With Izzy gone, Owen seemed to be having a very hard time. Gwen asked him if he was doing all right and he practically bit her head off.
"Seriously, I thought they broke up again in between seasons." said Courtney.
"They didn't break up, it was a misunderstanding." said John "Izzy was just hit in the head with a golf ball and forgot who she was for three days or so."
"Don't take this the wrong way but… why are you friends with him?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well they're… how do I put this? Playing ding-ding without the wedding ring. Isn't that against your religion?"
"No one is perfect Courtney; in fact most of the people that followed Jesus were sinners. It is no business of mine what other people choose to do with their bodies. We are also taught to judge others the way we want to be judged. If a teenage mother came to my door on a cold winter's night asking for shelter from the cold, what would be the right thing do? Send her packing?"
"Well… I don't think it's safe what they've been doing. Who knows where Izzy's been?"
"They don't do it as often as we're led to believe, after what happened last season the media just blew it out of proportion. And contrary to widely held beliefs, Izzy's tests revealed that she's as clean as a whistle… Although I must admit I don't know what's particularly clean about a whistle."
"Okay, even if she doesn't have any STDs, there's always that other thing."
"Don't worry; I've spoken with both of them about that. Ever since then I've been helping them… restrain themselves."
Courtney's log
"With those scars of his John is no Prince Charming, but he's certainly one of kind… What am I saying?"
The night before the next challenge John had another one of his dreams. This time he and Courtney were in a place that fit the description of the Garden of Eden, but without the serpent and the forbidden fruit. John's Christian education had taught him that this particular story in the bible was meant to be interpreted symbolically instead of literally. What people were supposed to take away from the story was that in the beginning God created the heavens, the earth, and all the creatures that inhabited it. Then God created man, but man turned away from God, and as direct result of that the world was imperfect. But at the moment John wasn't thinking about bible stories that were common targets for skeptical people.
"I'm just glad that having wet dreams isn't technically a sin."
He wouldn't dare share any of his dreams, or even his thoughts about them in the confessional. The whole world would probably think him a pervert.
John's log
"When I signed up for another season, I never thought I'd find myself in this position. I don't know whether it's because we're not in the same situation we were in last season and we've gotten to know each other, the fact that she gave me my first kiss right after we saw Izzy skinny dipping, or whatever it is, I think I'm in love."
As the Spartans made their way to the center of the canyon a fierce storm rolled in. It was so dark you couldn't even tell it was morning, but Chris said the challenge would still go on, something about the weather just making the scene more dramatic.
"Okay Spartans, today's challenge is another Halo favorite. Who's ready to play Juggernaut?"
"Should I even ask?" said Gwen.
"The rules of Juggernaut are very simple." replied Chris "If you're not the Juggernaut then kill him, if you are the Juggernaut kill everyone else. The Juggernaut will be given a gravity hammer and will have a flame effect on their armor to make them easier to identify, but the Juggernaut also has a much stronger shield than any other player in the game. All the other players will have to work together if they want to bring him down, but the player who manages to deal the killing blow instantly becomes the new Juggernaut, so remember that alliances in this game quickly go sour. Every time the Juggernaut kills someone he or she scores ten points, the first person to score a hundred and fifty points wins the game."
"Tell them what they're playing for Chris!" said Chef enthusiastically.
"In addition to the coveted invincibility, the first Juggernaut to score a hundred and fifty points will win a brand new Harley Davidson!"
"Who's Harley Davidson?" asked Lindsay.
"That's the name of a company that makes motorcycles." said Tyler.
"What color is it?" asked John.
"Whatever you want it to be."
Gwen's log
"Motorcycles are green machines, besides I think I'd make an excellent biker chick."
John's log
"Count me in, driving a motorcycle is one of the things on my bucket list."
"Now let's see who our first Juggernaut will be…"
Suddenly some music that sounded like the Mortal Kombat theme started playing and a white light shown on the Spartans and started to circle around them. Finally it stopped on Owen, whose armor was suddenly engulfed in flame effect.
"Owen!" declared the computer's disembodied voice.
"Okay, here is your gravity hammer." said Chris "Remember; only the Juggernaut can score points, and whoever deals the killing blow becomes the new Juggernaut. You can become the Juggernaut again by killing the current one. Okay, all Spartans to your designated starting positions!"
Owen's log
"This one's for Izzy!"
As the Spartans made their way to the designated starting positions they had to trudge through puddles of water and mud. All the while the rain poured down on them.
Courtney's log
"It's going to be one of those days apparently"
There was a small dot on everyone's HUDs to show them where Owen was.
"Spartans ready… fight!"
All the Spartans started to converge on Owen, but as they did Tyler slipped and fell down a hill face first into a puddle of mud. John and Cody were the only ones with enough Halo experience to know to keep their distance. Meanwhile Owen smacked Courtney, Gwen, Lindsay, and Beth aside with his hammer.
"I'm coming Lindsay!"
Tyler struggled to get out of the mud but fell back down, leaving him wide open for Owen's attack.
"Five kills already! Ten more and he wins!"
Next Owen went after John, who blasted him with his assault rifle, but Owen just kept coming. When he got close enough John pulled out his shotgun and fired. He scored a direct hit, but his HUD indicated that Owen was still alive.
John's log
"I forgot how ridiculously hard to kill the Juggernaut is in Halo Reach. Owen was like Deadpool on steroids."
Owen beat John down with his hammer and then went after Cody.
Cody's log
"I feel like I'm in the live action trailer: We are ODST!"
Cody tried blasting Owen in the head, but it didn't seem to do any good. Meanwhile the others started to respawn.
"What do we have to do to stop him?" asked Courtney.
"Just keep shooting!" bellowed John.
Owen bellowed like a madman and came charging back towards them, he quickly dispatched of Lindsay and Beth again. It was at this point that John remembered they weren't actually playing a game of Juggernaut on the Xbox, so the rules were a little looser.
"Wait here! I'm gonna try something!"
John ran at Owen, when he swung his hammer John caught it with his hands and started kicking. His melee attacks were slowly but surely eating away at Owen's shields. When Owen realized this he picked his hammer up and hurled John in the opposite direction.
"That counts as a kill! Five more and Owen wins!"
"Might I suggest you use your grenades." said Cassandra to Cody.
"I'm trying! I'm trying!"
All the other Spartans were throwing their grenades as well, but Owen either dodged them or hit them away like baseballs. He took out Gwen, Tyler, Cody, and Beth again, then he went after Courtney.
"Come on!"
Courtney shot Owen three times, then surprisingly her HUD indicated that she had successfully killed him.
"One kill short of a victory dance!" exclaimed Chris.
Courtney seized the opportunity and picked up Owen's hammer, as soon as she did her body was engulfed in a flame effect.
"New juggernaut!"
"This is gonna be fun…"
Courtney immediately took out Lindsay and Tyler, then she went after Gwen suddenly she felt shots being fired at her head. The sniper was too far off to see who it was, so instead she ducked behind a rock and then charged at Gwen, but before she got there she felt a shot in the back of her head and her HUD indicated that she was dead. She turned around and saw Beth with her pistol.
"You are going down."
"New juggernaut!"
Unfortunately for Beth she didn't last long. Owen came charging at her with his turret, and even though she managed to take him out he had significantly damaged her shields. She was pinned down by Cody and Gwen's assault rifles when John came up behind her with an energy sword.
"New Juggernaut!"
The others never had a chance, John just plowed right through them.
Gwen's log
"John really is a Juggernaut. He must be setting a record for most consecutive challenges won on this show. I don't know how we're ever going to get him eliminated."
"And that makes fifteen! John wins!" exclaimed Chris.
It continued to rain all day, and it still hadn't let up by the elimination ceremony.
"Well it's been one hell of a day here in Blood Gulch, but for one of you it's been your last. There are only seven medals on this tray. One of you will be going home and you can't come back… ever. The first medals go to… John and Owen.
"Owen's medal was an Immovable Object medal and John's was an Unstoppable Force medal."
"One for Gwen… one for Beth… one for Tyler… one for Courtney."
That left only Cody and Lindsay.
"This is the final medal of the evening… and it goes to… Lindsay."
Lindsay gleefully accepted her medal.
"Cody, the Pelican of Losers awaits… unless you have something to say…"
"I'll use my freebee."
"What?" exclaimed some of the others.
Beth's log
"How many of those things are there?"
"Well that's all good and fine, but somebody has to go home, so let's see who everyone voted for…"
Gwen's log
"I want to say Courtney, but we can take care of her later. And since he has the second highest body count besides John I have to say Cody."
Beth's log
"Sorry Cody."
Lindsay's log
"The poor guy has worked so hard, but I plan on winning this time. Good bye Cody."
Chris broke down laughing after listening to Lindsay's confession.
"Oh that's rich… Now where were we?"
Tyler's log
"It's got to be Cody, sorry bro."
Courtney's log
"I vote for Beth."
John's log
"Beth."
Cody's log
"I vote for Owen, because during today's challenge he actually scared me."
"Well Beth it looks like you won the Infection challenge just to be eliminated again." said Chris "The Pelican of Losers is that way."
Before she left Lindsay gave Beth a hug.
Courtney's log
"Thirteen down."
"Only seven of you left." said Chris "Don't let your guards down now, there are only three more challenges left until the finale."
(To be continued)