advice, Liam just nodded and got down on all fours behind her. As they snuck inside, they could see a table laden with food between them and the fridge, one with a cloth long enough to reach the floor. On one side of that table, seated and facing each other, were Chris and Chef.

"Twenty-five of us went in that day…" they could hear Chef saying, making both teens roll their eyes. While he regaled Chris with war stories, they crawled along the ground on the other side of the table, the cloth keeping them from being seen.

Once they made it to the fridge and quietly opened it, Liam grinned at the sight of all the various foods in there. "Jackpot," he mouthed, and Courtney nodded in agreement.

They quickly filled up the bag with a jar of peanut butter, some jelly, a loaf of bread, cookies, a handful of apples, some sausage and some soda bottles. Then they spotted a plate covered in s'mores, which Liam instantly grabbed and filled the rest of the bag with. He gave her a thumbs-up, and Courtney quickly snatched a carton of milk from the fridge before quietly shutting it. They then crawled back out of the tent and to their feet.

When they made it at least ten feet away from the tent, they took off in a run with Courtney shouting "Woo-hoo!" and eating a s'more as she ran.

When they returned to the cabins, Heather had gathered both teams in one half of Gopher's cabin to keep their eating secret. As they entered the room, they were greeted with the sound of applause.

"Alright, some real food! I can already smell it," Daphne said, nearly salivating.

As they began passing out food, Lindsay took a smore and bit into it. "Mmm, so good! Thanks, Carry!" she said happily.

Courtney blinked. "My name isn't–" she began, before stopping at seeing Lindsay's delighted expression. "Um, you're welcome."

Leshawna hummed. "I still think what you did was wrong, and I'm still gonna keep an eye on you," she said, before also looking at the smiling blonde. "But this does help," she admitted, grabbing a piece of sausage and nearly moaning at the taste of real meat.

Tyler didn't say anything as he took the stuff for a sandwich, but he refrained from sending them any more glares.

Gwen took one of the sodas and popped it open. Taking a sip, she sighed. "Now this is good. I don't know what Chris and the producers think feeding us that stuff will accomplish."

Bridgette shrugged. "Maybe it's cheaper, so they can spend more money on other stuff?" she suggested.

"It wouldn't surprise me," Leshawna said. "Chris definitely lost it when he put Chef in charge of a challenge."

The other campers made various sounds of agreement, before being cut off by the loudspeaker. "Attention, remaining maggots. Your next challenge is at 0700 tomorrow. And if I find who took my s'mores, your butt is mine!" Chef told them.

Courtney snorted. "You know, he sounds less scary now than he did before," she said before grabbing a s'more and stuffing the whole thing in her mouth with a grin. Followed by another.

As she went for a third one, Bridgette tried to stop her. "I think four is one too many," she warned.

But she shook her head. "Oh come on, just one more!" she said excitedly. Then, before the surfer girl could stop her, she took the s'more and ate that one whole as well. That was when her stomach rumbled, and her excited expression faded. "Ooof… Actually, you may have been right about that," she said, before taking off for the door.

The sight of that made both Gwen and Leshawna laugh, and even Tyler cracked a satisfied grin. As the sounds of Courtney puking reached them from outside, Liam looked around to see if anyone was going to go help her. When he saw that most of them were looking at either the door or him, however, he rolled his eyes and put down his apple. "I'll make sure she's fine," he said.

As he walked onto the patio, he saw the C.I.T. blowing chunks over the railing. Sighing, he reached over and pulled her hair back to make sure none of it was caught in the 'crossfire'. About a minute passed like this, with Liam holding her hair while she painted the ground with a mixture of gruel, four s'mores and whatever was still in her stomach from yesterday. Once it finally came to an end, she sighed and fell against the railing. "Feeling better?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

She sighed. "Okay, that was gross," she said, an understatement that made him chuckle. "But breaking the rules like that, and doing it for our own good… it felt great. So great that I just wanted to keep doing it!"

As she said that, Liam could see a spark in her eyes, one that made him smile. "Now you're starting to get it. The only time you should let rules hold you back is when following them benefits you," he said. "If it helps you more to break a rule, you have an obligation to yourself to do so."

Courtney looked away. "You… may have a point there," she said, making him raise an eyebrow. "What I did last challenge… that was wrong, getting Lindsay hurt. But I didn't break any rules, and even if I did… we still won, right?"

"Exactly," he confirmed, his smile widening. "Rules only exist as limits to what you're willing to do. To break the rules you once followed is to break your own limits. All it takes is will," he said. "Or at least, that's how I see it."

"Maybe…" she said quietly, appearing to give his words some thought. Then she looked at him. "And what about you? I don't usually see you breaking rules like this."

He shrugged. "Because my goal is to take things easy. And if that's my goal, it benefits me more to stay within my limits and follow the rules… usually," he told her.

Courtney hummed again but didn't respond. Eventually, she said "I think you're right. About Harold, that is. Breaking the rules and having him switch the votes could be beneficial in the short term. But in the long term? He could ruin us with it."

Liam bowed his head. "Then I'll proceed with my original idea," he said, before turning to face the cabin entrance.

"Which would be... what again?" Courtney asked.

Looking back at her, he chuckled. "If you're as smart as we both know you are, you'll figure it out by then," he told her.

At 7 a.m. sharp, the remaining nine campers were up in a tree. Each of them was hanging upside down by their legs from one of its limbs, arms dangling beneath them.

As Chef walked beneath them, he 'helpfully' told them "What you're experiencing now is an ancient form of torture. By now, the pumping of your blood has lost to gravity, and it's begun to pool in your head. As it builds up, you will experience nausea, dizziness and maybe even fainting spells."

Sure enough, as he was saying that to them, Daphne’s face was turning more and more pink. "I don't think… I practiced… for…" she began, before shutting her mouth as her stomach rumbled ominously.

Chef grinned. "The fact that your stomach contents are now falling towards your throat will make that nausea stronger," he added.

Daphne remained silent, groaning as she fought to keep from vomiting.

"You can do it, Daph!" Bridgette called encouragingly.

The brunette was tempted to point out that only Izzy was allowed to call her that. But since that required opening her mouth, she didn't. Next to her, however, was Owen. As his legs began to tire, he tried reaching up to grab the branch with his arms. "Can't… reach…!" he strained, before giving up and straightening out. As he did, his core relaxed enough to let out a fart right in Daphne’s direction.

Now the pink on her face mixed with green. "Oh god…" she muttered, before letting go and landing on her feet. Hands covering her mouth, she took off for the washroom.

"Sorry!" Owen called back, but she didn't respond.

On the other side of the tree, Liam also began using his arms, making Courtney look at him. "Have you done this before?" she asked.

He nodded. "I found out at the tender age of eight that hanging my head off the side of my bed gave me a rush as the blood started to gather. I've been hanging off stuff ever since," he revealed.

Confessional Stall - Liam

"Being able to hang from high-up places for a long time also comes in handy when I need to hide from people. Not that I was going to mention as much around people I may need to one day hide from."

Once Daphne was gone, Owen tried to grab the branch one more time before giving up and falling. On the other side of him, Heather sighed in relief. "At least I'm out of the 'firing zone' now," she muttered.

Courtney heard that and started giggling. When she didn't stop giggling, however, Liam gave her a raised eyebrow. "Everything alright over there?" he asked.

She just continued laughing, prompting Chef to walk over. "Stop that laughing! Right now!" he ordered.

In between giggles, she said "I'm sorry, hehe. I can't, heh, help it! Whoa!" And with that, she lost her grip and fell out of the tree.

Chef shook his head in disappointment. "I expected better from you, soldier," he told her.

Courtney looked up, and Liam noticed that same spark from last night in her eyes. "Excuse me, Master Chief?" she began.

"What, maggot?" he replied.

"You… forgot to take your happy pill again," she declared.

Chef stared for a second with an open mouth, as did the others. Then his face began to redden with rage, and veins appeared on just his forehead, but also his neck. Some of them even imagined hearing steam from a tea kettle. "Twelve hours… solitary confinement. In the boathouse," he said softly.

All of the campers, even Courtney, gasped at that. After a moment, however, she smiled and walked away in the direction of the boathouse. "Worth it!" she called back.

Liam chuckled. "Am I perhaps being a bad influence…?" he mumbled, before shrugging his shoulders. It was now getting to the point that he could feel/hear the blood thundering in his ears, creating a buzz throughout his skull that he found quite pleasant. "That's the stuff…" he muttered, closing his eyes.

On the other side of the tree, Leshawna grunted as she struggled to hold on. "These nails… were not meant… for combat training…!" she managed to get out. A few minutes later, she exhaled and let go to land on the ground.

Heather was the next to fall, followed by Bridgette then Justin. That left just one person from each team left. "You've got this, Gwyneth!" Lindsay cheered.

Gwen smiled. "No problem. Trust me, I could be here all day," she declared.

Harold smiled as well. "Then it's all up to you, Liam," he said. When he didn't get a response, however, he looked up at the redhead. "...Liam?"

Still no response, and Gwen let go with one arm long enough to reach over and poke him.

The redhead started snoring.

Heather stared. "You have got to be kidding me," she said.

Chef, meanwhile, glared at him. "Ey! I didn't give permission for rest breaks!" he yelled. When all that got him was another snore, he growled and yelled "WAKE! UP!"

"Bwah?" Liam muttered, eyes fluttering open. "Why is everything upside down…?" he thought aloud, before noticing Chef. "Master Chief!" he called, reflexively giving a salute. And letting go of the branch in the process. "Aaah!" he shouted, before landing hard on the ground below.

The other Bass winced while Gophers immediately began celebrating their victory. Gwen let go of the branch a moment later, and her teammates were there to catch her and hold her aloft for bringing them the win.

Chef gave her a salute. "Gwen, congratulations. I'd go to war with you anytime," he declared.

Daphne, who had returned from the washroom, opened her mouth to point out how that line was another reference. Then Chef glared at her and she shut it.

"I'll… keep that in mind when I decide my career," Gwen said awkwardly, before the Gophers began to carry her away.

Once dusk had fallen (and twelve hours had passed) Courtney was let out of the boathouse to join her fellow Bass in front of the bonfire.

Chris, who had finally rejoined them, held up his plate. "I have seven marshmallows to give. Marshmallows that will allow the campers who receive them to continue being campers, rather than 'camped'-ers," he said, getting eye rolls from most of the teens. "Your votes were cast in the confessional. If I do not call your name, you must immediately head to the Boat of Losers, board it, and leave. Forever."

Seated as far from each other as possible, Heather and Courtney gave each other glares. Tyler joined in with the glaring at Courtney, while Bridgette and Harold exchanged uncertain looks.

"Gotta say, seeing a team divided like this… I just know it won't stand. So I'm going to enjoy seeing one side crash and burn. Now, onto the names," Chris said. "First up: DJ."

"Cool..." the tall teen said, making some of them look at him in surprise at the lackluster response.

"Bridgette…" Hands in her pockets, she walked up to get her marshmallow with a grin.

"Daphne…" The brunette smirked and snatched her marshmallow from the plate before taking a bite.

"Harold…" He muttered a quiet "Yes!" before spearing his marshmallow with a stick.

"Liam…" He accepted his with a smile and a yawn.

"Just two marshmallows left tonight. The campers they go to are…" Chris continued, causing Courtney and Heather to glare at each other.

…

…

…

"Courtney and Heather."

"What?" they both said, barely managing to catch their marshmallows in surprise.

Their host looked to the last camper. "Tyler, it sucks to be you," Chris said. "But the Dock of Shame is that-a-way " he concluded, jerking a thumb behind him.

Tyler sighed and rose to his feet. "Man, and I was really starting to enjoy it here," he said. He then threw Courtney one last glare. "I hope Lindsay makes it farther than you in this show. She deserves it more than you."

Courtney crossed her arms. "As if that'll happen, lover boy. Now, bye," she said, waving her hand.

The jock scoffed and continued walking away, though not before sending a thankful look at Daphne and DJ. "You two make sure to outlast her too, okay?"

Heather crossed her arms. "And what am I? Chopped liver?" she said.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll outlast her," he replied bluntly. "You are more than mean enough."

She smirked. "That'll do," she said.

Daphne grinned. "We'll give it all we've got, buddy," she said. Behind her, DJ just nodded with a morose expression.

Tyler nodded, before he reached the Dock and boarded the Boat to be taken away, holding back tears. Looking at the camera, he finished with "Sorry for not making it to the finish, Dad. I'll see you and Mom soon!"

Confessional Stall - Lindsay

"Oh, I loved the time we had together, Tyler. I'll never forget you!" she promised, before blowing a kiss to the camera.

As the Bass began to head back after the elimination, Courtney and Liam fell into step next to each other. For a moment, they said nothing and simply enjoyed each other's company.

Then Courtney began "So… DJ?"

Liam smirked. "I told you that you were smart enough to figure it out," he replied. "He owed me–owed us–for saving Bunny. He wasn't happy about it, but he cares more about his new hopefully-lifelong pet than a friend he recently made."

The C.I.T. nodded. "Still, that was a one-time only piece of clout. We won't be able to do that again," she pointed out, to which he bowed his head in acknowledgement. "I also tried to figure out what your 'tricky' idea was, but got nothing."

"Oh, that? Well… you remember how we assumed Heather made friends with Daphne to get a pawn?" he asked.

"Yeah…" she replied, wondering where he was going with this.

"Well, my other idea was that I approach Heather and offer to take Daphne's place. To become her new henchperson," he revealed. Courtney's eyes widened, and he continued "And then the next time we lost, she'd have herself, me, DJ and Tyler vote for you…"

She finished "...But in reality it would be the four of us voting out Heather."

"Precisely," Liam confirmed. "The 'trick' would have been selling myself as a loyal new sidekick. If I couldn't convince Heather, I'd become just as much a target as you, leader."

Courtney nodded, before looking at the ground. "You were willing to put yourself in a risky position like that… and to help me," she said. "What happened to taking it easy?"

"That's what I like to do, yeah," he replied, nodding. "But I also like keeping my word to you. Or don't you remember? We're partners in this game, Courtney. The only people we can rely on is each other," he said.

There was a moment where she did respond. "Partners, huh…" she eventually said, making him raise an eyebrow. Before he could inquire, she leaned over to him.

Smooch.

Liam's eyes flew wide open, hand reaching towards his cheek even as Courtney pulled back. "Consider that a thank you, partner," she said with a smirk of her own, before walking ahead to the cabins.

He watched her go, before brushing his hand over the spot on his skin where she had kissed him. "Warm…" he muttered, oblivious to a pair of narrowed eyes in a nearby bush.

At his reaction, the owner of the eyes rolled them before vanishing.

Chapter 13: Extreme Pressure

Chapter Text

The morning sun greeted the remaining campers with unusual peacefulness. No loudspeaker had woken them up before dawn, no helicopter was being flown over them, no Chef on the intercom. In fact, the only real noise was the snores from the teens as they recovered from Chef's 'training' camp. So of course that meant Chris was going to switch things up and wake them with a plane.

As he did, the first to awaken was Owen. "Oh, not again!" he cried out, flashing back to the phobia challenge. He jumped out of bed and tried to dive under Justin's bed. Key word being tried, as the large boy became stuck the moment his head and shoulders were wedged under. "Uh… guys?" he said with a nervous laugh.

Both Trent and Justin rolled their eyes before getting out of bed, grabbing a leg each, and yanking Owen out from under the bed. Once that was handled, they both started getting dressed.

They joined the other Gophers and the Bass outside, all of them sending glares into the sky at the airplane Chris was flying. "I'm really running out of patience with this guy," Leshawna stated, and several of them nodded in agreement as they watched the plane fly closer.

And lower.

And then even closer.

Then, just over the propeller, they could hear their host yell "INCOMING!"

Every one of them either dropped to the ground or dived out of the way, and the plane passed just over their heads. Chris cackled with laughter as he flew past them. "This is so great! Once I have my license, I'm sure it'll be even better!"

Bridgette stared. "Who let him fly a plane without a pilot’s license?!" she demanded.

Confessional Stall - Chef

"And what exactly am I supposed to do? Put the keys away while I'm asleep? Chris has the key to the key cabinet!" he groused.

As Chris brought the plane to a stop behind the cabins, he lowered the window and grinned back at them. "Just getting you all in the mood. Because today we have the…" he began, before whipping out a megaphone. "Extreme Sports Challenge!" he yelled into it.

Some of the campers, including Gwen and Liam, covered their ears in response. "It's too early for this…" they both moaned.

Chris continued "This week's challenge has three parts. First up is the… Extreme Sofa Skydiving! One person from each team will dive out of this very plane onto a sofa down below. Like so." He waved his hand towards the ground near the back of the plane, where two interns pushed a sofa bed into place. The side door slid open and Chef stepped forward. He then jumped out of the plane and onto the sofa… which flipped shut and trapped him in.

Chef gave a series of muffled screams, but after the last challenge not even DJ or Daphne were in a hurry to help him out. "Of course, you'll be doing that from a few thousand feet in the air. And using these," Chris told them. He held up a pair of old, partially-eaten parachute packs, making them gasp.

Courtney crossed her arms. "There's no way those things are legally safe to use!" she protested.

Chris shrugged. "They worked when we tested them before the show," he said, neglecting to mention that they were tested at ground level. "But don't worry, because you're not one of the jumpers," he told her, making her sigh in relief. "That distinction belongs to Harold and…" He checked a slip of paper. "Leshawna!"

Both of them gulped, before giving each other a look. "I do not feel good about this," Leshawna stated.

Harold nodded. "Suddenly, I'm thinking about all the things I have yet to say or do," he said, his gaze lingering on the sassy girl when she turned away.

"That's the spirit!" Chris said 'encouragingly'. "Moving on, the second part of the challenge will be the Extreme Moose Rodeo!" he yelled. They looked to see a pen set up by the woods, which indeed had an adult male moose standing in it. "Contestants will do their best to ride the moose for eight seconds. Failure to do so will result in you being launched into a pile of old laundry."

An intern wearing a gas mask then dropped said laundry pile in front of them. The closest campers, Heather and DJ, both covered their noses. "That's just nasty, man. And is that… a jockstrap?" DJ asked, pointing at the top of the pile.

"Yes it is. Chef's, in fact," Chris answered, and they took several steps away. "And lucky for you, you're one of the riders!" he added. "For the Gophers, we have Lindsay!"

"Great…" DJ said while Lindsay paled.

"And the final part of the challenge is… Extreme Seadoo Water Skiing!" Chris said. "The contestants will water ski a race course on land, picking up as many flags as possible on the way to the finish line, while someone picked by the opposite team drives the seadoo and tries to make them fail."

Gwen raised her hand. "We're supposed to water ski on land? How?" she asked.

"Simple. With great difficulty," he told her, getting a glare in return. "Skiing for the Killer Bass will be done by Daphne…"

The brunette grinned. "Now this is the kind of adrenaline ride I joined this show for," she said with a grin.

"And the skier for the Gophers will be Gwen," he finished, causing her glare to double in intensity. "The team to win the most challenges gets bragging rights, immunity tonight and wins a trip to… the Multi Massage Mobile Shower!" That was when he pointed out the mobile shower parked next to the main lodge, which his flying had done a good job of distracting them from.

Owen shrugged, holding a bag of marshmallows. "A shower? Big deal," he said while chewing.

Meanwhile, Heather's eyes widened. "Did you say massage?" she said, and Chris nodded. "We have to win this," she told them, looking at her teammates with a fire in her eyes.

"I agree," Courtney said, ignoring the twinge of disgust she felt as she said that. "After those communal showers, to feel completely clean again after weeks…" she trailed off.

"That's everything, I think. You've got twenty minutes for breakfast, then be back here for the… Extreme Sports Challenge!" he declared, before starting up the plane again and flying away. The takeoff also kicked up a cloud of dirt, which made them start coughing or their eyes to water. Yet another thing to dislike their host for.

Breakfast that day consisted of paste, as per the norm. This paste, however, wasn't even the flour white it usually was, but a dull gray. It seemed Chef was being a bit spiteful about them leaving him stuck in the sofa. Most of the people from both teams gave their portions to Owen, who ate them with a relish. As he picked up one plate and slid its entire contents into his mouth, he swallowed it whole.

A moment later, he burped and a piece of folded paper fluttered out of his mouth. Gwen, who had been standing behind him, caught it and opened it. Behind her, Bridgette asked "What is it?"

"It's… a poem," she said after a moment. Showing it to her, she added "A love poem."

Bridgette leaned in to read it. "’You make my heart pound. For the girl with smold'ring eyes, and hair dark as night’," she read. "Oh, it's a haiku!"

"Right. And whoever wrote it has a huge crush," Gwen said. "Who do you think wrote it?"

The surfer was about to say she had no idea when a memory came to her. A conversation, held on a boat and in confidence. "Uh… I don't know," she said, before quickly adding "Maybe it was from Trent. He's been totally crushing on you."

Gwen smiled and looked away slightly. "You think so?" she said.

"Absolutely. I've seen the way he always swipes a muffin or something extra for you," Bridgette revealed, making her suppress a blush. "It seems like the kind of thing Geoff would do too, before…"

Gwen's smile faded, seeing the sad look on her face. "Hey, I'm sure that Geoff would be showering you with sappy stuff like this if he were here," she said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

That got Bridgette's smile to come back at least partially. "Thanks. So, just in case it isn't Trent, that still leaves five other guys on the island. We should try to figure out who it was," she said. 'If Gwen finds out without me telling her, then it's all good, right? Right,' she mentally assured herself.

The goth gained a mischievous look. "How about we make it more interesting? The first person to figure it out gets two nights' desserts from the other," she challenged.

Bridgette went still for a brief second. "S-Sure," she said, silently bemoaning the loss of her future desserts.

Confessional Stall - Bridgette

"Harold, if it really was you that wrote that poem, then you owe me big time," she stated.

Once breakfast was finished, the two teams met on the beach in front of the plane, where two sofa beds had been set up. From inside the co*ckpit, Chris said "Now remember, to deploy your parachutes, you pull the blue cord then the red. Meanwhile, the campers on the ground can wheel their sofa bed into place to help their dying–I mean, diving teammate."

Leshawna did her best not to gulp as she put her parachute on. That was when she noticed Heather drawing a chalk outline on the ground. "What's that for?" she asked.

Heather grinned. "Oh, it's just for when your teammates leave you splattered," she said airily.

Leshawna glared at her, before giving the strap of her parachute another tug. Frowning worriedly, she said "You guys be careful with placing that bed, you hear?" to her teammates.

Trent nodded. "We've got you on this," he assured her.

She nodded back before boarding the plane next to Harold. Chef, who did have a pilot’s license, was thankfully flying it this time. The plane started up with a grumble before pulling forward, gaining speed, and then taking off into the sky. Higher and higher it went, and both teens could see Camp Wawanakwa grow smaller as they gained altitude. Eventually, even the buildings were barely more than shapes down below.

They were both handed helmets that they immediately strapped on, shaking nervously. "This is it. This is how I'm going. As a smear on a crusty, disgusting island," Leshawna said.

Harold tried to give her a brave smile despite the quivering in his knees. "I'm scared, too," he said. "In fact, since this might be the last thing either of us do, there's something I wanted to say."

She gave him a raised eyebrow, but before she could ask him what, the door slid open and they both looked down, seeing the long fall down to the ground. Then Chris chose that time to approach them with a sheaf of papers. "If I could just have you both sign these!" he called over the wind.

Leshawna frowned. "I thought we already signed insurance forms before the show!" she yelled back.

"Right. But these are organ donation forms!" he told her. "I've got this idea for a cannibal eating challenge, and having free props will make it easier to pitch to the producers!"

Both of them stared at him. A cannibal eating challenge?!

Leshawna gave Chris a look of anger eclipsing anything she had shown so far. "Oh, that is IT!" she yelled, before grabbing the papers from his hands. She turned and tossed them out the door. As they scattered to wind, she grabbed a spare parachute and tossed it at Chris. He reflexively caught it, and Leshawna continued "I have HAD it! Had it with these challenges, with this disgusting food, and especially. With. You!"

Then she grabbed Chis by the arm and threw him out of the plane.

"AAAAAAaaaahhhh!" he screamed as he plummeted, quickly falling out of view.

Leshawna dusted her hands off and gave one more look to Harold. "See on the ground, honey!" she called, before jumping out as well.

Back on ground level, Trent, Gwen, Justin and Lindsay were pushing their sofa bed along the beach.

As they did, Gwen looked over to their resident guitarist. "So… how do you feel about poetry?" she asked casually.

Trent hummed, looking up in thought. "It's pretty nice, I guess. Writing a poem's kind of like writing a song. Especially if the lines rhyme with each other, you know?"

Her smile faltered. "So… just poetry that rhymes is interesting to you?"

"Sort of, yeah," he answered. Then Trent looked at her again, and his eyes widened. "Unless you were making it! I'm sure any poem of yours would be great," he quickly added.

Gwen suppressed a snort. "Thanks," she drawled, before focusing on pushing the sofa.

Confessional Stall - Gwen

"Okay, so it wasn't Trent that wrote the love poem. After he played that song for me during the talent show, I was sure it was him," she said. "Still, at least that narrows it down. And I seriously doubt it was Owen or Harold."

As they continued pushing, they began to hear a faint female cheering. Looking into the sky, they saw a figure quickly descending despite having deployed their parachute. "Let’s go!" Trent called, and all four of them began to push.

Except the sofa didn't budge anymore.

"What the–?" Gwen muttered, before pushing harder. "Come on, move!" All four of them pushed, groaning and straining, yet the bed only moved a few more inches.

"How did it get twice as heavy?!" Lindsay complained. They got their answer in the form of snoring. Looking over the back of the sofa, they saw that none other than Owen was lying on it, sound asleep. "Otis! Wake up!" she said, but he just continued to snore.

They switched targets and all worked as one to try shoving the large teen off the bed. After three good shoves however, he hadn't budged at all.

"Uh, guys?!" they could hear Leshawna called, and looked up to see her struggling to steer her parachute towards the sofa.

Lindsay cupped her hands around her mouth. "We can't move it, sorry!" she called.

"What do you mean you can't–?!" Leshawna yelled back down. As she got closer to the ground, however, the reason came into view. "Owen, you oversized eating machine!" she called angrily. Then the wind picked up, and her parachute wobbled. "Wh-Whoa-oa, whoa!" she shouted, trying to keep her on a path towards the sofa.

But she was too unstable, and the chute swerved around to head straight for the water. "Aw, come o–!" Leshawna yelled before landing in the water with a splash.

Harold said nothing for a moment, stunned at what he had just witnessed Leshawna do. "That… was…" he said, before sparkles appeared in his eyes. "Awesome," he said. He looked down at his pack. "Blue, then red. Blue one, red two," he muttered, taking a deep breath and jumping as well.

Less than a minute later, on the other end of the beach, the Bass perked up upon hearing a male scream. "Harold!" Bridgette called, beginning to scan the skies.

But Courtney frowned. "It sounds a bit high-pitched to be Harold," she pointed. But then she spotted a figure flailing around as they fell. "Never mind, come on!"

The Bass quickly pushed their sofa across the sand. Despite his flailing, Harold was managing to fall in a relatively straight direction, making it easy for them to position it right and deploy the bed. Once the figure came into better view, however, all of them stared in surprise. "Chris?!" they shouted together.

"AAAA–Oh, hey! Guys!" Chris shouted, his flailing coming to a stop as he spotted them.

Liam frowned. "Not Harold, then," and reached to fold up the bed.

But then Chris yelled "Do not move that soft landing!" and he froze. Although they looked at him with annoyed expressions, Chris had a wide smile as he gently landed on the sofa. "Ah, sweet, sweet land," he said, eyes closed.

Heather crossed her arms. "Yeah, great. Now can you move so we can catch Harold before he–" she began, before cutting off as another shout reached their ears.

"Incoming!" they heard, and turned to see Harold rapidly fly down in their direction with his chute out.

Chris's eyes widened and he ditched his pack before diving off the sofa. And just in time, as Harold crashed into it feet-first a moment later, tumbling towards the back.

Except DJ was there to catch him before he could fall off and eat sand. "I gotcha, man!" he called, holding him in his arms.

Harold let out a relieved sigh, glad to just be safe again. "Thanks for the save. Really," he said.

"No worries," DJ said with a smile, before the parachute fell over both of them as well as the rest of the Bass.

Chris patted down his shirt and ran a hand through his hair. Once he made sure he was presentable he pulled out his loudspeaker and announced "Well, even if I wasn't thrown out of a freaking plane, the Killer Bass are the winners! The score stands at 1-0!"

Daphne managed to pull the parachute off herself. "Wait a second. You were what now?" she asked.

The host firmly ignored her and said "We now move on to the second part: The Extreme Moose Rodeo!" Then he walked away before any of them could ask him about what he had said.

As she came ashore, Leshawna pulled her hair from over her face. "That was beyond worth it," she said with a grin.

Once the teams were assembled before the moose pen, it was decided that the Gophers would go first.

As Lindsay slowly climbed up the ladder on the side of the pen, she said "I don't know about this. Is this like the pony rides they always have at birthday parties?"

Putting aside the fact that Lindsay went to enough birthdays with ponies to assume they all had them, Gwen said "Um, sort of. But a lot faster and... less stable."

The blonde gulped and finished hauling herself onto the moose. As she stood on its back, she paused. "Huh… this actually kind of reminds me of when I'm on top of the cheerleaders' pyramid," she said. "I think I can do this!"

Chris smirked. "Let's see, shall we? Chef?" he asked, and the large man hesitantly walked in front of the pen.

However, rather than wait for him to unlock, the moose simply grunted and surged forward, shattering the wooden beams like they were sticks. "Whoa!" Chef called, but had no chance to dodge and was run over.

Lindsay also was not given time to sit in the saddle rather than stand in it. "Hey! Nice moosey! Nice!" she called, struggling to maintain her balance. A few seconds later she found it, and the other campers stared as she stayed on the moose. "This is just like the top of the pyramid!" she said, constantly adjusting her feet to keep her balance.

Heather's jaw hung open. "She's… still wearing heels," she thought aloud, looking at the blonde's cowboy boots.

Then the moose skidded to a stop and Lindsay began to pitch forward. Only for her to grab the mouse's horns and perform a handstand on top of them. It huffed and bucked its head, and she launched herself off before re-landing on her feet on its back.

"And that is… time!" Chris declared, causing the moose to skid to a stop again. This time, Lindsay leaped off its back with a flip, and landed with her arms spread wide. "Lindsay takes the gold home for the Screaming Gophers!"

"Alright!" Owen called, while Gwen said "Lindsay, you rule!"

The blonde blushed. "Aw, you guys…" she said with a smile.

Confessional Stall - Lindsay

"Not only have I been my school's homecoming queen every year since I was a freshman, I'm also the leader of our cheerleading squad!" she revealed. "Some people say it's only because Daddy's name is on the auditorium, but I'm sure it's really because of how pretty I am," she said confidently, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Let’s see if the Killer Bass can match that. You're up!" Chris declared.

DJ slowly approached the moose, who just gave him a flat stare. "Hey there, big guy. I ain't gonna hurt you," he said gently, flashing the moose a polite smile.

The moose simply continued staring at him.

DJ hesitated. "Well, here I go then," he said, before grabbing the mouse's side and pulling himself on. "See? No big deal," he said, giving it a pat on the head. That was apparently the wrong move, as the mouse's eyes bulged with sudden rage. It let out a loud bellow before taking off, doing every single thing in its power to throw him off. "Aah! Down, boy! Steady!" he yelled, but the moose didn't respond.

In fact, it swung its head back to try to hit him with its antlers, forcing DJ to let go and lean back. And the moose took that as an opportunity to buck him off. The large teen spun in the air for a moment, then the moose kicked him with both rear hooves and sent him flying into the laundry pile.

"Oooooh, that had to sting!" Chris said. "Editing team, make sure to include a slow-mo replay of that!" he ordered.

DJ emerged from the pile a moment later, swaying and nursing the side of his head. "Did… we win?" he asked dazedly.

"Eh, not quite. In fact, this round goes to the Screaming Gophers!" Chris replied. "Which ties the scores just in time for the final challenge!"

DJ simply groaned and fell back into the pile, prompting a retching Daphne to try to fish him out. Once he was free, they joined the other Bass in heading for the ski course. As they walked, Liam noticed Gwen move near him. "Something I can help you with?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well…" Gwen began, before shrugging. It worked last time. "How do you feel about poetry?"

The redhead thought that over for a moment, mostly about why she would care about such a thing. It wasn't as if they had really talked much since the show started. "I think it's a creative form of expression," he said neutrally.

She hummed. "So, is it the sort of thing you see yourself doing?" she said.

Liam suppressed a frown. Okay, now he was really curious what this was about. Though, he got the sense she wouldn't just tell if he asked. "If I have a good enough reason too," he said, before remembering his image. "It sounds like a lot of work, after all." Then he tacked on a yawn to sell it.

Gwen nodded. "Just wondering. Thanks," she said, and he nodded back as she moved away.

Confessional Stall - Liam

"The only scenario where I can see myself writing poetry is either for a challenge or if I'm stupidly infatuated with someone," he declared. Then he paused. "Hmm… After the last challenge… Courtney wouldn't have put Gwen up to ask that just to gauge my reaction to that kiss. That's just overkill… right?"

At the ski course, Chris said "Well, the team that wins this challenge gets tonight's immunity and that trip to the swanky massage and shower. First off, choose your drivers!"

Heather and Courtney both immediately called "I'll drive!"

Then they glared at each other, "Have you ever driven a jet ski before?" Heather asked.

"Yes, actually, I have. Along with a car, a bus, and even a boat," the C.I.T. shot back. "Now, do you want to win that shower experience or not?"

"I do want to win, which is why I should drive!" Heather said fiercely.

The two of them growled at each other. Daphne, standing next to Gwen in a red one-piece bathing suit, just face-palmed. "Seriously?" she muttered.

In her own bathing suit, Gwen shook her head. "Can we just get this over with?" she called.

They looked over at her, then back at each other. After a moment, Courtney said "You know what, fine! Go ahead and be the driver. And if we lose this challenge, I'm laying all the blame at your feet!"

"Since we won't lose, that's fine by me," Heather said, taking the keys from Chris with a triumphant smirk.

"Excellent. Your driver, Screaming Gophers?" the host asked.

The Gophers looked at each other. "So… who's the best driver here?" Trent asked.

Owen shook his head. "I've still only got my learner's permit," he admitted.

"I've got a license," Leshawna offered. "I can do it."

"Sounds good. Then in that case, Killer Bass, you and Leshawna are first on the chopping block!" Chris told them.

Daphne grimaced but put the skis on. "This is going to suck," she said plainly.

As she got into position, Gwen leaned over to Justin. Third time's the charm. "I was wondering: how do you feel about poetry?" she asked.

Justin shrugged his shoulders but didn't say anything. She frowned. "Okay… Do you see yourself writing poetry?"

He shrugged again.

At that point, Gwen gave up subtlety and asked " Have you written any lately?" That time he shook his head, making Gwen groan before walking away.

Once Daphne was ready and Leshawna was on the seadoo, Chris held up a checkered flag. "Ready? And… go!" he called.

The moment the flag was down, Leshawna revved the engine and shot forward. "Whoa!" Daphne shouted, one of her skis immediately catching in the mud. That was one ripped off her foot, but the other stayed on. "Oh crap, oh no, oh crap!" she said, struggling to ski with only one ski. Despite this, she still had a grin on her face, feeling the fear and adrenaline pumping through her veins.

As they came to the ramp with the first flag, Leshawna gave it another burst of speed, but Daphne managed to lean down and snatch it as she passed by. "One flag for the Bass!" Chris called with his loudspeaker. Leshawna grimaced, before she began to swerve from side to side. The brunette stopped holding the flag up and grabbed her bar with both hands, struggling to hold on. As they came to the second ramp, however, Leshawna was forced to straighten out, letting Daphne crouch down to grab the second one. "That's two flags!" Chris 'helpfully' called.

"I can see that!" Leshawna shouted back. "Just let go, girl!" she called to Daphne.

But she just laughed. "No way, José! This is too much fun!" she called, and caught the third flag.

"Just two flags to go!" Chris said, delighting in seeing Leshawna grow more frustrated.

Daphne held the flags up with one hand. "Piece of cake!" she said.

Leshawna’s eyebrow twitched. "Is that so? Then how about this!" she yelled, before yanking the handles to the side. The engine whined as her move sent it through several complete turns in the mud. Meanwhile, Daphne was pulled along from the other end.

Her eyes widened. "Oh sh–Whoa! Hey! Ah!" she called, clinging on for dear life. Then, just as Leshawna finished spinning, she heard–and felt–another snap and looked down. Her stomach dropped.

The stress had caused the strap on her remaining ski to break.

The next second, the front end of the ski was caught in the mud and Daphne was catapulted into the air. "OH FUUUUU–!" she called, before landing face-first in a tree past the finish line.

Chris's previously pleased expression instantly soured. "And… with some creative driving, Leshawna manages to make Daphne wipe out before getting her last two flags," he declared reluctantly. "All Gwen has to do is get at least four of them and cross the finish line."

Lindsay frowned. "But Delphi didn't cross!" she protested.

"Yes, but this is my show," Chris countered. "Just think of it as retribution for certain aeronautical stunts this morning," he said, throwing a glare at Leshawna as she crossed the finish line.

Leshawna simply shrugged. "Still worth it," she said frankly.

Gwen looked at the course. "Just four flags? I can do that," she said.

Heather glared at her. "Not if I have anything to say about it," she said, before stomping over and getting onto her jet ski.

Chris raised his flag, and Gwen got into positions on her skis. "And… go!" he called. Heather immediately went for wide swerves as they shot forward, not giving Gwen a moment to get comfortable.

As they neared the first flag, she turned and came up the ramp on an angle before straightening out as she landed. Gwen caught the first flag, then immediately held the bar with both hands as it was nearly ripped out of her hands. "Not… yet!" she shouted with gritted teeth, holding on and staying up as she also landed.

"And Gwen takes flag one!" Chris said.

"No!" Heather yelled. Her driving became even more erratic in response, and she made sure to swerve as close as possible to any rocks scattered along the path.

As Gwen picked up her second flag, Heather swerved again and sent her on path to hit one such rock. The goth gulped… before her expression became determined. "I am getting that shower!" she called, and leaped over the rock before landing again and snatching her third flag. Then her fourth.

"And Gwen has all the flags she needs! And if Heather doesn't cross the finish line, her team is disqualified!" Chris called.

The queen bee glared back at Gwen.

Confessional Stall - Heather

"If I don't cross, my team loses. If Gwen makes it across, I still lose. So the answer is simply to make sure she doesn't cross," she said with a grin.

Heather flipped a switch to keep the jet ski on cruise control, then turned around in her seat. Gwen's expression turned wary, and then horrified as she reached into her shorts and revealed a pocket knife.

"You wouldn't!" Gwen called.

In response, Heather gave a wide grin. "Oh, I would. Buh-bye, Hot Topic!" she called, before leaning down to cut the line. As she did, Gwen became aware of a low branch they were passing. Had Heather been sitting straight, it probably would have clotheslined her. Instead, it hit the back of her top… and ripped it right off.

Heather froze, then looked down at her chest. Which was exposed.

On international television.

"AAAAAHH!" she called, before the seadoo hit a rock and sent her flying backwards off the seat.

As Heather sailed away, Gwen had a huge grin on her face. "Now that was some great instant karma," she said. The speed Heather already had her going at was enough to carry her across the finish line, which she did to the cheers of her teammates.

Chris drove up to them on his ATV. "I didn't quite catch what happened, but Heather totally botched up her driving. Which makes our winners…" He paused to sigh. "The Screaming Gophers," he dully announced.

The Gophers continued cheering, and Leshawna caught Gwen in a hug as she reached them. "Girlfriend, give me some sugar!" she said, and Gwen laughed a little before hugging her back.

With the Bass, Courtney was sending death glares in the direction Heather was last seen. Meanwhile, DJ frowned and sniffed at his arm. "I'm gonna need to break out the special soap for this," he said morosely, still able to smell the jockstrap.

Before her team left for the showers, Gwen and Bridgette met up. "So, we can cross off Liam and Justin as letter-writers," the goth said. "I suppose we could ask DJ."

Bridgette gave her a grin. "Yeah, that sounds great!" she said.

Gwen raised an eyebrow, noticing how forced her cheery expression was. Before she could ask about it, though, Leshawna passed by them. "What's up?" she asked.

"This," Gwen said, holding the letter out to her.

She took it and read it through, before smiling. "That's kind of sweet. I've gotten two other poems like this already," she stated.

Both other girls straightened in genuine surprise. "The poem is for you?!" they both said.

Leshawna smirked. "You two know anyone else at camp with a luscious apple…" she began, turning around and posing so her rear stuck out in her jeans. "Like mine?" she finished, before proudly walking off to take her shower.

As she did, Gwen looked over the surfer chick. "But… if the note was for Leshawna, then who wrote it?" she asked.

Bridgette just shrugged her shoulders, not trusting herself to lie convincingly.

At the bonfire, before night had fallen, Courtney gathered the members of her alliance. "So, I hardly think we need to discuss it, but it's best to be sure," she began. "We're all voting for Heather tonight, right?"

Harold nodded. "Not only is she the leader of her alliance, but she cost us the win in the final challenge," he said.

Bridgette raised her hand. "To be fair, we can sort of blame Daphne for that too. If she didn't wipe out, we might have gotten all five flags while Gwen didn't."

Liam grunted. "Maybe, but that also assumes Gwen wouldn't have gotten a fifth flag if she had to. Which she might have," he pointed out.

"Exactly," Courtney agreed. "And we could blame DJ for losing too, but he's not as bad as Heather. We should get rid of her while we can."

Now Harold raises an eyebrow. "And I'm guessing you two butting heads has nothing to do with it," he added.

She shot him an annoyed look. "We butt heads because she's a threat. One we should eliminate now," she said.

"I agree," Liam quickly said, before stretching. "That massage sure would have been nice."

"Yeah, it would have…" Bridgette admitted, before sighing. "Alright, I'll vote for Heather tonight."

"Same here," Harold said.

The C.I.T. smiled. "Thank you," she said. It was always so much easier when people obeyed.

While the Gophers were showering–and both Courtney and Heather were busy still fuming over their loss–Liam walked over to the steps of the main lodge. Seated there was Daphne. As he came closer, she looked up at him and frowned. "I thought I said we shouldn't speak again," she said.

He bowed his head. "You did," he conceded. "But we need to if you want whatever your plan is to work."

She snorted. "You don't even know what my plan is, but still think I need your help?" she asked rhetorically. Leaning back with her hands behind her, she said "Alright, lay it on me."

Once night had fallen, all the Bass now were in front of the bonfire, which was now lit and casting shadows over ground and walls.

"As you all know, failure to receive a marshmallow will result in being forced to walk the Dock of Shame, from which you may never, ever return," Chris reminded them for the umpteenth time. "Bridgette and Harold? You guys are safe," began.

Both of them smiled at each other before walking over.

As Chris handed marshmallows to them, he continued "Daphne…" She let out the breath she was holding and stood up.

"Courtney…" Courtney sent another look of our venom at Heather. In contrast, the queen bee looked, for once, somewhat nervous.

"Liam…" He smiled and joined the others, savoring the taste of his own marshmallow.

"Heather, DJ, you both lost challenges for your team today, which makes you both losers," Chris said. "But only one loser will remain on the show. That loser is…"

…

…

…

"Heather."

Every Bass had a look of surprise on their face. Everyone except Heather, that is, who's nervousness was replaced with triumph. "Ha! I don't even know what I was worried about," she said, getting up to claim her prize.

DJ, meanwhile, sighed sadly at the loss. Then he looked over at Courtney, Liam, Harold and Bridgette. "Can't say I really blame you guys. I'd have voted for me, too," he said.

"But we… How…?" Bridgette stuttered, still looking shocked.

But DJ waved his hand. "It's all good, guys. I had fun while it lasted," he said.

Daphne abruptly ran forward and embraced him in a hug. "I'm gonna miss you, big guy," she said into his shirt.

He smiled and hugged her back. "I'll miss you too, Daph," he said.

She chuckled and looked up at him. "Only Izzy gets to call me that," she said stubbornly. "But you're still the second-best friend I made on this show."

"Same here," he replied, getting her to give him a quizzical look. Then Bunny appeared from behind DJ's seat, jumping into his arms as he pulled away. "This little guy takes the top spot."

Daphne smiled. "As he should," she said before moving aside.

DJ received a brief hug from Bridgette as well, along with fist bumps from Harold and Liam. He and Heather locked gazes for a minute… and then she sighed and extended her hand. He shook it with a grin before continuing on, shaking hands with Courtney before reaching the Dock.

As he jumped onto the Boat of Losers with Bunny, DJ waved back his teammates. "See ya, guys!" he said, and every one of them waved back.

Chapter 14: Awed and 'Mazed

Chapter Text

After DJ's elimination, Courtney's alliance met again, this time in the male side of the Bass cabin. "Alright, what the heck happened last night?" Bridgette said, crossing her arms. "We all agreed to vote for Heather last night. So how did DJ get eliminated instead?"

Liam shook his head. "I'm not sure. Courtney and I voted together, and I know we both put Heather's name on our ballots," he told them. "If all four of us voted together, she should have been eliminated."

Harold rubbed his chin in thought. "If all four of us voted as agreed, the only way DJ could have been eliminated was if…" he said, trailing off as his eyes widened.

Knowing what he was thinking, Courtney nodded and said "Exactly."

Bridgette looked back and forth between them. "Exactly what?" she asked.

Harold grimaced. "I… had an idea, during the challenge before last, of swapping out some of the votes to get rid of Heather," he admitted.

She stared. "You were willing to cheat?" she said, appalled.

"It was just an idea," Harold quickly defended. "I didn't go through with it."

Before an argument could break out, Courtney said "Anyways, since we all voted for Heather, the only way she could still be here is if she tampered with the votes."

Bridgette frowned.. "But… wait. That makes no sense," she said. "If Heather was going to rig the votes, it seems obvious she'd get rid of one of us. Why get rid of DJ instead?"

Liam shrugged. "Maybe because it's too obvious," he stated. "We have the majority, don't we? So if someone from our alliance was voted out instead of someone from theirs, Chris would definitely know something's up."

"We'll never know now, anyway," Courtney said. "It's not like Chris keeps the votes once an elimination is over. Unless Heather was dumb enough to swap the votes on camera, we have no way of proving she did it."

"I agree," Harold piped up. "Still, I think we need to have one of us keep watch on the confessional when the votes are cast, in case someone tries to mess with the other votes while they're casting theirs," he suggested.

Bridgette nodded. "We should also make sure one of us is the last to vote, just in case someone goes back in and tampers with them," she added.

Liam suppressed a frown. "Sounds great," he said, mentally shelving the idea of actually swapping votes for a later date. "In the meantime, we need to keep an eye out in case Heather pulls any other tricks to stay in the game." That got nods all around.

With that handled, the conversation turned towards strategy for whatever the next challenge might be. "The last challenge involved a lot of physical activity. Maybe Chris plans to swap it up and give us a test of intellect," Liam said hopefully.

Courtney snorted. "I doubt it. The guy practically lives on seeing us exhausted and humiliated. I think he'll give us another physical challenge," she predicted.

Harold looked down at himself. "As long as it doesn't involve heavy lifting, I can still help," he offered. "I'm very nimble."

"I remember. You nearly dodged us to victory during the dodgeball challenge," Bridgette said. "I hope it's a challenge out on the water. We haven't really done one of those unless you count the canoe trip."

That time, Liam made his frown visible. "Swimming is… exhausting. Sorry if I hope for the mental challenge," he stated, making Bridgette and Harold chuckle while Courtney laughed.

"Oh, you," she said, pushing him slightly with a smile, one that made Bridgette blink.

Confessional Stall - Bridgette

"Is it me, or do Courtney and Liam seem… closer?" she asked with a bemused expression.

As the sun hung low in the sky, Chris's voice came over the intercom again. "Attention, campers. Please report to the eastern edge of the forest for your next challenge, and bring your A-game! You'll need it," he told them, before cutting off with a chuckle.

Gwen cast a glance at the slowly darkening sky above them. "Why do I get the feeling there's a reason we didn't start in the morning?" she thought aloud.

The other campers also made sounds of dismay, but none of them disagreed with her. They knew Chris too well by now. When they reached the edge of the forest, however, they were met with a surprise.

"What… the…?" Trent said.

Weaving through the forest was what looked like a giant hedge maze. At the front of it were two entrances, between which stood Chris. "Evening, campers! So, what do you think?" he said, spreading his arms.

Courtney perked up. "Is the challenge a maze?" she asked.

"Sort of," their host answered. "Today's challenge is both a labyrinth and a scavenger hunt. Hidden within the depths of this hedge maze are a total of four miniature wooden statues of moi. Each team's job is to find two of them, then be the first to all make it out the maze's exit. Wherever that is."

Heather crossed her arms. "Sounds simple enough… So what's the catch?" she asked.

"I'm so glad you asked!" Chris said. "Not only is finding those statues going to be harder once night falls…" At that, Gwen hung her head. "But I've also made sure to fill the maze with all sorts of fun 'surprises'. Might want to watch your backs. And your step," he warned them. "Any other questions?"

Daphne raised her hand, and Chris quickly said "Yes, you will be disqualified for trying to burn a path out of the maze. Or for setting fire to any part of the maze. Or even just starting a fire in the maze. Got it?" The brunette pouted and her hand went back down.

Harold raised his hand. "Just one question," he said, and the host looked at him. "How the heck did you grow these hedges in the last two days?"

Chris grinned. "Ah, you can thank this amazing bioresearch/waste disposal company I found," he said, before suddenly turning to face the camera. "Which reminds me: today's episode is brought to you by Biosurge Fertilizer! Biosurge, for when Mother Nature's touch just isn't enough."

As he held up a bag of said fertilizer to the camera, Lindsay leaned over to Leshawna. "When did we start taking sponsorships?" she asked, to which Leshawna just shrugged her shoulders.

Behind the camera, an intern said "Okay… Got the ad."

"Great!" Chris said, tossing the bag away. Facing the campers once again, he added "I should also mention that the fertilizer is gonna make all these hedges die by sunrise. So if you don't find your statues and get out by then, your team loses."

The other campers all nodded, and the Bass moved to the left entrance while the Gophers stood before the right one. "Ready?" Chris called, and all of them tensed. "Then… Go!" And with that, all twelve campers rushed into the maze.

The Killer Bass soon made it to the first fork in the road, one that either went left or continued onwards. Heather said "We should split up. We'll have a better chance of finding those statues."

Courtney crossed her arms. "True, but Chris said we all need to make it to the exit. What if one group can't find the exit?" she pointed out.

The queen bee rolled her eyes. "There is no way I'm going to get lost in a stupid maze like this. Are you saying you can't find the exit?" she challenged.

"I can definitely find it!" Courtney immediately protested, making Liam resist the urge to facepalm.

'Walked right into it,' he thought, but refrained from saying it.

Heather smirked. "Then we have no problem. Daphne, Bridgette and I will go this way, while you can take Harold and Liam that way. Neither group will get lost and we'll find those statues twice as fast. Sound good?"

The C.I.T, was silent for a moment. "...I guess so," she reluctantly conceded. "Let’s go," she said, before grabbing Liam by the arm and pulling him with her down the left fork.

Once she was gone, Heather hummed and continued walking forward.

Confessional Stall - Heather

"Make no mistake, Courtney has got to go. But sending Liam to Daphne with that proposal to give up DJ, and now she's willing to listen to me? Maybe she's not as much of a pain as I thought."

In contrast to the other team, the Gophers had stayed together as one group. At the front of that group was Trent, taking the lead as they wandered through the woods and kept an eye out for statues. So focused was he on that, upon entering a wider, more open area, the guitarist failed to notice anything until his foot brushed a pile of leaves.

There was a tiny snip before a rope net suddenly dropped from above onto him. "Hey!" he yelled, immediately struggling to break free. When the net held firm, he called "Not cool, man!"

Over the speaker, Chris responded "I did promise surprises! Heh, heh."

Gwen rushed over and began working on one of the net's knots. "I don't suppose anyone's got a knife on them?" she said, and her teammates all shook their heads.

Trent tried to help untie one of the knots from inside the net. "Maybe you guys should go on without me. I can catch up if you leave a way for me to find you," he said.

Leshawna shook her head before walking over to help pull the net off him. "We don't have anything to mark the path with. We stay together," she said. After a moment, with additional help from the others, they were able to get the net off and enable Trent to stand.

Owen sighed. "Guess we really gotta be careful then," he said, looking at the two paths that led out of the area. And looking further down one of them, he could see lit a pedestal with– "A statue!" he called, rushing forward.

"Omar, wait!" Lindsay called.

Although Owen slowed down, he didn't stop. "Relax. I don't see any traps on the ground this time," he assured her. Then he got within arm's reach of that statue and the ground fell out from under him. "Oh, come on!" he called from the bottom of the pit, while his teammates sighed and prepared to help him climb out.

At the same time, Harold, Courtney and Liam ventured deeper into the maze. As they walked, Liam said "You know, if we start keeping watch for votes being switched, it'll be impossible to do it ourselves without letting Bridgette know."

Harold nodded. "I was thinking about that. Maybe we hold off on doing that unless we really, really need to," he suggested.

Courtney scoffed. "That was always going to be a last resort anyway; we can't know for certain how Chris would respond to someone cheating like that," she said.

The other two nodded, before they all came to stop. The path ahead of them was covered in clay tiles, while the hedges on either side had several baseball-sized holes. Each plate also had a letter engraved into it.

Looking it over, Liam said "I'm willing to bet money that those are pressure plates."

"Sounds like a good guess," Harold said, dropping to one knee as he looked over the plates. "I see a lot of A's and W's. Maybe we have to spell 'Wawanakwa'?"

"Maybe…" Courtney said, eyes narrowing as she also searched for a path that spelled something. "I think we could also spell 'Chris McLean' with these. But only one path could be correct, right?"

The lazier redhead shrugged. "One way to find out," he said, before picking a rock off the forest floor and throwing it onto the closest C plate. The three of them heard a faint hiss, and then a fist-sized wad of socks shot out one of the holes, hitting the hedge on the other side and sticking to it.

Liam leaned back. "I think that's the laundry from the last challenge. And still uncleaned."

Courtney's lip curled. "First off, gross. Second, it looks like spelling Chris's name isn't the solution. Harold, try the W."

Harold gulped, not seeing another rock to toss. "Why me?" he asked.

"Because Liam already tried the other one. And it was your idea," she countered.

Harold frowned, before sighing and standing. "Alright, gosh!" he said. He then walked over to the W plate, slowly extending his foot forward. It hovered over the square, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes and placed his foot on.

…

"I think it's fine," Liam said.

Harold opened eye, then sighed and relaxed. "Great. Now we just get to the other end–" he began, placing a foot on the closest of the A tile. A ball of garbage immediately shot out of the hedge to his right, making him give a high-pitched scream as he jumped out of the way. That jump placed his foot on a square with the letter I… and nothing happened.

All three of them blinked. "...Huh. Maybe it just spells 'Winners'?" Courtney suggested.

Harold looked down at the floor, then stepped on an N plate. When there was no shot from that either, he grinned. "Awesome," he said and hopped across the stones, leaping over some rows as needed.

Courtney and Liam followed in his steps. Once all three were on the other side, two of the holes on either side suddenly fired. Rather than socks, however, the left hole fired confetti at them while the other launched a Chris statue. Before any of them could catch it, it struck Liam in the side of the head hard enough to send him to the ground.

"Liam! Are you okay?!" Courtney asked, dropping to her knees next to him.

Blinking several times, he slowly said "Where's the leak, ma'am?"

Confessional Stall - Liam

Holding a zip-lock bag full of ice to his head, he said "I'm sure I did something somewhere to deserve that. Doesn't mean I have to like it."

Heather, Daphne, and Bridgette ventured deeper into the maze. Eventually, they found themselves faced with a series of hanging vines that crisscrossed the path. "Stupid Chris and his stupid no-burning rule," Daphne muttered.

Heather rolled her eyes. "I'm sure we'll make it without potentially burning down the whole forest," she said, pushing the vines out of the way with the other girls following.

Then she and the others came to a stop. Ahead of them was a long, straight path with no branches that, at the end, turned right. And situated right at the end was a very large electric fan. The moment they were in sight of it, it turned on and sent a loud, massive gust of wind down the path.

Daphne’s hair whipped around her face as she struggled to keep her balance against the gale. "Whoa, this is like a wind tunnel!" she said with a grin.

Bridgette took a step back, putting her hands up to block any dirt on the ground sent at them. "We have to push past it to keep going!"

"I can see that!" Heather called over the wind. Then she looked back at the vine curtain. Just the sort of thing to tangle them up if they were blown into it. "Nice try, Chris!" she said, and she and her teammates put one foot in front of the other.

Gradually, over the course of a few minutes, they had made it three-fourths of the way to the fan. That was when the fan picked up in intensity, and Bridgette began sliding back along the ground.

"Uh, a little help here, please!" she called, but it was drowned out by the wind.

Then Daphne’s foot slipped and she stumbled back, catching sight of Bridgette. As she skidded to a stop next to her, she yelled "I got you!" and grabbed her by the arm. A moment later, Heather lost her footing completely, screaming as she flew backwards towards the vines.

When she landed between Daphne and Bridgette, nearly sending them all over, she shouted "Is this funny to you, Chris?!"

With Daphne and Bridgette each grabbing one of the hedge walls with one hand and holding on to one of Heather's arms with the other, the trio were able to keep from being blown over or pushed back again.

Another five minutes later, they finally reached the fan, and Heather reached forward to slam her hand on the switch on top of it. The wind immediately died down, making all of them sigh in relief.

"That was not fun," she stated, and Bridgette nodded in agreement. Daphne just shrugged, carefully removing the smile she had been wearing the whole time.

With the Screaming Gophers, Lindsay had managed to jump and collect their first statue once Owen was out of the pit. Now they found themselves on a narrow path bordered by vibrant, colorful flowers.

Leshawna raised an eyebrow. "Y'all seein' these flowers? They look too perfect to be real."

Gwen nodded in agreement. "Definitely suspicious. I wouldn't be surprised if they're poisonous or something," she said.

Owen's stomach gave a loud rumble, and he chuckled nervously. "Guess they wouldn't make a good snack, then," he said.

Trent leaned in closer to examine the flowers. "They do seem kind of... artificial. Like they're trying too hard to be pretty."

As they debated, Lindsay accidentally brushed her foot against one of the flowers, and a cloud of glittery pollen burst forth and enveloped her. She immediately began sneezing. "Achoo! Ugh, seriously? Achoo! Sneezing–achoo!–pollen? ACHOO!" she whined.

Leshawna held her breath and reached into the cloud, pulling her out. "Easy there girl!" she said, letting her step back and sneeze the rest of the pollen out of her system. "Well, now we know for sure: Don't touch the flowers."

The others nodded and they moved to walk single-file down the path. Eventually, it opened up and the flowers came to an end. Around the next corner, however, the path was enshrouded in a thick wall of fog.

Gwen frowned, squinting into the mist. "Well, this isn't going to make things any easier."

Trent nodded. "We need to stick close together and move slowly. If we get separated, it'll be even harder to find our way."

As they cautiously moved forward, they kept their eyes on the ground for any hidden traps. The sun was practically set by now, but they still had just a little light to work with.

So focused were they on the ground that Lindsay didn't notice the low branch until it hit her forehead. "Owie!" she said, bringing her hand up to rub the spot it had hit her. She glared at the tree branch, then the tree it was attached to… and then her eyes widened. "You guys, look!" she said, and pointed.

Higher up in the tree, just barely visible in the fog, was a bird's nest. And sitting in that nest was a statue. Leshawna smirked. "I got this one," she said before jumping and latching onto the side of the tree.

It took less than a minute for her to climb up to the branch with the nest. However, just as she grinned and prepared to grab it, she heard a chirp and looked up. Fluttering down to land in the nest, looking directly at her, was an adult woodpecker. Leshawna glanced from the bird to the statue, and then back. The woodpecker continued staring at her, slowly moving to stand next to the statue. Then it raised its beak.

"Oh, no you don't!" she called, snatching the statue before they could damage it. Predictably, the woodpecker screeched and immediately began pecking at her, making her let go and fall out of the tree. She landed on her feet and shouted "Let’s go, people!" The other Gophers began running, picking up the pace when two more woodpeckers flew down from the trees to also harass them.

Chris's voice rang out. "And the Gophers managed to locate their second statue! Can the Bass catch up before they find the exit?"

Courtney looked at her group, who had come to a stop at another fork. "We need to pick up the pace. Left or right?" she asked.

Rubbing his head where he had been hit, Liam took a look down each path. "I don't see anything indicating which one's good or bad."

"I guess we'll just have to wing it, then," Harold said.

"In that case, let's go… left," Courtney told them. The boys nodded and followed her.

That fork opened up into a small clearing with no visible exit and a large, old-looking statue against the far wall. The statue depicted a stern-faced warrior holding a sword. Harold tilted his head, studying it. "Wow. For a prop, that's quite the sculpture."

Liam nodded. "I doubt Chris had it put here for decoration. It might be a clue or a trigger for something."

"Maybe we have to do something to make it move? Like a secret button?" Courtney suggested.

As the trio examined the statue more closely, she spotted a series of inscriptions on its base. She pointed at them. "There are words here. 'To open the path, pay respect to the guardian.' What do you think that means?"

Harold hummed and rubbed his chin. "Pay respects... Maybe we bow to it or give it a salute?"

Liam raised his hand. "Or maybe we just... say something nice to it?"

The other two traded amused looks, and Harold nodded toward the statue. "Go ahead, give it a shot."

Liam took a deep breath and faced the statue. "Um… hey there, Mr. Guardian! Your sword is very impressive, and… uh, your stone muscles are... really well-carved! Thanks for… guarding this path for us." Then he tacked on both a salute and a bow, just in case.

As he finished his improvised compliment, the ground beneath their feet rumbled slightly, and a section of the hedge wall behind the statue swung open.

Harold's jaw dropped. "A voice-activated exit. Amazing," he said. The group then stepped through the newly revealed doorway. To their shock, it led them within sight of the exit to the maze.

"Not just an exit, but a shortcut," Liam said, before grinning. "Let’s go."

Harold frowned. "What about the others?" he asked.

"We got a statue and found the exit. Now it's their turn to do the same," Courtney dismissed, making him reluctantly follow as they exited the maze.

Unbeknownst to them, just two hedges over were the other members of their team. The path they were on twisted and turned, occasionally leading them into dead ends or through deceptively simple obstacles.

Their efforts eventually brought them to a clearing where the ground was covered in a layer of fine sand. In the center of the clearing stood a pedestal with a Chris statue on it.

Daphne’s excitement was palpable. "This is it! The second statue!" she said.

"Yeah… but I'm getting a bad feeling from this," Bridgette told them, moving her foot through the sand.

Heather shook her head. "Knowing Chris, there's probably quicksand around the pedestal. As if we'd fall for that a second time," she said.

Confessional Stall - Chris

"Hey, I didn't expect them to fall for it the first time. Can't blame me for trying again," he said with a shrug.

"Well, if we can't walk up and grab the statue, how should we get it?" Daphne asked.

Heather looked around the clearing. "I don't see any rope we could use to swing across like Cody did… I know I can't jump that far. Can either of you?" she asked.

Both Bridgette and Daphne looked at the quicksand surrounding the pedestal. It had to be at least six meters in radius, making them both grimace. "I might be able to make that," Bridgette said. "And we don't really have the time to think of anything else."

Daphne nodded and dropped to one knee. Cupping her hands, she said "I can give you a boost when you jump."

Bridgette nodded and began taking steps backwards, while Heather moved out of the way. Once she had enough distance, the surfer took off at a run. When she reached Daphne, she jumped and placed both feet on her hands. With a grunt, the brunette heaved her into the as she jumped, sending her even higher. Bridgette flipped over and aimed her fall to land her right onto the pedestal. She hit it feet first, snatching the statue… and then felt it topple beneath her.

"Whoa!" she called, falling onto the pedestal as it fell over into the quicksand. Feeling the pedestal immediately begin to sink beneath her, she scrambled to her feet and leaped back towards her teammates. Without a running start, however, she landed a full meter away from the edge, and immediately sank up to her waist. "Oh crap, oh crap!" she said frantically.

Daphne’s eyes widened, and she looked back at Heather. "Grab my legs!" she said, before diving forward and grabbing Bridgette by the arms.

"Wha–?!" Heather shouted. But by then Daphne had already landed in the quicksand and grabbed Bridgette, making her groan. "How many times am I going to end up helping people?" she muttered in annoyance, before kneeling next to the quicksand and grabbing Daphne by the legs.

With a grunt, she was able to pull Daphne and, slowly, Bridgette out of the sand. Once all three of them were on solid ground again, panting, Bridgette looked at the two of them. "Thanks for that. I mean it," she said.

Heather nodded and said "You're welcome," while Daphne waved it off.

"I'm sure you would have done the same for us," she said.

Bridgette smiled. "Yeah. And now…" she said, holding up the statue.

On cue, Chris's voice rang out "That's two statues for the Bass as well. It's a race to the finish now!"

After finally managing to shake off the family of woodpeckers, Leshawna and her team narrowly avoided another pitfall trap in the dark before they reached another fork. One path continued on while the other went to their right, showing… "There's the exit!" Leshawna called.

But just then, the sound of a commotion reached their ears, and Heather, Daphne and Bridgette rounded the corner at the other end, the latter two covered in sand. For a moment, the two groups stared at each other.

Then Heather's group broke into a dead sprint.

"I don't think so! Come on!" Leshawna called, and her team also began running. Her, Gwen and Trent easily kept pace with Bridgette and Daphne, while Justin kept up with Heather.

Behind both teams, however, was Owen. "I can't… run… like this…" he panted, slowing to a walk.

Trent looked back. "You can do it, man! Hurry!" he called.

Owen's expression became determined. "You're right. I can do this," he said, taking a deep breath. "Rrr aaaa–! " he began, and ran four steps forward before freezing, eyes going wide. "Muscle cramp! Oh mama, that hurts!" he said, before falling to the ground while grabbing his hamstring.

While the Gophers were looking back at him, the remaining Bass continued running and breached the exit. "And that's a wrap! The Killer Bass win!" Chris declared.

"Whoo-hoo! Alright!" Courtney cheered, leaning over and pulling Liam into a hug.

The lanky teen froze for a second, then relaxed and returned it. "No third elimination for us," he proclaimed, making her smile widen.

Even as the other Bass celebrated–and the Gophers mourned–Bridgette paused in her cheering to look at the two of them, who were slow to let go and were still smiling at each other.

Confessional Stall - Bridgette

"Oh, I'm definitely not imagining this now. Did the bossiest girl on this show fall for her lackey?" she thought aloud. "Or was it the other way around, and Liam fell for his leader?"

That night, Screaming Gophers sat in front of the bonfire, all of them well familiar with the routine by now.

"Sorry to see you here, Gophers. This could have been your third victory in a row if you hadn't messed it up," Chris taunted. Ignoring their angry looks, he held up his plate. "But you did, so now whichever camper doesn't get a tasty treat will be walking the Dock of Shame, never to return. Ever."

"Leshawna…" She walked over and grabbed her marshmallow with a smirk. She was never even worried.

"Trent…" The guitarist had been, and received his with a relieved sigh.

"Gwen…" She calmly took hers.

"Lindsay…" The blonde clapped her hands and ran over to be handed her marshmallow.

"Just one marshmallow left. Owen, you fell in a hole near the start of the challenge and couldn't keep up near the end, costing your team the win. Justin, you were just… kinda there, being pretty," Chris said, making the large boy hang his head while the model grinned. "But your teammates have decided. The last marshmallow goes to…"

…

…

…

"Owen."

He immediately jumped to his feet. "Yes! Whoo!" he cheered, running over and picking Chris up in a hug. "Thank you, man," he said, putting him back down and taking his prize.

Justin stared at the girl Gophers. Then, to the surprise of the guys, he spoke.

"But… we had a deal!" he said.

Leshawna crossed her arms. "Yeah, we did. You said that if we saved you for last, you'd help vote off all the other guys on the team," she revealed.

"But you should have known I wasn't going to vote off Trent before you," Gwen continued.

Lindsay finished "Plus, we like Orwell more than you. Sorry!" For her part, she appeared genuinely apologetic, while the other two didn't seem regretful at all.

"You said what?" Trent said, looking at him. That was when it clicked into place. "Wait a sec. You're the one guy that voted for Cody!" he said with a glare.

Justin shrugged. "I won't deny it. Like I said before, I was never in this for the prize money. All staying this long did for me was line up some more modeling contracts," he stated. Then he reached up and rubbed his face. "And now I'm getting out with this still intact. I'll call that a win."

Chris chuckled. "Hope you feel like a winner while riding the Loser Boat," he said, jerking his thumb behind him.

He grinned. "I'm sure I will," he said, before walking past an angry Trent and visibly upset Owen.

As his Boat pulled away, Chris said "Well, that was some nice drama to cap off his time here. May the beautiful always prosper." Then he pulled out a hand mirror and adjusted his hair, before flashing a grin to the camera.

Chapter 15: A Feast to Remember

Chapter Text

True to Chris's word, the experimental fertilizer he had used caused the maze hedges to all die by the next morning, after which he had the interns clean up the remains. As the campers walked into the lodge, they saw that Chef was not waiting behind the counter with his usual glare. Instead, both he and Chris were standing by the front door wearing identical smirks.

Owen, predictably, asked "Hey, where's breakfast? I gotta eat before we do any challenges!"

"Oh, don't you worry, Owen," Chris said. "There will be plenty of food later." Then both he and Chef looked at each and snickered. That got suspicious looks from all of the campers, even as more of them filed in and sat at their team tables.

Once all of them were present, Chris began "Congratulations are in order. The eleven campers standing before me have managed to make it past the halfway mark on Total Drama Island. All of you are in the running for the season finale."

Several of them had different reactions–Owen called "Whoo hoo! We're on fire!" while some pumped their fists and or just smiled. Their host continued "Next week, the two teams will officially dissolve. But before that, all guys will move into the Bass cabin and all girls will be in the Gophers cabin. After everyone's settled in, I'll announce today's challenge and you'll get a… bite to eat."

Then he and Chef broke into another round of snickers, making Daphne grimace. "I suddenly don't feel so hot about breakfast," she said, and Heather nodded in agreement. The campers quickly broke apart to start moving luggage. Liam and Courtney, however, lingered in the lodge.

Once all of the others were gone, the two of them instantly moved so that Liam's right hand rested over her left. They smiled at each other, both suppressing blushes.

Confessional Stall - Courtney

"Okay, I haven't really had a relationship like this before," she admitted. "People usually find me too bossy or controlling or focused on success… I don't really know how to do stuff like this.”

As the C.I.T. was mulling over this, Liam cleared his throat. "So…" he began. "It's safe to say our partnership is no longer one of just allies. I suppose there are some things we need to decide, then."

Courtney paused. "Such as?" she asked.

"Two things come to mind. First off, how much of this…" He held up their hands. "Do we want to show in front of the cameras? And second, how this affects the terms of our alliance, if at all."

She raised an eyebrow. "The terms were that we would stick together through thick and thin all the way until the final two. I don't see why that has to change."

"It doesn't," he agreed. "But I'd like to add a clause that, regardless of who ultimately wins, there won't be any hard feelings about it."

At that, Courtney had to suppress a snort. "You mean you think you can beat me?" she said with a challenging grin.

Liam grinned back. "You never know. So I thought we should make sure now," was his reply.

She was silent for a moment, considering it. "Well… alright. Even if I don't win, I won't resent you for it. And when I do, you won't hold it against me."

He chuckled. "That's all I ask. We can't trust any of the others; all we can rely on is each other," he said, to which she nodded.

Courtney looked down at their hands, her confident posture wavering. "As for this…" she said, squeezing his hand. "I'm… not sure how to go about this. I know there's kissing, going on dates, and other things if it gets more serious…" she said, going faster the longer she spoke. "But I haven't done a lot of that stuff, so I don't know when to schedule it, or what milestones we should celebrate, or how any of that applies to being on TV–"

Then she stopped, as Liam turned his seat and reached up to gently place his other hand on her cheek. The blush she had been holding back appeared. Not only that, but seeing the edges of his lips quirk, she could tell he was holding back a smile at her rambling. Which only made her face warm even further.

"You're most comfortable when you're in control, right?" he asked, and she nodded. "In that case, I'll let you decide the pace we move at. Kissing, making out… You can be the one who decides when we do that. Sound good?"

In other words, he was putting the responsibility for pushing their relationship forward on her shoulders. She couldn't say she was surprised… or that she wasn't relieved. "Most of the guys I've gone out with don't like to wait," she said, holding off the urge to lean into his hand.

"You're a very beautiful girl, Courtney, and I'd consider it a delight to kiss you," he said frankly, making her blink. "But I'm in no rush to 'reach the summit'. Doing that without you being into it as well would ruin it for me."

Courtney gave him a wide smile. "Same here," she said. "Plus, you're laid back, reactive, unwilling to take the initiative if you don't have to–exactly the kind of guy my parents wouldn't want me to date, yet I am."

He smirked. "So in other words, going out with me… is another form of rule-breaking?" he asked.

She nodded. "Which only makes it more thrilling," she said, making him grin in delight. She pulled back and he lowered his hand as she held up the one she was holding. "In front of the cameras, stuff like this or hugging each other after a win… We'll start there and see where it goes."

He nodded. "Excellent," he replied. "And… off the camera?" he asked, deliberately glancing at the camera located in the corner of the room.

Courtney's answer was to stand, pull him to his feet, and then lead him out of the lodge.

Confessional Stall - Liam

"To win, I'll do anything, including lie, cheat, sabotage the other players and set them up for failure. But if there's one lesson my psychotic mother drilled into me, it's that real partners require communication and trust. And if I can actually trust Courtney… who knows?"

As Trent was pulling his guitar case out of the cabin, he stopped when Gwen entered the door in front of him.

"Oh! I, uh–" Gwen said while Trent blurted "Sorry, I was just–"

Then they both stopped, and Trent took a deep breath. "Listen, I know I messed up with the whole ‘supposed to dig you up’ fiasco. Big time," he said.

Gwen looked away, crossing her arms. "You got that right," she said flatly.

He rubbed the back of his head. "But I've been trying to make it up to you. And I'll keep trying if I have to," he swore. "I just…don't want that to be what ends this. What we have… I feel like it's special," he said.

The goth was silent for a moment. Then she looked over at him. "I haven't forgotten that thing with the hot sauce. If you had let go, I could have fallen off that wall and really gotten hurt," she told him. That got Trent to smile, but he refrained from saying anything as she still had a thoughtful look on her face. Another moment passed… and then she sighed. "I'm...willing to give things another try. A fresh start," she said.

This time, his smile nearly blinded her. "Alright!" he shouted, dropping his guitar to pump both fists in the air. "A fresh start, yeah!" Then he heard Gwen chuckling at him and calmed down, but kept his smile. "I gotta say, if there's one upside to this whole crappy island experience, it was being teammates with you," he declared.

That caused a spot of pink to appear on her cheeks, making Gwen inwardly curse her pale skin for making it so noticeable. Outwardly, she said "Yeah. Getting to know each other has been… really nice."

The two of them looked down at the floor, then at each other. No words were said, just looking at each other. Then they both took a step forward–

"Well, at least both cabins suck the same amount," Heather complained, standing in the door and looking around the room. Then she 'spotted' the two of them and her eyes widened. "Oh, sorry! I'll… just go," she said, stepping back outside.

Once she was gone, Gwen and Trent looked at each other. "You should… probably finish moving," the former said.

Trent nodded. "Yeah, I guess so," he said. "But we should definitely talk later. Without someone barging in," he said.

That got her smile to come back. "Definitely," she said, moving aside so he could finish carrying his guitar out of the room.

As Bridgette stepped back into the Bass cabin, she froze.

Courtney and Leshawna were standing on opposite sides of the room, both sending glares at each other cold enough to frost the windows. Gwen and Lindsay were also present, but were silent as the two squared off.

"Just so you know, I keep track of all my stuff. You do not want to mess with my things, especially my Pudding Pops," Leshawna warned.

Courtney scoffed. "As if I'd be such a pig to steal desserts from you," she said. "And I keep a record of my belongings, too. So don't you get any ideas, like breaking or stealing any of it."

The larger girl's eyes narrowed. "You implying that I'm a thief?" she said angrily, reaching up to pull back her sleeve.

Courtney didn't back away an inch, saying "I haven't seen the shoe yet, but if I do and it fits…"

Before Leshawna could reply, the surfer chick stepped between them. "Girls, girls, time out!" she called. She looked at Courtney. "You don't want anyone messing with your luggage…" Then she looked at Leshawna. "You don't want anyone messing with your luggage…" She looked at both of them. "You both want the same thing. So let's just agree to not mess with each other's things, okay?"

Both of them were silent, glaring past Bridgette at each other. Then Courtney said "I think we should go further. No matter what happens out there or in challenges, I move that we declare the cabins to be neutral ground. No girl messes with anyone in here or their stuff."

Bridgette quickly nodded. "That sounds like a great idea!" she said brightly, before looking at Leshawna. "Right?"

Leshawna shrugged. "Sounds great to me," she said, still sending a mild glare at Courtney, which the C.I.T. was all too happy to return.

Bridgette just smiled.

Confessional Stall - Bridgette

"I knew that stuff about girls being catty when living together was made-up. Maybe this can end up being a good thing!" she said hopefully.

Inside the Bass cabin, Harold had used one of the functions on his keyboard to have it play music for them. Owen, meanwhile, had produced soda pop from somewhere while Liam had stepped back into the lodge to swipe some plastic cups.

"Now this is pretty nice," Liam admitted.

Owen nodded. "I don't know what the rest of these challenges are, but one of us has gotta win it so we can party like this all the time," he said, chugging his cup and letting out a loud belch.

"Being able to attend parties all the time would be sweet," Harold agreed, before copying Owen and also belching. His wasn't quite as loud, though.

Getting into the mood, Liam also downed his drink and burped, but only got as loud as Harold. Then Trent took a moment and unleashed a burp not only loud enough to rattle the cabin windows and open the door, but long enough for him to raise and lower the pitch several times before he finished.

Once it ended, all of the guys stared at Trent. "Nice one, bro," Harold stated.

Owen asked "How did you do that?"

He grinned nervously. "I guess all that singing gives me good control of my diaphragm," he said, making the others look impressed.

As she brought her stuff into the Gophers cabin, Heather paused. She could see Leshawna putting away her stuff on one side and Courtney on the other.

Behind her, Daphne raised an eyebrow. "What's the hold up… Oh," she said, peering over her shoulder.

The queen bee nodded and backed out of the cabin, pulling Daphne with her. Once they were out of earshot, she said "Okay, we need to decide who to bunk with. Because who we sleep next to will determine who we have an alliance with."

Daphne opened her mouth, likely to point out that they could still sleep next to someone and be their enemy. Then she thought better of it and said "Okay, but we already know who to pick, right?"

Heather rolled her eyes. "Just because we made a deal with Courtney doesn't mean we have to honor it," she said as it were obvious.

The brunette frowned. "I guess… But we agreed to make an alliance with her after the merge in exchange for voting out DJ. If we go back on that, I'll have voted out a friend for nothing."

"Not for nothing. For the opportunity to keep your strongest ally–me–with you," Heather corrected. "Remember, I was the one who picked you up after Izzy was eliminated. And before that, I was the one who helped you get rid of Eva even when I didn't have to. Who else is going to protect you?"

There was a long pause and Daphne looked away, her hair momentarily blocking her face. "I guess…" she said, before looking at her with a submissive expression. "So, we're making an alliance with Leshawna, then?"

"Yep. But…" Heather said. "You make a good point about Courtney being upset–and probably shouting about it for others to hear–if we break our deal…" Her expression turned thoughtful, before she suddenly smiled. "I've got it. Follow me," she said. Daphne just nodded, and once they were inside she joined her on Courtney's side of the cabin.

When the campers finished moving and returned to the lodge, they found that one table had a women's sign on it while the other had a men's sign. They sat themselves accordingly, and once they were all present Chris spoke up.

"As the signs might have told you, this week's challenge is as old as history itself: a battle of the sexes!" he announced. "And here's the twist: Whichever team loses today's challenge will vote one of their own sex off the island tonight!"

The guys looked at each uncertainly. At the girls' table, Courtney and Leshawna glanced at each other while Heather sat straight with wide eyes.

Confessional Stall - Heather

“So if the girls lose tonight, one of us gets the boot. And we happen to have an odd number of girls left…” she said. Then she grinned. “This could be it.”

Harold raised his hand and asked "Can we at least have breakfast before we do this?"

Chris and Chef immediately started snickering again, causing Gwen to snap "Will you cut that out?"

Forcing back a chuckle, Chris said "I suppose we might as well tell you the challenge. Today, we have… the Brunch of Disgustingness!"

"The birch o' wha?" Lindsay repeated.

"Brunch, Lindsay. Each team will be served a nine-course meal. Originally, we were going to require that every member of either team eat the dish to get their team a point. However, we didn't anticipate that there would be nearly twice as many girls remaining as guys." He waved at the four guys and seven girls, and the girls grinned victoriously.

"So, to balance things out and reward them, one of the girls can choose to sit out each course while all four guys will be required to complete each dish. And no, it doesn't have to be the same girl each time," Chris said. "You will not know if the next course will be more gross, less gross or just as gross as the last. Just know it will be gross."

Chef grinned. "Tell them about the reward!" he said.

"Oh, yeah. In addition to the losing team voting someone off, the winners of this challenge will receive a two-day stay at a nearby five-star resort. There, they will be pampered, given gourmet food and receive antibiotics for anything this challenge gave them," Chris told them. "The losing team will also receive antibiotics, but they'll be administered by Chef. Who will also be staying on the island."

Chef gave them all a wave and a menacing grin.

Confessional Stall - Liam

"Making food for someone else to eat is one thing. Heck, I'll even make food and eat it myself; I trust my cooking. But eating food that's specifically made to be disgusting?" he said, his casual expression replaced with a grimace. "I've been dreading a challenge like this since the beginning."

Heather, Courtney and Leshawna all faced each other. "Can we all agree that we have to win this?" Heather asked, and the other two nodded. "Good."

Owen smirked. "We've got this, guys; there's not a thing I won't eat to win, even my gitch," he said, holding up a pair of boxers.

Liam reared back. "We… won't have to eat anything like that, right?" he asked their host.

"Maybe, maybe not," Chris replied, getting Liam to glare at him. Chef then emerged from the kitchen with a series of platters with lids. One was placed in front of each camper. "For this first course, however, we have some hors d'oeuvre," he declared.

Chef then pulled off the lids, revealing plates of… meatballs?

"Alright! Bring the meatballs on!" Owen said, immediately tipping the entire plate into his mouth.

Chris chuckled. "I mean, yes, they are meatballs. Just very special ones. Chef?"

Holding up one, Chef said "It's beef testicl* bourguignon."

The guys all froze, looking down at their plates. "...testicl*s?" Owen said, before his face turned green.

Harold's eyes widened. "Outside, man, outside!" he said, quickly pulling Owen to his feet and turning him towards the door. Thankfully, Owen managed to keep it in until he was just outside, though they could all hear him vomiting.

Trent, meanwhile, looked down at his plate and slowly picked a meatball up. "This just feels wrong…" he said, slowly taking a bite.

As he sat back down, Harold nodded and slowly began to eat one, holding back tears. When Owen re-joined them, he visibly cried as he ate.

Heather, by contrast, picked up a 'meatball' and bit it in half, making all four guys rear back. Across from her, Lindsay was muttering "For the mani-pedi. For the mani-pedi," over and over as she ate.

However, Bridgette shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't eat meat like this. I'm a vegetarian," she said.

Courtney shrugged her shoulders. "If you want to sit this one out, fine. I don't have an issue with the 'food'," she said, before biting into a meatball.

The other girls either nodded or just ate, making Bridgette sigh in relief. "Thanks, girls," she said.

Liam looked down at his plate. "Surprisingly, this wouldn't be the first time I had prairie oysters," he stated. "First time I haven't had them fried, though." And with that, he picked up a meatball and tossed it in his mouth, chewing it with a thoughtful expression. "...This was braised in red wine. I approve," he concluded, while his teammates' gave him horrified stares.

Trent shook his head. "I'm sorry, I can't do this," he declared.

Owen sniffled. "Me neither," he said, and Harold nodded in agreement.

Chris grinned. "Well, it looks like the first round goes to the female campers!" he announced, making the girls celebrate.

The redhead frowned. 'You are all weak,' was the first thought that came to mind. That dish wasn’t even disgusting. Like so many other first responses, however, he pushed it back and just sighed. "We'll get the next one, guys," he said, making Owen smile.

"Funny you should mention the next course," Chris said, as Chef wheeled said course out. "Any of you like pizza?"

Daphne raised her hand. "As long as it has pineapple and jalapeños," she said, ignoring the bemused looks from the other campers.

Except, that is, for Owen, who said "I'll eat pizza anytime, anywhere, and with any toppings."

"Any topping?" he said, and Chef raised the lid. "What about toppings such as jellyfish sauce, live anchovies and recently-crushed grasshoppers?" he revealed.

"Ewww!" Lindsay said, backing away at the sight of the anchovies while Owen just shrugged.

Daphne frowned and leaned closer, taking a look at the pizza itself. "Why does the whole thing look… flattened?" she asked.

"Well, we were going to serve it with live grasshoppers, but they kept jumping off the pizza. So Chef had to improvise," Chris told them. Chef punctuated that by holding up a meat tenderizer and slamming it against his palm.

A slice was then given to each contestant, and Leshawna looked at hers. Due to the grasshopper being crushed, its head was half-buried into the cheese, making it almost appear as if it were rising out of it. The fact it kept being jostled a little in response to the anchovy flipping around didn't help. She shook her head. "Uh-uh. That is just straight-up nasty. I ain't eating that," she declared.

Heather frowned and leaned over. "Oh, yes, you are. I am not missing out on a heated massage and mud mask just because you can't keep down a few bugs," she said fiercely.

Leshawna glared at her and looked like she was preparing to argue. Bridgette, seeing that, quickly said "I'll eat it! And Leshawna can sit this one out."

Gwen raised an eyebrow. "What happened to being a vegetarian?" she asked.

Bridgette looked down. "I… never worked out my position on eating live fish," she admitted. "Or insects, for that matter. But I'm willing to take one for the team."

Heather snorted. "At least someone is," she said, before picking up her slice and taking a bite. Her eyes bulged, but she continued chewing and eventually swallowed. "See? Not that hard."

Courtney tried to take a bite, but the anchovy on her piece flipped away. "Come on…" she said, trying again only for it to flip again. "Stay still and let me eat you!" she said, watching it flip away a third time. "Alright, that's it!" she yelled, and stuffed the entire slice into her mouth. A moment later, her eyes widened and she clasped both hands over her mouth. "Hnnn… Hrrngh!" she grunted, before swallowing her vomit with a pained grimace.

Seeing that, Lindsay leaned away from her plate. "I can't do it! I can't eat that!" she protested.

"Well, we can't have both you and Leshawna sitting out,” Gwen said. “One of you has to eat it."

Leshawna frowned. "You know what? Fine," she said, before grabbing her slice and tearing a section off. As she chewed however, she looked at her slice… and saw that she had only taken the grasshopper's head off. The rest of it was still on the slice. "Ohh… On second thought," she groaned, dropping the rest of her slice onto her plate.

Lindsay appeared ready to quit as well, so Bridgette leaned over. "I have an idea. Let's try a little meditation, okay?" she suggested, and Lindsay nodded.

The two of them moved to be in lotus position atop the table. As Lindsay chanted "Om…" repeatedly, Bridgette grabbed a slice and placed it in her mouth in between chants.

Daphne nodded her head, impressed. "Nice thinking, there," she commented.

Bridgette smiled, before seeing the brunette's plate was empty. "How did you get yours to go down?"

She smirked and pulled out her lighter, flicking it on. "Once you burn anything into a flaky black brick, it all tastes the same," she stated.

With the guys, Harold looked at his piece. "You know, insects are actually part of the local cuisine in several different cultures. As are jellyfish," he stated.

Owen licked his fingertips, his plate already empty. "Well, wherever those cultures are, I hope they have them on pizza there, too," he stated, grabbing another slice. None of the other guys tried to stop him.

Liam bit into his slice, then shuddered. "This is not thin-crust. Non-thin-crust pizza should not crunch," he declared, slowly chewing and trying to visualize something better-tasting. “Uugh.”

Trent stood up. "Okay, I know a way to get me to eat this. Liam, Harold, I need you guys to hold me down while Owen forces the pizza into mouth. And don't let go or stop feeding me, no matter how much I beg," he said forcefully.

The other guys looked at each other, before shrugging. "If you say so," Owen said. Trent nodded and lied down on the table. Once the two redheads each had hold of an arm, Owen stepped forward with the slice.

The guitarist's eyes widened. "Uh… actually, I'm having second thoughts about this," he said.

Liam snorted. "Of course you do," he said, before nodding at Owen to proceed.

Trent began to struggle, forcing them to tighten their grip. "Wait, I was just kidding! Don't feed me that slice, man, seriously!" he protested.

Owen hesitated… then shook his head. "Sorry, buddy," he said, holding up a slice.

The teen thrashed harder, flailing his legs as well. "I'm warning you, my dad's a lawyer! So don't feed me–!" he yelled, before being cut off as Owen force-fed him the pizza slice. His flailing ceased, prompting Liam and Harold to let go, and a moment later his pupils dilated.

"Mama?" he asked, latching onto Harold.

The nerd stood frozen. "Uh…" he said, unsure of what to do.

Confessional Stall - Trent

"I was just being dramatic for the cameras, honest. I'm not actually grossed out by… grasshopper pizza… with jellyfish…" he said, before turning around and throwing up into the toilet.

Once Trent was extracted from Harold, Chris declared "Looks like this round ends in a tie. Girls are still one point over the guys. Now, onto the third course…" Chef brought out the next round of platters, removing their lids."Earthworm spaghetti with snail-slime sauce and hairballs!"

Harold stared at his serving. "At least…" he said, swallowing. "At least they aren't live worms."

Trent's stomach rumbled. "Oh, man. I could maybe pretend it was spaghetti if I didn't have to see it. Or smell it," he said.

Owen, who was currently slurping on a worm, said "Come on guys, it's not so bad!"

Liam stared at him, then looked at his teammates. "Thank goodness we have him," he said, jerking his head in Owen’s direction. "How about this? We close our eyes, pinch our noses shut, and we just might be able to pretend it's not worms."

Harold shrugged. "I can definitely try," he said, and Trent nodded.

While the three of them were trying that, Heather pushed her plate away. "I'm out for this one. I am not eating balls of hair," she said in disgust.

Gwen frowned. "And you think I want to?" she said, wrapping several worms around a fork.

Daphne just grinned and flicked on her lighter again, burning her food until it was completely tasteless. "I can do this for any of you, too," she offered.

Courtney shook her head. "No thanks. Burnt food just makes me throw up," she said. Bridgette and Lindsay were using meditation again, and ate theirs with little issue one bite at a time.

As the other girls were slowly eating, however, the guys wolfed down their plates as quickly as possible to maintain the illusion of it being spaghetti. Once Harold was done, he raised his plate over his head and called "Done!"

"Also done!" Liam added a moment later.

"Been done!" Owen said, holding up his plate.

Trent said "I'm done t–" before stopping. "...'Cuse me one second," he said, before running out the door for a place to throw up that course as well.

As he exited, Chris said "And the winners: the guys! The score is now even." The remaining guys cheered at that, and Trent joined them in doing so once he made it back in.

Confessional Stall - Chef

I hope they enjoy the next dish. I made it from scratch," he said, scratching his back with a chuckle.

"Any nine course meal would be incomplete without soup, and this one is no different," Chris said as the fourth course was served. "Today, you will be enjoying French Bunion Soup with hangnail crackers."

Liam stared… and then hung his head. "Sorry, guys. I just can't," he said flatly.

"Oh, come on, man!" Owen said. "At least try it."

But he shook his head. "I refuse to eat something that likely came off the bathroom floor," he declared.

Trent frowned. "Hey, if I can have pizza stuffed down my throat, you can at least have some… hangnail soup…" he paused, shuddering. "Besides, we gotta do this or the girls will get the lead again!"

"I agree. Plus, if we eat it fast enough like the last one, we'll taste it less," Harold added.

Liam looked at each guy in turn.

Confessional Stall - Liam

"I hate vomiting. It's not even tasting the vomit itself, or the runny nose, or the heaving. It's the burn from the stomach acid going up my throat and nose. I can't stand that crap."

Cornered from three sides, the slacker sighed and slouched. "I'll… try," he ground out, before taking a deep breath and picking up his spoon.

At the girls table, Daphne glared down at her bowl. "Well, this blows," she muttered, wishing her glare could somehow turn the soup flammable.

"Is that a… band-aid?" Heather asked, gently scooping it out of her bowl and holding it up. Upon closer inspection, it was indeed half of a band-aid, making Heather gag before she lowered her spoon. "Spa or no spa, I have my limits. This is it," she declared.

Now the goth glared. "You are not sitting out two dishes in a row while the rest of us suffer. Now eat that soup," she said.

Heather glared back for a moment, sparks flying that were not as figurative as some of the other girls would have liked.

After a long moment, however, Heather let out an explosive sigh. "Fine!" she replied, before looking over and seeing some of the guys try to drink it in large gulps. Grabbing her bowl with both hands, she took three gulps before she had to set it back down, her stomach already rumbling ominously.

As usual, Owen was the first guy to call "Done!", though Harold was surprisingly close behind.

As the other two guys tried to force theirs down, Bridgette emerged from the kitchen with a funnel. “Lindsay, hold still,” she said, placing the funnel in the other blonde’s mouth. Lindsay obediently remained still, and Bridgette picked up her soup bowl before gently pouring it down the funnel. Lindsay began to swallow, and once it was all gone she smiled.

“I didn’t even taste it that way!” she said, prompting every other girl to line up behind her.

Trent groaned. “Come on…” he muttered, before picking up his bowl and taking a gulp. Then his eyes widened, he set it back down, and he said “‘Cuse me again,” before running out to throw up a third time.

In the time he was gone, Bridgette also helped Gwen, Daphne, Leshawna and Heather finish their bowls. Once Trent came back, Liam took the last drink from his bowl and stood up. “Alright, that’s it. Owen, Harold, hold him down again,” he declared.

Trent took a step back. “Wait. I can finish it the normal way!” he protested.

Harold and Owen looked unsure, and Liam prepared to snap at them to get them moving. But then Chris called “And the girls finish this round first! Point goes to them!” and he looked to see Lindsay returning the favor for Bridgette.

The slacker glared at the other guys. “All that pressuring me, and for nothing,” he said bitingly, causing Trent and Harold to lower their heads.

Chris chuckled. “Five courses left for you to get through. Bon appetit,” he declared mockingly.

Following that declaration, Chef served each of them a ball made of pre-chewed bubble gum. Besides the lack of taste, both teams could finish that one, especially since some of the gum wads actually had some fruity flavor left to make it slightly more bearable. Next was a shake made from skunk spray. After Bridgette’s stunt with the funnel, Harold went into the kitchen and got one for the guys, letting them tie that round as well.

Course Seven consisted of used sandals with silicone icing. For that one, the boys’ lower numbers let them squeak by with a win, re-evening the score.And then there was the penultimate course, a stew that had been quite literally made from the kitchen trash. Courtney flat-out refused to eat it, but the rest of the girls and the guys were able to force it down.

Once that round was called, all of the campers were either sitting up or had their faces against the tables, groaning in discomfort. “Wow,” Chris remarked. “We’re down to one course left in the challenge, and the teams are still tied. Honestly, I’m almost impressed. But now, we’re down to the wire.”

Chef handed out the platters once more, and Chris said “It’s… dolphin wieners! Made from dolphins.”

Bridgette gasped, looking down at the wiener. “But dolphins… are our friends!” she protested, aghast.

Heather rolled her eyes. “I’m guessing you’ll be the one to sit this out, then?” she asked, and the surfer rapidly nodded. “Whatever. It’s already dead,” she said, flipping open a ketchup bottle.

Lindsay looked from her to Bridgette. “...Sorry, Brisa,” she said, before picking up her wiener and biting into it. The other girls did the same, and Bridgette did her best to keep her distressed keens to a minimum. Just the idea of dolphins being ground into hot dog meat was bad enough. Seeing her teammates and the guys eat it with little issue was making her light-headed.

Both teams finished at the same time, making Chris grin. “Well, since that was all nine courses with no winner, we get to do what I was hoping for: a final, tie-breaker course!” he declared. “Both teams pick one person for this part.”

The guys all immediately looked at Owen, who smirked. “I got this, guys!” he said confidently.

The girls, meanwhile, didn’t have an easy decision. “If this is a tie-breaker, it’s probably a speed-eating contest,” Daphne pointed out.

Lindsay groaned and placed her hands over her stomach. “That skunk juice… Oooh, I don’t think I can eat anything fast after that,” she said.

“Me neither,” Gwen added. “That garbage stew was the last straw for me.”

Heather looked at her teammates with a calculating expression. “I’d… be willing to try,” she offered. “But this one decides who gets that spa. Does anyone think they have a stronger stomach than me?”

That caused a look of determination to flare up on Leshawna’s face. “I’ll do it,” she declared.

Chris had the campers move so just her and Owen were seated at one of the tables. Chef then placed a platter filled with fifteen shot glasses on the table, confirming their suspicions about the nature of the challenge. Then he held up a blender full of live co*ckroaches and the others grimaced. “I am so glad that isn’t me,” Liam stated, and several of the other campers nodded in agreement.

“Our winner will be the first one to drink eight shots of blended co*ckroach. Rich in vitamins, this combination of eight different species of co*ckroach is an excellent supplement for any balanced lifestyle,” he claimed. Once Chef had blended the roaches and poured them into the drinks, he called “And go!”

Owen and Leshawna each hesitantly picked up a shot glass, before downing their contents. Both of them immediately gagged, even Owen put off by the taste of liquid roach. He was slightly faster in taking the next shot than Leshawna, but they both finished the second shot at around the same time. The third shot went by a little slower, as did the fourth, but it remained even.

Then they reached the fifth shot. As Leshawna was holding it up, she caught sight of something: one of the co*ckroach's heads hadn’t been completely turned to mush. One eye stared lifelessly at her, making her groan. “This is just wrong…” she muttered, before throwing back that shot as well.

Next to her, Owen drank his sixth shot…and his pupils dilated. Moving on auto-pilot, he took a seventh shot, then an eighth. And then, even though that was enough to secure the win, he still drank the ninth shot and immediately fell over.

“Owen wins it for the guys!” Chris declared, and Trent, Harold and Liam began whooping and cheering. From his position on the ground, Owen also gave a shaky thumbs-up.

“Nice job, Leshawna,” Heather sneered, with Courtney also sending a glare at the other girl.

Then every single camper ran out of the lodge to throw up one final time.

By the time night had fallen, the yacht that would take the guys to the spa was about to take off. Meanwhile, the girls were seated in front of the bonfire.

As Chris stood with six marshmallows, he said “Ladies, today was one of the hardest challenges you’ve experienced thus far. But you’re through it now, and all but one of you will be…” Then he trailed off, noticing that a camper was absent. “Where’s Courtney?” he asked.

Focusing on the flame from her lighter, Daphne raised her other hand. “She said all that throwing up gave her a migraine, so she cast her vote and went to bed,” she supplied.

“Huh…” Chris said, before shrugging. “Well, it’s not as if she’s been voted out tonight, so I’ll just eat her marshmallow for her,” he stated, before tossing one of the marshmallows into the air and letting it fall in his mouth. “Mmm, these are good. As for the rest of you, all but one of you will be making it to the merger. The remaining marshmallows go to Heather…”

Heather smirked before walking up to snatch her prize from him.

“Gwen…” She walked over and collected hers much more calmly.

“Lindsay…” The blonde accepted hers with a relaxed sigh of relief.

“Daphne…” Flicking her lighter shut, she took hers and ate it whole.

“And the final girl remaining is…” Chris said.

…

…

…

“Bridgette.”

Bridgette also relaxed and collected her marshmallow, while Leshawna stood up. “You guys voted for me?” she said incredulously. “I know I say to hate the game and not the players, but why me? Why not the bossy lawyer sleeping over there?” she asked, waving a hand towards their cabin.

When none of them answered, Heather sighed and stood up. “I’ll walk you to the Boat,” she said, placing a hand on her shoulder and guiding her towards the Dock.

As they walked, Leshawna looked back at Lindsay and Gwen. “I’ll be rooting for both of y’all, so go ahead and win this,” she called.

“We will!” Lindsay called, while Gwen smiled and said “Count on it.”

Leshawna waved, but before she could resume walking they heard a voice call "Waaaaiiit!"

Looking in the direction it came from, they saw Harold running down the path to the bonfire from the yacht. He skidded to a stop in front of them, panting, and Gwen raised an eyebrow. "Were you watching the elimination?"

He nodded. "I was wondering… who would be eliminated," he panted, before taking a deep breath and standing up and looking at Leshawna. "Now that I know it's you, I know this might be my last chance to say it."

Now Leshawna raised an eyebrow. "Say what?" she asked.

Taking another breath, he said "That I meant what I said in those poems. Every word."

She blinked. "Poems… Wait. Those love notes were from you?"

The two of them locked gazes, Harold smiling widely at finally having confessed. Leshawna smiled as well, and they began to run towards each other. Once they were within arm's reach, Leshawna picked up Harold in a hug.

"Baby, you are my kind of freaky!" she declared.

Despite the embrace giving him trouble breathing, Harold didn't lose his smile. "Give Daddy… some sugar…" he managed to get out. Leshawna immediately set him down, and they leaned in closer to each other. Their lips grew closer, only inches apart… and then Chris cleared his throat.

"Very cinematic, but we're on a schedule," he said, taking a step forward.

But Leshawna froze him with a glare, the same one she had from the plane. "Unless you want to go sky-diving again, back off," she warned. Chris put up both hands and stepped away, and she turned her attention back to Harold. "Come here," she said, before placing her hands on either side of his face and pulling him into a kiss.

The other girls watching, especially Gwen, Bridgette and Lindsay, smiled at the scene. "That's so romantic!" Lindsay swooned.

Bridgette leaned closer over to Gwen. "Just so you know…" she whispered, getting the goth's attention. "I had a feeling Harold was the one writing the letters. But I promised not to say anything before he did."

Gwen thought about that, before slowly nodding. "I can understand that," she whispered back, before focusing on Harold and Leshawna.

The two of them continued kissing until Harold finally broke away, gasping for air. "That was…" he began before trailing off.

Leshawna smirked. "The best kiss you ever had?" she offered.

He quickly nodded. "Absolutely," he agreed.

She chuckled. "You try your best to win this too, okay? And don't let anybody push you around," she told him.

"I won't," he promised.

Leshawna smiled, before looking over at the cameraman. "Hey, you got a pen on you?"

The cameraman jumped at being addressed. "Uh… sure," he said, before pulling a pen from his pocket and handing it to her.

Leshawna took it before holding up Harold's palm, writing onto it. "This is my cell number. Win or lose, when you get off this island, you call me, you hear?" she told him.

Harold looked down at his palm in slight awe, before holding it to his chest. "I swear I will."

She nodded. "Good. See you later then, honey," she said, and then resumed walking with Heather. Once they came to the edge of the dock next to the Boat, she looked at her. “You also try to win. We may have stopped being in an alliance together, but I still think you’re alright.”

Heather smiled widely. “It makes me so happy to hear you say that,” she started, before suddenly pulling Leshawna into a hug of her own.

The sassy girl was frozen for a second in surprise, before slowly reaching up and returning it. “We’ve come a long way since that first challenge," Heather continued.

“I’ll say,” Leshawna replied, before snorting. “Remember when I had to throw you off that cliff to keep us from losing?”

Heather nodded. “I do remember that, yeah. And do you remember what I said after that?” Leshawna shook her head, and Heather pulled back until her hands rested on either of her shoulders. Leaning forward, she placed her lips right next to her ear.

“I said I’d get you for that.”

Then she pushed.

Leshawna gasped and windmilled her arms, before falling backwards into the Boat with a shout. She landed on her back and groaned, before quickly gathering her wits and staring up at Heather. “You…”

Looking down at Leshawna–figuratively and literally–Heather crossed her arms. “You know, I did have this whole plan where I would start my alliance with you back up. Then I was going to use that time to eliminate Courtney, whittle away your support, and then get rid of you. But when Chris said we’d be voting off one of our own tonight… Well, I just couldn’t resist,” she revealed.

By now, the shock was starting to fade. “So you made a deal… with her? Miss ‘I’ll Let People Get Hurt to Win’?” Leshawna asked.

Heather grinned. “Actually, I had already told her I’d join her in an alliance. This just helped me decide whether to actually go through with it."

Leshawna stared, while the Boat revved and began to pull away from the Island. “You… scheming… backstabbing…two-faced little…!” she shouted, growing fainter as she grew more distant. “This ain’t over, you and me! Not by a long shot!” she angrily declared.

The queen bee just snorted. “I’m looking forward to it,” she declared, smugly waving as Leshawna disappeared from view.

As that was happening, the other girls made it back to the cabin and went inside. “Well, this whole day officially stinks,” Gwen said, dismayed at losing both the challenge and a friend.

Bridgette nodded. “It sucks that none of us get to join the guys at the spa,” she said, before walking over to Courtney’s bed. “Hey,” she said, giving her a shake. “You should know that Leshanwa’s been eliminated.” When there was no response, however, she said “...Courtney?” before grabbing the blanket and pulling it away.

Where there had been a C.I.T., there was now just a pile of pillows. “What the–?”

At the front of the yacht, Courtney grinned at the night sky. “So worth it,” she declared.

Liam chuckled and hugged her from behind, causing her to lean into him. “Another rule that you didn’t let hold you back. And now we get to enjoy ourselves together,” he said, and she hummed in satisfaction as they were ferried off to the lap of luxury.

Chapter 16: The Game is Pain, Part 1

Chapter Text

"This is the life," Courtney said.

Liam hummed in agreement but didn't speak, too preoccupied himself. The both of them had elected to get massages at the resort together. To their surprise, they were given snacks during the massage. Courtney immediately took the opportunity to feast on shrimp, which had made Liam curious until she explained that it was her favorite food. Now, each of them were eating shrimp with co*cktail sauce as a pair of extremely talented masseuses worked their magic.

"Ggh!" the redhead suddenly grunted as his masseuse reached a knot in his back. They kept applying pressure, however, and he soon relaxed with a sigh. "Oh, man. I haven't felt this relaxed since before the show," he commented.

"Tell me about it. When I win the million, I'm going to get a massage like this at least once a week," Courtney stated. "I can feel the stress in my shoulders melting away."

"Mmm-hmm," Liam responded, taking a bite of another shrimp.

The two of them remained like that, letting out various noises of contentment as they were pampered. Only once the massage reached their legs did one of them speak up again. "You know… Since we have the time, we could talk strategy for when we get back," Courtney suggested.

Liam cracked open one eye and looked over at her. "Always business with you, even during pleasure, hmm?" he quipped.

She smirked in response. "When work is a pleasure, life is a joy," she claimed.

He blinked once. Twice. "...I find it almost eerie how similar our mindsets can be despite you being a workaholic," he said, before grinning. "I love it."

Courtney laughed in the middle of eating another shrimp, reaching up to cover her mouth. "Now you're just trying to butter me up," she accused once she had swallowed, waving her shrimp at him.

Liam raised an eyebrow. "Is it working?"

That got her to laugh again, making him smile wider. After a moment, she said "Okay, but seriously, what should we do when we get back? Chris said last time that the teams would merge, right?"

"Yep," he confirmed. "In which case, it'll be Bridgette, Harold and us in one camp, and Heather and Daphne in the other. We have our secret alliance, but Heather could go back on it at time. And without Leshawna to rally around, Gwen and Lindsay are caught in the middle, as is Trent and Owen."

The C.I.T. hummed. "Gwen and Trent are pretty close, though. Do you think they'll start voting together?" she suggested.

"It's possible," he agreed. "And since she was also friends with Leshawna, Lindsay might gravitate towards Gwen. That's a camp of three, four if they pull in Owen."

"If they do," Courtney rebutted. "Owen doesn't strike me as the type to join any alliance. He's pretty much been a wildcard the whole season, I think."

Liam frowned. "I don't like wildcards. They're, by definition, unpredictable and possible game-changers," he stated.

"I don't either," she said. "So, when we get back, why don't we suggest to Bridgette and Harold that we vote for Owen? Once he's gone, no other alliance will be able to match up with us."

"Hmm… I like it," he said. "We could even use his success last challenge as the 'official' reason to vote him off. Frame him as a threat that could make it all the way to the finals if we don't stop him."

Courtney grinned. "Perfect," she said before laying back down. "Almost every threat to us is gone. Once we handle this and then get rid of Heather, the rest should be smooth sailing."

Liam perked up. "Speaking of smooth… I saw a mud bath on the way here. Care to try it?" he offered, getting an enthusiastic 'yes' in return.

Two days later, as the boat cruised along the waters back to Wawanakwa Island, Liam and Courtney had elected to stand at the bow of the ship. A large plastic bag was on the ground next to Courtney, and standing a short distance away from them were the other guys.

Harold crossed his arms. "Seriously, not cool to bring one of the girls with us, man," he said.

"Yeah. Now the rest of them are gonna be extra mad at us over losing," Trent added.

Liam shrugged. "Sorry, guys. To be honest, I didn't think I was going to be the only one sneaking someone aboard," he said, before looking directly at Trent. "I figured you were going to bring Gwen."

Trent stiffened. "Gwen? W-What makes you think that?" he asked.

At that, everyone on the boat sans Owen gave him a flat look. "Because you two couldn't be more obvious about liking each other if you tried," Courtney said bluntly.

Harold grunted. "She does have a point there. It is pretty obvious."

"Wait," Owen interjected. "Trent… likes Gwen?" he said, before looking at the guitarist in realization. "Oh, so that's who you were talking about back then!"

Liam raised an eyebrow. "Back when?"

The large boy continued, oblivious to Trent waving his arms and shaking his head. "Well, back during the camping challenge, when we were catching fish, Trent was asking me for advice on whether to tell someone that he wants them to be his girlfriend," he said.

"That is not what I said!" Trent protested.

Owen blinked. "Are you sure? Because I could have sworn…" he said.

While Trent tried to assure that no, that isn'twhat he said before, Courtney rubbed her chin with a smile. "Oh, so you and Gwen have liked each other for at least that long? Are you guys going steady?"

That was enough to make him blush. "Are we… No! We're not even really in a relationship—" he blurted out, before freezing. Seeing the interested looks on the others, though, he crumbled and said "She… said we could start fresh."

Harold raised both eyebrows. "Meaning she at least forgave you for leaving her buried underground?" he asked.

He winced, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, but it's still a touchy subject. So if you guys could avoid bringing that up when we're together, I'd appreciate it, " he said.

Owen smiled. "We can do that, no problem! And I promise to not blab about it this time!" he said.

The others nodded, and the guitarist smiled in relief. "Thanks, guys," he said. Most of them nodded, and Liam internally grinned at successfully derailing the conversation. Fortunately, before someone could start it back up, the Island came into view.

Once the boat pulled up the Dock, the guys were the first to disembark. As Courtney followed up the rear, she stopped at seeing the displeased expressions on the other girls. "Um, hi?" she said awkwardly.

Gwen snapped the gray book in her hands shut. "Decided to have some fun without us, huh?" she said.

The C.I.T. frowned. "I couldn't think of a plan to get you all on the boat with me without Chris knowing," she defended. Not that she had really tried.

"Then how about just one or two of us?" Bridgette challenged. "We are supposed to have each other's backs, after all," she reminded her.

"If I did, he still might have gotten suspicious. More than one person having a sudden severe migraine would have sounded odd," she claimed. Then she held up her arms. "Still, I do feel bad about not being able to take you guys with me."She reached into the bag she had brought. "So, I made sure to bring back these!" she said, before pulling out several small gift baskets. "Each of these has scented soaps and shampoo, moisturizer, chocolate-coated cherry blossoms and a new, fluffy towel. 100% Egyptian cotton!" she told them, holding up one of the baskets and pointing to each item in question.

As she smiled at the other girls, Heather crossed her arms. "...I'm not saying I forgive you. But I'm also not turning down scented soap and chocolate," she said, walking forward and taking a basket.

"Ooh, I want the new towel!" Lindsay said, running over to also get one. "The ones in the communion washroom aren't soft at all."

Daphne took her basket with a shrug. "I didn't really care that you snuck off," she admitted. "I just wanted to make you sweat a bit."

Gwen was silent for a moment. "This doesn't make it even," she said. "If you want to make things up, next time there's a challenge with a prize, you have to give it to one of us if you win it."

"Or all of us, if you can," Heather quickly added, making the goth nod.

Courtney took a step back. "But… but I got you the baskets! I didn't have to do that, but I still went out of my way to…" she said, before tapering off at seeing the glares from Gwen, Heather and Bridgette. "Oh, alright! I'll give away the next prize I win. Happy now?"

Bridgette smiled. "Much happier," she replied, with the other girls smiling as well.

Confessional Stall - Courtney

"Okay, so that extra promise I made sucked. But if I eliminate all the other girls before winning a challenge with a prize, that takes care of itself!" she said confidently, placing her hands on her hips. "And now I don't have to worry about the girls banding together and kicking me off… I'm pretty sure."

Just then, the intercom whined as it came online. Through it, Chris called "Listen up, campers. The Screaming Gophers and Killer Bass are officially dissolved! It is now every. Camper. For. Themselves."

All of the campers looked at each other, before they immediately began moving into their cliques. Namely, the two alliances closed ranks while Gwen and Trent moved next to each other. In the middle, Lindsay and Owen looked left and right before moving closer together. That last part made Liam raise an eyebrow, but then Chris continued "Now that that's done, it's time for a surprise!"

The sound of another boat reached their ears, and they all looked out towards the water. "No way…" Bridgette said, shocked.

"But… that's impossible," Heather added with wide eyes.

"It can't be!" Harold cried in horror.

As one, both Courtney and Liam muttered "Oh, crap."

As the boat came closer, Chris called "Back for another shot, it's… Duncan!"

The boat came to a stop, and Duncan jumped off it with a bag of clothes slung under one arm. "Yeah, I'm back. Not psyched about being in this dump again, but I like the thought of winning," he declared with a smirk. That smirk quickly vanished when he spotted Courtney's group. "Especially if it means the bunch that stabbed me in the back loses."

Liam grimaced. His alliance was, in fact, all that was left of the original Screaming Gophers.Double crap.

"Wait a second," Gwen said. "You said that no one would come back on the show!" she called to the intercom.

A moment later, Chris said "I did?"

Heather rolled her eyes. "And once you are voted off, you…" she began.

"—must take a walk on the Dock of Shame, catch the Boat of Losers, and not return. Ever."

"—Ev-er."

"—Can't ever come back."

"—Never ever to return."

"—For good."

"—Not come back. Ever."

"—Leave for-ever."

There was a moment of silence as each of them stared at the intercom.

"Oh, yeah, thaaat..." Chris said. "I lied."

Liam face-palmed. "Of freaking course," he said, before looking over at Duncan. "So, how was the outside world?"

The punk switched his glare from his group in general to him in particular. "Pretty well, actually. A lot nicer than being around and looking at your mug, Scarecrow," he said.

That made Liam's eyebrow twitch. He had forgotten about that 'nickname'.

Chris then said "Moving on, we have another returning contestant. It's… Izzy!"

All of their eyes widened, and several called "Oh, no!" while Daphne gasped.

That was when they heard a familiar voice. "Aah-eeh-ah-eeh-aaaaaah-eeh-ah-eeh-aaaaah!" it called. Looking in the direction of the voice, they saw none other than Izzy swinging towards them on an actual vine. The campers that were in her path quickly moved out of the way. Except that is, for the pyromaniac, who simply stood there with her arms wide.

The two of them crashed into each and went rolling for several feet. When they came to a stop, Izzy was on top and grinning down maniacally. "Hey, Daph! Good seeing you!" she said. "How've you been? Made any new friends? Started any cool fires?"

Daphne looked up and gave her a huge smile of her own. "Not bad, sort of, and not really," she said. "Once I got a taste for starting fires alongside a friend, doing it by myself just doesn't have the same luster anymore, you know?"

She rapidly nodded. "Oh, definitely! Everything's more fun with someone else!" she said. "Even living out in the woods was better once I found this nice family of beavers!"

Gwen blinked. "Wasn't the RCMP chasing you?" she asked.

Izzy whipped her head to look at her, sending orange hair flying in several directions. "Oh, they tried! But I was far too swift of foot and keen of mind to be caught by them!" she said with a giggle. "Then, once I found refuge with the animals, I used my wilderness survival training to forage for food, like nuts, berries and squirrels. Could really use some chips, though."

Daphne raised her hand. "Oh! Chef lent me a bag of tortilla chips after I cleaned the garbage cans for him!" she offered.

Izzy grinned. "Now we're talking! Best burning friends forever!" she called, leaning down to hug her hard enough to turn the brunette's face pink.

"Heck yeah!" Daphne called back anyway, doing her best to hug back just as hard. Which wasn't easy; she had forgotten how strong Izzy was.

While the rest of the campers were staring at them, Chris concluded "Lastly, all campers are to report to the amphitheater in thirty minutes to learn about today's challenge."

Given that the teens had an entire half-hour to show up, Izzy and Duncan used the time to first move their luggage in. Or at least, Duncan was.

As she entered the girl's cabin, Izzy looked at the beds and placed her hands on her hips. "So, who am I bunking with?" she asked.

Heather hummed. "Well, Daphne was bunking with me…" she began, before smiling. "But I wouldn't want to get between friends! Here, you take mine," she said, waving a hand at her bed.

Daphne smiled at that. "Aw, thanks, Heather," she said.

Izzy grinned. "Sweetness!" she said, before leaping onto the top bunk. "So, are you two, like, friends now? 'Cause any friend of Daph's is a friend of mine."

Now Heather was smiling as well. "That's great to hear!" she said cheerfully.

Next to her bed, Courtney and Bridgette glanced at each other with worried looks.

Confessional Stall - Heather

"Yes! Another person on my side. If I can get both Gwen and Lindsay, I'll be back on top!" she celebrated.

Once the campers made it to the amphitheater, they saw that a set of seats had been made for them in ascending rows, four seats to each. Courtney's group immediately sat down together, taking up the whole front row. Heather's group sat down at the second, joined a moment later by Lindsay. Gwen, Trent, Owen and Duncan sat together along the top row.

Near the seats was a wheel with various images on its slices, next to which Chris stood. "Today's challenge is the time-honored game of torture: Say Uncle! Each of you will be put through tests of endurance. Endure whatever your horrific and painful challenge is for ten seconds and you remain in the game, otherwise you're out."

Some of them appeared a little more nervous at the 'painful and horrific' part, but by now they were getting used to the routine. Chris continued "The last camper in the game wins not only immunity tonight, but also a luxurious trailer!" He waved his hand and a curtain next to the amphitheater parted to reveal said trailer. "Yours to stay in and take home at the end of the show."

Harold sat straighter. "An entire trailer with a real bed? And no roommates?" he said, glancing back at Duncan. Duncan caught it and held up a fist, causing him to quickly look forward.

Courtney, meanwhile, stared longingly at the trailer before moaning. "Just my luck…" she said.

"Alright, let's get the ball rolling!" Chris said. "First up is… Lindsay! Let's spin the Wheel of Misfortune to see what your torture is." While the blonde gulped, Chris gave the wheel a spin. When it came to a stop, the image under the arrow was of a burning marshmallow. "A marshmallow wax treatment!" he declared.

As Chef began dropping marshmallows into a pot to melt, the other campers looked at Lindsay. Rather than appear intimidated, however, the blonde had a smile on her face. “Oh, I could so use this! I have this razor stubble that I've been trying to get rid of for weeks,” she said, happily walking over and lying back on a metal slab that Chef dragged over. Looking over at him, she said “Can you try not to wax off my tan?”

Chef simply shrugged before lifting the pot of melted marshmallow. Once Chris gave a thumbs-up, he dumped the entire contents directly onto Lindsay’s face.

“MmmmmMMMMM!” they could hear her scream, while she balled her hands into tights fists. The others stared in horror and even Chris's smile dimmed. However, she didn’t reach up to try to pull any of it off. A buzzer went off once the ten-second mark was reached, and Chef grabbed the marshmallow wax before ripping it off. “Ow!” she shouted as it came away.

From this distance, they could see a few small hairs attached to the wax, making Trent gulp. “I don’t know if I could have done that,” he whispered to Gwen.

She smirked. “That’s because guys are wimps when it comes to pain in the name of beauty,” she replied, making him bow in head in agreement.

Lindsay, meanwhile, reached and rubbed her lip. “Wow… I have never been able to get my lips this smooth on my own. Thanks, Kyle,” she said as she took her seat.

Their host frowned. “It’s Chris,” he reminded her irritably. “Still, because you made it all ten seconds without complaining, you get to pick the next person to go. But first, let’s see what they’ll endure,” he said, before giving the wheel another spin. It landed on an image of a foot, he chuckled. “Ooh, that's a tough one!” Chef then wheeled over a large wooden crate. From inside, they could hear something angrily growling while also making the crate shake from side to side. “Whoever you pick has to spend ten seconds in this box with our very own Sasquatchanakwa! So, who will it be?”

She frowned. “Um… do I have to pick?” she asked over the growling. At Chris’s nod, she looked at the other campers. “Uh…” she said.

Confessional Stall - Lindsay

“Who am I supposed to choose? That thing sounds really mean, and none of the others have done…” she began to ask, before trailing off. “Wait a second, I know!”

“I choose Courtney!” she called.

“What? Why me?!” Courtney shouted, looking over at the crate with fear.

Lindsay shrugged, appearing sincerely apologetic. “Sorry, but I had to pick someone, and you were the one that got me zapped before,” she said. At the C.I.T.’s glare, she quickly added “But this will make us even! Promise!”

Courtney looked between her and the crate.

Confessional Stall - Courtney

"I can't keep the trailer even if I win. But if I don't actually try at these challenges, I'm sure the girls will see and resent me for it," she said. "Immunity is nice, sure, but I saw an air conditioner on that trailer. Giving someone else the chance to sleep in cool, clean comfort for the rest of the show…" Then she moaned in sadness again.

Resisting the urge to bang her head against the table, Courtney stood and approached the crate. As she stood in front of it, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When she exhaled and opened, her nervousness was stowed away. “Bring it on!” she said confidently, and opened the door before stepping inside.

Two seconds later, the Sasquatchanakwa roared and Courtney screamed. “Get back! Back, I said! Stay away!” she shouted in fear, and they could hear the sound of something hitting flesh a few times. Then the creature roared again and something impacted the crate’s right side, making it nearly fall over. “Let me go right now!” Courtney said, and there was another smacking sound followed by another roar.

The buzzer went off then, and the door was kicked open. The Sasquatchanakwa stomped out, holding Courtney up in his left hand. She opened her mouth to shout again, but then he shook her around like a doll. Her head whipped to either side and she groaned dizzily. Then he snorted and threw her directly at her seat, causing her to sail through the air before slamming into it. The Sasquatchanakwa turned, glared at Chris and Chef, then flipped them both the bird and walked off in the direction of the woods.

Liam slid out of his seat to kneel next to her. “Are you okay?” he urgently asked, momentarily surprising himself with how genuine his concern was.

On the ground, Courtney cracked one eye open. “I…” she began before coughing. “I think so... Just winded. And dizzy. And really sore,” she said, shakily reaching out a hand towards him. He grabbed it and helped her rise to her feet before sitting down in her chair. “Did I make it?” she asked.

Chris nodded. “You did. Which means that Lindsay is now out of the challenge!” he told them. The blonde's seat was instantly replaced with a set of stocks, which she sadly placed herself into. “Unfortunately, we could all hear your complaints while you were in there, so no picking the next victim for you.”

She fixed him with a venomous glare. “Oh, excuse me for complaining about being in a box with a giant ape,” she spat out.

“You’re excused,” Chris quipped, making her glare increase. Turning away, he said “So, let’s see what the next challenge is, then I'll see who’s doing it.” Spinning the wheel, he watched it eventually stop on an image of air of scissors. “Ah, the Wawanakwa Hair Salon! Chef, if you would demonstrate?” In response, Chef placed a full-sized mannequin with a wig attached to it on the slab. Then he held up a chain saw, revved it, and sawed half of the dummy’s hair off. “And the unlucky recipient of this hair cut will be… Trent!”

Trent’s eyes widened and he whipped his head to look at Chef, who grinned and held up the saw. “Uh-uh. No way, man. I’m out,” he declared, holding up his hands.

“You sure? That means you’re both giving up the trailer and opening yourself to elimination,” Chris warned.

Trent nodded. “I’ll take that risk over spending weeks trying to recover from that,” he said, pointing at the now-half-bald mannequin. He obediently stepped back and let another set of stocks replace his chair, before placing himself in them.

Chris pouted. “Alright, killjoy. Let’s see what we have next,” he called, spinning the wheel again. This time, it stopped a picture of… a pair of pants? "Alright, Izzy, you're up!"

Izzy grinned and jumped from her seat onto the table before leaping over to land next to Chris. "Ready when you are!" she declared. In response, Chef produced a pair of shorts made of wood, which Izzy put on. "Well this isn't so bad."Then Chef revealed a woodpecker, making her smile falter.

He placed the bird on a branch sticking from the shorts, and it chirped before going to work. It took all of three seconds for it to break through the wood and peck her on the thigh. "Ow!" Izzy said, jumping slightly. "Hey, that isn't a bug!"

The woodpecker ignored her and flew around to peck at the back of the shorts, making her yelp again as it broke through and pecked at her rear. Then, just before the timer went off, it broke through a third time and got her on the hip.

"Well, looks like Izzy managed to tough it out," Chris said. "Got any preference on the next victim?"

As she removed the wooden shorts, Izzy said "Oh, me! I pick me! With a poison ivy facewrap!"

At that, all of the other campers stared at her, even Daphne.

Confessional Stall - Daphne

"Okay, so Izzy is still without a doubt the most fun friend I've ever had. She's also definitely the craziest."

Chris gave her a bemused look. "Um… I should point out that if you nominate yourself for a challenge, you'll end up eliminating yourself whether you succeed or fail," he said.

Izzy shrugged. "True, yes, but when else am I gonna get the chance to feel what being wrapped in poison ivy is like?" she countered.

The host hummed. "I see… Give me one second," he said, before pulling out a cell phone. He turned away from them and held it up to his ear. A few moments later, he said "Hey, it's Chris. You saw?" The person on the other end said something, and Chris looked back at Izzy. "Yeah, she wants to. I'm cool with it if you guys are." Another reply and he grinned. "Cool," he said, before hanging up. "So, the producers will allow it if you agree to accept all responsibility for any health issues this might cause."

"Sure, sure," Izzy replied, waving her hand. Chris nodded and gestured to Chef, who put on a pair of rubber gloves. Once her head was wrapped in ivy leaves and a pair of cucumber slices placed over her eyes, the timer began. "Ah… this is nice," she said, her voice slightly muffled.

Once the timer buzzed, Chef cut away the leaves, revealing her face. The others backed away; her entire face was red and her lips had swollen to comical proportions. "Mey guys, mat's up?" Izzy managed to say.

Chris shook his head. "Well, congrats on sticking it out. Hope losing the trailer was worth it somehow," he said, and she shrugged as she took her place in the stocks. "Next up on the chopping block, we have… Duncan!"

Duncan scoffed. "Bring it on, man," he declared.

"Oh, we will!" Chris promised, before spinning the wheel. When it came to rest on a musical note, he said "Your challenge is to spend ten seconds listening to New Age music!"

The punk went stiff. "New Age? Not New Wave?" he said. When Chris nodded, he groaned. "This is gonna bite…" he muttered, before walking over and lying back on the slab. Chef placed a pair of headphones on it, before pressing play as the timer began.

Duncan's face instantly became pained. "So many… flutes…!" he said through gritted teeth. Six seconds in, and he began clenching and unclenching his fists. "So lame…!" Then, as the timer hit nine seconds, he screwed his eyes shut. "That's it!" he said, and reached for the headphones. Then the timer went off just as he grabbed them, making him sag in relief.

"And Duncan makes it to Round 2!" Chris announced.

Duncan ripped the headphones off and staggered back to his seat. As he dropped into his chair, Gwen leaned over. "Was it really that bad?" she asked, no fan of New Age music herself.

He shuddered. "Worse. It had dolphin cries," he revealed, making her shudder as well.

Chris chuckled. "Moving on, our next player will be Daphne, who will experience… the Bee Shirt!"

Daphne raised both eyebrows even as she rose and walked over. "I'm afraid to ask if you just mean a shirt made of bees."

"Almost," Chris said, and Chef produced a vest. The exterior of it was coated in honey, making her grimace as she placed it on. Then he produced a white box whose side he slid open, letting a swarm of bees fly out.

Daphne gasped and went absolutely still. The bees, drawn by the smell of the honey, quickly flew over and formed a layer over the vest, as well as crawling over the rest of her torso and upper arms. "This–" she began, before a bee flew by her mouth and she instantly shut it.

Heather called "Don't freak out! They'll want to sting you then!"

The brunette just gave a tiny nod, trying to move as little as possible. Every second felt like it dragged on, especially since she didn't dare try to turn her head to see the timer. Five seconds, then seven… nine… ten. Once the buzzer went off, Chef—who had hastily put on a beekeeper's outfit—slowly removed the honey vest from her. Once the last bee was drawn away, she released her breath and dropped to her knees.

"That… was…" she said, panting. She had never experienced an adrenaline rush like that. Not in the previous challenges, not once before in her life.She looked up, smiling. "Can I do that again?" she asked excitedly.

Chris reared back, seeing how large her pupils had grown. "Uh, no," he said bluntly. "But you can name whoever the next challenge will be for."

She whipped her head over to look at the others. "Hmm…" she said, and several of them appeared nervous. "How about… Liam! He hasn't gone yet!"

Said redhead frowned. "Gee, thanks," he muttered. "So what horrible experience am I getting saddled with?"

"Let’s find out," Chris replied. Another spin, and as it slowed down the arrow pointed to a lighting bolt. "You get a nice round of shock treatment! With electric eels."

Upon hearing that, his worried look became calm once more. "Electro-shock therapy? That's it?" he said, before shrugging and lying back on the slab. "This didn't work when my first therapist tried it, and I doubt it will now."

Courtney frowned. "What do you mean 'first therapist'?" she asked.

He paused. "Um… maybe we can talk about that after the challenge?" he asked. She crossed her arms but slowly nodded, making him sigh in relief. "Okay, hit me with it," he said, looking at Chef.

Chef nodded and put on a pair of thick rubber gloves before reaching into a fish tank. Pulling out an eel with each hand, he said "Clear!" before bringing them to Liam's chest.

"Hrrrrgh!" he said, gritting his teeth. After three seconds, Chef pulled away and he glared at him. "Don't quit now!" he called, and Chef obliged by shocking him again. "Ghh, dammit!" Another shock, and he swung his foot back to slam it against the slab.

One more shock and the buzzer went off, making him sigh. Chris stepped over, doing his best to ignore the smell of burnt hair. "Nice work, man. Daphne, since he completed the challenge, you're now out. And for sticking it out with barely any complaint, you get to pick—"

"Can it be someone who's already gone?" Liam asked, looking over in Duncan's direction and making the punk frown.

Chris paused, brow furrowed at being interrupted. "Unfortunately not," he replied.

He looked away from Duncan to the host. "Then I choose Heather," he said.

"Excellent. Heather, you'll be enduring…" Chris said. This time, the wheel landed on an image of a nose. "Having Chef pluck your nose hairs one at a time!"

She raised an eyebrow. "Is that all?" she said. "As if a bit of beauty treatment is going to make me quit," she said, calmly taking Liam's place on the slab.

As she completed her challenge without issue, Trent turned his head as much as he could go face Gwen. "You weren't kidding about girls and pain," he said, watching Heather not react save for a small grunt whenever a hair was pulled.

"Told you," she said with a smile.

Heather rubbed her nose and sat back down while Liam grimaced and placed his head in the stocks. "Before you ask, I nominate the next challenge to be for Owen," she declared.

The large boy grinned. "Awesome. Let's do this!" he cheered.

"Glad to see you so excited," Chris told him. "Because your challenge will be… the Grizzly Bear Log Roll!"

Owen's smile faded. "The what?" he said.

As an answer, he was led to a small pond, in the middle of which was a log with a bear standing on it. Waving his hand at the bear, Chris said "Introducing Molotov, performer with the Russian Circus and the European Log Rolling champion for the past twelve years! All you have to do is remain on the log for ten seconds while he rolls it." A few ripples appeared in the water around the log, and he added "Oh, and I wouldn't advise falling in. We filled the water with piranhas."

Owen gulped. "I don't know about this…" he said.

"You can do it, dude!" Trent called.

"Yeah, we believe in you!" Izzy said, before turning to Daphne and shaking her head.

Slowly, Owen nodded and stepped onto the log. Between his weight and the bear’s, it sank halfway into the water, leaving both him and Molotov with little room to move. "All set?" Chris asked, and both he and the best nodded. "Then… go!"

Molotov immediately turned and began running, causing the log to roll. "Whoa! Whoa-oa!" Owen called, struggling to stay on his feet as he backpedaled. Then, as he found his rhythm, Molotov picked up speed. "Easy! Nice bear!" Owen said panically.

The bear's reply was to suddenly jump and turn around, landing and facing the other direction. The log lurched to a stop, kicking up water on it and nearly throwing Owen off. Then Molotov began running the other direction, forcing Owen to start running forward. Until, that is, his shoe slipped on the wet wood and he yelled "Oh, cra–!" before falling face-first into the water.

As the other campers gasped, several of the piranhas leaped in and out of the water, teeth glinting. Owen's head soon broke the surface. "Ow, ow! Ow, that smarts!" he called hurriedly swimming over to the edge. "Ow! Hey, that's my butt!" he said, before managing to pull himself out. There was a piranha hanging on his left arm, his right shoulder and each of his buttcheeks. As he tried to pull one off, it bit down harder and he cried out in pain again. "How do I get these things off?" he asked.

"Well... if you had some McLean Brand Piranha Repellant, that would probably help," Chris said, pulling a can of said spray from his pocket. "Too bad we didn't stock any spares!" he added, using the last of it on himself as Owen came near.

Owen gave Chris that most annoyed expression they had seen on the loveable oaf. As he took his spot in the stocks, Gwen took pity on him and said "Hold still," before gently prying the fish off one at a time.

Once the last one was gone, he sighed in relief. "Thanks, Gwen. I owe ya," he said, and she smiled in return.

"Almost done with the first round," Chris said. "Next up is Bridgette. This is an easy one," he said, before Chef walked over and placed a bowl of ice cream in front of her.

She blinked. "Um… I just have to eat ice cream?" she asked.

"Correct, but that's not all. This ice cream was specially ordered to induce the worst brain freeze possible as fast as possible. Your challenge is to keep eating as fast as you can even after your brain starts freezing," he explained.

Bridgette gulped, before scooping a spoonful. "Well… I guess I'll give it a try," she said nervously.

"Great. Then get ready and… eat!" he said as he started the timer.

Bridgette quickly shoved the ice cream into her mouth. Although she sat straight at how cold it was, there seemed to be no reaction. Two more bites and nothing yet, with four seconds done. As she had her fifth bite, however, she abruptly grimaced. "Oh… there it is," she said, but didn't stop scooping up her next spoonful.

Seven seconds done, and she swallowed her seventh bite before her face screwed up in pain. "OK, that really hurts!" she said. But before Chris could say she stopped, she took another and kept going. Nine seconds, and her hands trembled as she fought through the pain. Then, as she swallowed her last bite, the buzzer went off.

"And Bridgette survives to the next round as well!" Chris said.

"Ohhhhh…" Bridgette groaned, holding her head and rocking back and forth in her chair.

"Well, just two competitors yet to go. So let's have it be… Gwen!" the host said, making the goth grimace. "And your torture will be… the Skunk Jump!"

Gwen raised an eyebrow as she stood up. "Gee, sounds fun," she drawled.

"Glad you think so," Chris said, and Chef placed down a set of rocks in a line. Then he placed a small fence around the rocks before holding up a cage. As he opened it, half a dozen skunks jumped out and scurried between the rocks. "Because you'll be hopping those rocks for ten seconds and hoping you don't get sprayed."

Gwen paused, considered it… and sat back down. "Nope. I am not going to spend the next few days smelling like skunk. Not even that trailer is worth that," she declared.

Chef frowned. "Well, fine, if you're gonna ruin my fun…" he said, and replaced her seat with stocks as well. "Harold, you're the last camper who hasn't gone. Let's see what your torture will be." Giving the wheel one more spin, it came to rest on a picture of a barrel. "Ooh, I was hoping someone would get this! You're taking a dive in a barrel of leeches!" he called.

Harold's eyes went wide. "Did you say leeches?" he said, before looking at said barrel as Chef set it down. It was indeed filled with large leeches, making him gulp. "Sorry, but I'm out too. That many leeches on my wiry frame?"

Heather raised an eyebrow. "Wiry…?" she muttered, and Izzy and Daphne snorted.

Harold continued "I could lose a dangerous amount of blood. I can't enjoy a trailer if I'm dead." And with that, he sat back down.

Chris glared at both him and Gwen. "You two have no sense of recklessness, do you? What happened to risking life and limb for victory?" he said.

Gwen shrugged. "We just value life a little more," she said, and Harold nodded in agreement.

Their host rolled his eyes. "Fine, suit yourselves," he said, before turning to face the others. "Then that concludes our first round of the challenge! Out of our initial competitors, only four move on."

The remaining four—Bridgette, Courtney, Heather and Duncan—eyed each other. Chris continued "And I hope you four haven't reached your pain threshold, because it only gets worse from here!" He then turned and kicked the wheel he had been spinning off stage. A new one, smaller and with only six images, was wheeled into its place. "Presenting the Wheel of Misfortune Mk.II!"

Duncan stared. "You know… a part of me was hoping you were out of challenge ideas," he said.

Chris placed a hand to his chest. "Why, Duncan, it's as if all that time away has made you forget me!" he said with faux-hurt, before grinning. "I always have ideas for humiliating challenges," he said. "Now, let's get the second round started!"

Chapter 17: The Game is Pain, Part 2

Chapter Text

"This second version of the Wheel of Misfortune promises to be even more painful than the first," Chris told them. As he waved a hand at the Wheel, the campers were able to make pictures of a rubber band, a lemon, a pepper, a mouse, a cactus and an ice cube. "With only four of you, this shouldn't take as long, but I'll still enjoy it."

Duncan, Heather, Bridgette and Courtney looked at each other. Each of them had a competitive flame in their eyes, daring the others to bow out. Chris continued "Also, for this round, you can choose not to nominate someone for a challenge if you get through yours without complaint, got it?" They all nodded, and he said "Then let's see who’s up first." An intern handed him a hat with four slips of paper. Pulling out one at random, he said "Duncan, you're up!"

At that, the punk finally broke gazes with the others. "Bring it," he declared, walking over to sit in a chair.

Chris obliged and spun the wheel. Due to being smaller, this one spun much faster, enough that they couldn't see the images as it turned. When it came to a stop, it was on the rubber band. "I was hoping someone would get this!" he said. Chef stepped forward and strapped Duncan's arm to the seat. He then produced a set of large, thick rubber bands, which he began wrapping around Duncan's arm. Chris explained "These are some of the strongest, most durable rubber bands our interns could find online. You have to endure ten seconds of Chef doing his best to break them and enduring the pain when he fails."

Duncan grimaced but didn't move to get up. "I've handled worse," he boasted with a smile.

Through his mask, Chef glared at him and immediately pulled back one of the rubber bands before letting go. It hit his arm with a loud smack but remained unbroken. Duncan, meanwhile, immediately stopped smiling.

"And… go!" Chris said, only then starting the timer. Before Duncan could glare at him, Chef snapped an even larger band and he gritted his teeth. Then Chef grabbed one with each hand and repeated the process, making him shout in pain.

Over and over he snapped them, the seconds ticking by. And while Duncan made more than a few shouts or groans, he didn't voice any complaints.

The buzzer finally went off, and Chris said "And Duncan manages to survive another one! So, do you want to–"

"Courtney," he said immediately.

The host paused. "Uh, you remember how I said you could choose not to–" he began.

"I know. And I nominate Courtney," he said, throwing a glare at the C.I.T.

She glared right back, and Chris shrugged his shoulders. "Alrighty, then. Courtney, let's see what you'll be doing," he said, giving the Wheel another spin. She watched it nervously while Duncan had a look of anticipation.

Confessional Stall - Duncan

"Whatever the challenge ends up being, I'm sure that she won't be able to do it after getting thrown around by a Sasquatch," he said. "Either way, watching her try'll be nothing but cathartic."

As the Wheel slowed down, it came to a stop on the pepper. "Oooh, today's just not your day, Courtney. You get the Reaper Eater!"

Courtney gulped. "That doesn't sound reassuring," she muttered.

Chef walked forward and placed a plate in front of her, on top of which was a single pepper. It wasn't even very large and appeared almost shriveled, but it was bright red with a pointed tail. "Introducing the Carolina Reaper. With an average rating of 1.6 million Scoville Heat Units—for context, jalapeños usually peak around 8000—this puppy currently holds the record for 'world's hottest pepper'. Your challenge is to chew on it for ten seconds before spitting it out."

Courtney stared down at the pepper with wide eyes. "Just… just chew on it? I don't have to eat it?" she asked.

"I wanted that to be the case," Chris admitted. "But the producers felt that having vomit-inducing incidents in back-to-back episodes would be tasteless, no pun intended. Don't worry, this will burn plenty either way."

Courtney slowly reached forward and picked up the pepper. She hesitated… then looked back at Duncan's challenging smirk. Frowning, she said "Well, here we go," before biting the pepper off at the stem.

The countdown began and the other three competitors–plus the eliminated campers–all watched as she chewed. As she did, she hummed. "You know, it's not that bad. It actually has a fruity kind of taste t–"

Then she froze.

Her pupils grew large, her shoulders shook, and sweat broke out on her forehead. Her mouth continued moving on autopilot, but a faint scream managed to make it between her lips.

"Yep, that's usually how it goes," Chris said.

Confessional Stall - Duncan

The teen was holding his sides as he hunched over. "Hahaha-hahahaha! Oh man, did you see her face? That almost makes up for booting me off by itself!" he said, continuing to laugh.

The moment the buzzer went off, Courtney immediately spat out the chewed-up pepper and screamed. "OH MY F@#$%&× GOD, THAT BURNS!" she howled. "Someone get me some milk! Or some alcohol!"

Chris snapped his fingers. "Milk! That's what I was forgetting!" he said. "As for alcohol, I'm not allowed to give that to minors."

Courtney didn't even waste time glaring at him, as she immediately turned to the other campers. "Do any of you have something?! Anything, please!" she pleaded while tears formed at the corners of her eyes.

For a moment, none of the others said anything. Then Owen slowly raised his hand. "Um… I have some mouthwash in my pocket," he revealed.

That got the rest to look at him. "...Why?" Gwen asked.

He shrugged as best he could in his stocks. "It was something Cody taught me. He said 'You never know when a girl you like will want to kiss you. So always have a way to freshen your breath on hand'," he said.

Courtney ignored the exchange and frantically climbed over the rows until she was next to him. "Whatever, that'll do!" she said, before reaching into his pocket and yanking out a small bottle of green mouthwash. She immediately poured half the bottle into her mouth and began swishing, moaning in relief.

Chris chuckled. "Well Duncan, looks like your quest for payback backfired," he said, making Duncan grimace as his seat was replaced with stocks. "And since all those complaints came after the buzzer, Courtney could nominate someone if she wants to."

The C.I.T. simply shook her head, before spitting out the mouthwash and using the other half.

"Okay, then I'll decide who goes next," Chris said, reaching into the hat once more. Pulling out another slip, he said "And it's… Bridgette!" Bridgette gulped, but saved her reaction for when she knew what the challenge was. As Chris spun the wheel, it eventually stopped at the lemon. "And it's the Lemon Juice Eye Drops, how fun!"

She raised her eyebrows. "Wait… that's it?" she asked.

Chris blinked, before frowning. "Maybe you didn't hear me. You'll be receiving drops of lemon juice. In your eyes."

Bridgette shrugged and laid down on the slab. "And I've spent entire days out surfing in saltwater," she replied.

Chef shrugged and held up a small lemon-shaped bottle, which he placed an eyedropper into. Once he had enough, he reached over and let one drop fall into her right eye, then her left. Bridgette immediately groaned and began blinking, but she didn't quit. Chef placed another pair of drops in, and by that point tears had begun to form.

"Okay, that does sting," she remarked. A third set of drops was added, and just then the buzzer went off.

"Huh," Chris said, blinking in surprise. "Well, color me surprised. Bridgette, nice job," he said.

Bridgette looked at him, and he reared back from how pink her eyes appeared. "No sweat. And I don't want to pick anyone," she said, walking over to take her seat.

"Just as well, since there's only one person left to go," he said, making Heather cross her arms. "Heather, let's see what you get!"

When the Wheel stopped this time, it was on the image of a cactus. "And your challenge… is to hug this cactus for ten seconds!" Chris declared, waving a hand at a tall, human-sized cactus that Chef carried over.

Heather stared at the cactus incredulously, before slowly turning to Chris. Seeing that he wasn't joking, she looked at the cactus again… then looked at Bridgette and Courntey. "If I concede this challenge, do you two swear not to vote for me tonight?" she asked bluntly.

That made those two–as well as several other campers–look at her in surprise.

Confessional Stall - Heather

"Having that trailer is not worth spending days pulling needles out of everywhere," she stated with crossed arms. "I don't think Chris was telling the truth about letting us keep it anyway. But giving up the prize in exchange for near-immunity? Definitely worth it."

Courtney paused, not having planned this or being put on the spot. "Well… I… sure! We can vote for someone else!" she said. As she said that, she carefully avoided looking Duncan's way.

Bridgette was less subtle, but slowly nodded. "I guess that would be fair."

Heather grinned. "Great! Then I'm sitting this out," she said, stepping back and letting her seat be replaced with stocks.

Chris pouted. "You know, you can really take the joy out of a good torture," he said, and Chef carried the plant away. Heaving a sigh, he turned to face the last two contestants. "Bridgette, Courtney, it's down to you two. After over a dozen challenges, we've reached the sudden death round." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a coin. "The camper who participates in this challenge will win the prize and immunity if they succeed. If not, it goes to the other person. And the one participating in the final challenge will be…" he said, before flipping it. As the coin came back down, he caught it and gave it a look. "Courtney!"

She did her best to not groan. As Chris spun the wheel one more time, it came to rest on the picture of the ice cube. In response, Chef and a few interns pushed a small swimming pool next to the stage, which was filled with ice cubes. "This one's easy. You just have to take a plunge into this pool of ice water, then swim back out in ten seconds or less," their host explained.

Already wincing from her time with the Sasquatchanakwa, Courtney looked over at the trailer. Then she looked back to the other campers–specifically, the other girls. Daphne and Gwen both had an eyebrow raised, while Heather had her arms crossed with an expectant look on her face. Slumping, Courtney said "Okay, let's do it."

She walked over and climbed the small ladder next to the pool. Once she was in position, Chris said "And… go!" and she jumped in.

She briefly disappeared under the surface, before emerging a second later. "COLD!" she shouted, frantically swimming for the edge. However, even once she reached the halfway point, her kicks were noticeably slowing down, the cold sapping her strength.

From inside his stocks, Liam frowned. "Come on, Courtney, you can make it! You can do whatever it takes, no matter what!" he called.

Getting into the spirit of it, Lindsay also called "Yeah, go Corry!"

And Owen, also eager to cheer someone on, said "Show that water who's boss!"

As all this reached her ears, Courtney looked down. "Come on, dig deep! Dig… deep!" she said, picking up speed again. Three seconds left and she reached the edge, trying to pull herself over. Just as her feet made it out of the water, the buzzer went off. She fell to the ground, and Chris called "Courtney wins!"

Everyone else's stocks unlocked, allowing them to stand. "Awesome!" Harold called, while Owen and Lindsay cheered and Liam grinned. Even Bridgette applauded, causing Heather and Gwen to reluctantly do the same.

Seeing the C.I.T. shivering on the floor, Chris said "Want someone to take you to your new trailer to warm up and raid its fridge?"

But Courtney shook her head and looked up. "I-I'm g-g-giving the trail-ler to Br-Bridgette," she managed to get out.

That made Bridgette freeze, staring at her in surprise. After a moment, however, she grinned widely. "Then I'm gonna share all the food in there with everyone else," she declared.

"Sweet! Party!" Owen called, getting more cheers from the other campers.

While they were doing that, Liam accepted a towel from Chef. As he kneeled next to Courtney and wrapped it over her shoulders, he said "You were amazing out there." Then he leaned in and smiled. "And that was smart, fulfilling that promise right away," he whispered.

Courtney managed to smile back. "J-Just thinking strategically," she whispered back.

Chris said "Well, if you're all doing that, Chef can take the night off from cooking. So I'll see you all at the elimination ceremony," before walking away.

Later that afternoon, as the sun was going down, the campers were spread out on the grounds in front of Bridgette's trailer, which had been moved next to the girls' cabin. The door was left open for music to come from the sound system inside, letting a collection of surfer rock tunes be heard. Each teen had a can of soda in hand, and most were talking with each other.

Liam and Courtney leaned on a wooden rail next to each other, keeping the others in view while Harold lingered nearby. As they watched, they noticed Duncan walking towards Bridgette, but they were too far away to hear.

Said blonde looked up as he came closer. "Hey," he greeted her. "This party's not bad, but that doesn't make us even for doing me dirty like you did," he said.

Bridgette frowned. "If I was one of the ones that voted for you, sure. But I didn't," she said.

He raised an eyebrow. "Then I suppose it was Princess, Scarecrow and Dweebus?" he asked.

"If you mean Courtney, Liam and Harold, then yes. They were already in an alliance before I joined," she replied.

Duncan grunted. "Then I've got no beef with you," he conceded. However, he then immediately turned around and yelled "Hey, you three!"

They looked over at him, as did every other camper while the music also paused. "I meant it when I said I'm here to win," he said. "But before I make it to finals, I'm gonna do my best to see you three on the Boat outta here. You can sleep sure of that." Then he chugged his drink before walking past them, snatching the can from Harold's hands as he went past.

There was an awkward pause, and then the music started back up. Harold glared at Duncan and his stolen drink, before walking over to the redhead and C.I.T. "So we're voting for him tonight, right?" he said.

However, Courtney hesitated. "Well… honestly, Duncan's just one guy. And not even a well-liked one, especially if he keeps this up," she said, causing his frown to deepen. "Now Owen, on the other hand, that's someone we need to–"

"Owen?" Harold said incredulously. "Are you joking? He's been a great guy throughout this whole show. He even let you use his mouthwash today, in case you forgot. Duncan's been nothing but a bully since before he was eliminated," he argued.

Liam spoke up. "Even so, Duncan's a lone wolf. He's no threat to our alliance in the eliminations."

"He's a threat to me, both in eliminations and out," Harold rebutted. "Look, I'm going to vote for Duncan tonight. And either you guys can stand by me and help, or you can consider me out of the alliance."

Courtney reared back, eyes wide. "Are you… extorting us?" she demanded.

He crossed his arms. "I'm standing up for myself, like Leshawna told me to." He looked at Courtney. "You've been holding the reins for this alliance the entire time. Now I'm making the call: tonight, we vote out Duncan," he told them, before walking away as well.

Once he was gone, Liam and Courtney looked at each other. "So… what are we actually going to do? Besides make sure that Harold doesn't tamper with the votes tonight," she asked.

He looked away to other campers, specifically one. "We need to communicate a message."

After the sun had set, the twelve campers were seated in front of the bonfire in two rows. As he stood in front of them, Chris said "Okay, so first thing's first: We're out of marshmallows."

"Nooooo!" Owen wailed in despair. As he waved his arms, Izzy reached over and gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

"Now, onto the second thing," Chris continued. "Normally, I respect keeping your decisions and your dirty laundry private. But this time, we're gonna go live with your confessionals!" he declared with a grin.

As Chef wheeled a television over, the campers' eyes all widened, while several appeared nervous.

Harold

"I stopped being afraid of bullies once Duncan was eliminated. He doesn't scare me now."

Heather

"Well, since I don't have to worry about being voted out tonight, I get to strategize."

Owen

"Out of everyone left, Courtney, Heather and Duncan are definitely the scariest people on the island. But Courtney has immunity, so…"

Izzy

"Whoo, that was a great first challenge to come back on! Since she and Daph are friends now, I'm not gonna vote for Heather. But… she's not the only stick in the mud around here."

Gwen

"Izzy is completely insane. And what's more, now we're going to be sleeping in the same room again. This is gonna suck."

Duncan

"I wasn't joking before. Courtney, Liam and Harold? Those three are going down."

Lindsay

"Oh, I don't know who to vote for! Helen and I were friends before, Gwen and I are friends now, and Corry has immunity. How am I supposed to pick someone?"

Liam

"It's simple: Threats are eliminated."

Daphne

"Now that Izzy's back, the rest of the campers can take a short walk and a long fall. All I need now is to find out where Chris started hiding all the matches, and I'm set."

Bridgette

"That was really cool of Courtney to keep her word and give up the prize. And I know Duncan said he has no beef with me, but he does have beef with my friends."

Trent

"Duncan may be gunning for Courtney's faction, but he hasn't done anything to me. Really, I think I should focus on the people who I think are the biggest threats at the moment.”

Courtney

"It was never personal. But I can't let a roadblock get in the way of me steering us to victory."

Once the confessionals were aired, the teens looked at each other with various expressions. Before any of them could speak, however, Chris said "Well, I'm sure hearing that's not going to affect any of your relationships going forward. Either way, I tallied the votes, and we have a clear loser. The camper being eliminated tonight is…"

The campers leaned in.

...

...

...

"Harold."

Most of the campers gasped, particularly Harold himself along with his allies.

Duncan, on the other hand, sent him a vicious grin. "I told ya."

Harold stared at him. "But we… you…" he said. He nearly said 'You had to have switched the votes'. But having just seen the confessional footage, he knew that wasn't the case. Still speechless, he didn't resist when Chef grabbed him by the arm and dragged him towards the Dock. His luggage had already been loaded onto it, and he tossed the nerd on board with a grunt.

Bridgette stood at the edge of the Dock. "This really stinks," she said. "But I'll do everything I can to win this. And make sure Duncan doesn't," she promised.

That got Harold to smile. "Thanks for that. Bridgette. You're a true friend," he told her, getting her to smile back.

As the Boat began to drive away, he straightened. "Oh, that's right!" he said, before digging through his luggage. "I may have lost a shot at a hundred-thousand dollars, but I'll take true love any day. And now that we've both been eliminated, I can call Leshawna!" he declared, dialing the number even as he pulled out of sight.

Once the campers started to leave the bonfire, Duncan came to a stop by the washrooms. As expected, he found none other than Heather waiting there.

"Well? I held up my end," she said.

He nodded. "You said you'd keep me from getting booted off tonight, and you did," he agreed. "Doesn't mean I agree to being in an alliance with you. Still, if you've got suggestions on future votes, I'll be willing to listen."

Heather shrugged. "I figured as much. Sleep well," she told him, before heading for bed while he did the same.

Chapter 18: Keys to Success

Chapter Text

The days following the Say Uncle challenge were comparatively peaceful. Despite Izzy and Daphne being back together, no fires immediately appeared on the island. Well, except for at the bonfire, where Izzy showed her how to make the fire starter she had used on Bony Island. It took Daphne three tries to get the consistency of the mixture right. After the third attempt nearly set fire to the grass and trees near the bonfire, Chris banned them from making it again.

Since the campers were no longer seated by team or sex, Courtney and Heather's alliances sat at separate tables during meals. The four 'neutral' campers–Owen, Lindsay, Trent and Gwen–usually moved back and forth between them. That said, Liam and Courtney both noticed that Gwen seemed to sit with Heather more often. Duncan was always seated with the queen bee, though more out of a desire to not share a table with them.

Bridgette was also always the last to join them, having her own shower in her trailer. Without her around, according to Courtney, the girls' cabin had gotten noticeably colder. Even Izzy spoke less with anyone besides Daphne or Heather, particularly Gwen. The guys' cabin was much the same: Duncan bunking with them meant that there was a chill anytime he and Liam were in there together. Once either of them walked out, however, all was well.

This morning, as they were filtering into the lodge for breakfast, Gwen noticed Trent perk up at her arrival. He gave her a smile and patted the seat next to him, making her smile in return. Once she got her tray of 'breakfast'—somewhat boiled eggs and overcooked biscuits—she walked over and sat next to him. "So, got any plans for today?"

"Yeah, actually. I was planning on going swimming for a bit. Want to join?" he asked.

She hummed. "Not in the water, but I can sit by the docks while you swim," she offered.

"Sounds good," he said, before pausing as he looked at the door. She followed his gaze and saw Izzy walk in. She gave the goth a neutral look, then sat down and ate at the other end of the table. "I guess she didn't take your confession too well."

Gwen frowned. "I guess so," she replied. She wasn't going to take back what she had said, but… "I suppose it would be the right thing to apologize. She has to know I wouldn't say something like that if I thought people would hear it."

"For sure. Even so, hearing it could have hurt her feelings," he pointed out.

At that, she sighed and nodded in concession. "I'll talk to her later," she said. Then Daphne walked by and gave Gwen a glare, maintaining eye contact until she sat down next to Izzy. "Maybe sooner."

As those two were talking, Owen and Lindsay were standing next to each other in line for their food. Owen looked around. "So… joined any good alliances lately?" he asked.

Lindsay frowned and shook her head. "I was in one with Leshawna, but now that she's gone me and Gwen kinda… separated," she told him. "Which stinks, because I thought we were becoming great friends."

That got Owen to look sad as well. "That does sound like no fun," he agreed. "The only alliance I was in was a short one with Cody. Since then, I've been pretty much on my own." Then Lindsay was served her breakfast, the sight of which made her grimace. "Are you gonna eat that?"

She immediately handed him her tray, making him grin. As Owen began to slide the tray's contents into his mouth, Lindsay stiffened as an idea struck her. "Wait a second," she said, making him pause with the tray half-empty. "If you're looking to join an alliance, and I'm looking to join an alliance…"

He began nodding. "Then we could look for an alliance together!"

Lindsay paused. "Um… kind of. I was actually thinking we could make our own alliance," she corrected.

"Oh," he said, blinking. "Yeah, that would be pretty smart!" he added more excitedly. "If you and Gwen were working together before, maybe we could even get her and Trent to join!"

"That would be great!" she replied. "Just imagine: you, me, Trent and Gwen all making it to the final four together! It could be loads of fun!"

"Awesome!" Owen cheered. Tossing the rest of breakfast into his mouth, he continued "Just one thing: How are we gonna get them to agree to join us?"

Lindsay paused. "Um…" she said.

Later that morning, after breakfast had been eaten, the campers were taking the time to unwind. For Bridgette, that meant taking a fold-out chair from inside her trailer and setting it up near the beach. As she leaned back and closed her eyes, she listened to the sounds of the waves mingled with the wildlife from the nearby woods. It was… peaceful.

Ten minutes into her relaxation, however, a whistling sound reached her eyes. Her brow furrowed, and she sat up to look around for the source. She got her answer a second later when she felt a wave of compressed air hit her from behind, accompanied by heat and the sound of an explosion. Bridgette slowly turned around… and saw her trailer up in flames.

From her view through the cabin window, Heather smirked. "Knew it," she muttered.

That was when Chris's voice rang out via a loudspeaker. "Arrgh, maties! Meet me at the amphitheater in five minutes, and I'll tell ye of today's challenge!"he called, using an exaggerated pirate accent.

Five minutes later, all eleven campers were seated in front of the theater. Bridgette had her luggage bags next to her, getting sympathetic looks from most of the others.

Confessional Stall - Courtney

"You know, I don't feel so upset now about giving that trailer up. If I had known Chris was just going to fire a cannon at it, I'd have agreed to forfeit it without any argument," she said with a smile.

Once Chris arrived, it was with several crates that were covered by a tarp. They could also see that he was wearing a pirate costume, complete with a tri-corner hat and a parrot on his shoulder. Giving them all a grin, he said "Well, little scallywags, are ye up for some adventure?"

In response, all of the campers gave him looks that plainly said what they thought about his idea of 'adventure'. Gwen and Owen even yawned, while Daphne at least pretended to look interested. Duncan plainly asked "What's under the tarp, man?"

"All in good time, matey!" Chris replied, and the 'parrot' creaked before tilting forward. Frowning, he grabbed the fake bird and tossed it away. He continued "Who's up for a good old-fashioned treasure hunt?"

Liam raised an eyebrow. "Something tells me this hunt isn't 'old-fashioned'," he stated.

"Shiver me timbers, ye be right!" the host said. "Today, what ye be hunting be not treasure, and it not be hidden. You're looking for keys… to these!" And with that, he grabbed the tarp and pulled it off, revealing a collection of wooden treasure chests. "Inside one of these chests be immunity for one lucky landlubber. You'll each be given a clue to a key, and it be your job to get it and bring it back here."

Izzy perked up. "Oh, are the keys hidden somewhere dangerous?" she asked excitedly.

"Some of them, aye," Chris said, making her grin. He held up a bucket which was filled with small wooden planks. "Now come 'round and pull your clue from this here bucket, or it's the plank for ya!"

The campers rose from their seats and joined him on the stage. Starting with Owen, each of them reached in and pulled out a small plank, taking a look at the picture on there. Examining his own, which showed a tree branch, he said "So… my key's up a tree?"

"Argh, ye be correct, Owen! Looks like you've got some climbin' to do!" he said.

Trent frowned. "Um, why does mine have a picture of a bear?" he asked, holding his plank up.

"Because that key be located in the beast's den, the bear cave over yonder!" Chris told him, causing the guitarist to gulp. Then he spotted Lindsay’s plank and he chuckled. "Chef's refrigerator? Good luck," he told her, briefly dropping the accent. "Ever since someone stole his smores, I hear he dusts it for fingerprints every morning."

"So what's this, then?" Gwen asked, holding up her's.

"Ah, that would be the septic tank. For the communal washrooms," he answered.

Before she could protest, Izzy spoke up. "A rabbit? Seriously?" she said irritably. "I wanted something exciting!"

"Oh trust me, that one is exciting," Chris promised her. "Now, each of ye have until 6 o'clock to find your keys and claim your loot. Fare thee well, scallways!"

Confessional Stall - Heather

"I swear, these challenges are getting more and more lame the farther we go. And FYI, Chris? Those pirate pants do not make your legs look good."

Bridgette stood at the edge of the Dock. From here, she was able to see her key hanging from a wooden pole sticking out of the water. She was also able to see the three shark fins circling that pole.

"Hmm…" she hummed. "If I had brought my board with the shark deterrent, this would be easy," she muttered.

As she debated how to get past the sharks, she eventually straightened and snapped her fingers. "I've got it!" Then she turned and ran towards the main lodge. Or more precisely, the trash cans next to it.

Holding her breath with a grimace, she managed to find what she was looking for: a dead fish. She then ran back to Dock and tossed the fish on the other side, away from the key. After a moment, once the smell finally reached the sharks, they immediately left the key to begin swimming towards the source.

Bridgette grinned and dived into the water, easily swimming over and grabbing her key before they came back. "Like the surfer girl's gonna lose a challenge in the water," she declared.

As Heather and Daphne looked at Heather's challenge, the latter couldn't help but say "You know, I'm kind of jealous of you."

That got Heather to throw a glare her way before she focused on what was before her: a set of three metal loops that were currently on fire. Each of them was spaced about a foot apart, and her key hung in the center of the middle loop.

"This takes 'jumping through hoops' to a level I don't enjoy," Heather stated, which got a chuckle from Daphne. Taking a deep breath, she moved a few steps back and braced herself. "In case this doesn't work, go get me some water," she ordered, and the brunette nodded before running off.

After a moment, Heather exhaled and then sprinted forward. Once she was close enough, she lunged forward in a dive. Her leap took her through the first hoop without issue, and she snatched her key as she passed through the seconds. But then her hip hit the bottom of the third hoop, and she cried out in pain.

Falling over and landing on the ground, the flames quickly began to spread to the rest of her shorts. "Get it off, get it off!" she yelled, rolling around on the ground.

That was when Daphne made it back with a bucket full of water. Before she helped her, the pyro pouted and muttered "Lucky…" Then she ran forward and doused the queen bee before she could be badly burnt.

Trent peeked his head around the edge of the bear cave. Taking a look inside, he muttered "Well, crap." Next to him, Gwen also took a look and cursed. The key was in plain sight… around a sleeping bear's neck.

Both of them pulled back, and the goth asked "What do you think?"

"I think if I go in there, I'm gonna get mauled," Trent replied bluntly. "Might still beat what you've gotta do, though."

Gwen crossed her arms. "It would, if I was actually going to get my key," she said.

Trent paused, raising an eyebrow. "You're not going to try to win?"

She shook her head. "There is nothing in this world–even a hundred-thousand dollars–that could convince me to swim through a sewage tank," she declared, her expression momentarily turning queasy. She shuddered and added "Just the thought is enough to make me nauseous."

Trent looked back at the cave. "Well… what if we worked together, then? I'll go for the key in the tank, while you come up with a way to get the one from that bear," he offered.

Gwen paused. "You'd… do that for me?" she said.

"Of course," he automatically replied, and her lips turned up in a smile.

Duncan gulped. He was about ten feet away from a large, pink-purple snake that was coiled on top of a rock. And in the middle of the snake was his key. "You can do this," he muttered to himself. "What's one snake anyway?"

Putting a confident smirk on, he stepped closer and said "Hey there, little guy."

The snake hissed and shook its rattle in response, making his smirk waver. "Just need that key you're wrapped around, okay? I don't want you or any eggs you might be carrying," he said with as much calm as he could muster. He then took another step forward.

That proved to be a mistake, as the snake lunged forward with its fangs bared. "Whoa!" Duncan yelled, jumping back and barely avoiding being bitten. The snake hissed and rattled again, glaring at him. "I… might need to think of a plan," the punk admitted.

"I don't see what plan I could make for this," Liam stated, looking between his clue and where the key was. Or more specifically, what it was in.

Hanging from a tree branch was a large beehive, the front of which had an opening slightly smaller than his hand. And his key was just visible inside the opening. Meaning he'd have to reach in somehow and get it. "Even if I used a stick or something, I'd still be irritating them," he thought aloud.

Humming, he cast his gaze over the hive...and the branch. "Now there's an idea," he said. Turning around, he began heading back towards the camp. Once he made it back, he went into the boathouse. Inside, he grinned as he found what he was looking for: a ladder and chainsaw.

Lindsay looked inside the kitchen before entering. She didn't see Chef around, making her sigh in relief. Stepping inside she walked straight for the refrigerator door and opened.

Chef glared at her, standing just inside the door with a meat cleaver in one hand.

Lindsay gasped and froze for a second. "U-Um…" she said, nearly running at the sheer anger in the large man's eyes. "Chris said I had to get a key from here. Can… Can I have just that?"

Chef was silent, his expression unmoving. Then, just as Lindsay was about to speak again, he slowly began to reach behind him with his free hand. He produced a single key, which he then held out to her.

The blond grinned. "Oh, great! You're the best chef ever, Chef!" she thanked him, before happily running out the room.

Only once she was gone did Chef finally relax and sigh. "Finally," he said, before turning around and pulling out something else from the fridge. As he placed it on the table, it was revealed to be a platter full of freshly-made smores.

"Now we've got no brats to come between us," he said, staring lovingly at the delicious treats.

Izzy walked closer to her key–which was lying next to a small rabbit–with a frown. "How is taking something from a bunny supposed to be exciting?" she asked aloud.

Once she was within ten feet of the small creature, they answered by opening their mouth to reveal a set of glistening fangs. The 'rabbit' then gave a roar completely disproportionate to its size, sending vibrations through the ground that she could feel in her feet.

Izzy froze. Then, slowly, she smiled. "Now that's more my style. Reminds me of this one story my great-grandma Mavis told me about a killer rabbit in Scotland," she said. She then moved into a crouch and leaned forward.

The rabbit growled in response, and she grinned. "Get ready to meet your maker."

Owen stood at the base of a tree, staring up at it. His key was hanging from a branch nearly at the top, over twenty feet off the ground. "This could be hard," he said.

He knew he had climbed a tree back during the camping challenge when Izzy had pranked them with the fake bear attack. But that incident was a bit of a blur, what with the real bear that had shown up after. "At least I'm not the one who got that clue," he said, counting his lucky stars for that much.

With a grunt, he jumped and wrapped his arms around the tree trunk. He didn't immediately begin sliding down, prompting him to smile. "Hey, maybe this won't be hard!" He then grunted and pulled himself up, slowly inching along the tree trunk.

Once Courtney found the particular skunk burrow that held her key, one of the skunks occupying it looked in her direction. Seeing the glare on her face, it turned and raised its tail at her.

Courtney smirked and held up a bucket of water. "The moment I saw what my clue was, I knew to come prepared," she said. She then dipped the bucket forward and dumped it into the hole, flooding it and flushing all the skunks inside out.

Her key was also washed out, and she picked it up. "Easy-peasy," she said, walking away before any of the skunks could recover and spray her.

Daphne stood at one end of a rickety rope bridge. The bridge was suspended over a small stream, and in the center of the stream was a rock. Her key was sitting on top of that rock, while an alligator rested on either side of it.

Glaring down at the stream, she muttered "Well, this kills my plan of burning them away." And 'how to repel alligators' wasn't something that had really come up where she had lived. Gingerly taking a step onto the bridge, it creaked loud enough that both alligators looked up. Their beady eyes immediately focused on her, and they began to slowly slip into the water.

She could feel her heart pounding as she moved closer, making her at least thankful for the adrenaline rush. Once she reached the middle, she leaned forward and stretched her hands towards the key. The moment her fingers brushed the metal one of the alligators lunged at her hand. She yanked her hand back and its jaw snapped shut over air, while it landed in the water on the other side.

"Okay… What to do?" she said, keeping an eye on the alligators as they circled the rock and stared back. One even licked its lips.

For Gwen's own sake, the interns had provided a pair of goggles and an oxygen tank. While Trent put them on and prepared to go sewer diving, Duncan walked past him and towards the girls' cabin. Seeing who he was looking for, he called "Hey, Princess!"

Courtney looked up from her book with a frown. "Oh, it's you," she said flatly, marking her page and closing the book. "What do you want?"

Deciding to be blunt, he said "I need to get past a snake to get my key. I was wondering if you knew any ways to do that."

The C.I.T. blinked once, twice, then grinned. "Why, Duncan…" she began. "Are you asking me for help?"

He crossed his arms. "Not in a million years," he denied. "But I figured, what with you being such a snake, you might know how to get rid of them."

That wiped the smile from her face. "You know, comments like that make me really uninterested in cooperating," she told him.

Having expected that–and not really caring–Duncan said "Then how about this? You tell me how I can get my key, and I promise not to vote for you tonight. Deal?"

Courtney raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? And who would you be voting for, then?" she asked.

"Not telling," he countered, and she frowned unhappily. "But when I say I'm gonna do something, I'm gonna do it, and that includes voting for someone else. So, have we got a deal?"

She grunted, mulling it over. A moment passed, and then she said "Counteroffer: I tell you how to repel a snake, and you don't vote for me or for Liam." Duncan clicked his tongue, but slowly nodded. "Alright. Then what you need to do is to get some vinegar from the kitchen. The smell messes with them, so douse them with enough of that and they'll move away," she explained.

"Got it," he told her, before running off towards the lodge. As he did Courtney reopened her book with a smile.

Confessional Stall - Courtney

"Bridgette told me what Duncan said to her at the party. If he's not going to vote for her or us, that just leaves Heather's alliances and the neutrals. If I can figure out who he likes the least among them, my alliance can target them as well to make sure they're eliminated."

Liam set up the ladder against the tree, then held up a handful of extra shirts he had grabbed from his luggage. Wrapping them over any exposed skin he had, he then put on a pair of earmuffs he had swiped from the boathouse alongside the chainsaw. Once he was covered, he climbed up the ladder with the saw in one hand. "Well… here we go," he said, pulling the cord and revving the saw to life.

He held it against the outside of the branch and started to cut through. As he did the vibrations went down the branch and began disturbing the beehive. A few of them began flying in his direction, but he did his best to remain calm and keep his breathing even. The more he panicked, the more likely they'd sting him.

After a few minutes, one stung him in the cheek anyway and he grunted, nearly letting go of the saw with one hand to bat them away. But he kept firm, and soon several cracks began to come from the branch. Then, with a loud snap, the entire limb fell away towards the ground.

The hive split open into several pieces once it crashed, spilling out a cloud of very angry bees and one honey-coated key. The cloud began to fly up towards Liam, and his eyes widened. "Crap, crap, double crap!" he said, tossing the chainsaw and jumping down from the ladder.

He landed on his feet, grimaced at the shock of pain that sent through his knees, and ran forward to grab his key. Then he turned and made a mad dash for the docks, the bees right behind him.

"Ha ha!" Izzy called, leaning to the side and dodging the rabbit leaping at her. It landed and skidded to a stop before turning around, still glaring at her with her key held in one of its front paws.

Both of them were covered in dirt, while Izzy had a few bruises and one bite mark on her arm. Still, neither of them was ready to call it quits. In fact, Izzy shot the creature a grin. "You know, I was just gonna take the key before. But now I think you're gonna make an amazing soup."

They growled at her, and the two of them tensed for leaping at each other. The rabbit aimed to bite her neck, and she leaned back to let them sail over her. As they did, she tried to reach up and grab one of their feet, but they twisted out of the way and landed behind her. They then tried to leap at her back, but she swung her foot back and mule-kicked them in the chest.

The rabbit took the hit and landed on their back before jumping back to their feet, barely even winded from the blow. Izzy gave them a grin and prepared to engage them again.

That was when a voice reached her, calling "Izzy? Izzy!" from a distance.

Izzy paused, frowning. "...Five minute break?" she suggested, and the rabbit actually nodded. "Cool," she said, before taking off in the direction of the voice. As she cleared the brush, she found it was coming from… Gwen? The orange-haired girl immediately skidded to a stop. "You were asking for me?" she asked neutrally.

Gwen nodded. "I… was wondering if I could get some help. I said I'd get Trent’s key for him, but I have no idea how to handle a bear," she explained.

She raised an eyebrow. "Reeeaally? So I can be 'a pain to live with', but not too much of one to get help from?" she asked with a small scoff.

The goth winced. "Listen, I… I'm sorry for what I said before," she began. "I thought it would be kept private… but that's not good either," she added, stopping Izzy from scoffing again. "I don't really… make friends with high-energy people. But that doesn't give me the right to be rude to them or about them. You just… have a lot of enthusiasm for stuff. I shouldn't mock that."

Izzy was silent for a moment, giving her a calculating look. Gwen had her head bowed, and was resisting the urge to run grab one of her arms with the other. The silence dragged on until almost a full minute had gone by. That was when Izzy said "If you really mean that… I have something you can help with. And it'll help you with your problem."

Gwen looked up. "Name it," she said.

A few minutes later, the rabbit looked up at the sound of someone entering its space. But the one who revealed themselves was not their previous foe. Instead, it was a new human, paler and wearing darker clothing.

"Uh, hey there, buddy…" she said nervously, and the rabbit growled in response. She gulped, then moved her hand from behind her. The rabbit froze: in her hands was a head of lettuce. "You like this stuff too, right? Not just meat?" she said.

The rabbit crouched, eyes still laser-focused on the lettuce. If it was fast enough, it could take the head out of her hands before it could react. Unfortunately, the human saw it prepare and said "Then come get it!" better turning and taking off. The rabbit roared and charged after her. It soon had her in its sights, running deeper into the woods. That wouldn't help her; it knew this place like the back of its paw.

And as luck would have it, that was when the human from before appeared, running alongside the second one. Perfect; it could get the lettuce from this one and then resume its fight.

Eventually, their chase led them to the base of a cliff with a cave opening. The pale human stopped and threw the lettuce head further in. So it was trying to distract it? No matter, they could eat the lettuce and still have time to track down the orange human.

The rabbit bounded into the cave, and then quickly came to a stop. Lying there was a bear, who was rubbing their head and opening their eyes. As their gaze landed on the lettuce, they licked their lips and began to reach for it. The rabbit gave a warning growl, getting the bear's attention. It growled back at having its territory invaded, and the two animals glared at each other.

A moment passed and then, with twin roars, they leaped at each other.

The sounds of their fighting reached outside the cave, where Gwen and Izzy were standing. "I knew that would work! Ha!" the latter said with a fist-pump.

Gwen shook her head. "When you said 'killer rabbit', I thought you were paying me back by making me look silly," she admitted.

Izzy shrugged. "If my family didn't have personal experience with killer rabbits, I wouldn't have believed it either," she replied. Just then, amidst the roars, snarls and sounds of scuffling, two keys flew out of the cave entrance. Both girls ran over and picked up their respective keys. "Well, we did it. Now let’s get out of here before one of them wins," she said, and Gwen nodded in agreement.

The doors to the kitchen creaked open, and Duncan stepped inside. "Okay, just need to swipe some vinegar, a spray bottle and–Whoa!" he thought aloud. But then he was cut off as a meat cleaver sailed past his face, embedding itself in the wall next to him.

Looking in the direction it came from, he saw Chef was sitting in a chair with his arm extended and a nigh-nuclear glare on his face. In his other hand was a half of a smore, which he appeared to be in the process of eating. Duncan held up his hands. "Relax, man! I'm just here for some stuff."

In response, Chef began reaching for another knife.

"Okay, okay!" he frantically said, backing out of the kitchen.

Once he was gone, Chef smirked before taking another bite.

While the alligators circled the rock below, Daphne had moved from the middle of the bridge to one end of it. "This… had better work," she grunted, kneeling down next to the rope. She pulled out her lighter and flicked it on, holding it up to the rope.

After a moment, the flames started to catch and she pulled away, repeating the process with the ropes on the other side. Once both sides were burning, she grabbed one of the ropes and held on tight. Slowly, the ends of the ropes let out several snaps as they broke off, causing the entire bridge to sway each time. The alligators, realizing she was up to something, stopped circling and kept an eye on her.

As the last section of rope on the left burned away, the right side also gave out and the entire bridge swung downwards. "Incoming!" Daphne called, holding on for dear life. Her arc took her just over the key, and she reached down to grab it. Both alligators jumped at her arm, but she grabbed the key and pulled back before they closed their teeth around her. A second later, the bridge reached the bottom of its swing and she let go, sailing away from the bridge and landing on the ground with a tumble.

"Oof! Ow! Ergh!" she shouted, before rolling to a stop. Shaking her head, she climbed to her feet and looked towards the alligators. Thankfully, they appeared uninterested in chasing her if it meant leaving their stream. "Alright!" she cheered, holding up her key.

"Come on… Almost there!" Owen said with strain, sweat running down his brow as he continued climbing.

While he was doing that, Duncan passed under him and stopped. "Uh… doing alright there?" he asked.

Owen threw him a grin. "Of course! Why... do ask?" he asked, panting.

Duncan's brow furrowed. "Because you're… eight feet off the ground," he pointed out. Sure enough, the blonde boy was less than halfway up the tree, his key still a long ways off.

Owen grimaced. "Okay… so maybe I'm not the best climber when I'm not panicking," he admitted. "But I'll get there eventually!"

"If you say so," Duncan accepted with a shrug. "You wouldn't happen to have some vinegar in your luggage, would you?"

He hummed. "Well… I have salt and vinegar chips, if that helps."

Duncan grimaced. "Thanks, but never mind," he said, walking off. As he did, Owen resumed his climbing efforts with a pained grunt.

However, only ten minutes later did Chris come on over the loudspeaker. "Alright, campers, meet me at the bonfire in ten minutes. And bring your keys."

"Oh, nuggets," Owen muttered, letting go of the tree with a sigh and landing on his feet.

As the campers made it back to the bonfire, Trent and Chris were already there. And even from ten feet away, they could all smell the absolutely horrid stench wafting off Trent.

"Oh my gaaah…" Courtney said, trailing off with a gag. "Couldn't you have at least showered?"

Trent frowned. "I didn't have the time to, okay? That key was really hard to find in there," he defended.

Heather blinked. "Wait. Wasn't it Gwen's challenge to go septic swimming?" she asked.

Gwen rubbed the back of her head. "Sort of. But I hated doing my challenge, and he hated his, so we kind of… swapped," she admitted.

"Wha–? But–! That can't be allowed in the rules, can it?!" Heather demanded, rounding on Chris.

He pulled out a small booklet. Thumbing through it, he kept up the pirate accent as he said "Argh, it be allowed... if the two clever bilge rats be willing to keep the keys they got themselves, rather than each other's."

Gwen and Trent looked at each other, and then they both shrugged. "Fine by me," Trent said.

"Not like we even know what prizes these go to yet, anyway," Gwen added.

Heather crossed her arms and looked away, looking like she had swallowed a lemon. Chris took that opportunity to say "Speaking of loot, it now be the time to claim your precious treasure! Those of ye who were fortunate enough to plunder a key, come forth with it!"

All of the campers except for Owen and Duncan stepped forward, making the former sigh sadly while the latter crossed his arms. As they began testing to see which chests corresponded to which key, the first to open one was Courtney. She reached in and pulled out…

"A leg lamp?" she said, looking it over. "What the heck am I supposed to do with this? The cabins don't have outlets!"

Chris chuckled. "Ye can decorate the communal washrooms with it, if ye and your fellow campers agree."

One look at the others showed they had no intention of looking at that thing each time they showered, a feeling she shared. "Never mind," she ground out.

Lindsay was next to open hers, and pulled out a pair of two-liter bottles of soda. "Um… cool? I suppose it beats the tap water," she said awkwardly.

Heather opened her chest to find a set of cinnamon stick coffee stirrers. "Huh. You know, not that bad," she said with a small smile. "Anything to make the gunk they call coffee around here taste better."

Gwen and Trent opened theirs together, and Gwen pulled out a set of 'coins' while Trent had a bag of chips and a candy bar. "Okay, this is just lame," Trent stated.

Gwen nodded. "Risking mauling by bear or toilet-diving is worth more than these," she said, pulling back the foil on one of the coins. The inside was, in fact, made of chocolate.

That was when Liam cleared his throat, and they turned to see him hold up a bottle of something labeled 'Cleaver Body Spray'. They could also see a series of red welts on his forehead and around his eyes, the one spot he hadn't covered. "I'll take the chips for this," he offered, and tossed Trent the bottle.

Trent caught it and looked up at the redhead in faint surprise. "Um… sure, man. Thanks," he said, tossing the chips bag to Liam.

While that was happening, Daphne had been trying to find a chest that her key worked on. After several failures, however, she said "Alright, why isn't mine working?"

Chris grinned. "Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention that at least one key wouldn't work on any chest," he revealed.

Daphne shot him a look that was completely flat save for the anger in her eyes. "One of these days, Chris, I am going to pay you back," she warned.

However, the host just snorted. "I'll believe it when it happens," he told her.

Then, as Bridgette was smiling over a calligraphy set she had pulled, Izzy opened her chest. Inside was a gift basket, and in that gift basket–"Oh, sweet!" she said, reaching in and pulling out a card with a picture of a marshmallow on it. "Does this mean I won?"

Chris nodded. "Indeed. The brave buccaneer with tonight's immunity be Izzy!" he announced.

"Awesome!" Izzy called, while Daphne said "Whoo!" and Heather reluctantly clapped.

"Now, it be time for ye to go cast your votes. I'll see ye back here after dinner to send one of ye off the Dock!" Chris concluded, making them all roll their eyes at the pirate act.

Before dinner was served, Trent took the time to get that shower as well as use the body spray. Between the two, the stench from the septic tank was mostly eliminated. As he was exiting the cabin, he stopped when he saw Gwen waiting for him outside. "Hey," she greeted with a small smile.

"Hey to you too," he replied with a grin.

She rubbed her arm. "I was thinking. Even if you ended up keeping it, that was still a cool thing you did, taking that swim for me. You didn't have to do that," she said.

Trent rubbed the back of her his head. "Well, yeah, I didn't have to, but I wanted to. You're really cool. And… smart, and independent. And pretty. So I'd take a dive in sewage for you anyday," he said, slowly losing confidence as he realized he wasn't shutting up.

Then Gwen, who's eyebrows had nearly risen into her hairline, suddenly grinned and helped with that. By leaning forward and kissing him.

Trent immediately stopped talking.

When she pulled away both of them grinned before walking to dinner together. However, they were halfway there when they were stopped by, of all people, Lindsay and Owen.

Giving the two of them a smile, Lindsay said “Hey guys, we had this awesome idea.”

After dinner was eaten and the sun had fallen, the campers were gathered before the bonfire once more. Chris began by saying “And now, the moment of truth… marshmallow time! You know the drill: if you’re the camper that doesn’t get a marshmallow, it’s curtains for you!” Chris reminded them.

“First marshmallow goes to Izzy…” She caught it with her teeth and grinned.

“Heather…” She smirked and immediately ate her marshmallow.

“Lindsay…” The blonde caught the marshmallow and clapped at staying in.

“Trent…” He caught his with one hand before smiling at Gwen.

“Liam…” The redhead was mid-yawn when it was thrown, and just leaned forward so it landed in his mouth.

“Bridgette…” She caught her marshmallow and tossed it up and down, saving it later.

“Daphne…” The brunette whipped out her lighter and began roasting her marshmallow.

“Courtney…” She bit into her marshmallow with an pleased but unsurprised expression.

“Gwen…” She gave a smile back to Trent as it was thrown at her, pleased that they weren’t being separated yet.

That left just one marshmallow. Owen and Duncan traded glances, both of them suddenly much less certain of their chances than they were a minute ago.

As Chris looked back and forth between them, he smiled. “Well, I have to say this is a first. Because tonight… we have our first tie!”

Both boys stared. “Huh?!”

Chris nodded. “That’s right, you each received the same number of votes. So, in order to settle this, let me introduce you to our first tiebreaker challenge!” he declared, waving his hand to the side. That was when Chef walked forward, holding out a pair of lights connected to buzzer buttons. Each boy took one, and Chris said “This one is relatively simple: You’ll each be told something about your fellow campers, and you have to guess which of them that fact applies to. First one to get three guesses right gets to live another day!”

Duncan frowned. “Oh come on, man, I just got back last episode! How am I supposed to know anything about these guys?” he complained.

Owen smiled nervously. “Well, uh, out of the people that are left, I haven’t really gotten close to a lot of them either,” he admitted.

“Precisely. We wanted to give you a challenge you both stood a chance at. Now, are you ready?” Chris asked. They both slowly nodded, and he held up a card. “First question: Which camper’s favorite language is Camel?” he asked.

Both of them buzzed in, but Duncan was a hair faster. “Something that silly, it has to be Izzy,” he said.

Said crazy girl giggled. “Guilty as charged,” she said.

“That’s one point for Duncan. Now, Question Two: Which camper auditioned for this show by whistling ‘Yankee Doodle’ through their nose?” Chris asked.

That got both of them to pause. After a moment, Duncan pressed his buzzer and said “Um… Izzy again?”

“Nope, wrong!” Chris told him with a grin.

Owen perked up and pressed his button. “Trent’s a musician, right? Was it him?”

Behind him, Trent scoffed. “I can sing and play the guitar; I’m not gonna whistle during an audition.” he stated.

“Indeed. So, neither of you get that point,” Chris said, tossing that card away. “By the way, it was Bridgette.” At that, Bridgette moaned and threw her hood on, pulling the strings tight and hiding her face. Chris chuckled and continued “Next one: Which camper’s favorite movie is ‘Bloodbath 2: Summer Camp Reign of Terror'?”

Duncan blinked. “Wait a sec. That’s my favorite movie!” he said.

“Is that your official answer?” Chris asked, making him quickly shake his head.

Then Owen pressed his button. “That sounds like a really scary movie… Gwen?”

The goth crossed her arms and smiled. “Good guess,” she said, before looking at Duncan. “And I see someone else here has great taste in horror movies,” she added, making him smile as well.

“Alright, so one point apiece. Now, who here dyes their hair a natural color?” Chris asked.

Neither of them immediately answered, taking a look at the others. Courtney scoffed and flipped her hair, while Liam ran a hand through his. Heather raised an eyebrow, Daphne shook her head… and Lindsay smiled.

At that last one, Duncan smirked and buzzed in. “I always wondered if Lindsay really bleaches her hair,” he said.

“Correct! That's a second point for Duncan; one more and we have a winner!” Chris said.

Lindsay shrugged and leaned back. “I don’t mind if people know. I don't think hair bleaching is any worse than fake tanner or cotton candy lips gloss,” she stated.

Chris cleared his throat. “Moving on: Which camper spent a year in juvie for setting fire to their parent’s garage?” he asked.

Both boys immediately buzzed in. “Daphne,” they said flatly.

The brunette frowned. “Hey, I’m not that reckless with fire!” she protested. "...Usually."

Behind her, Liam remained absolutely silent.

Confessional Stall - Liam

“It was part of a prank war my sister and I were having. I was trying to test a recipe for solid rocket fuel so I could tie a rocket to each corner of her bed and launch her through her skylight. But one of the test samples had an air bubble in it, and when it burst it sent burning fuel everywhere… including onto the other samples,” he admitted, before sighing. “Then things just got out of hand.”

“No, it wasn’t her,” Chris confirmed. “Now, try to guess which camper was once in a band called ‘The Type-A Psychotic Crazies’.”

Owen frowned. “I’m not guessing Izzy or Daphne again…” he said, before looking up. “Wait. Type-A?” He buzzed in. “Courtney!”

“Correct!” Chris replied. “That two points for Owen and two for Duncan. We’re down to wire here.” Both boys leaned forward, and Chris said “Potentially for the game: Of the campers who have not had a fact revealed, which was voted ‘Most Mysterious and Irresistible’ by their junior high graduating class?”

The two of them paused. "Hmm…" Duncan grunted, looking at the other campers again. "I don't know about 'irresistible', but someone voted as 'mysterious'..." he trailed off.

Owen pressed his buzzer. "It's got to be Heather! She's the only girl left those both apply to," he said.

Daphne raised an eyebrow. "I don't know if I should feel insulted by that or not…" she muttered.

Duncan's eyes widened. "Wait, that assumes it was a girl being voted for!" he said before pressing his buzzer. "I say it was Trent!"

Chris looked from one teen to the other. "Those are your final answers?" he asked, and they nodded. "Then the final point goes to…"

…

…

…

"Duncan."

"Yes! Whoo!" Duncan cheered, jumping to his feet and punching the air.

Owen looked down. "Aw, man…" he said, before sighing and looking up. "Well, I'm definitely gonna miss you guys."

"This isn't fair!" Lindsay suddenly called, leaning over and hugging him. "Every friend I make either leaves me alone or gets voted off! Why couldn't you stay?" she said sadly.

The large boy patted her on the back. "Hey, it's not so bad! I had a lot of fun, and if you want to, we can be friends after the show," he offered.

At that, Lindsay perked up. "Oh, I know this one mall with over two hundred stores and a huge food court! We could go shopping there!"

"Sounds like a plan," he agreed, before letting go and beginning to walk towards the Dock. As he passed by Trent, the musician gave him a fist-bump. Then he hopped on the boat and was ferried away from the Island. "Bye, guys!" he called back to them.

"See ya later, man!" Duncan called, waving back along with over half of the other campers.

Chapter 19: Hide, Sneak, Plan, Seek

Chapter Text

Given that the treasure hunt had been (comparatively) light on injuries, the campers were able to use the time between that challenge and the next to relax… and to plan. Case in point, Bridgette had brought both Courtney and Liam into the boathouse away from prying ears.

She crossed her arms and gave the other two a determined look. "Okay, so I did as you asked and didn't vote for Duncan last time. Now that the neutrals don't outnumber us anymore, it's time to try eliminating him. He needs to pay for getting Harold voted off," she said.

Courtney hummed, crossing her arms. "He has made it public that he's gunning for us… I agree," she said.

"Same here," Liam added.

Bridgette nodded. "I figured, and let me tell you why I–" she began, before pausing. "Wait. You're… agreeing with me? Just like that?"

The C.I.T. sniffed. "Just because I'm in charge of this alliance, that doesn't mean I can't listen to good ideas from others. Going after Duncan is a good idea," she stated.

Liam nodded in agreement. "Not to mention that the next best target would be Heather. And I want to be sure we'll succeed before trying to move against her," he said.

Bridgette looked back and forth between the two of them. A smile appeared on her face, and she then placed her hand in between the three of them. After a moment, Liam placed his hand over hers, as did Courtney. "Well, okay then. Tonight's Duncan's last night on this island," she declared, and they both nodded.

Confessional - Bridgette

"You know, after she made that deal with Duncan during the last challenge, I was starting to lose faith in Courtney," she admitted. "But however he managed to squeak by when he came back, he won't succeed this time. I just have to trust my allies."

Confessional - Courtney

"To be honest, I was planning to have us vote for Duncan anyway. Heather may not have his loyalty, but she does have his ear. And letting her keep a third person who could vote against us isn't an option."

Meanwhile, next to the girl's cabin, another group was seated and passing the time.

"This is so great!" Lindsay said, applying her eyeliner while looking into a compact mirror. "Now that we're in an alliance again, you and I can hang out with each other."

Across from her, Gwen paused as she analyzed that sentence. Then she thought back to what the blonde had said at the other night's bonfire. A pained expression grew on her face. "We… did stop hanging out once Leshawna was gone, huh?"

Lindsay nodded, her cheery demeanor dimming. "Yeah… I was pretty bummed about that. Leshawna, Tyler, Owen… Almost every friend I've made has been eliminated before me. And you've got Trent now, so I don't think you'd want me with you in the finals."

Gwen winced. "That…" she started, before trailing off. It was true; between Lindsay or Trent, she'd pick the guitarist as the one to go to the finals with any day. Even so… "That doesn't mean we can't go to the semi-finals together. Wasn't that what you and Leshawna originally teamed up to do?"

Lindsay looked up. "Oh yeah… Back when we were in an alliance with Heather! She said it would only last until it was just the three of us!" she recalled. "So you're saying you, me and Trent can do that?"

"Sure thing," Gwen said. Her conversation with Izzy also flashed through her mind, particularly that part about 'high-energy people'. "And… I'm sorry for ditching you after Leshawna was booted. If you want we could…" Then the goth visibly swallowed. "...Paint each other's nails."

Sure enough, that got wide eyes and a huge gasp from Lindsay. Gwen quickly added "But only if you paint mine black! Or… maybe blue."

Lindsay didn't even bother arguing and just nodded, leaning across the table to pull her into a hug. "Oh, this is going to be great! We'll compete together, give each other mani-pedis… I'm so excited!" she said, flashing Gwen a radiant smile and missing her groan in dismay.

Confessional - Gwen

"Sometimes, having a conscience and caring about other people's feelings really sucks."

After lunch that day, Chris had the campers assemble at the Dock to be told of their next challenge. "Today, you will all be participating in a good old-fashioned game of hide-and-seek. Only, none of you will be doing any seeking, at least at first," he told them. "You get fifteen minutes to hide, and then you will be hunted… by Chef Hatchet."

All of them went stiff. And when a familiar laugh reached them, they turned and looked to see Chef standing there, a vicious grin in place while he held a water gun that, in his arms, looked tiny.

Duncan scoffed. "Ooh, a squirt gun! Very scary," he said sarcastically.

Chris grinned. "Chef, if you would demonstrate?" he asked.

"With pleasure," Chef replied, giving the gun a half dozen pumps. Once it was ready, he turned and fired it at Chris.

The host had just enough time to widen his eyes before a massive torrent of water blasted him. The flood sent him skidding back along the ground and nearly bowled him over. When it came to an end, he was over a dozen feet away and completely soaked. "Not on me!" he yelled.

"...Oops," Chef said.

Walking back over and shaking his head, Chris ignored the snorts and muffled laughter from the campers. "The lifeguard chair here on the Dock is home base. If you're caught by Chef—or one of his helpers—and manage to not be doused, you can try to run back here. But if he sprays you on your way there, you're out," he explained.

"Is that the only way to win?" Courtney asked worriedly.

"And what 'helpers'?" Heather asked suspiciously.

"To answer both, you can also earn immunity either by not being found wherever you're hiding…" Chris replied, making Chef snort at the thought of someone evading him. "Or you can help Chef find someone after you've already been caught. Any of these keeps you off the chopping block tonight. Now, any questions?"

"Um…" Lindsay said, raising her hand.

"And go!" Chris called, and all of the campers except her scattered. A moment later, Lindsay screamed in fear and ran away.

After making a quick pit-stop at her cabin to change into her bathing suit, Courtney ran along the beach for over a minute. Once she had decided she was far enough away, she turned to the water and jumped in, swimming out to where she could dive under the surface.

Gwen spent almost her entire prep time making a blanket of woven grass. Once it was ready, she picked a spot near the totem pole and laid against the ground. With her personal camouflage, she was indistinguishable from the landscape as long as she didn't move.

As Bridgette passed by the bonfire in search of a hiding place, her foot caught on one of the ropes that held up a string of lanterns. However, she had yet to notice, and it began to drag behind her as she kept walking.

As Trent was walking past a cave, he heard a "Psst!" Furrowing his brow, he looked in the direction of the cave entrance. Hearing it again he stepped inside apprehensively… and relaxed. "Oh, hey Duncan," he said.

The punk nodded and waved him over to where he was kneeling on the ground. "Look, man, you and I have got a problem. There's seven chicks left on this island and only three guys."

Trent blinked. "Uh... yeah, I guess there is. But why is that a problem?" he asked.

Duncan resisted the urge to facepalm. "Because, genius, if I'm seeing this then the girls are too. And they'll vote us off one by one," he warned.

The musician frowned. "In that case, shouldn't we have Liam here as well?"

"Ideally, yes. But I don't trust that guy as far as I could throw him," he admitted. "You, on the other hand, I know plays things straight. And I saw that you and Gwen have started holding hands during meals."

Trent blushed and rubbed the back of his head. Even if they weren’t being public about their relationship, they weren’t being subtle either. But he wasn't about to feel bad about that. "What can I say? She rocks my world," he said.

Duncan shrugged. "I'm not knocking you for it, man. The opposite, really: just you and me wouldn't be enough. But if you, me and Gwen team up in an alliance, we can start voting all the other girls off. Like Courtney."

"..."

Trent was silent. How exactly did one turn down an alliance without saying you were already in one? And given his track record up to this point, he didn't imagine the mohawk-ed teen would take it well.

When it seemed like he wasn't going to respond, Duncan frowned. "Or we can vote for Courtney later," he offered. "There's Heather and her alliance; nothing but chicks there."

He grimaced. "I'll… talk to Gwen about it. I don't want to say yes without her," he dodged. "Plus, we don't even know if either Courtney or Heather will have immunity yet."

At that, Duncan reluctantly inclined his head. "Fair enough. Just let me know soon, alright? I don't like being left out of the loop," he said.

Trent smiled, doing his best to not look nervous. "Uh, sure, man! I'll get back to you on that real soon," he promised.

"Great," Duncan said. "Now get going."

His smile vanished. "Huh?"

Duncan smirked. "This is my hiding spot, man. I'm not looking to share and get us both caught."

Once the timer was up, Chef started in the woods to look for campers. However, no more than fifteen feet behind him was Izzy.

A wide grin on her face, Izzy timed her steps to match with Chef's, using the sound of his own footsteps to cover her own. When he stopped walking, so did she. When he kneeled to aim or check for tracks, she mimed his movements. Every once in a while, Chef would check behind him. Whenever he did, Izzy was quick to dive behind a bush, rock or tree. And once he decided the coast was clear, she'd emerge to openly tail him again.

After being told by Chris that neither her bed or a bathroom stall were good hiding spots, Lindsay had moved behind a tree near the lodge. As she stood there and tried to make her arms look like branches, she spotted Trent approaching the building from the south. When she saw him jump and grab the side of the roof to pull himself up, she gasped. What an awesome idea!

However, no sooner had he gotten his head up when he heard a voice whisper "Trent!"

Looking up, he blinked. "Daphne? What are you doing here?" he asked, seeing her lying flat on the roof and dressed in all red to blend in.

The brunette scoffed. "This has been Izzy and I's hiding spot since before she was eliminated," she told him. "Where do you think we hang out between challenges?"

"Honestly? I thought you two kept going into the woods so Izzy can hunt stuff," he answered.

Daphne opened her mouth, then paused. "...Okay, not a bad guess," she admitted. "Anyway, hurry up and go find somewhere else! Before Chef sees you!"

Trent frowned. "Alright, alright. Jeez," he said, letting go and landing back on the ground.

As he walked to the front, however, another voice said "Trent! Hey!" Turning to look at them, he saw that it was Lindsay. "What a coincidence! We can hide together now!" she said excitedly.

"Yeah… about that," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't think it would be a great idea if we stuck together. The others are right; Chef could find us if we–" he began, before freezing. Chef had entered his field of view, and was walking towards the lodge. "Oh, crap!" Trent said, eyes darting around for a place to hide. When he looked down, he noticed a gap between the lodge stairs on the ground. "Quick! In here!" he said, pulling her under the stairs with him.

Both of them stood still, holding their breath and waiting to see if they had been spotted. Chef walked closer, reached the bottom of the steps… and then walked into the lodge. Not ten seconds later, Izzy emerged from behind a bush and also went inside.

Trent sighed. "That was too close. You need to come up with your own hiding spot, Lindsay," he told her.

She pouted. "But…" she said before hanging her head. "Okay." She crawled back out from under the lodge, taking a short walk over to the girls' cabin… and then hid under the steps there.

The only reason Trent didn't face-palm was because he was afraid of the noise it would create. A good thing too, as the front door to the lodge slammed open a moment later, Heather running out and screaming. Chef ran out after her, pumping his water gun. She began sprinting for the lifeguard seat, and he ran after her long enough to get a bead on her movement. Then he stopped and took aim.

Although Heather was still shouting in fear, that wasn't loud enough to cover the roar of rushing water. And when she looked back, she received a faceful of it as Chef doused her, sending her to the ground. Chef then walked over and placed one foot on her chest, striking a victory pose.

Inside the boathouse, Chef looked around and didn't immediately see any sign of people. The supplies were all still there, he didn't spot any hairs on the ground or signs that anything had been moved. Just nearly a dozen supply crates… "Hmm," he said, walking towards the closest one.

Once he was close enough, he could see that the lid was still nailed to it. Still, he didn't put it past one of these teens to get creative and have someone else nail them in. Placing his water gun to the side, he grabbed the lid with both hands. A quick pull and he easily ripped it off, showing that the crate was full of duck bait. Placing the lid back on, he then moved to the next crate and repeated the process.

Four crates into this, and Chef pulled open one to see it filled with nets. But behind him, the lid to another crate quietly rose before coming back down, leaving it half-open. Then a familiar head of red hair peeked out, seeing that Chef's back was currently facing him.

Not trusting himself to breathe quietly enough, Liam held his breath and raised one foot outside the crate. He carefully then placed it on the wooden floor, put his weight on it, and relaxed just a hair when it didn't make any noise. He then leaned forward, pulled his other foot out, and set that one down.

*Creeeak*

Chef stood straight, and Liam didn't waste time trying to run out the door or even curse. Instead he took a deep breath and lunged forward even as Chef was turning around, diving through the boathouse's fishing hole and into the water.

Chef grinned. "Got you now!" he said, before running outside.

Underwater, Liam tried to stay far enough beneath the surface to not be seen. He swam in the direction of the Dock, knowing his only chance now was to touch home base. Luckily, the Dock and boathouse were intentionally close to each other. However, once he was close enough to the Dock, he began to make out a shape in the water. Without goggles, it wasn't easy to make it out but he could tell it was under the Docks and near the surface. Then, once it became clearer, he realized it wasn't something treading the water, but some one. Someone in a bathing suit he recognized.

Deciding to leave them be for now, he swam up to break the surface next to the Docks. And found Chef waiting for him, water gun aimed and ready.

"Well, darn," Liam muttered, taking a breath before Chef sent him back under with a blast of water.

While Chef had Heather and Liam wait for him on the steps outside, he decided to double-check the lodge for any more campers.

Given that he had found Heather in the kitchen, he started there, including inside the refrigerator. Nothing. Once the kitchen was clear, he checked the chimney in the dining hall. No one there either. Under the tables was also clear. With no other places in there to hide, he began to walk towards the door.

Until, from above, he heard a muffled "Achoo!" Chef looked up, and his expression turned surprised at seeing Izzy holding herself up against the ceiling.

As she rubbed her nose, she noticed him looking. "Oh… guess you heard that, huh?" she said with a nervous laugh. Then her nervousness vanished and she let go, falling down with a "YAAAAAH!" She landed on Chef's shoulders feet-first, sending him crashing to the ground while she jumped off, flipped forward and landed on her feet.

Chef quickly stood and glared at Izzy. Shaking himself off, he looked down at his water gun with a contemplative look. Then he tossed it aside. Seeing that, Izzy stopped tensing for a sprint and turned to face him. The two of them locked gazes, neither saying a word. Chef popped the joints in his hands, and Izzy did the same with both her hands and neck.

A beat passed in silence. And then, with a battle cry, Izzy charged forward. A quick flurry of blows were exchanged as both of them blocked and countered the other. Chef, towering over Izzy, attempted a haymaker punch. She ducked under his massive arm and delivered a swift kick to his shin. Chef winced in pain but retaliated with a left hook that grazed Izzy's cheek.

Izzy danced back, knowing her agility was her best weapon. She darted forward, landing a jab to Chef's midsection. He grunted but showed no signs of slowing down. He charged at her with a roar, attempting to tackle her to the ground. She sidestepped the charge, letting him crash into the wall behind her. Chef staggered back, and Izzy used that moment to leap onto his back, getting him in a chokehold.

Chef struggled, trying to dislodge her, but Izzy held on with surprising strength. He turned and backed up, slamming her between him and the wall, yet she still refused to let go. Spots started to dance in his vision, and Chef swayed on his feet. Suddenly, Izzy let go, and he stumbled forward while gasping for air. Once he had enough to speak, he turned around to ask why she released him… only to see his own water gun aimed at him.

Izzy giggled. "See ya!" she called, and fired a geyser of water that sent him flying through the room and into the kitchen.

She then immediately turned and ran out the front door. Liam and Heather shot to their feet at her appearance, both appearing startled. She ignored them and kept running. "Good luck eliminating me now!" she called, holding the water gun above her head.

Chef charged out of the Lodge after her a moment later, and they both followed. Izzy made it the start of the Dock before she tossed the water gun to the side, letting it fall in the water. Chef ignored it and ran after her, shouting "You're not getting away!"

She made it to the end of the Dock, the lifeguard chair to her right. Rather than run, she lunged forward. "Safe!" she called.

But Chef yelled "No!" and lunged as well. His jump took him across the docks, tackling her in mid-air.

Both of them were sent into the water with a massive splash. After they both vanished underwater, Heather and Liam ran up to the edge of the Dock. Several waves were kicked up from below, and they could make out the shape of the duo fighting underwater. "Wow, those two are really going at it," Heather remarked.

Liam began to nod, before stopping as he noticed something emerging on the Docks behind them next to the chair. Humming, he said "It looks like a very exciting fight."

Heather nodded. "Shame we can't see it from here." That was when she heard someone clearing her throat. Turning around, she had just enough time to register Courtney standing there before she felt a hand grab her shoulder.

"Let me help with that," Liam said, and shoved her off the Dock into the water. She gave a startled shout that was cut off as she fell in, and he looked over at Courtney.

The C.I.T. gasped. "Oh, no, it appears I've been spotted!" she said over-dramatically. "Whatever shall I do? That is…" Then she leaned forward and grabbed the side of the chair. "Except have victory in arm's reach," she finished triumphantly.

He chuckled. "Was hiding next to home base your plan the whole time?" he asked.

Courtney nodded. "I was going to wait until Chef caught someone and started walking away, but then he fell right in. It was too good a chance," she said.

That was when Heather rose out of the water, eyes practically on fire from how intense her glare was. "You two are so dead!" she warned them.

All Courtney responded with was "Hmph!" before walking away with a pleased smirk and her nose up. Liam watched her go, an amused grin on his own face.

Confessional Stall - Liam

"Courtney and I didn't even need to communicate for me to know she wanted me to throw Heather off the dock. I tell you, she's turning into a very ruthless woman. And it's great."

Once Chef made it back out of the water and recovered his gun, the hunt resumed with Heather, Izzy and Liam in tow.

The next camper was almost too easy to find–all they had to do was follow the trail of lanterns laid out along the ground. That led them to a rock on the ground slightly below the bonfire area. And standing behind that rock was Bridgette.

As Chef crept closer, he stopped at seeing a pack of skunks also there. Bridgette noticed them as well and went stiff. "Nice skunks… No need to be scared…" she said gently, backing away.

That pulled on the lantern rope wrapped around her ankle, which chose that moment to go taut. The wooden pole it was attached to was pulled over, where it hit the oil drum Chris stood behind during the marshmallow ceremonies. That drum was in turn knocked away, rolling down the sloped ground and falling off right next to the skunks. As it slammed down next to them with a loud clatter, the skunks responded the way they knew best: by spraying the most visible 'threat', Bridgette.

"Aaaah!" she screamed, eyes watering and nostrils burning at the stench.

Chef decided to pick up a stick and poke her shoulder with it rather than get close. She turned around to face him, and he felt a flicker of empathy. "Technically, I don't have to spray you, but…" he said trailing off.

But Bridgette shook her head. "Spray me! Please!" she begged. He nodded and gave the gun a full dozen pumps before firing, leaving Bridgette completely soaked through.

She smiled… and the smell returned and she slumped. "I hope Trent has some of that body spray left," she muttered.

After that incident, Chef was walking back to camp when he quite literally stepped on Gwen.

"Ow!" she shouted, jumping up and rubbing her ankle. Then she noticed Chef, who flashed her a grin. She sighed and hung her head in defeat.

Chef then returned to camp, and she followed him with the others. When he arrived, Chef stopped and licked a finger before holding it up. Wind direction determined, he then moved between the cabins and sniffed the air. He hummed. "I smell… cotton candy lip gloss," he remarked. He sniffed again, then turned in the direction of the girls' cabin. Once he was in front of the door, he began reaching for the door then stopped.

He shifted his weight from one foot, then the other, feeling how the wood under him creaked. Then he turned and walked halfway down the steps before raising one foot. He swiftly brought it back down, and was rewarded with a bang and an "Owie!"

Grinning, Chef dropped to one knee and looked under the steps, finding Linday lying there and rubbing her head. "That hurt!" she said, before looking up and freezing at the sight of him. "Um… I'm supposed to run now, right?"

Chef nodded, and she screamed before darting out from under the steps. However, she made it all of ten paces before Chef blasted her with water from behind. Nodding in satisfaction, he said "While I'm at it…" and pumped his gun again before firing directly on the steps to the boys' cabin. He repeated this with the lodge steps, and that time he heard Trent's voice call "Aw, man!" before the guitarist crawled into view.

"Just two to go!" Chef declared happily, and turned away from the camp towards the woods. Save for one, all the captured campers followed. Once he was in the forest, he checked the wind direction again and sniffed for any smells. He even tasted a handful of dirt, making most of the campers cringe in disgust. However, his efforts were rewarded with a single hair he found along the ground. A single green hair.

Five minutes later, with no help from the others, Chef made it to a cave and walked inside. A moment passed, then they heard Duncan say "Alright, you got me! Now let me go!"

He was carried out of the bear cave. Chef, who was holding him up by the back of his shirt, said "You gonna try to run for it if I do?"

The punk reluctantly shook his head, and only then did Chef release him. Looking around, Chef said "Now the only one left to find is–"

"Hey! I found Daphne!" they hear a voice call. Looking in the direction it came from, they saw Izzy and Daphne walking to them. The former was grinning while the latter had her arms crossed.

"Should have known you'd check our spot," Daphne muttered, pouting.

Chef nodded approvingly. "Well, at least one of y'all can find someone," he said.

That was when Chris came on the loudspeaker. "Okay, campers, the game is over. And immunity tonight goes to Izzy and Courtney!" he declared. "Time for all of you to pick someone else to send home."

At dinner that night, Duncan was continuing his trend of sitting at a different table from Courtney's group. This put him across the other table from Heather.

She leaned forward, getting his attention. "Owen getting eliminated last week was good; it brought the number of neutrals down to three. I think we should hit them while they're down and eliminate Lindsay. Sound good?" she asked.

Duncan was silent for a moment. Then, to her surprise, he nodded. "Sounds like a smart idea," he agreed. "I'm in."

Heather did her best to stop from looking victorious. Even so, she had a smile as she replied "Great. Then my alliance will vote for her too."

She then focused on eating, missing Duncan's smirk.

Confessional Stall - Duncan

"Heather might say that she just wants to vote for Lindsay to weaken the neutrals. But my alliance with Trent is already paying off, because he told me something he heard while hiding under the lodge: the real reason."

Earlier that day…

While Chef inspected the interior of the Lodge, he left Liam and Heather outside. As they sat on the steps, the redhead turned to her. "So… Courtney was wondering if you had decided who you were going to vote for," he began.

Heather hummed, looking over at him and she leaned back. "Possibly… Who have you guys decided on?"

He waved his hand. "We haven't. At the moment, we're trying to decide whether to vote for Duncan… or for you,"he claimed. "If you voted for Duncan as well, that would sway things."

The queen bee stared at him, before eventually snorting. "I can't tell if you're being bold or an idiot, making a threat like that," she stated.

Liam shrugged. "I only speak on Courtney's behalf. If you vote for Duncan, so will we."

"I see… But there is another option," she said. When Liam raised an eyebrow, she said "My side and Duncan can vote for Lindsay, Gwen or Trent."

"...That assumes you can convince him to vote for one of them. I've yet to see a time when Duncan argued with any of them." Liam pointed out.

"True. But consider: every alliance left has three people in it. You, Courtney and Bridgette; me, Izzy and Daphne; Trent, Gwen and Lindsay," Heather said.

Liam opened his mouth to ask how she was certain the neutrals had joined together, then thought better of it. "So… whoever manages to get Duncan has the most votes."

"Exactly. He won't side with you guys, he dislikes you and Courtney too much. And he might get along with Trent and Gwen… but if I can get him to vote for Lindsay, they'll go down to two. Then even he'll have to recognize that siding with them is a losing decision," Heather explained. Then she grinned. "So you see, I don't need to vote with you all anymore. I have everything I need to take over. So you can consider our cease-fire effectively over. "

Liam stared at her. "...And that's the response I can take back to Courtney?" he asked warningly.

"Nothing would satisfy me more," Heather said. "I'd love to see her fume as I take the lead in this game."

Duncan crossed his arms. "Trying to make me dependent on her by weakening the other side? Not a bad plan, Heather. But I won't be reliant on anyone again. So Trent and I agreed: That chick is going down," he finished, slamming a fist into his palm.

At the bonfire pit that night, Chris had one seat moved at least ten feet from the others. That seat went to Bridgette; unfortunately, Trent had used all the body spray to get rid of his own odor, leaving her to smell like skunk. Even with the additional distance, however, it was still potent enough for the others to use one hand to cover their noses.

"Well, campers, all of you made it into the top ten," Chris began. "But my plate has only nine marshmallows, as only nine of you may proceed. One of you will be going home and cannot return." When the teens gave him doubtful looks, he added "For real this time."

"Bridgette…" She nodded and collected her marshmallow, having expected it.

"Gwen…" The goth accepted her marshmallow before casting a curious look in Heather's direction.

"Daphne…" She grinned and caught in her marshmallow with her free hand.

"Izzy…" Not having cared about the smell, she used both hands to catch hers.

"Courtney…" She took her marshmallow and bit into it, smiling at the taste of victory.

"Trent…" He took his and moved to stand next to Gwen, both of them smiling at each other.

"Liam…" He caught the marshmallow and stood behind Courtney, looking at the remaining three with an expectant expression.

"Next marshmallow goes to… Lindsay." While the blonde cheered and grabbed a marshmallow, Heather stood straight, her previous confidence gone.

"And the final camper to stay is…"

…

…

…

"Heather."

The queen bee sighed and walked over for her marshmallow. Duncan, meanwhile, yelled "What!" and jumped to his feet. "That is bull, man! I know for a fact that at least four of us voted for her, including me!" he said, pointing at Heather.

Her eyes widened. "Excuse me?" she demanded. "You said you'd vote for Lindsay!" she shot back.

He crossed his arms. "And you expected me to play along with your little scheme to make me stay on your side?" he asked, making her tense. "Yeah, I heard about it. But more importantly…" he said, turning back to Chris. "I want to know who voted for me!"

Chris frowned. "I am not required to tell you how the votes turned out other than who lost," he said frankly. "In fact…" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of papers–the voting slips. Chris then turned and tossed them in the bonfire, where they quickly went up in flames.

Duncan glared at Chris. "Well, you're gonna have to put me on that Boat yourselves, 'cause I do not accept this garbage," he declared.

"That can be arranged," Chris said, and snapped his fingers.

Chef walked into view behind Duncan, grabbing him by the arms and lifting him up. To his credit, the punk didn't try to struggle as he was carried down the Dock of Shame and tossed onto the Loser Boat. Chef then climbed in after him, heading for the front.

As he stood, Duncan dusted himself off. "I swear, I'm gonna find out how I got booted off. And if someone is responsible, I'm gonna make them pay."

Those words lingered even as the Boat started and carried him away, making one or more campers appear slightly nervous.

Chapter 20: Wheels within Wheels

Chapter Text

At breakfast the next morning, Heather had her alliance seated far away from the others to give them privacy.

"Last night did not go as planned," she whispered. "It was supposed to be Gwen that took the fall, not Duncan."

"And don't forget the part where Duncan said he voted for you instead of with us," Daphne reminded her. "That one caught me off guard."

Izzy hummed. "That's the other thing. Duncan said four people, including himself, voted for Heather. If that's true, that means it had to have been five people that voted for him. Which is impossible, since we all voted for Gwen."

"Exactly," Heather agreed. "If there were three other people that supposedly voted alongside him, it would have been either Courtney's alliance or Gwen and Trent's. If it was Courtney's… I can believe that they double-crossed him like they did before."

Daphne frowned. "Or maybe Gwen and Trent were the ones that did the double-crossing," she suggested. Then she sighed. "Too bad there's not a way to find out besides asking, and I doubt they'd tell us."

Heather paused. "Yeah… Too bad," she said, looking over at the island's latest couple.

To pass the time before the next challenge, the remaining campers had agreed to a game of Frisbee with each other. Well, Bridgette had suggested the game, and most of the others had agreed. The ones sitting out were, not surprisingly, Gwen, Lindsay and Liam.

The last one was lying with his head hanging off the side of the Dock, watching the game upside-down and enjoying the sensation as blood pooled in his head again. About ten feet from him was Gwen, who was writing in what he now knew was her journal. Occasionally, he would catch her looking up at the game. Or more specifically, at Trent. And Lindsay was next to her, swinging a fly swatter.

The blonde had her tongue between her teeth as she aimed. "Just. Stay. Still!" she said, swinging over and over yet missing the fly every time. As it flew over to land on top of Gwen's journal, the goth reached up to brush it away. Only for Lindsay to accidentally smack her hand as she tried.

"Ow!" Gwen yelped, pulling back her hand and glaring at Lindsay.

"Oops. Sorry!" she said, frowning worriedly.

A moment passed, and then Gwen sighed. "Just… be careful with that, okay?" she said, not quite on board with Lindsay having anything that even could be used as a weapon.

"I will, promise!" Lindsay declared confidently. Then she leaned forward. "Whatcha writing about?"

Gwen raised an eyebrow. "The whole point of a private journal is to write down your private thoughts. The ones you don't share with others," she explained.

"Oooh," Lindsay replied. "Like how I never told anyone how unhealthy I think your skin looks, but that it still goes great with your hair?" she said. Then she blinked, realizing what just happened. "Um…"

The goth slowly inhaled through her nose, then exhaled. "...Some things like that, yeah," she sighed. "Which is why I don't let anyone see it," she said.

"Okay, I get it," Lindsay told her. Just then, the fly flew back, and she said "While I give you some privacy…" Then she jumped to her feet and chased after the fly, yelling "Ha! Ya! Nyah!" with each swing of her swatter.

Liam chuckled at the scene before focusing on the game. Daphne tossed the disc at Izzy, who leaped up and caught it with one hand. Then she spun and launched it at Heather, who grunted as she caught it.

"So…" she said, lightly tossing it to Trent. "With Duncan gone, each alliance has an equal number of people. Which means the next elimination could end up being a three-way-tie."

"Maybe so," the guitarist said. After sizing up each target, he eventually threw it to Courtney. "Makes me wonder what Chris would do for a tie-breaker in that case."

The C.I.T. grunted. "That's if he even does a tie-breaker instead of forcing us to re-vote," she pointed out. "I can see him making us go through that multiple times instead of getting off his butt to make a whole new challenge."

That got Bridgette to chuckle. "I can see that, too," she agreed. "Whatever it is, it'll probably have something to do with the next challenge. Think this one will allow multiple winners, too?"

Daphne opened her mouth to provide her thoughts on that. However, that was when the intercom came on, as if talking about Chris too much conjured him. They all looked in the direction of it, and the Frisbee clocked her on the side of the head. "Morning, campers!" Chris cheerily called. "Your next challenge awaits you at the arts and crafts center. Be there in one hour!"

Rubbing her temple, the pyromaniac said "Well, that sort-of answers that question. Whatever it is, we're making stuff."

Izzy grinned. "This is gonna be great, then. I can make just about anything with the right tools. Like that bear costume I used; I made that with just a needle, thread and real bear fur!"

Heather looked at her. "For that to happen, you'd have needed to get the fur from a bear…" she began, before trailing off at seeing the orange-haired girl's grin. "Which I can completely believe."

Confessional Stall - Courtney

"I hate saying Heather's right about anything, but she does have a point. Everyone is on even footing right now. And what's more, since she called off our 'non-aggression pact', I can't be certain we'll vote for the same person anymore. Not having a majority makes me nervous."

An hour later, the teens were gathered at a picnic table next to a small shed. Once Chris arrived on his ATV, he said "Welcome to the arts and crafts center!"

Lindsay tilted her head. "It's kind of… small," she observed.

"Yeah. It used to be an outhouse, but now it's where Chef keeps his roadhog," he told her. As he opened it, they were all given a look at said motorcycle, which seemed to sparkle from how clean and waxed it was.

Trent whistled. "Now that's a nice bike," he stated.

Daphne grinned. "I'm loving the red paint and flame decals," she added.

Even Liam slowly nodded. "It certainly looks expensive."

Chris smiled and closed the door. "Now that you've seen what a great bike looks like, I'll tell you today's challenge: building your own wheels," he told them. He waved his hand next to the shed, where they noticed some interns moving over a pile of broken bicycles. "Once you've collected the parts you need, use any props here in the center to trick them out. And to prove I'm a nice guy, I'll even give you all a manual."

He held up the manual before tossing it in their direction, then hopping on his ATV. As the book came back down, Heather caught it and immediately grimaced. "Ew! It's furry!" she exclaimed, tossing it back up. This close, they could see that it was covered in patches of mold, making them all reluctant to catch it.

All of them, that is, except Izzy. She caught it with both hands and said "Ooh, spores. Cool!"

Heather stared at her for a moment, but refrained from commenting for the sake of their alliance. Courtney took one look at the molding manual, then said "I'll be back," before walking back in the direction of camp.

Chris chuckled. "You all have a few hours to put together and customize your bikes. And by the way, it would be to your advantage to both make them look good and for you to perform well," he told them, before driving off.

Heather, seeing her chance, said "Last dibs on the arts and crafts, and first on the parts! I call it!" and immediately headed for the pile of parts. That left the others to start by picking through the shed for decorations and accessories, leaving Chef's motorcycle alone.

Once he got a crack at the parts, Liam frowned as he held up a partially-bent wheel. "Okay, this should be relatively simple. Two wheels, two pedals, two handles, a frame and a chain. No need to get fancy here," he muttered to himself.

Lindsay, on the other hand, almost immediately found a bell. Trying it out, it rang with perfect clarity, making her smile. "I can use this to make my dream bike!" she declared. Turning to Gwen, she explained "Every Christmas, I'd ask Santa for a Sunset Sally Bike, but I'd never get one!"

Gwen glanced over at her. "That's… a bit sad, actually," she admitted. "I just planned on making mine scary-looking."

Behind them, Heather sighed.

Confessional Stall - Heather

"You know, I'm starting to miss the old days where Lindsay was in my alliance. Sure, I had to explain just about everything to her, but having someone at my beck and call was nice," she said, before frowning. "But since Daphne and Izzy are so close, I can't be too pushy to one without the other noticing." She brought a hand to her chin. "I need to think of a way to pull Lindsiot back in."

As she had called final dibs on the arts and crafts center, Heather went inside and closed the door behind her once it was her turn. She took a wrench inside with her. Meanwhile, Gwen loaded the parts for her bike into a box. As she did, Trent came up next to her and said "I've never put a bicycle together before. Have you?"

She shook her head. "No, but I'm gonna learn fast," she said. "I made a promise to Lindsay. And more than that, I want us to make it to the finals now. So I can't afford to quit."

That got to him to smile. "Me neither. Even if it means reading the dirty… moldy… disgusting manual," he said, his grin starting to falter.

Suddenly, they heard Courtney call "I'm back!" When they turned to look at her, they saw that her hands were covered in plastic gloves while she had a respirator mask on her face. Although the mask mostly covered it, they could see the lines around her eyes as she grinned. "It's amazing what Chef keeps in his kitchen if you ask nicely."

Gwen and Trent looked at her, then at each other… and then they also started walking towards camp.

Chuckling, the C.I.T. turned to where Izzy was standing. "Izzy, do you mind if I borrow that manual?" she asked.

"Sure thing!" Izzy replied, tossing it over. "I finished making my bike anyway," she added. She then pulled away a section of brush to reveal a completely finished bike made of wood and struts of metal, with one regular wheel and one wooden one. It also had a second seat in front of the first despite having only one set of pedals. "Hey, Daph, want to try it out with me?" she asked.

Daphne grinned. "Heck yeah!" she replied, running over and hopping in the front seat.

"Awesome! With my leg strength and both our weight, this thing will really be moving! Woo-hoo!" Izzy stated.

"Sounds fun. Let's see how fast this thing can go," the brunette said, leaning forward to grab the handles.

Behind her, Izzy leaned back. "Three, two, one… Banzai!" she called, pushing the pedal down hard. The bike immediately shot forward, making her cackle while Daphne whooped in delight.

The wind whipped past them, and Daphne spotted that they were quickly running out of ground. "Incoming cliff!" she called, before grinning. "Full speed ahead!"

Izzy grinned as well. "Of course!" she called, maintaining their speed as they both went over the edge, all the other campers staring at them as they did.

Confessional Stall - Daphne

"The moment we went over that cliff, my heart was going so fast I thought it was going to explode! This is the kind of rush I joined this show for!" she exclaimed. "I don't even care who gets immunity this time. 'Cause no matter what, I still won today."

Before Bridgette even began to put together her bike, she first made sure she had the right safety equipment. Her luck was bad enough when she was on land and on her feet. Adding wheels into the mix was not something she was excited over. After finding a rock and raising her helmet, she brought it down on the rock several times over. When she held the helmet up and saw barely a scratch, she smiled. "Perfect," she said. Next up was a set of pads for her knees and elbows. Once all that was done, then she could start putting a bike together.

Not far from where Bridgette was testing/making her gear, Liam was still digging through the pile of parts. He had a deep frown on his face, which momentarily switched to a grin as he spotted something. "Aha!" he said, reaching into the parts and pulling out… a broken set of brakes.

His frown immediately returned. "Can I find one set of brakes that aren't busted?" he muttered. He had found a chain drive in serviceable condition, which meant he would be able to at least get his bike to go forward. But at some point he'd like to, you know, stop doing that, preferably without crashing into something.

As Bridgette watched him dive back into the pile, she glanced back at the planks of wood and padding she had been planning to make her guards with. "Maybe I need a bit more…" she muttered.

Meanwhile, as Liam continued searching, he did not fail to notice the sounds of something heavy being moved inside the crafts center. He blinked. 'The only thing in there that large and heavy…' he thought. He looked over to where Courtney was laying all the pieces for her bike out in order on the ground. She caught his gaze and he tilted his head towards the building, before imitating revving a throttle.

Courtney frowned, then nodded and stood up. Once she was in front of the building, she grabbed the door handle and tried to pull it open to no effect. It was locked. Eyes narrowing, she knocked on the door and called "Heather, what's going on in there?"

The noises paused, and then Heather's voice came out from inside. "I'm getting the stuff for my bike, remember? f you want another turn, you can just wait until I'm done," she snapped.

"Uh huh…" Courtney replied. "You do remember that Chris only said we could use props from there, right? I trust that's the only thing you're getting."

At that, the noises paused again, and Heather took a moment longer to reply. "...And what do you plan to do about it if I'm not?"

She smirked. "That depends. How much do you think me not telling Chris is worth?" she asked.

Silence again. Then there was a click and the door unlocked and was swung open. Heather stood there with her arms crossed. Over her shoulder, the C.I.T. could see Chef's bike partially dismantled, confirming her suspicions. Heather gave her a small glare, and shot back "What do you want?"

Grinning, Courtney said "I keep quiet about you using Chef's bike to improve your own… and you vote for Lindsay tonight."

Heather managed to avoid stiffening, only quirking an eyebrow. There was no way she was agreeing to that. But… "Out of curiosity, why her?" she asked.

Courtney tilted her head, debating whether or not to share. After some thought, she shrugged and said "It's because of Gwen and Trent." The look of curiosity on Heather's face grew, and she continued "You told Liam that the three of them are in alliance together. But if Lindsay is eliminated, it will be just the two of them. At that point, even they'll admit that they can't survive without choosing a side."

Heather hummed, connecting the dots. "And you think you can convince them to side with you? Why not with me?" she countered.

Courtney's smirk grew. "Because if I have to, I'll tell them how I helped you get rid of Leshawna," she declared.

Heather went stiff, eyes widening. "You wouldn't dare. Gwen will be just as mad at you for that as she would at me," she shot back.

"I don't think so," the C.I.T. replied. "See, Leshawna and I openly disliked each other. If Gwen finds out that I voted for her, that'll come as no surprise. But if she finds out that you also did, well…"

The two of them stared at each other, neither breaking their gazes. Heather's stare was angered, while Courtney's was smug.

Almost a full minute passed before one of them spoke. "So…" Heather began. "Just so the terms are clear: you tell no one about me voting for Leshawna or dismantling Chef's bike. In exchange, my alliance and I vote for Lindsay."

Courtney paused for a split-second. The promise to not mention Leshawna wasn't in her initial offer. Nor was including Izzy and Daphne’s votes, but it was a reasonable enough trade that she wasn't surprised by it. That kind of negotiation made her respect for Heather rise just a tad. "That's right. Deal?" she said, extending her hand.

Heather grunted and reluctantly shook it. "Deal. Now get out of here before someone comes back!" she said, before slamming the door in her face.

Courtney just smiled and walked back to where her parts were. Things were going great.

A while later, Chris called over the loudspeaker for them to gather and present their assembled bikes. First up was Heather's bike, to which he gave a nod of approval. The entire frame was made of wood and had very little accessories save for a pillow seat and a green bag suspended above the drivetrain. "Very aerodynamic, Heather," he complimented.

She grinned. "And it only weighs two pounds!" she added proudly.

Courtney resisted the urge to glare at her, glancing down at the bag, then at a red button Heather had between her handle bars. But immunity wouldn't matter tonight… assuming she kept her word.

Then Chris walked over to her bike. Her's appeared plain but completely functional, painted a simple red and making him hum. "You know, if I didn't know better, I'd think you pulled this thing straight out of the manual," he said.

"Well, I did follow it word-for-word," she admitted.

The host shrugged. "Suppose I can't argue with that, even if it means your bike has no character," he replied, moving on and ignoring her frown. As he came to Gwen, he smiled. "This, on the other hand, is a bike with style ." Gwen's bike, like Izzy's, had one wooden wheel and one normal one. The front fork had been made with a prop bone, while a ram skull was placed between the handlebars. And attached to the back were two large bat wings made of canvas. "This spooky beauty got a name?" Chris asked.

Gwen crossed her arms, considering. "How about… Wings of Night?" she said, before nodding in confirmation.

Chris grinned. "Nice," he said, getting her to smile before he moved to the next bike: Bridgette's. Once he got a good look at it, be paused. "Um… is there a reason I see two sets of brakes on this thing?" he inquired. Not only that, but there was a spare wheel hanging from the back, all the wheels were all-terrain, and Bridgette herself was wearing a helmet, elbow and knee pads and a padded vest.

Rubbing her arm nervously, she said "Well, I built mine with safety in mind first. The extra brakes are in case the first ones fail, the wheel is in case one of them is damaged. And all this…" She waved at hand at herself. "Is for when I probably wipe out."

After a moment, Chris nodded. "Guess I can understand all that. Lame, but understandable," he concluded. Giving her bike a pass, he arrived at Lindsay's. That one had a prop purple horse head on the front as well as a broom sticking out the back as a 'tail' and purple tassels hanging from the handles.

Giving Chris an excited smile, she said “Go ahead, ring the bell!" Somewhat amused, Chris did just that and was rewarded with a satisfying ring. "If this were the real Sunset Sally, it would have also gone 'neeiggh'!" she explained.

"Hmm. Creative and functional. I approve," Chris said. With that, he moved on to the penultimate bike, Liam's. What greeted him was a bike… that looked almost identical to Courtney's, except that it didn't even have the red paint coating. "You just followed the manual too, huh?" he asked flatly.

Liam shrugged. "If it's not broken, don't fix it," he said.

Chris shook his head and moved on, reaching the last bike. This one made him smile. It had decals of musical notes and crudely painted waves on its frame, while the seat had deep cushions and a back for leaning on. There was also a guitar-shaped basket mounted on the back, though Trent had not put his guitar at risk by bringing it. "Pretty chill ride, my dude. I like it a lot."

Trent pumped his fist. "Awesome, man," he said, giving the seat a rub. "I can't wait to ride it."

Chris grinned. "Well, you'll have to wait a moment for that, because…" he started, before trailing off. "Hold on. Where are Izzy and Daphne?" he asked.

After sticking the landing off a cliff, Izzy kept their bike going while Daphne steered it. As they went down a steep hill, the latter howled in delight while the former cackled.

Chris gave the duo a total of five minutes to show up. When they didn't, he said "Well, if they want to not by the time the race starts, that puts them out of the running for invincibility this time.” The rest of them all smiled at that, pleased at having a narrower playing field. "Now for the fun part: We're going to race these babies!"

Trent raised his hand. "Then what do you mean about me waiting?" he asked.

"That, Trent, is because this first part of the race has a surprise twist. Each of you will be riding each other's bikes!" he declared. "So bring them down to the beach!"

A few minutes later, the participating campers and their bicycle were standing in front of a starting line Chris had set up in the sand by the coast. He held up a helmet, saying "Alright, each of you pull a name from the hat. That will be the person whose wheels you'll be riding. And only by crossing the finish line with that bike will you get the chance to ride your own in the round for invincibility."

Each teen reached into the helmet one at a time, pulling out a slip of paper. Once they read the name on them, they moved to where that bike was parked.Courtney smirked as she took her place next to Liam's bike, given that it was almost identical to her own. Likewise, the fact it was built by the book made Trent relieved as he got her bicycle. Lindsay, upon reading her paper slip, gasped. "I got the second prettiest bike here! Yay!" she cheered, before running over to Trent's bike.

"Um… thanks?" Trent said uncertainly. Gwen, as she got on Bridgette's bike, chuckled at his expression over having his 'chill' bike described as pretty.

Liam took one look at Lindsay's Sunset Sally bike and shrugged. "At least I can use the tail to slow down if I have to," he thought aloud.

Heather, on the other hand, grimaced as she was forced to ride on Gwen's bike instead of her own. Looking over at Bridgette, she said "Just be careful with that. And don't touch the red button!"

Bridgette, who had been leaning towards said button in curiosity, stiffened and said "Sure! Okay!"

"Now, before we begin, has anyone seen Daphne or Izzy?" Chris asked.

With how fast Izzy was pedaling her bike, it skated across the surface of the river. Both girls were covered with water and mud, yet that didn't dampen either of their spirits.

Chris shrugged. "Their loss, I suppose. Now racers, on your marks…" he began, and all of the campers presented tensed. He raised an arm. "Get set…" Then he looked behind him towards camp. "Paramedics on standby…" He looked back towards them. "And… go!"

The moment he brought his hand down, all seven of them shot forward, pedaling as hard as they were able. Everyone, that is, except Gwen, who had to disengage the first set of brakes before Bridgette's bike would even move. "Ugh, come on!" she shouted, unlatching the brakes and taking off.

As Liam pedaled as fast as he could, he noticed the lead he had on the other campers increasing. Looking down at the horse head, he said "Okay, I take back what I said. This thing is fast."

Behind him, he heard Lindsay call "I know, right?!"

Then, from his left, he saw Bridgette was actually catching up and overtaking him. "Wh-Whoa, easy!" she called, doing her best to drive as carefully as possibly on such a lightweight vehicle. "I… I think I got this!" she said, the beginnings of a smile appearing on her face.

What neither she nor the redhead failed to notice was the large sand cloud Lindsay's bike was kicking up behind it. That reduced visibility made it harder for others to maintain their course, namely Heather and Trent. Soon enough, as Trent tried his best to see through the cloud, he felt Courtney's bike hit a rock and begin to wobble.

"Oh, crap! Look out!" he yelled. That warning was enough for Heather to steer away from the direction of his voice. And not a moment too soon, as the guitarist fell sideways and skidded along the ground, feeling his ride come apart beneath him and hit Heather from the side. Gwen's bike got away with losing its left wing as Heather continued swerving away from him. And rather than stop to check on him, she kept going.

Courtney, who had been riding behind the cloud, called "My bike!" and turned to drive around the crash zone.

Lindsay was likewise able to go around the sudden roadblock, as was Gwen a moment later. Though the latter did slow down as she passed by."You okay?" she asked worriedly.

Rubbing his head from where he landed in the sand, Trent smiled at her. "I think so! Keep going!" he called.

Gwen nodded and picked up the pace, catching up with Lindsay. A short distance down the beach stood Chef, who was reading a book and distractedly waving a flag next to the finish line. Bridgette was the first to pass him, followed by Liam, then Heather, Courtney, Gwen and Lindsay.

As Courtney passed the finish line she saw the edge of the rock wall coming up fast. She gripped the brakes to come to a stop… and nothing happened. Her eyes widened, and she had just enough time to yell "Oh, crap!" before she crashed into the wall. Despite the failing brakes, the rest of the bike was put together well enough that it didn't break into several pieces on impact. As it was, Courtney moaned in pain before slipping off the bike and falling to the ground.

Chris was quick to ride up on his ATV. "Awesome! Six winners and two wipeouts by Courtney and Trent!" he announced. "Since your bike was totaled, Courtney, you'll ride Trent's in the race for invincibility."

Rising to her feet, Courtney staggered for a moment. Liam stopped his bike and quickly walked over. "Are you hurt?" he asked, appearing wide-awake as he placed a hand on her shoulder and looked her over.

She slowly shook her head. "I'll… be fine," she insisted, pulling his hand off her shoulder. She didn't let go of it, however. Looking over at Chris, she said "That's fine with me."

"Great. Then, everyone except Trent, make your way to the TDI motorcross for the real race," he told them, before driving off.

Once he was gone, Trent walked forward while dusting himself off. "Sorry about your bike," he said to Courtney, looking back at the mangled remains of her ride.

The C.I.T. sighed before smiling. "It's… it's alright. I'm sure yours will do me just fine," she said.

Trent smiled back at that, relieved there were no hard feelings.

Confessional Stall - Courtney

"That idiot's lucky I already decided to target Lindsay this round. Otherwise, I'd make him pay for crashing something I worked so hard on," she stated, bringing her fist down into her palm.

As they continued their joyride across the island, Izzy and Daphne came across a wall of thorns.Daphne called "Take the reins!" and stood up in her seat. While Izzy leaned forward to grab the handlebars, the brunette pulled out her lighter and hairspray. "Taste fire !" she shouted, letting loose a stream of flames that incinerated the thorns before the duo even passed through them. Neither was injured when they came out the other side, though a smoking chipmunk was hanging from Izzy's hair for dear life.

While Trent watched from the sidelines above, the other six campers sat on their bikes at the starting line. Chris drove up to them, saying "Campers, welcome to the… Motor. Cross. Challenge!" Each word was given an echo post-edit for dramatic effect. He continued "Using your own bikes—for most of you—you'll race this next course and try to avoid the pitfalls."

Liam hummed. "If I ask 'what pitfalls', are you going to tell us?" he asked.

Chris chuckled. "You know what, sure. There's dodging the land mines…" he said, waving his hand towards a rising and falling section of the course. On cue, an explosion went off from the ground atop one of the hills. "Then there's navigating the oil slick…" Past that was a flat stretch of land that was completely covered in motor oil. "And finally, jumping the piranhas!" Just before the finish line was a long, rectangular pool. A large ham was lowered into it on a rope, only for the rope to come back up frayed and minus the entire ham.

That last one made the teens stare in a mixture of fear and horror.

Confessional Stall - Gwen

"If I didn't hear him mention paramedics, I'd seriously think Chris is trying to get us killed."

"First person to cross the finish line this time wins invincibility! Now, take your positions!" Chris said. Although still more than worried about the death traps, one look at each other showed that none of the campers were willing to quit without trying. They all braced themselves, leaning forward and gripping the handles of their various bicycles. "Ready… and… go!"

The contestants pedaled furiously, making it to the first hill. Despite having the fastest bike, Heather hung back and let Lindsay pull ahead of her. Sure enough, once the blonde reached the top of the hill and started cycling down, the ground behind her exploded. "Whoa, that was–!" she began, before another explosion went off right beneath her. "AAAAAH!" she screamed, both her and her bike seat flying through the air.

Her bike landed in front of the oil slick while she landed in it. Her eyes shot back open at the sensation, and when she looked down at herself she gasped. "This… this was my favorite top!" she cried out in dismay, nearly in tears.

That scene got all of the others to slow down, studying the terrain for any irregularities before moving through it rather than rely on luck. Gwen was the first to make it through safely, and the rest followed her path through the minefield. Bridgette, moving slower than the others, just managed to clear one mine before it went off behind her. Her grip on the handles of her ride tightened enough that her knuckles turned white.

Once she made it through, Gwen doubled her efforts and pedaled faster, becoming the first to reach the oil slick. Her bike went almost out of control immediately, making her grit her teeth. "Stay… straight!" she said, before her bike tilted to the right. The remaining wing touched the ground and oil quickly soaked into the canvas, unbalancing it further.

As her bike continued to tilt, Gwen realized what was about to happen. "Screw this!" she called and let go of her bike to dive out of the seat before it fell over completely. The bike skidded for several feet through the oil before coming to a stop. Gwen, meanwhile, landed and rolled into the sand just outside the slick, completely clean.

Courtney was the next to reach the oil, and as she came closer she spotted the remains of Lindsay's bike. She quickly smirked and said "Alright!" before holding the handlebars with one hand while she extended the other to her side. As she passed by the wreck, she grabbed the 'tail' and ripped the broom off. She then leaned forward and held it in front of her wheels, wiping a path through the slick. "Yes" she called, elated at having the lead. As the piranhas came within sight, however, she noticed that there wasn't even a ramp to help them jump over the pool. And she seriously doubted someone even could tread that far across the surface. "Not alright, not alright!" she said, gripping her brakes and even driving her feet into the sand.

Behind her, Heather, Liam and Bridgette pushed harder, trying to be the first to make it through the path Courtney had made. Bridgette made it in first, with Heather on her heels. She glared at the surfer chick, before glancing down at her bike. Specifically, the red button on it. Looking back up, she said "Any second now…" Once they made it past the oil, that was when they saw Courtney quickly to a stop a short distance from the piranhas. She grinned. "Here we go!" she declared, and pressed down on the button.

The bag attached to her drive chain immediately began revving, and she shot forward like a cork out of a bottle. Right in Bridgette's direction. Hearing the noise quickly approaching from behind her, Bridgette instinctively swerved her bike to the left and out of the way before looking behind her. Heather and her bike passed by her with barely a foot to spare, quickly reaching the water. Both she and Liam watched with wide eyes as Heather's bike practically glided across the surface, beefore she shot past a flag-waving Chef.

Chris called "And we have a winner: Heather!"

The queen bee came to a stop and looked back at the others, smirking triumphantly. Courtney gritted her teeth. "If I hadn't been concerned about being eaten by piranhas…! Ugh!" she said angrily, getting off her bike and kicking it.

Liam brought his bike to a stop next to her. "You choose survival over victory, nothing wrong with that," he stated. "And you got us a deal that will protect us tonight anyway," he reminded her.

While Courtney crossed her and began to reluctantly nod. However, she stopped when a sound reached her ears. "Is that… screaming?" she said, tilting her head in the direction it was coming from.

Liam looked in that direction. A moment later, the sounds reached his ears just as none other than Daphne and Izzy burst out of the treeline.

"YEEEE-HAW!" Izzy shouted, while Daphne yelled "YEEEAAH!" Their bike landed on the sand and shot across the beach, going into the water and submerging them both

All of the campers, plus Chris and Chef, stared at what just happened. Eventually, Chris said "Has she been pedaling that bike that fast—with both of them on it—all day?"What kind of stamina freak was this girl?

He shook his head, shelving the thought for later and facing the other campers. "Alright, I'll see all of you tonight at the elimination ceremony. One of you besides Heather is definitely going home," he told them.

Once the sun had set and a dinner of badly-cooked grits was served, the teens gathered in front of the bonfire once more. Each alliance sat only with each other, making the 'party lines' clearly visible.

"After tonight, we'll be down to eight campers. So if you hear your name, you're one of the lucky few that outlasted two-thirds of the competition," Chris told them. That got some of them to smile, relieved at having made it this far. "First marshmallow goes to Gwen…"

She stood up and walked over to get her marshmallow. But not before giving Trent a kiss on the cheek in view of everyone. "Aww…" Lindsay said. "You two are being romantic in front of other people now!" she gushed.

Chris rolled his eyes, but held back on the sarcasm since it was good footage. "Yes, very romantic. Anyway, next one's for Liam…" he said, and the slacker came over to claim it.

"Izzy…" She jumped to her feet and dashed over to snatch the marshmallow off the plate.

"Heather…" Though she was much more calm, the queen bee grinned as she nonetheless had a taste of sugary victory.

"Bridgette…" She claimed her marshmallow with a sigh. Another challenge over, and she hadn't gotten herself hurt. Things were looking up.

"Daphne…" The brunette grabbed and chewed her marshmallow with a grin. Ditching the whole challenge for a fun time and not getting eliminated for it? Best day ever.

Once those six campers were behind him, Chris said "And now, we get to the juicy bit. Because each of you received three votes apiece. Which means we have another tie!"

Courtney sat straighter. "What?! How can that–?" she started, before realizing the answer to her own question. She quickly threw a venomous glare at Heather, who only looked more satisfied.

Confessional Stall - Heather

"If Chris didn't penalize Courtney when she openly tricked Lindsay that one time, he's not going to eliminate me for cheating after the fact. As for our deal, let her tell the others I voted for Leshawna. Even without Duncan, I still have everything I need to win," she claimed. Her smile dimmed. "But there is one thing I still need to check…"

Chris continued "So Courtney, Trent, Lindsay, you three are the ones on the chopping block. However, there will not be a tie-breaker challenge."

Lindsay blinked. "Wait. But then… how do we decide who loses?"

"Oh, that's already been decided, Lindsay. Or do none of you remember my advice from this morning?" he asked.

"And by the way, it would be to your advantage to both make them look good and for you to perform well," he told them, before driving off.

As the trio's expressions showed them remembering, Chris said "And the critiques I gave to your bikes after you made them? That wasn't just for show; I was grading them."

The host held up a clipboard. "That, combined with how well you did in the challenge itself, is what decided your fate." Taking a look at what was written on it, he began "Courtney, your bike was among the lamest in the entire lineup, and that bike wiped out in the first race. However, even without your own ride, you did well in the first race and cleared all but one obstacle in the second, which helped you earn some points back."

Courtney bit her lip, saving any relief she might have felt.

"Trent, I thought you had the most stylin' wheels of them all, giving you a huge leg-up. But you wiped out in the first race, which prevented you from competing at all in the second."

The guitarist gulped.

"And Lindsay. Your bike was fast, pretty and personalized, all of which earned you points. And while your bike was blown to pieces—not a good look—one of those pieces was vital to Courtney doing as well as she did."

Lindsay said nothing, gripping her knees nervously.

"With all of that, tallying the points, we have but one loser. The camper going home tonight is…"

…

…

…

"Trent."

Trent slumped sadly, hanging his head. But he looked back up when Gwen said "No!" and ran over to him. "You can't leave now! We just decided to go out in public!"

He nodded, before sighing. "I don't like it either," he stated. Then he gave her a smile and grabbed both of her hands with his. "But this doesn't mean we can't still be together after the show. And until then, I'll be cheering for you."

Gwen looked down at their hands. "...Even though I won't be able to hear it if you're back home?" she asked.

"It's not whether you can hear it, it's whether you deserve it. And you deserve that prize and all the cheering I can do," he told her. That got her to smile, and he said "So I need you to be strong for me. Strong enough to show everyone how great I know you are. Can you do that?"

Now it was Gwen that nodded. "Yeah, I can do that," she said. The two of them locked eyes, not letting go of each other's hands. They began leaning closer to each other, causing Lindsay to gasp in the background while Courtney and Heather rolled their eyes. They moved closer, then closer still… and their lips met.

The kiss lasted for a good thirty seconds, all of which Chris made sure to have captured by one of the cameramen. "This is good stuff!" he whispered, taking a spare marshmallow and snacking on it.

When the two of them finally pulled apart, Trent said "If they bring us back for the finale, I'll see you then."

Gwen grinned. "Count on it," she said.

That got him to smile one more time, and he gave them all a wave as he walked down the Dock of Shame. Once he boarded the Boat of Losers, his luggage having already been loaded, the other campers stood at the end of the Dock and waved back.

Later that night, once she was sure the rest of the girls' cabin was asleep, Heather carefully moved to her feet. Having already determined which spots on the floor were the loudest, she gently tip-toed from one side of the room to the other.

Once she was next to Gwen's bed, she slowly and gingerly slid the top drawer of her dresser open. Reaching in, she then extracted a familiar gray book. The moonlight gave her just enough light to read by. As she began to skim through the most recent entries, her gaze narrowed. If what was in here was true…

She needed to be smart about this.

Chapter 21: Hook, Lies and Schemers

Chapter Text

A few days after Trent's elimination, Chris surprised them all by declaring a movie night. An old-fashioned film projector and screen were set up, and over half a dozen supply crates had been brought out from the boathouse for them to sit on. And once night had fallen, the movies in question turned out to be horror films. Unsettling music accompanied a slow camera pan upwards in the film, revealing the movie's killer: a large, muscled man with a hockey mask, a chain saw in his right hand and a hook where his left hand would be. He revved the chainsaw and held it over his head, lit from behind by the light of a full moon.

As they watched the film, Izzy perked up with a smile. "Oh, he's coming out of the woods, and with a big saw! That is so cool!" she declared.

Daphne, who was sharing a seat with her, nodded with wide eyes. "The anticipation over when he'll strike, the terror we'll see in the victims… Who do you think's next?" she asked breathlessly.

Liam was less excited, but replied "Probably the couple too busy making out to notice anything outside their car. The same car that was established to have a faulty transmission."

Sure enough, the film showed the killer moving closer to the car. Bridgette, who had been snacking on some butter-free popcorn, jumped to her feet. "Hey, lip-lockers! Start. The. Car!" she called.

Izzy giggled. "Oh, they're gonna be chainsaw sushi!"

The couple on screen finally broke apart when the girl saw something over her boyfriend's shoulder. They both looked and the girl screamed as they recognized the killer. The guy spun in his seat and turned the key in the ignition… only for the engine to sputter and die.

Courtney crossed her arms. "And of course now is the time for the car to not start. They're goners," she said with certainty.

The killer made it to the car and dug his hook into the driver-side door, wrenching it open. Most of the people watching gasped in either anticipation or horror. Lindsay, who had been next to Bridgette, leaned over and hugged her tightly. "I don't like this anymore!" she whined, and the surfer nodded in agreement.

Gwen, on the other hand, was on her feet in excitement. "Here comes the splatter-fest!" she said.

Right on cue, both teens on screen screamed as the killer revved his chainsaw and went to town on them. Blood spattered all over his front, the window and seats of the car, and even began pooling on the ground beneath the car. Bridgette and Lindsay both reared back with grimaces and closed eyes, Courtney and Heather rolled their eyes, Liam simply raised his eyebrows, and Gwen, Daphne and Izzy cheered.

"Yeah! Right on!" Gwen said.

Izzy leaned forward. "Aw, the killer's heading back to the woods! He's getting away!" she said. As the killer faded in between the trees, the camera panned upwards to show the night sky once more. There was a single wolf's howl, and then the screen faded to black. The projector turned off, and she said "What a great ending!" Leaning her side into Daphne’s, she added "Izzy loves scary movies!"

The brunette hummed. "As long as it's not Friday the 13th again, I can see the appeal," she agreed, feeling her heart rate begin to slowly settle as she also leaned in.

Bridgette shook her head. "Maybe you do, but I could go without them. Give me a comedy or nature documentary any day,” she stated.

As she put away the film reel, Gwen said “Aw, it wasn't that bad. For a slasher film, it was actually pretty tame. Nothing like my favorite movie.”

“You mean Bloodbath 2?” Liam said, remembering that tidbit from the trivia challenge. Morbidly curious, he asked “What sort of death scenes are in that one?”

Gwen began counting them off. “Well, there was one scene where a guy’s hand got shoved into a lawn mower. Then one where a girl falls onto a propeller blade and gets cut in half. Oh, and a scene where this big guy has his head shoved into a woodchipper!” she answered. By the end of that, she noticed Bridgette appearing pale and nauseous, making her wince. “Er, sorry.”

Heather scoffed. “All of that’s just mindless guts and gore,” she said dismissively. “Does it at least play some mind games with the audience?”

“Oh, yeah. The Bloodbath franchise is loaded with psychological horror and trauma,” Gwen told her.

Lindsay gulped. “Um, we’re not watching that too, are we?” she asked.

The others shook their heads, and Courtney suddenly frowned. “Speaking of trauma, have you guys seen Chris? Tomorrow’s supposed to be our next challenge.”

The rest of the campers looked at each other. In fact, their host had made himself scarce right after the movie started. Which was a bit… odd. Then the sound of a boat engine reached them. They followed it to the Dock of Shame, where Chris was on the Boat of Losers while Chef was hastily throwing luggage bags onto it.

“Uh, is there a problem, Chef?” Daphne asked.

Chef froze and looked back at them, making them falter at how terrified the large man appeared. He quickly jumped onto the Boat and it began riding away, both him and Chris apparently eager to put the island behind them.

Liam frowned. “Okay… that was weird,” he remarked, before noticing one of the luggage items had been left behind: a small backpack with a newspaper stuck in it. Picking it up, he called “You forgot this!” But the boat didn’t stop or turn around, making the redhead shrug. “Their loss,” he said, flipping it open to see what was inside. As he did, he tossed the newspaper away in Bridgette’s direction.

She caught it and looked at the front page curiously. “‘Escaped Killer on the Loose’,” she read. “‘For anyone in the vicinity of Wawanakwa Island, remain on the lookout for a masked man with a hook in place of a hand…’” Her eyes widened. “Carrying a chainsaw?!”

The other campers appeared horrified. That is, except for Heather and Courtney. “Oh, come on. They don’t expect us to fall for that, do they?” Heather asked.

Gwen looked back across the water. “I don’t know. Those two seemed pretty scared,” she pointed out.

Courtney scoffed. “Heather’s right. A frantic exit right after showing us a horror film, and the description of the killer in the newspaper exactly matching the one in the film? It’s too coincidental.”

Liam slowly nodded in agreement. “Maybe this is part of the next challenge, to trick us into thinking we’re in danger,” he suggested, still rummaging through the backpack. Then he abruptly stopped, eyes going wide. “Um…” he said, pulling out a bottle of hair gel.

Chris’s personal hair gel. Which he never went anywhere without.

Gwen took a step back. “Holy crap, this is real,” she said. “There’s actually an escaped killer on the loose.”

Lindsay quickly moved between her and Bridgette, pulling them to either side of her. “I-I can’t be here! The prettiest girl always dies in scary movies!” she protested.

Rather than appear scared, however, Izzy said “Ooo, what if this guy’s hiding in the woods like the one in the movie? He could be watching us from the shadows right now!”

Bridgette looked from side to side. “I certainly feel watched,” she said nervously.

Heather had to resist the urge to facepalm. “Hello, we’re on a reality show! Chris already told us that they’re always watching,” she reminded them. “I’m telling you, this is just them trying to fake us out and scare us.” Looking up at the sky, she yelled “I’m not falling for it, Chris!”

Gwen looked around. “Whether it is a prank or not, we need a plan. A strategy for how to survive until dawn.”

Liam raised his hand. “I suggest we take shelter in either the lodge or the cabins. We can fortify either position and stock up on supplies,” he offered.

But the queen bee shook her head. “You scaredy-cats can make a fort if you want. I’m due for a shower and facial mask,” she announced, before walking in the direction of the washrooms.

Courtney frowned. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? Challenge or not, being alone at night is never a good idea,” she said.

“If we actuallywere in a slasher film, sure. But since we’re not, I’m going to exfoliate,” Heather shot back, not stopping as she walked away.

Once she was gone, Izzy said “Ah, the bossy mean chick getting an early death. Some tropes never die.” She punctuated it with running a finger across her neck, imitating the sound of a chainsaw cutting it.

Bridgette piped up. “The lodge has some food in Chef’s fridge and all his knives, right? I say we make that our safe spot,” she said. The others didn’t have a reason to disagree, and so they began heading back from the Dock to the lodge.

Except, that is, for Izzy. She grabbed Daphne’s arm, making the pyro look back with a questioning expression.

Once they were inside the lodge, Courtney suggested they use the dining tables as barricades to block the entrances. One of them was placed against the front door, while the other was carried into the kitchen to block the back door.

As they were working, Lindsay was the first to ask “What if they come down the chimney like an evil Santa?”

Liam looked over at the fireplace. “If the killer’s as large as the one in the film, they might not even fit down the chimney,” he said. "Still…maybe we light a fire in it?"

Courtney smirked. "Even if they do get in that way, they'll be badly burnt before they even start chasing us," she agreed. A couple of seats from the table were moved into the fireplace, which were then lit with some matches and oil from the kitchen. Taking a look at the lodge windows, she added "At some point, we'll have to cover those too."

Gwen nodded. "Right. But first, let's go over the rules," she said, and the others gathered some of the remaining seats in the middle of the room. "Do any of you know the three main rules of slashers?" she asked.

Looking at the front door and thinking of Heather, Bridgette said "I'm gonna guess one of them is 'don't go anywhere alone'."

"That's the first one," she confirmed. "Rule #2: If you have to go somewhere alone, never go into the woods. And Rule #3: If you are in the woods, never ever make out in the woods, or you will die there."

Lindsay began to nod, but then she paused as she noticed something. "Um… where are Izzy and Daphne?" she asked.

Liam snorted. "My guess: breaking rules, as usual," he said simply.

Gwen stared at him, before looking around the room to confirm that the duo were gone. She brought her hand up to her forehead in a loud slap. "...You know, I'm not even surprised," she said flatly. Sighing, she said "Either way, let's get to work on blocking the windows."

"...So that's how I came up with 'Explosivo'," Izzy finished.

Daphne chuckled. "Okay, that was the perfect time to use an explosive-based distraction to get away," she said. "By the way, I have a pretty good idea why we're here…" She took a look at the trees that surrounded them. "But care to tell me?"

"Because the psycho killer could be out here in the woods, right? It's the perfect place for us to run into him!" Izzy said excitedly.

Her lips thinned, having expected that answer. "So… what happens if we do run into him?"

Izzy gave her a look as if she had asked a silly question. "We run, of course. I'm strong and you've got fire, but this guy has a hook and a chainsaw. No way are we taking him down."

Daphne slowly inhaled. "So the plan is to find a possible killer, then run away when he tries to catch us… just for fits and giggles?" she said. "You know I love dangerous situations, but this seems a bit… much."

But the orange-haired girl waved her hand. "Aw, it'll be fine! We're both fast runners, so we just need to make sure he doesn't sneak up on us. And the only people psycho killers sneak up on in the woods are people making out," she assured her.

"I… see," Daphne said, looking distinctly unconvinced. "Well…" She glanced down at her pocket where she kept her hairspray. "I suppose if the worst happens, I can just set him on fire to give us some time."

"That's the spirit!" Izzy said happily, throwing an arm over her shoulder. Her wide grin caused Daphne to gain one despite herself. "We'll find this guy, run our butts off, get our pants scared off, it'll be great!"

"...I'm still hoping this is just a challenge," Daphne said, which she accepted with a nod.

The two of them continued walking for a short while. Then Izzy looked over at her, raising an eyebrow. "You know… That part about making out. If you wanted… I've yet to–"

"No," Daphne said bluntly. "Don't get me wrong, you're very pretty. And probably the most fun person I've ever known, but no. I don't really… do that. With anyone."

Izzy hummed, before shrugging her shoulders. "If you say so," she allowed, looking ahead.

Eventually, once they walked up a steep hill, they made it to the section of the woods at the base of the diving cliff. Here, the trees grew thicker and closer together, enough to almost completely block out any light from the moon. The perfect place for someone to hide.

"Alright, this has gotta be the spot," Izzy said, hands on her hips. "Now we just gotta find this guy."

"And hope he doesn't find us first," Daphne added. "Because if this guy is as good at sneaking around as the killer in the movie, we're going to be in a lot of–"

Snap.

Both girls froze, slowly turning in the direction of the noise. Between two of the trees was a large shape, one that was momentarily obscured by shadow. As it moved closer, however, a patch of moonlight broke through the trees to illuminate them. They were a large, dark-skinned man wearing dark clothes and a bloody black apron. His face was covered by a hockey mask, and as they glanced at his hands, their eyes widened at the sight of a hook.

"Oh… Oh crap," Daphne said, taking one trembling step backwards. Her heart rate was already shooting through the roof, adrenaline fueled by fear coursing through her.

Izzy was silent, staring at the apparent killer. Then he raised his other hand, revealing a chainsaw taped to the end of a hockey stick. The moment the saw came into view, Izzy said "Well… we found 'em." Then she took a deep breath. "RUN!"

Both girls took off like death itself was at their heels, which it very much could have been. As they ran, a look behind them showed that the killer was giving chase. As he ran, he flicked a switch and the chainsaw turned on, revving and letting out a dull roar. That only made the two of them go faster.

"I'm starting to think… this isn't a challenge!" Izzy shouted.

"Gee, you think?!" Daphne called back. "If we survive this, you're gonna owe me big time!" Then she looked ahead. "And why is this land a lot flatter than it was when we walked this way!?"

The orange-haired girl has an answer for that. "Because slasher films always extend the running scenes! It's a good setup for an epic wipeout!"

Daphne blinked, trying to parse through that. If that were the case, then the ones having the wipeout… she stopped, digging her heels into the ground. Just as well, as the ground abruptly came to an end with a long rock wall beneath them. And jutting from that wall were several cliffs with hazards to land on, including a mountain goat, an open fire, a fire hydrant and some dynamite.

"...There is no way all that stuff's there by coincidence," she muttered. Any further thoughts the pyro had on the matter were put on hold, however. As Izzy skidded to a stop next to her, the sound of the chainsaw quickly reached their ears. They turned around and standing there was the killer, hook and chainsaw raised.

Daphne gulped, before pulling her hairspray from her pocket. "Don't… come any closer!" she warned, holding up both it and her lighter.

In response, the killer stepped forward, putting himself within arm's reach of her. As the brunette flicked her lighter on, he quickly lashed out and speared the side of her hairspray with his hook. There was a loud pop and a whine as the can was punctured, all of its contents escaping and leaving him with an empty can on the end of his hook.

Both her and Izzy stared. "Uh-oh…" Izzy muttered, her previous excitement fading.

The killer put away the saw and used their other hand to pull the can off their hook, tossing it away. He reached forward and grabbed/hooked both of them by the back of their shirts, lifting them into the air. Then, to their surprise, he began walking away.

"Um… what?" Daphne said, looking back at him. "You're… not gonna kill us?" she asked. In fact, now that he was this close, the killer seemed kind of familiar…

"Oh, maybe he's got a secret shack in the woods where he keeps all his victims!" Izzy suggested.

Daphne whipped her head to look at her. "Can you not sound so happy about that idea?" she snapped.

The killer ignored both of them and kept walking. Soon enough, the trees parted to show a large tent that was lit on the inside. They both tensed, and as they walked inside they were both able to lay eyes on… "Chris?!"

Their host smirked at them with crossed arms. He was seated in a chair next to a set of monitors, which were showing the feeds from several cameras on the island. "Evening, girls. Having fun?" he quipped.

They were placed back on the ground, and Izzy looked back and forth between him and the killer. "Wait. If you didn't actually leave the island, then who…" she said, before the 'killer' reached up and removed their hockey mask.

The grinning face of Chef greeted them. "Gotcha, didn't I?" he asked.

Izzy and Daphne stared for a moment, before the latter sighed in relief and sat down on the ground while the former laughed. "Haha-haha! Oh, that was a good one! I was really starting to freak out. You totally got me! Ha-ha-ha!" she admitted, placing her hands on her knees as she continued laughing.

Daphne ran a hand through her hair, feeling her pulse start to settle for the first time in a while. "So this whole thing was a challenge? Or were you just pranking us?" she asked.

"A little of A, a little of B," Chris answered. "Your challenge was to watch a slasher film and then survive one. Which you both failed at by going and actually looking for the killer. Though I applaud your willingness to set Chef on fire to buy yourselves time."

Chef grimaced at that. "Where do you even keep getting all that hairspray anyway?"

Daphne resolutely ignored that. If they couldn't figure out that she kept stealing cans of spray from Chris's make-up trailer, that was their fault. Looking at the host, she instead said "So what happens now?"

"Now you two are out of the challenge, which means you'll be staying here. On the upside, now you get to watch Chef try to scare the pants off everyone else and see who has the best reaction," Chris replied.

"Ooo, that is gonna be fun!" Izzy said, running over and hopping into Chris's seat in front of the monitors.

Daphne shook her head. "At least I can spend the rest of the night in peace," she muttered. She didn't think she had a limit on how much adrenaline she could take, but after this…

With both of them handled, Chef stepped outside. As he put his hook back on, Chris sprayed some water into his mouth. "Great work out there, Chef. Loved the hook angle there. Now let's see if we can work the chainsaw, huh?"

Chef flipped his mask on, but even with it he could tell that he was smiling. "With pleasure," Chef answered, heading back into the woods in the direction of camp.

As it turned out, hammers and nails weren't stored in the lodge, making their plans to barricade the windows fall flat. That said, they were able to improvise by taking the table they had been using to block the back door to cover the windows instead. The door, meanwhile, had their remaining seats piled up against it, leaving them to sit around on the floor.

All entrances sufficiently protected, Gwen had taken some paper and pencil. To their surprise, she had drawn the eight remaining campers in impressive detail, then crossed-out her drawings of Daphne, Heather and Izzy. Once she had finished, she turned to the others. "Okay, I've got a chart showing which of us are left. Now that we've got a safe zone, we need to plan what to do next."

Courtney crossed her arms. "Isn't it obvious? If this isn't a challenge, our best hope is to contact the police and get them to come here. And for that, we need a phone," she stated.

Bridgette frowned. "Except Chris confiscated all our cell phones at the start of the show. And never told us where he put them."

"Calling the police is good, but there's something before that," Gwen added. "We should start making weapons to defend ourselves with, in case the killer comes here."

Liam immediately raised his hand. "Dibs on Chef's knife collection," he proclaimed. "But there's a third thing we should figure out even before that."

Both Courtney and Gwen raised their eyebrows. "What's that?" they both asked, before glancing at each other.

Liam jerked his thumb at the door. "What are we going to do if one of us needs to use the bathroom?" he asked.

There was a moment of silence. In their haste to fortify the lodge, they had forgotten that it didn't have a toilet anywhere. "Um… maybe we move the table long enough for someone to get out?" Lindsay suggested.

Gwen began to nod. "Except none of us should go alone. So if someone needs to use the bathroom, they need to take someone else with them," she reminded them.

"And what about when they get back?" Bridgette asked. "Should we use a special knock or something? Who knows if this 'killer' can do voices or not," she said.

Lindsay gasped. "If we use a secret knock, how will Heather know it when she gets back from her shower?!" she asked.

Bridgette, Gwen, Liam and Courtney all looked at each other, before looking back at Lindsay. "Um, Lindsay?" Gwen slowly began. "I don't know how to tell you this, but Heather's probably–"

"Aaaaaahhhh!"

The five of them stiffened and looked in the direction of the door.

While the others were wandering the woods or setting up defenses, Heather finished applying a facial mask to herself. After that, she had the time to shave her legs in privacy and without interruptions. Next was her shower. If she could do this without being bothered, this would be the best day she'll have had on the island in a while.

It took a moment to get the second-rate showerhead to spray water at the temperature she wanted. Once she had it just right, though, Heather grabbed her towel to remove it… and heard a knock at the door.

She frowned. Of course she couldn't even have this. "I'm in the shower! Whoever you are, beat it!" she called.

There was a moment of silence, and she began to wonder if they really did leave. Then there was another noise: not a knock, but the sound of a chainsaw.

Heather rolled her eyes. "I'm not falling for another prank of yours, Izzy!" she told them. But then she heard the door slam open and the sound of the saw getting closer. Out of patience, she turned and ripped away the shower curtain. "If you don't get of here right now, I'm going to–"

Then she blinked. Standing right in front of her, chainsaw and hook raised, was the 'killer'.

"Aaaaaahhhh!"

The next few minutes were a haze. When her panic cleared enough for her to think again, she was sitting in a tent with Chris, Izzy and Daphne.

"...certainly never shower alone," Chris finished. However, she was too busy rocking back and forth to pay him any mind.

Well, if she wasn't before, she is now," Liam commented.

Lindsay gasped. "You mean… the killer might have gotten her?!" she asked fearfully.

Gwen sighed. "I told her that going off alone was a bad idea," she said. "We'll just have to keep going. If we need to use the bathrooms, we'll go in pairs and knock five times when we get back."

The redhead nodded in agreement while Courtney said "Sounds good to me." Lindsay slowly nodded as well, though she was still sending nervous glances at the front door.

"Okay. Now, the next step is using stuff in the kitchen to make weapons. Once we have something to defend ourselves with, we can start searching the island for a phone," the goth said.

The C.I.T. hummed. "That's… a good plan," she admitted. "Not bad."

Gwen gave her a look of faint surprise. The last thing she was expecting was a genuine compliment, especially from her. "Um… thanks," she said, before smiling. "Now, let's see what we've got in there." With that, the five of them turned to the kitchen entrance to start raiding it.

And then the lights switched off.

The entire lodge was suddenly plunged into darkness, the only remaining light coming from the fireplace. Shadows flickered in the corners of the dining room, and nothing in the kitchen was visible anymore. Then a voice reached them, sourceless and whispering.

"Campers, campers, campers…" it echoed. "The kitchen, the kitchen, the kitchen…"

Lindsay looked around fearfully. "Um, w-was that one of you guys?"

"I don't think so," Bridgette replied, and the others shook their heads.

Liam looked over at the fire. "Well, as long as we have that, we should be able find the breaker switch and turn everything back–”

Bang.

Everyone looked at the front door where the noise had come from. There was another bang a moment later, one hard enough to rattle the door in its frame.

"That's gotta be the killer!" Bridgette said. "We need to get out of here!"

Courtney opened her mouth to protest that it was safer in here than out there. Then the sound of a saw reached them, and both the front door and the table braced against it shook as a sawblade began to cut through. "Everyone raid the kitchen, quick!" she called.

The five of them rushed into the kitchen, scrambling to find anything that could be used as a weapon. Liam made a beeline for where Chef's knife stand was, pulling out both a carving knife and meat cleaver. Gwen looked under the sink and was rewarded with a small butane torch, while Lindsay grabbed an iron skillet off the stove. Courtney ran into the freezer and came back out with a frozen pork tenderloin, and Bridgette took a fire extinguisher off the wall.

Then they heard a loud crack and looked to see that the killer was halfway through the door and table. "Out the back!" Gwen told them, though not loud enough for the killer to hear them. The others nodded and started throwing the seats they had piled against it off the side. Another crack rang out just as they finished, and Gwen wrenched the door open before they all ran outside.

As they ran as fast as possible, Courtney said "Well, so much for the fortress!"

"It did its job: keeping that guy out long enough for us to survive," Gwen told her. "Where should we go now?"

Liam looked back towards the lodge and the cabins. "We still need to find that phone. Anyone know where Chris parked his trailer this week?" he asked.

Bridgette briefly stopped running, prompting the others to do the same. Holding a hand to her chin, she said "I think… I saw it near the craft services tent yesterday. It might still be there."

"Then let's go! Before he finds us again!" Lindsay implored, and the others nodded.

Chris, having seen everything through the cameras, frowned and pulled out a walkie-talkie. "Chef, you there?" he said into it.

He received a revving chainsaw in reply, which quickly stopped. "What is it?" Chef asked.

"The kids armed themselves and made it out the back. Now they're headed for my trailer," he said. "Make sure they don't touch my spare hair gel."

As they moved through the woods to the craft services tent, the group of five were able to keep a good eye out, but were not the most quiet.

"So, we're running on the assumptions that A) this isn't a challenge and B) that Chris left a phone of some kind in his trailer," Courtney began. "But even assuming A is true, what are we going to do if he didn't?"

Liam frowned. "We can't stay on this island forever… and Chris and Chef both took the only boat when they left. If it comes down to it, one of us might have to try swimming back to the mainland," he said.

"I could do that," Bridgette volunteered. "It might seem kind of obvious, but I'm a great swimmer."

Gwen nodded. "That's good. And while she does that, we can make the killer chase us around the island. That'll give you and the police time to get back here," she said.

Liam looked down at the meat cleaver hanging from his waist. "Yeah… distract," he said, wondering how they might be able to get the drop on their assailant. He'd have to wonder later, though, as that was when the craft services tent came into view. And next to it was a trailer they recognized as Chris's.

"Perfect. I suggest that two of us search the trailer. Since the kitchen's not safe anymore, the rest of us can use that time to gather all the food that's in the tent." Courtney told them.

"Oh, I can get the food!" Lindsay loudly called, raising her hand.

"Shh!" the others all exclaimed at her, making her lower her hand. Gwen whispered "Okay, you and I can get the food. Bridgette, you stay with us so no one's alone." The surfer chick nodded and moved next to Gwen and Lindsay.

As that trio crept into the tent, Courtney and Liam began to move around it toward the trailer. The lights to the place had been left on, leading Liam to remark "Seems like they really did leave in a hurry."

"Maybe…" Courtney said. "It's still possible this is all a prank by Chris, and the ones who've been 'caught' are just being held somewhere. Either way, we should be careful."

The redhead hummed in agreement. The trailer was less than a dozen paces away, now. However, when they took another step closer, they froze as they heard a branch snap in the distance. There was a moment of quiet, both of them looking toward the foliage where the sound had come from.

The silence stretched on and neither of them moved. Almost a full minute went by, and they began to wonder if the who/whatever caused the noise had left. Then, as Liam took another step towards the trailer, the 'killer' burst out of the woods with their chainsaw and hook raised high.

"Crap! Run!" Liam yelled, and they both took off towards the craft services tent. They could hear them being followed, and the duo made a beeline for the front of the tent.

As they reached it, they saw the others come out of the tent with a bag of food in Gwen's hand. Lindsay looked towards them with a panicked expression. "I can hear chainsaws! Where's–?"

"Right behind us!" Courtney called. Sure enough, that was when the killer rounded the corner of the tent. The sight of him made the other girls tense, but neither Courtney or Liam stopped running. In fact, she grabbed his arm and began running away from the tent. "Bridgette, get to the Docks! The rest of us are splitting up!"

Bridgette quickly nodded and began sprinting back to camp while Lindsay asked "We are?"

Then the killer raised their saw again, and Gwen said "Yes, we are!" before dropping the bag and pulling Lindsay into a run towards the lodge. The 'killer' paused for a moment, debating on which group to chase. Then they came to a decision and resumed running.

Once it became clear that the killer had chosen to follow someone else, Liam and Courtney hid inside the girls' cabin.

"Okay, running around and hoping we find a way to get help isn't working," Courtney stated. "We need to come up with a plan to take the fight to this guy."

Liam raised an eyebrow. "As in an ambush?" he asked.

She nodded. "Right. One of us needs to be a distraction so the other can get close. And we need a place to lead him to where we can get the drop on him."

Liam processed that… and then grimaced. "And let me guess: I'm gonna be the distraction?"

Courtney grinned.

'Run.'

As she put one foot in front of the other, that thought remained at the front of Bridgette's mind. Whether this was a challenge or wasn't, whether Gwen and the others could occupy the killer's attention, all of that was secondary. For now, she just needed to keep running.

The trees soon began to thin, meaning that she was getting close to camp. She allowed herself a small bit of relief, but didn't slow down. Just because she could no longer hear a saw didn't mean that she was safe. That said, as the edge of the island started coming into view, she took stock of her goal: to make it to the Dock, swim across an entire lake and then hope she found someone with a phone she could borrow to call 911. Or at least a payphone.

It would be easier if she could just grab a boat and ride across, but Chris and Chef had taken the last one… which did make her wonder. If that was the case, how did the killer make it onto the island to begin with?

Shaking her head, Bridgette turned away from the cabins towards the Dock when she froze. The killer was standing at the front of the Dock, pacing back and seemingly waiting for her. How fast was he to have gotten here before her?

Bridgette crouched low in the darkness just beyond the light from the torches on the Dock, her gaze darting in every direction. If this guy could outrun her, she was in serious trouble. Trying to go past him was out, and so was running down the beach to find somewhere else she could swim from. Then she noticed a cluster of bushes on one side of the path, providing a potential hiding spot. She'd need to time it right.

As the killer paced and turned away, she seized the opportunity. She tiptoed towards the bushes, her heart pounding in her chest. The rustling leaves beneath her feet seemed deafening in the silent night. Just as she reached the cover of the bushes, they abruptly turned back, sensing movement.

Bridgette froze, her breath caught in her throat. The killer scanned the area, searching for any sign of movement. Thinking quickly, Bridgette silently slipped off her shoes, holding them in her hand, and pressed herself against the bushes. The killer, still on high alert, passed by her hiding spot.

With cautious determination, Bridgette inched forward, planning to circle around him and reach the dock from a different angle. But just as she stepped out from behind the bushes, a few more leaves crunched beneath her foot.

The killer whirled around, his eyes locking onto Bridgette. She met his gaze for a split second, realization sinking in. Then, while she hesitated, he lunged forward and caught the hood of her jacket with his hook.

"Let me go! I-I wouldn't make a good victim!" she said. He ignored her and turned away from the Dock. Panicking, Bridgette held up one end of her fire extinguisher and swung it at him. He casually deflected it with the hockey stick taped to his saw, knocking it out of her hands. Then, while she continued struggling, he carried her back into the woods.

She didn't stop struggling until they made it inside the tent. Upon seeing everyone else, including Chris, she froze.

"...So this was a challenge?" she asked to be sure.

"Yep. One that you lost by being captured by our fake killer, Chef. But kudos to you for volunteering to be the one that tries to get help," Chris told her. "Those characters usually end up either dying or showing up at the end alongside police, depending on how early in the film they leave."

Chef let Bridgette down, and she collapsed bonelessly to the ground. "Whew! So everyone's okay. And we're not in danger," she said, lying back and sighing in relief.

Izzy grinned and leaned over her. "I bet you were super scared, huh?" she asked.

Bridgette nodded. "This whole time, I was worried that it was all real. Leaving behind that hair gel really helped sell it."

Chris snickered. "Excellent. Now, everyone sit back and watch your fellow campers get terrorized. It's fun," he said.

Once he had caught his breath, Chef was back out and searching for the remaining four campers. Since it had gone well so far, he started back at the camp.

His luck held out, as Chef was just returning when he spotted Liam standing outside the boathouse. The redhead stood there for almost a full minute with his arms crossed, before he eventually shrugged and went inside. Chef grinned under his mask; after the hide-and-seek challenge, he had the fishing hole in there covered. There'd be no getting out now.

He stood up from the bushes and followed the teen inside. The sound of the door opening caused Liam to turn around, and both his eyebrows rose. Looking the 'killer' up and down, he blithely said "Well, this isn't good.”

Chef took a few steps forward, prompting Liam to take a few back. He turned on the chainsaw and let it roar, holding it over his head. As he did, the noise of it prevented him from hearing a thud as something landed on the floor behind him. That 'something' rose to full height behind him, before pulling one arm back and winding up.

"Surprise!" they called, giving him just enough time to start turning around before something cold and heavy struck on the side of the head. Stars danced in his vision, and Chef staggered to the side. He blinked and could just make out the form of Courtney… who stopped smiling on seeing that he wasn’t unconscious.

Chef blearily glared back at her and charged, holding his saw up to block and cut through her weapon. However, he didn’t account for Liam jumping onto him from behind, wrapping his legs around his waist and grabbing the arm holding the saw with both hands. “Courtney!” he called.

She nodded and closed the distance between her and Chef. With an angry shout, she drove the tenderloin into Chef’s stomach. Even with his apron to partially absorb the blow, the sheer strength in the blow was enough to knock the air out of him. Liam immediately let go of his arm and grabbed him in a chokehold, causing spots to appear in his vision again.

Before Chef could either pull him off or back into something, Courtney said “Sorry, but no one’s sticking a hook in–or cutting in half–my partner!” Then she swung the rock-solid club of frozen meat again, this time planting it between his legs.

Chef’s eyes bulged and he dropped to both knees, reflexively letting go of the saw to hold his groin. As he did that, Courtney let out a snarl and struck him one more time on the opposite temple from her first hit. His eyes rolled forward and he crumpled forward onto the ground, out cold.

Liam slowly let out a sigh of relief, letting go and climbing to his feet. "If that didn't work…" he muttered.

"Except it did," Courtney pointed out. "And now that we've got this guy, we can finally see…" she said, reaching forward and grabbing the hockey mask to unstrap it.

While she did that, Liam checked his pockets and hummed as he pulled out a walkie-talkie. "What do we have–?"

"Are you kidding me?!" Courtney suddenly yelled, and he whipped his head over to look at her. She was holding the mask in one hand and glaring down at their attacker…

"Chef?" he asked.

As if on cue, a burst of static came from the walkie-talkie. "Hello? Courtney, Liam, you read?" an all-too-familiar voice asked.

Courtney snatched the walkie-talkie from his hand and glared at it. "Chris! You and Chef were just pranking us the whole time?!" she demanded.

"Only mostly," Chris replied, making her glare intensify. "The challenge was to see who performed best when put in a slasher film scenario. And given that you just subdued our fake killer… we'll, I'd say that makes it you."

The C.I.T. paused. "You mean… I win immunity?"

"Yep. You knocked out our 'killer,' and I can’t think of anything that could top that. So consider yourselves safe for this round," Chris replied.

Liam chuckled, shaking his head. "Who would've thought? Total Drama Island, where knocking out the staff gets you immunity."

As they shared a laugh, Chef groaned and started to stir on the floor. The realization of what had transpired slowly dawned on him. Courtney, reveling in her victory, couldn't resist a parting shot. "Looks like the hunter became the hunted, Chef."

Chef grumbled in response, nursing his sore head while Liam and Courtney exchanged satisfied glances.

Upon taking a longer route around to the other side of camp, Gwen and Lindsay made it back. "Well, where now?" Gwen asked.

Lindsay looked around. "We dropped all that food… what about the lodge? We can't stay, but we could grab some stuff," she suggested.

The goth hummed, thinking it over. "Sounds like a good idea to me. We can make sandwiches to eat while we hide," she said, making Lindsay grin. "Let’s go."

The lodge was only a short distance away. When they arrived, they found that the door had been completely sawed in half before being kicked through, along with the table. In other words, they just had to walk inside. A test of the light switches showed that the power was, thankfully, on again. That made it easy to find the stuff for them both to make sandwiches.

As the two of them were putting them together, however, they both heard a low rumble from behind them. Lindsay was the first to look behind them, and saw a tall man with pale skin, hockey mask, a chainsaw, and a hook.

Lindsay froze. "G-Gwen…!" she said.

Gwen looked back as well… and then rolled her eyes. "Okay, the last time I might have been fooled, but not again," she said. "We watch a movie about an escaped killer, and then two of them show up in the same night? These guys are obviously actors Chris sent to scare us."

Lindsay looked at her, then at the stranger. "Um, really?" she asked.

"Definitely," the goth replied.

As Courtney and Liam arrived at the monitoring tent, the captured campers except for Heather gave the two of them a round of cheers.

"Well, I didn't think anyone was going to have the guts to take on the killer themselves, much less set a trap for them," Chris admitted. "Major points to both of ya!"

Corutney basked in the praise, making Liam chuckle. Now that they were safe, the violent rage he had seen before was gone. Which he was privately thankful for; he knew she could get scary if she was mad enough, and what had happened then was just a glimpse.

Heather said "So they won, great. Now can I please leave? This is really chafing." She waved a hand at her facial mask, which was indeed covered in a spiderweb of cracks.

"In a minute!" Izzy said, pointing at the monitors. "First we need to watch Gwen and Lindsay get caught by the killer!" The others looked at the screens, seeing the conversation unfolding in the lodge.

As they did, Liam looked over at Chris. “That was an excellent use of props, by the way. The fake newspaper at the start.”

Chris glanced over at him. “What fake newspaper?”

…

Courtney froze, looking at Chris, then between the monitors and Chef. "If Chef's here… t-then…" she began.

As everyone else came to the same realization, they all shouted "OH, CRAP!" before taking off in a panicked run towards the camp.

As the stranger with the hook and chainsaw continued to loom behind Gwen and Lindsay, doing nothing but breath, the former eventually lost her patience. "Okay, dude?" Gwen said, looking back. "I know actors without speaking roles don't get paid much, but would it kill you to invest in some mouthwash and a toothbrush?"

The stranger paused, then put down their saw long enough to exhale into their hand and smell it. Their eyes narrowed, and they let out a surprised grunt.

Lindsay piped up. "I… have some mint whitening straps you could borrow," she nervously offered.

He shook his head, and Gwen asked "Well, since you see what I mean, you want a sandwich before we get to the part where you 'kill' us?" He shook his head again, and she shrugged. "Suit yourself." She bit into another sandwich, chewing it methodically.

Lindsay, still feeling unsure about the entire scenario, just sipped on a glass of water. "Um, if you are an actor, can you take off the mask and fake hook? They're kind of creeping me out."

The stranger narrowed his gaze at her, before reaching for the hook with his right hand. Pulling it off, he revealed a scabbed, scarred stump where his left hand would be. Lindsay gulped at the sight, her sense of wrongness about the situation doubling.

Gwen, meanwhile, leaned forward and looked at the stump with interest. "Now that's some pretty good work by the make-up team," she commented. "How'd they get the scabs to look like that?"

That was when the remains of the lodge door burst open, all the other campers plus Chris and Chef rushing in. "Gwen! Lindsay!" all of them shouted. "He's the real escaped killer with a chainsaw and a hook!"

Gwen froze. "What?"

Both girls looked at the now-annoyed killer, who raised both weapons into the air with a roar.

That was when Lindsay reminded them all of something: when she was scared, she could scream.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

The pitch and volume of her wailing was such that the killer dropped his saw again, using his hook and hand to cover his ears. Gwen, being right next to Lindsay, also covered her ears to block out the noise. However, seeing the killer momentarily distracted convinced her to act. Running forward, she swung her left foot forward and connected right between his legs, before using her right foot to kick higher and knock his mask off his face.

The killer's eyes bulged and he fell forward, cradling his damaged package with his free hand. "Ooowwww," he moaned, his voice higher in pitch than they were expecting. "That… was uncalled for! Even in prison, they knew not to kick a guy in the nuts!" he said. "Just send me back there; this isn't worth it!"

All of them stared down at the whimpering killer, who was now rocking back and forth as the pain only grew worse and worse.

"Um… okay, then," Chris said, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket.

After Chris made a call to the Ontario Provincial Police, a squad of officers arrived in their own boat to take the escaped killer away. He didn't try to struggle, letting the officers cuff him and stepping onto the boat of his own free will. Each of the campers gave a witness statement, and more than one officer laughed at the part where Gwen kicked him. Once they felt they had everything they needed to report the incident, they also loaded onto their boat.

As the police boat sped away from the island, Chris turned to face the campers on the Dock. "Well, tonight was certainly interesting," he said, getting a look of 'You think?' from several of them. "As for the challenge, I was going to award immunity to Courtney for knocking out our fake killer. But since Gwen and Lindsay went up against a real killer and survived, I think they deserve it more."

While Gwen, Lindsay, Daphne, Izzy and Bridgette were nodding in agreement on this, Courtney called "You what?! But that's not fair! The real killer wasn't even a part of the challenge!"

"True. However, the challenge was to see who performed best in a slasher film setting. And besting a villain who would have actually killed them makes their performance better than yours," Chris told her. "If you don't like it, feel free to try doing something about it–I'm sure our lawyers are better than yours."

Courtney gritted her teeth and glared at him, but had no counter to that. The host looked at the rest of them. "So, with both of them having immunity in mind, I need you all to go cast your votes. I'll see you at the bonfire in fifteen minutes."

As he walked away, Heather started to grin.

Confessional Stall - Heather

"The best time to use a grenade isn't right away, but when it will cause the most damage. So you save it for then," she advised. "If what I read in Gwen's diary is true, that time is now. And the more grenades, the better."

"So, Courtney…" she loudly began, getting the C.I.T. to look at her. "Interested in making another deal? The one we made to get rid of DJ worked so well."

Courtney froze, eyes going wide at hearing her say that. And not just aloud, but before the other camper had left.

The others, caught off guard, exchanged glances with disbelief etched on their faces. "You… you what?!" Bridgette said, turning to face her and Liam. "That has to be a lie. You two said that you voted for Heather when DJ was eliminated! She's lying, right?"

Courtney stammered "What? No! I mean, yes, it's a lie. Where did you get that idea?"

But Heather wasn't about to let her off the hook. "Daphne told me," she declared, steamrolling over Courtney's denial. "You had Liam approach her before DJ's elimination, offering a deal to have him voted off instead of me. And that was after you used him to vote off Tyler."

Lindsay gasped, looking at the duo. "You made sure Tyler was eliminated?" she said.

Bridgette looked to Courtney for an explanation. Courtney, taking a deep breath, said "DJ and Tyler were part of Heather's alliance at that point–they were getting too strong. We had to weaken them and Heather was in danger of being voted off that round, so I knew she'd take a way out if we offered it. It was strategic." Then she glared at Heather. "But you're hardly one to cast stones, seeing as you came to me to vote off Leshawna!"

Lindsay gasped a second time while Gwen grimaced. "...I thought something was up that round," the latter said. "Leshawna wouldn't have voted for herself, and I knew Lindsay and I didn't vote for her either. So it had to have been your four." Looking at Heather's group, she said "So what's your excuse? Was my alliance with her 'too strong'?"

Daphne shrugged. "Pretty much, yeah. We had to pick someone, and without Leshawna, you and Lindsay almost stayed apart," she admitted.

"I wasn't even here yet!" Izzy 'helpfully' added.

Heather crossed her arms. "I'm not going to deny voting for her. Leshawna was a tough opponent, something I only realized more once she and I were put on separate teams. When we lost that eating challenge, that was my chance to vote her out before she ran over me. So I took it," she claimed.

Lindsay bit her lip and looked down at the ground. "All this talk about strategy and opponents…I know that Leshawna was my friend, and Tyler was my boyfriend. And I thought you and her were friends, too." Then she raised her head. "Friends don't vote for each other."

Heather shrugged. "If you want to live like that, fine by me. I'm going to continue surviving in the real world," she said bitingly, getting Daphne and Izzy to look at her in surprise.

Lindsay frowned. "Well, how's this for real? From now on, you and I aren't friends, so I could be voting for you," she declared.

"Same here," Gwen said, putting an arm around her. "In my book, stabbing someone in the back is not okay."

Heather smirked. "If it's backstabbers you want, you should keep looking at these two," she said, waving at Liam and Courtney. "After all, they were the ones that helped me and Duncan eliminate Harold."

…

…

…

Courtney and Liam were both frozen, eyes wide. Liam in particular was thunderstruck. Of all the things he expected her to reveal… He figured that wasn't going to come up for a long time.

Bridgette was likewise immobile. However, as she began to consider whether to believe this either, something came to her: Harold's words at her trailer party.

"Either you guys can stand by me and help, or you can consider me out of the alliance."

She slowly turned to them. And while Liam's expression was blank, she could see the truth on Courtney's.

"You two… I…"

Courtney frowned. "Bridgette... understand that those votes were made for good–"

"I TRUSTED you!" she screamed, shutting the C.I.T. up immediately. She fixed them with a glare that almost made her take a step back; when had Harold taught her to glare like that? "You two lied to me–not once, but twice! You voted for someone in our alliance after you swore you wouldn't–!"

Liam piped up. "By us not agreeing to his ultimatum, Harold was technically no longer in the alliance," he pointed out.

Bridgette focused her glare on him, but he remained unmoved. At that, her anger only grew; did they not feel any guilt about this? "And I told you both–before I even joined you–that I didn't want any backstabbing or drama between us. When the stuff with Lindsay happened, I stomached it because Harold said to stay, and he was a friend. But this? You two… all you ever did was lie!"

Courtney spoke up, forming a glare of her own. "Because every vote had to be strategic! You win this game with strategy, not with feelings! Harold was a threat to us and had to go, same with DJ. You and him were too busy making emotional decisions to think logically!" she shot back.

Bridgette was quiet for a moment, looking away while Courtney continued to glare. From behind her, Liam reached forward and grabbed the C.I.T.’s hand with his. He gave her a reassuring squeeze, which she returned.

"...So that's how it is. You use ‘strategy and logic' to justify betraying people…" Bridgette said, before looking at them. Her previously blazing expression had cooled, leaving only narrowed eyes. "Consider this the most logical decision I ever made: we are done."

And with that, she turned away from them to walk in the direction of the confessional.

Everyone else was silent. After a moment, Lindsay and Gwen moved to follow her. As they passed by, both of them sent glares at Heather, Daphne and Izzy, before Gwen also sent one at Courtney. Once they were gone, Courtney and Liam looked at Heather with angered expressions.

"Well, great job," Liam drawled. "Now those two aren't going to side with either of us. And you've just painted a huge target on your side's back once we're gone."

Heather crossed her arms. "So I did. But like you said, that will only be a problem once you're gone," she replied. Then her lips curled into a smile. "Unless…"

When Chris rejoined the campers at the bonfire, he was surprised to see so many of them glaring at each other. "I was gone for fifteen minutes. What did you all get up to while I was away?"

Bridgette threw a glare Courtney's way. "Just finding out how some of us really act," she said bitingly.

Chris hummed. "Makes total sense," he said. "Well, I'm sure whatever happened will be fun for me to watch during post-production. As it is…" He held up a plate of marshmallows. "Only seven of you are getting one of these. Once you hear your name, catch it."

"First up are Lindsay and Gwen…" The two of them caught their marshmallows and exchanged high-fives.

"Heather…" She reached up and caught hers with one hand, smirking.

"Liam…" He appeared faintly surprised as he caught his. 'I thought I'd at least be in the bottom two,' he thought.

"Izzy…" Once she caught her marshmallow, she picked up a stick from the ground before spearing it and holding it over the fire.

"Daphne…" Not even bothering with a stick, she caught hers and flicked on her lighter, holding the marshmallow over it.

"And the last marshmallow goes to…"

…

…

…

"Courtney."

While she caught her prize, Bridgette slumped forward. "You know, a part of me isn't even surprised," she muttered, before raising her head to glare at Courtney and Liam. "So because I left our alliance, I was a threat too?"

Liam nodded. "You made it clear we're done, and letting someone who has a grudge against us linger just isn't smart," he said frankly.

Bridgette scoffed. "Whatever. You two may think being cold and callous will make you win. But sooner or later, it’s going to come back to bite you," she swore.

Then she stood and walked past them. As she passed by Gwen and Lindsay, both of them stood up as well. "I would have liked making it to the final three with you. Make sure at least one of you does, huh?" she said with a smile.

Gwen smiled and extended her hand. "Sure thing," she promised.

Bridgette shook her hand, but when she turned to do the same with Lindsay, the other blonde instead wrapped her in a hug. "I'll miss you too, Brigid. When you see Tyler and Jeffrey, can you tell them I said 'hi'?" she asked.

The surfer chick grinned and hugged her back. "Sure thing." Then she let go and passed by Heather's group, who at least gave her a wave goodbye that she returned. She collected her surfboard and other luggage from Chef, loading it onto the Boat. When it started and took her away from the Island, she didn't look back.

After Bridgette left, the other campers dispersed to either go to bed or stay up to talk. Liam went looking for Courtney and found her sitting on the steps to the lounge, staring at the ground. He frowned, feeling a surge of concern. “What's wrong?" he asked as he walked over and sat down next to her.

For a moment, Courtney was silent. Then she began "Bridgette… I didn't want to vote for her. She's a nice person, and if anyone deserved to make it to the semifinals with us, it would have been her." She looked up at him, and he was struck by the lack of certainty in her eyes. "I didn't want to eliminate any of them. But every time, it was the smart thing to do… wasn't it?"

Liam hummed. This was… the most vulnerable he had seen her in a long while. He had underestimated the effect Bridgette had on her.

"Of course it was," he told her, reaching up and brushing away some of her hair. "Harold and Bridgette, they may be smart, but they still let emotions cloud their judgment. They make decisions based on how they feel instead of thinking." Then he moved so he was kneeling in front of her. He grabbed both her hands and looked her in the eyes. "You're different from that. Better than that. You have the drive, the will, to do whatever you need to do in order to win. You won't let sentiment hold you back; you're too smart to let it." He smiled. "And that's what I admire most about you."

Courtney was silent, but her poker face was terrible; he could see that his words were getting through. "That's what I thought," she said. "It's not about being nice. It's about winning. Bridgette just couldn't see that."

"Exactly," he replied. "You and I are headed to finals, first and foremost. Anyone who expects us to act otherwise is an idiot."

Courtney chuckled, before slowly nodding. Then she leaned forward to peck him on the cheek. Liam blinked once then grinned, prompting her to grin as well. "Let’s have breakfast together early tomorrow. We can talk about our strategy for the next vote then," she suggested.

"Sounds great," he agreed. The two of them stood and walked together back to the cabins. Once they were midway between the two, they shared one more look before parting ways.

As Liam stood in front of the door to the boys' cabin, he looked back. 'I never imagined I'd meet someone like her when I auditioned,' he thought. 'Beating her in the finale and seeing how she reacts is going to be… exquisite.'

Confessional Stall - Daphne

"So… what the heck was that all about?" she asked, appearing equal parts annoyed and confused. "Heather told me and Izzy that she had plans to bring Lindsay to our side. And that whole stunt just blew any chances of that happening sky-high." She crossed arms, tapping a knuckle against her chin. "What game is she playing?"

Chapter 22: Luring in the Catch

Chapter Text

Although it was still the middle of summer, one could be forgiven for thinking that autumn had come early to Wawanakwa.

The level of cold between the three remaining alliances was palpable. Without Bridgette around to keep things upbeat, the ones who might have done so were Lindsay and Izzy. Except Izzy seemed too busy soaking up all the drama, while Lindsay was too angry with Heather to try. Conversations came to a halt at meals unless they were at different tables or opposite ends of one, and every glance was noticed and recorded. Not one speck of trust was between the different groups. In fact, it had gotten to the point that Liam wondered if they were going to start finding hidden locations to speak privately.

He loved it so much. If only he was doing well enough to relax in the middle of it.

At breakfast a few days later, it seemed Lindsay's grudge over Leshawna’s elimination hadn't faded, since she and Gwen were sitting at the other table from Heather. As Courtney and Liam sat at the other end, Gwen looked away long enough to send them a look of blatant distrust. Courtney pretended not to notice and sat down, only then noticing what was for breakfast. "Paste again?" she groaned, trying to pry her spoon out of the stuff.

Liam simply gathered a small bit on his finger before tasting it. He immediately grimaced and pushed the entire bowl away. "No thanks," he muttered, leaning forward and crossing his arms to rest his head on them.

As it was, he made sure to stay focused as Courtney talked. "There's no way we can get Gwen or Lindsay to vote with us. Which means Daphne, Izzy and Heather are the largest faction left. We have to do something," she said.

Liam nodded. "With just us, we don't have many cards left to play," he admitted. He disliked being at a disadvantage. "But we can't stop now. We made it this far."

She smiled. "Darn right. We'll win immunity in this next challenge. And even if we don't, we'll do whatever we need to make it to the finals," she said confidently.

Any further conversation was put to halt, however, as Chris arrived inside the lounge. "Campers, only seven out of twenty-four of you are left on Total Drama Island. After tonight, we'll be down to the last quarter. We're nearing the finish line, so look alive!"

Confessional Stall - Heather

"I'm the favorite to win, obviously. I mean, look at the other choices: Weird Goth Girl, the Psycho Hose Beast, Lindsiot, Mr. Slacker, Pyro Girl and Courtney," she said, filing her nails. "The fact she managed to stay on this long is impressive, but that just means she's a threat. One I need to deal with." Then her fist clenched and she snapped the nail file in half.

Liam

"When I decided to prevent Courtney from being my enemy, I had no idea it would pay off this well. I'm feeling fairly confident about my ability to make it a few more rounds, especially with her by my side. And if I can do that…" He shrugged. "Heck, why not try going all the way?"

Daphne

"The closer we get to the end, the more excited I feel," she said with a grin. "As long as Izzy cools her jets and doesn't pull me into any more 'find-the-psycho' situations, I know I can make it out of this with a lot of fond memories and no lasting injuries. Best of both worlds."

"Now for today's challenge," Chris continued. "In the spirit of our province's great game wardens and rangers, each of you will be required to trap a wild animal. You will then have to bring it back to the bonfire unharmed. The reward for today's challenge will be not only immunity, but a meal consisting of all your favorite foods."

At that, all of them looked down at their bowls of paste. If that wasn't enough incentive… "I am so winning this," Heather declared.

"Glad to see you all motivated. Meet me at the boathouse once you're…" Chris began, before trailing off as Courtney raised her hand. "Yes?"

"If each of us are trapping an animal, how do you decide the winner?" she questioned.

"Easy: Victory goes to the camper that brings their animal back first," he answered. "Each of you will have eight hours from now to do it, so I'd eat quickly." And with that, he exited the lodge.

Those that could stomach the paste immediately began wolfing it down. Heather, on the other hand, just pushed hers away and leaned closer to Daphne and Izzy. "So, we need to decide who to vote for tonight," she told them. "We may have the most votes left, but if Gwen and Courtney work together, they could still eliminate one of us."

Izzy frowned. "Yeah… And since Lindsay and Courtney are both mad at y—at us, they may even do it," she agreed.

"But who do we choose?" Daphne asked. "Gwen and Lindsay together are the bigger threat, I think. But we can either vote for Lindsay, which will make Gwen mad at us, or vote for Gwen and make Lindsay even madder. We can't win."

"Precisely. Which is why we need to save them for later," Heather said. "For now, we need to kick Courtney's alliance while they're down. Once it's just Liam, we can either recruit him if he's willing, or eliminate him next challenge. Either way, that bossy prude will be out of our hair."

Izzy hummed, tapping her finger against her chin. "Voting for Courtney now, saving Gwen and Lindsay for later," she summarized. "I say… Sure! Sucks to be Courtney!" she declared with a grin.

Daphne glanced at her curiously, but slowly nodded. "I guess it does. I'm in," she said.

Once everyone that was willing to eat was done, all the campers filed out and met Chris at the boathouse. He held up a hat with slips of paper, making them all wary."Another random draw?" Liam asked.

"Yep. Each of you come up one at a time and take a paper. It'll tell you which animal you'll be required to catch," Chris explained.

The first to walk forward and take a slip was Courtney. Looking at it, she smiled. "A frog? Oh, this'll be easy," she said confidently.

Izzy ran forward and snatched a paper. "Come on, come on, give me something good…" she said, before holding the paper at arm's length. Peeking one eye open, she said "Chipmunk? Aw man…" and slumped forward.

As she read hers, Daphne said "I got a racoon. You could help me with that if yours gets too boring."

"You know, I just might," Izzy replied, sighing.

Gwen raised an eyebrow at hers. "A duck? Okay, then," she said neutrally.

Lindsay smiled at her animal. "Oh, I have to catch a beaver? They're so cute, with their little wooden houses and big cheeks!" she said excitedly.

Liam frowned as he pulled his paper from the hat. "A deer? How in the blazes am I going to catch one of those unharmed?" he muttered.

But that reaction was nothing compared to when Heather drew the last slip. "Bear!?" she exclaimed, eyes wide. "Are you kidding?! How am I supposed to catch a bear with my bare hands?"

"Well, you do all get one minute in the boathouse to gather any gear you think will help," Chris offered.

The queen bee scoffed. "Unless there's a zebra carcass and a tranquilizer gun in there, that's not going to help," she said, throwing her hands over her hand. "You know what? I'm not doing this."

As she began to walk away, Chris said "That might be a bad idea. After all, I haven't mentioned the penalty for anyone that fails to catch their animal."

Heather stopped and turned back around, hands on her hips. "Oh yeah? And what kind of penalty do you think will make me want to risk death by mauling?" she challenged.

He smirked. "Cleaning the communal washrooms."

Cue gasps from every other camper, while Heather was frozen stiff. She whipped her head to look in the direction of the washroom. The hygiene there had been better since Owen was eliminated, but even so… She groaned in dismay and walked back over to join the others.

Chris kept himself from looking too smug as he raised his watch. "Alright campers, one minute to snatch any critter-catching equipment," he declared. All of them turned to face the boathouse, ready to run inside. "Starting… now!" he called, and they took off.

As the fastest runner, Izzy got there first and wrenched the door open. The rest followed her inside, searching for anything to harmlessly catch their animals. Supply crates were thrown open, revealing various items such as rope, rubber chickens and bear traps with teeth. Gwen was the first to open a crate and find something useful: a net. Heather, who was right next to her, reached into the box and grabbed it at the same time as her.

Both girls glared at each other, neither of them letting go. "I saw this first. Let go," Gwen stated.

"And I'm the one stuck trapping a bear. I need it more," Heather replied, pulling on the net. Gwen pulled back, and their glares intensified.

As that was happening, Courtney muttered "Okay, just a little frog. I just need something to hold it after I catch it…" Against the wall, she spotted what looked like another net. As she came closer though, she saw that the net was both small and had a handle attached. "Perfect," she said with a grin, picking it up with both hands. "Now I just need bait."

Seeing Gwen and Heather fight over the net, Liam hummed. "Maybe one of these has another net," he thought aloud, beginning to open the other crates. If he had that, the rope and some sticks, he might be able to make a crude drop net to get a deer with.

Lindsay held up a small burlap sack. "Um, how do I get a beaver into this?" she asked.

Daphne grabbed the rope and held it up. "You could tie this in a snare and catch one that way," she said.

The blonde frowned. "Is a snare a knot? Because I can't tie knots that well," she said.

The brunette grunted, thinking something over. Eventually, she said "Well… I could tie one for you. If you give me that burlap sack."

Lindsay blinked. "You'd… help me?" she said. "I'm confused. You and Heather are friends, and Heather and I aren't friends anymore. And I thought everyone here was only helping their friends or their friends' friends."

Daphne raised an eyebrow. "So you don't want my help?" she asked.

Before she could answer, Chris leaned into the doorway. "Fifteen seconds remaining!" he warned them.

Biting her lips, Lindsay said "Okay, deal! Here!" and hurriedly tossed her the sack. Daphne grinned and got to work tying the rope into a snare. "Don't I need bait, though?"

Behind her, Izzy reached down and picked up three different supply crates at once. "For beavers? Oh, they love leaves, inner bark and twigs," she answered, before calling "Coming through!" and running out the boathouse with her haul.

One of those boxes clipped Gwen as she left, knocking her and Heather over. As she lay on the ground, Gwen noticed a cylindrical container with an image of a duck. "Duck feed," she read on the label. "That'll do."

She immediately let go of the net, and Heather stumbled back. With a shout, she lost her footing and fell backwards, landing inside a metal bucket. "Ugh! This is so…!" she began, before sniffing. "I think this bucket still has fish in it!"

"Then there's your bait," Gwen told her, strolling by with her gear. "And P.S.: That net'll never hold a bear," she added, walking away with a chuckle while Heather struggled to get the bucket off.

Not finding a net of his own, Liam grunted in frustration before grabbing a rope, a bucket and a shovel. "Alright, guess we're doing this the hard way," he said grumpily, almost stomping his way out of the boathouse. As Chris called "Time!" the others began exiting as well.

Izzy had her crates open and was tossing items out. "Fake hook, old sandwich, fishing line, sledgehammer…" she said, and Heather made sure to catch the last two as they were thrown. Anything helped at this point. "Score!" Izzy suddenly called, holding up a small plastic orange pistol. "Tranquilizer gun, sweet!"

Heather's mouth hung open. "You have got to be joking."

Chris held up his hand. "Everyone ready?" he asked.

All of them said "Yes!" with varying levels of enthusiasm except for Heather, who yelled "No!"

Despite this, Chris brought his hand down and called "Then let the hunt begin!" Everyone except her immediately took off for the woods, while the queen bee angrily stomped her foot before checking if Izzy left anything helpful behind. She'd at least try before subjecting herself to cleaning duty.

Confessional Stall - Lindsay

"I am so excited! I never thought I would get this far! And I've still got a friend in Gwen to compete with!" she exclaimed, before gasping. "Can you imagine if the two of us made it to the finals? That way, no matter what, one of us wins!"

Lindsay came to a stop in the middle of the woods. "Okay, Lizzy said to use leaves and twigs… do any leaves work?" she thought aloud. After a moment, she shrugged. "I'm sure they all taste great! For a beaver at least." With that in mind, she began reaching up and plucking leaves off the trees one at a time, gathering them on the ground at her feet.

While Lindsay was gathering 'bait', Gwen left a small pile of her duck feed on the ground near a pond she had spotted. Her luck seemed to be going well, as it didn't take long for a single duck to come near her. She crouched low in a bush nearby, waiting until the duck was good and distracted before she struck.

"Here, ducky…" she said, throwing a few bits of feed next to the bush. The duck stopped eating from the first pile, eyeing the second warily. Then it suddenly darted over and took a few mouthfuls from the second pile. Gwen tensed, but then it quacked loudly and shot away from her. In fact, it ran so fast it kicked up a dust cloud behind it.

Gwen stared. "Don't ducks waddle?" she asked aloud.

Confessional Stall - Gwen

"I suppose I have a chance at winning," she stated. "If I didn't, I'd have never stuck around this dump and put up with the revolting food, giant bugs, cameras in my face and both Courtney and Heather. Only a hundred-thousand dollars is going to be worth living with them."

Izzy looked to her left, then her right. No sign of any dangerous predators. Still, she could never be too sure. What if something besides her was also hunting chipmunk? The coast clear—for now—she continued to stealthily make her way towards the lodge. Chipmunks liked going through trash, so she figured the trash behind the lodge would be a good place to check before she started searching the woods.

Once she was near the lodge, she could hear what sounded like jostling trash. She closed her eyes, zeroing in on the direction the sound was coming from. Then, once she had a lock, she jumped out of the brush. "BANZAI!" she shouted, firing her tranquilizer gun in the direction of the sound. Just in case they ran, she shot off three darts. A moment later, she heard the thud of something much larger than a chipmunk hitting the ground.

Opening her eyes, she saw that what she had shot was not a trash-eating chipmunk at all. It was Chef, who had been carrying a trash can outside. And who was now unconscious with trash all around him.

"Whoops…" she said, laughing nervously. Just in case he woke up sooner than he should, she took off deep into the woods.

Confessional Stall - Izzy

"My gosh, I should totally win this. I'm strong, fast, and did I mention I have an IQ of 188? Because I do!" she said quickly. "I just gotta make sure I get to the finals with Daph. Then, even if she does beat me somehow, I still get to see fireworks!"

As much as Heather hated to admit it, Weird Goth Girl had been right: her net was never going to hold a bear. However, that didn't mean she couldn't use it for something else. Namely, she could use her fishing net to catch fish.

"And… go!" she called, throwing the net away from her and into the water. The net landed in the river with a splash and she smirked in satisfaction. The fish underneath the surface tried to dart around and escape, but she had aimed her throw to cover the widest area possible. There was nowhere for them to go except into the net. And as she slowly pulled it back onto land, she was rewarded with over half a dozen tiny fish. Between what the net could get her and the fish in the bucket she had fallen into, she should have more than enough to entice that bear to come out of its hole. Because she was not going into the cave herself. She wasn't stupid.

As she was pulling fish out of the net and preparing to re-cast it, she stopped upon hearing a groan not too far away. Dropping the fish she caught so far into her bucket, she took a short walk into the woods. It didn’t take long for her to find another bucket at the base of a tree, this one partially filled with acorns. Hearing rustling from above, she glanced and blinked.“Liam?” she asked. “What are you doing up there?”

From his position on one of the tree branches, Liam shot a flat glare down at her. “Foraging for acorns. What does it look like I’m doing?” he said. He was not having fun with this challenge.

The queen bee returned his glare with one of her own. “For all I know, you could have been trying to spy on me. Or something else that Courtney told you to do,” she snapped.

Liam hummed. She was aware at this point of how manipulative he was, so there wasn't much point hiding. “That’s not an unfair accusation,” he admitted. “But no, I have other things to do than hope you’re talking strategy with Daphne and Izzy. Like try to get bait for my own catch.”

“Hmm... Well, just don’t get in my way,” Heather warned, walking back to the river. She didn’t let her guard down, though; if those two tried anything with her, she’d see it coming.

There was a small patch of land not far from the pond where Gwen had tried luring her duck. This area had several small ponds, making it the perfect place for frogs. As Courtney crept closer to the area, she could hear the sound of croaking, making her smirk. A few steps closer, and she used the hand not holding her net to push aside some foliage.

Bingo. One adult frog sitting in the mud. ‘All I have to do now is be careful,' she thought. She crouched low and spread her arms. There was the chance that the frog might jump away to either side, and she didn't want to give them the chance. Taking one step closer, the frog had yet to react to her. She took a deep breath… and then lunged."Yaaah!" she called, swinging her net down at the frog.

Predictably, it leaped in response. However, rather than away or to the side, it surprised her by leaping towards her, going right over her head. Meanwhile, she was still sailing forward. "Aaa–!" she managed to get out, before landing face first in the mud. She slid forward a few feet before coming to a stop.

There was a moment of silence, during which the frog stared at her with an unimpressed expression. Courtney slowly pulled her head free of the mud, then looked behind her at them. "Oh, it is on," she swore.

Confessional Stall - Courtney

"The road ahead may seem rough, but that's because of one thing: Heather, " she said venomously. "She ruined any future alliances I might get and purposely said all that stuff so we'd have no choice but to eliminate Bridgette. Once she's gone, everyone else should go smoothly. None of them, not even Liam, are going to stop me from getting that prize."

Finding a racoon turned out to not even be that hard. Once Daphne stopped checking some of the wide open fields on the island and focused on the wooded areas, she found a racoon burrow almost instantly. What was more, there was even a single racoon lying in front of it and chewing on a piece of fruit.

The brunette moved into the open and the racoon whipped its gaze over to her, pausing in its eating. She gave them a smile. "Hey there, little guy. I just need you to get into this bag for me," she said, holding the bag open with one hand.

Rather than be comforted, however, the racoon chittered at her. Then, from the burrow behind it, three more racoons emerged and stood behind the first. None of them appeared friendly.

Daphne frowned. "Look, I don't like this anymore than you do," she said frankly. "Help me out here and we can both go on with our lives after. I mean, aside from maybe needing a rabies shot after, how is hunting one of you supposed to be thrilling?"

That was apparently the wrong thing to say, as all of the racoons glared at her. The ones that she had seen so far moved to stand next to each other, while dozens more streamed out of the burrow. They began climbing on top of each other, forming a tower of vermin that soon grew taller than her. Then it formed two 'arms' and a 'tail', while the eyes of the two raccoons on top turned orange. In less than a minute, an entire Rac-Transformer was standing in front of her, roaring in challenge.

Daphne blinked once. Twice. "Well… that changes things," she said. Mentally, she added 'I didn't even know racoons could do that,' and got ready to run.

Despite the duck’s best efforts at a Roadrunner imitation, Gwen was able to remain behind it as she chased the animal through the woods. The duck had initially tried to escape to a river, but as they came closer the two of them saw Lindsay there. The duck immediately quacked and altered its course, as Gwen turned to follow it.

Meanwhile, Lindsay moved as close as she could to a beaver dam that was sitting in the middle of the river. She crouched and anchored her snare around a rock, then placed an armful of leaves and twigs in the middle of the loop. Once she had the trap set, she nodded in satisfaction. Now she just needed to get a beaver to come out. She moved back and hid behind a bush within eyesight of the snare. She then cupped her hands around her mouth before stopping.

She didn’t remember what sounds a beaver made.

After a moment wracking her brain, Lindsay eventually shrugged. “Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!” she called, before switching to “Aah! Aah!” A minute passed with no sign of the beavers reacting, making her frown. She… might be here a while.

Now that she was aware that the ponds were much deeper than they appeared, Courtney was careful not to step in any of them. Unfortunately, this also meant that, any time she got near the blasted amphibian, it could escape her net by just jumping into the water. But she didn’t let this stop her, waiting for the next opportunity.

After a few more dodged swipes, she spotted her chance. She faked a jump forward, and as the frog leaped to the side, she held her net under where it would land. But then the blasted thing twirled and landed next to her net, instantly leaping again and into one of the puddles. “Oh, come on!” she shouted. “How can catching one frog be so hard?!”

With no other option, she angrily sat and waited for the frog to re-emerge from the water. It took about ten minutes for it to happen, during which time she had plenty of opportunities to imagine roasting them on a stick. If only this had been a hunting challenge instead of a capturing one. Regardless, when the frog came out of the water this time, she was ready. One swing from behind, faster than it could turn and react to, and she had one captured frog that was ribbiting in protest.

“Ha! I knew you wouldn’t get the best of me!” Courtney declared, holding the net shut just in case it tried to hop out. She turned in the direction of the camp and began walking forwards. “Now, I just need to get you back and I’ll have victory in—Whoa!” she shouted, abruptly falling downwards. It took less than a second for her to realize what happened: in her haste to get back, she had forgotten to watch her step.

As Courtney went up to her shoulders in one of the ponds, her grip on the net loosened enough for the frog to leap out. It then looked back at her, ribbited once more, and began hooping away. “NO!” Courtney screamed, scrambling to pull herself out and after her catch.

Daphne panted, looking behind her as she sprinted. Yep, the Racoon Mech was still chasing her. She had been running for the past five minutes, yet this thing hadn't shown any sign of slowing down. She wasn't even sure how far from camp she was anymore, just that she had run fairly far. The Mech raised one arm at her and pointed at her, before firing an entire racoon in her direction."Hey!" she called, ducking and letting the vermin fly over her head. "Gonna have to do better than that!" she taunted with a grin.

The Rac-Transformer apparently took that as a challenge, because it aimed its other arms and began dual-firing racoons as her. She ducked or side-stepped all of them though, laughing as the rush of danger filled her. Now this was getting fun.

It was over too soon, though, as she quickly ran out of road at the edge of a cliff. Skidding to a halt, she turned and faced the Mech. "What to do, what to do…" she muttered, looking left and right. Nope, it would catch her before she made it. Which meant the only choice… She glanced back at the cliff. "Here goes," she said, moving into a stance and holding up her bag. Opening it wide, she called "Alright, give me your best shot!"

The Rac-Transformer did exactly that, aiming right at her head. She leaped forward and it fired, the racoon already extending its claws as it glared at her. But she grinned and held the bag in front of her, and the racoon chittered in protest as it sailed into the bag. She immediately held it closed, unwilling to let her catch escape. Unfortunately, her 'plan' had not accounted for one thing: the Mech's reaction.

Upon seeing her flying towards it with one of its brothers in her clutches, the Rac-Transformer roared and swung one of its 'legs'. As it collided with her torso, her forward momentum forcibly changed directions and sent her hurtling in the opposite direction: over the cliff.

"Oh craaaaaa...!" she called as she fell.

In a dark, densely forested section of the woods, the Sasquatchanakwa was emerging from his cave. No humans had tried barging in on his cave to prove he was real in weeks, and those two humans that had captured him for that game of theirs hadn’t been seen either. Things were starting to look up. He took a few steps out in the open and inhaled. The fresh forest area was a welcome change from inside his den. Perhaps he could start his day by going foraging. Or maybe even bathing in the river?

Neither, it turned, as he suddenly felt a small pricking sensation on his arm. Looking down, he grunted in confusion at the small orange arm that had suddenly sprouted from his bicep. A second later, his eyes rolled up into his head and he fell to the ground.

Izzy then emerged from the foliage and looked at the scene. “Darn it,” she muttered, turning around to continue her search. But then she paused, a new sound reaching her ears."... aaaaaap!" she heard, following by a thud and a loud "Oof!"

Turning around, she spotted a familiar brunette lying on top of the unconscious Sasquatch, moaning in pain. "Oh hey, Daph!" Izzy called, running up to her with a smile. "Whatcha been up to?"

Daphne groaned and opened one eye, looking over at her. "Oh, not much…" she said, before craning her head to look at her other hand. Yep, still had the burlap sack, which was currently filled with an angrily chattering racoon trying to get out. She cracked a grin. "Managed to get my catch, though." She looked over at her. "How 'bout you? Did you find any chipmunks yet?"

Izzy frowned. "Not exactly…" she admitted, glancing at the dart still in the Sasquatch's arm. Then she perked up. "Oh! While you're here, I wanted to tell you about a thought I had. About Heather."

Daphne raised both eyebrows. With a grunt, she rolled off the Sasquatchanakwa and onto her feet, suppressing a hiss as both her back and front throbbed in pain. "Let’s hear it."

"Okay, so you know how Heather said she wanted to recruit Lindsay, and then ruined it by saying all that stuff last challenge?" Izzy asked. When Daphne nodded, she continued "I think her plans have changed. I think she wants Lindsay to stay an enemy."

The brunette frowned. "But… Why would that be the case? If Lindsay stays with Gwen, then the two of them could still vote against us..." Then she trailed off for a moment, eyes widening. "Which means we still have a threat to unite against. You think she knows about—?"

"It's possible," the orange-haired girl said.

Daphne bit her lip. "I'll hurry back to camp and turn in my animal. After that, you and I can find a chipmunk."

"Sounds good," Izzy said, and watched Daphne take off in a run. Once she was gone, Izzy sighed and looked around. Finding one chipmunk and shooting it shouldn't take too long.

Sunlight filtered through the lush canopy, casting patterns on the woodland floor. A lone deer wandered through the foliage before stopping, perking up as a scent reached its nose. Curious, they followed the source to a small clearing. In the middle of it, atop a pile of leaves, was a small mound of acorns. Before approaching, they took a look around the clearing and gave another sniff. No signs of any predators. The deer slowly walked towards the acorns. Once they reached it and nothing jumped out to chase them away, they lowered their head and began to eagerly eat.

The forest floor crunched softly beneath their hooves. Then, as they placed more weight on their front legs to eat faster, the ground rumbled. The deer froze, before turning to leap away. A second too late, though, as the ground gave way underneath themThe deer gave out a startled bleat as they fell, kicking up a small cloud of leaves and dust above them. As they landed on their side with a grunt, they scrambled to their feet and looked around. They had fallen into a pitfall trap, its edges lined with camouflage to make it impossible to detect.

They heard a chuckle and looked up, finding Liam standing there with a smirk on his face. "Well, I've got about half the job done," he declared. Holding up his shovel and a length of rope, he said "Now I just have to get you back to camp."

As Daphne was running towards camp, she began to pick up a sound from behind it. A sound like… quacking? "Huh?" she muttered, looking behind her. Just in time to see Gwen rush past, dropping duck feed behind her and letting a duck follow.

"Nice try, Daphne! That dinner's mine!" she called.

Her eyes widened, and Daphne grinned. "Oh, no you don't!" she called, resuming her run and kicking it up to a full sprint. However, even as she caught up with Gwen, the goth managed to stay slightly ahead of her. "You can really run, huh?" she said.

Gwen smirked. "I really want that dinner," she said, before going even faster and leaving her behind.

Daphne laughed and picked up the pace as well. Camp soon came within sight for both of them, as well the bonfire pit. A wooden cage had been placed next to it for their animals… which was closed. Gwen looked back at her duck. "Uh oh," she said.

The pyro grinned. "I could run ahead and open it so you can win… if you'll owe me one."

Gwen frowned, slowing down enough to keep pace with her but still lead the duck. "If it's to vote off Lindsay or give you the dinner prize, you can forget it," she said bluntly.

"It's not, I swear," Daphne promised. Then she looked ahead. "Better decide quick, though," she remarked, seeing them reaching the cage fast.

Gwen groaned, but nodded. "Fine. Just open that so I don't have to run this thing down again!" she said.

"Aye-aye!" she replied happily, sprinting ahead and heading straight for the cage.

She grabbed the door and held it open, letting Gwen reach her and toss the duck feed in. As promised, she waited until the duck had made it in before she tossed her racoon into the cage with it. Said racoon immediately ran out of the bag and hissed at her, before she shut the door in their face with a smirk.

Gwen grinned. "Yes! No more gunk for me tonight! Oh yeah!" she cheered. "You know, I think I already know what I'll have for that dinner. Just how many dishes do you think have duck in them?" she asked.

Dusting off her hands, Daphne said "Oh, I'm sure there's quite a few. But anyway, onto that favor."

That got her to pause in her celebration. "Yeah? And what is it?"

Daphne grinned and leaned forward to whisper to her.

"One, two, three, pull!" Liam called, giving the rope a tug. "One, two, three, pull!" he called again.

With each tug, the rope was pulled over the tree limb he had looped it around. The other end of the rope went down into the pit. Slowly, over the course of a minute, the unconscious form of the deer rose into view. Its ankles had been tied together, and a cartoonish bump rose from its head between its antlers.

With a final pull, Liam was able to hoist the deer out of the hole and over land, at which point he let it fall with a sigh. "Man, this is a lot more work than I wanted to do today," he grumbled. Placing his hands against the small of his back, he leaned backwards and was rewarded with several satisfying pops. "Aaah, that's better," he sighed.

He grabbed his shovel from the ground next to the hole and kneeled beside the deer. As he began to untie the rope from its ankles and re-tie it around its neck, the creature began to stir with a low groan. Without even blinking, he raised his shovel and smacked it in the same spot as the bump on its head with a loud clang. Said bump rose even higher, and the deer went limp once more. Once he finished tying the rope around its neck, Liam turned and began dragging the deer back to camp. "Real shame I can't have this guy made into sausage…" he muttered.

Liam's deer wasn't the only animal to be enticed by an appealing scent. Another cave, not that far from the Sasquatchanakwa's, had a bear emerge from it with their nose held high in the air. Their stomach gave a low rumble, one they echoed as they ambled towards the smell of meat.

They found the source lying in the middle of a pathway through the woods: A single glistening fish, tempting and delicious. The bear wasted no time, eagerly scooping up the fish with their claws and tossing it into the air before letting it fall into their mouth. They groaned in delight at the taste, eating the entire thing in less than a minute. Then, satisfied but still hungry, the bear caught sight of another fish on the ground further away.

It ambled over and tore into that one as well. Wherever these were coming from, they were all fresh and delicious. But once that fish was eaten, the smell still lingered in the air. Following it, they stopped and stared. Over half a dozen were laid out along the path. The bear smiled; today was their lucky day.

Downwind, Heather watched the scene unfold from behind a shrub. "That's it, just keep following the bait…" she whispered. With any luck, she could lead her animal all the way back to camp before they got full.

Chris had Gwen's victory dinner set up at a picnic table by bonfire. Per her request, every dish involved duck in one form or another. Roast duck with chestnut stuffing, seared duck with blueberry sauce, duck a l'Orange, and gumbo made with duck, sausage and shrimp. There was even a dessert consisting of a small block of chocolate carved in the shape of a duck.

"Okay, even I have to admit that looks good," Chris said. "Hope you enjoy it."

Gwen licked her lips. "Oh, I plan to," she said. "Now, should I start with the roast duck, or the seared?" she muttered.

Before she could decide, however, she heard a family voice say "You mean I didn't even win?!"

Looking behind her, she confirmed that it was indeed Courtney. The C.I.T. was drenched and covered head-to-toe with mud, and in one hand she was holding a net with one captive frog in it. She was glaring at the table and then at Gwen. "I went through all that for nothing!"

"Well, not nothing," Chris told her. "Since you're not the last one to catch their critter, you don't have to clean the washrooms."

Courtney grimaced. "That's just avoiding a penalty, not winning," she snapped, marching over and opening the cage herself. She threw both the net and frog inside, before closing it harshly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a shower and fantasize about eating frog legs."

As she began walking away, Gwen was about to dig in again when they heard the voice of Lindsay. "Open the cage! Open the cage!" Looking in her direction, they saw her running towards camp with… three beavers chasing her?

Chris blinked. "What the heck happened?" he called to her.

As she ran closer, Lindsay shouted "The beavers weren't coming out of their house, so I thought I'd peek my head in and ask them to come try my bait and then they got mad at me and started chasing me and openthecageplease!"

The host acquiesced and held the door open. Lindsay ran towards it with the beavers in her pursuit. Just as she reached the cage, she jumped up and grabbed the bars over the doorway, holding herself off the ground. The beavers tried skidding to halt and ended up sliding into the cage, at which point Lindsay let go and immediately slammed it shut."Alright, nice job! And without even one bite!" Chris congratulated her.

"Yes! No cleaning for me!" Lindsay declared. She then turned to walk away when she noticed Gwen's dinner. "Aw, what a cute dessert!" she said, picking up the chocolate duck.

"It sure is," Gwen said. Then, before anything else could stop her, she grabbed her fork and tore off a strip of the seared duck. As she bit into it, she moaned in delight. "I love blueberries…"

As Liam continued to pull his deer down the path to camp, he stopped as he spotted something strange. "The heck is a fish doing here?" he thought aloud, picking it up. Looking ahead, he could see another one on the ground. And when he looked behind it, he could see another along a path that intersected with his. "What in the…?"

He got his answer a moment later when the bushes rustled, and then a bear walked out of them.The two of them froze. Liam stared at the bear, while the bear stared at him... then at the fish in his hand. After a moment, the bear shrugged. It roared and charged forward, intent on catching at least one meal.

"HOLY—!" Liam shouted, dropping everything he was holding and taking off in a run through the foliage. He didn't check to see if the bear was following him, he just ran.

For all of fifteen seconds, that is. Then he collided with someone who was also running through the woods. "Ow!" she said, stumbling back and rubbing her head. "Watch where you're going, you moron!"

Liam rubbed his head as well, putting aside his terror long enough to recognize them. "Heather? What are you doing here?" he asked.

The queen bee glared. "I'm using fish I caught to lure my bear to camp. Now get out of here before it sees you!" she snapped.

The slacker blinked. "Those fish were you…?" he began to ask, before stopping as he noticed something. Or rather, a lack of something. Something like a rope and shovel in his hand.

"...Oh no."

Heather tensed. "What do you mean, 'oh no'?" she asked. His answer was to turn around and run back the way he came. "Hey!" Heather called, and ran after him.

When they made it to the spot Liam had run from, he found what he sincerely hoped he wouldn't: a shovel, a fish on the ground with only a single bite mark... and no bear. Or deer.

"My deer woke up… And the bear…" he said, before dropping to his knees. "NOOO! All that work, wasted!" he wailed.

Heather was frozen stiff. "You mean you had a deer… which distracted my bear… and led it away," she slowly realized. Then she bared her teeth and sent a look of white-hot fury at him. "You… you… idiot! You and your stupid deer just made me lose my bear!"

Liam stopped in his moaning long enough to glare back at her. "Well, I'm sorry, but you and your stupid bear just made me lose my deer! Do you know how hard it was to dig that hole?" he said angrily, rising to his feet.

Heather took a step closer. "Oh, you are not putting this screw up on me. You were the one that got in the way and ruined my perfectly good plan!" she told him.

The redhead sneered at her, dark green orbs narrowing. "Your plan to hopefully lure a bear into a cage?" he said mockingly. "Meanwhile, I had actually caught my animal. And now, because of you, I'll have to do all that bull a second—!"

Liam was abruptly cut off, and Heather immediately saw why. From nowhere, a small orange dart had struck him in the side of the neck. Eyes wide, he slowly reached up to feel it… then his eyes rolled back and he fell backwards onto the ground.

That was when Izzy emerged from the same direction as the dart. While Heather looked at her in bewilderment, the orange-haired girl grew a frustrated expression. "Again? Come on!" she complained. Waving her arms, she said "Seriously, it's like every time I try to hit a chipmunk I end up—!"

Then Izzy cut herself off. In her gesticulating, she had accidentally squeezed the trigger on her tranquilizer gun. As that dart—her last one, in fact—went sailing into the trees over her head, she heard a small, high-pitched screech. A moment later, a small adult chipmunk fell out of the tree

Both her and Heather stared at the chipmunk.

Confessional Stall - Izzy

"Okay, that one was completely by accident. But since I said that stuff right beforehand, it'll look like I planned to shoot at random! Genius runs in my family."

Before the eight hour time-limit had passed, Chris already called an end to the challenge. With her bear gone, Heather had given up any hope of catching one. And while the dart had been removed as quickly as possible, Liam was too paralyzed to continue.

At dinner that evening, Heather was seated with her alliance-mates once more. "So, I know we agreed this morning to hit Courtney's alliance while they're weak. Of the two of them, I say we vote for Liam," she declared.

Daphne raised an eyebrow. "You're only saying that now because you have to clean the washrooms with him," she stated.

"Yeah, it's completely obvious," Izzy added. "Between the two of them, Courtney's the one that's better at challenges. We should stick to the plan and vote for her."

Heather frowned. "Maybe, but once Liam's gone, she'll be all by herself. Even she can't win immunity in every challenge from now to the finals. And when she doesn't, then we can get rid of her," she said.

"Or…" Izzy replied. "Or she joins up with Gwen and Lindsay long enough to get rid of us. Then it'd be three-on-three, which could get messy."

Heather opened her mouth to respond, but then Daphne said "I agree. Courtney's too big a threat. We need to deal with her now."

The queen bee looked between the two of them. Not only was she outnumbered, but the brunette's words reminded her of her earlier confessional. Eventually, she sighed. "Alright, you've convinced me. It's time we pluck that thorn from our sides for good," she said.

"Awesome!" Izzy declared, rising to her feet. "This calls for seconds!" she declared, picking up her tray and walking towards the serving counter.

Meanwhile, at the other table, Liam was lying on a gurney that had been procured from the medical tent. His head was angled towards the dinner table, while Courtney sat next to him. "Alright, just hold still," she said, scooping up a spoonful of gruel and feeding it to him.

Liam ate it before humming. "You know…" he slurred. "My tashte budsh are numb too, so I can actually eat thish." Accepting another spoonful, he said "You're the besht, by the way, for doing thish."

Courtney smiled. "I was wondering when I'd get a 'thank you'. And you're welcome," she said, putting away the gruel and holding a cup of water to his lips. Once he had drunk half of it, she pulled it away and set it on the table. "So, who do you think we should vote for?"

He shrugged. Or tried to, at least. "Honeshtly, between Izzy and Heather, I could go for ei…" he began, before stopping as he turned his head and saw Izzy walking near them. "And what do you want?" he said to her.

Izzy didn't respond, walking past them and accepting a second bowl of gruel from a bemused Chef. As she walked back, however, she held up a plastic knife and placed it on the table next to them. Then, without breaking her stride, she kept walking and sat back down with her alliance.

Courtney and Liam both looked at the knife in surprise. "...Oh," Courtney, and Liam grunted in agreement.

At the bonfire ceremony that night, Liam was still lying on a gurney while the others were seated on logs like usual.Chris and Chef stood before them, the former saying "Campers, you've made your decisions and cast your votes accordingly. When I say your name, come claim a marshmallow and your place among the last six competitors. If you do not hear your name, that means you have a scheduled trip on the Boat of Losers via the Dock of Shame. From which you will not come back. Ever."

Confessional Stall - Gwen

"If I'm eliminated tonight, one thing I won't miss is the food."

Heather

"The food, absolutely."

Courtney

"Without a doubt, the food. That is the smelliest…"

Gwen

"Most disgusting…"

Izzy

"Most tasteless…"

Courtney

"Lumpiest…"

Liam

"Most nauseating…"

Heather

"Worst-consistency bunch of slop in history," she finished. "And those bathrooms? I don't think they've been cleaned…"

Courtney

"Since the show started!"

"The first marshmallow goes to… Gwen," Chris declared. The goth smiled and walked over to claim her treat.

"Izzy…" The crazy girl shouted "Sweet!" and lunged to her feet before running over.

"Liam…" Casting a glare over at both Heather and Izzy, he simply lay there while Chris tossed his marshmallow at him. It bounced off his forehead, making his eye twitch.

"Lindsay…" The blonde called "Yippee!" and walked over to collect her treat.

"Daphne…" Although she claimed her marshmallow with a grin, Liam caught the glance she sent Izzy's way and the nod she got back.

"One marshmallow, two campers. One of you has spent your last night at Camp Wawanakwa," Chris said. "By an overwhelming margin, the final marshmallow goes to…"

…

…

…

"Courtney."

As the marshmallow was tossed to Courtney, Heather sat as still as a statue. "You… what? An overwhelming…"

Then her eyes widened, and she stood before turning to face Daphne and Izzy. "YOU! Both of you! I knew I had a pair of snakes in my camp!" she yelled.

Lindsay leaned back. "Snakes? What do you…?" she asked, while the others also watched with interest.

Izzy, for her part, simply leaned over and elbowed Daphne. "Told ya she was onto us," she said.

Daphne sighed, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a dollar bill. "And you were right," she conceded, handing it over. Then she faced Heather and gave her a smug grin. "What gave us away?"

Glaring at both girls hot enough to melt steel, Heather said "Duncan was telling the truth before. He double-crossed me and voted for me after the treasure hunt alongside Gwen, Trent and Lindsay. Which means the only way Courtney and her side could have eliminated him was if you two helped!" Pointing at them, she said "I made an alliance with a pair of traitors!"

Daphne slammed her fist into palm. "So that's what it was!" she exclaimed. "Although how you figured that out after Duncan was gone is something I'd like to know."

Based on Heather's expression, it was clear she didn't intend to answer that. So Izzy added "And we can't really be 'traitors' if neither of us was on your side to begin with."

That one caused even Courtney to look at her in surprise. "Never on her side? What do you mean?"

Daphne flashed them a grin that was all teeth. "Well, let me tell you about a conversation. One Izzy and I had some time ago…"

At that point, Izzy turned around in the canoe to face her. "Then can I trust you?" she asked.

Daphne nodded once more.

"Good, because I'm worried we might not both make it to the end of the show. There are a lot of schemers running around, and they'll see us sticking together as a threat. They'll try to get rid of at least one of us and ruin our fun."

The pyro hummed. "I see what you mean. And us being permanently separated would really suck," she agreed. "No one targets my friend. So what should we do about it?"

Izzy smirked. "Well, lucky for us both, I came up with a plan. First, I'm going to get myself removed from the game for a little while," she revealed.

Daphne reared back. "For a little while? How are you going to do that?" she asked.

"I'll show you later," Izzy said dismissively. "The point is, I'll be gone for a few challenges, leaving you by yourself. When that happens, one of the manipulative campers–probably Courtney or Heather–is going to try to make you into their puppet. You need to pretend to let them."

Daphne sat straighter. "And because they think I'm loyal to them, I can use them as a shield to keep myself from being voted out," she said, starting to catch on.

"Exactly. Then, once I get back, I'll join up with you. We pretend to be in their alliance and eliminate anyone else they try to pull in. Then, once it's just us and them, and the number of other campers is small enough, we turn around and vote them out too!" Giving her a grin, Izzy finished "We'll out-scheme one of the schemers! Doesn't that sound fun?"

Daphne slowly nodded. "It sounds like it could be loads of fun. But what if I can't convince them I'm a loyal pawn?" she asked.

"Oh, you'll be fine!" Izzy assured her. "Just say 'yes' to everything they say and vote how they tell you to, at least until I make it back into the game. If we pull this off, though, can you imagine the look on their faces when we blindside them with an elimination? It'll be the prank to end all pranks!"

Daphne grinned, getting into the idea. "Yeah… Yeah! We'll take one of the campers that would try to use us, and use them right back! Let's do it!" she said.

The two of them reached forward and shook hands, eyes blazing with determination.

Heather stared at them. "So everything you did... acting weak once Izzy left, letting me sacrifice DJ, going behind my back to vote for Duncan… It was all for a prank?!" she hissed.

Daphne nodded. "Pretty good prank, too. I mean, here we are with marshmallows. And there you are, marshmallow-less," she said. If she noticed Heather begin to tremble with fury, she either didn't notice or didn't care. "To be honest, I was starting to wonder how long we could keep this up."

Izzy continued "Then you said all that stuff last time, and I was worried you were onto us. So we decided to light the fuse now instead of later. But hey, there is a silver lining for you! Now you don't have to clean the washrooms!"

Behind them, Liam frowned. "So I'm doing it by myself," he muttered unhappily.

Daphne looked away from Heather to him, apparently dismissing her. "Yeah, sorry about that," she said somewhat sincerely.

That—being dismissed—was the last straw. "RAAAGH!" Heather screamed, lunging at the two of them.

Izzy tensed and was ready to catch her, but there turned out to be no need. Chef grabbed her from behind and pulled her into a bear-hug, pinning her arms to her sides.

"Let… me… go!" Heather seethed, struggling to break free. "I need to make these two pay for using me. No one uses me!"

"As entertaining as I'd find that…" Chris cut in. "I'm pretty sure our legal term will have something to say if I let you injure a competitor outside of a challenge." When that didn't stop her struggling, he sighed and snapped his fingers.

Chef nodded and began carrying Heather down the Dock of Shame. As they left, Daphne gave them a wave. "See ya, Heather! Wouldn't want to be ya!" she called cheerily.

Heather called out to her "And you! You wait until I get my hands on you. I made Leshawna pay for throwing me off a cliff; just imagine the world of pain you'll be in once I get the chance!"

The brunette mimed a yawn. "Seeing as me or Izzy will be a hundred-thousand dollars richer by then, I'm not too worried," she declared.

"AAAAHH!" Heather roared, but not even her strength was enough to break Chef's hold. When he made it to the Boat of Losers, he hopped on and continued holding her while an intern got the Boat started. Only once it was more than a hundred feet from the Island did she finally stop, glaring impotently at the shore as she was carried away.

Liam grunted as he forced his mostly-still-paralyzed arms to move the mop back and forth. It was official: he was never going to get a job in sanitation. This place stank.

"You owe me more than one foot rub for this," Courtney groused, spraying some cleaning solution on the sinks.

"If it means I don't have to do all this myself, that's fine," he replied. His movements were on auto-pilot, however, as his mind was focused on the future.

With Heather gone, one of the biggest threats on the show was out of the picture… but so was the target for most of the other threats. He didn't know how things would turn out now; it was getting too unpredictable. And unpredictability was dangerous.

Chapter 23: Trifecta of Troubling Tribulations

Chapter Text

With the guys' cabin all to himself by this point, Liam was finding it easier than ever to get what he most desired: quality sleep. No farts from Owen, no snoring from Harold, no watching in case Bunny decided to sleep in his slippers. Even with the competition getting down to wire, he could at least have this. Orchestral music played in his dreams, and he unconsciously sighed relief. Then the sound of rushing air began to reach him. His eyebrow twitched, but he didn't stir.

It grew louder. Another twitch. Then even louder. And now it came with a new sound: the chopping of rotor blades.

The music stopped with the sound of a breaking string while his eyes snapped open. Seeing no helicopters in his immediate vicinity, he woodenly rose out of bed and walked outside. Looking into the sky, he saw a familiar helicopter flying through the air towards camp. Liam exhaled, closed his eyes, and raised his right hand.

"Screw you Chris!" he called, flipping him the bird before stomping back inside. "Man has no respect for people's phobias…" he muttered angrily.

As he was going back inside, Courtney stuck her head out the window of the girls' cabin. "Oh, what now?" she asked irately.

Grinning down at them, Chris used a megaphone to yell "Morning, Total Drama Island! Over the past six-and-a-half weeks, we pushed eighteen campers to their breaking points, and then got to see them kicked off the island by their fellow competitors. Sucks for them!" The host took a breath. "Beth, Noah, Duncan, Eva, Sadie, Geoff, Katie, Izzy, Ezekiel, Cody, Tyler, DJ, Justin, Leshawna, Harold, Owen, Duncan again, Trent, Bridgette, and Heather," he listed off as he brought the helicopter in for a landing. Once he touched down and shut it off, he hopped out of the co*ckpit and walked towards the cabins. "Only six teens remain. And after weeks of harsh challenges, crummy food, and even grosser bathrooms, our finalists are about this close to the edge. We tried to think of the best way to help the campers lose some stress."

The finalists, by this point, had gotten dressed and were coming out of the cabins to stand by Chris and glare at both him and the cameras. Gwen crossed her arms. "And let me guess: you decided not to do that," she said.

"Why, Gwen, it's as if you're learning!" Chris said dramatically, getting her to roll her eyes. "We figured it would be more fun to handcuff you all together and see if we can't push you over the edge," he told them, before holding up three sets of handcuffs.

Liam raised an eyebrow. "A parting gift from the cops last week?" he asked.

"Yes, but also a part of today's challenge: The Tri-Armed Triathlon!" Chris declared.

At his announcement, Courtney looked between him and the cuffs. "Oh, I see. Because we'll be cuffed together in pairs, so each pair will have three ‘arms'," she said.

"Exactly. And with six of you, that comes out to three teams to compete in three different challenges. A really three-fer today," Chris said. "The pair that wins the most challenges both get immunity tonight."

At that, Daphne smirked and moved over to Izzy. "Then we've got this one in the bag," she said confidently.

Courtney scoffed. "Yeah, right. We're going to win this," she declared, grabbing Liam's hand and yanking him closer. He briefly stumbled, but straightened out and nodded.

"Don't count us out," Gwen said, her and Lindsay both smiling.

"Ahem," Chris interrupted, and they all looked at him. "Touching as this may be, I didn't say you'd be picking the teams. In fact, I already decided on them." Before anyone could ask the obvious question, he said "Meet me in the lodge for your first challenge, and I'll reveal the teams then."

Confessional Stall - Gwen

"Over six weeks of this dump. At this point, I don't think I can take much more. The person left creasing me the most? Courtney. All the lying and manipulating she's done has gotten her a lot of bad karma. And I can't wait to be the one to serve it to her."

Izzy

"Alright, final six! Here we go! The last challenge ended up being kinda boring for me, so I hope this handcuffing thing is exciting. Either way, getting this far has been so cool. Just gotta keep riding this wave to finish!"

Liam

"How do I feel about making it to the final six? Well, I feel anticipation. I'm trying to maintain every advantage I can get going in. As long as it's Courtney that I make it to the finals with, I'll have an opponent whose strengths and weaknesses I'm well aware of. Winning that prize is nice, but winning it without a huge challenge? Even better."

Lindsay

"If I win the prize money, I'm going to use it to buy a lifetime supply of my favorite lip gloss!" she declared. "After that, I don't know. I love doing my hair, and my mom mentioned that there are schools where they can teach you to make people's hair look like movie stars'. That would be pretty great! Oh, and I could become a bikini model, and then…"

Daphne

"I am so stoked. I can see the finish line ahead of me, as well as every obstacle in the way. The only person I'll be happy to lose to is Izzy. Everyone else better get out of the way or…" She flicked her lighter on. "I'll make things get hot."

Courtney

"Ever since my team lost the first challenge, I've made sure to keep my eye on the ball. Sure, what I have with Liam is fun, but if we both make it to the finals, I'll have to compete against him. I need to be prepared to make that push when the time comes. It won't be personal. The same goes for everyone else out there. Especially you, Bridgette and Harold. None of it was ever personal. I hope you understand that."

The first pair to be handcuffed were Daphne and Gwen, making them look at each other neutrally. "Um… did you have a problem with what Izzy and I did to Heather?" Daphne asked cautiously.

Gwen was quiet for a moment, then shook her head. "Not really, I guess. She backstabbed Leshawna, so getting backstabbed herself was a taste of her own medicine," she answered. "Let’s just try our best to get along, alright?"

The brunette shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

The next two to be handcuffed together were Lindsay and Liam. Lindsay gave the latter a hopeful smile. "We both made it this far. We've got this challenge in the case!" she said confidently.

Liam resisted the urge to groan. "The phrase is 'in the bag'," he told her. Trust him to end up with the camper worst at following instructions. "Just follow my lead and we'll be fine," he said, and she nodded.

That left Izzy and Courtney to be cuffed together, making them both look at each other warily. "Well… this is awkward," Courtney began.

Izzy nodded. "Listen, I can bring the energy if you bring the strategy. So let's just try to stay out of each other's way, yeah?" she offered, to which Courtney slowly nodded in agreement.

Chris, meanwhile, stepped back and said "Now for the first challenge, a competitive chow-down! Each team will have a feeder and an eater. To make things harder, the eater will have to put both their arms behind their back. And one more thing." He raised his hand to reveal a small golden key, the bow of which was shaped like a skull. "This is the Wimp Key: a skeleton key that will unlock any of those handcuffs. You have the option to take the key before each of the challenges and separate yourself from your teammate."

Courtney looked down at her and Izzy's wrists. "And what's the downside?" she asked.

"Downside? Well, you and your partner will be eliminated, meaning neither of you will have any shot at immunity tonight," Chris told her, making her grimace. When no one asked for the key, he shrugged and continued "Chef's preparing platters of delicacies right now. The first team to finish their platter wins the first challenge."

Liam stiffened. If Chef's previous challenge-related cooking was any indicator… He turned to Lindsay. "If you’re the eater for this challenge, I'll take whatever job you want me to in the next one," he offered.

"Um… okay! Just don't go too fast; I'm not a heavy eater," the blonde said.

Courtney and Izzy took one look at each other, and they said "You'll/I'll be the eater," at the same time. At that, they both blinked before Izzy grinned.

"I can't stomach any more of this stuff. You'll need to be the eater," Gwen told Daphne.

Daphne frowned. "I… can try eating whatever Chef came up with," she offered. "No promises on whether or not we see it again, though."

That got Gwen to smirk. "If that happens, I'll be sure to aim you at Chris," she promised, making the brunette laugh while Chris took several steps away from them.

A minute later, Chef emerged from the kitchen with the three platters balanced on his arms. He laid one in front of each team, revealing a meal consisting of chicken, quiche, cheesecake and something that had the same color and consistency as sweet potatoes. The cheesecake, however, was covered in hair, the quiche had bugs for toppings, and the chicken was green.

'So glad I made that call,' Liam thought, sighing in relief.

Chris raised his hand. "On your marks…" he began, and each eater placed their arms behind their back. Due to the handcuffs, this also meant that the feeders each had only one arm to work with. "Get set…" The feeders used their free hands to grab spoons. "Go!"

Gwen, Liam and Courtney each scooped up a spoonful of 'potatoes' and brought it to the feeders' mouths. Lindsay grimaced while Izzy just grunted. Daphne, meanwhile, raised both eyebrows. "Huh. Not as bad as I was expecting. Go faster!" she said, and Gwen began picking up the pace.

Not one to be outdone, Izzy ate a second spoonful before she said "Now the chicken!" Bemused, Courtney did as she she asked and ripped one of the legs before holding it up. Izzy leaned forward and nearly unhinged her jaw as she opened her mouth wide, ripping almost a third of the leg off in one bite.

Liam looked at Lindsay as she swallowed her next bite. "Think you can go faster?" he asked. She shook her head, and he sighed. "Let’s switch dishes," he told her, and scooped up a spoonful of quiche.

Lindsay's eyes widened as it came closer. "Are those bugs? I can't eat those a second time!" she protested.

The redhead frowned. "You need to in order for us to win," he said firmly. "Just close your eyes and imagine they're potato chips."

She paused. "Um… I don't eat potato chips," she admitted.

Liam stared at her for one second. Then two. After the third second, he simply raised the spoon. "You're eating it. Now," he said. And before she could protest, he shoved the spoon into her mouth.

Lindsay eyes widened and she reflexively swallowed before shuddering. "Oh my god, that was… urgh," she complained, holding a hand to her stomach.

In response, Liam simply held up the next spoonful. "The sooner we get this done, the sooner it's over and we win," he said, getting her to reluctantly open her mouth.

Izzy, on the other hand, was unhappy with the steady pace she was eating at. "Come on, spoon it faster!" she urged.

Courtney glared at her. "I only have the one hand to work with, and they won't count it if it gets on the floor," she snapped.

Meanwhile, Gwen said "One, two, three, open," and Daphne swallowed her food before opening for another bite.

Gwen gave her a spoonful of the cheesecake next, making her hum. "Except for the hair, this is actually pretty good," she said, taking a moment to spit said hair out. "I think I can take that whole thing."

"You sure?" Gwen asked. When she nodded, the goth smiled and said "Alright, here it comes." Picking up the entire slice, she jammed it into the brunette's mouth. Some of it ended up on the sides of her face, but most of the cheesecake ended up going into her mouth, where she got to work on chewing it as fast as possible.

Like before, seeing Daphne take a leap forward lit a fire under Izzy. "Alright, enough of this kid stuff," she declared. "Give me the rest of that chicken."

Even as she opened wide for it. Courtney hesitated. "Are you sure? I don't know if that whole thing can fit–"

Izzy interrupted "Do you see any cheese around here? 'Cause I'm hearing an awful lot of whine coming from you."

That did the trick, and Courtney glared at her while picking the chicken up by its other leg. "You asked for it," she warned, and rammed the green poultry into the orange-haired girl's maw. Nearly half of it ended up hanging outside. "Now chew like your life depends on it!"

Izzy grinned and said "Cnn dm!" around the chicken. Several crunches could be heard as she bit down on and through several bones, only pausing to spit a piece out now and then.

Seeing that, Lindsay froze before slowly slumping. "There's no way I can compete with that," she said, pointing at the growing pile of chicken bone fragments.

Liam looked at the pile and grimaced. As much as he hated to admit, she had a point. "Alright, fine," he said, putting down the spoon.

Daphne looked past him towards Izzy. "Oh, it is on! Gwen, the quiche next!" she declared. Gwen nodded and held up the tart, ready to also shove that into her mouth.

Confessional Stall - Gwen

"So, Daphne and I haven't interacted a lot up to this point. But she's determined to win, so I can at least respect that. I don't know how I'd have reacted if I was stuck in this challenge with someone casual or unmotivated like, say, Liam."

With one team giving up and the others going as fast as they could, the food was gone in just over a minute. As the last past was swallowed, Chris called "And we have a winner. This challenge goes to…" He double-checked the platters and floor to be sure. "Courtney and Izzy!"

"Woo-hoo!" Courtney cheered. "Yeah! In your faces!"

Izzy fist-pumped and called "No stopping us now!" But then she paused as her stomach gave a rumble. Holding up one finger, Izzy closed eyes, inhaled… and then "Guuuuurrrrp!" At the end of her belch, she coughed slightly and an entire leg bone flew out, landing on the plate with a clatter. "That's better," she sighed.

Eyeing the leg with a raised eyebrow, Chris said "Right… Anyway! We can now move on to the second challenge. Before that, though…" He pulled the Wimp Key out of his pocket and held it up. "Anyone want to call it quits?"

Both Courtney and Izzy called "Nope!" Daphne sent Gwen a raised eyebrow, and when the goth shook her head she did the same.

Lindsay glanced down at her team's cuffs. "Uh…"

Liam quickly said "Don't even think about it. We just need to win these next two challenges and we can still get immunity."

She looked at him in surprise. "You think we can still win?" she asked.

He nodded. "I'd get the key myself if I didn't. You follow directions well, it turns out,” he told her.

"Um… thanks?" Lindsay replied uncertainly.

Seeing no one volunteer to wimp out, Chris put away the key. "Alright, then we move on to part two. On the beach, you'll each find a canoe. While still handcuffed, you have to row your way over to Boney Island. Once you arrive, a backpack will be waiting for each of you. Now… go!"

Gwen and Daphne immediately took off, rushing out the door and nearly bowling over Chris. The others were quick to follow, sprinting towards the docks. The beach next to it was only a short distance away, and when they got there they found the canoes waiting for them.

"Go, go, go!" Courtney urged, getting behind her canoe and pushing it toward the water.

Izzy snorted and moved to the side of the canoe, pulling Courtney with her. "If you want us to bring our A-game, you have got to step up," she said.While the C.I.T. sent her a glare for implying she hadn't stepped up before, Izzy grabbed the canoe and raised it over her head. "And… hah!" she called, throwing it into the water where it landed with a splash. She then pulled Courtney into her arms and took in a running leap, jumping into the canoe and landing on her feet. "Now let's go!" she said, and Courtney reluctantly nodded before moving to sit in the back.

The others, not having access to Izzy's frankly insane strength, took a moment longer to push their canoes out onto the lake. Holding up her cuffed left wrist, Daphne said "I'm right handed, so I'll sit in the back and row right."

Gwen shrugged. "Fine by me; I'm not right or left-handed," she said, getting in the front and rowing with her left arm.

Liam and Lindsay, on the other hand, both looked down at their wrists. "You wouldn't happen to be left-handed, would you?" Liam asked. When Lindsay shook her head, he sighed. Then they were both right-handed. After a moment, he said "I'll row left, you can row right."

Lindsay smiled. "Really? Thanks!" she said, making him grunt. His earlier optimism may have been premature.

Once the teams had made it a fair distance onto the water, the differences in their energies and skill helped create a gap between the canoes. In the middle of the three, Daphne looked over at Gwen. The only sounds around them now were the water. With nothing else going on, it didn't take long for he silence to start to grate on her. "So…" she began. "I remember Izzy telling me you apologized to her a while back. That was pretty cool of you."

Gwen hummed. "Yeah. Although I don't think a good time involves a lot of excitement, I'm starting to get used to being around people that do think that," she said.

The brunette raised an eyebrow. "Then in that case, how would you spend your time?" she asded curiously.

"Not on the water, for one thing," Gwen answered, taking a look around them. "I'd also prefer peace and quiet. Somewhere I can just relax and do some drawing. Or even stargazing."

That last one caused Daphne to perk up. "You like the stars?"

Gwen turned to look back at her, giving her a look over. After a moment, she said "What's not to like? They're a part of nature just as much as trees or the mountains. But you can look up at them and remember just how big the universe is, and all the cool stuff that's in it. And the night sky can be so majestic, serene, and beauti—" Then she stopped, realizing she had spoken more than she intended. "Um…"

Daphne chuckled. "No need to be embarrassed; I like stargazing too," she admitted. "Though for me, it's more about imagining seeing one of those giant balls of burning plasma up close." Looking slightly in the direction of the sun, she added "Just imagine if we could see inside one of those things with our eyes."

Gwen slowly smiled. "It would be pretty cool," she agreed. "Anyway, yeah, I told Izzy I was sorry for what I said, then we helped each other win that challenge."

"I see…" Daphne muttered. She had already heard all of this from Izzy, but hearing Gwen's side of it helped her make a decision. "If you're alright in Izzy's book… want to be friends?" she asked, extending her cuffed hand.

To her surprise, Gwen looked at it warily. "...What kind of friends? Like you and Izzy, or closer to you and Heather?"

The brunette winced. "I was never Heather's friend," she said, before wincing again as she realized that didn't help. "I mean, I never said that I was her friend. I think I said once that she was a good friend…" Which had turned out to be mostly true, to her surprise. Heather really had put her back into that 'nice' routine. "But when I say that someone's a friend of mine, I mean it."

Gwen still looked wary. "And I'm the fact that becoming friends with me gets you and Izzy more votes has nothing to do with it," she pointed out.

Daphne’s brow furrowed. "You wouldn't have to vote with us if you didn't want to," she said. "We only voted however Heather wanted in order to make her think we were loyal henchwomen. If we disagree on who to vote for, we can just vote for different people. What matters is that we have fun together, whatever form it takes."

The goth was silent, considering. "Well, I'd need to discuss any new 'friendships' with Lindsay anyway," she deferred. "She's my friend already, so she gets a say as well."

Daphne nodded. "I understand. Take all the time you want…" she said, before smirking. "After we kick their butts in this challenge."

Gwen smiled. "That we can agree on," she replied, paddling faster and prompting Daphne to do the same.

At the front of the trio of canoes, Courtney frowned at the back of Izzy's head. "I know what you're doing, by the way," she declared.

Izzy didn't look behind her, just asking "Doing what?"

Her frown grew more pronounced. "All that taunting, telling me to 'step up'... you're trying to get me to do what you say by appealing to my competitiveness," she said. "And while you did great horking down all that food, I'm the one in charge."

At that, Izzy did look behind her. "And there you go again. Seriously, why do you always need to be in charge of stuff?" she asked.

Courtney blinked. "Huh? What do you… I don't need to be in charge!" she protested.

That got the orange-haired girl to snort. "Oh, please. Since you formed your first alliance, name one time you didn't decide who you were voting for," she challenged.

The C.I.T. opened her mouth to respond… then paused. It took her a moment to mentally run through all the eliminations thus far and remember if she was responsible for them or not. Belatedly, she realized that taking so long was only adding to Izzy's point. "Well, there was Leshawna," she eventually answered. "Heather was the one that wanted her out; I just went along with it to get rid of the competition."

Izzy slowly nodded. "Right, right… So even when you aren't controlling who gets eliminated, you still try to make it benefit your position in the game. Classic controlling type-A," she said.

"It's called 'being smart'," Courtney shot back. "Doing something that doesn't benefit me is just silly."

Izzy abruptly grinned. "Exactly," she said. "You're so focused on being smart and winning this show that you've forgotten how to have fun with it. Really, when was the last time you did something just for laughs?"

Courtney was silent once more. She and Liam had agreed to not discuss their relationship in front of the cameras. Heck, they hadn't even kissed on-camera yet. Luckily, she had another answer. "When I ditched the other girls to go to that spa. I enjoyed that even though it made the others mad at me."

"Oh, so that's why they were all mad at you when I got back!" Izzy said in realization. She gave Courtney a more considering look, adding "Then maybe I was wrong about you. Maybe you can cut loose and let go every once in a while. Did you regret doing it?"

She shook her head. "Not for a second," she said honestly. "I wanted that spa treatment, so I got it, plain and simple." She crossed her arms. "I'm just as capable of having fun and relaxing as anyone else. I just want to win more," she stated. Then she frowned and added "And you better not tell anyone I said that."

Izzy hummed. "Then how about this? Next time we get the chance in this challenge, you let me take the lead again, and I'll make sure we both win and have fun. In exchange, I won't tell the others that you never actually felt bad about the spa thing."

Courtney had to resist the urge to smile. That was exactly the kind of deal she would have proposed. "Deal," she said, and two of them shook on it.

"It's just, I feel like sometimes people don't value my opinion, you know?" Lindsay said to Liam. "Like, I get that I'm not the smartest person here, but I can still come up with good ideas! I have things that I'm good at besides making myself pretty."

Liam absently nodded. "Yes, I'm sure you do," he agreed. If she didn't, she wouldn't have made it this far. "Like what?"

"Well…" She brought a finger to her chin as she thought it over. "I'm really good at running, jumping and flipping, as well as balancing stuff. And I know I can come up with strategies, even if no one else lets me. And I—"

Liam cut her off, saying "I see the shore! Let's go!" and paddling faster. She quickly did the same, and they made it to the shore of Boney Island less than a minute after the other teams.

Once they made it, the six of them saw that there were indeed three backpacks waiting for them on the shore. Each duo grabbed one, and Courtney was the first to check its contents. Inside was a compass and a map, the latter of which had a large red X marked on it.

Just as she was going to wonder aloud what it was for, the sound of a helicopter rotor reached them again. Liam tensed and had to avoid dropping to place his head between his knees. "Dammit, Chris!" he yelled up at their host.

Chris grinned and pulled out his megaphone. "Welcome to part two of challenge two!" he called down to them. "If you recall, I warned you all before your last trip here about taking anything off this island."

"I thought none of us did that, though!" Lindsay called up to him.

"You're right, no one did," he confirmed. "But among the things you could take back, the worst of them would be a small wooden idol—in fact, just holding that thing can bring you bad luck. The winners of this challenge are the pair that head to the cave marked on your map, grab the idol then burn it in a fire we'll have prepared here. That way no one brings it near camp and causes me any problems."

Daphne grinned. "So we win by deliberately burning something? Heck yeah!" she said excitedly.

"Glad to see you motivated. Now one last thing: one member of each pair will have to piggyback the other. Have fun!" Chris told them before flying away.

Izzy looked at her partner. "Hey, you know what would be fun? If you read the map while I did the running," she said.

Courtney smiled. "I was about to say the same thing," she said, grabbing the map and jumping onto the crazy girl's back. Taking a moment to compare the map with where they were, she called "Let’s go!" and Izzy took off in a sprint.

Gwen looked at Daphne. "I can run pretty fast, but when it comes to heavy llfting…" she began.

Daphne smiled and jerked her thumb behind her. "Say no more," she said, kneeling so the goth could climb on. Gwen did with a smile of her own, and the former left at a brisk jog.

Liam sighed. "Well, I did say I'd do whatever you want this time," he said, turning to Lindsay. "So you would rather I carry you or read the map?"

"Um…" she said, looking back and forth between the map and him. To be frank, she didn't enjoy the thought of doing either. Between figuring a map out, however, and carrying someone else across a whole island… "I'll take the map," she decided. The redhead grunted and kneeled. Once he was carrying her, he began walking at a much more sedate pace. Carrying someone was enough, he was not carrying her and running. No, thank you.

Izzy, with Courtney securely on her back, bounded through the woods. The forest itself wasn't any denser than on Wawanakwa Island. However, the trees here grew in odd, twisted directions that made it hard to see past while their roots constantly burst out of the ground, creating no shortage of tripping hazards. The ground was also littered with animal bones, courtesy of Boney Island's generous amount of predators.

As she ducked under a tree limb—taking care to duck extra low for Courtney's sake—she asked "Am I still going the right way?"

Courtney double-checked the map and her compass. "I think so, yeah," she replied. "Just keep watching your step, okay? Some of these bones look pretty sharp."

"I know, right? It's pretty cool," Izzy replied with a grin, making Courtney frown at her. However, she did make sure to not step on any bones as they continued, so the C.I.T. held her tongue.

Suddenly, an opening between the trees revealed a dark, foreboding cave entrance. Courtney peered at the map and then at the entrance, confirming their destination. "This must be it. Let's proceed cautiously and carefully, alright?"

Izzy said "Gotcha," and walked inside with barely any pause. The temperature immediately dropped from 'mild' to 'almost freezing'. There was a light breeze blowing towards the entrance as well, making Courtney shiver from where her sweater didn't cover her arms. More animal bones were strewn about inside, some even with pieces of meat still clinging to them. Beyond that, however, the place was still and silent. "This is so spooky!" Izzy said excitedly, at least having the courtesy to whisper that part. "Where do you think all these bones came from?"

"Probably other animals on the island," Courtney replied. "Although that does make me wonder which of them left these behind…"

She got her answer when Izzy turned a corner in the cave and immediately stopped. About ten feet ahead of them, curled up on the ground, were a trio of woolly beavers. They were currently sleeping, their chests rising and falling as they took deep and even breaths, but their tusks and teeth still glinted in the low light.

Courtney looked behind them. There hadn't been any branching paths, so the idol had to be past these things. "Okay, I think we can get around them. We just have to be nice and quiet," she said softly.

Izzy just nodded, walking in a wide arc around the beavers. This area was thankfully clear of bones, so there was nothing for her to accidentally step on. She just had to be careful now and again when they were coming back out of here. No big dea—

Then the wind shifted, blowing into the cave instead of out of it. One of the beavers twitched as a pair of new smells hit their nose, grumbling and slowly opening one eye.

Well, that wasn't good. "And… we're outta here!" Izzy called, turning and running back towards the entrance.

"What? Hey! We still need to get the idol!" Courtney protested.

Izzy shook her head. "A bear or psycho killer's one thing; I'm not fighting three giant beavers from prehistoric times at the same time. Unless you want to?" she countered.

Before Courtney could answer, they heard three roars from behind them. The beavers were awake. She gulped and said "Alright, alright, we'll just outrun them and then come back!"

"Way ahead of you!" Izzy said, running towards the exit even faster. The lack of branches made that a lot easier, and it took just over a minute for them to see the light from outside. The entire time, they could see the thudding of footfalls behind them as the beavers gave chase to whatever was in their territory.

The moment they were outside, Courtney called "Back the way we came! We don't want to get lost!" Izzy nodded and pivoted to run to their right, heading for the woods to lose the beavers in them. The beavers exited the cave shortly and, after sniffing the air for a moment, gave pursuit.

As if by fate, that was the moment that Daphne and Gwen arrived. "Do you think we made it first?" Gwen asked.

Daphne shrugged, panting somewhat. She had been trying to go fast despite carrying the goth, and she was out of breath. "Don't know. Let's… find out," she said.

Slowing down to just a jog, she went inside the cave. Halfway through, Daphne slowed down as she and Gwen passed through a section of the cave wide enough to fit several bears. It appeared to be vacant, however, making them both relieved. A minute's walk deeper in, and the tunnel opened into a wide cavern. At the center of the cavern was a small, circular pedestal made of stone. A break in the ceiling allowed a single beam of light to fall onto it, but the room was otherwise dark. And atop that pedestal was what looked like a small, wooden tiki doll.

"That's gotta be it," Daphne said.

"Yeah…" Gwen said, sounding distracted.

The brunette quirked an eyebrow and looked behind her. The goth was scanning the ground and looked unsettled. "Something wrong?" she asked.

"I was just noticing… there's no bones around here," Gwen stated. Daphne blinked and looked around. She was right; the ground in this room was completely clear. Gwen continued "It's as if whatever lives here was avoiding the place."

Daphne resisted the urge to gulp. "Didn't Chris say something about the idol causing bad luck to whoever holds it?" she asked.

Gwen groaned. "Yeah, he did. And he knew we'd have to pick it up to take it back," she said. Opening her backpack, she said "Let’s just get it and try to get back fast."

"Good idea," Daphne agreed, walking closer.

Once Gwen was in arm's reach of the idol, she leaned over to grab it. Just as her fingertips brushed it, however, she paused. This close, the tiki doll looked a lot more… menacing. Then she shook her head and grabbed it, pulling it off the pedestal and throwing it into the backpack. "Let's go."

"Um… I think this is the right way," Lindsay said, holding up the map.

Liam took a deep breath. "Do you have an idea where we are on the map?" he asked with forced calm.

"Yeah, I do. I think we're… here?" she said, tapping on the map. "Which means we need to go…" She held up the compass. "That way." Then she pointed to the right.

'I have a bad feeling about this…' he thought, but began walking to the right anyway. He had to occasionally duck low in order for both him and Lindsay to avoid a branch, but otherwise things were much more peaceful compared to his first trip to this island.

Then Lindsay abruptly asked "So, are you and Courtney a couple?"

The redhead nearly tripped over his own feet. Whipping his head to look back at her, he said "What did… Where did you get the idea that we're a couple?"

The blonde gave him a questioning look. "Because I saw it. You two always sit and each together, you smile when the other person talks, you hold hands from time to time…" she listed off. With each one, Liam's eyes grew wider. "Oh, and the look in both your eyes sometimes, especially when one of you wins. It's the same look Tyler would get in his eyes with me."

By the end of it, Liam was staring at Lindsay with complete befuddlement. This kind of observation skills… where did this come from? Had she been like this the entire time and just hadn't shown it?! "So you think that means she and I are together?" he deflected.

Lindsay shrugged. "I dunno, that's why I was asking. So, are you?" she asked bluntly.

Liam continued staring at her for a moment. Then he looked ahead. "We need to focus on the challenge," he said, and resumed walking.

Lindsay pouted. "Well, fine. Be a party-pooper," she remarked.

"I am not going to be discussing the nature of Courtney and I's relationship with you or near cameras," he told her.

But that just made her smile. "So you are in a relationship!" she exclaimed.

Liam frowned angrily. 'That isn't what I said at all,' he thought, but refrained from saying it. "The challenge, Lindsay," he said instead. "Focus on the challenge."

"Alright, alright," she conceded, making him sigh in relief. She held up the map. "We just need to keep going this way and we'll… huh?"

Liam stopped. "What? Do you hear something?" he asked.

Lindsay nodded. "Yeah. It sounds like something heavy… more than one something," she answered.

Before he could ask her to elaborate, the sound reached Liam as well. Thudding footfalls, enough to be made by around a dozen feet. And then, a moment later, two female voices. "I guess they're not breaking off!" one said, not sounding all that bothered by it.

"I can see that!" the other snapped, making him blink. That was Courtney's voice.

Sure enough, the brush ahead and to their right was pushed apart. Izzy, with Courtney on her back, was running through the forest at breakneck speed. In fact, she barely even slowed down when she saw them. As she passed them by, she called "Hey, guys! Watch out for beavers!"

Lindsay tensed. "More beavers?" she asked, hearing the footfalls get closer.

Their last trip here still on his mind, Liam straightened. "Not just beavers. Run!" he called, turning and running after Izzy. Behind them, he could hear a roar as the woolly beavers picked up two new scents and increased their pace. Enough that, when Lindsay looked behind her, she could see them through the trees.

"You know, I'm really starting to not like beavers as much!" Lindsay said, holding onto Liam for dear life.

"Alright… Just need… a break…" Daphne panted as she slowed to a walk. She could just make out the beach in between the trees, meaning that they didn't have far now. She could afford to take it slow.

Gwen didn't protest. On the contrary, she said "You've been carrying me this whole challenge. Want to switch?"

The brunette looked at her with raised eyebrows. "That's… really polite of you," she offered, before smiling. "But I got this. We're still ahead of the others, so we don't need to worry--"

"Raaargh!" they both heard, cutting Daphne off and causing them both to look to their left.

A moment later, Izzy burst out of the foliage with Courtney on her back. Liam and Lindsay showed up only a few seconds after, both of them running as if their lives depended on it. "What's wrong?" Gwen asked curiously.

Courtney glanced at them. "We're being chased by giant killer beavers! Run for it!"

"Raaaaar!"they heard again, and looked to see the beavers only twenty or so feet away.

"Oh, crap!" Daphne said, before taking off in the same direction as the others.

All six of them–or three, rather–ran as hard as they were able in the direction of the beach and their canoes. As the trees gave way to sand, they were able to see Chris waiting next to his chopper. A short distance from him were two interns tending to a bonfire while a third waved a stick of burning sage around.

"Hey, guys. Glad to see you all made it back unharmed. What's the rush?" Chris asked. In response, Lindsay pointed behind them, and he held up a hand to his forehead. Once he saw the beavers, he blinked and muttered "Oh."

"It's a bit more than 'oh'!" Daphne called, before yelping as her ankle hit a piece of driftwood. She briefly stumbled, and Gwen called "Hey!" before tightening her grip on Daphne’s shoulders. Their backpack was also tossed around, and as it settled it felt slightly lighter.

'Oh no,' Gwen thought, before looking at the ground behind her. "The idol!" she called.

Daphne skidded to a stop, looking back. "Not good," she said. But then, to their surprise, Liam stopped as well. Both of them looked at the idol on the ground, then at each other.

Liam raised one eyebrow and crouched to leap forward. Before he could, however, Lindsay said "How come we stopped? Let's go!" He grimaced, but turned around and continued running for the canoes.

Refocusing on the idol, Daphne looked up at Gwen. "I'm willing to go after it," she said.

But Gwen shook her head. "That makes one of us. Let's get out of here."

Daphne grunted and didn't argue. She began turning away and running further along the beach… when she heard the footfalls stop. "Huh?" she said, taking another look.

The woolly beavers had come to a stop about a dozen paces away. All three of them were tense and staring down at the sand. She blinked and looked again. No, not at the sand. At the idol.

Gwen, who was also seeing this, muttered "The room back in the cave…"

Daphne nodded. "They avoided it," she finished, slowly taking a step towards the idol. The beavers growled and she paused, but when they didn't otherwise react she moved closer. The others, who had made it to their canoes and were watching, waited with bated breath to see what would happen.

Once she was within arm's reach of the idol, Daphne crouched low enough for Gwen to lean over and grab it. All three of the beavers followed her with their gazes, but didn't move any closer. She slowly backed toward the fire, stopping once she was about five feet from it. Gwen tossed the idol into the fire with a grunt, and the beavers turned away the moment it began to crackle.

Daphne sighed. "That… was close," she said, a grin on her face as she felt her pulse finally start to slow.

"Too close," Gwen agreed, hopping down now that the challenge was over.

Chris cleared his throat. "And with that, we have a winner for the second part of the challenge: Gwen and Daphne!" he announced. The two of them gave each a high-five, and he continued "The final activity waits for all of you back at camp by the arts and crafts center. See you there!" And with that, he closed the door to his helicopter and turned it on, flying ahead of them back to Wawanakwa.

Upon making it back to camp, the three teams found a picnic table had been set up outside the arts and crafts center for each of them. They each also had something on them covered by a tarp, making them all wary as to what it could be.

"So, pretty eventful day, huh?" Chris asked. "Unhealthy eating, carnivorous beavers, all the good stuff. But the time's come for someone to win this. And currently standing with one point each, we have Izzy & Courtney as well as Gwen & Daphne!"

While those teams were giving each other pats on the back, Lindsay looked over at Liam. "Even if we won this time, we still wouldn't get immunity, right?" she asked.

Liam shook his head. "Unfortunately not. But we can still win and prevent anyone else from getting immunity either," he told her.

"Speaking of…" Chris said. "One last call for the Wimp Key!" He held up the key, and while Lindsay appeared interested, she was the only one. After waiting a moment, Chris shrugged and pocketed the key. "Alright, then. Time for the final challenge: The Totem Pole of Humiliation!" And with that, he ripped the tarp off Izzy's table, revealing what was underneath: almost two dozen carved wooden heads.

Liam stared before removing the tarp on his table, finding more of the same heads. "Okay, this is just uncanny," he said, holding up the head of Ezekiel and turning it left and right.

Chris explained "Your final task is to assemble the heads in the order your comrades were eliminated, with the first elimination on bottom. Time for heads to roll!" Then he pulled a whistle from his pocket. "Ready, and…!" he said, before giving the whistle a blow.

Courtney immediately got to work, grabbing the first head. "Okay, I know that Beth was the first to go, so we need to start there," she said.

Izzy hummed. "How about we work from both ends? You start with the earliest eliminations, and I'll work on the latest ones," she suggested, getting an approving nod from the C.I.T.

Meanwhile, Lindsay gasped as she noticed a particular head amongst the rest. "Look, it's Tyler!" she exclaimed, holding it up for Liam to see. "Can you believe I was starting to forget what he looks like?"

Liam gave her a flat look. "Yes, I can," he replied. "Now, was Katie eliminated before or after the teams were shuffled?"

"Um… before?" Lindsay said questioningly. When she looked at him with an expression that plainly said she had no idea, he face-palmed. As he scanned the others, his gaze passed over the carved heads of Harold and Bridgette. He resisted the urge to sneer and set the Bridgette head aside for near the end.

The last team had managed to make it to their fifth head. "Okay. So after Sadie, who was next?" Daphne asked, trying to remember.

Gwen groaned, before straightening as it came to her. "Geoff was next; I remember because Bridgette was down at breakfast the next day," she said. She also remembered their episode with the love poem, though she declined to share that story with the brunette. She then noticed the head of Trent and sighed. What she wouldn't give to have him in this challenge with her.

As she placed Tyler's head on her pole, Courtney said "Okay, I remember DJ's elimination being next. The teams merged not long after that."

"Right. I heard Justin came next," Izzy replied. "Good thing too; I wouldn't have liked having to stick around that guy."

That got Courtney to pause. "You two… knew each other? Outside the show?" she asked.

Izzy nodded. "We dated for a little while. But then I broke up with him after I found out how much of a liar he was," she told her. "Trust me, that guy was bad news."

"Huh…" Courtney muttered, thinking back to the few times she had interacted with him. After a moment, she gave it a shrug. "I'll keep that in mind if I ever see him again," she said.

Gwen placed Leshawna’s head on the totem pole, pausing at the sight of her friend. Giving a small sigh, she said "Okay, so Leshawna was eliminated right before the merger. Who was next?"

"Er… I know it came down to Harold or Duncan," Daphne said, rubbing the back of her head. "But was Duncan eliminated that round or the next one?"

Meanwhile, Liam put Cody's head in place. "Alright, now for Tyler," he said, holding his head out for the next head.

But Lindsay hesitated, holding it close. "But… If I let go of Tyler, I may end up forgetting him again!" she said. "I don't want that to happen."

Liam frowned. "If you don't give me that head, we're going to lose," he snapped irritably. "You want to join Tyler in loserdom?"

Lindsay looked down at the head. "I guess not… But still! I know I'm not the best at remembering things, and I don't have any pictures of Tyler. I don't want to forget what my boyfriend looked like!" she said, practically pleading.

The redhead stifled a groan and looked behind Lindsay. Gwen and Daphne had put Harold's head into place, leaving only a few left. They were out of time.

Liam stepped forward and placed a hand on the head. "We need this now," he said fiercely, and began to pull.

Lindsay pulled back. “Let… go!” she said, holding onto the head.

Just as they were about to fight over it, Chris suddenly called "And we have a winner!" Both of them froze, looking over at him. The host stood before a finished totem pole, holding the hands of the winners aloft. "The final challenge–and with it, immunity tonight–goes to Courtney and Izzy!"

"Yes!" Courtney shouted. "We won! In your faces! Whoo!"

Izzy laughed. "Okay, these are actually kind of fun," she said, before holding up her and Courtney's wrists. "Can I keep these?" she asked, waving at the handcuffs.

Chris leaned back. "Er, no," he said frankly. "Now, I'll see you all at the bonfire after dinner. One of you six is going home."

Lindsay sighed in relief. "At least I didn't lose this," she said, smiling down at Tyler's face and oblivious to the glare being leveled at her.

At dinner that night, Daphne and Izzy were sitting across from each other.

"So, who should we vote for now? Heather's gone, so we don't really have a target," Izzy wondered aloud.

Daphne hummed. "I don't know about a target, but I was thinking we could vote alongside Gwen. I found out during the challenge that she's actually pretty cool," she said with a smile.

To her surprise, Izzy didn't seem enthused. "Gwen? That's… kinda awkward. 'Cause I was actually thinking we could restart the old alliance with Courtney," she admitted.

The pryo reared back in surprise. "Courtney? Seriously? Did you see how well it went for the last person who made an alliance with her?"

"I know, I know. But when I was spending time with her today, I found out that she actually can take that stick out of her butt sometimes. I think getting to the final three with her could be a lot of fun," Izzy countered.

Daphne appeared to be considering. "Maybe… But that assumes she doesn't have us eliminated before then. And besides, I'm sure a semi-finals with Gwen would be fun too."

Izzy frowned, crossing her arms. "I'm telling you, we should side with Courtney in the vote tonight."

"And I'm telling you that we should side with Gwen," Daphne retorted while also crossing her arms.

The two of them stared at each other for a moment. Neither of them budged an inch.

"You decided who should go home and cast your votes accordingly," Chris reiterated at the bonfire ceremony. "Whichever campers does not receive a marshmallow must immediately return to the Dock of Shame and board the Boat of Losers. And you can't come back." He then held up the marshmallow plate. "First one tonight goes to Izzy."

"Alright!" Izzy called, catching the marshmallow with a grin.

"Then Courtney…" She caught hers without a cheer, but the C.I.T. did have a triumphant smile on her face.

"Daphne…" The brunette sighed in relief and caught hers. Only then did she and Izzy start eating them.

"Three campers left, only two marshmallows. Next one goes to Gwen." As she caught it and relaxed, both Lindsay and Liam tensed.

"Yep, that's the reaction I was looking for," Chris said, seeing both their worried expressions. "The campers who gets the final marshmallow…"

…

…

…

"Will be decided by our third tie-breaker!" he declared with a relish.

"Third what?" Liam said, eyes wide as he sat ramrod straight. "But the only way that could happen..." he began.

Gwen finished his thought, looking at Daphne and Izzy in surprise. "You two split your votes?"

Daphne nodded. "We couldn't agree on who to vote for tonight. So we did like I said, and voted for different people," she admitted.

While Gwen was processing that Daphne had been completely honest in her offer before, Chris said "And now, to wrap up the night, you two get put through the wringer one more time." Chef then came forward, holding a metal brazier filled with wood. While he placed that on the ground, Chris explained "Located at the base of the diving cliff is an intern with torches. The first one of you to make it there, bring a torch back and light this brazier gets to stay."

Liam grunted. "After all the running I already did today? With her on my back?" he said, jerking his thumb towards Lindsay.

Chris shrugged. "Hey, I'm not the one who decided who would be doing the carrying," he pointed out, making the redhead grit his teeth. "Now, on your marks…" Liam and Lindsay both quickly rose to their feet. "And… go!" he called.

Liam darted forward, his longer strides covering the ground efficiently. Lindsay sprinted after him, and her sheer enthusiasm helped her remain not far behind.

Behind them, they heard Gwen call "You've got this, Lindsay! Show 'em who's boss!"

Courtney, not one to be outdone, said "I know you can win this, Liam! So win it and we can get on with our lives!"

Liam grunted, looking up to where the cliff was visible over the treeline. "Stay focused. No unnecessary detours," he muttered.

As they both navigated the landscape, he avoided any large trees or other obstacles that might have gotten in the way. Lindsay, on the other hand, simply jumped over some of the medium-sized rocks, handily remaining him of her athleticism. Not good.

As they came closer, Lindsay called from behind "I'm not giving up! I'm gonna see Tyler again, and it'll be with the best clothes and make-up a hundred thousand can buy!" Then, to his increasing anger, she sped up and even passed him.

"Dammit, dammit. Focus," he growled up, pushing on even as his legs burned from all the exertion today.

Reaching the bottom of the cliff, they soon caught sight of the intern: a young man with dark, spiky-hair and a tiki torch in each hand. He perked up once they came into view, holding the torches out to them. "Good luck!" he said as Lindsay reached him first.

"Aw, thanks!" she said, smiling at him and taking her torch before running back. Liam just grunted as he took his, pivoted and started sprinting.

The race back to the bonfire was a mad dash, both of them having to navigate the terrain while making sure the fire from their torches didn't touch anything. This late at night, the torchlight was also pretty much the only light in the woods as well, making it less easy to see what came next. But as they approached the bonfire, the brazier stood waiting for them.

Liam looked back and forth between it and Lindsay. Possible plans raced through his mind. He needed to do something, anything, or he was going to lose to Lindsay. 'I am not going down here, against her,’ he thought angrily. Then his eyes landed on the wooden head of Tyler, which Lindsay had left on her seat when she started running.

He suddenly grinned. "Hey! Lindsay!" he called, getting her to look back at him. "I think I just saw Tyler! By the cabins!"

The blonde gasped, skidding to a stop and looking towards the cabins. "Really? Tyler's here?!" she asked hopefully.

But Liam chuckled, rushing past her and reaching the bonfire. "As if!" he said, placing his torch in the brazier and lighting it.

Chris held up his arm. "And our last surviving camper: Liam! Congrats," he said.

Lindsay looked at him in shock. "You… You tricked me! That isn't fair!" she protested.

Liam shrugged. "Everything is fair in war," he told her, before walking over and claiming the last marshmallow from the plate. "Including trickery," he finished, taking a bite out of it and sitting down next to Courtney.

Gwen threw an acidic glare his way, but decided to focus on Lindsay. She was slumping sadly, staring at the ground and letting her torch continue to burn. "Hey…" she began, walking over and taking from her hands. She tossed it into the bonfire, then placed her hands on Lindsay's shoulders. "You did amazing out there."

Lindsay sniffled. "Yeah… I guess so," she replied. "But we made a promise to go to the semi-finals together!"

Gwen gave her a comforting smile. "I know, and it stinks that we can't both go," she agreed. "So I'll tell you what: I'll do my best to make it to semis for both of us. And if I make it that far, I'll shoot for the finals too. Can you cheer me on until then?"

That got her to perk up slightly. "Yeah, I can do that. I'm good at cheering!" she stated. Then Lindsay paused, realizing something. "And hey, I didn't end up outlasting all of my friends! Just like I wanted!"

Gwen nodded. Then, after a moment's hesitation, she pulled Lindsay into a hug. Lindsay blinked a few times in surprise, then returned it with a wide grin. "I'm still gonna miss you," Gwen added.

"Same here," Lindsay replied. "But I promise to keep cheering for you. Don't let Lincoln or Carry win instead."

"Oh, I won't," Gwen promised, before pulling away. "And since you're out of the game now, that means you get to see Tyler for real, right?"

Lindsay gasped. "You're right!" she agreed, before running over and picking up the wooden head. "Which means I won't be needing this!" she said, tossing it into the bonfire. Watching it catch fire, she took a deep breath. "Okay, I think I'm ready," she said.

"Then, the Dock of Shame awaits," Chris said, waving a hand in the Dock's direction. Chef approached her with her luggage case, which she took and began wheeling on the ground behind her.

As she passed by the others, she called "Bye Daisy, Ivy! I hope you have a lot more fun before Gwen wins!"

Daphne smirked. "We'll have fun, sure, but we plan on winning," she told her.

Lindsay nodded and continued walking. Stopping one more time in front of Courtney and Liam, she said "Goodbye, you two. I hope you both get everything your karma owes you."

Courtney crossed her arms. "I don't believe in karma, but I'll keep an eye out anyway," she said.

Lindsay just shrugged. Once she reached the Boat, Chef threw her luggage on board and she stepped on. "See you soon, guys!" she said, waving as the boat revved up and began to pull away from the shore.

Chapter 24: Losing in Luxury

Chapter Text

Compared to the start of the season, breakfast at the lodge was a much more quiet affair now. With only five campers left, Chris had decided to have the second table moved out, forcing all of them to eat together. Some conversation happened here and there, but not much. Without Lindsay to encourage her, Gwen wasn't interested in talking to any of them except occasionally Izzy. Liam and Courtney, meanwhile, were only interested in each other, which suited the rest of them just fine.

As they were all eating another bowl of slop from Chef, Daphne decided to break the ice. "So… what do you think Chris is going to make us do this time?" she asked.

Courtney looked up from her 'breakfast'. "Whatever it is, I doubt it'll involve another trip to Boney Island. He might do that in the finals, though,” she theorized.

Liam added “And probably not another scavenger hunt. There was a ‘fetch’ challenge last time, two if you count that tie-breaker.” As he said that, he fidgeted with a bright red multitoll with his left hand, flicking the screwdriver piece in and out.

Gwen grunted, not pleased at being reminded of the elimination. “Whatever it is, I hope it doesn’t involve teams. We’ve got an odd number left, so things wouldn’t be fair.”

“Oh, that’s a good point,” Izzy said, placing her elbow on the table as she tapped her chin. “So maybe some sort of free-for-all, where only one of us gets immunity?”

“If we even get offered immunity. We’re late enough in the game now that Chris might not bother,” Liam pointed out.

That caused the others to frown. The thought of none of them being safe from elimination wasn’t comforting. That was when they heard the intercom outside turn on, making Daphne remark “It’s about time.”

“Morning, campers!” Chris called to them. “This announcement is to let you know that there will be no challenge today! That’s right, you’ve got the day off. Enjoy~!” Then the speaker cut off with a burst of static. Meanwhile, all five of the teens looked at each other.

“Giving us… the day off…?” Courtney said. “I can’t believe it. Did Chris just do something nice?”

Gwen crossed her arms. “I don’t buy it. There’s got to be some catch to us not having a challenge,” she insisted.

Izzy shrugged. “Well whatever it is, I’m gonna take the chance to unwind before then. Starting with foraging for some real breakfast,” she declared, tossing her bowl into the garbage can by the door.

“Count me in; I heard there are some blueberry bushes in the woods,” Daphne said, giving up on prying her breakfast out of its bowl and throwing it out as well. Gwen just grunted and got up to leave, not even bothering to throw hers out.

That left just Courtney and Liam in the lodge. After a moment, they turned to each other with a smile. “Our usual spot?” Liam asked, reaching over and holding her hand with his.

Courtney nodded and they both stood up. “Then we can go for a swim, followed by a walk along the beach,” she told him.

He raised an eyebrow. “And wrap it up with some quiet relaxing on the sand?” he asked.

“Of course,” she replied, and he grinned as the two of them walked out the door.

While the remaining contestants were planning their day off, Chris arrived at the dock of what appeared to be a lakeside hotel. Parking his motorboat, he hopped off and turned to the camera. “Great to see you again, viewers. Let me welcome you all…” he waved a hand behind him at the resort. “To Playa de Losers!”

“This all-expenses-paid luxury resort is where our voted-off contestants lick their wounds and unwind as they come to accept their status as reality has-beens. Once we get down to our final two, these losers will hold their fate in their hands,” he explained. “But until then, let’s get a glimpse at what they’ve been up to.”

And with that, the camera moved away from Chris and to the interior of the resort. Trent and DJ could be seen lying next to each other and basking in the sun near a buffet table complete with a grill. Trent stretched and sighed, saying “I still can’t believe this place is just a short boat ride from that crummy summer camp.”

“Tell me about it, man,” DJ agreed, placing his arms behind his head. “I could hang in a place like this for a while.” As he said that, Bunny hopped up onto his lap, and he reached down to pet them. However, just as he was about to, a bald eagle of all things swooped down and snatched up Bunny with a caw. “Bunny!” he called out in horror, while Trent’s eyes widened behind his sunglasses.

However, before the eagle could get too far, Bunny managed to wriggle free and fall back down. Their trajectory sent them on a course towards the grill next to the buffet table. Standing near the grill and with his back turned was Owen. "I was bummed at being voted off, but that only lasted until I got here and saw the food. Trust me, it's good,” he said happily to the camera.

That was when Bunny landed on the grill beside a set of bratwurst, causing the lid to slide shut with a clang. The noise drew the attention of Owen. "What was that?” he asked, turning around and opening the grill. Bunny immediately hopped out, prompting Owen to call “Hey! Leave my brats alone!” and waved his fist at them as they ran back to DJ.

To the right of the buffet, Eva was standing and curling with a pair of heavy barbells. She rolled her eyes and said “Rabbits are herbivores, moron. It wouldn’t have wanted your food anyway.”

Owen paused. “Right! I, uh, I knew that,” he said, getting her to roll her eyes again as she focused on her exercising. Owen, meanwhile, turned back to his bratwurst to make sure they were cooking right. At the same time, he began piling his plate with several pork chops.

From the other side of the buffet, Ezekiel walked over. In addition to his swim trunks, he was now sporting a chain necklace with a large golden Z. "Yo, Owen, my man! Slide me one of those dogs, would ya dawg?" he asked. Owen shrugged and left one bratwurst left for him, pushing it over. As he picked it up, Ezekiel turned to face the camera. "Being famous has totally changed my life, yo. I'm having the time of my life just kickin' it!"

Past the buffet was a large swimming pool that curved around a hot tub and was equipped with both a high-diving platform and a swim-up smoothie bar. Justin stood at the top of the diving platform before taking a breath and swan-diving into the water below. As he came up for air, he made sure to let the water run down his chest at an angle that caught the sunlight.

As intended, this made Katie and Sadie, who were seated in the shade and sipping smoothies, swoon and sigh longingly. “He’s so gorgeous!” Satie moaned, and Katie nodded in agreement. As Sadie tilted back, she lost her balance on her seat and fell into the water with a splash.

Seated near them at the edge of the pool was Cody with his feet in the water. When the water splashed him, he laughed a bit at seeing Sadie fall in and held up his smoothie. That laughter died out as he looked down at his arm and rubbed it. “I guess having a tan does help a lot,” he thought aloud.

Katie quickly turned in her seat and nodded. “Oh my gosh, it really does! Ever since I got my tan, I felt at least fifty percent hotter!” she told him. “I could show you my routine on how to get one without burning up.”

The geek grinned. “Hey, that’d be great! Thanks,” he said, getting her to smile back at him.

That was when Sadie came up for air, sighing. “You guys, the water is totally nice. You should get in!”

Cody put down his smoothie and nodded. “Sure thing! We could do Marco Polo!” he suggested.

Katie gasped. “That sounds amazing! Let’s do it!” she said, and both she and Sadie “Eeeee!”-ed as she put her smoothie on the counter and jumped in, followed by Cody.

Inside the hot tub, meanwhile, Bridgette and Geoff were sitting next to each other. The sound of the BFFFLs drew their attention for a moment, and Bridgette smiled at the scene. “It’s really great when people get reunited, huh?” she remarked, leaning into him.

“Absolutely. I know you getting eliminated stinks, but it makes me so stoked to have you here,” he told her, placing an arm over her shoulders. “This place is really off the chain.”

“It sure is. And not only do we get to enjoy it, but now we can actually get to know each other,” Bridgette said, making Geoff grin.

While the two of them were talking, another pair were busy instead making out with each other on the steps leading into the pool. Namely, Lindsay and Tyler. Once the camera was on them, they pulled apart momentarily. “You know that thing about absence and the heart being fond or something?” Lindsay asked. “Because that is totally the case with me and Tyler!”

Tyler quickly nodded. “And we’ve got a lot of missed time to make up for,” he stated. “Still, if I had known getting kicked off meant staying in a rad place like this, I might have done it sooner.”

“Oh, so would I!" she agreed. "I spent a long time on the island, so I had a lot to learn. If there's one thing I took away, it's 'pick your friends wisely'. Gwen, Owen and Leshawna are all nice, but can you imagine if I stayed BFFs with Heather?"

Tyler shook his head. "Heather might have been mean, but she wasn't as bad as Courtney. If she had her way, we might have gotten voted off even sooner."

Lindsay gasped. "Imagine if we both got kicked off first. Then we could have been doing this for the whole season!” she said, leaning over and pulling him in by the shoulders so they could resume loudly making out.

That was enough to make Noah, who was trying to read a book not far from them, roll eyes and stand up. “The jock and the cheerleader making out by the pool in their bathing suits. Can you two be any more of a cliche?” he sniped, walking over to the other end of the pool. There, Heather was seated in a lounge chair and flipping through a magazine. “At least you have an appreciation for peace and quiet.”

“Don’t talk to me,” Heather snapped at him. Noah resisted the urge to snort and just sat down next to her, resuming his reading. As she noticed the camera on them, Heather looked up from her magazine and directly into the lens. “Being waited on hand-and-foot may be nice, but I’d rather have a hundred-thousand dollars. If either Daphne or Izzy make it to the finals, I’m going to make them suffer, make no mistake.”

“And if you even try to mess with them, I’ll be there to stop you,” a voice said, and she looked behind her to see Leshawna walking over with Harold behind her. “As far as I’m concerned, you deserve to be here with us, Miss Backstabber.”

Heather scoffed at the insult. “You’re just upset that I outplayed you. If it wasn’t for those two psychos, I’d still be in the running, but you would have ended up here either way. You’re not strong enough to be real competition,” she said.

Leshawna huffed, eyes widening. “Oh, I can show you strong!” she promised, pulling her arm back.

Harold was quick to move in front of her, gently grabbing her arm. “Hey, Leshawna? Sweetheart? How about we go enjoy ourselves over there, huh?” he said, waving towards the end of the pool with Lindsay, DJ and Trent.

Leshawna glanced away from Heather to him, then back. There was a moment of tense silence, and then Leshanwa lowered her arm with a snort. “I suppose you ain’t even worth it,” she said, prompting Heather to roll her eyes as Leshawna let Harold guide her away.

Confessional Sauna - Harold

“Ever since Heather was eliminated, she and Leshawna have been getting along like cats and dogs. It’s taking everything I have just to keep the two of them from going for each other’s throats,” he said, before crossing his arms. “Leshawna would win, obviously, but I’m sure Heather would fight dirty.”

As Harold continued to put distance between them and Heather, they passed by the area for mud facial masks. Lying there were two adult sharks in bathrobes as well as, of all people, Beth and Duncan. All of them had masks applied and cucumber slices over their eyes, and all but Duncan had small glasses of co*cktail sauce and shrimp. Once they came close, however, Duncan pulled one cucumber off to open an eye and look at them. That look instantly switched to a glare, and Leshawna and Harold traded places. Now Leshawna stood in front, fixing the punk with a steely glare.

"That's right, keep walking…" he muttered, not looking away until they were well past them and at the buffet table. Only then did he snort and lean back, glancing at the camera. "Okay, so I admit that I wasn't much of a 'team player' while I was on the show. Not that I didn't try; I helped out during the dodgeball game and got the boot anyway."

"That is messed up," Beth spoke up, making him look over at her. "I tried making friends, too, but the first one I made sold me out during the first vote. If I ever get the chance to compete again, I'm going to be a lot more careful about who I make friends with."

Thinking of his short-lived alliance with Heather, Duncan said "Not a bad idea," and turned to one of the sharks. "Pass me one of those shrimp cups, would you?" he asked.

The shark grunted and used a fin to push the shrimp along the counter to him. Taking it and replacing the cucumber on his eye, Duncan said "You know, when you aren't trying to eat me, you guys aren't half bad." If he didn't know any better, he could have sworn the shark smiled. As it was, he turned his head towards the camera and added "Whatever the case, Courtney and Liam better hope I don't get my hands on them before the finals."

DJ passed him as he said that, on the hunt for bandages for Bunny. Meanwhile, Justin climbed out of the pool and took his spot next to Trent, sighing happily. "I didn't think it was possible for me to get any more beautiful," he said. "But ever since I found out about the yoga classes this resort has, I've been more vibrant and full of life than ever."

Trent gave the model a neutral look. "Good for you, I guess," he said. "And it's partly thanks to you that so many of us guys are here to try it, instead of still in the running."

Justin nodded. "Not my finest strategy, I'll admit. But it got me through the game without stressing any part of my form. And now I get to sunbathe without the chance of a random bear attack or being swarmed by flies," he pointed out.

Lindsay looked over at him. "Yeah, trying to tan during the show was a nightmare. I was even starting to get tan lines!" she said. Both her and Justin shuddered at the thought.

Eva paused in her exercising long enough to grab a sandwich from the buffet. As she tore into it, she noticed the camera on her. "If you want me to describe my experience on this show, I'll make it simple: it sucked. The classes I've been taking here have helped with my anger management a little, though."

The camera then moved back over to Noah, who glanced up from his book. "Oh, you want me to talk about my elimination?" He asked, and the camera moved up and down as the cameraman nodded. "Well, I guess it did come as a surprise to be the second camper to be voted off. Guess that's what happens when your team puts being ‘dangerous’ over having brains. In the end, no, I don't think I gained anything from this experience."

Eva, who was continuing her curls with her free hand, passed by and said "Except for the experience of kissing a guy."

The bookworm stiffened. "I did not kiss a guy!" he protested.

Heather frowned. "Um, you totally did. Back during the staying-awake challenge, remember?" he said.

Noah remained silent while, nearby, Cody stiffened as he climbed out of the pool.

Elsewhere, Cody had fallen asleep next to Noah, and the second boy had cuddled him from behind. However, once he began kissing his ear, both of them woke up, screamed, and ran away from each other.

Noah grimaced. "I… have no comment."

"I do: Can we talk about something else?" Cody requested plaintively.

Katie, who was also getting back out of the water, raised her hand. "Oh, I've got something else! I want to give a shout-out to my hometown!"

"Go for it," Noah said, waving his head and holding his book up to block off any more questions.

Both Katie and Sadie turned to the cameras, and together they called "What's up, Toronto?"

Sadie then added "So much has happened to us since we left!"

"Right? Like how we had our first big fight!" Katie said.

Sadie nodded. "That was a really tough time. But you know what was even harder? When I was eliminated and we ended up separated."

"Oh, absolutely. We've been together for so long, I had no idea how frightening it would be to go on alone," Katie agreed, before looking over at Cody. "If there weren't nice people around me back then, I don't know how I might have ended up."

The nerd gave a bashful smile. "I-I was just trying to help," he claimed.

But Katie shook her head. "I'm serious. Thanks for being so nice to me when Sadie had to go. It meant a lot."

"Same here. Any friend of Katie's is a friend of mine!" Sadie added.

Whatever Cody might have said to that was interrupted as Lindsay ran over. "You guys, I just got a letter from my sister Paula. She says there's a picture of me in Star Stalker Magazine! Eeee!"

Sadie and Katie both joined in with "Eeee!"-s of their own. Their combined volume made Heather wince and glare at them. "It's just one picture. And it's not even in Celebrity Manhunt Magazine," she told them.

"Sure, but it's a start!" Lindsay said excitedly. "Maybe if I get my boobs done or develop an eating disorder, they'll put me on the cover!"

At that, Leshawna and Harold looked over from the smoothie bar. Eyeing the blonde's sizable chest and flat stomach, Leshawna said "Something tells me you already got everything you need, girl."

"I'd say so," Ezekiel agreed. "I think you're one of the hottest chicks here. I'm talking straight-up smokin', ya dig? These 'zines should be linin' up for shots of you." As he said that, Ezekiel cast a glance back towards the hot tub, but didn't add anything else.

Lindsay grinned. "Then maybe if I give them a call, they'll talk about a photoshoot!" she said, already daydreaming about it. "I have to go find a phone!"

While she ran off to do just that, Tyler watched her go before looking at the camera. "I managed to get some good out of the show, too. Not only did I score the nicest, hottest, most awesome girlfriend in history, but ever since I had to sit in a pen with them, I've started to lose my fear of chickens! Now nothing's gonna stop me!" he declared, flexing his arms with a grin.

As if in response, a loud clucking sound rang through the air. Tyler instantly froze, eyes darting in every direction. When it was followed by a rooster's crow right behind, he cried "AHH!" and leaped nearly a foot in the air. Once he came back down, he immediately took off in the other direction as fast as he could, leaving a small cloud in his wake.

That cloud faded to reveal Duncan, who was standing there with a tape recorder and snickering. "Hahaha! Oh man, I never got the chance to give him grief for that before. I was hoping for a chance to cash in on that!" he said, before hitting 'play' on the recorder and causing it to repeat the chicken noises.

Bridgette looked away from Geoff towards him. "That wasn't a nice thing to do. I bet if we knew what you were afraid of, you wouldn't want us to make fun of you for it," she said disapprovingly.

Duncan shrugged with a smirk. "Maybe. But lucky for me, I managed to get out in time to not be in that challenge. Which means you'll never get to find out what I fear," he proclaimed.

Heather looked up from her magazine. "Don't make checks you can't cash," she warned. "I haven't forgotten how you tried to have me voted off. If you make it a challenge, I will figure out what you fear and lord it over you."

His response was to snort. "Bring it on, princess. I can guarantee that you'll never figure out my biggest fear without me telling you. Which I won't."

For a moment, the two of them locked gazes. Neither of them looked away, and the other teens looked back and forth as sparks seemed to fly between them. Nearly a full minute passed, until Heather finally said "We'll see," and resumed her reading.

By that point, Trent had moved over to smoothie bar and was making himself one. From behind the camera, an intern asked "So, Trent. If you could say something to one of the remaining campers, what would it be?"

Trent brought a hand to his chin as he thought about it. "Well, I guess I'd tell Gwen that I'm still rooting for her. And that I miss her," he answered. The guitarist looked past them, staring into space as the moments he and Gwen had with each other flashed through his mind. Culminating in the kiss they had shared.

Seeing the grin grow on his face, Leshawna said "You really got it bad for her, huh?"

Trent slowly nodded. "She's special. I think… I'm in love," he told her.

Next to him, both Katie and Sadie said "Aww!" with Sadie adding "That is so sweet!"

Trent continued "And we left things on a pretty good note, all things considered. The worst thing she got mad at me about was the phobia challenge, and she forgave me for that. So maybe, once this shows over, we could actually go out."

Leshawna looked over at Harold. A smile was shared between them, and Harold said "You never know. Love can show up anywhere."

"Amen to that," she agreed, leaning over and giving him a kiss on the cheek. Harold's smile grew to epic proportions, and some of the others could have sworn heart symbols appeared in his eyes. "And if anyone left deserves to win that money, it's her. Gwen had my back ever since we ended up on the same team. Girl's a real friend."

Chris chose that moment to walk into frame. "Well, I see you've already got started on who you would all vote to win. When we come back, we'll hear who the rest of the losers would also pick, as well as their thoughts on the remaining five campers. Stay tuned!" he declared.

After a short commercial break, the scene faded back in to show Chris standing in front of the buffet table. "Okay, now you've gotten a good look at how our eliminated campers are spending their time. But what do they think about the final five?" Looking over at the closest teen, he said "Eva, anything to say?"

"You bet I do," Eva said, grabbing the camera and turning it to face her. "Daphne was the one who got me eliminated and sent here. She can kiss my butt, and I'm going to get a lot of satisfaction out of watching her crash and burn!" she said fiercely.

Not far from her, DJ was sitting next to Ezekiel and finishing wrapping Bunny in bandages. Looking up, he said "I can't say I want Daphne to win either. I thought we were becoming real friends, then she voted me off just to keep her 'prank' with Heather going." Giving Bunny a comforting pat, he continued "All that time we spent bonding and talking… was all of it just part of her game?"

Ezekiel spoke up, saying "Eh, I can think of worse people to win. Like Courtney. She was nice sometimes, but she could be scary when she wanted to be."

"Now that's an understatement," Bridgette added on. "Not only did she intimidate people, but she also lied, broke the rules and even tried to get people hurt to make sure she won challenges. No way does she deserve to win."

To her surprise, Geoff shrugged. "It seemed to me like it kinda balanced out, to be honest," he said. When the others looked at him, he elaborated "I mean, yeah, there was that time she made Lindsay fall into the pool of jellyfish, but Lindsay said they were even after Courtney stole food for everyone and got locked in a box with Sasquatchanakwa. And she did break the rules and enjoy that spa with the guys, but she brought back gift baskets and gave you the next prize she won."

As he said that, the aforementioned moments were shown on the screen by the editing team. Once they faded, Heather was quick to reply "But she only gave away that prize because Gwen got her to agree to. Plus, I'm sure she wouldn't have gotten us that food if Liam hadn't volunteered her."

"Which was a bit surprising," Katie mentioned. "Normally, it seems like Courtney is the one that pulls Liam into things."

Duncan snorted, causing the others to look his way. "If you ask me, they're both liars and manipulators. Heck, I publicly declared myself their enemy, and what did they do? Help me and Heather eliminate Harold."

Said dweeb frowned at the reminder. "That was a frankly dishonorable way to vote," he admitted. "I did give them an ultimatum, but I thought they'd stick by their allies instead of betraying them."

"Not only that, but they lied about it and voted off DJ!" Bridgette said. "After the two of them pulled that, I don't think either of them should get the prize."

"And Courtney's really bossy!" Katie exclaimed. "Remember how she was during that first challenge? She took over the whole team, made Sadie and I work even though we had poison ivy, and we still ended up losing that challenge!”

“Poison ivy that you gave yourselves by taking a bathroom break in the middle of a challenge,” Harold pointed out, causing both girls to look at him with frowns.

Owen put down his platter full of bratwurst. "Maybe they won't win. I mean, Courtney may be the bossiest and scariest person left, but I don't think she's the strongest. That would be Izzy."

Izzy turned to face the bear as it lost its patience and roared in Owen’s face. Before the rest of the campers could panic, she walked closer and gave it a wide, toothy grin. The bear froze, every danger sense in its body going off. Then Izzy took a step forward and the bear took a step back. Another step, another, then the bear whimpered and turned to run away.

"Come here, Blanket!" she called, and jumped out of her costume to chase after it.

Geoff nodded in agreement. "I'm with you, man. That whole bear scene was awesome."

Noah snorted. "Yeah, Izzy is strong. Strong and nuttier than a sack of cashews," he remarked.

"Maybe, but that was pretty impressive. And wasn't there that time she got in a fist-fight with Chef?" Trent asked.

"That did happen," Heather confirmed. "But you know what I think? I think Psycho Hose Beast might not be crazy at all. Don't forget, she's the one who came up with that plan to eliminate me."

Cody raised an eyebrow. "So… you think Izzy's just pretending to be crazy?" he asked.

"Exactly. That way no one will think she actually has a strategy," Heather replied.

Cody was quiet, thinking over some past moments. Not only that incident with the bear, but also when Izzy created that massive fire on Bony Island. Or when she hid in the woods to get away from the RCMP. Or when she volunteered herself to get a poison ivy face-wrap. Or when she convinced Daphne to go with her into the woods to find, and then run from, a psychotic serial killer.

Coming to a conclusion, Cody said "You know, I've gotta disagree. I think Izzy might be both smart and crazy."

"She's definitely strong. I can respect that," Eva added, crossing her arms. "But as long as she sticks around Daphne, I refuse to support her."

"For sho'. Just one of them is enough. But you put Izzy and Daphne together, and they're so lit that nothin's standin' in their way," Ezekiel said.

From behind the camera, Chris asked "In that case, Eva, who would you want to win?"

She paused for a moment, thinking it over. "Out of everyone that's left… probably Gwen. She and I never really got into any arguments, and she seems decent enough," she answered.

"Gwen's got my vote, too," DJ replied. "After how she and Lindsay stood up to that killer, I don't think there's anyone braver on the whole island. I know I wouldn't have stuck around if I saw sonething like that."

Noah raised an eyebrow. "This, coming from the same guy that almost couldn't pick up a tiny snake," he quipped. "Still, I'd have to agree. Out of everyone that's left, I found Gwen to be the least annoying. And that horror challenge showed that she can come up with a good strategy if she has to."

Lesahwna said "And she's a team player. She even let herself get buried in a glass box for her team."

Trent winced. “I’m definitely not forgetting that anytime soon,” he promised, before smiling. “But yeah, Gwen’s obviously my choice too.”

“Same!’ Lindsay called. “Besides Tyler, Gwen was the best friend I made on the entire show. Sure she was distant and cold a couple of times, but she ended up being really nice and supportive. And she didn’t call me dumb or an idiot even once!”

Tyler appeared to be thinking it over before nodding. “When we were on the same team, Daphne and I ended up being pretty decent friends. Still, if you think Gwen deserves it more, I’ll vote for her too,” he told Lindsay. The blonde grinned and immediately leaned over to ‘reward’ him with another kiss, which he eagerly returned.

Owen perked up. “I think Daphne baked some of the best muffins! Letting me taste-test them all the time was really nice,” he commented.

DJ looked down at that. “Right… She and I used to cook a lot together too. How much did she really enjoy that?” he muttered.

“Since it involved fire, she probably did like cooking,” Bridgette told him. “I may have gotten along with her better than I thought, but Daphne’s love of fire still puts me off.”

Heather glanced at them. “Another understatement. I mean, remember that time she nearly set fire to Boney Island trying to save us?” she said.

Bridgette grimaced, thinking back to that moment and how Daphne had appeared then. “No kidding. She may have stopped those giant geese, but that look in her eyes and that singing she started doing…” she trailed, shuddering.

Seeing that the surfer girl would appreciate a change in subject, Ezekiel said “Okay, but what about Liam, y’all? I think he stands a chance.”

That response got snorts from every teenager except for Duncan, Bridgette and Harold. “Liam? Seriously?” Noah said. “The guy may have made a smart move by getting on Courtney’s good side, but what else has he done?”

“Exactly. He’s totally lazy and unmotivated. If it weren’t for Courtney, he probably would have been eliminated a long time ago,” Heather said dismissively.

“Tell me about it. You remember that crazy boot camp Chef had us all do? He fell asleep hanging upside-down from a tree,” Leshawna reminded them. “No way does that guy have what it takes to win.”

Harold hummed. “I’m not so certain about that,” he told her. “The fact that he was able to make it this far, plus all the manipulative stuff he’s joined Corutney on? I think Liam may be smart enough to make it to the end, as much as I don’t want him to.”

Next to the sharks, Beth was in the process of removing her mud mask. “He’s definitely sneaky enough. Liam said he wanted to be my friend, and then he sold me out just to get an alliance with Courtney. I don’t even know why she trusts him,” she stated.

Bridgette looked up at the sky. “I can think of one or two reasons why…” she said, though quietly enough that only Geoff heard her.

The gentle lull of waves kissing the shore provided a backdrop that was unusually serene for an evening at Wawanakwa. On a blanket spread across the sandy beach, Liam and Courtney lay side by side, their eyes fixed on the sky as the setting sun turned it into a canvas of reds, oranges and purples.

“You know, this is pretty nice. Now that it's practically just us, this camp is actually becoming bearable,” Courntey said with a smile.

Liam nodded. “This day off is probably the last peaceful moment we’ll get like this. So we should make the most of it.”

“Absolutely,” Courtney agreed. She took a look around. Spotting a single camera within her line of sight, she leaned against Liam and laid her head on his shoulder. They shifted their attention back to the lake, where the sun was casting an glow on the waves that reminded them of molten gold.

Eventually, Liam broke the silence to say “I’ve been curious about something.” Once he got a hum from her, he asked “What’s life like for you back home? As driven as you are, I doubt it’s boring.”

Courtney was silent for a moment, reflecting on her answer. “Well… I guess it is a bit of a whirlwind, yeah. I try my best in all my classes–including extra credit–I’m on the debate team, I do a lot of community service and I’m planning on running for class president. My schedule’s almost always packed,” she admitted. Then she added “But I only do the work because I like it, you know?”

He gave her a smirk. “I’ve noticed. So, you’re both driven and efficient. If you do run for office like you said before, I’m sure that’ll come in handy.”

Her response was to give him a light shove with a smile. “Says the one who wants to be a… what was it? A coder?” she asked.

“Cybersecurity advisor,” he corrected.

“Right. You know that doing something like that means going to college. Where you’ll have to actually work for a degree,” she told him.

“I’m well aware,” Liam replied, grimacing. “That’s why I agreed to be on this show to begin with. If I can win that prize money, at least I won’t have to go to college and work a job. I won’t even have to go into debt.”

Courtney hummed. “I plan on using it to pay for law school, probably the University of Toronto or British Columbia. But first I need to study for my LSATs, which is the first thing I’m doing when I get home.” Then she looked up at him. “And what about you? What’s home like for you?”

“Not much to write about, frankly,” he told her. “My dad’s an economics professor and my mother often travels, so they’re both usually busy. They still care about me and my sister, though. Enough to check in on our studies, though that usually ends up unnecessary since we both do well in school. If I get back without the cash, the first thing we’ll probably do is discuss where I made a mistake.”

“I see… And what about universities? Have you decided on any?” she asked.

“Hmm… If I had to pick one, maybe Sault College? I’ve yet to make up my mind,” he said.

Courtney frowned. “It’s important to plan these sorts of things out ahead of time. With how much we talk strategy, I’d have thought you knew that,” she told him.

He shrugged. “I'll get around to planning my education… after the show’s over. Until I win that prize, the whole thing’s a moot point anyway,” he said.

“I suppose so,” Courtney said, deciding to let it go for now rather than push and ruin the moment. As the last sliver of the sun dipped below the horizon, they lay there in comfortable silence. All the drama that had followed them–and that they had created–over the past weeks seemed distant as they savored the moment and the warmth of each other's company.

Then, as if to spite them, they could make out the sound of that blasted loudspeaker coming online. Courtney groaned, sitting up and separating from Liam. “What now?” she asked.

“Attention, campers. Please report to the bonfire pronto for tonight’s elimination ceremony!” Chris announced before going silent.

Liam blinked, and both he and Corutney looked at each other. “Elimination? But there was no challenge,” he said, and she nodded.

Once all five of the remaining teens were gathered at the bonfire, Gwen was the first to ask what they were all thinking. “Okay, what’s going on? We’re having an elimination without a challenge? And we didn’t even cast our votes either!”

Chris nodded. “Both of those facts are true, Gwen. You see, tonight’s elimination is a special one. No challenge, no marshmallows, and no votes… from all of you, anyway,” he said.

Izyy sat straight, catching his meaning. “So someone else voted for who'd be eliminated tonight?" she asked.

“Bingo!” Chris confirmed. He waved his hand and a pair of interns pushed over a TV set on a wheeled stand. One of them handed him the remote, and he said “In fact, tonight’s votes were cast by these fine faces. Any of them look familiar?” And with that, he pressed the button to turn the TV on. A brief burst of static resolved into an image of Chris in front of a luxury swimming pool. And seated around the edges of it were nineteen people, the sight of whom made all five campers gasp.

“Oh no,” Courtney muttered.

“Oh crap,” Daphne said, paling.

“Well, that’s unfortunate,” Liam remarked, staring with wide eyes at the eliminated campers.

Gwen stared at the screen for a moment before something else clicked. “Wait a second,” she said, looking up at Chris. “Is that the same luxury hotel that was in the show’s application forms? The one you lied to us about?”

Chris gave them a huge grin. “Indeed it is. You see, we never actually lied about you spending the season at a luxury resort. We just didn’t mention that you’d have to lose to do it,” he explained.

Gwen’s fists clenched. “You mean to tell me that, the first time my team lost, I could have asked them to vote me off and I’d have spent the whole season there instead of in this dump?!” she demanded. When Chris nodded in confirmation, she cried “Aaaah!” and had to be pulled back into her seat by Izzy.

Once she stopped flailing and settled for trying to burn a hole in his head with a glare, Chris said “As you can surmise, we had your voted-off comrades decide who should get tonight’s boot. Let’s see what they had to say, shall we?” While the campers all gulped, he pushed another button and resumed the footage.

“So, here’s how it’s going to work. I’m to ask each of you, one at a time, to name who you would like to join you here at Playa de Losers,” Chris told the eliminated campers. “Katie and Sadie, you’re up first.”

Before Sadie could answer, Katie raised her hand. “So, we’re voting for the person we want to see lose, right?” she asked. At Chris’s nod, she said “In that case, I vote for Courtney.”

“Oh, definitely Courtney!” Sadie said.

“Two votes against Courtney? Not a great start for her,” Chris said with a chuckle. “Duncan, you want to make it three?”

The punk gave him a grin. “Actually, I’m voting for Daphne,” he declared.

That got gasps from all of the others, particularly Heather and Bridgette. “But… but why? You hate both Courtney and Liam!” the latter protested.

“Yeah, I do. And that's precisely why,” Duncan said. “Sure, I could vote for one of them and ruin their day, but I want them both to suffer. And I can’t think of anything I’d love more than to see them both make it to the finals just to scrape and claw over each other for that prize money.” Then he chuckled, adding “Just picturing it gives me thr warm fuzzies.”

Chris gave Duncan a proud look. “Now that is the kind of thinking that I like on this show!” he said. “So, two votes for Courtney and one for Daphne? Harold, how do you feel?”

The nerd shook his head. “I feel I should vote for the camper I feel is the biggest threat, and that’s Liam,” he said. Cue another round of snickers from the others, causing Harold to frown. “I still think it’s true, even if you all don’t!”

Cody snorted in order to hold back his laughter. “That’s… wow, man,” he said, before looking across the pool to Harold. “You and I are buds, and I do think Liam did you dirty with that elimination. If you think he deserves to be kicked off more than Courtney does, I’ll vote with you.”

“I agree,” Beth declared. “All of you may have grudges against the others, but mine is with Liam and how he tricked me. I’m voting for him too.”

Bridgette shook her head. “This isn’t the time to be voting based on grudges. We should vote based on who deserves the prize the least,” she said. “Although, with that said, I still think that person is Courtney.”

“And you think that because you just happened to be on the end of her efforts to stay in the game,” Heather said with a scoff. “If that’s how we’re defining ‘least deserving’, then my vote is for Daphne.”

Chris chuckled. “Getting a pretty even spread so far, I see,” he remarked. “Justin, got anything to add?”

The model was silent for a moment, then he said “I’m voting for Izzy.” The others looked at him in surprise, and he shrugged. “I just don’t think crazy people should be given large sums of money,” he said frankly.

“Fair enough. Lindsay?” Chris asked.

“Well, I know Courtney isn’t the nicest…” Lindsay began. “But Liam was really mean to me right before I left. He wouldn’t let me keep my wooden bust of Tyler to remember his face, and he tricked me during that race! Someone that mean shouldn’t get a hundred-thousand dollars.”

Tyler placed a comforting arm around Lindsay. “I’m with you all the way, babe. If you’re voting for Liam, so am I,” he told her.

Gently petting Bunny between their bandages, DJ was the next to speak. “I don't know if she deserves it, but the sooner Daphne gets eliminated, the sooner I can find out how much of us being friends was a lie. That’s the least she can tell me.”

“I think Daphne does deserve to lose,” Eva said fiercely. “My vote’s for her, no question.”

Trent looked down. “I don’t have a grudge against anyone left, really. I suppose I’d want Gwen to win, and in that case, I should vote for whoever I think would give her the most trouble,” he reasoned. “In my eyes, that’s Courtney.”

Owen perked up. “If Daphne does lose, that means she and DJ would be able to cook together, maybe even make up that way,” he said in realization. “In the name of good food and preserving friendships, I have to vote for Daphne!” he declared.

“That puts Liam and Daphne at a tie for the most votes,” Chris announced. “Geoff, who do you vote for?”

The party boy rubbed the back of his head. “Honestly, I could go either way. Izzy’s kind of unsettling, and Courtney’s a real downer…” Then he stopped upon receiving a nudge and a look from Bridgette. “But I think I’m gonna have to say Courtney!” he quickly finished.

Leshawna glared over in Heather’s direction. “Well, since I can’t vote for someone a second time…” she said, getting a glare from Heather in return. “I’m gonna settle for the next best thing and vote for Courtney too.”

Noah looked at each of them. “I’m going to base my vote on something a little more important than grudges. Namely, what they’d do with the money,” he told them. “Since Daphne mentioned that she’d just spend it all on fireworks and gasoline, I’m voting that she not get any of it.”

With that, all eyes turned to the last camper. “Well, Ezekiel…” Chris began.

“Just call me ‘Z’, yo,” Ezekiel quickly told him.

Chris frowned in annoyance at being interrupted. “Alright, Z, you’ve got the last vote, and we’re tired between Courtney and Daphne. Who do you think should be the next loser?”

With every other camper looking at him, the farmboy was quiet. He crossed his arms and looked down into the water, thinking about it. “Out of all the homies left, the one I got along with the least was Izzy. But between those two…"

At the bonfire, all of the campers except for Gwen were on the edge of their seats. Izzy and Daphne looked between each other nervously, while Liam and Coruntney grabbed each other’s hands. ‘Ezekiel, whatever you do, don’t say something stupid,’ Liam thought desperately.

Then Ezekiel spoke. “I do still owe Liam for looking out for me when I first got there. I don’t got any beef with the rest of them, so I think I should vote in a way that helps him.”

That got the redhead to sigh in relief.

“Which is why I vote for Courtney.”

…

…

…

“WHAT?!” Liam shouted, as did Courtney and several of the campers at the resort.

Ezekiel continued "If Liam and Courtney did both make it to the finals, I think she’d whoop his butt. But I also think he’s smart enough to beat Izzy and the others. So I’m gonna help him by gettin' rid of his biggest competition.” Then he looked at the camera and said "I got yo back, bro!”

And with that, Chris hit the button on the remote again to shut the TV off, leaving the rest of them to stare at it. “And there you have it. Courtney, the Dock of Shame awaits.”

The C.I.T. shot to her feet. “They voted for me… over Daphne?!” she said furiously. “This is an outrage! That vote shouldn’t have even happened–the show’s contact didn’t say anything about the losers eliminating someone, just picking a winner!”

“I’m with her,” Liam said, also standing. “Courtney and I made it this far by using a very successful strategy. Now you’re just letting everyone who was upset by it get back at us.”

“That’s exactly what I’m doing,” Chris agreed.

Courtney crossed her arms. “Well, I do not accept this outcome! I refuse to concede on this vote!” she declared.

Chris raised an eyebrow. “Well, in that case...” he said, looking as if he was considering it. Then he snapped his fingers and Chef walked down the Dock, grabbing Courtney by the arm.

As he pulled her away, she shouted. “This isn’t right! I did everything I had to in order to win! I should be going to the finals!”

Liam stared, before slowly turning his gaze to Chris. “...You made a mistake today, McLean,” he promised. “A very big mistake.”

The host looked distinctly unimpressed. “Is that a threat? Because I can make this our first double elimination if you want,” he warned.

Liam glared at him, before letting it go in favor of running along the Dock. “Courtney!” he called, and she halted her struggles while Chef paused in dragging her to the Boat, letting her go. He grabbed both her hands with his, leaning close to her. “I’ll make it to the end. For both of us, no matter the cost. I swear it,” he told her.

Corutney was silent for a moment, looking down at their hands before she looked him in the eye. Even now, in defeat, he could see that same spark as always. That spark, that will, that first drew him to her. “You better,” she said. “I’m going to get every lawyer and C.I.T. I can; this elimination will not stand.”

Then she pulled him closer. “But until then, you take the rest of these losers and crush them. Are we clear?”

Liam’s lips slowly parted in a wide, malevolent grin. “Crystal,” he said

Courtney smiled back. She started to lean forward, before pausing and glancing at the camera. Then she finished leaning in and gave him one more kiss on the cheek, then turned and began walking towards the Boat. Once she was on and it started to pull away, only Liam stayed behind to watch her leave. She raised her hand to wave at him, and he did the same. “See you at the finals!” she called.

“Count on it!” he called back.

Chapter 25: Day of the Lost

Chapter Text

The weather that morning did a good job of matching Liam's mood. The sky was a dark gray and rumbled with thunder about once every minute. A steady downpour of rain fell from those clouds, creating puddles everywhere and turning the ground to mud. Not even the ground in front of the cabins was spared; walking anywhere was a guarantee to end up with mud on your shoes. With this kind of storm, the best thing to do is to stay put, stay dry and do absolutely nothing. Exactly what the redhead felt like doing.

As he laid on the steps of the guys' cabin, Liam sighed and stared up at the ceiling. Without Courtney here, every possible camp activity sounded more boring. Even ones that could be done in this weather, like cooking or reading, just seemed less fun without her there. Izzy and Daphne seemed to be enjoying themselves at least, given that they were also sitting outside and chatting. One of them had even stuck a tin can out in the rain to collect water for… something.

Gwen was inside the girls' cabin, presumably staying warm and writing in that journal of hers. He had been tempted more than once to peek at that in order to figure out Gwen's secrets and plans, but the idea had been shelved for two main reasons. First, it would be hard for him to make a good excuse for being in the girls' room if he were caught. And second, there was little point in doing it this late into the game, where the number of alliances she could make was so few. Though the goth did peek her head out the door when the intercom came on.

"Listen up, campers!" Chris called, and all of them looked up. "One of the least looked-forward-to aspects of any summer camp is the dreaded rain day, where all activities with even the remotest possibility of fun are canceled. The forecast for tomorrow is rain, more rain, and then some more rain. So, at 7am sharp, all your butts are to report to the Arts and Crafts Center. See you there!"

Then the intercom turned off, leaving the rest of them to look at each other. Daphne eventually said "Well, even paper mache's got to be more fun than just lying around all day."

Liam hummed. "I don't know about that. Taking a nap and listening to the rain sounds like a good time to me," he said, pulling out the multitool and flipping it open and closed with one hand. "Maybe we'll even have an arts and crafts challenge."

"I doubt Chris would let us off that easily," Gwen said, shaking her head. Then she sighed and said "I'm going back inside," before closing the cabin door.

Izzy looked over at the door once she did. "Man, ever since Lindsay left, she's been a real stick in the mud," she remarked, before looking over in Liam's direction. "And without Courtney, you seem even lazier than usual."

The redhead sent her an annoyed look. "Well, we can't all be 'lucky' enough to make it to the final four with our best friend," he snapped at her.

Izzy paused, and her and Daphne looked at each other. "Yeah, that's kind of fair," Daphne admitted. "You have fun with your nap; we're going to plan on the best paper-mache statue we can make tomorrow. When we get to the semi-finals, we can burn it to celebrate!"

The two of them resumed talking excitedly with each other, which Liam tuned out in favor of staring up into the raining sky.

Confessional Stall - Liam

"I'm all on my own now. Izzy and Daphne have their alliance and are on good terms with Gwen, so they won't recruit me. And Gwen probably won't form an alliance with me, so that's out either. If I'm going to make it to the finals, I have to stop taking it easy in challenges and eliminations." He took a deep breath and held it, closing his eyes. After a moment, he exhaled and opened them. "I have to start being serious."

The next morning, it wasn't the sound of rain that greeted Liam as he awoke like he expected. Instead there was the comforting sound of waves. Very close waves, in fact. As if he were in a cabin right next to the beach instead of a short walk from it. Brow furrowing, he sat up in bed and stretched with a yawn. Still half-asleep, he swung his feet off the bed and muttered "First shower, then breakfast… ugh, breakfast." Then he hopped off his bed to land on his feet… and instead fell feet-first into water.

"Huh?!" he managed to get out before being submerged.

Not far from him, one of the bunk beds from the girls' cabin was swaying and floating in the water. On the top bunk was Izzy, who stirred in response to the noise Liam created. "What's going–Whoa!" she groggily began then shouted as the bed swayed and she rolled off the bunk into water.

Daphne sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes before looking around. Then she blinked and rubbed them again. Seeing only her and Izzy's bed, Liam's bed, the girls' cabin and nothing else but water, she shook her head. "I can't tell if I'm awake or still dreaming," she stated. Looking at her currently-soaked friend, she said "Izzy, say something ridiculous."

Izzy was quiet for a moment, contemplating what to say. She settled on "Some of the species we call 'anteaters' actually eat termites instead.”

Daphne tilted her head. "...Alright, I'm not dreaming," she decided. "If I were, you'd have replied with 'something ridiculous'."

That was when Gwen's voice reached them. "Glad you figured that out…" she said, and they all looked to see her standing in the doorway to the cabin. "But what the heck is going on?!" she demanded.

"How should we know?" Liam said grumpily as he floated in the water. "You know, if Chris was going to drop some new nonsense on us, he could have at least waited until after we had a chance to shower."

Any response to that was put on hold when a large fin broke the surface of the water around them. All four teens' eyes widened before Liam, Izzy and Daphne swam as fast they could towards the cabin. They made it onto the steps in time to see the bunk bed be pulled beneath the waves. A moment later, partially-chewed pieces of it floated to the surface.

"We need something big and chewy to distract it with!" Gwen told them.

Izzy groaned. "Man, where's Owen when you need him?" she wondered.

"We may not need him," Daphne said, before pointing south. "Look! Land!"

Sure enough, they could make out a shoreline not too far from where they were. The only trick would be getting the cabin across the water there. "How are we going to cross with this guy here?" Liam asked, jerking a thumb in the shark's direction.

Izzy tapped her finger against her chin, also tapping her foot as she thought. The sound of her foot against the boards caused her to look down and she grinned. "I've got just the thing," she said, reaching down and grabbing one of the boards. It resisted for a moment, but then she pried it free with a grunt. Handing it to Liam, she said "Now start rowing!" before reaching down to make ‘oars’ for herself, Gwen and Daphne.

Liam glanced down at the board in his hands, and then over at the shark. He quickly put the board in the water and began rowing. The others joined in once they had their own, and the cabin began to slowly drift towards the shore. It was nerve-wracking work, particularly whenever the shark swam near the cabin in response to the waves created by their rowing. When that happened, they pulled their oars out of the water and retreated inside, waiting until it moved away.

Slowly and eventually, they were able to steer the cabin onto land. As it touched the shore with a dull thud, Liam was the first to jump off and sigh in relief. "Land, I will never undervalue you again," he swore, dropping to his knees and grabbing a handful of sand. Watching it fall between his fingers, he then took a look around. "Speaking of, where are we?"

Gwen also took a look. Other than the beach they were on, there was also a forest that led further inland. However, some of the trees, especially the ones near the shore, gave her pause. There were coconut and pineapple trees among them, despite the fact that they were supposedly in Ontario. More importantly, there wasn't a single sign of civilization: no cars, no people, no roads, nothing. "I'm not sure, but this place is definitely giving me the creeps," she said.

Daphne crossed her arms. "Well… I don't suppose we were just washed downstream. Chris has dropped us into challenges unannounced before," she pointed out.

"Oh, you mean like that horror challenge," Izzy said, to which Daphne nodded. "Then in that case, the first thing we should do is find shelter."

Liam grunted and tapped the side of the cabin with his foot. "Already got that handled," he said bluntly.

Gwen shook her head. "But what if this isn't a challenge? The producers may think we left the show, or even just died! I say we build a raft to try to sail back to camp," she proposed.

The redhead looked back at her. "Yes, because a raft is going to hold up against that shark we just escaped," he said dryly. "Even if you're right and the producers don't know where we are, that just makes it that much more important that we survive. Since we have shelter, that means we now search for food."

"And running freshwater," Daphne added, dipping her finger into the water by the shore. Tasting it and grimacing at the amount of salt, she said "Even a small stream will do, as long as we come up with a way to boil it."

"Oh, I can do that!" Izzy volunteered. "The RCMP taught me all sorts of survival stuff, including how to boil water without a pot."

Looking between the three of them, Gwen could see that she was outvoted. She sighed and said "Alright, we'll search for food and water, then we build a raft. Agreed?" When the others nodded, she said "We should split up. Two of us will stay here and gather food while the other two look for freshwater."

"I can look for water," Daphne said. "Izzy, wanna come with?"

"Sure!" the orange-haired girl chirped. The two of them soon disappeared into the woods, leaving Liam and Gwen on the beach.

Confessional Stall - Liam

"Honestly, I see this as an improvement. I'm still on an island with these three, but now there's no curfew, no challenges–at least for the moment–and none of Chef's slop. I don’t think I can ask for much more without something really unfortunate happening.."

Daphne

"I still have my lighter, so as soon as me and Izzy hunt something, we'll be able to cook it over a fire!" At that, her expression turned dreamy. "Hmm… you know, I don't think I've ever had roasted beaver. I'm looking forward to it."

Gwen

"I can't believe it. Did Chris and Chef really just leave us here to die?" she asked.

Chris

"Okay, let me state right now that the campers are fine. After their day off before, Chef and I decided that we deserved a day to ourselves, too. So while those four are running around our 'deserted island', we are going to kick back. Starting with a feast at the craft services tent," he declared.

Once the crazier of the four campers was gone, Liam looked over at Gwen. “So how do you plan on getting past that shark once we have a raft?” he asked curiously.

The goth was quiet for a moment, thinking. “If… If all four of us are on the raft, two people can keep an eye on the shark at all times to make sure it doesn’t sneak up on us while two more do the rowing. And if we gave her a sharp stick, I’m sure Izzy would love trying to hit it in the eyes or gills if it attacks,” she eventually said.

Liam paused, giving Gwen a look over. “That’s… a good plan,” he admitted, slightly surprised. He knew by this point that Gwen could be resourceful, but perhaps he underestimated just how much so. “In which case, we’ll need something to make wooden spears with,” he said, pulling out the multitool from his pocket.

Gwen raised an eyebrow. “Where did you get that, anyway?” she asked.

“I borrowed it from Harold during Chef’s challenge,” he told her. “After that I sort of… forgot to give it back. And once he was eliminated, Harold was too preoccupied with seeing Leshawna again to remember.” He flipped the knife attachment out and walked over to one of the nearby trees. He grabbed a branch and ripped it off with a grunt, before sitting down in the sand. “Anyway, I’ll get started on sharpening one for each of us if you want to find that food.”

Although not pleased about doing something that wasn’t her idea, Gwen nonetheless nodded and began looking around. Meanwhile, Liam whittled the end of the branch to a sharp point while also shaving off any extra limbs.

However, they were not five minutes into their work when Daphne and Izzy both burst back onto the beach with wide grins. “You guys, you gotta see this!” Izzy exclaimed.

“Did you find fresh water?” Gwen asked.

Daphne shook her head. “Even better. Come on!” she said, before turning around and walking into the forest with Izzy. Both Liam and Gwen gave each other bemused looks, but eventually shrugged and followed. Their route took them around to another portion of the shore, where Daphne called “How awesome is that?”

Liam stared at the object in question. “Is that… a tyrannosaurus skull?” he asked faintly. Said skull was large enough that he could probably walk into its mouth without even hitting his head or crouching. Gwen was also aghast, taking a step back.

Izzy nodded. “Yep. Pretty sweet, huh? And not only that, but we also found that!” she said, turning and pointing a short distance away from the beach. There, built onto one of the trees, was a relatively small wooden cabin.

“A treehouse? So this place isn’t deserted,” Gwen said. “Maybe this actually is some sort of survival challenge.”

“Either way, we’re not on Wawanakwa Island anymore. It definitely didn’t have that,” Daphne replied, waving a hand at the skull.

Confessional Stall - Chris

“The fake T-Rex fossil was my idea. And boy, seeing their faces is worth every intern that got injured moving it into place.”

Liam looked back at the tree. "Well, we at least have a decent place to take shelter in besides the cabin, if the raft idea doesn't pan out," he said. "Let’s see if there's anything good inside."

Daphne nodded and climbed up the ladder to the treehouse. Grabbing the handle, she opened the door and–"AAH!" she shouted, jumping back as a skeleton fell from above the door to dangle in front of her. Her jump also carried her over the edge, causing her to fall back on the ground. "Owww, my tailbone," she groaned, rubbing her rear from where she landed on it.

Izzy giggled at seeing her friend scared. “Okay, that one was pretty good,” she said before jumping onto the second story. She grabbed the skeleton and tossed it out of the way–making Liam dodge it–before she went inside. There were a total of three bunk beds, a single set of drawers and a mirror hanging from the tree, which went through the floor and out the ceiling in the back of the room. Another tree limb went through the spot where a fourth bunk might have gone.

The others followed her inside, and Gwen said “Well, I don’t see any reason we couldn’t take apart a couple of these box-springs to make the raft.”

Daphne nodded. “Good idea. I’ll get started on that,” she declared, walking over and throwing the blankets and covers off one of the mattresses. The others filtered back out to resume their tasks, though this time Liam and Gwen split up for her to look for food while Liam whittled.

As she walked further along the beach in the opposite direction from the cabin, Gwen soon noticed something along the shore. “There’s the outhouse,” she commented, seeing it half-buried in the sand with the door hanging open. Casting her gaze around, her eyes landed on a few trees that made her raise an eyebrow. “More coconut trees? Really?” she said, before shrugging. The trees were easy enough to climb, and knocking the coconuts down to the ground with a stick was simple. Owen could probably have even done this.

Her efforts resulted in nearly two dozen fresh coconuts, making her smile as she jumped back down. “That’ll keep us fed until we get back to camp,” she said with satisfaction.

At the same time, Liam was walking through the woods vaguely in the direction of the cabin. However, he stopped upon hearing rustling the bushes to his right. “Hmm…” he hummed, putting down all of his sharpened sticks save for one. In his other hand, he held up the multitool in a reverse grip with the knife out.

He took a step closer, but nothing seemed to react. Not seeing anything either, he said “Alright, just stay calm, little critter.” He took another step. “All I want to do is add a few holes to you and then roast you over a fire. Sound good?” Still nothing, so he took one more step. “That’s it...” he started, before stumbling back as he heard a large and distinctly avian cry. From the bushes emerged a very large, very familiar kind of bird. One of the geese from Boney Island.

The Stymphalian goose spread its wings before taking off, quickly rising into the sky and vanishing from sight. Getting back to his feet, Liam glanced at where it had been and saw a single large egg. He had nearly walked right into its nest. As he looked up at the trees around the nest, he grinned at seeing both pineapples and bananas hanging from them. “Jackpot,” he muttered.

It took a few hours of gathering, but soon enough, the four of them had gathered everything they needed. Gwen and Liam had gathered a pile of food nearly half as tall as they were, minus one goose egg–Liam did not feel like having an angry mother dinosaur chasing him, thank you. Daphne had broken down two of the bunks into piles of wooden planks and nails, while Izzy had taken a plastic jug from the treehouse and filled it with boiled water.

In that time, all four of them confirmed that they had seen no one else on the island. If there was anyone supervising this ‘challenge’, they weren’t letting themselves be seen. However, as Izzy and Gwen were tying boards together for the raft, they all froze as a loud and feral roar suddenly rang through the air. “The heck is that?!” Daphne shouted, crouching and looking up into the sky.

None of them had an answer, and the roar repeated itself a moment later. Liam shook his head and walked over to deposit the spears he had made onto the raft. “Whatever it is, I don’t want to stick around to meet it."

“Me neither,” Gwen said, tying the last board into place. “Alright, let’s go,” she called, and the rest of them climbed aboard.

Taking a sip of his afternoon tea, Chris asked “So, Chef, how do you think our campers are doing on their little field trip?”

Sipping his own tea, Chef gave him a shrug. “They’ve been out there long enough that anything’s possible. They could have been eaten by sharks, mauled by a bear, had a long fall and broken some of their bones, the list goes on,” he said.

Chris paused, processing that. He put down his tea and rubbed his chin. “You know, I wonder if I should check on them…” he thought aloud. Then he shook his head. “Nah, I’m sure they’re fine.”

“Absolutely,” Chef agreed, leaning back in his chair. “After all, they’ve been pretty scrappy to get this far. I’m sure they can handle anything."

“Get back, you overgrown guppy! Back, I say!” Izzy shouted, jabbing her spear into the water behind the raft. Beside her, Liam aimed for the same spot–the shark’s right eye–but it sank back under the water before he could score a hit. The four of them had barely made it away from the shore when the shark from before returned. Compared to the furniture it had snacked on before, they probably looked like a gourmet meal.

“Come on, Gwen! Paddle faster!” Daphne urged, pedaling with an oar of her own.

Gwen grit her teeth and replied “I’m going as fast as I can! Just keep that thing off us!”

“Working on it!” Liam shouted back. “The eyes are too small a target; if it comes up again, aim for its nose!”

As they fended off the predator, their route led them back to a familiar sight: the section of the beach with the coconut trees. Izzy, on the lookout in case the shark struck again, saw it and said “Hey, we’ve been there! Isn’t that the spot we–”

“Reminisce later. Survive now!” Liam interrupted her as he spotted a shadow in the water. Sure enough, the shark burst out of the water from that spot a moment later. Gwen and Daphne pedaled even faster while both Izzy and Liam jabbed it in the face. The sticks weren’t quite enough to pierce its scales, but the shark did snort and back off, glaring at them as it rubbed its nose with one of its fins.

“We’re almost back to shore!” Gwen called.

Hearing a familiar cry, Liam looked into the sky above them. The Stymphalian goose soared overhead, its talons almost glinting in the sunlight. It cast a brief, indifferent glance at the chaos scene before deciding to leave them be. With a powerful flap of its wings, it descended from the sky in the direction of its nest, leaving the raft behind.

Their raft finally scraped against the familiar sands of the beach. With a collective sigh of relief, they scrambled onto solid ground. The shark, unable to navigate the shallow waters, lingered offshore.

Breathing heavily, Daphne said “We made it… Heh, that was close.”

Izzy was the first to catch her breath, and gave them all a wide grin. "Close is my middle name! Well, it's actually Innes, but that's not important right now."

Liam shook his head and looked back towards the water. Even now, the shark was still there, watching them. “Well, the raft idea is no longer an option. That shark isn’t going to give up,” he said. To punctuate that, the shark gave them a smile and reached up to pull a piece of meat out from between its many, many teeth,

Gwen nodded. "So, what's the plan now? We can't stay here forever,” she pointed out.

Liam opened his mouth to offer an idea, but was cut off by a loud, almost animalistic grumble. Both of them plus Daphne turned and looked towards the source—Izzy’s stomach.

“Heh, whoops,” Izzy said, rubbing the back of her head. “Guess I’m feeling a bit peckish.” Then her stomach grumbled again, this time loud enough that Liam could swear he felt it shaking the ground through his shoes.

Daphne looked back through the trees in the direction of the treehouse. “Let’s take a lunch break there. Then we can come up with a new plan,” she suggested. That got nods from Liam and Izzy. A moment later, Gwen crossed her arms and nodded as well.

The four of them each picked up some of the bananas and coconuts that had been gathered, carrying them up the ladder along with their water supply. As they settled into the treehouse, sharing their food and each sitting on their own bed, the atmosphere slowly lightened. The rustle of leaves, the creak of the treehouse, and the distant waves created a momentary calm. To pass the time, they also began playing rounds of ‘I Spy’, though the lack of stuff in the treehouse meant they quickly switched to ‘Twenty Questions’.

“Okay… Are you a mammal?” Liam asked, to which Izzy nodded.

“Two legs or four?” Daphne asked next.