Chris McLean stood on the Dock of Shame, grinning manically into the camera. "Welcome to Total Top Survivor, everyone!" he said with a gleam in his eyes.
"After the utter failures of thirty eight previous contestants, we've decided to instead welcome twenty-two ones this season! Back at Camp Wawanakwa, which was magically cleaned from all traces of waste and radiation by the author," he continues, fist bumping the author, "the contestants are here to compete for a mere $10,000. They've got to work their way up to the million, hehe."
"As our interns have just finished building," Chris went on, gesturing to the piles of wood, tarp, and rope left on the beach, "Here we have two cabin houses. One is the luxury cabin, and next to it is the loser cabin! The luxury cabin is very similar to the luxury ones featured in Bigger! Badder! Brutal-er!, with features such as a hot tub, nice beds, and a refrigerator with snacks! Meanwhile, the loser cabin is similar to the ones featured in Total Drama Island and Total Drama: Revenge of the Island with features such as a floor! After a preliminary challenge, the dominant team will take the luxury cabin and the secondary team taking the loser cabin."
"Reward challenges will occur sporadically throughout the season, and sometimes the reward will be the option for a cabin switch, not to be overlooked! Other Gameplay elements include solo immunity. Replacing the McLean-Brand Chris Head from last season, we've now got three McLean-Brand Chris Immunity Idols! At in elimination ceremony, a contestant may play it, and if they were to be eliminated all votes against them would be nullified and the next person eliminated."
Squinting out into the distance, Chris yelled to Chef Hatchet, "Yo Chef! Do you see any of the boats?"
Shrugging, Chef called back, "Nope!" Under his breath he muttered, "They need to pay me more for this…"
"Let me go on, then," Chris went on with a smile. "Elimination is quite different this season! Right next to the bonfire is our new nomination range! Inside the building you'll find paintball guns and targets with the contestants' names on them. When casting a vote, the contestant must shoot the target of the person they want to eliminate. Whichever target has the most hits eliminates that contestant. Missing the target will result in no redo and will void that person's vote."
"And here they are!" Chris said upon receiving word from an intern. The first boat docked with five of the new contestants, two guys and three girls.
The first guy wore –
"Wait!" Chris yelled out.
What?
"Author! Don't do the clothing!"
Why not?
"Trust me on this one!"
Um, okay, sure. So the first guy, Iggy, was a muscular and bulky bald African American with brown eyes. Iggy was slightly taller.
The first was white but tanned, Deirdre. She had wavy crimson hair cascading down her back with green eyes and wore a cowboy hat. Deirdre was of average height.
The second girl, Anita, was tanned and white as well. She had messy brunette hair that was shoulder-length and brown eyes. Anita was noticeably shorter.
The second guy was Asian and slightly scrawny, Chee. He had close-cropped short black hair hidden underneath a fishing hat and had blue eyes. Chee was of average height.
The third girl, Carmen was Mexican. She had two short black-haired pigtails going with her green eyes. Carmen was slightly shorter.
"Welcome to Camp Wawanakwa!" Chris announced, opening his arms up wide.
"It's quite the purty sight!" Deirdre replied with a Southern drawl, tipping her hat. "Pleased to be hurr!"
Chee was about to comment but then Anita rolled her eyes, sizing up her competition and not thinking much of them. "Honestly, I'm just here for the money."
Carmen smiled kindly. "I'm here to play the best game I can!"
"GB," Anita muttered under her breath.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I hate to let this developing conflict grow further right now," Chris announced, "But all of you, please go to the bonfire pit and wait for the other arrivals!"
Everyone complied except for Iggy, who remained on the dock and still hadn't said a single word. "Dude! Bonfire pit! Pronto!"
Iggy shrugged, and instead of heading to the bonfire pit, made his way over to the piles of wood, rope, and tarp on the beach and started building.
Before Chris could ponder his strange behavior, the next boat arrived with three guys and two girls.
The first guy, a Latino with a wide smile, was Reed. He had a nice head of brown hair and blue eyes. Reed was of average height.
After him was the second guy, Ashley. Ashley was a white guy with shoulder-length brunette hair and a small beard. He was slightly taller and buff.
The first girl had (probably dyed) long green hair with black streaks that extended into a ponytail wrapped around her shoulder. She had a piercing in her left eyelash. She was of average height, was very white, and named Eden.
The third guy was Jack, with a nice watch on his left wrist. He had short brown hair and green eyes. He was slightly taller.
The second girl had glasses and an average-length dirty blonde pigtail and hazel eyes. She was another white girl that was slightly shorter, Lois.
They sized each other up. "Welcome, new contestants!" Chris said with a grin.
"Skip the routine," Reed called out, winning a small round of applause.
Chris rolled his eyes. "I don't like you much."
"Well, we didn't come here to be liked, least of all by you," Jack pointed out tactfully. With a grin he added, "We all came here to win, and like it or not one of us will."
"I really don't like you."
Lois smiled. "And we have conflict already!" Jack laughed.
Ashley shook his head, both amused at this encounter and wanting to get on to competing. "What's the plan, McLean?"
"To the bonfire pit, man!" Chris answered. Ashley took the lead and Jack and Lois soon followed, striking up a conversation about novels they'd read, leaving only Reed and Eden on the dock with Chris.
"Him?" Eden asked, speaking for the first time. She seemed to be referring to Iggy, who has apparently building a shelter on the beach.
"Yeah, what's his deal?" Reed inquired suspiciously. "Is that some sort of advantage he gets? I want one too!"
Chris shook his head. "Nope, the dude's just crazy. I'd say stay away."
"How about I go join him instead?" Reed proposed, not wanting to lose out on whatever advantage he was sure Iggy was getting. Extending a hand to Eden in mock formality, he asked her, "Care to join me?"
Ignoring his hand, Eden walked down towards Iggy. Reed gave Chris a mock salute before going after her.
"Let's hope no one on this boat wants to live on the beach…" Chris muttered as the next boat pulled up.
Out came three guys and three girls. The first girl, Hispanic, had a long dirty blonde plait down her back. She had gray eyes that made her look brooding and mysterious, and her name was Kashmere. She was of average height.
The second girl was curvaceous, drawing the attention of the men, with wavy brunette hair that was straightened and obviously done up special for her arrival. She had big hazel eyes that made her look more attractive, and she was white. Her name was Bliss. She was slightly shorter.
The first guy was African American with short black hair and hazel eyes. His name was Truesdale and he was slightly taller.
The third girl had shockingly bright purple hair that reached down her mid-back and stuck up in odd places. She had bright blue eyes and a wide smile. Her name was Evana and she was slightly shorter.
The second guy was Hispanic with voluminous, golden hair. Thomas, with a cautious smile, had dark brown eyes. He was of average height.
The third guy, Paul, was a white guy with wide shoulders and slightly muscular arms. He had a black crew cut and a firm look in his brown eyes. He was slightly taller.
"Well this looks like the sanest bunch so far!" Chris announced gleefully. The contestants were unimpressed.
"Boys, stop staring!" Bliss said with a giggle, an attempt to break the silence. While the boys had taken notice of her, they weren't staring.
Thomas put on a flirty smile. "Sorry sugar, didn't know you caught me!" Evana laughed before covering it up with a cough and Thomas cozied up to her. "All you girls are all over me! Please, stop staring!"
Truesdale, catching on to Thomas mocking Bliss, commented, "It's not just the girls, man!"
Truesdale, Evana, and Thomas shared laughs while Bliss looked around confusedly. "What's so funny?" The three just laughed harder.
Kashmere and Paul, both more serious contestants, nodded respectfully towards each other. "Seems like an interesting game so far," Kashmere commented.
Paul nodded in agreement. "It'll be interesting to meet the others. Hope we'll end up on the same team."
"I'm not so sure. The more competition the rougher it gets."
"I respect that view." Motioning to Iggy, Eden, and Reed on the beach, he pondered, "Wonder what that's about?"
Shrugging, Kashmere replied, "We'll find out later."
"Who volunteers to find out what's up?" Chris called out when it appeared the others wouldn't. "Any tributes?"
"I volunteer as tribute," Kashmere said, stepping forward.
"Thank you, Katniss!"
"Kashmere, actually," she corrected.
"Whatever. Please lead yourselves over to the bonfire pit."
Kashmere and Paul walked together, huddled discussing their strategies for the game; Truesdale, Thomas, and Evana were laughing at some joke Thomas had just made; and Bliss was fuming that everyone had stopped paying attention to her.
The fourth and final boat showed up at that moment, with three more guys and three more girls.
The first girl was white but tanned and hyper, bouncing up and down, and her curly brown hair was bouncing up and down. Oddessa had hazel eyes and was slightly shorter.
The second girl was Filipino, and her brown hair was done up with two hair loopies on either side of her head and the rest reaching down her back. She had big green eyes making her seem pretty and had a charming smile. She was Alexis, and she was slightly taller.
The first guy, quite plainly, looked like Ash Ketchum without a hat. He had shaggy black hair that spiked in the back and was white but tanned with wide brown eyes. His name was Red (coincidence?) and he was of average height.
The second guy had noticeable spiky, white hair that was quite shaggy and quite probably dyed. Although scrawny it was obvious that he was quite physically fit. Shawn had surprisingly white eyes as well, although they were probably just colored contacts, and was of average height.
The third guy was Hispanic with short brunette hair. With a kind face and green eyes, Corey seemed like a potential Hero. He was of an average height.
The third girl, and final contestant overall, was Tulip. Long blonde hair and bright blue eyes, she was quite petite and noticeably shorter than the rest of the contestants.
"Now," Chris began, trying to hurry things. It was a half hour show, after all. "If you'd all be so kind to make your way over to the bonfire pit, it'd be swell. And try not to move onto the beach," he muttered under his breath.
Looking at the trio already there, Corey pondered aloud, "Why not? What's wrong with the beach?"
Shawn nodded. "Seems like quite a happy place to be!" Sadistic, all Shawn wanted to do was irritate Chris, and he was succeeding.
Nodding in approval, Corey said, "Excellent point. Bye folks, going to live on the beach!"
Shawn smirked while the others stared on awkwardly and Chris face palmed. "Anyone else?"
"Oh! Sounds like fun! Let's all go live on the beach! This could be like Survivor!" Oddessa said bouncing up and down.
"I thought this was Total Top Survivor?" Alexis asked, oblivious of everything.
"The beach has its perks…" Shawn muttered, regretting not following Corey. Happy people and pretty people weren't his favorite people.
"Nobody else is going to the beach!" Chris exclaimed angrily.
"Fine, fine," Red said, enjoying the turn of events. He loved a good game.
"What's our challenge, Chris?" Tulip asked shyly, her whispery voice barely audible.
"BONFIRE PIT," Chris exclaimed loudly and angrily, and the contestants rushed off. Shawn tripped over a rather large and awkwardly placed boulder and when Red stopped to help him Shawn made quite a show, taking his time getting up. Red opened his eyes in shock but Shawn quickly shushed him and they raced off after the girls.
"Man," Chef grumbled, coming up to Chris, "I thought I hated the last batch."
At the beach, Corey joined up with Iggy, Eden, and Reed. "What's this whole thing about?"
Reed shrugged, helping Iggy tie two pieces of wood together. "Not sure. He's building a shelter. Might be some sort of secret advantage." Gesturing at Eden and Iggy, he added, "They don't talk much."
"Mind if I pitch in?"
"Sure," Eden replied. Reed raised an eyebrow and shrugged at Corey before continuing with Iggy. Inside he thought, She doesn't say much but when she does, it's important.
As Eden went back to the pile to fetch more wood, Reed pulled Iggy and Corey close. "We're going to be spending time together in this shelter. I suggest a covert alliance between the three of us. Final three. Interested?"
"What about the girl?" Corey wondered.
"I don't trust her. Interested or not?"
"Interested," Corey answered, and a second later Iggy nodded in agreement.
Reed's plans were already underway.
Over the loudspeaker, Chris' irritated voice could he heard. "BONFIRE PIT! NOW!" The four hurried over.
As the beachgoers arrived at the bonfire pit, they stood in the back with the others who didn't grab a stump to sit on in time. Chris grinned at them. "Who's ready for the first challenge?"
The contestants groaned. "Already?" Shawn commented.
"We've got to get started some time," Kashmere replied, with Paul backing her up.
"Um, sir, we dunnit even have teams yet!" Deirdre interjected.
"And this is what this preliminary challenge is for!" Chris answered, grinning. As Chef pulled up a giant target with five rings, Chris explained, "Taking a paintball gun, you'll take turns shooting at the target. The eleven people who hit the target closest to the center from twenty feet away will take one of the eleven stumps. The others will be a separate team. Got it?"
Most of them nodded in approval. "Now, not only will you be playing for teams, but for a reward as well!"
"A BUNNY?" Oddessa shouted out from the crowd. Carmen and Ashley stepped slowly away from her.
"No," Chris explained, exasperated. "Cabins! Winning team gets luxury cabin! Losing team gets loser cabin! Simple enough! And up first is… Red!"
With some encouragement from the others, Red took a paintball gun. At the marker twenty feet away, he took a shot that hit dead center.
"Woohoo! Nice shot! Tough to live up to!" Chris commented. "Take a stump, Red!"
Anita went up next, missing the target completely.
"Awesome shot Anita… not! Now if everyone else misses, you might make the team," Chris belittled.
Paul went next, and his shot was in the third ring. He took Anita's stump as she moved down.
It went so on and so forth; notable was both Kashmere and Chee hitting the center and Lois, Truesdale, and Evana completely missing the targets.
"All right," Chris announced. "The official Red Team is: Red, Kashmere, Chee, Iggy, Paul, Tulip, Bliss, Oddessa, Carmen, Alexis and Ashley!"
"And the official Green Team is: Anita, Evana, Lois, Truesdale, Reed, Thomas, Corey, Shawn, Jack, Eden, and Deirdre!"
"Red, making the best shot on the Red Team, you can pick a team name; same goes to you, Deirdre. What do you pick?"
"Red Rangers!" Red announced. This was met with mild approval from the rest of his team.
"Green Gophers!" Deirdre announced, and the rest of the team groaned.
"Well, can't go one season without a gopher name, can we," Chris muttered to himself. Out loud he said, "Red Rangers! You get the luxury cabin. Green Gophers! You get the loser cabin. Go get settled!"
As they started to walk away, Chris yelled, "Wait!" Tossing large sacks to each team, he said, "These are your uniforms!"
Bliss pulled out red polos and blue jeans from the Red Rangers' bag. "This is a fashion faux pas! NO!"
For the Green Gophers, Evana pulled out some green polos and black jeans. "This isn't that bad…"
"Go put them on and meet me back here in two hours! Hop hop!" Chris called. Some grumbling and discussion followed this.
Walking up to him, Chef grinned, saying, "They won't last the day."
With me, I'm not focused on doing a send-in-the-character story this time. I get unfocused and disappoint the people who submitted characters and can't totally control the story. I like that I can with this one, and it has real potential! Hope you all like it, review please :3
- T.D.
P.S. Brownie points to whoever noticed the The Hunger Games reference.
