Authors note at bottom for explanation for my absence
Chris is stood on the dock with his arms open, "Last time on Total Drama Island." he announces.
"The 22 campers faced their first challenge. Jumping off a cliff into shark-infested waters, just for flags."
The teens are shown nervously looking downwards towards said shark-infested waters. Clips of Chris showing off the flags and the sharks fins circling the dangerous lake are aired.
"And while most of the campers took the plunge, some were forced to wear the dreaded chicken hat."
Farah is shown jumping with Nick immediately behind as well as those scared by falling like Deon and Dianne. Next, Ria is shown ashamed of her cowardice and Velma immediately escaping down the wimp escalator.
"With the Gophers getting advantages in both of the following rounds, they cruised their way to the winners' podium."
Jela showing her figure off on the final dive and getting acclaim from her teammates is shown. Clips of Jeffrey leading the Gopher's hot-tub building challenge are aired as well.
"At the Campfire Ceremony, it came down to 2 campers."
Moments of some of the Gophers receiving their safety marshmallows and their relieved reactions are aired before showing Ria and Yamazaki staring anxiously at each other.
"Ria helped out her team and Joey through her image issues but refused to jump. Meanwhile, Yamazaki did jump but cost her team the win by turning the hot-tub steps into homemade dice."
Highlights of Ria working hard on her hot-tub and consoling Joey with Mayra are shown followed immediately by her fearful reaction of the sharks nearly biting Conor. Yamazaki is then shown jumping after her original dice falling into the lake and annoying Mayra with her lack of helping in pushing the crate. Lastly, the Bass are shown glaring at Yamazaki who breaks down admitting to her unintentional sabotage.
"In the end, the first camper to leave the island, was Yamazaki, showing that the outdoors really isn't for table top players."
Yamazaki's ashamed face at being voted off and her boarding of the Boat of Losers is highlighted.
"Who will be voted off next in the most dramatic Campfire Ceremony yet?" Chris asks with his hand pointing up. He then sways it towards the camera and does his usual dramatic shtick. "Find out tonight, right here, on Total! Drama! Island!"
Theme song plays.
It was a lovely sunny morning over Camp Wawanakwa. A few days had passed since the last challenge and the campers were now settled. Most of the campers were around the campgrounds doing their own thing. However, inside the girls' side of the Bass cabin, Joey was busy applying her make-up with Ria and Mayra waiting on their beds. Mayra eventually jumped off bored.
"What in the name of hogback is taking you so long?" Mayra asked.
Pulling out her mascara, Joey began the final part of her beauty ritual and got to work extending and darkening her eyelashes. "I'll just be a couple more minutes." Joey assured her.
"That's what ya said 5 minutes ago when you were puttin' on ya lipstick. Are we going lassoin' or not?" Mayra questioned.
"I swear I'll be done soon. This is the last thing I need to do. Promise." Joey crossed her heart in the mirror apologetically to which Mayra sighed in acceptance and turned to Ria.
"Fine, meet us by the craft centre when you're done." Mayra resigned "Come on Ria, we'll get you a head start." Ria nodded enthusiastically and followed Mayra out.
~Mayra Confessional~
"I like Joey but her make-up obsession drives me nuts." Mayra pounds her fist onto the wooden latrine. "It takes that gal at least an hour to get ready. Give me 5 minutes and I'm up fresh as an apple ripe for the pluckin'." Mayra pulls an apple out and eats it. "Takin' too much time in the mornin' and ya burnin' daylight, just like Papi told me."
As they leave, they hear noises from the guys side. Both girls decide to eavesdrop.
"No, leave me alone dude." A panicked voice got out.
"I'm doing this to help you, you know. Quit being such a drama queen." A stern voice rang out.
"That's rich coming from you." Grunts rang out for a bit before Griff came bursting out and ran towards the communal bathroom before Deon rushed out. "I will not be forced into oppression!" Griff yelled out.
~Griff Confessional~
"Deon's been trying to 'beautify' me for the past 3 days." Griff looks clearly exasperated. "He says it's to make up for knocking me out but I already forgave him yet the guy can't leave it at that. I'm wearing Tristan's helmet to sleep now so he'll leave my face alone." Griff held up a blue helmet with 2 white streaks running down it.
"Um, should we be worried?" Ria asked concerned for Griff.
"Nah girl, you can chill. Mr. Macho over there won't let me give him my apology makeover." Deon explained. "I'm so exhausted." Deon sat down on the cabin steps for a breather.
"No more time for rest people. It's challenge time." Chris said excitedly over the loudspeakers. "Make your way over to the campfire pit, pronto."
"Damn it." Joey shouted from inside the cabin. The trio outside went to check on her and saw he mascara brush on the floor and she had only finished one eye.
"You girls go on ahead. We'll meet you there." Deon instructed Mayra and Ria. He then pulled out his own mascara. "Deon's got you covered, baby-doll."
At the campfire pit, all the contestants had gathered and separated themselves in their teams. Some chose to sit, others stood. They all faced Chris as he walked in front of the firepit. "So, campers, how have you been finding the last 3 days here at Camp Wawanakwa?" Chris asked knowingly.
"It's boring." Rose answered. "They're barely anything to do here."
"Not to mention it's incredibly dirty." Gabriel complained. "Has this place ever been cleaned?"
"Plus, don't get me started on Chef's food, OK. That stuff is revolting. I've had prop food taste better than that stuff." Kali added.
"Well you'll be glad to hear that in this challenge, you'll all be out of camp for the night." Chris said to erupt a few cheers from the players.
"Calm down everyone, what's the catch Chris?" Jeffrey asked suspiciously.
Chris chuckled guiltily. "You got me Jeff." Jeffrey grumbled again. "For this challenge, we'll be testing your outdoor survival skills. I'm not gonna lie, some of you may not come back alive." Chris elicited gasps from some of the campers before holding his hands up and admitted "Just joking." Some relieved sighs escaped the campers.
"Please don't play with my psyche like that." Kevin pleaded.
"Anyway, all you have to do is spend a night in the woods and complete a checklist of survival basics. Some of the things you'll need are at your team's campsite in the forest. You just have to find it." Chris pulled up a backpack and threw maps to Velma and Farah with the latter's subsequently being robbed by Nick. A compass was thrown after, hitting Nick's head and landing into Farah's hands, grinning at the outcome. "Oh, and watch out for bears. Lost a couple of interns in pre-production." Chris warned.
"Please tell us you're joking." Griff uttered hopefully. Chris remained unfazed by his pleas causing him to gulp in fear.
"First team back before breakfast with all their members and a completed checklist wins invincibility." Chris informed them and straight after that, sounded off an air horn. "Well, off you go."
"What are we supposed to do if we run into a bear?" Ria asked fearfully.
"Bears are creatures that only attack if they feel provoked. Stay calm and you'll be fine." Conor stated confidently as he strolled by her. She proceeded to sigh in relief and smile blissfully at Conor.
~Ria Confessional~
"Conor usually keeps to himself but he was actually concerned for me." Ria gushed. "He cares about me." Ria bobs up and down in excitement.
~Conor Confessional~
Conor sits in lotus position. "I've no idea if that's true about bears. I just want that Ria girl to pull her weight this time. She lacks the discipline needed to confront her fears, so I had to lie in order for her to not drag us down again. It's like my sensei always told me. Do not let an obstacle hinder you again if you can prevent it."
With the challenge underway, the Gophers had made some headway towards their base camp. Velma and Dianne were leading the pack with the teams' map and compass respectively. The rest were following the campers making small talk amongst themselves.
"According to this map, we should only be a few hundred more paces away from Base Camp." Velma informed those following behind.
"Sweet, the sooner we get there, the sooner I can get more footage." Edward said eagerly.
"When you get there, you're going to help us set up camp right?" Claire warned Edward who fearfully nodded.
"Don't worry, I'm sure the checklist will have plenty for us to. Maybe he can do both." Anton reassured Edward to Claire's annoyance.
~Anton Confessional~
"I think our team has a lot of potential winners who all bring different skills to the table. However, Claire's bad attitude towards everyone is going to get on everyone's nerves sooner or later. If there's anything I've learnt from prison, it's that bad-mouthing leads to bad times." Anton swipes his hand across his neck.
Meanwhile, at the back of the pack Jeffrey was walking alongside Kevin and observing his teammates.
~Jeffrey Confessional~
He leans back with his arms folded. "Now that I've had the opportunity to study my teammates, I believe I have the perfect candidates for allies to help me progress all the way in this game." Jeffrey rubbed his finger on his chin. "I'll have to ensure they stay in the game but I can be very persuasive if it comes to that." He smirked to camera.
"So, Jeffrey, how do you think this is gonna go?" Kevin asked.
"Personally, I see this being fairly straightforward. If it's just basic camping tasks, I'm sure we have the personnel to complete them with ease." Jeffrey answered confidently.
"You really think so? I wish I had your confidence man. I'm always unsure about this kind of stuff." Kevin whimpered.
Jeffrey put his arm on Kevin's shoulder. "It's merely a case of nerves though those nerves can be amplified when you're on the autistic spectrum." Jeffrey comforted informatively.
"Wait, you know about that?" Kevin responded affirming Jeffrey's beliefs.
"I thought it was obvious. You exhibit a lot of the possible traits for being diagnosed with it. Did you not want me to bring attention to it?" Jeffrey questioned.
Kevin rubbed the back of his head. "It's not that… It's just that… I don't want to be given special treatment or targeted because of it. I'm afraid if people know about it, they'll see me differently."
Jeffrey nodded. "I get where you're coming from. I'll tell you what, I'll keep it secret from the others and I'll even help you with your confidence issues. In exchange, you be my ally for the rest of the game and not vote against me at the Campfire Ceremonies. Does that sound reasonable for you?" Jeffrey bargained
"You'd do that for me?" Kevin asked in disbelief. His doubt dispersed with Jeffrey's reassuring grin. "You've got a deal man." Kevin shook Jeffrey's hand.
"Excellent, though if they find out themselves, there's nothing I can do about that. Oh, and please, call me Prof." Jeffrey requested. Kevin nodded with a smile as the Gophers continued on their trek.
Meanwhile, the Bass were on the way to their own campsite. Nick was leading with the map and Griff with the compass. Nick was burning a hole through the map from how much he was staring at it.
"It appears our campsite is by a cliff face but I can't see a pathway to it on this map." Nick told the Bass.
"No problem. I'll have a look." Farah said behind him.
"I'm not letting you have this map." Nick stated before turning to where Farah was supposed to be. Instead he looked back to see her rapidly climbing a large tree. He scowled at her efforts.
"Do you see a way to get to the cliffs on your right?" Griff shouted to Farah while peeking at the map.
Farah put her hand above her eyes and peered around the area. She then caught sight of a side trail heading towards their campsite. "There, I see it." She leaped down from branch to branch onto the ground. "Follow me guys." Farah rushed off towards the trail leaving Nick behind.
"Hmph. I could've done that." Nick mumbled before running to catch up with his teammates.
Back with the Gophers, they were approaching their campsite. Dianne yelled, "Look, up ahead, there's our stuff."
The Gophers raced to see a backpack in the middle of the area with a list attached to it. Kali unpinned it from the backpack as Zveif and Gabriel began unpacking everything. Kali read the note aloud. "Gophers, the tasks you have to complete are as follows. Build a shelter. Make a fire with sticks. Find or hunt your own food. Make a trap or protective measure for your area and document a wild animal. Use the camera provided and bring back proof of your completed tasks."
"Dibs on camera detail." Edward blurted out while grabbing the camera.
"That's fine. The rest of us should divide ourselves into pairs to complete each task. Who wants to do what?" Jeffrey instructed.
"Oh, I am so hunting for food. Mind if I borrow this?" Claire said grabbing one of the tent poles with an outwards joint.
"You are not stabbing an animal with a tent pole!" Anton said horrified.
"Plus, I need that to build our tent." Dianne added to which Claire resigned herself and handed it to Dianne without incident.
"Fine, I'll get a sharp stick or something. So touchy." Claire complained before heading off.
"I'll go with her. There's gotta be something with sugar in it in these woods." Zveif announced chasing after Claire.
"I'd like to elect myself for the documentation task. I expect to find some interesting species of gastropods in this vicinity." Velma keenly shared.
"Oh, me too. I love animals. They're so cool." Kevin chipperly supplied. Both high-fived and started walking off before being forced back.
"Woah, slow down you two. Wait until we're finished setting up then take our camera man with you." Gabriel advised pointing out Edward who was focusing on Jela who was helping Dianne pitch the tent.
"Yeah baby. You own that camera." Edward complimented to Jela who ate up the attention. Everyone else rolled their eyes at the display.
With the Bass, they had arrived at their own camp as well and Joey was reading off the checklist. "So, we're all agreed on roles now. Just so we're clear me and Deon set up the tent, Rose and Tristan set up the protection, Farah and Mayra hunt for food, Nick will get the fire going and Conor and Ria document the animal. Then you all shout Griff to take the picture of the task when it's finished." Everyone nodded.
"Yeah, let's go grab us some grub partner." Mayra said running off with Farah in tow. Both girls were pumped to complete their assignment.
"Come Ria." Conor said walking off and she followed him entranced.
"Yes, Conor." Ria said dreamily.
In the meantime, Tristan and Rose surveyed their area together and began exchanging thoughts. "'Kay so what I'm thinking is we set up some kinda system where we could drop multiple traps you know. Have those trip wire things to set everything off." Rose shared with Tristan.
"I'm liking your thinking. I'll be sure to set them up so our team don't get in the way." Tristan said impressed. "Did you have anything specific in mind?" He started taking notes down on the notepad he pulled from his overalls using the pencil resting on his ear.
"Oh definitely. See, back home, I protected my ride at school by setting up my own personal security system that would spray whoever touches it with pink paint. It made it a cinch to find the morons who'd dare touch my baby." Rose vigorously told Tristan.
"Nice. I've got something similar for my shop when gypsies try to steal my parts and sell them as scrap metal. I set up my old tools to knock out any intruders that break in. They get the message pretty quickly after that when me or my boss finds them." Tristan laughed at his explanation with Rose joining in quickly.
"You wanna do something similar here?" Rose offered.
Tristan nodded and high-fived her. "Absolutely, let's do it."
~Tristan Confessional~
"I've gotta say, Rose is pretty awesome. I like a girl who's not afraid to get her hands dirty. Not to mention, she looks pretty hot while doing it." Tristan smiled at the camera.
~Rose Confessional~
"Tristan seems like a cool guy. It's not often you meet someone who has a badass eyepatch and knows all about vehicles. You'd swear he's like one of those guys from a chase movie but in real life." Rose grinned at that thought.
Back with the Gophers, Edward was roaming around the camp with the camera in hand. "OK, what's up people of the internet, my name is Edward but you may know me as Bent On Gaming on YouTube. I'm coming to you live from Camp Wawanakwa for some special footage of Total Drama Island." Edward pans around the campsite, showing off the trees. "As you can see we're in the middle of setting up our camp for the night as part of today's challenge. We've already had to jump off a cliff so this will be a cakewalk for us today, right guys."
"Why would you say that? Do you want to jinx us?" Kali asked him in disbelief. Edward flinched as he looked back at the camera.
"Er, let's go see what's going on with our hunters." Edward said walking off into the forest. "We're going to find ourselves some delicious berries and some fish to feed ourselves for tonight. We have to record everything we're doing so hopefully we get to see our resident breadwinners in action." Edward kept walking around until he couldn't see anyone and began panicking. "Guys, is anyone around." He hears a hissing like sound and screams at the top of his lungs.
"Will you cease your incessant screaming?!" Velma yelled at him emerging from a bush. Both her and Kevin turn back to a snake that slithers rapidly away from them. "Oh, now look what you've done!" Velma berated him.
"We had him right where we wanted him. Nice one, Edward." Kevin added with similar annoyance.
"Sorry guys, I thought I was alone. I got scared." Edward apologised. Velma and Kevin looked at each other and nodded seemingly in sync.
"Fine, we'll let you off. In exchange, you have to find us our next animal for us." Velma said. "The sheet we got given said that it had to be something nice and big though." She smiled at him as Edward stood quivering at something.
"What's wrong, it shouldn't be that hard?" Kevin assured him at his cowardice. Edward pointed behind them as they slowly turned around gulping at what awaited. They met a growling bear who roared and chased the screaming teens away.
~Kevin Confessional~
Kevin sat holding his legs in a foetal position. "Bears are so much scarier than books make them out to be."
Back with Conor and Ria they had finished taking notes on a moose they had found grazing. "That should be enough. We just need to get Griff to take its picture." Conor said.
"Then let's get going." Ria said walking alongside him. They walked in silence with Conor focused onwards and Ria focused on him. She looked back and forth and took a deep breath before grabbing his hand. Conor stopped in his tracks and removed it from her limp grasp.
"What are you doing?" Conor asked.
"I, I just thought that… you know… we could keep each other close… you know… for protection." Ria lied complete with nervously wide smile.
"I don't need you to protect me. I can take care of myself. You however, need to stop being such a coward." Conor bluntly stated.
"OK, that was harsh but there's no need to rush. Can't we at least take them time to admire the sights of nature?" Ria suggested hurt but hopeful.
"No, we've got to get Griff before we lose track of the moose. I don't want our team to lose another challenge due to your lack of focus." Conor explained, disappointing Ria.
"It's not going anywhere. We can afford to take our time and relax a bit." Ria informed him causing him to turn back to her aggravated.
"You can't say that for sure. We can't afford to relax or else we won't emerge victorious." Conor bit back.
"You know what, fine. You can go get Griff, I'm going to look for Mayra and Farah." Ria rushed off exasperated and upset.
"See, now that's taking this challenge seriously. Now maybe we'll win since you aren't trying to hold us back." Conor yelled back to her as she growled in frustration.
~Conor Confessional~
"Pfft. As if I need to 'chill out'. You stagnate when you aren't working hard and pushing yourself or other people. She's too immature to understand that."
~Ria Confessional~
She's holding her head in her hands. "How am I supposed to get through to him when he's only focused on the challenge? Hopefully, he'll be less stubborn later."
Ria walked over to Farah and Mayra who were up in a tree waiting patiently with a lasso trap. She called up to them "Hey guys." before instantly being shushed. They pointed towards an approaching deer who was walking towards the trap before stepping in it and being caught by Mayra.
"Woo, yeah, we're eatin good tonight partner." Mayra said before the deer shook itself loose and charged at the girls.
"Look out." Mayra warned before Farah jumped on it to try and wrangle it under control.
"Mayra, can we talk?" Ria asked to Mayra who was preparing to lasso the creature.
"Kinda busy. Can it wait?" Mayra said as she threw the lasso around the deer's antlers. She then got dragged off by it.
"Me and Conor had a fight. I wanted him to spend some time with me on a romantic walk around the forest but he just wanted to get Griff for the challenge." Ria told her as she was fighting against the deer with Farah.
"Well this is a challenge. He wants ta win like the rest of us." Mayra shouted to her as she worked to hold the deer down. The deer eventually broke free as it ran off into the woods.
"You get back here dinner. I'm not finished with you!" Farah yelled towards the deer who blew a raspberry at it before disappearing from sight. Farah crossed her arms and got helped up by Ria and Mayra.
"Yeah but he lashed out at me, saying I hold us back and that I'm a coward." Ria told them starting to tear up.
"Well now, that ain't right. I'm gonna teach that kung fu, dung poo some manners." Mayra said preparing to confront Conor.
"No, please don't. I don't want him to think I need my battles fought for me, He'll just think worse of me. Do you guys have any advice?" Ria questioned.
"Well, you could always show him you're serious about him. Show some interest in his interests. He probably be more than happy to talk about himself." Farah offered.
Ria took that under consideration. "Hmm, that's a good idea. Thanks girls."
~Mayra Confessional~
"Ria can do better than Conor but who am I to deny what a girl wants. I know what I want and that's some venison. I'll nab me a deer till I'm redder than my papi's steaks."
Night had fallen at the Gophers campsite, Jela and Dianne had finished building the tent and were shivering. "How much longer? I can't be hotter than hell when I'm freezing." Jela asked.
Kali was rubbing a stick against dry leaves while Gabriel was striking some flints together. They were sweating from trying for so long to strike a fire. "Come on, come on." Gabriel pleaded.
Eventually a small amount of smoke started rising from the leaves. "Yes!" Kali celebrated as she leaned to blow the smoke and make the embers burn brighter. Slowly but surely, the fire rose and was a sight to behold for the cold campers.
"Nice one. Let's get cooking." Claire announced holding up some fish she pierced. Zveif also emerged with berries nestled in his shirt causing the Gophers there to cheer.
"OK, you've done good." Anton admitted as he watched Claire settle the fish over the fire.
"Man, you should have seen her. She went loco at the river, like ahhh," Zveif said exaggerating a stabbing action "and then she was like boom, boom, boom. It was awesome." He then gorged on some berries he was holding as Claire looked away embarrassed at his antics.
~Claire Confessional~
"Zveif, made me sound like a crazy person. It's not crazy to channel your anger when you're looking to grab fish to eat. They're annoyingly slippery." Claire imitated a grabbing action.
"Frankly, the sooner we have everything ready, the better. It's getting quite dark." Jeffrey pointed out.
"Yeah. I just want to eat and get some shut-eye as soon as possible. This girl needs her beauty sleep." Jela said yawning.
"Don't worry, I got enough for each of us." Claire informed triggering some worry in Dianne.
"Speaking of which, where are Edward, Kevin and Velma? I haven't seen any of them hours." Dianne asked the team receiving alarming silence.
"There's no need to panic Di. I'm sure they're still out looking for the animal." Kali comforted the anxious girl.
"It shouldn't take this long. Who knows what could've happened to them?" Dianne said panicking. Jeffrey walked over to her and grabbed her shoulders mildly shaking her.
"Relax Dianne, deep breaths come on." Jeffrey exhaled and she joined in soon after calming the girl. "Good, do you feel better now?" She nodded and looked up gratefully at Jeffrey who nodded with a smirk.
"I'm going to look for them." Anton said about to run off before being interrupted.
"Woah, woah calm down Anton. Think about this logically." Jeffrey commanded him upsetting Anton.
"Screw logic, they're missing and god knows what kind of trouble they could be in. I'm going to out to find them." Anton declared.
"What if you get lost too? Don't be stupid. You won't be able to see them at this time." Jeffrey fired back.
"It's not stupid to care Jeffrey. I guess you don't." Anton accused.
"I'm with Jeffrey. We're better off staying together. I don't want anyone else to go missing. We'll just have to hope they come back." Dianne supported, prompting some nods from the Gophers and a small grin from Jeffrey.
"Ugh, fine." Anton resigned and sat down by the fire.
~Dianne Confessional~
"If there's anything I've learnt throughout my life, it's to trust people and keep up hope. Also, listen to reason and Jeffrey is very reasonable."
~Jeffrey Confessional~
"It appears my team are behind me. Hahaha, excellent."
As for the missing Gophers, they were camped into the small alcove of a cave by a searching bear who was trying to sniff them out. They waited patiently before it eventually fell asleep. Edward pulled out the camera and turned it on.
"Is this really the time for shots?" Velma pleaded.
"If we die, I want there to be some memory of what happened." Edward whispered terrified before turning to be in the camera frame. "I'm so *bleep* scared right now. I'm trapped behind a 400-tonne bear with 2 of my teammates."
"Actually, most bears weight from around 130kg to about 300kg." Kevin intervened.
"Like I care Kevin. If we can't escape, we're gonna starve to death anyway." Edward bit at Kevin who recoiled as he put the camera back around his neck.
"Not to mention we'll lose the challenge." Kevin added earning glares from both of them. "I'll shut up now."
"Since it's asleep, we need to figure our route of escape." Velma recommended.
"There's a gap over there, where we could fit through. Let's go." Edward pointed it out as Kevin, closest to the exit wormed his way through. He grabbed Velma's arms and pulled her out. They both did the same with Edward but the camera bounced off some rocks.
"No!" Edward horrifyingly whispered as he rushed towards it.
"It's not broken is it." Velma asked concerned. Edward inspected it all over begging for it to work. Soon the screen flashed and showed the cave.
"Yes, it still works. Quickly, get in front of the bear." Kevin and Velma posed as Edward recorded their work on the bear. "Nice, let's go."
~Velma Confessional~
"Next time I'm researching animals, I'm sticking to a laboratory. You can't get eaten alive in a laboratory… most of the time." Velma rubbed her arm.
Back at the Bass Campsite, Deon and Joey were inside the tent with Deon doing her hair and gossiping. "So, I'm there with Gina and we're both heading into this dance like aww yeah and we're going to own everything but guess what Tiffany did."
"Girl, she better not have-" Deon sassed.
"Oh, but she did. Ruined my amazing dress and made me look like a baboon's backside." Joey vented.
"I would've totally slapped the teeth outta her. That is so not cool." Deon retorted. Joey was about to respond before hearing something outside the tent.
"Guys, they're finally back." Rose told them. The duo joined the remaining Bass members in welcoming Mayra and Farah back. Both held up a large amount of meat to present to the team.
"Y'all hungry?" Mayra bragged.
"Nice haul guys. We're gonna eat like kings." Griff praised.
"Where'd you get all this?" Nick asked shocked.
"We're just that good." Farah boasted.
~Farah Confessional~
"We actually found it with a stash in this empty cave but they don't need to know that." She leaned in close to the lens. "It was just laying there so finders keepers. What kind of dumb animal leaves their food unattended?"
"Nice guys. Let me just get your picture and we'll get cooking." Griff backed away to get them in the frame. As he snapped the picture, it suddenly started raining and put out the fire.
"Goddamn it. Everyone get inside." Tristan ordered holding open the tent door.
"Crap, why'd it have to start raining now. My makeup is gonna run." Jela said racing to the tent. She was followed suit by most of the Gophers, spare Dianne. Gabriel popped his head out of the tent and saw her waiting under a tree.
"Dianne, get inside or you'll get sick." Gabriel requested her. She stood still.
"I can't sleep until they get back. I'll be fine." Dianne told her.
"Close the door Gabriel, you're letting the rain in." Claire said dragging him away and zipping the tent up. Dianne looked at them then back to the forest, worry etched all over her face before her eyes drifted close.
~Dianne Confessional~
She's wrapped in a blanket. "I don't know how I feel asleep in that weather but I'd do it all over again to make sure my team is safe. If it weren't for one of my teammates, I'd probably have got hypothermia." She snuggled up more in the blanket.
With the Bass, they were huddling for warmth inside their own tent and had their tent catch on fire by a stray lightning bolt.
"Well this is just fantastic." Deon sarcastically said. "Anything else, you want to throw at us world?" He shouted to the heavens. His 'prayers' were answered when an angry snort was heard by a furious herd of deer.
"Oh, come on." Griff yelled out.
"They look mighty ticked off." Mayra said before noticing one deer lift its leg up to its neck, simulating a slicing sound towards her and Farah.
"What do we do?" Ria asked frightened for her life.
"Quickly, set off our trap." Rose demanded. Tristan understood but no one else did.
"Are you trying to kill us?" Nick yelled back.
"Just do it. Trust me." Rose shouted as she dragged him along with the others behind her. The herd of deer charged after them. Upon arrival, Tristan cut a rope holding up a giant log cage that fell over them, containing them inside. The deer charged up against the log hoping to break it down.
"They're gonna break through." Joey shrieked.
"They shouldn't, I reinforced it. Get comfortable guys, this is where we're sleeping tonight." Tristan told them.
"How it's so cramped in here?" Nick complained feeling Griff's elbow dig into his side.
"You'll have to find a way. It wasn't designed for us, remember." Rose responded. They all shuffled around until everyone was asleep.
Back with the Gophers, while everyone slept Velma, Kevin and Edward, drained from their journey back approached the campsite, drenched in rain. Edward limply took pictures of everything for the checklist quickly from a distance before the group fell into a pit-trap of Anton and Jeffrey's creation. They groaned and climbed out, covered in mud and natures debris.
Their groaning woke up Dianne who rubbed her eyes and caught the silhouettes of the three. She recoiled in fright as another lightning strike happened, lighting up the area and showing the muddy and exhausted trio, scaring Dianne to scream like a banshee.
"Help!" Dianne cried out, causing Anton to rush out and strike all 3 of them in the stomach with a large branch.
"Wait, it's us." Kevin wheezed out as Anton held off his next attack. Velma grabbed the blanket from Dianne and crawled over to wipe the dirt off their faces.
"Where in the hell did you guys go?" Jeffrey asked.
"Long story short. Photographing animals, bear comes along, get chased to cave, escape and get back here wet and tired." Edward summarised short of breath. "On the bright side, I've kept the camera safe." He held the device up from around his neck.
"Nice one, we'll keep it dry." Gabriel said taking it off him and putting it in the tent.
"Right everyone, back inside." Jeffrey said to everyone who did as told. Dianne and joined them before Claire zipped the tent up on the drenched trio.
"You guys can sleep under the tree. Nothing personal, just don't want our floor wet." Claire informed them before chucking them the dirty blanket. "You can have that at least to keep you warm." The three looked amongst themselves and resigned themselves to the wooden shelter.
The next day at the Bass Campsite, Rose, Tristan, Deon and Farah lifted up the trap to see the deer had dispersed. "Daybreak guys, we've gotta get moving if we're gonna win."
All the team slowly woke up, Ria woke up to see herself holding onto Conor who arose himself to see the sight of her clinging to him. "Sorry, sorry, sorry." Ria blushed like a tomato and apologised profusely before Conor held her lips shut.
"Save it. Let's get back." Conor ran towards the campsite with the Bass all rushing back.
"Come on guys. Let's get going. We've gotta get back." Anton shouted to everyone who groggily got up.
"Ugh, I've definitely not had enough beauty sleep." Jela grumbled despite still looking amazing.
"You can catch up when we get back. Let's go." Jeffrey said as everyone began racing back to camp.
Back at camp, Chris was waiting with Chef bored on a bench. "Do you think they got eaten?" Chris asked Chef who shrugged his shoulders.
"There it is." Shouted a female voice.
"Finally!" Chris said exasperated and got up to see the Screaming Gophers emerge. "Congratulations on getting back first Gophers. Hand me your camera so I can check your photos."
Gabriel handed the photos over and the Gophers celebrated. Soon after, emerged the Bass who caught sight of the Gophers and looked demoralised. "We lost?" Joey enquired.
"Not again, why can't we win!" Nick shouted furiously at his teammates.
"Actually, you might still win. Half of these photos are blurry, Gophers." Chris turned the pictures to show them and it was true. Save for the bear photo, the rest were unrecognisable and the team turned to Edward, Velma and Kevin who retreated into themselves.
"Here, here, take a look. Ours are good." Griff said excitedly who handed his photos to Chris who looked them over.
"That they are, you've proven you've done everything so todays winners are the Killer Bass." They all cheered while the Screaming Gophers groaned and voiced their sadness. "Bass, your reward for winning todays challenge is a hunters meal of different meats and berry based deserts, specially prepared."
"Thank God, we're starving." Farah said holding her growling stomach.
"Gophers, I'll see your muddy butts at the elimination ceremony tonight for your first loss of the season. Choose wisely." Chris grinned at the eight campers looking at Kevin, Velma and Edward.
Before the ceremony commenced, Ria looked over at Conor who was eating some hunters chicken. She turned to Mayra who motivated her to go for it. Ria took a breath and walked over to sit beside Conor.
"Hey Conor. I'd like to say sorry for being a nuisance yesterday. I should've focused on the challenge but I was so desperate to be friends with you that I messed up my priorities. I'm sorry." Ria truthfully apologised.
Conor rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "I forgive you. I was a bit out of line myself and I'm sorry too. Why do you want to be friends with me so bad?"
"Well… see… it's… that's…" Ria struggled to get out briefly looking to Mayra who gestured to her to get it out. "because I'm a huge martial arts fan and I think you could teach me a lot, I don't already know and make me better." Mayra face slapped at Ria's diversion.
"Well, I'd be happy to teach you as long as you listen to everything I tell you. No backing out or complaining." Conor offered his hand out.
Ria shook it and beamed "Yeah, you've got it." She went back to sit with Mayra who gave her thumbs up.
"Nice save partner." Mayra complimented.
~Ria Confessional~
"So what if it didn't go as planned. I now get some one-on-one time with Conor. That's a win in my book."
At the bonfire ceremony, the Gophers watched Chris walk to the podium.
He addressed the team. "Gophers, these marshmallows represent your safety in this competition and the chance to stay and win big money. You've all cast your votes and made your decisions. The camper who does not receive a marshmallow must immediately head to the Dock of Shame, to catch the Boat of Losers. And you can't come back, ever!" Chris informed them causing some to become more nervous. "When I call your name, come up and claim your marshmallow."
"Kali." The theatre buffed squealed and got up.
"Zveif." The boy rushed and devoured his marshmallow.
"Dianne." She smiled.
"Jela." The girl nodded and got up.
"Anton." He walked over.
"Jeffrey." He smirked.
"Claire." She laughed knowingly.
"Gabriel." The boy breathed a sigh of relief.
"There are only 3 marshmallows remaining." The remaining three looked anxiously amongst each other. "The next marshmallow goes to… Velma."
The nerdette exhaled and claimed her prize. The final two boys shared scared looks between them. "This is the final marshmallow of the evening. And it goes to…" Chris picked up the marshmallow and built the tension as he waved it in front of both of them. The two gripped their stumps strong as they waited for Chris to announce who was safe.
"Kevin." The autistic boy beamed as he ran to hug Chris who immediately pushed him away and pass him his marshmallow.
"Edward, you're done." Chris told him as he pointed him towards the dock. Edward did as instructed with some of his team waved him goodbye. He hopped on the boat.
"It hurts to go this early but I deserve it. A good YouTuber should always check his camera is working. I screwed up but I hope you'll still subscribe to my channel. I'll try to update you all as soon as I can."
Back at the Campgrounds, Dianne was sitting on the steps to the cabins before Jeffrey approached her. "What's wrong Dianne?"
"It's just hit me that we're going to lose our team members and that means our friends. How can I live with myself if I have to vote off a friend?" Dianne vented while upset at the thought.
"Unfortunately, it's all part of the game. We'll have to make the hard decisions eventually but that doesn't mean we can't be nice to each other until then." Jeffrey told her.
"Yeah, I guess. It's still hard though." She shivered before Jeffrey got up and placed a blanket around her. "Thanks. You didn't need to do this."
"It's fine, feels like habit at this point. Good night." Jeffrey hinted before heading to bed. Dianne, spaced out as she processed his words and then held the blanket tighter smiling.
~Jeffrey Confessional~
"Dianne seems like a nice girl. Very caring and considerate. She'll make an excellent ally for the game. Feed her some kindness and she'll be like putty in my hands, offering to help me and defend me at every opportunity. With her and Kevin already under my heel, I'll play the rest of these fools like a violin." Jeffrey mocked them by mimicking playing a violin before bursting into evil chuckles.
"There we have it. Both teams have now lost a member and Edward has bit the competition. Who will be next to fall? Will Conor discover Ria's crush? How will Kevin and Velma recover from their bear experience? Tune it next time to another thrilling episode of TOTAL! DRAMA! ISLAND!" Chris signed off for the day.
I feel it's only fair to let you guys know where I've been/what I've been up to. Well, I'm back at university for my 2nd year. I expected to still have a lot of time to still do this story but opportunities have been coming at me left and right. See, I want to work in film and I've been given the opportunity to write a feature length screenplay with the real possibility of being sold if it's good enough as well as a theatre script that could also be put on if chosen. That with everything I have to do with my course means little free time. Please continue to be patient with me.