I own nothing. Total Drama is the property of Teletoon Inc. and its creators
Las Vegas, 6:00 PM
The party hadn't been Gwen's idea. Nor was it something she'd had any intention of attending. And yet, here she was, standing outside the massive, extravagant hotel just off the Vegas Strip. She wasn't really sure why she'd come, but there wasn't much that could be done about it now. She was here and she might as well make the best of it, unless she wanted to listen to Heather bitch about how she was such a gloomy, weird goth girl.
It had been Heather, with help from Blaineley, Lindsey, and Dakota, who had planned this party and it had been Courtney who had invited Gwen. It had been a gut wrenching decision for Gwen to make. On the one hand was her intense dislike of parties, large crowds and bad music, not to mention Heather and Blaineley. But on the other hand was her friendship with Courtney and her intense desire not to let that friendship die again. And so, she'd chosen to accept Courtney's invitation, knowing that it was quite likely that she'd later regret that choice.
Sighing, Gwen put the negative thoughts out of her mind and entered the hotel. It was a massive place and Gwen couldn't help being impressed with Heather's choice of location. She had never been to Las Vegas before and she was finding the city strangely to her liking. Still, she had to admit that she would rather have come here under different circumstances. But this girl's night that Heather had planned had provided the perfect excuse and that was good enough for Gwen. All she needed to do was pop in, mingle for a little bit, and then get out so she could explore the city on her own. She fully intended to bring Courtney with her, of course, and anyone else who wanted to leave after an hour or so of monotony. But all of that changed when she entered the grand ballroom and saw the spread that Heather had gotten.
"Gwen! You're here!" an excited voice said then, drawing Gwen's attention. She turned to find Courtney, Bridgette, Lindsey, Beth, and Izzy gathered around a small table talking. She smiled and joined them, still in awe of the sight that had greeted her.
Heather had gotten the hotel to erect a large stage along one wall of the ballroom, on which Gwen could only assume a live band or two would later be playing. Brilliant lights flashed everywhere and several large tables were laden with all sorts of food, so much food that Gwen couldn't help thinking how Owen would have reacted to the sight. But Owen wasn't there and he wouldn't be joining them any time soon. This party, this night, was just for the girls.
"Heather really went all out for this, didn't she?" Gwen mused, taking a sip of the wine Courtney had handed her.
"Yeah. Isn't it great?" Lindsey said. "I couldn't have done it better myself."
"Don't let Heather hear you say that." Bridgette warned. "She'll never let you hear the end of it you know."
Lindsey smiled, but made no reply. It was clear that she knew the risks of dealing with Heather and needed no reminders. But she was in too good a mood to make any further comment on the subject, for which Gwen was most grateful.
"You know what I think is great?" Izzy asked then. "The lack of guys at this party."
"Don't you miss Owen though?" Beth asked, curious.
"Sure, but it's nice to spend a little time away from the boys, don't you think?" Izzy said.
"I guess so." Beth said, shrugging.
"I agree with Izzy." said Courtney. "We needed this. A night to ourselves, without the guys complaining about us not doing the things they want to do."
"I'll drink to that." Bridgette said, grinning as she raised her glass in a toast. The others followed suit and soon they were mingling with rest of the girls who had been invited to the party. Gwen went along with it all, ever observant for her moment of escape.
As she made her way around the room, Gwen took note of how each of the others was reacting to this party. Not surprisingly Heather, Blaineley, Lindsey, Dakota, Katie, Sadie, and Beth seemed to be enjoying the music the most. Courtney, Bridgette, Izzy, Zoey, Staci, Anne Maria, Sierra, and LeShawna seemed to be more interested in mingling than dancing. And Eva, Jo, and Dawn were standing off in the corners, avoiding everyone. At least Eva and Jo were talking to each other though. Dawn seemed to be completely alone, all but ignored by the others. And the look on her face was alarming, as though she'd seen a ghost or witnessed a horrible crime.
Concerned, Gwen made her way over to the moonchild, hoping to discovery the cause of Dawn's discomfort. "Dawn?" she asked, as she approached. "Dawn, is everything alright?"
The sound of her voice seemed to startle Dawn, who jumped and blinked, as though she was coming out of some kind of trance. "Gwen." she breathed. "You scared me."
"Sorry about that." Gwen said, her tone gentle. "Is something bothering you? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"I...we shouldn't be here." Dawn said, her voice trembling.
"What do you mean?" Gwen asked, confused. "Where shouldn't we be? The hotel? The city? Where?"
"Both." Dawn answered, her tone suddenly ominous. "We shouldn't have come anywhere near either this city or this hotel."
"Why?" Gwen asked, still confused. "Is something going to happen?"
"Yes." Dawn answered. "Something bad. Something horrible, actually."
"Okay." Gwen said, her tone skeptical. "Have you told anyone else about this?"
"They won't listen." Dawn said. "They never listen. All they do is look at me like I'm a freak or something."
Gwen nodded, understanding. She knew what it was like to be looked at like she was a freak and it was then that she decided she believed what Dawn was telling her. The only question now was how to get the others to listen to Dawn's concerns.
"Okay Dawn, here's what we're gonna do." Gwen said, leading Dawn towards the stage as she spoke. "We're gonna force them to listen."
Once they were on the stage Gwen grabbed a microphone and switched it on. "Okay, everybody stop partying and listen." she shouted, her voice echoing in the suddenly silent room.
"What the hell Gwen?" Blaineley shouted. "Why are you making us stop?"
"Because Dawn has something to say and you all need to listen to her." Gwen answered.
"Oh, fucking hell, not this shit again." Heather said, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "The little tree hugger has already voiced her concerns and nothing's come of them, so why should we listen to her jabber away again?"
Typical, Gwen thought. To Heather she said, "Did you actually listen to Dawn before? Or did you just pretend you were listening?"
"Does it matter?" Heather said, her tone thick with contempt. "Tree hugger girl is always 'sensing' things that aren't actually there, so why should we believe her?"
"Her name is Dawn, you arrogant, spiteful bitch." Gwen snapped. "And you should listen to her because she's usually right about what she feels."
"Yeah, usually, but not always." Blaineley said, with a supportive glance at Heather. "Maybe if she was always right I'd listen to her, but she's not, so I won't."
"Please, you have to listen." Dawn said then, before Gwen could think of a retort to Blaineley's last quip.
"Give us a reason and maybe we will." Heather said, taking a sip of wine as she spoke.
"Something bad is going to happen to us if we stay here." Dawn said. "I can feel it. I can feel the aura of death around all of us."
Those chilling words seemed to give the others pause and more than a few of them exchanged nervous glances, but Heather and Blaineley remained unconvinced.
"You say something bad is going to happen, but you won't tell us what it is." Heather said. "And yet, you expect us to just buy into this shit and end our party, which Blaineley and I have spent months planning, just because you have a feeling. I'm sorry, but I fail to see the logic in that."
"Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not there." Gwen said, her tone dark.
"Doesn't it though?" Heather asked. "In your entire life have you ever known something to exist when you can't see it?"
Gwen didn't answer and Heather smiled, victorious, before adding, "I knew you wouldn't stand strong for long Gwen. So, if we're done with this nonsense, let's get back to partying."
"What if they're right though?" Zoey asked then, drawing several surprised glances.
"They're not!" Heather snapped, her tone venomous. "Dawn is a fraud and Gwen is a fool. Now shut the fuck up and start having a good time, damn it!"
Zoey looked like she wanted to say more, but a glance from Gwen stopped her. There was no sense in fighting a battle that could not be won. It was clear that Heather wasn't going to listen and neither were any of the others, even those who weren't close with Heather at all. All they wanted to do was party and they were deaf to Dawn's wisdom.
Their loss, I guess, Gwen thought, though even she was unsure what to make of Dawn's feelings. On the one hand she wanted to believe Dawn was right, if only so Dawn would have someone who supported her. But on the other hand, she was relieved Heather had shut the argument down, for if Dawn was actually right, things would get very bad for them all. I can only hope nothing happens, for if it does, we're screwed.
"I'm sorry Dawn." she whispered to the moonchild, once everyone had returned to partying.
"It's okay." Dawn said, her tone sullen. "You tried. It's not your fault they won't listen."
"Yeah, I know." Gwen said. "But it would have been nice to get them to finally pay attention to something other than themselves, especially Heather."
"Some things just aren't meant to be." Dawn said, her tone sad.
Gwen nodded and they moved to join Zoey, Courtney, and Bridgette at one of the tables near the back of the room. Zoey gave them a sympathetic smile as they took their seats, while Courtney and Bridgette simply nodded.
"Well, that went well, didn't it?" Courtney said, glancing at Gwen, who shrugged.
"What were you thinking interrupting the party like that?" Bridgette asked.
"I was hoping to get Heather to pull her head out of her ass for once." Gwen muttered, cracking open a soda as she spoke.
"Yeah, that'll never happen." Bridgette said. "Heather is too stubborn. She will never listen to anything other than what she wants to hear."
"Or what Alejandro whispers in her ear when they fuck." Gwen muttered.
The others laughed at that, all except Dawn, who was still fretting about her feelings that something bad was going to happen. "Do you guys believe me?" she asked then.
Courtney, Bridgette, and Zoey exchanged a look before Zoey answered. "Of course we do. You have a gift Dawn and that's not something that can be ignored."
Good answer, Gwen thought. Like Dawn can't see right through that lie.
Dawn, however, nodded and smiled, seemingly relieved that there were others who shared Gwen's belief in her. Gwen chose not to say anything, choosing instead to take a swig of her soda.
"So, what do you guys think of Vegas?" Zoey asked then.
"It's a nice city, I guess." Courtney answered. "Though it wouldn't have been my first choice for this get together."
"Same goes for me." Bridgette said. "I would have chosen some place with sand and sun and water."
"There's sand and sun here." Gwen said, grinning.
"Yeah, desert sand." Bridgette said. "And blazing hot desert sun. And the only water I've seen are those dancing fountains down the street."
"There's a lake that's not too far from here." Gwen said. "Lake Mead, I think it's called."
"Can I surf there?" Bridgette asked, genuinely curious.
"I don't think so." Gwen said. "But I'm sure there's other things you could do there."
"If I can't surf, it's no good to me." Bridgette said. "So, like Court said, this place is okay, but it's not my number one spot to party."
Gwen nodded, seeming to understand, and then said, "Well, I for one, think Vegas is great. There's a lot of things that we can do here, like visit the cool wax museum down the street."
"Only you would think a wax museum is fun place to visit." Courtney said, mock contempt coloring her tone.
"What's wrong with wax museums?" Gwen asked, with mock confusion.
"They're creepy." Courtney said. "All those wax statues of famous people standing there staring at you. It's like visiting a doll factory or a clown museum."
"I'm sure Trent would agree with you on that last one." Bridgette said, grinning.
"Wait, I thought Trent was afraid of mimes?" Zoey said, confused.
"He is." Gwen said. "But clowns are close enough. And Courtney's right, clowns are creepy anyway. I've never liked those grinning bastards."
"Well, if we're lucky, we'll never have to see any clowns." Courtney said, as she stood and stretched, before turning towards the dance floor.
Bridgette and Zoey followed suit, but Gwen stayed in her seat. "C'mon Gwen, let's go dance for a bit." Bridgette urged.
"Nah, I think I'll stay here and keep Dawn company." Gwen said, with a glance at the moonchild, who had grown quite again.
"Alright, we'll talk to later then." Bridgette said, before she, Courtney, and Zoey joined the crowd that was already out on the dance floor.
Gwen watched them go, sipping on her soda, her mind beginning to wander. She still hadn't found her excuse to leave the party early and she was beginning to wonder if she ever would. She supposed it didn't matter anymore anyway. Everyone else was clearly more interested in partying here than going out and exploring the city, so Gwen had no choice but to stay and try to make the best of the situation, much to her chagrin.
As she sat, she watched the others, keeping track of where they all were in the room. Heather, of course, was in the middle of the dance floor, a drink in her hand as she swayed to the music. Blaineley, Lindsey, Beth, Dakota, Katie, Sadie, and Anne Maria surrounded Heather like a flock of sheep, though Gwen knew none of them really liked Heather all the much. On a different part of the floor Sierra and Izzy were dancing as well, their movements wild and erratic, as though they were trying to be as chaotic as possible. Courtney, Bridgette, and Zoey joined LeShawna on another part of the floor, the four of them pointedly ignoring Heather's group. Staci sat alone at one of the other tables, nursing a large glass of wine. And Eva and Jo were still deep in conversation, about what Gwen could only guess.
At some point Blaineley pulled herself away from the dance floor and disappeared into an adjacent room, her movement catching Dawn's attention as well. The moonchild's eyes went wide and she gasped, drawing Gwen's attention away from Blaineley.
"Dawn, what is it?" she asked, concerned. "What's wrong?"
"Blaineley." Dawn said. "She shouldn't go off alone. It's about to happen."
Gwen blinked, taken aback, before realizing what Dawn was talking about. But before she could move to find Blaineley a bloodcurdling scream rent the air, causing everyone to freeze. And then the lights went out, plunging the room into total darkness.
A/N: And that's chapter one. This is more like a prologue, even though I'm not calling it that. Anyway, things will get very dark and gruesome from here on out, with a ton of death, mayhem, and murder. Dawn was right, something bad was about to happen, and in the upcoming chapters you'll find out just what that something is. Just so you're aware, the guys will not be appearing in this fic. They'll have there own adventure with death a little later, so look for that sometime in the future. Also, Lake Mead is a real lake, in case you're wondering and obviously Las Vegas is a real city. That's all for now. Hope you enjoyed. Cheers, KT.