It was a cold winter afternoon as Gwen was walking home with her brother from school. She didn't mind walking her brother home, although she would've preferred to drive in solitude. The silence was still there, though. That was all Gwen really wanted. A strong breeze blew Greg's hat off of his head as he chased it into the street.

"Greg! Don't run into the street like that! You could get hurt!" Gwen called, but it was no use. Her younger brother had run off into the street, his sneakers making a snapping noise against the road as he chased his winter cap. That's when Gwen noticed the car coming. All she could do was stare- her body was paralyzed with fright. Greg was completely oblivious to the oncoming SUV while he jumped in mid-air, seizing his hat. He turned around, grinning from ear to ear at his sister, holding up his catch. At that same moment, however, his eyebrows became knit in confusion at his sister's expression. The honking of a car horn. Then...he was lying on the street.

The man in the SUV pulled over immediately and jumped out of his car. He ran with long strides and bent over the 10 year old boy's body. At the least, Greg had a concussion. At the most, Greg was dead. Gwen was still standing on the sidewalk in complete shock. She had seen her brother get run over by a car and all she wanted to do was throw up. Her stomach churned and there was an ache in her heart. She ran to a nearby bush and tossed her cookies. All of this would've been entertaining in one of her favorite horror movies, but now it was just awful.

"Excuse me, miss, is this your son?" the man from the SUV asked. He was still kneeling beside Greg's body. Now that Gwen looked at the man, she could tell he was in his late twenties or early thirties. His black hair was slicked back and he had a goatee. She assumed he had a fair amount of money judging by his baby blue sweater and black slacks. He also had shoes that looked professionally shined.

"Um, no. That's my brother," Gwen managed to say. The words sounded scratchy and broken, but they got the point across.

"I'm sorry, so sorry. I think your brother is dead. Do you want me to drive you to your house? We can wrap your brother's body up in a blanket from my car and put it in the trunk if that's alright," the man said. He seemed kind enough- not like a child molester or anything. So, Gwen agreed. She and the strange man took a forest green blanket from his car and wrapped her little brother's body in it. The damage was awful. His face was covered in blood, his eyes closed. There was also a large gash down Greg's left arm. He was dead. Gwen could tell.

After Greg's body was loaded into the trunk of the car, Gwen hopped in the passenger's seat. The SUV had a faint pine scent that acted as if it was trying to cover up the new car smell, which it probably was, considering how shiny the dark red vehicle was. Then the stranger sat in the driver's seat and started to drive once Gwen gave him the directions to her house. There was an awkward silence of some sort that was only broken by the air conditioning. All of a sudden, something completely shattered the silence. It was the voice of a toddler and it sounded like it was coming from the back seat.

"Daddy? Who is that lady sitting in the front seat?" the voice said innocently. When Gwen turned around to find out who said it, she saw what looked to be a two-year-old girl sitting in a pink car seat. She had thin, curly blonde hair. It had to be from her mother's side, considering her dad had black hair. The toddler's eyes were big, bright, and blue. She was also kind of chubby. All in all, Gwen considered her adorable.

"Honey, this is...uh...."

"I'm Gwen. Nice to meet you. What's your name?" Gwen asked the little girl. She giggled and said her name was Stella and that her "daddy's" name was Mitch. That was when the car parked in front of a picture perfect house and Gwen saw her mother looking out the kitchen window, confused. Gwen stepped out of the SUV and helped Mitch get Greg's limp, lifeless body from the trunk. It was funny how these things happened sometimes. It's like...everything goes perfectly until tragedy strikes. Then you just want to laugh at the irony of how calm everything is.

Gwen's mother stepped outside when she saw her daughter and Mitch carrying something towards house. It was unlike her mother to let a stranger into the house, but she must not have been herself because she didn't bother to question the strange man helping her daughter. When they were all inside the house, Gwen and Mitch put the dead boy's body on the couch and they all stood in silence for a moment before Gwen spoke up.

"Mom, I have to tell you a few things. First, this is Mitch. Second, he ran over Greg...on accident. Third, Greg is dead," she said sullenly. She didn't truly have any emotion. She must have thrown it up twenty minutes ago along with her lunch.

The next few hours were kind of a blur. Gwen went up to her room while her mother talked with Mitch in the living area. She didn't go up to her room, though. She eavesdropped from the hallway. She didn't know how long she sat there until Mitch left on the note of "sorry for your loss," but it wasn't long. What was long, however, was listening to her mother crying. No, not crying. Sobbing. It's like every single memory of the boy amounted to one thousand tears, if not more. Gwen just sat in silence and tried to take everything in. It wasn't like she was in denial. She knew her brother was dead and she accepted that fact. She just didn't know it would ache so much.

~*~

It was December twelfth and Gwen was driving home from school. It was quiet, similar to the quiet in Mitch's car about three weeks ago. It's not like Gwen tried to think about her brother's death. It just happened. She didn't cry either. She would never cry. Crying showed weakness and there was no way that Gwen was weak.

When Gwen reached her house, she went along with the normal routine. She went up to her room and did her homework, then took a shower. After that, she was called down to the dinner table and she would eat in silence with her mother. However, the eating was a little different today. It wasn't in silence and, much to the troubled teenager's disappointment, her mom was crying.

When Gwen walked into the kitchen, she saw her mother sitting at the small, yellow kitchen table with the mail. She was holding a sheet of paper that Gwen could only assume was bills. With both men of the house dead, money was tight.

"Honey, do you mind reading this letter? It's important. I know you;re not going to like it...but you need to read it."

"Sure, Mom," Gwen said, sitting down in an old chair that could be broken easily if it weren't for the face that she weighed as much as an anorexic girl. First, she glanced at the letter, assuming her mom was overreacting, but then read the name at the bottom of the letter: Chris McClain. It couldn't be. That stupid, stupid contract he had her bound by. It just couldn't be.

Oh, but the letter was from Chris and he did want her to do something completely and utterly stupid. However, it was for his own enjoyment. Not the enjoyment of America. That made it better, but still very awful. The letter read:

Dear Ex-Contestants,

As you know, Total Drama Island and Total Drama Action have both ended. However, you still signed a contract! Which means you can't get out of any silly scheme I make up!

Anyways, I'm going to all have you on a plane by December 14th that will take you back to the lovely Camp Wawanakwa (and I know for a fact that you will ALL be enjoying that). This time, though, there is no prize money. There are also no challenges and no eliminations. Oh, and for those of you concerned about your health and well-being, Chef will NOT be cooking the food this time.

I simply want to see what kind of drama will happen if I leave all of you by yourselves. Now, enclosed in this envelope are plane tickets to reach the camp. If you all manage to not kill each other by the end of a week, there will be a Christmas party where you can all hang out and invite your family or whoever else you want to be there. Happy Holidays!

Sincerely,

Chris McClain

Gwen sat in shock looking at the letter. How could Chris expect her to be on a plane in two days if she was supposed to be mourning the loss of her brother? Well, fate is cruel. She had already realized that. But Chris had no right to do any of this! It was completely and totally unfair!

"Mom, I'm not hungry. Do you mind if I make a phone call?" Gwen asked and her mother managed to choke out a "yes" between sobs. It was so hard to see her own mom in so much pain, but that was just the way things happened to turn out. C'est la vie.