(The camera slowly starts to brighten until we see the Story Man walking into the same room as before. He grabs the same book from his shelf, sits down on the same rocking chair, and notices the camera.)

Good morning. It is wonderful to have you back. Now, I shall return to my story.

(He opens the book to two pages. The left page has a backwards 'Chapter 2' written on it, and the right page has paragraphs of text, which the Story Man starts reading out loud.)

The camera slowly brightens to reveal the Chris McLean on the dock. Once the darkness is gone, he says, "Last time, on Total Drama Isle!"

The camera flashes to Chris introducing Emily.

"I met our latest twenty campers. Some were tall…"

The camera flashes to Graham, and then it flashes again to Dwayne.

"Some were weird…"

The camera flashes to Kylie sleeping at the end of the dock, and Ernest yelling at Chris.

"And some were really, really flirtatious…"

The camera cuts to Suzy flirting with Graham and Damian.

"Plus, some relationships started forming immediately…"

The camera cuts to Connor angrily spitting when Ophelia was introduced.

"But, the campers could only stay and talk for so long. When everyone was finally introduced, I showed them a wonderful part of this new island…"

The camera flashes to the campers gasping in horror upon looking at the coal factory on the island.

"And that's where we are right now! Will the campers recover from the shock of my coal factory? What types of relationships will bloom between some of the campers? And will I ever get foam on the top of my vanilla latte? Find out now, on Total!"

The camera zooms out.

"Drama!"

The camera zooms out again.

"Isle!"

With that, the introduction plays again. After approximately a minute, the camera fades to black and then brightens to a shot of Emily and Jane looking horrified upon seeing that factory. Then, the camera slowly moves across to each camper, showing faces with varying degrees of horror plastered on them.

After the last camper's face was revealed, the camera flashed and cut back to Chris, who said, "Yup, this island is equipped with my very own coal factory. Hey, we needed a cheap way to get power here, so we figured building this."

Oscar sighed, shook his head, and said, "I'm sorry, but why do we need a coal factory to power the island? I know coal power plants are still common, but can't you guys afford a hydraulic power plant, or even a wind turbine power plant?"

Chris glared at Oscar for a little, but he quickly reverted back to his dull smile and continued. "You see, Oscar, the purpose of this factory is twofold. One is to provide electricity, thermal energy, and lots of power. You'll see its other purpose once we actually go inside."

Lee rolled his eyes. "Lovely."

Suddenly, the deadpan snarker felt something land on his arm. As it turns out, it was Kylie's head, and the minimal force of the impact caused her to wake up. Once her eyes opened and she saw the coal powerplant, she frowned and said, "Dude, seriously? A fossil-fuel power station? We're right around an island, so if you want to generate electricity, dude, why not build a hydroelectric power station? Fossil fuels generate about 34% of the carbon dioxide emitted by the United States, and they release harmful particulates into the air such as dust, ash, smog, pollen, and even a few viruses, dude. Plus, it releases a little mercury in the air, as proven by analysing fish affected by pollution. On the other hand, a hydroelectric power station costs only a little more than a fossil-fuel power complex, is flexible in terms of the amount of energy generated, produces no excess waste, and emits a significantly lower amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, dude."

She yawns. "Oh, man, dude, that was crazy."

Everyone was stunned, but no one was more shocked than Lee, who incredulously asked, "How?!"

Kylie shrugged. "I like to read, dude."

Chris managed to shake the shock off at this point, and declared, "You mentioned that other water power plant was more expensive. I think that's all the explanation you need."

Kylie yawned again. "Hey dude, it's your show."

"Yeah, it is. Now zip it."

After a quick glare at the genius ditz, the sadistic host said, "Alright everyone, it's time to tour my factory!"

Chris started to walk, and although many of the campers weren't optimistic about following him, Erika shouted, "Lat oss ga, guys! Let's not let Chris bring our spirits down!"

Although no one else had quite the same level of enthusiasm, Erika's words convinced all of them to follow Chris with the Swedish superstar at the head. And although there was one instance where Tony tried and failed to trick off of his skateboard, the walk up to the factory, although intimidating, was fairly uneventful. And although there were gray flue-gas stacks to the left and the right of the campers pumping out rather dark smoke, Chris decided to start the tour in the main building.

If the campers weren't shocked by the outside of the power plant, they were definitely shocked when they saw the core of this monstrous contraption for the first time. The walls and ceiling were all metallic gray, as if they were constructed purely out of iron or steel, and there were machines everywhere. The sound of pistons hissing overwhelmed the eardrums of every camper, except Chris, who had earplugs on. Plus, there were a few scrawny people walking around with miserable looks on their faces. Each one carried boxes that appeared to be almost twice his of her own weight, and wore scarlet colored T-shirts, white sleeves, and green navy pants.

After taking a brief moment to chuckle at one of said box carrying people, Chris said, "Well, here it is! The Chris McLean Coal Factory! Oh, and remember what I said about there being two reasons why we built this power plant? Yeah, this is where most of your challenges will be held."

This third bombshell in only a few minutes caused the campers to be dumbstruck, and Ophelia was about to faint on the ground if Sophie did not catch her and help the slightly taller girl to her feet. Chris' response to this shock was a laughter. Then, after a few seconds, he continued, "Yeah, we've decided to up the stakes a little here. Instead of wilderness challenges, you'll have to deal with heat, electricity, and lots of other fun mechanical stuff!"

Lee spoke up. "Then why did you decide to say, 'hey, I'm going to call this show Total Drama Isle. Clearly this isn't meant to be ironic in the stupidest possible way, and it clearly isn't meant to shamelessly boost my ratings!' "

"You got it, bro."

The deadpan snarker stammered for a few seconds, and then turned his head in disdain.

The sadistic host chuckled. "So yeah, it's about time we start the tour. But first, I'll show you where the confessional is, so the audience at home can hear what you really think."

With that, the group, led by Chris, went up the steps to the third floor. At least in the section the group as on, it consisted of two unstable bridges, a platform without guardrails between the riggedy connectors, and what appeared to be a section with three rooms at the end of the second bridge.

Upon seeing the wobbly bridges, the campers became visibly horrified. There may have also been a few screams soon after the reveal, but those shrieks of terror were all cut out in the televised episode. However, a few murmurs of 'Chris is insane' or 'I shouldn't have done this' echoed loudly enough for the microphones to record them.

Ultimately, the bridges were strong enough not to break after the twenty-one walked across it, and they managed to make it to the three-room section without any injuries.

When everyone completed the trek, the sadistic host cleared his throat. "Alright, so all of you can cross bridges. Awesome. Well, here we are. The door to your left is the men's room, the door to your right is the women's room, and the door behind me? That's the janitor's closet. Oh, and it's also where the confession cam is.

Suzy about lost it afterwards. "What?! You expect us to use that camera with brooms, mops, and floor cleaner everywhere?"

"You got it, bra. Oh, and watch out. Some of the smoke tends to get stuck in here 'cause it's rarely used. Heh heh."

"I… ugh, that's so nasty!"

Graham turned to Suzy. "I don't think the brooms are directly in front of the camera, Suzy. Plus, I doubt Chris is willing to compromise in that regard. That room is probably just going to smell and feel bad like all the other confession cams."

Chris smirked. "Finally, someone gets the idea."

Graham sighed. "Why can't we even get a decent confessional?"

"Why not? I'm the host, bro. You signed those waivers, so I can do what I want with you. Trust me, the legal system is a powerful thing."

Graham and Suzy both shook their heads in disgust, but nonetheless said no more.

Chris was pleased with this sudden silence. "Alright, good. So, now I'm gonna open the door. Brace yourselves, dudes. Heh heh."

With that, Chris unleashed the floodgates. A broom and a mop spilled out of the closet, and the campers were hit in full force by a stream of black smoke, causing all of them to cough. The campers also held their noses to ward off the repulsive stench that came with the smog. Fortunately, after about half a minute, the smoke and the stench became mild enough for the campers to enter the cramped, dull room that held their only method of expressing their feelings to the folks at home. And just like that, a few campers started lining up to detail their honest thoughts at how this day was starting to turn out…

(Confessional: Suzy)

"Ugh, this room is nasty!" (coughs a few times, and controls herself a little more) "OK, this cast is… interesting. There don't seem to be a lot of people willing to step up and take control of the game. I mean, there's Graham, but he seems to have a crush on me, so I don't think he'll be a problem. Damian is also seriously crushing on me… (giggles) "It's just so easy to appeal to boys these days."

(Confessional: Graham)

"I've watched a few reality TV shows before, so I think I'll be alright for now. I just can't give my team a reason to eliminate me before the merge." (blushes) "Maybe I should see if I can get closer to Suzy. She's beautiful… but I also feel like there's something more to her." (shrugs) "I guess we'll see what happens."

(Confessional: Connor)

"Howdy, ya'll. Jus' gimme one sec." (double checks to see if he closed the door all the way, and then when he comes back to the cam, he has a bit of a smirk on his face) "Heh, ah knew this lil' 'innocent' (uses the quote gesture for this word, as if he's emphasizing it) farm boy personality would work. Ah've been beggin' for money for years, so ah know how people work purdy well. You jus' gotta put on a believable personality, throw on a bit o' bad things, and they're all over ya. Ah don't see any reason to change what ah've been doin' so far, so ah'll just lay low, see how the game is played, and change mah strategy from there.. Ah want, no, ah need this money. And ah won't let nobody stop me from gettin' it."

(Confessional: Sophie)

"It's weird. I thought this was a cartoon, yet everything here just seems so realistic. Maybe this is a real show?" (shutters) "Oh, I hope not. I wanted to be on a cartoon so badly…"

(Confessional: Kylie)

(sleeping, and then wakes up a few seconds later) "Wow, dudes, this chair is comfy. Maybe I'll take another nap on it sometime later."

(Confessional: Lee)

"Wow, this show is every bit as horrible as I suspected. It's a miracle. The host is obscenely sadistic, but the other 'campers' don't seem to be too horrible. ...Still, it amazes me that the smartest contestant besides me is the girl who sleeps all the time. I feel like the producers are attempting to spite me."

(Confessional: Chris)

"Hey. I know I don't normally use these, but I want to talk to you guys in private, ya dig? (For the first time in what seems like an eternity, Chris McLean has a nervous look on his face.) Honestly, I'm really worried. Most of these campers are way too nice to generate any sort of drama, and way too unique to really fit into many stereotypes. The producers really gave me a hard time with this season, period.

"So, just to let you know, I'm doing what I can to create as much drama as possible, but you may want to go away if you're expecting tons of drama. I know that's what you guys want, and I'm sorry I may not be able to give it to you. Just know I didn't pick these losers, cool? I'm just hoping that some good old fashioned pain and misery will get you guys the results you spent your hard-earned time on. And those results may mean I'll have to try extra hard to gather some drama out of this… horrible cast, but they pay me for results and ratings. So please, stick with me, alright? Awesome. Let's go."

(Chris McLean Coal Factory)

And just like that, the camera went back to Chris with the other campers, and after quite a few campers and Chris himself took the time to vent, the sadistic host said, "Alright, now that we're done with that, let's go back to the first floor so that I can start the tour."

The camera flashed.

The next scene involved all of the campers walking across the bridge, but as the campers were about to cross the second bridge, everyone heard the horrible sounds of wood breaking and a loud girlish scream.

As everyone turned around, they could see Dwayne reaching under the bridge and grabbing Jane's hand. It was very clear that Jane had accidentally broken one of the boards, and Dwayne managed to grab Jane's hand before she fell any further. And fortunately for everyone, Dwayne managed to lift her light body up and back onto the bridge. The first potential tragedy of the season was completely averted.

(Confessional: Jane)

"Oh my goodness, that was so scary! Thank goodness Dwayne was able to help me up! I remember falling once from a giraffe and it hurt a lot, so I'm glad I don't have to go through something like that again!" (takes a deep breath and sighs)

(Chris McLean Coal Factory)

After witnessing this near tragedy, the sadistic host simply said, "Yeah, that bridges aren't stable, so watch your step, 'K? Alright, now that we're all across the dangerous creaky bridges, let's go downstairs and tour my factory!"

But before they could continue, Oscar noticed that Rebecca was a bit short of breath. The tech savvy male took a deep breath and managed to work up the courage to say, "A-are you alright, Rebecca?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes, I'm alright. Just… not a fan of heights."

Suddenly, she got a rush of energy back. "I'm OK, don't worry!"

Oscar blushed and smiled. "I'm g-glad to hear that."

Rebecca returned his smile, and the two would have continued the conversation had Chris not yelled, "You guys done? We don't have all day!"

The two then noticed that all of the other campers had started down the stairs, and decided to drop their conversation and speed up to join them.

Once the group was at the first floor once more, Chris walked them to a room at the right end of the floor, cleared his throat, and began. "Alright, dudes, I'm gonna show you how electricity is made from coal."

Tyson shuttered from this statement, but the sadistic host either didn't notice or he didn't care. "First, coal is stored in these blue things called bunkers."

Chris gestured towards the ceiling where a large blue funnel was. It ran from the ceiling down to a metallic pipe, and the pipe was connected to a large green colored machine.

Oscar took this time to ask, "Is that a generator, Chris?"

"Not really, dude. It just stores the coal until it can be fed into this beauty."

The sadistic host then gestured to an enormous beige colored drum to the right of the 'generator'. This drum was above the ground and held together by a series of steel pipes.

"This is the pulverizer. Man, that's a great word! Anyway, this drum contains a series of steel balls that crush down the pure, innocent coal into a finely coated dust that can be blown away or broken at any waking moment… heh heh."

Lee rolled his eyes. "Is this a metaphor for something?"

"Maybe."

The deadpan snarker facepalmed for taking Chris' bait, and let the sadistic host continue.

"Alright, so once the coal gets crushed both physically and mentally, it goes through a series of tubes to a boiler."

The group walked to the back of the room to see a large gray vat. The group became noticeably hotter after getting closer to it, as the intense heat waves could reverberate even with a layer of metal stopping the vat from melting.

Chris wiped his brow. "Phew! Alright, this is the boiler. It's pretty hot, so it's perfect for challenges, heh heh. Anyway, this heats up a mixture of water and coal to create lots of hot, dry steam. Once we get lots of that, we can finally start to develop some real electrical power. So, the final stop of our tour is right here."

The sadistic host led the teens to the right side of the room, where they saw a green rectangular-esque object connected to a long green half-sphere thanks to some pipes.

"That rectangular thing contains a turbine. The hot, dry steam runs across the fan-like object and spins it faster than the wheels of a mechanical energy is transferred to this electrical generator…"

Chris took this time to look at Tyson, who promptly backed up out of fear, causing the sadistic host to chuckle.

"Anyway, this generator converts all of that motion into electricity, and all that power is transfered… to my crib. All of the other generators and stuff like that are meant for show and for challenges, and they aren't extremely stable. Heh heh."

The only person excited by this news was Tony, who promptly yelled, "Extreme! Woo!"

"Uh… yeah. Oh, I almost forgot. We have a condensing system and a cooling tower to reuse water, but they're underground so I can't really show them to you. Oh, and we didn't have the budget to put in any environmental protection, so there's smog everywhere. I can't say the wildlife here approved of our decision, heh heh."

Both Emily and Jane gasped in horror, while Connor simply shook his head.

"Yeah, we don't exactly have a lot of non-polluted animals. But hey, I needed my electricity, and we needed a setup for the show. You've gotta make sacrifices sometimes."

(Confessional: Emily)

(sniffling) "I can't believe it! All of those cute little animals… gone! I can't believe Chris would do something like that!"

(Confessional: Jane)

(pouting) "Chris is a meanie. He kills animals, and now I'll never get to meet the Sasquatch! This stinks!"

(Confessional: Connor)

(shrugs) "Hey, 'least this is makin' me mighty thankful ah don't live in the city."

(Confessional: Erika)

"Yeaaaaaaaah!" (giggles) "I always wanted to do that!"

(Chris McLean Coal Factory)

The camera cut back to the campers in the coal factory looking particularly downtrodden. One would expect Jane and Emily to be in tears, yes, but Ophelia was also crying, and the other campers looked rather glum and defeated, even Erika and Tony.

Before the audience was given time to ponder over what could have happened to cause this gloomy mood, Chris spoke up. "OK! It's time to go to the cafeteria on the second floor and meet my partner in crime, Chef Hatchet. He'll tell you about the 'food' we serve, heh heh."

The camera flashed.

The twenty campers were all standing in a line in a room that had bland steel walls, no windows, and two large wooden picnic tables. That room was connected to the kitchen thanks to two door and a cafeteria window. Behind that window was a large, bulky African-American with a white chef hat, a white apron, a long-sleeve beige shirt, navy green jeans, and gray shoes. He looked like a drill instructor, and he had the voice to match.

As the camera panned from the end of the line to Chef Hatchet, the chef yelled, "Listen up! I serve it three times a day, and you will eat it three times a day! Grab your tray, get your food, and sit your butts down now!"

Lee rolled his eyes. "Wow, that's original. Couldn't come up with any more intimidating speeches after the first season?"

"What did you say, scrawny boy?"

Lee was undeterred. "I said that you used the same speech from the very first episode of this nonsense here. What, did they not give you another cheat sheet?"

Lee would have continued had Chef not thrown a knife near his head. It came dangerously close to drawing some blood, and took off a small chunk of Lee's hair. While the knife did manage to rattle most of the contestants with the exception of Kristin, Lee was not one of them.

After nearly getting part of his head taken off, Lee simply sighed and said, "Question answered. Here's another: what delicacy are we having today, Chef?"

The bulky chef suddenly got a sadistic expression on his face. "You all are having Sloppy Joes with mashed potatoes. So get your food now, I ain't got all day!"

After seeing Lee nearly get severely injured, the campers simply got their food without complaint. However, when Lee got his food, the chef gave him double the sloppy joe, and then pounded said double joe with his meat mallet. Lee responded by rolling his eyes, sighing, and then going to a table.

The camera flashed.

The scene after the flash is an overhead shot of all of the campers sitting down and attempting to eat the 'food' in front of them. However, after one or two seconds, the camera cuts to Lee and Tyson talking to each other.

Tyson was the first to speak. "You might want to be careful, man. I know you hate this place as much as the rest of us, but I'd try to avoid making enemies so early."

Lee sighed. "I appreciate the help, but I'll deal with things on my own. It's not like I'm making enemies with you guys, and it's not like the chef can kill me."

The guitarist shrugged. "Fair enough, I guess. Also, out of curiosity have you always been pretty snarky?"

"You could say that. I've been in Chinese schools until 3rd grade. Those schools are much more serious and focused than American schools, in my opinion. Since I made the switch from China to America, well, I've developed a distaste for idiots and jerks. Especially considering those people experience success more often than not. It's wonderful."

"Alright. Well, I've gotta attempt to choke this stuff down. Later, Lee."

"Goodbye."

The guitarist and the snarker parted ways, and the guitarist then decided to sit across from Sonata.

When the classical pianist noticed Tyson, she said, "Ah, guten abend. Tyson, was it?"

The guitarist wiped the sweat off his brow, and then said, "Y-yes, that's right. How are you, Sonata?"

"I have been better, obviously, but I am not in a terrible mood. ...Also, not to prod, but I noticed that on the tour, you kept your distance from any electrical object. Is there any reason for that?"

The guitarist gulped and waited for a few seconds before saying, "I'm just not a fan of electricity. It's dangerous."

(Confessional: Tyson)

"Alright, I might as well tell you guys a little bit more about me now, and explain why Chris was so hard on me about 'sympathy' and stuff. To clarify, I'm not making any of this up, and I'm not admitting this to gain sympathy. That's not the type of person I am, and I have no real complaints about my life now; I'm in a band and everything.

"But when I was five, my dad and I went outside so that I could learn how to bike. Suddenly, a huge freak thunderstorm struck, and we were caught in the middle of it. My dad managed to get back to the house just fine, but I… got struck by a stray bolt of lightning. (sighs, and his eyes become blank before he slaps himself to get out of that trance) Anyway, I got rushed to the hospital, and the doctors implanted a pacemaker inside me. I still have it in me, because that bolt really messed up my heartbeat. It also impacted my brain to a degree, but thanks to my psychologist, I've been able to deal with those problems.

"And even with the pacemaker, I can hang around some electronics, so long as I'm a fairly safe distance away from them. Honestly, from where I stand, if you put in the effort, you don't need to have bad things in the past define you in the present. Although I do wish I had those pills… (sighs, but quickly shakes his head and gets out of the confessional)"

(Chris McLean Coal Factory: Cafeteria)

The camera flashes, and cuts to Ernest with a grin on his face.

(Confessional: Ernest)

"Everything is going according to plan. All of the campers will fall prey to my manipulative scheming. There are no leaders and no antagonists in this cast, so I will take over and break my competitors." (starts to chuckle evilly before a broom falls down, causing him scream in a high-pitched voice and run out of the confessional.)

(Chris McLean Coal Factory: Cafeteria)

The supposed mastermind's grinning session was interrupted by someone asking, "Are you alright? You seem a bit lost in thought."

Ernest then jerked his head up and looked to see where the voice as coming from. As it turns out, Ophelia was looking at him with concern, so he did his best to maintain his composure by saying, "I a-am fine. I am merely looking to see who I can manipulate first. Do not concern yourself with my plans."

The spoiled sweetie cocked her head. "Manipulate? That certainly does not sound good."

"S-silence! Leave me be!"

"If you insist…"

With that, the spoiled sweetie scooted down the table.

(Confessional: Ophelia)

"This has been a peculiar day. First I am taken on a tour of a coal factory, then I am yelled at by a large man, and then I come into contact with a rather strange camper. Well, at the very least, this has been more eventful than my usual days at the mansion, and most of the campers here do seem very kind. Especially Sophie. She seems to have a good, energetic head on her shoulders, and I can respect that."

(Chris McLean Coal Factory: Cafeteria)

The camera pans to Dan eating his food without enthusiasm. A few seconds later, his depressing ruminations were interrupted by someone dropping a tray on the table and saying, "Hey, Dan! How are you?"

The dark dude turned his head to see Sophie just as happy as ever and responded, "So, this place truly is miserable. Our host lies about the title and takes us through a realm of darkness and smog. I thought we may get a nice island, but those were nothing but lies…"

"It's alright! We can deal with it! Also, did you read the comic I gave you?"

"...It isn't bad, I guess, but that is only one thing. The world around us only highlights the terrible reality that ruins fantasy."

Sophie's eyes widened. "Wait, isn't this a cartoon?"

"I don't think so. Pinch yourself if you don't believe me."

Sophie did so, and then gasped in horror.

When the dark dude saw Sophie's reaction, he said, "This is why entertainment has become so corrupted. It is led by sadistic people like our host, and I cannot see how that will change in the near future."

After a few tears fell from Sophie's eyes, she turned to Dan with a more somber look in her eyes and said, "Please keep reading that comic. Just… do it, OK?"

"...If you insist."

With that, Dan pulled out the comic and Sophie breathed a sigh of relief, although there were still a few tears in her eyes.

(Confessional: Sophie)

(sighs, and looks unhappy) "I can't believe this world isn't a cartoon… and instead of a nice island, we have to stay in a nasty coal factory…" (sniffs and sheds a few tears, but slows down and eventually stops crying after a few seconds. She then attempts to use her energy to improve her mood) "But still, that doesn't mean I can't show Dan the beauty of cartoons! I have a few other comics and videos in my backpack that he can see! I want to be like Pinkie Pie, and make him smile. To know that the very thing I love is making him depressed just doesn't sit well with me, and I know he'll feel better if I show him some quality cartoons. I may not be on a cartoon, but if I can show someone with a bad case of the gloomies the beauty of cartoons, I think I'll be just as happy!" (with a determined smile, she walks out of the confessional)

(Chris McLean Coal Factory: Cafeteria)

The camera flashes to Damian holding Suzy's palm. The mysterious empath has an extremely nervous look on his face, while Suzy is giving him her best bedroom eyes to fluster him further.

A second or two later, Damian says, "I c-can s-see how you f-feel. J-just give me o-one more minute."

"Sure thing."

With that, she leaned forward, giving Damian a better view of her assets. Eventually, Damian couldn't take it anymore, let go of her hand, and fell backwards, causing the flirt to laugh.

(Confessional: Suzy)

(giggles) "It's not even fair how easy this is!"

(Confessional: Damian)

"I cannot help myself. She is such a pretty woman! ...Besides, I could not focus enough to truly dissect how she is feeling." (sighs)

(Chris McLean Coal Factory: Cafeteria)

Dwayne walked up to the dazed empath and extended his hand. Damian gladly took the offer and said, "Thank you."

"No prob, man. Any particular reason why you were talking to her earlier?"

Damian blushed. "She asked me if I could tell her feelings, so I tried to. And, well, you saw what happened next."

"Yeah. Not to prod, but is there any reason why you decided to become this 'psychic' of sorts?"

The empath sighed and walked towards the back of the room so that not too many others could hear him. "My family is poor. They needed money, and they found out I was good at reading emotions. So, for quite a few years, I worked as a psychic to help out my family. It was alright at first, but then I started to realize reading all those negative emotions started to do a number on me. I came here to find another talent I have, so I can help my family in a different way. I feel a bit weak after reading all of those emotions, and knowing that I couldn't read Chris' emotions only made it worse."

The jock shrugged. "He's probably lyin' to ya to make you feel worse. He seemed to do that with everyone. And maybe if we have some free time in the future, you can try a few other things. Even though we're gonna be here a lot, we'll probably still have some time to roam the actual wilderness."

The empath brightened up. "That's a good idea! Thank you, Dwayne. I suppose I should go back to eat the sloppy jay or whatever that sandwich is called."

"Sloppy Joe. And you're welcome, man."

The camera flashed and cut to Suzy giggling and then promptly spitting out part of her mashed potatoes. A few seconds later, Graham came with his tray and asked, "M-may I sit here, Suzy?"

The girl attempted to get her composure back, and replied, "Sure thing, big boy."

She scooted over just a little, patted the seat right next to her, and Graham, after taking a deep breath, took a seat next to her. Subsequently, the gentle giant asked, "So, how's the food?"

The flirt turned up her nose. "Ugh, it's totally nasty! I think those potatoes are spoiled!"

"Wait, so you mean the mashed potatoes were made from expired milk?"

Graham took this time to look around and found that there were quite a few people who had spit out the potatoes, as evidenced by some wet white stains on a few trays.

Suzy rolled her eyes. "What do you think?"

The gentle giant sighed. "That's a yes."

With that, Graham started to bite into the sloppy joe and then said, "It's bland and mushy. I don't think this is real or even canned beef."

The flirt started to get frustrated. "Wonderful. Can't Chef at least try to make this stuff edible? It's, like, not hard."

Suddenly, the Suzy's eyes widened and she said, "I mean, you can microwave some Easy Mac and it would be better than this!"

The gentle giant shrugged. "That's true."

Then, Suzy got closer to him and softly said, "Wait, why am I talking to you again? I'm going to move."

The gentle giant was a bit unhappy, but responded, in an equally soft tone, "Alright."

So, with that, the flirt moved to the other side of the table.

(Confessional: Suzy)

(wipes her brow off) "That was close. Graham doesn't seem like a total loser, but I didn't want to pour my soul out to him or anything. I came to win, first and foremost, and I have to manipulate boys to do that, not vice versa." (smirks) "And I guess I'll have to start with easy targets like Damian before I can get Graham off his game. Oh well, no complaints here!"

(Confessional: Graham)

"That was a bit weird, but I shouldn't be too surprised. Suzy does seem like a popular girl at her school, so I'll have to do some digging if I want to win her over." (sighs) "But I'm not giving up yet. This is my chance to show the world that I can still be friendly regardless of how tall I am or how intimidating I look. Plus, winning her over would be something really special." (blushes)

(Chris McLean Coal Factory: Cafeteria)

The camera cuts to Dwayne walking over to Kristin. Once the chill jock gets close enough to the tough chick, he asks, "Are you alright? You barely said anything since we got inside the factory."

Kristin's response was calm. "I'm fine."

(Confessional: Kristin)

"The reason why I'm being so quiet is because I have a strategy in mind. I plan to lay low, do well in challenges, and not anger anyone until the merge. Then, I'll try to physically and mentally take over the game. Simple as that." (cracks her knuckles)

(Chris McLean Coal Factory: Cafeteria)

The tough chick then attempted to drink her water. She promptly spit it out and said, "It's dirty! The water hasn't been cleaned at all!"

Dwayne sighed. "That ain't good."

Before Kristin could respond, a loud voice sounded throughout the cafeteria: "Campers! It's time to go to your dorms! Follow me!"

And just like that, Chris went out the door and the campers collectively followed him. They went back down to the first floor, and found out that their dorms… were actually at the very end of the first floor, where they could hear all of the mechanical sounds in full force throughout the night.

Emily was actually the one to bring that to Chris' attention just as he was about to announce the dorms by saying, "Um, Chris? Could we please sleep somewhere… less loud?"

Chris was about to respond, but Erika interrupted the sadistic host to yell, "Are you kidding me? This is awesome! I sleep far better with noise!"

Finally, the sadistic host could speak. He started by glaring at the Swedish superstar and saying, "Erika, zip it."

Once the dick jockey was thoroughly intimidated, Chris continued. "OK, these two doors contain where you guys will be sleeping, showering, and talking until you get eliminated. The one on the left is the guys' dorm, and the one on the right is the girls' dorm. We have five bunk beds and a communal washroom, including a shower, in each room. Yes, you get a shower. Given the nature of the challenges for this season, I figured something like that will stop us from getting sued. Well, that's about it. Have at it, guys. I'll announce the teams and the first challenge tomorrow, if you can sleep over all this noise. Heh heh."

At last, the sadistic host walked away, and the campers could finally talk to each other without having to worry about Chris or Chef getting in their faces.

The camera flashed and cuts to the girl's dorm.

Suzy is the first to speak. "I call a top bed!"

Rebecca speaks up next. "Ooh, me too!"

Before anyone else could start calling beds, Emily says, "Hey, how are we deciding who gets the top and bottom bunks anyway?"

The girls think, but after a few seconds Suzy says, "Let the taller girls get the top beds, and the shorter girls get the bottom beds."

Emily smiles. "Ah, so the shorter girls won't hit their heads accidentally! Good idea, Suzy!"

(Confessional: Suzy)

"That actually wasn't why I said that, but I'll totally take Emily's statement as it is. After all, it makes me look good."

(Chris McLean Coal Factory: Girls Dorm)

The camera cuts to Rebecca in the bathroom setting up her beauty equipment. After a few seconds, she yells out, "Hey, girls! Who else has beauty equipment?"

Only Suzy and Emily raise their hands.

Next, the cheerleader yells, "Great! Do you mind if I put my stuff on the left side of the sink?"

Both of them give a thumbs up, so Rebecca continues to set up her stuff while Suzy chews bubble gum and Emily brushes and feeds Emi. The other girls are simply setting up their respective bunk, and Kylie is already sleeping.

The camera flashes, and the scene cuts to the boys dorm. Each guy takes a bunk with little to no arguments, and after a few seconds, most of the guys appear to be making their respective bunks, except for one particular camper.

(Confessional: Connor)

"Ah need to git in that shower. Ah haven't bathed for years because ah don't have a shower back home, and ah want to be clean so badly."

(Chris McLean Coal Factory: Boys Dorm)

The camera cuts to Connor in the shower, and he occasionally laughs or shouts gleefully. After a few seconds and another flash, Connor is back in his normal raggedy attire. After stepping out of the bathroom, the farmer proudly proclaims, "Yeehaw!"

(Confessional: Connor)

(genuinely excited) "Ah haven't been clean in years, but now ah am! And let me tell ya, it feels mighty good!"

(Confessional: Dwayne)

(chuckles) "I didn't expect Connor to be that pumped over a shower. But hey, I get the feelin' this first challenge is gonna suck, so I say let him be happy for now."

(Chris McLean Coal Factory: Boys Dorm)

After a few more minutes of unpacking, Dwayne decided to say, "So, anyone have any girls on their mind?"

Oscar blushed. "W-well, I'd really like to get with Rebecca. She's really perky and pretty."

Damian was next. "Suzy is the best girl that I have ever seen. She is so pretty!"

(Confessional: Graham)

(sighs) "I really don't want to be a douchebag here, but I highly doubt Suzy will end up with Damian. And I'm not saying that because I'm attracted to her as well: Damian seems to be attracted to Suzy just because she looks good. He's completely falling for Suzy's whole strategy, and that's probably going to turn out badly for him. Still, I'd rather not step in right now. I don't want any targets on my back yet, and considering I also talked with Suzy earlier on today, Damian will probably get angry if I do step in. And my height has already driven enough people away from me..." (sighs)

(Chris McLean Coal Factory: Boys Dorm)

Connor was the next to speak. "Ah kinda like Emily. She seems like she'd look good in overalls, y'know?"

Tony was up next. "Man, that Erika chick is fine. She's got so much energy."

Dan sighed. "Sophie seems to want to befriend me."

Tyson took this time to speak up. "I like Sonata. She seems to be rather classy."

Lee scoffed. "As if I would fall for any of those idiots. Well, Kylie isn't an idiot, but still."

Ernest scoffed as well. "I do not need any of those foolish broads to assist me in my plans. Believe me, I work just fine alone.

Dwayne concluded his topic by saying, "I think Kristin and I could get together in the future. She seems like someone who I can talk to."

Then, he turned his attention to Graham, who was currently reading 'The Giver.' "What about you, big man? Have any girls on your mind?"

The gentle giant turned his attention away from the book and said, "I've got one on my mind, but I'd rather keep her name under wraps for now."

The jock chuckled. "Keeping us in suspense, huh? Alright. Let's just chill and get some rest now, today has been an exhausting day."

"Tell me about it. Well, I've gotta get back to my book."

With that, Graham continued reading, and the camera flashed to the campers sleeping. Then, a shadowed figure went into the girls cabin. It went to some of the beds, and once it located one particular camper, it started rummaging through her pants pockets. Finally, it grabbed an object cloaked in shadow found in one of those pants pockets and left without another word.

Then, the camera flashed to Chris. It seemed to be early in the morning, and the sadistic host was gripping his megaphone while childishly chuckling. Then, he turned the infernal device on and yelled, "Good morning, campers! Meet me outside for your first challenge in fifteen minutes! Up and at 'em!"

(Confessional: Lee)

(looks exhausted) "Chris, I despise you. So very much."

(Chris McLean Coal Factory: Outside)

The camera flashes to the twenty exhausted teens standing outside, and Chris standing in front of them looking as immaculate as ever. Then, he said, "Wow, you guys stink. Wonder why?"

Lee took the bait again. "Because you didn't give us time to take a shower?"

"Yeah, that's it. OK, first things first, I'll divide you into two teams. When I call your name, go to that black platform over there. Connor, Emily, Tyson, Ernest, Sonata, Ophelia, Oscar, Rebecca, Dan, and Sophie."

After all ten campers were on the black platform, Chris said, "From now on, you guys will be known as…"

The sadistic host pulled out a black flag with a smokestack logo in the middle of it.

"The Smoky Fumes!"

Ernest chuckled. "Excellent. It is a name befitting of my power!"

"Yeah, whatever, dude. OK, now for the other team. When I call your name, go to the green platform. Graham, Suzy, Kylie, Lee, Jane, Erika, Kristin, Dwayne, Tony, and Damian."

After the other ten campers were on the green platform, the sadistic host proclaimed, "From now on, you guys will be known as…"

The sadistic host pulled out a green flag with a vat of acid logo in the middle.

"The Acidic Sludge!"

Suzy's eyes widened. "Wait, why am I on the same team as Dwayne and Jan-"

Chris interrupted her. "Don't care. Alright, follow me, and I'll show you your very first challenge!"

(Confessional: Suzy)

"Ugh, I do not trust Dwayne. He's too relaxed for my tastes, and I bet he's hiding something. And Jane? I think there are a few screws loose in her animal-like head." (sighs) "Whatever, I still have Damian and Graham on my team. I'll just stay away from those two, and if the possibility presents itself, I'll eliminate them. I just hope it will be that simple…"

(Chris McLean Coal Factory: Outside: Left: Smokestack Area)

The camera flashes to Chris standing right behind an enormous smokestack tower. When all of the campers have been thoroughly intimidated by the sheer height of the tower, the sadistic host said, "OK, campers. Here's your first challenge. We're going to take you to the top of this 500 foot tall smokescreen tower, and you'll have to climb down it. There are no safety precautions, so if you fall, it's gonna hurt a lot. But don't worry, because we, in a fear of amazing generosity, covered the whole tower in velcro, and gave you gloves and shoes that stick to the tower. However, that's not all! You also have to carry down this with you!"

The sadistic host pulled out a green, portable electric generator, causing Tyson to cringe.

"Yup! This is an electric generator. And the great thing about it is that it has a force counter. If you put too much force on this generator, it will shock you with about 10 milliamps of electricity, which, spoilers, is gonna hurt. And the velcro gloves won't help either. Heh heh."

Subsequently, Oscar practically screamed: "What?! Are you nuts, Chris? That could seriously injure us! And this is the first challenge!"

Chris' expression didn't change. "I know, dude."

(Confessional: Tyson)

"Great. The first challenge, and I can't even do it. That shock will be enough to seriously mess up by pacemaker. Hopefully my team will still be alright… (sighs)

(Chris McLean Coal Factory: Outside: Left: Smokestack Area)

A helicopter suddenly flew right by Chris, which caused a good deal of the campers to breathe a sigh of relief.

Chris promptly ruined that moment by saying, "This helicopter is for me only, dudes. You guys, on the other hand, will travel up by spring. Have fun!"

The sadistic host pulled out a remote and pressed a button with launched the campers up into the air. They all landed on the grated smokestack, meaning that the a little smoke still came out of the spaces between the bars, but many of them cringed from the impact.

The camera flashed and cut to the campers settled in their respective groups with the velcro gear on. After about a second, Chris used a machine in his helicopter to drop twenty generators in front of them. Then, he used his megaphone to yell, "Don't worry about order here! This is the only part of the challenge! Whichever team gets the most non-activated generators to the bottom wins the challenge and a reward! The losing team will not get that award and will have to send someone home! Alright, whenever you guys are ready!"

For about a minute, the campers just stood there. Most of them were paralyzed with fear, and those who weren't didn't want to put themselves on a podium and go first. However, eventually, Dwayne decided to pick up one of the generators and began to slowly climb down the tower. He took his time, but was able to get to the bottom with little to no difficulty, giving the Sludge the first point.

(Confessional: Dwayne)

"That was easier than it looked. The challenge here is controllin' your nerves."

(Chris McLean Coal Factory: Outside: Smokestack Top)

After taking a deep breath, Rebecca decided to pick up one of the generators. However, after looking down at how high she was above the ground, she screamed, tightened her grip, and ended up getting shocked by the device before her descent.

Subsequently, Oscar yelled, "Are you alright, Rebecca?"

The cheerleader felt a bit woozy, and would have fallen down had Oscar not grabbed her hand and pulled her up before she had the chance to stumble.

When Oscar noticed what he had done, he quickly pulled his hand away and started to stammer. "I, help, you, fall-"

Rebecca simply looked into Oscar's eyes and said, in a sugary tone, "Thank you, Oscar."

Oscar stood and blushed for a few seconds in disbelief, but managed to clear his head and mumble, "Y-you're w-welcome."

(Confessional: Rebecca)

"Oscar's so cute!" (giggles)

(Chris McLean Coal Factory: Outside: Smokestack Top)

After Rebecca failed to climb down and got down to the ground via parachute, Oscar decided to take his shot and grabbed a generator from the eighteen that remaind

(Confessional: Oscar)

"I'd tinker with one of these, but that would, most likely, create too much force on the generator and electrocute me. So instead, I'll use only my velcro shoes to descend the tower and hold the generator underneath with both hands."

(Chris McLean Coal Factory: Outside: Smokestack Top)

Oscar held the generator above his head and started to descend the tower with his velcro shoes. And, although the tech savvy male took a few moments to catch his breath, he managed to successfully climb down the smokestack.

Afterwards, Lee took a generator and seemed to repeat Oscar's strategy.

(Confessional: Lee)

"I figured that strategy would work. I just wanted to watch someone else do it because I was unsure of how much force it took to set off the electric shock, because our kind, loving host failed to elaborate on that fact. Isn't that wonderful?" (sighs and shakes his head)

(Chris McLean Coal Factory: Outside: Smokestack Top)

Lee lifted the generator above his head and slowly walked down the tower. Not once did he look down, which made his encounter with the ground a bit startling. Even still, he completed the challenge and gave his team another point.

After that, Kylie woke up from her brief nap she took after Chris finished explaining the rules and took a generator. She, unlike Oscar and Lee, decided to hold the generator in one hand, in order to keep balance using her other hand.

However, as Kylie started descending the smokestack, the camera began to show that she was starting to tire rather easily, and not from nodding off to sleep either.

After about one hundred feet, Kylie took a break to catch her breath, and by the two hundred foot mark, she was practically panting. She attempted to search her pants pockets for something, but found nothing, which instantly made her start to sweat and bite her lip in sheer panic. This panic also caused her to tense her grip, which set off the electric shock.

Then, she let go of the tower and fell backwards.

(We cut back to The Story Man…)

That is all to say for today. Come back tomorrow if you wish to hear more of my story.