Total Drama School Chapter 14: Day 7: Into the Woods, a total drama series fanfic

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Last time on Total Drama School…

"SLUMBER PARTY! SLUMBER PARTY! YEAH!" Alex cheered, making Maxine erupt into giggles.

Our students made like stones, and ROCKED OUT!

Kane, after searching, was able to find his Dean Razorback guitar, and the amp he brought, and a warm smile graced his lips as he plugged it in, and played an A chord. He then began to fiddle around, playing many different scales to get warmed up.

"I can sing," Roxy said, smiling smugly.

"Yes, but is it the 'Disney-Popstar-I-think-I-can-sing-but-actually-sound-like-CRAP' kind of singing, or can you actually sing?" Steve retorted.

Roxy scowled at him.

While the Screaming Students bonded…

"Maxine, do you have any fives?" Zane asked politely, chuckling as the girl broke out into a childish pout and handed him three of the aforementioned card.

"Dang-flabbit, Zane! You're like, psychedelic!" Maxine's eyes widened in wonder. Todd and Zane shared a glance, while Alex continued to keep her intense, narrowed gaze on her hand of cards and she strategized quietly to herself.

"…I think you mean, 'psychic'" Todd clarified.

He then waited for Maxine to elaborate.

And waited…

The Killer Preps struggled to keep it together under Genelle's "leadership"…

"You see, this exactly why we're having this discussion! You wanna know why we're not in there, having the time of our lives right now?" Genelle demanded, pointing an accusing finger at the door leading to the concourse; where the rival team was having their slumber party.

The rest of the time blinked their tired eyes, and shared skeptical glances.

"Because you're all LOSERS!"

Scowls graced their faces, and a majority of the Killer Preps rolled their eyes.

"And if you know what's good for you, you guys will buck up and win more challenges, or else. So start sucking less!" Genelle glared.

In the end, it was The Screaming Students who once again hailed victory!

The Killer Preps hung their heads, save for Genelle who was glaring fiercely at the host, while the Screaming Students cheered, sharing a group hug.

And Genelle convinced Natalie to join her alliance in order to kick off Shawn…

All in favour of booting Shawn?" Genelle asked. Skye nodded instantly, while Natalie stared at her lap. Genelle raised an eyebrow expectantly, before Natalie slowly nodded as well. Genelle smirked in triumph.

But despite Natalie bailing, he still did get kicked off…

Shawn's eyes widened, before he grinned and hugged her tightly, catching the music freak off guard. Her eyes widened, before shutting as she smiled warmly and hugged him back.

"Thanks Natalie," Shawn smiled, pulling away.

Natalie slowly broke out into a smile, as Genelle gaped at her, enraged by her betrayal. "It was no problem, Shawn."

So Genelle swore to get revenge on her…

Confession Cam:

Genelle: UGH! That traitor! *glares* If there's one thing I can't stand, it's traitors… Unless the traitor-ing, is being done by me. Oh, and trust me. There will be a lot of traitor-ing to be done. *slams palm into lens, ending transmission*

Back to Reality

Perhaps her revenge will get EXTREME? Find out, on today's episode of TOTAL! DRAMA! SCHOOL!

Dear Mom and Dad, I'm doing fine. (The gates to the school open, with Chris grinning sadistically)
You guys are on my mind. (Roxy raises an eyebrow, and waves a hand in front of the spaced out Ariana, before glaring at Genelle who was strutting past)
You asked me what I wanted to be. (Genelle smirks, and walks into the school past Natalie and Destiny dancing)
And I think the answer is plain to see. (Natalie trips and falls, but is caught by Shawn who is smiling.)
I wanna be, Famous! (Destiny swoons at the sight)

I wanna live, close to the sun. (Inola smiles, meditating on top of the school)
Well pack your bags, cause I've already won. (Dan gives her a wet willy, and chuckles when she gasps and falls off the roof.)
Everything to prove. (Ellen walks past reading, about to walk off the roof.)
Nothing in my way. (Dan gasps, and he quickly grabs Ellen by the waist so she doesn't fall)
I'll get there some day. (Ellen struggles, then stares into Dan's eyes and her face blanks)
'Cause I wanna be, Famous! (Cole paints a picture of Skye, but quickly hides it behind his back, smiling nervously, when she walks past giggling with Edward. He scowls)

Na, na, na na na na! (Wyatt and Bob laugh, then duck when Charlei's shoe comes flying towards them)
Na na na na na na! (Charlei glares at the smirking Todd, then eyes him suspiciously when he offers her a bouquet of flowers)
Na na na na na na na! (Charlei grabs them, and scowls after they squirt her with water making her make up run while Todd laughs hysterically)

I wanna be! I wanna be! (Kane leans against the wall of the school, raising an eyebrow at Steve who is banging his head against the wall. Repeatedly.)
I wanna be famous! (Steve stops, then jerks a thumb behind him. Kane looks, and the camera moves to Alex and Maxine, hanging upside down off of a willow tree in the courtyard)
I wanna be! (Alex smiles, and the camera zooms out, showing her holding up a petrified Booker trapeze style, and Maxine snickering.)
I wanna be! (Maxine gasps and falls, into Zane's arms, and he catches her bridal style.)
I wanna be famous! (They smile sweetly at each other, and start to lean in to kiss.)

(Alex drops Booker, and he lands on Zane and Maxine, ruining the moment.) *whistles the tune 'I Wanna Be Famous'* (The camera zooms out, showing the annoyed looks on Maxine and Zane's faces, and the other Students in a circle around them whistling the theme.)

Total Drama School!

"Chris, you sure this is a good idea?"

"Stick to what I pay you for, which definitely isn't your opinion."

The burly Chef glared at the haughty TV host out of the corner of his eye, as the bitter man sipped his hot chocolate with an air of coldness on his stubble-covered face. His five o' clock shadow caught glimpses of the still lit moon in the sky.

Chef let out a sigh as he continued to transfer the unconscious students from the rundown school to an even more run down school bus. He tossed a lifeless Roxy next to Steve, and her ragdoll body drooped against him. The sight of the pale and unconscious students was quite unsettling; they seemed like helpless cadavers.

Chris stood at the side of the door, casually sipping on his hot chocolate, and staring at his victims with hard eyes. They really were much easier to deal with when their veins were swimming with animal tranquilizer. Heather's little accidental experience with them taught him that. His lips twitched into a small smirk against the steel of his thermos, as Chef carried the last of the students and tossed them carelessly into lumpy seats. Chris turned on his heel and strode into the bus, sitting himself down in the seat across from the driver seat.

Chef made his way to the front of the bus, and jammed his key into the ignition. The engine sputtered to life, and thick black clouds spilled out of the exhaust. Chef glanced over his shoulder at the students; their lifeless bodies were still and blank expressions were painted across each and every one of their young faces. The cook let out a sigh as he pulled out of the courtyard, and drove down the pathway and through the gates of the campus.

"How long until they wake up?" Chris questioned, before taking another sip of his warm beverage. Inside the bus, it was deathly cold, so much so both the adults wore jackets, scarves, and Chris wore leather gloves.

"Well, considering how much tranq. I laced their dinner with, they could be out for days." Chef shrugged.

"Days!" Chris exclaimed, shocked. He glared as his grip on his thermos tightened. "We can't afford days! No one would want to watch a bunch of sleeping teenagers in the woods for days, where's the drama in that!"

"Don't get your tighty-whities in a bunch," Chef scoffed with an eye roll. "I'm just kidding. They should be awake in three to five hours, depending on their weight. The heavier they are, the less the tranquilizer will affect them… But the lighter they are, the more impact to their bloodstream the sedative has..." His voice took on an eerie tinge at that point.

"Oh…" The host said. He went back to sipping his chocolate in silence.

The drive dragged on for an hour, and then two. The scenery changed from a suburban landscape to a more rural one, until the pavement beneath the rubber tires slowly shifted into a dirt road. The rubble crunched beneath the tires and despite the sun beginning to rise, it got darker due to all the trees.

Finally, the bus slowed to a stop at the edge of a very dense forest. Hundred foot tall trees loomed overtop of the bus, making it look like a mere toy in comparison. Chef opened the door, and Chris hopped off the bus. Chef grumbled as he grabbed two students and hoisted them over his shoulders like two sacs of potatoes with ease. He got off the bus and started walking into the woods until he found the clearing marked with an 'X', and carelessly dropped the teenagers. Both Maxine and Zane's bodies hit the wet ground with a thud and their limbs sprawled out involuntarily.

Chef continued to transfer the students into the same clearing, a process that took about an hour, considering how far into the woods he had to carry the teens. He tossed two walkie-talkies into the mass of limbs and started to head back to the school bus.

"Good. Now, all that's left is to head to the other side of the forest and wait for them to find us." Chris said, getting onto the bus. Chef nodded and followed.

Dan awoke with a start, and clutched his throbbing head. He groaned as he sat up and forced his weary eyes open, despite how his eyelids felt like lead.

"Ugh…" He let out, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands. He blinked a few times as his eyes got adjusted to the darkness of the forest. Dan furrowed his brow at his surroundings. Since when was his dorm room covered in trees? He looked up at the canopy of leaves overhead and the ominous shroud of shadows cast upon the forest floor. A group of raindrops slid off the leaves above him and splattered his face and eyes.

That woke him up.

Dan jumped to his feet, and wobbled a few times. He looked down and his eyes widened at the sight of his fellow competitors slumped over the ground in awkward positions; it was a rather gruesome sight.

"Guys…?" He let out; his voice was gruff and crackly from the sedative he unknowingly consumed. Kane and Zane were the next to awaken, and they too felt as if they had been hit by a freight train.

"Oh my God… what happened?" Zane mumbled, rubbing his eyes. Kane scratched the back of his head and groaned. Zane looked around and blinked, confused as to why they were in a forest. A cold one, at that. The cold, musky air nipped at any exposed skin on the boys' bodies and made their ears flare red.

As if on cue, the walkie-talkies clicked and radio fuzz was heard. By that time, all the boys had woken up. The girls remained unconscious.

"Wake up, sleepy-heads…" Chris drawled, his voice full of sadism as usual.

Zane picked up his teams walkie-talkie while Booker picked up the one for his team.

"Chris? Where are we!" Zane exclaimed.

"Why, isn't it obvious? You're in a forest!"

"Yeah, we figured that much," Booker scoffed with a lazy eye roll. "But how did we even get here?" He asked, voicing the question everyone (who was awake) was thinking.

"Well, thanks to my handy-dandy little assistant Cheffy, it was a snap! We just put a little animal narcotic in dinner last night, and you guys conked right out..."

The guys could barely believe their ears.

"You WHAT?" Kane growled, enraged.

"Dude! Not cool!" Todd exclaimed.

"I'm pretty sure that not only is that morally wrong, it's illegal too." Steve scowled.

"Please," Chris scoffed. "As if anything on this show has ever been legal. Anyway, if we're done with the interruptions, I will tell you about the challenge. First team to make it to the end of this forest wins. Simple as that."

"Buuuut… I'd be careful if I were you, and would definitely set up camp before nightfall, things could get a little… chilly and dangerous at night."

The guys looked around, and no sight of any supplies was to be seen. The girls also remained dormant at their feet.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me. The sedative affected the girls more because they're lighter than you guys. And the supplies are in a different location for each team. Which means, for example, if The Killer Preps find the supplies for the Screaming Students, they would be disqualified if they used them." Chris explained.

"Also, just to clarify, it is the first whole team to make it out of the woods that will win invincibility, while the losers will send someone home. Your stash of supplies only has enough to last all of you two days- three if you're frugal, so I'd better hurry if I were you."

"If things get rough, you will be able to contact me for advice using these walkie-talkies. But be forewarned, you can only do so three times before I disconnect from you. And just so you don't get completely lost, or, die, I will give you a few heads ups."

"One: the finish line is located north from here. Two: there are dangerous animals in this forest, such as wolves and bears. Three: there are numerous bodies of fresh water, which you can use to fill your canteens, but the water will have to be purified first. Screaming Students, because you won the last challenge, a water purifier has been put with your grouping of supplies, while you Killer Preps will have to find a way to do purify your water without one. And four: if things go badly, and you wish to quit, you will be given a flare gun. Although, the use of it will result in your team's immediate loss. Good luck, campers…"

The walkie-talkies shut off with a click.

Steve quickly examined his surroundings, before beckoning his teammates over. They got into a huddle.

Dan raised an eyebrow, before rolling his eyes and wrapping his arms around Booker and Kane's necks, yanking them into a huddle as well, to their surprise.

"Okay guys, I say the smartest move would be to start moving, and carry the girls with us. That way, we waste no time in getting ahead." Steve suggested.

"I hate to rain on your parade," Cole said, his normal scowl in place on his still pale face, "But there are only four of us, and five girls."

"Then one of us is going to have to carry two girls, then, won't they?" Steve shot back.

Cole rolled his eyes.

"I say one of us go up ahead while the rest wait for the girls to wake up." Dan offered.

"Are you suggesting one of us hike through this forest alone?" Booker gaped.

Dan opened and closed his mouth, before scowling at Booker's logic. "Alright, fine. Two of us." The punk huffed.

"I nominate you two; no way I'm walking through some nasty forest until it's absolutely necessary." Kane grumbled, crossing his arms across his chest.

Confession Cam:

Kane: *smirks* I actually didn't care about walking through the forest. *jabs a thumb at his chest* There's no way I'm passing up being the only guy around a bunch of unconscious hot chicks. *winks*

Back to Reality

Booker and Dan shared a glance, before sighing reluctantly. They began to trek down the narrow path and pushed their way between a couple of bushes. Kane leaned up against a log in order to get comfy, and he jammed his hands into his pockets for warmth, and tucked his face into his collar as a chilly wind nipped at any exposed skin.

The Screaming Students boys tried to decide which guy would have to carry two girls.

"I say it be Todd, I think he has the most upper body strength," Steve deduced. Cole and Zane nodded in agreement, partly because they didn't want to carry two girls. Todd shrugged.

"Okay."

The flirt walked over to Charlei's taut body and he couldn't help but feel awkward and uncomfortable around her unconscious frame. The fire seemed to be gone from her flaming red hair, and her normally pale tinge seemed almost grayish. Todd carefully scooped her up and lifted her over his shoulder. While he was crouched down, he waddled over to Ariana and lifted her over his other shoulder.

Zane quickly found Maxine lying on her side, her long dirty blonde hair fanning out from her body. Her bright green eyes were shut tiredly and her normal radiant smile had been wiped from her sun kissed face. Zane knelt beside her and placed a hand on her cold arm and turned her so she was lying on her back, and cringed at how floppy she was. He slid an arm underneath her back and her knees, lifting her up like a bride and cringed once again at cold she was. Zane didn't like how comatose she was, or how her limp body felt against his. He didn't like it at all.

Steve scowled and rolled his eye as he stared down at the girl at his feet. Roxy was curled up in a ball with her knees up to her chest and her mouth half open. Steve, despite being indifferent, couldn't help the feeling of uneasiness seeing her in such a state, and for once, not talking. It was unsettling. He scooped her up and tossed her over his shoulder.

Cole walked over to Alex and looked down at the girl distastefully. His eyes traveled over to a slumbering Skye, her normally soft pink lips a dull beige, and her sunny disposition seemed clouded over. Cole felt a frown grace his lips as he reached out and traced the curve of her knuckles with the pads of his fingers in longing. He sighed and picked up Alex, throwing her over his shoulder without much care.

As the Screaming Student boys headed out, down a path different than the one that Dan and Booker took, Skye's hand twitched. But the girl remained asleep.

Day 1: 5:42 a.m. –Killer Preps

The air was cold and the silence was colder. Dan and Booker continued down the narrow pathway, pushing branches and leaves out of their way. Both boys were already feeling really cold, but they still pushed on.

After about fifteen minutes, both Dan and Booker stopped dead in their tracks.

There, in front of them, was a humongous chasm, with tufts of fog outlining numerous mountains in this coniferous forest. A few birds flew overhead and into the horizon, and the loud swish of water came from the river below. The two boys slowly glanced over the edge of the cliff, and their eyes widened at how far away the riverbank was- it had to be at least two hundred feet.

"Wait, is that…?" Booker murmured, narrowing his eyes into a squint.

Sure enough, on the other side of the river was a mound of large backpacks, with their team's logo on them.

"How the hell are we going to get over there?" Dan wondered aloud.

Booker took a gulp, and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Looks like we're going to have to scale this cliff..." He said.

"What? With no equipment or safety ropes or anything? Are you insane?" Dan exclaimed.

"Do you want to win, or not?"

Dan let out a reluctant sigh. "Fine. You go first, and once you're safely on the ground, wait there while I go get the others."

"Me?" Booker squeaked. "But you are far more athletic…"

"True… But it was your idea. And if you die, it would be less of a burden on the team, because I'm more athletic than you." Dan pointed out, a smirk on his face.

Booker opened and closed his mouth, before scowling at the punk's logic. The bookworm grumbled as he sat down and dangled his legs over the edge of the cliff. He felt his stomach plummet, and hoped that his body wouldn't do the same.

"O-okaaay…" He let out a breath as he slid his body off the edge of the cliff and clung onto it for dear life. "Okay…"

Dan looked over the cliff and bit his lip as he watched Booker start his slow descent into the chasm. Booker's form was good, and he tested each nook for sturdiness before planting himself on the ledge. Dan's eyes widened as a great idea came to his mind.

"Dude, wait!" The punk called.

Booker clung onto where he was situated for dear life. "Kind of busy here, Dan." He shouted back, his voice trembling slightly.

Dan pulled a Sharpie marker out of his back pocked and looked down over the ledge. Booker was about twenty feet down.

"Mark each sturdy rock so the rest of us can make it down more quickly!"

"I'm glad to be everyone's crash test dummy." Booker muttered, with an eye roll. Dan tossed his marker at him, and Booker extended his hand and caught it. He marked his current position and then put the marker in his mouth for safe keeping, before tentatively continuing down the cliff, marking each sturdy rock.

Booker was starting to get tired, and cold, and it showed on his face. He still had about forty more feet to scale, and it seemed to be taking a toll on his gaunt body.

It took about another twenty minutes until Booker was on the ground safely, and he gave Dan a signal that he could go get the others. Dan gave him a thumbs up, before heading back down the trail they came.

Once he was gone, Booker found a soft patch of grass and fell into an ungraceful heap, groaning tiredly.

Day 1: 7:24 a.m. –Screaming Students

Out of the five girls on the team, only two had awoken, but they were still extremely woozy. Roxy clung onto to Steve as she stumbled through the brush, and Ariana clung onto his other side. The brainiac had a look of annoyance on his face as the two girls draped themselves all over him.

"Y-you're like… heh heh…" Ariana giggled, still a bit loopy from the anesthetic.

Roxy simply grinned dopily as she rested her head on Steve's shoulder, her eyes half shut.

Steve rolled his eyes and draped an arm around each of their waists to steady them, so they would stop tripping over their own to feet and drag him with them.

It was still dark and mucky in the forest, and extremely cold. Todd bit his quivering lip to stop it from moving, and Cole shivered. Zane's nose and ears were red, and the fact that Maxine was still out cold and giving off no body heat was concerning.

The students trekked down a steep ledge and Steve sighed in frustration.

"Where is our stuff? We should've come across it by now." He grumbled.

Charlei let out a low groan as she stirred, beginning to awaken from her unconscious state. Todd lowered her to the ground and held her up while the redhead's eyes slowly opened. They were clouded over and even though she was awake, she didn't seem to be awake fully.

"Charlei?" Todd said, as he watched the girl's eyes shift in and out of focus.

The girl swatted his hands away tiredly, wobbling on her feet slightly. "I can s-stand up on my own, thank you very much…" She mumbled, sleepily. She wobbled for a few moments, before collapsing. Todd winced.

Max and Alex finally started to come to as well, and it was an odd sight to see the normally energetic so heavily drowsy and not bouncing off the walls. Maxine's hazy green eyes fluttered open and a quiet groan formed in the back of her throat. Her eyes panned upwards and when she met Zane's eyes, she didn't have the energy to blush.

"Zane…?" She murmured, hoarsely.

"Hey, sleepy-head…" Zane smiled back weakly. He gently set her down on her feet, not daring to let her go after seeing Charlei's spill. Maxine simply stared up at him as his strong hands held her at the waist to keep her steady, her eyes intensely focused on the details of his face until her eyes locked with his, seemingly trying to decipher whether he was real or not.

Maxine reached up and brushed some of his hair out of his brown eyes, smiling dopily, before letting her soft caress wander down to his reddening cheek. She passed out again and fell into his arms while Zane helped her up again, worrying slightly.

"Guys, there's something wrong with the girls…" Zane frowned, as Maxine continued to slumber standing up.

"I agree. Even after the initial drowsiness we had when we woke from the drugs, none of us experienced anything like this…" Steve replied.

The guys stopped in their tracks, before Steve pulled out their team's walkie-talkie. He sighed, contemplating whether or not to use up one of their team's three hints so early on in the challenge. But risking the girls' health was not a noble thing to do in order to win.

"Chris?" He said into the device.

"Why hello there, Stevie-boy! What seems to be the problem?" Our resident host drawled, his voice slightly distorted over the buzz of the radio.

Steve scowled at the nickname before rolling his eyes. "Let's cut the crap, you sadist. What did you do to the girls?"

"What did I do to the girls? Why, nothing of course! But… Chef may have also put a couple hallucinogens in some of their doses of narcotics…"

The guys collectively gasped, and Steve nearly dropped the walkie-talkie.

"DUDE, WHAT THE HELL!" Todd exclaimed, glaring at the device in Steve's hand.

"You could've killed them!" Zane yelled enraged, as he held Maxine protectively.

"And the damage mixing the two drugs could cause irreversible damage to their brains!" Steve added, also quite shocked and angered.

"Or lack there of…" Cole muttered, eying the wilting Alex with a small scowl.

"Okay, let's get back to the point," Steve sighed, rubbing his forehead tiredly. Day 1 hadn't even ended yet and he was already exhausted. "What do we do to get the girls to at least, semi-alertness and where do we find it?" He asked.

"Find your team's supplies and what you need will be there. McLean: Out." The transmission ends with a click.

The guys groaned at their unhelpful and very vague hint.

Screaming Students: Hints Remaining

2/3

"Well that sure was specific and beneficial," Todd muttered sarcastically.

"This is a minor set back, let's keep moving, guys." Steve remarked. They all started back down the path while trying their best to keep the girls with them in their state of mind.

"And hey," Todd said with a small smile, as he tried to lighten the mood. "If our girls are in this state, at least we know the Killer Preps are as bad off as we are, if not worse. …Right?"

Day 1: 11:02 a.m. –Killer Preps

Todd couldn't be any more wrong. Not only had the girls woken up, their drowsiness had worn off to the extent that they were able to start scaling the cliff that led to their team's supplies. Dan stood at the top, waiting for each of the girls to make it down at least half the cliff before signaling the next girl to start heading down the cliff.

Ellen, the last girl left to make their descent, let out a large yawn and fanned her face. As she neared the edge, Dan sent her a smirk.

"Don't fall," he advised with a hint of sarcasm.

"Thanks, captain obvious." She scowled in return. Tilting her head up proudly, Ellen brushed past him and her eyes widened as her foot caught on a rather large rock and she stumbled towards the edge of the cliff. Dan gasped and caught her by the elbow and a few pebbles tumbled out from under Ellen's shoes and over the edge of the overhang. Their eyes met for a fleeting moment before Ellen shakily removed her arm from his grip.

Daintily lowering herself over the cliff, Ellen whimpered as she scaled the cliff, and felt the rock begin to crumble beneath her toes and fingers… and the concern that she was without a helmet or harness made her even more nervous.

Dan, noticing her shaky descent let out a sigh. "Calm down Ellen, you'll be fine! It's not even that much of a drop if you fall…"

Ellen grit her teeth angrily at his lame attempt at comforting her, and glared at the rock as she continued down the cliff.

"Screw you!" She called back.

Dan winced at her harsh words before scowling and rolling his eyes, climbing down after her.

Confession Cam:

Dan: *huffs and crosses his arms* I guess Ellen's still sour about the whole Inola thing… *frowns* But, it's not like she liked me or anything… *pauses before his eyes widen* …Did she?

Back to Reality

The Killer Preps panted as they struggled to catch their breath as the adrenaline from scaling that huge cliff started to wear off. The girls seemed a bit more shaken than the guys, but that was to be expected.

Genelle, whose hands were on her knees as she tried to catch her breath, eyed her teammates with a critical eye. She stood upright before clearing her throat. The rest of the team's heads turned towards her in the dim light.

"Alright. Since I am obviously the leader of this team I expect nothing but pure cooperation from here on out. Is that clear?" She said haughtily.

Scowls graced her teammates' faces, but they remained silent for now.

Genelle, either oblivious to their discontent or ignorance, smiled. "Good. Once we get our supplies, I suggest we split up into groups and each take different paths. Sure enough, they should converge but splitting up will mean more food per group, and that will make our supplies last longer." The blonde finished her little speech with a nod and a broad smile.

"What if someone gets lost?" Booker asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We'll deal with that later." Genelle said, waving him off.

Booker scowled slightly, rolling his eyes but posing no further arguments.

"Great! I guess Skye and I will be a team. Kane and Ellen, and Natalie, Booker, and Dan can be the other two teams. Let's get moving!"

The Killer Preps slowly started to wade across the icy cold river, shivering as the cold air nipped at their torsos. Genelle raised her eyebrow with a scowl on her face as Natalie splashed around next to her. Still peeved with the girl's last minute betrayal, Genelle stuck her foot out underneath the murky, waist high water. Natalie, unable to see it, tripped and fell into the water, getting soaked from head to toe. Genelle continued on as if nothing had happened, and Natalie surfaced, shivering madly.

Once the team reached the other side, they bolted over to their team's supply bundle. Three large backpacks with their team logos on them lay at their feet.

"If we've not met up by nightfall, start to head back here so we can make sure everyone is safe." Booker said.

"Uh, NO." Genelle glared, putting her hands on her wet hips. "If we do that, all that effort would've been for nothing! If we still haven't met up by nightfall, suck it up and camp out. We'll meet each other eventually."

Booker scowled as Genelle started riffling through one of the backpacks. She pulled out a beat-up looking compass and frowned at it confusedly.

"A fancy pocket watch?" Genelle raised an eyebrow, as she held the device in her hand.

"Idiot! That's a compass." Booker rolled his eyes.

Genelle glared at him. Booker glared back, before grumbling as he scooped up his team's backpack and slung it over his shoulder before wobbling as it threw him off balance due to it's heaviness. Natalie and Dan followed him, and Natalie scowled as she rung out her dripping hair.

Ellen and Kane glared at each other, their backpack in between the both of them. The silvery blonde's eyes narrowed even further before she punched him in his chest. Her green eyes widened as she clutched her throbbing hand, letting out a quiet cry of pain at the rock hardness of Kane's chiseled chest. He smirked before grabbing the backpack and striding off, leaving Ellen to growl and stomp after him, water sloshing around in her waterlogged shoes.

Skye shivered and her skin was deathly pale, and her eyes continuously shifted in and out of focus. Quiet whimpers came out of her mouth as her fingers twitched unnaturally. Genelle raised an eyebrow and crinkled her nose in disgust at the train wreck that was Skye, before scoffing and picking up the backpack, shoving it into the girl's twitching hands. Skye blinked her glassy eyes as she bent her knees to keep in a standing position.

"Now hurry up." The diva snapped.

Genelle started towards the trees, while Skye simply stared at the backpack in her hands bewildered, wondering how it got there.

"G-Genelle, I…" Skye called, her voice scratchy.

"-Apologize for moving so slowly? Well, we'll just see if I forgive you as long as you HURRY UP." The blonde sneered, not even sparing Skye a passing glance.

Skye let out a sigh and winced as she slid the backpack onto her shoulders and she wobbled on her shaky legs a few times before she clenched her eyes shut to catch her bearings. When she opened them again, she started to follow Genelle, before squinting at her confusedly.

Has she always had three heads?

Day 1: 2:24 p.m. –Screaming Students

The boys had finally found solace in a small muddy clearing where their bags sat atop a couple of boulders. The girls sat down propped up against a log, each of them pretty filthy from their occasional tumbles along the way. Zane and Cole stood in front of them, guarding them, while Steve and Todd rifled through the backpacks. Steve let out a growl as he pulled out a pot, packages of instant coffee, and cans of Redbull.

"You have got to be kidding me." The brainiac glared.

"What is it?" Cole asked.

"Chris expects us to give coffee and Red Bull to the girls in order to wake them up."

"Well, what's the problem with that?" Todd questioned.

"Well," Steve began, sliding down the boulder and crossing over to where Todd was standing with a scowl. "The problem is, not only is a dangerous narcotic swimming through their veins, so is some other drug that is causing them mental sluggishness. The effects of those two together could cause unknown and possible dangerous side effects. Coffee and Red Bull have obscene amounts of caffeine in them; which is also a drug."

Todd, Cole, and Zane shared a confused glance before turning back to Steve. The genius's scowl was replaced with a skeptic and slightly worried expression.

"Yes, but what does all of that mean?" Zane asked.

"It means… that there's a possibility that mixing all three of these drugs together could accidentally stop their hearts." Steve replied, his voice grave.

The other three gasped, before looking down at their female teammates. Charlei stared up inquisitively, yet her vision seemed to shift in and out of focus. Roxy and Ariana were giggling and petting each other's hair. Alex had fallen asleep with her head in Maxine's lap, and Maxine stroked her black tresses absentmindedly, her pale fingers getting lost in the dark waves. Her eyes drooped and she struggled to remain conscious.

Zane and Todd ran their fingers through their hair distractedly.

Cole simply stared at the forest floor harshly as his thoughts wandered to the well-being of someone else instead of that of his own teammates.

"Well, isn't it obvious what we have to do?" He said, rather coldly. His male teammates turned to him. "We give them the stimulants."

"Didn't you hear what Steve just said?" Zane fumed. "Doing that could kill them!"

"If anything bad happens, we can shoot up the flare. But unless we try to win, it's pretty certain that we won't." Cole glared back.

"Taking a gamble with their lives, though… isn't that a bit cruel?" Todd frowned.

Confession Cam:

Chris: *smirking with his arms crossed over his chest* Why yes.. Yes it is. *snickers*

Back to Reality

Cole seemed pretty cemented on his idea, and Zane seemed dead set against the cruelty of it. While the two glared at each other, Todd (given instruction from Steve) walked towards the nearby stream and collected some water for purifying while Steve collected firewood. He started to strike a fire.

"Fine," Zane growled, crossing his arms. He glared at the lazy artist scornfully. "But if anything bad happens to them…" He took a quick glance at Max before turning back to Cole. "You can consider yourself gone."

Cole scowled at the threat before stalking off.

"Hey, where are you going?" Todd called after him as he returned with a gallon or two of water. He furrowed his brow confused as Cole disappeared through the dense forestry.

Zane sighed, knowing the importance of staying together; especially in a forest as deep and dark as this one, but he was too annoyed with Cole to go look for him.

Confession Cam:

Zane: *frowningly slightly* I know it looks like I'm all… super concerned about Max, but I care about the team too! It's just… *sighs* I care for Max more than the team. *face blanks at what he just said and forces a weak smile* B-because she's my friend! People care for friends, right? *winces*

Back to Reality

Once Steve brought a fire to life, the guys let out content sighs as they gathered around the hot flame. They stuck their hands out and warmed them and Steve poured some purified water into the pot and held it over the fire. Once the water started to boil, he sighed as he started to brew some coffee; as far as amphetamines go, it was at least weaker than the Red Bull.

Zane fished around in one of the large backpacks and although he was unable to find cups, he was able to find some small metal bowls. He handed each girl one, and resisted the urge to facepalm as some of them put them on their heads to wear as hats, or tried to drink out of the empty bowls.

Steve poured each of them some of the java. "Now be careful, it's hot." He warned.

Charlei slowly started to sip on hers, feeling much better as the scalding coffee coaxed her out of her miniature high.

Roxy and Ariana crinkled their noses at the bitter taste, used to fancy beverages from Starbucks and started to complain.

"Ugh, would it kill anyone to get me some sugar?" Roxy scowled.

"Like, yeah. This tastes like feet. Not even cute feet, either. Ugly, fungus-y feet…" Ariana echoed.

"Well, glad to see they're back to normal." Steve smirked weakly.

Alex and Maxine sipped on their coffees and grinned weakly. They sill weren't completely back to normal, but the colour was starting to return to their faces.

"Man… my jaw hurts from not talking for so long," Alex remarked, rubbing her chin with her free hand and pouting.

"Mine too." Maxine nodded.

The duo proceeded to yell at the top of their lungs, making those next them cringe and the guys to cover their ears as numerous birds flew away from their perches. Realizing the two weren't going to shut up any time soon, Todd elbowed Zane and nudged him over to Maxine. The musician sent him a questioning look.

"Get her to shut up," The flirt mouthed to him.

Zane sighed before sitting down next to Max and smiling at her. Maxine stopped screaming and Alex slowly did the same, seeing as she ran out of breath, and blushed.

"Glad to see you're feeling better," Zane said.

"…" Maxine simply stared at him for a few moments, before tentatively reaching out to brush the hair out of his eyes. Zane blushed as her cold fingers pushed his hair out of his face gently.

"Oh good… you're real." Maxine sighed in relief. She removed her hand from his face and Zane almost frowned at the loss of contact but he caught himself. She shyly looked down at her lap and pushed some of her hair behind her ear. "I had the weirdest feeling that this was all some horrible dream. True or false; Chris and Chef drugged us and left us for dead in this forest…" She frowned.

"True," replied Zane.

"Glad to have you back, girls." Steve said genuinely. Everyone turned towards him, the flicker of the flames illuminating him in the dimness of the forest. He pulled out a map from the depths of one of the large backpacks.

"Now, I suggest that we stay as close to this stream as possible and our goal is to get to the lake by nightfall. But in case we don't find it in time, we will at least have a source of water. I have a worry that it will drop below zero during the night, so in order to prevent any cases of hypothermia, two people to a sleeping bag."

"Psh, as if I'm getting all snuggly with any of you losers," Roxy scowled. Todd smirked and draped an arm over her shoulders.

"Not even with me, babe?" He asked in a low purr.

"Especially not you, you perv." The diva shrugged off his arm with a glare.

Confession Cam:

Todd: *sighs and smiles weakly as he shrugs* Well… it was worth a try.

Back to Reality

Charlei glared at Todd before rolling her eyes and standing up. She dusted herself off and started to stretch. The girls, stiff and tired as they were, finished off their coffee before rinsing out their bowls and stuffing them back in the backpacks. The boys offered to carry the heavy packs and the Screaming Students started to head out.

Little did they know that as they headed north, the previously shallow stream started to deepen and the small current strengthened…

Day 1: 4:42 p.m. –Killer Preps (Dan, Booker and Natalie)

The trio actually seemed to have established a pretty comfortable bond as they found a small clearing to have a little rest stop. Booker set down the hefty bag and wiped the sweat off of his brow. Despite the frigidness of the glade perspire didn't seem to be a foreign concept.

Natalie sifted through the satchel before grinning as she pulled out a couple cans of soup. Not very appetizing cold, but the three were too hungry to care. They all sat down in a circle and smiled weakly as they held up the cans in a mock toast. They clanked them together before preparing to dig in.

Until…

"Wait… how are we going to open these without a can opener?" Natalie frowned.

"No matter… let's just eat something else," Booker suggested. Natalie and Dan nodded in agreement as the former got up and went looking through pack for another source of food. Her eyes widened as a terrible realization hit her.

"Uh… guys?" She said, her voice shaking slightly.

"What is it?" Dan frowned, getting up to go see what was wrong. Booker joined them.

All three of them widened their eyes and they all paled slightly as they looked down at nothing but canned food for their sustenance.

"WE'RE GONNA STARVE!" Dan wailed, falling to his knees dramatically.

"Calm yourself!" Natalie chastised. "Everything's gonna be all-" The girl froze mid-sentence as her constant flow of music stopped. She pulled her iPod out of her pocket and her face turned a sickly white at the sight of the lifeless iPod.

"It…died…" Natalie said, staring down at the device with shock. She started to hyperventilate and shake, the silence starting to freak her out. "MY BABY HAS JUST DIED!" She screamed, joining Dan on his knees. She curled up in the fetal position on the ground, twitching unnaturally.

Booker stared down at the two before facepalming.

7:10 p.m. (Kane and Ellen)

Silence.

Ellen kept her chin up as she hiked through the woods, ignoring the blundering Kane behind her. He panted as the fatigue started to hit him. Yet Ellen seemed completely unfazed by the eerieness of the foggy forest, or the cold, or the wet, and it was starting to creep Kane out.

"Can we please take a break?" The metal head pleaded.

"No." Ellen said airily.

Kane groaned as his tired legs threatened to buckle out from underneath him. "Ellen… PLEASE? It's as good as dark out, and I don't think I can move on much longer…." He whined.

Ellen stopped dead in her tracks, her shoulders tensing. She let out an irritated sigh before squinting ahead of her as she strained her ears to hear over the buzz and chirp of numerous bugs and crickets. Sure enough, the lulling sound of waves from the lake which was surely only a kilometer or so away reached her ears.

"Fine." She replied frostily.

Kane collapsed and let out a euphoric groan. Ellen rolled her green eyes before grabbing the sleeping bag off of the backpack Kane had dropped. The temperature had dropped significantly and her breath fell out of her blue lips in dainty swirls. Her fingers felt numb as she fumbled with the zipper of the bag and she fumbled around for a fire starter or some matches.

"Kane, could you go collect some f-firewood?" Ellen asked.

Kane groaned again before hauling himself up and going to go search for some firewood. He would've put up more of a fight, but he was too cold, tired and hungry to.

Ellen shivered as Kane collected the wood, and with her trembling fingers, she attempted to strike up a match. After about five minutes of failed attempts, Kane snatched them out of her hands and brought a fire to life.

Ellen narrowed her eyes at him sourly. "I could have got it myself." She said through grit teeth.

"Yeah," Kane snorted with an eye roll as he rubbed his hands over the flames for warmth. "After an hour or two."

Ellen growled, turning away and crossing her arms. A few seconds of silence passed before she grabbed a package of dried meat and a couple measly crackers. She sat on her knees on the sleeping bag and started to divide the food into equal portions. Before she could finish Kane snatched up his portion and scarffed it down. Ellen crinkled her nose in disgust before daintily eating hers.

Once she finished, she looked around for another sleeping bag to curl up in and go to sleep in.

…

Once the understanding that there was only one to share between the two of them hit, they stared at each other with wide eyes.

"No way in hell." Kane scowled.

"Like I would even want to!" Ellen shot back.

Each of them huffed and turned away from the other, before they bickered over who would get the sleeping bag.

The debate continued for quite sometime, and the blue tinge that started to creep over their skin confirmed that temperature was indeed starting to drop considerably…

8:47 p.m. (Genelle and Skye)

Genelle was hating this. Just hating it. She continued to stumble around through the dark forest, growling when she got caught up in bushes or tripped over roots. Genelle was freezing and fed up and just plain hated this challenge.

As she continued to stomp through the woods, she let out a yelp when she fell to the ground as a loud SNAP! was heard. Her eyes widened in horror as she clutched her ankle.

"Oh no…" Genelle whispered. She proceeded to pull off her high heel and groaned at the sight of the broken heel. "Ugh, this could not possibly get any worse!"

As if on cue, thunder rolled over the muddy hills. The deafening patter of raindrops filled the air and pelted down on the scowling Genelle relentlessly.

"UGGGHHHHH!" She screamed.

The blonde slipped on her now useless shoe and stood up, wiping her muddy hands on her jeans and panting angrily. She whipped around to yell at Skye and faltered slightly at the sight of nothingness.

"Skye?"

Genelle frowned before putting hands on her hips and tapping her foot impatiently. "Ha ha, very funny. Now get out here." She scowled.

Silence.

The Queen Bee refused to acknowledge the uneasiness welling up inside her and continued walking in the direction of the lake blindly.

"Fine. I see how it is." She said coldly. "You're totally getting the boot if we lose."

Meanwhile…

Skye trudged through the sticky mud, her small feet sinking into it's depths after each step. Her breathing was shallow and her skin was almost grey in colour from its extreme paleness. Her knees trembled and she whimpered in pain with each step.

Genelle and her had gotten separated about two hours ago and the vindictive blonde hadn't even noticed or cared until it fit her best interest.

Finally, she collapsed and groaned weakly as mud and rain soaked her to the bone. She shivered and attempted to get up but her fragile limbs screamed in protest. Numbness overcame her body and consciousness seemed to be fleeting.

"H-help…" She croaked, her eyes fluttering shut. "Help…"

But no one was close enough to hear her.

Day 1: 10:16 p.m. –Screaming Students

The path was grueling and the teammates wandered aimlessly around in the dark. They were sure if they kept moving forward they'd reach the bank of the lake soon enough. But soon enough turned into minutes, which turned into an hour. Their fingers and toes felt stiff and on the verge of frostbite.

They tried their best to distract themselves from the bitter cold.

Alex and Ariana, surprisingly, chatted idly about their favourite pairings on Glee.

Roxy combed her fingers through her hair repetitively to keep busy.

Steve kept his eyes glued to the map, making sure to check the teams position to the stream every so often.

Todd and Charlei bickered. Shocker.

Zane stuck close to Maxine, and the two talked about whether numerous events happened or not.

They continued through the forest for another ten minutes before Charlei growled.

"Okay, we've been walking around aimlessly for hours! We were supposed to be at the lake by now!" She exclaimed.

"But we're not," Alex pointed out, holding up her frozen pointer finger.

"I know that!" The redhead shot back, making the sports fan wince. "But we should've. Face it guys, we're lost!" Charlei exclaimed, throwing her arms up in despair.

"NOOOOOOO! NOW I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO MARRY CORY MONTIETH AND HAVE HIS-" wailed Alex as she fell to her knees dramatically.

"Do NOT finish that sentence!"

Steve sighed, too tired to keep moving anyway, as he set down his pack. "Let's set up camp. We shouldn't be too far away from the lake now, and we'll head out at dawn tomorrow."

The rest of the team murmured tiredly in agreement.

Teeth chattering, the Students pitched up their tent rather quickly; the ice cold rain pushing them to move as fast as possible. The wind and rain whipped at the polyester tent and the teenagers huddled inside it. Seeing as it was pouring outside, they couldn't make a fire which just made them even more miserable. Cole still hadn't returned which was worrying, but the Students were too cold and tired to really pay it any mind.

Alex and Ariana yawned before grabbing one of the sleeping bags and curling up inside it. Alex buried her face in Ariana's shoulder before the pair drifted off.

Todd crawled into a sleeping bag and sent Charlei a sly wink before waggling his eyebrows suggestively. She scowled and flipped him off, turning to grab another sleeping bag but she tensed when she realized they were all taken.

The seething redhead slowly turned to face the cockily grinning Todd with a glare, as she crossed her arms. "You did this on purpose, didn't you." She accused.

"You know, Charlei, pointing fingers is a nasty habit to get into." Todd smirked, as Charlei slid into the sleeping bag with him, putting as much distance between them as possible, which wasn't much. She scowled and crossed her arms over her chest, closing her eyes tightly as she attempted to ignore Todd. But his smugness seemed to be radiating off him in waves, compensating for the lack of heat.

Roxy and Steve scowled at each other as they got into a sleeping bag. The diva and the Smart Alec turned away from each other so they were back to back, pretending that the other wasn't their and tried to go to sleep. A few moments passed as they both shivered, and Roxy bit her lip, glancing over her shoulder to see if Steve was awake. His eyes were shut as he tried to doze off, but they flew open as Roxy backed up into him and shivered in his arms. Steve blushed slightly before wrapping his arms around her waist.

Roxy tensed before scowling at him. Steve scowled back. They glared at each other as they spooned, waiting for the other to fall asleep. Each of them was shivering and their teeth were chattering, and were covered with dirt and mud.

Maxine blushed deeply as she got into the last sleeping bag next to Zane, whose face was also red. Both lay awake and stared off into space, unable to shut their heavy eyelids for a long while. They were too restless.

"Zane… you awake?" Maxine whispered.

"Yeah…" Zane replied groggily.

Maxine shivered, the feeling leaving her toes. She let out a quiet laugh. "I can't sleep, I'm too cold and uncomfortable and I'm so tired I don't feel tired anymore…" She half-smiled.

"You're cold?" Zane furrowed his brow.

Maxine nodded and pushed some of her wet hair behind her ear, before she drew in a quick breath as she felt Zane wrap his arms around her middle and tangle their legs together, pulling her in close to him. Her cheeks flared red and she shifted so she could see his face. He blushed slightly and smiled weakly.

"I-I was cold too…" He explained.

Maxine nodded weakly as her eyes started to droop closed. "True or false?" She asked wearily. "We kissed…"

Zane bit his lip as his face heated up. He let out a sigh, his breath tickling the back of her neck. "False…"

A silence ensued and Zane swallowed hard.

"But… we can make it true…?" He offered nervously.

Silence.

"Max?" Zane whispered, leaning over her shoulder. He smiled when he realized she was fast asleep. He rested his chin on her shoulder and started to doze off as well. "Goodnight, Max…"

Day 2: 4:28 a.m. –Killer Preps

Kane and Ellen lay back to back, each on the verge of hypothermia, yet they still refused to hug each other for warmth. Their skin looked sickly pale and their dexterity was quite handicapped in their fingers and toes. Neither of them slept a wink last night.

Clutching their stomachs in agony, Natalie, Dan, and Booker stumbled across their camp and plopped down in exhaustion. They hadn't slept so well either.

"So…hungry…" Dan groaned, his face ground into the mud.

Next to appear was an irate looking Genelle with bloodshot eyes, tangled golden tresses filled with twigs and the entirety of her was drenched in mud.

"Where is she?" She hissed through clenched teeth.

"W-w-where's w-who?" Ellen answered through chattering teeth.

"SKYE!" The blonde roared, clenching her hands into fists. "That little harpy ditched me alone for dead in the woods!"

Kane scowled, rolling his eyes at the hypocrisy in that statement.

"Skye? You mean, cute, little innocent, never would hurt even a fly, Skye?" Natalie clarified, skeptically.

Genelle nodded vigorously.

The rest of the team raised their eyebrows in disbelief.

Genelle huffed, crossing her arms over chest before stomping towards the lake, her steps uneven due to her lost heel and the unlevel terrain.

"Let's just get this over with." She grumbled.

"But without Skye, we won't win the challenge!" Dan said, arching an eyebrow in confusion.

"Exactly," Genelle muttered to herself as she hobbled towards the gently swaying lake. Her teammates groaned as they heaved themselves off the muddy ground and slowly trudged after her, leaving the remains of their bags behind. They were useless anyway.

But... Not useless to the twitching Cole as he savaged through the remains of their sacks and let out a shaky breath as his frozen fingers came across some food. He gorged himself on the dried fruit and saltine crackers, before his trembling hands rifled through the pack for some water. He cursed quietly to himself before his trembling lips curled up into a ghost of a smirk as he pulled his team's bottle of water purification tablets out of his back pocket. He grabbed one of the Killer Preps canteens and started heading out towards the river.

Day 2: 6:11 a.m. –Screaming Students

Charlei's eyes opened slowly and she yawned before snuggling into her pillow more. Who knew these sleeping bags were so insulated and warm and...fleshy?

Charlei's brow furrowed before her eyes shifted downwards and her eyes shot open even more.

"No..." She said, mortified. "No, no, no..."

"That's the opposite of what you said last night, babe..." Todd smirked drowsily, reaching up to slide his fingers through her hair.

Charlei let out a bloodcurdling scream, instantly waking up the rest of her team.

"Huh, what's the matter...?" Alex murmured, her heavy eyelids fluttering open. Her brow furrowed as she watched Charlei and Todd thrash around in the sleeping bag, Charlei spewing out profanity while Todd cried out in pain. Alex grinned goofily. "OH you kids, and your crazy hormones..."

Steve, who was already up and transferring all the important items into one backpack frowned at the sight of the missing bottle of purification tablets. He sighed before tossing a haste glance at the last canteen full of clean water. Looks like he'd be taking a gamble with his teammates lives after all.

"I know it's early and cold guys, but we really should head out. The Killer Preps could be way ahead now, and the last thing we want is to lose after all this work." Steve said.

"He's right," Maxine yawned, pushing her disheveled hair out of her face before rubbing her eyes.

"If my calculations are correct, all that stands between us is the stream and the lake."

Maxine tensed and her eyes widened. "O-on second thought, I think Steve couldn't be any more wrong."

Her teammates sent her an inquisitive glance.

Maxine quickly amended. "W-what I mean is, can't we just go around the lake?"

"That would take twice as long," Roxy scoffed with an eye roll. "I agree with Steve. We're going through it."

Maxine bit her lip as the Screaming Students crawled out of the tent and started down the path, before joining them.

Confession Cam:

Maxine: *blushing* Okay, I admit it... Lakes really creep me out. *frowns* I hope I can pull it together and do this... *sighs*

Back to Reality

Day 2: 11:24 a.m –Chris McLean

The patented host tapped his foot impatiently as he awaited the arrival of his contestants. They should've been here by now. Chris scowled as he sipped on another mug of gourmet hot chocolate in order to stay warm, and pulled his windbreaker closer to his body, the ruthless wind ruffling his million dollar hair.

The incessant buzz of his cellphone in his pocket annoyed him to no end, yet he continued to ignore its ringing. He and Chef stood in front of the school bus at the end of the forest, and large gusts of wind rolled down the bare, declined road.

"You're going to have to answer the phone eventually, pretty boy," the war veteran grumbled, his hands shoved deep inside his pockets.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," was Chris' reply.

Day 2: 2:13 p.m.

The team, still missing Skye, stood in front of the lake with analytical eyes. It would be an easy swim across, and the clearing was quite visible on the banks of the other side.

But... the water was so murky it looked almost black in colour, and it was littered with water reeds, pussy-willows, and the floor was carpeted with tangly seaweed.

Weighing the pros to the cons, Dan and Kane nodded, before running into the lake, the ice cold water stinging profusely but they powered through it. Once the water reached their waists, they sucked in a breath through their teeth and dove into it, starting to swim across.

Natalie, Ellen and Booker were next to run into the water, quickly catching up to the other two. Genelle hesitated, biting her lip and dipping her toe into the water and shivering. She whined quietly as she sluggishly walked through the murky, slimy water.

"Ew, ew, ew..." She whimpered, once the water soaked her up to her hips. She hastily tied her hair back, not intent of letting her precious golden locks touch the filthy water.

Not far behind, half of the Screaming Student's quickly sprinted out of the dense forest and onto the bank of the lake. Charlei, Todd, Alex, Maxine and Roxy, already soaked to the bone and dripping profusely from the powerful river they traversed in order to make it here panted, trying to catch their breath.

"We'll never win, they're almost halfway across the lake now!" Charlei sputtered, coughing near the end of her sentence. She spat out some water, as her hair leaked more, like a faucet.

"Never say never!" Todd berated, before sprinting into the lake, Charlei huffing and jogging after him.

"But you just said it twice!" Alex pouted, calling after him. She shrugged before sprinting in after him, and swimming through the water like a fish. She was even gaining ground on Genelle, who was about forty feet ahead of Charlei and Todd.

Maxine stayed rooted to her spot, her soaked bangs obstructing her vision and she shivered, her hands clenched at her sides.

"What are you waiting for?" Roxy scowled; her voice made Maxine jump slightly. "Go!"

Maxine shook her head vigorously. Roxy's scowl deepened as she walked in front of Maxine, and placed her hands on her wet hips. "Why the hell not?"

"I-I... don't like... lakes..." Maxine murmured.

"Well, tough. You're swimming through one. Right now. The Killer Preps already have a lead, and we can't just hand them victory!"

"No..." Maxine frowned, crossing her arms and forcing back tears.

"I wasn't asking you," Roxy growled, grabbing her arm and starting to drag her into the water. "You're swimming. NOW. Or else you can consider the loser bus you're next destination."

Water now at her ankles, Maxine trembled and tears flowed freely down her face as she dug her heels into the mud. "NO, NO! I DON'T WANT TO! STOP!" She shouted.

Roxy was having none of it, and kept a firm grip on her wrist and pulled her deeper. She was winning this challenge, even if she had to drag Maxine across the entire lake. "Stop being such a child! Start swimming!" She barked.

Maxine was hyperventilating, and freaking out, and simply dug her heels deeper into the mud trying to anchor herself there. Roxy growled and pushed her in, and Maxine resurfaced, sobbing freely but the buxom brunette didn't care. She dragged Maxine through the lake, not too far behind the others.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team encountered a few snags at the stream. The heavy downpour from the night before strengthened the current and made the stream about neck deep instead of waist deep. To prevent anyone slipping away in the rapids, everyone strung their shoelaces together, making a rope that stretched across the river.

Zane, one of the most athletic on the team helped each member across while Steve pointed them in the direction of the lake, which was only through a small patch of trees. Ariana was the last to make the cross, and she neared the edge of the river, biting her lip of the loud roar of the sloshing water. Not paying attention to the mud sliding beneath her wedges, let out a screech when she fell into the ice cold water, quickly getting swept away by the current. She surfaced and coughed out some water, trying to keep her head above the water; her toes didn't even reach the ground.

"ARIANA!" Zane and Steve yelled, their eyes widening in fear as she coughed and sputtered, getting pulled further and further down stream.

"Grab the rope!" Zane instructed.

Ariana, a bit disoriented from the rapids and shock at being pulled away, desperately grasped for the makeshift rope, and clung onto it for dear life, water splashing in her face.

"Zane, help!" She screamed, clinging onto the rope with all her might. But the rapids were quickly depleting her stamina, and the ice cold water was numbing her fingers and felt like knives stabbing her skin.

"Hold on!" He yelled, shutting his eyes for a moment, before taking a deep breath and jumping into the rapids to save her. He bit his lip as he waded along the red rope, reaching out for her trembling, porcelain pale hand and she let out a few frightened tears before sniffling gratefully as he pulled her to safety. "Don't worry, I've got you..." Zane reassured her as he made his way towards the other side of the river, the rapids also splashing his face. Ariana's arms were firmly wrapped around his torso and she dug her face into his back, clenching her eyes shut.

Zane clenched his teeth as he pulled them both up onto the river bank, water dripping off the two of them. He rested on his hands and knees while Ariana flopped onto her back, her hands resting on her stomach. They both coughed up water and tried to catch their breath. Steve quickly help them to their feet, and the three made a run for the lake.

Out in front, Dan and Kane panted as they swam, starting to run out of stamina. Land was about fifty feet away.

"Don't slow down now, you dolts!" Ellen glared, her small frame gliding through the water effortlessly. She swam in between the duo, taking the lead. "We need to win this!"

"That's going to be pretty hard without Skye," Kane grunted, trying to keep up with her.

Just as the Killer Preps seemed to have a firm lead, Alex started to creep up on them with the rest of the Screaming Students. Steve, Ariana, and Zane were way behind.

Huffing and puffing, Ellen, Kane, Dan, and the rest of the Killer Preps coughed and wheezed as they stumbled towards the finish line. Alex quickly got out of the lake, Todd, Charlei, and Roxy and Maxine not too far behind. They ran as fast as their legs could carry them, which mind you, wasn't very fast.

Day 2: 7:19 p.m.

All of the students were freezing, starving, thirsty, exhausted, and waterlogged. They just wanted to end this challenge. As the teams stumbled through the forest, they instantly picked up the pace when the sight of two standing figures at the edge of the forest reached their eyes. Panting like animals the Killer Preps continued to maintain their lead, the Screaming Students a few paces behind them. Giving it one last push, the two teams pushed themselves out of the bushes and nearly fell into the gravel of the side of the road in front of them.

Groaning tiredly, they all fell to their knees, before some of them rolled onto their backs as each of them tried to regulate their breathing. While the students caught their breath, Chef walked around and dropped scruffy towels on top of them before returning to his spot next to Chris.

"S-so, who won?" Alex shuddered, her towel draping over her wet hair and teeth chattering.

"It was us, right?" Genelle scowled, her towel wrapped around her head like a turban.

"A valiant effort by both teams," Chris said, his normal sadistic smile on his face. "But... I hate to say that no one won...yet. If I'm not mistaken, we're still awaiting the arrival of both Skye and Cole. Until they get here... We have no clear winner, and we can't leave." He smirked.

"UGGHHH!" Genelle glared, turning away and crossing her arms dramatically.

"C-can we at least wait in the bus? We're all cold and tired!" Charlei frowned, ringing out her red locks.

"Let me think about it... No. Now go amuse yourselves while we wait. First one of the two to step onto the gravel wins for their team." Chris waved them off, earning death glares in return.

The castmates got up and tried to dry off as best they could, some wearing their towels for extra warmth. Some huddled together in clumps for extra body heat; others opted to jog in place to warm themselves up.

Ten minutes turned into twenty minutes, and soon an hour would pass as they waited. At long last they heard the shuffling of feet in dirt and Cole walked out of the greenery. Instantly the Screaming Students cheered and the Killer Preps groaned.

"What's going on?" The artist asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We were waiting for you and Skye to come back, so we could see which team would win. She's still not back yet, though..." Maxine explained.

"Yeah, yeah, it's such a tragedy, can you please just get over here!" Roxy glared, urging Cole to step onto the gravel. Cole furrowed his brow, rooting his feet into the soil.

"Why...?" He asked, skeptically.

"JUST DO IT!" The brunette yelled.

Cole scowled, taking a slight step back defiantly. "Where's Skye?" He questioned, his face contorting in worry.

"Somewhere in the forest." Genelle said, examining her ruined nail beds distastefully; her voice had an air of indifference to it. "I haven't seen her since yesterday morning." She shrugged.

"That's long enough to declare her a missing person," Chef remarked.

"Wait, what?" Cole asked, his face horror-stricken.

"Didn't you hear?" Alex whispered, shivering and hugging her towel closer to her body. "That means Skye's missing."

A few seconds passed, before Cole turned around and broke out into a sprint back towards the dense forest.

"Cole! Where are you going! COLE! It's dark out!" She called after him.

But Cole didn't listen. He just continued sprinting through the forest, sticks getting caught in his hair and clothes, and scratching his skin but her didn't care. He kept running through the darkness, his breath tumbling out of his mouth erratically.

Day 2: 9:32 p.m.

"I'm starting to get worried, Cole's been gone a pretty long time... And poor Skye, I hope she's all right..." Maxine frowned, doing a little jig in order to keep her nearly frozen blood circulating.

"I'm going to go look for them," Zane announced.

"N-no!" Maxine cried, before quickly covering her mouth and blushing. "I mean... what if you get lost? It would be no use to them if you can't find them, and then you might get hypothermia! And other bad stuff!"

Zane sent her a weak smile before patting her shoulder. "I'll be fine. It's like... an adventure, of sorts..." He said, reassuringly before turning to head into the woods.

"Wait!" Maxine called, making him freeze. She unwrapped her towel from around her bare legs and wrapped it around his neck in a makeshift scarf. "Be careful," she advised with a small smile.

"I will," Zane smiled back, before leaving.

Maxine smiled after him dreamily, while Genelle glared daggers at the back of her head.

Meanwhile, deep into the forest, Cole's fingers felt like they were on the verge of frostbite, as he tried to retrace his steps and find the Killer Preps old camp. Eventually, he stumbled across it, and grabbed bandages, water, and other things he thought would come in handy. He paused to wrap a few bandages around his hands, making gloves. They provided little to no warmth, but they did help slightly.

After walking down the path, the sound of rushing stream water and quiet whimpers caught his attention. He quickly started to dash towards th sound, his face wilting concernedly at the sight of Skye. Her normally shiny blonde hair was a tangled mess and soaked, her ivory skin was a deathly white and caked with mud, her normally beautiful eyes were rimmed with tired circles and were wide with fear and bloodshot. Her tattered clothes provided her with no warmth and her team's pack was empty.

"Skye," Cole said, after struggling to find his voice. She didn't seem to hear him, so he walked up behind her, before crouching down. "Skye," he repeated.

Skye, who was kneeling at the edge of the stream, dipped her shaky hands into the murky water before bringing the water up to her lips and slurping it down thirstily. Cole grabbed her wrist, to stop her, the water sliding down her chest. Skye tensed before turning to face Cole with inquisitive eyes, wondering how he got there.

"C-Cole?" She asked, her voice raspy.

Cole looked away shyly; even in this state, her beauty made him nervous. He wanted to tell her so many things... "Don't drink that, it'll make you sick..." He mumbled, before fishing around in the backpack he acquired, pulling out a canteen of clean water. "Here."

Skye took it and drank it as if she were dying of thirst; maybe she was. Once she had drained the entire thing, she set it down and tried to smile at him weakly; all her lips managed to do were twitch. He understood what she meant though and returned the smile. Cole quickly cupped her face, checking for any signs of injury, before sighing in relief when he couldn't find any. She stared up into his eyes with her big brown ones, furrowing her brow in confusion when she saw a few tears stream down his face.

"Cole...?" She said, softly.

"I'm sorry," Cole replied, gritting his teeth slightly.

"Why are you sorry?" Skye asked, generally confused.

"That I couldn't protect you; save you from going through this. I'm sorry..." He frowned, shutting his eyes.

Skye frowned as well, before placing a hand on top of his. She barely had any feeling in them, but felt a sudden surge of warmth when he intertwined their fingers. Using all she had, Skye mustered a smile, one that brought one to Cole's face; it was the first time she ever truly saw him smile at her. It made her feel warm, like she was one of his beautiful pictures.

"It doesn't matter... You saved me now..." She murmured, before letting out a quiet giggle. It hurt her spasmodic and hungry stomach, but it didn't make her smile falter. What did he save her from? She didn't know exactly. It just felt like he saved her. Period.

And she could feel herself start to lean in, making Cole's eyes start to widen in slight panic and a red tinge start to form on his cheeks. Before he had a chance to brace himself, Skye was kissing him. Cole's eyes widened further, his face reddening even more as Skye's brown eyes closed. Cole's eyes finally shut as well and he kissed back lamely, seeing as he didn't exactly know how to. It only lasted a few second, both their lips were dry and chapped, and wasn't very pretty; but it was a kiss, nonetheless.

Skye giggled weakly, pulling away, blushing as well. She tucked some frizzled hair behind her ear.

"This... is so weird, I...thought you hated me..." She mumbled.

Cole sighed and rubbed the back of his neck weakly. "Not at all, I was just really jealous of Edward and shy and frustrated that you wouldn't notice me and... yeah." He replied.

Skye's blush deepened. "O-oh..." She said.

The two stared at each other awkwardly, straining their eyes to see each other in the darkness. Skye shifted her frozen hand through the mud, before resting it on his knee. Cole blushed and looked down, smiling weakly. This time, Cole leaned in first and tried his best to make the kiss enjoyable for her, even though he knew her lips were numb and had no feeling.

"Uh... am I interrupting something?"

Skye and Cole quickly jumped away from each other, and met the confused gaze of Zane. The musician locked gazes with the artist, and they came to a mental truce. Cole trusted him to keep his mouth shut, and Zane could tell that Cole forgave him for their fight in the woods.

"We should get going," Cole muttered. He got up before holding a hand out for Skye. She took it, and Cole pulled her up into a standing position, and she wobbled dangerously on her feet. He held her up before lifting her into his arms and carrying her bridal style. Zane nodded and picked up any useful supplies, before wrapping the towel Maxine gave him around the ghostly white Skye.

"T-Thanks, guys..." She smiled, gratefully as they started to head back towards the McLean bus.

Day 3: 12:07 a.m.

Half of the students had conked out on the pavement, and even Chris looked as if her was on the verge of sleep. Chef seemed stoic and unfazed by the lateness; he was a war veteran, after all. Back in his day, sleeping was forbidden unless you wanted a knife in your back.

Neither Roxy nor Genelle slept, seeing as they were too on edge. Alex and Maxine chased fireflies, trying to stay awake. Charlei was huddled up against a big rock, sleeping and Todd was curled up at her feet, also asleep.

Suddenly, the rustle of leaves caught everyone who was awake's attention; the noise seemed to be amplified in the crisp night air. Zane walked out of the bushes and met up with his team, and Maxine restrained herself from tackling him to the ground, and instead mustered a small relieved smile.

Cole was next to appear, and Roxy grinned ecstatically as Cole stepped onto the gravel first, a slumbering Skye in nestled in his arms.

"YES! Cole stepped onto the gravel first! HA! In your face!" She cheered, smirking at Genelle. "THAT MEANS THE SCREAMING STUDENTS WIN!"

"Normally, yes. It would mean you guys won..." Chris smirked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Roxy froze mid cheer, before whipping around and glaring at the host. "What do you mean... 'normally'?"

"Well, looking back on several instances, it seems that Cole here broke the rules. By using the Killer Preps supplies- which was a prohibited feat, let me remind you- effectively disqualified the Screaming Students from the challenge. So, the Killer Preps win!"

Genelle turned to face Roxy smugly. "What was that, about what being in my face...?" She smirked.

"UGH!" Roxy shrieked, glaring at Cole. Cole glared back.

"Well excuse me for trying to stay alive after you guys went along without me." The lazy teen grumbled, breezing past those who were still awake and walking onto the bus, Skye still in his arms.

"Now onto the bus, maggots. I suggest you try and get as much sleep as you can. Because you're sure as hell gonna need it." Chef grunted. He and Chris got onto the bus, Chef sliding into the driver's seat and Chris getting into the seat across the aisle from him. The students waked their teammates before boarding bus. As the yellow vehicle sputtered to life, and Chef started to drive them back to campus, pretty much all of the teens passed out almost immediately.

The Killer Preps were allowed hot water tokens for the showers, warms soup, and any medication they may have needed in order to feel as good as new. The Screaming Students were sent to the elimination ceremony with nothing, leaving them to wallow in their filth, exhaustion, and misery. Each member awaited their turn to cast their vote in the confessional.

Cole sighed before yawning as he approached the confessional, last in line to cast his vote before pausing in front of it. Skye appeared from around the corner, looking completely rejuvenated. Her brown eyes still had large bags underneath them, but her skin was starting to return to it's natural colour and her hair flowed in brown waves, still a bit damp from her shower.

They locked gazes, staring at each other for a few seconds, before Skye smiled weakly and walked up to him.

"I saved you some of our soup... thought you might want some. There was only broth left, but... I tried." She said, holding up a Styrofoam cup for him to take.

Cole smiled and took the cup of luke warm broth, and drained it. His smile started to fade slightly, before he reached into his back pocket and handed her a folded up piece of paper. Skye furrowed her brow and went about opening it, but Cole placed his hand on top of hers, preventing her from doing so.

"Please, don't open it until tomorrow morning, okay? I don't think I'm going to survive this elimination, and as a last request, could you please just do that for me?" Cole asked, biting his lip.

Skye frowned at his cryptic words, before smiling weakly. "Okay." She agreed.

Cole kissed her cheek, sighing inwardly at how awful he was at doing so, before brushing some hair out of her face. "Now go get some sleep. You're going to need it for tomorrow." He said.

Skye nodded, before wrapping his arms around his chest and hugging him tightly. Cole's eyes widened slightly in surprise, before they shut as he wrapped his arms around her and set his chin on the top of her head as she buried her face in his chest.

Leaving the show would mean leaving that embrace. And he loathed the cruel fate of it. All too soon, Skye pulled away, piece of paper still clutched in her hand and she smiled at him sadly.

"Bye," she murmured.

"Bye," Cole replied.

Skye turned on her heel and left, leaving Cole to cast his vote.

"Okay," Chris said, as he was met with a bunch of bland, tired stares from the Screaming Students. "I can see you're all tired tonight, so I'll just throw your stars to you today."

"Steve."

"Alex."

"Ariana."

Ariana snored in her seat, asleep and didn't even flinch when the star beamed her in the forehead.

"Zane."

"Todd."

"Charlei."

Charlei glared at the weakly smirking Todd, who caught her star. She punched him hard in the gut, smirking and taking her star back as Zane cast Maxine a worried glance.

"Next name I'm going to call is..." Chris drawled, his eyes traveling between Cole, Maxine, and Roxy. "Roxy." He declared, tossing her her reward. The brunette smiled tiredly.

Maxine and Cole shared nervous looks.

"And the final star of the evening goes to...

...

...Maxine."

Maxine sighed in relief, before shrieking when the star pegged her in the nose. She glared at Chris.

"Cole. Sorry dude, the short bus awaits your departure..." Chris said, with fake solemnity. Cole sighed, before taking the walk out the hall of humiliation.

"The rest of you are safe," Chris remarked, turning to the rest of the team. "For now... Now head up to bed for sleep, like Chef said, you're certainly going to need it for tomorrow."

The Screaming Students yawned and did as they were told, posing no argument to the sweet idea of sleep on an actual bed, as lumpy as the mattress may be.

"And there you have it, folks." Chris said, addressing the camera. "I'd say the drama was pretty high, today! Will it be even bigger next time? Find out, only by watching...

TOTAL!

DRAMA!

SCHOOL!" The host exclaimed, as he made grand gestures.

Now it's time, for a TOTAL DRAMA SCHOOL Exclusive!

Short Bus Cam:

Cole: *sighs and stares out the window longingly* Skye... ugh, I miss her already. It's going to be agony, without her... *sighs again, forcing a weak smile* But then again, those brief moments in the woods... made it worth while, you know? For that short amount of time, everything was perfect. We were in our own little word... I wish it could've last, but I guess- *tape fast forwards for a while* and that's what made it so special, you know...? The way her hair was all *tape fast forwards again* and then those beautiful eyes... *sighs, smiling dreamily* Skye...

End

Next time, on Total Drama School...

"You do realize historical inaccuracies in having Hitler fight Napoleon, right?" Charlei snorted, eying the Nazi uniform distastefully.

"SILENCE!" Todd shouted, in a terrible french accent, trying to cosplay Napoleon.

Our students become real life historians!

"The British are coming, the British are coming!" Skye cried, pointing wildly at the Screaming Students dressed in red coats.

"Load the canon, maties!" Kane said, imitating a pirate.

Ellen face palmed, as Dan jammed a large water balloon into the canon.

Some get their facts straight...

"Who discovered Canada?" asked Chris, off of a cue card, as Steve dashed up to this checkpoint.

"Jacques Cartier!" Steve exclaimed.

"Correct, you are on fire, man!" Chris congratulated.

Steve grinned, before running on to the final check point that separated him from the Killer Preps fort.

Most... do not...

"Who won the war of 1812?" Chef grumbled.

"Uh... France?" Genelle replied, meekly.

"WRONG ANSWER! Twenty push-ups, maggot! GO, SOLDIER, GO!" He boomed, as Genelle squeaked and weakly attempted at doing push ups.

Who will win the war?

Steve, the only one on his team who made it through the battlefield quiz, stared down the guards of the Killer Preps' fortress, each of them equipped with powerful looking water guns...

Find out, by watching TOTAL! DRAMA! SCHOOL!

*chokes on fluff* Oh God, there's so much! T.T I'm so so SO sorry for the wait, school and work got so crazy... But even though this story may take forever, I WILL finish this S.O.B. FYEAAH. But... then again, the sheer length of it kind of makes up for the wait, right? *hopeful stare* Riiiiiight?

Like I said before, it would be SO great to reach 135 reviews for this by the next chapter. Long reviews are welcome, as well as PMs discussing the story and stuff.

By the way, Cole's little confessional at the end referenced a bunch of Into the Woods songs. Anyone who can guess what they were, and how many, wins a special interview on the next Aftermath! Speaking of Into the Woods... I got cast as the Witch in our community theatre's production of it. LIKE A BOSS!

Thanks for reading!

~Alexex

Votes:

Roxy: 2

Maxine: 3

Cole: 4

Eliminated: Bob, Destiny, Edward, Wyatt, Inola, Shawn, and Cole.

Still on TDS: Booker, Kane, Genelle, Ellen, Skye, Natalie, Dan, Maxine, Steve, Ariana, Charlei, Alex, Roxy, Zane, and Todd.