Chapter 01: The Unfortunate Victim
It was currently 10:16 PM on a Monday evening.
As the blue car rumbled down the poorly paved road, the driver squinted as he tried to make something out up ahead. The night was that kind of dark, where the lack of light seems to suffocate you. He had his headlights and high beams on, but even that barely felt like enough to handle this kind of sea of silent darkness.
What the driver saw, after an hour of driving, was a wooden sign, faded, chipped, and old. The sign said:
BEWARE!
Uncanny High School may contain ghosts and spirits that may haunt you for life!
The shapes of the letters were still there, but the red paint that seemed like blood had faded or chipped away across the sign. If he was willing enough to stop the car, then he would've found out that the message on the sign was incomplete. Down on the grassy ground below the sign, there was a piece of the sign that fell off after years of enduring mother nature. What it said will never be found out by the male driver.
"Ghosts and spirits? Pfft, must be written by some crazy theorist." The driver grumbled to himself as he drove forward.
The car bumped and tossed a little more, then the drive was quite smooth, thankfully. Unfortunately, the lights from the car were starting to lose their usage, as a thick mist was forming in front of the vehicle.
Despite this, he managed to see a huge building to the left of him. Not wanting to drive any further into the thick mist, he pulled into the parking lot that was on the right side of the building, stopping to crash for the night.
It was empty, devoid of all vehicles. None of the lights from the building were on, and he assumed that it wasn't working either, based on the building's appearance. The only lights that were working were his headlights and from the moon above, which was a crescent shape. The parking lot's floor was stained with thrown-away food, drinks, and even school materials.
And for some reason, the parking lot somehow gave off a creepy and abandoned vibe.
The driver stepped out of the car after parking, greeted with the stale and slightly damp smell of pure concrete. The mists that had filled the road were not as thick inside the parking lot, but the area was terribly empty and more than a little creepy. Heck, even the door that slammed shut on the car just now seemed to echo forever into the distance.
As the male driver, who sported a long, dirty-blonde hairstyle, eyeglasses, a landing strip goatee, a plain, blue t-shirt, skinny jeans, and white shoes walked out of the lot and glanced down the road, the mists slowly flowed down the street and sidewalk. Walking through it, it seemed to curl and move to allow someone to pass through it. The small gust of wind didn't seem to help either, as it passed by in an eerie manner.
Trying to shake this off, the slightly pale, slightly tall, and slightly overweight middle-aged man walked to the front side of the building, eyeing it the whole time while walking. The building was old and dilapidated, the gold paint peeling off, and the windows were crusty and full of dust and possibly spiders. Besides the road, there weren't any other human-made structures nearby; only a few dead trees were the closest thing he could spot out. It definitely felt like a building that time and people had forgotten for God knows how many years.
As the driver of this abandoned building walked towards the front door, he noticed that the metal sign that usually displayed the school's news was knocked over and destroyed. However, his attention diverted away from it after seeing something far more important: another source of light.
Approaching the light that was near the front door on its left side, it started to flick briefly. Upon reaching the door, he noticed a piece of paper that was somehow stapled and taped to the side of it on its right side. He looked at it with confusion and curiosity. As he leaned in, he saw that the handwriting was clear and in pencil, as it read…
"STAY OUT!"
He simply rolled his eyes and ripped the paper off the wall before tearing it into tiny pieces and littering it. He assumed that it was just his mind playing tricks on him. Who wouldn't be chilled and anxious in a spooky environment like this?
Still, he decided to continue investigating, hoping to ultimately find a room to crash for the night. He tried to turn the rusty doorknob, slightly surprised that it opened. Stepping in, the smell of uncared interior and rotten sandwiches met his nostrils, not a very pleasant one.
The lights were on, yet dim. To the sides were metal lockers similar to the ones in a high school movie. The ceiling was somehow piled up with chewed gum and cracks. The floor was wooden, as every step he began to take left a creaking sound. Despite the old appearance, none of his surroundings appeared to be trashed or destroyed badly like the metal sign on the outside.
Upon passing the lockers, he sighed as he glanced down a hallway, seemingly to the other rooms of the building. He shrugged and decided to see the condition of one of the rooms, hoping it would be sanitary enough for him to sleep in. Knowing that an hour drive would get the better of his bladder, it was no surprise when he decided to use the bathroom first after walking down the hallway for a little bit and finding it.
As he opened the door, the creaking noise was louder than the ones he made while stepping on the wooden floor. It scared him slightly, but he continued in, turned on the light switch, and found three urinals that appeared to be clean, but most likely stained with piss. Ignoring the bathroom stalls that were next to the urinals, he chose the middle urinal, and his mind became at ease when he began to release his long-held urine, failing to notice a dark shadow behind him.
After finishing, the footsteps began to get louder and more obvious, and the man immediately adjusted his pants. By the time he turned around to find out what it was, the shadow, whose face was covered in a black hoodie, while sporting gray sweatpants and green Sketcher shoes, drew out his pistol and shot him right in the chest.
As he fell down, blood started dripping all over his shirt and onto the floor and urinal. Struggling to breathe and defend himself, the man who was shot didn't stand a chance when he tried to kick the shadowed figure in the genitals. The shadowed figure easily caught his foot mid-kick and fired a bullet into the leg.
It was inevitable that the man was about to die, so the shadowed figure took pleasure in leaving a cryptic and haunting message. With a sadistic smirk on his face, he got on the ground and whispered in his ear…
"I told you to stay out."
From there, he fired one last bullet into his brain, ending the man's life.
For the shadowed figure, it was simply another successful night on the job.
For the dead driver, he was never heard or seen from again, nor was his body ever found.
Eighteen years later, it'll now become the setting for a new Total Drama season.
Chris McLean's Note: Hello there, fellow vic-, I mean, reader! I'm Chris McLean, your handsome, humble, and well-respected host of Total Drama, the number one reality TV show in Canada! Let's get to the point, shall we? As your official author of this wonderful story, I'm gonna announce that this will be an "SYOC" story! Only sixteen contestants will be accepted for this season, which will be hosted by yours truly!
Of course, there'll be rules to follow and an application to fill out! It'll be located down below and on my website (my profile page)! And trust me, you don't wanna miss out on this story, especially with the twists and surprises in store for this season!
Well, what are you waiting for? Go fill out that application to get yourself, your friend, or especially someone you really hate onto the show! I'll see you all in the next chapter on…
TOTAL!
DRAMA!
HAUNTED HIGH!
SOME IMPORTANT RULES
01.) Anybody that chooses to submit into the reviews section of this story will have their application(s) rejected! I will only accept those who submit through my private messaging inbox! No matter how awesome the application may be, I do want to keep the applications a secret. After all, this story will contain a lot of secrets!
02.) Every part of the application must be filled out, unless if it says, "optional!" The more parts that I see left blank, the lower the chance of getting accepted! Oh, and please only use my application! I want to find every component easily once I get this season underway!
03.) Even though there'll only be sixteen contestants competing, you can submit up to two applications at maximum! If you do choose to submit two, then they have to be opposite genders, and please, don't wait for me to reject or accept one of them before sending in the other. If you're gonna submit two, they better be in the same message and sent once you're done with their application.
04.) Speaking of sixteen, since there's a small number of spots available, I will review each application in detail, and you'll be lucky enough to even get one character accepted, let alone two. It's possible to get accepted, so do your best on the applications!
05.) Depending on how severe the mistakes are, I may allow you to fix them, or I may just reject them. If I reject one character, then you may submit another character, but as the opposite gender, meaning that you get one more chance. However, if I reject both characters, then no more chances for you.
06.) Keep your character(s) as detailed, human, and realistic as possible! Seriously, I really hate overpowered characters that can eliminate the entire cast easily, no offense to those who are fans of Heather, Courtney, Alejandro, Scott, Mal, and/or Sugar. And while I'm aware that Total Drama is a cartoon that takes place in a universe with altered logic and physics, the characters are still human, and I intend to keep this story as realistic as possible.
07.) Don't even think about having your character being remotely related or similar to any of the previous Total Drama contestants! The Ridonculous Race characters also apply to this category, so just keep the character(s) unrelated to them because no one likes a carbon copy of Heather!
08.) And last, but not least, I am willing to save spots if you're unable to submit because of work, school, or whatever personal problem you may have. Just tell me how many characters you're planning on submitting, and I'll hold the spot(s) for you! However, just know that after a little while, I'm gonna send you a message as a first warning. After a second warning, your spot(s) are removed.
CONTESTANT SUBMISSION FORM
(BASIC)
Full Name: Your character's official, legal name. If you have any nickname(s) or changed name(s) for your character, then state it here as well.
Gender:
Age: Your character must be within the range of 18 to 20 years of age. Why? Well, in the words of Chris McLean, "Because I said so!"
Hometown: While I prefer that your character is from any existing place in Canada, I'm okay with them being from another place that's not from Canada. Just make sure the location is realistic, though!
Ethnicity/Race:
Stereotype:
Moral Alignment:
Sexuality:
Favorite Color:
(LOOKS)
Hair: The hairstyle and color are required, but anything else you wanna add about your character's hair is up to you.
Eye Color:
Body Type:
Skin Tone:
Markings: This is optional, as this includes: scars, tattoos, birthmarks, and whatever type of body marks that exist.
Clothing: Everything worn from head to toe.
Bathing Suit: Just don't make your character go naked.
Item(s): This is optional, as this is anything that your character will bring with them onto the show.
(CHARACTERIZATION)
Personality:
Phobia(s):
Talent(s):
Likes:
Dislikes:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Relationship Status: Is your character single or taken upon entering the game?
Love Interest Trait(s): If your character wants a relationship, then what do they look for in a love interest?
Important People: Is there anybody important that I should mention from your character's life, prior to Total Drama? It can be a family member, friend, enemy, and they can be dead or alive as well.
Backstory:
(DETAILS)
Knowledge About Total Drama: How much does your character know about Total Drama?
Secret(s): This is optional, as this is basically whether or not your character has one or more secrets that will be spilled on the show.
Why Enter: Why in the hell would your character ever apply for this dangerous show?
Money Plan(s): If your character ever wins the money, then what would they do with it?
Audition Tape: Unless if your character is mute like B, then try to include some dialogue so I can get an idea of how your character talks.
Anything Else: If you have anything else you want to add about your character, then add it here. Oh, and this is optional.