Chapter 7
As soon as Chris had finished his outro to camera, he turned to the Gophers, "Hey, I know it's hard… Are you okay, Louise?"
"Yeah…" she sniffed. Indira came over and put a hand on her back.
"I'm sorry…"
"Thanks… It's just... Ledwin had just gotten started…"
"Ledwin?" Bella raised an eyebrow.
Clive smirked smugly, "It's a couple name. You two were doing more than collecting firewood weren't you?"
A grin forced its way onto Louise's face, "Maybe…"
"Wow, who would've thought you'd be the first couple. Shoot, Gabriel you were out of luck even if you weren't a selfish jerk." Ruby said, giving him a side glance.
"I'm going to bed." he stated, slapping his knees and marching back to the cabin.
Bella sighed, and glanced around the team, "You'll see him again before you know it." she smiled, sitting down next to Louise.
"One way or another." Ruby smirked.
"Do you wanna leave?" Bella said, straight-faced, "You're kinda killing the vibe."
Ruby rolled her eyes, "Whatever!" and strode away, never looking back.
Bella watched her leave, then turned back to Louise, but her eyes caught sight of Chris before she could return to her. Chris was suddenly made aware of the fact that he was still there, "Oh, sh- I should leave too."
"No you don-" she started.
"I do… Actually, as I sneak past, I may slip in a word for Louise with the Bass… Maybe they'll find it in their heart to share some of their reward with you."
"You'd do that?" Louise looked up, eyes wide.
"Yeah… Just don't tell my boss."
Louise winked, "Wouldn't dream of it."
"Any chance the rest of us can cash in?" Nate tried to slide in.
"Did your boyfriend just leave the competition too?" Chris grinned.
"Um… No?" Nate answered.
"Then I'd say no, buddy." he nodded, "Get some rest. Another big day tomorrow." With that he walked off, heading for the mess hall.
Nate groaned, "Okay, I guess I'm done for the night." He left, swiftly followed by the other boys.
The girls, sans Ruby, stayed for a minute, before Indira stood up, "How 'bout we check if the Bass have found it in their hearts to share, hey?"
Sascia got up next to her, "Yeah, and if not, we can always force them." She punched her palm.
Bella wrinkled her nose, "Not sure if we should resort to that."
"Oh…" Sascia's head fell, "Sorry, I'm new to all this."
Louise got to her feet, "Whatever, I'm getting chocolate, come on."
Indira grinned, "Atta girl." and they marched up to the mess hall.
"Seriously?" Lucas moaned, after Chris had given the Bass his proposal, "If they want the reward they should win!"
"They've been winning for like two days." Sabrina scowled, "I say we can not be awful, heartless people?" Elijah and Oswald nodded in sync.
Lee spoke up, "I agree, totally. She must be crushed..."
"You would know…" Lucas muttered.
"I would know…" Josh said to himself.
"I don't care," Ysabel voiced her opinion, "it don't matter to me."
Sabrina stood, "Anyone feel evil enough to not let her have something?" No one responded, but Lucas crossed his arms and sat back. "Good, let her take what she wants when she gets here." The Bass nodded in agreement.
There was a knock at the door, and Bella stuck her head in, "Hey, did Chris mention our…"
"Yeah, yeah," Sabrina waved her in, "take what you need we can't eat it all."
"Speak for yourself!" Lucas said, hoarding a circle of crisps, sweets and chocolates.
Sabrina rolled her eyes, "We're sorry to hear."
Lee nodded along sadly, as the four Gopher girls trickled past them, Indira with a hand on Louise's back as she walked up to the table, piled high with sugary treats and savoury snacks. Louise smiled weakly and grabbed an armful, thrusting it into Indira's arms, then repeating with Bella, and finally Sascia. Lucas blinked, but said nothing. She grabbed an armful for herself and turned, putting on a fake grin, "Thanks guys, you're the best!"
"Don't mention it." Oswald smiled back. They walked past, struggling to hold onto all their snacks. Louise dropped one behind Lee, who reached down to hand it to her.
"Thanks… And I'm sorry about what he said." she apologised.
Lee waved it off, "Don't worry about it. I'm over it."
"You're welcome to talk about it whenever." she smiled, before skipping off, "Fire up the hot tub, girls!"
There was a moment of silence as the Gophers cleared the hall, and then Lucas slapped the table, "We didn't agree to that!"
Lee scowled, "Shut up! She's upset! Have a heart!" she shouted, before storming off, into her own cabin.
Sabrina glared at Lucas, "Nice!" and then ran out after her.
Lucas blushed lightly, "I thought we'd have a bit of banter…" and when everyone kept staring at him, "... What?"
"Last time on Total Drama Island!" Chris began to the camera, "We sent the campers out on a camping trip - seemed fitting enough! But we had no idea the drama that would ensue! Gabriel really upset Lee, leading her to question if anything he had done had been real at all, Josh and Lucas upset Ysabel by treating her as an object to win, and Edwin and Louise gave us the first Total Drama Couple! Ah, young love... Alas, ill-fated, as they got lost in the woods that night, arriving late to camp and causing their team to lose the challenge, and Edwin to be voted out by the Screaming Gophers. That's five gone, and the competition is about to get scary… Will ghosts from the past come to haunt us? Will wounds be healed, or made worse? And who is for the axe? All this and more right now! On Total! Drama! Island!"
He held a pose for a second, before receiving a thumbs-up, and swiftly moving on, "Okay, so, have we got everything?" he breathlessly asked an intern holding a clipboard who speed-walked alongside him. She nodded, ticking the remaining few items off her list. Chris finally breathed, "Heh, great. This is so much effort for just one show, I'm swept off my feet."
"It's intense…" she said under her breath, not looking him in the eye.
He stopped, and put a hand on her shoulder, "Hey… You're doing a great job. Thank you, I know it's tough today."
She looked up at him, eyes glistening, "Th-thank you Mr McLean."
"No problem. Let's get started." He hurried off, into his trailer.
"Mess Hall, 20 minutes campers!" Chris' voice boomed over the island, "You know what time it is."
The campers were comparatively sluggish today, only a few outside the cabins. Clive sat on his bunk, watching Gabriel in his, earbuds in, staring out a window. He got up and tapped him on the shoulder. He blinked and removed an earbud. "Twenty minutes. Mess Hall." he told him.
"Uh." he grunted, removing the last earbud, and carefully hiding an iPod.
"I thought we weren't allowed those."
"We're not allowed to get caught with them." he tapped the side of his nose.
"I don't think they'd do anything about it." Clive shrugged, "Ysabel wears hers in plain daylight."
"Well, I don't take those risks." Gabriel got to his feet, stretching his back.
"You can take… Some risks." Clive said, goading him.
"I am fine with where I am now." he said, killing the train of thought.
"I'm just saying, when the teams are gone, are people siding with you or Lee?"
"That sounds like a problem for later." he approached the door, jumping back as Ruby threw it open, "Ha! Missed me!"
"Had to happen one of these days, come on, don't lounge about, we've got a challenge."
"I'm getting a little sick of them." Clive smirked, rustling his hair.
"Yeah, well, wrong show." Ruby smiled, "Or, we could always vote you off?"
"I would never give you the pleasure."
"Try me. Get going." She slammed the door shut.
Gabriel turned to him, "No point waiting around." and he opened the door.
The other female Gophers trickled out of the cabin, moaning. Louise stumbled to the frail railing, "That may have been too much candy."
"Have a fun night, ladies?" Clive asked.
"For the first hour." Indira groaned, leaning against the cabin, "After eating everything… Less fun."
"I hope you're at least conscious for the challenge." Gabriel raised an eyebrow.
"We'll be there, that's all I promise." she staggered towards the hall.
After Sascia, Louise and Indira had left, Bella strutted out the cabin, blowing her nails. "No candy hangover?" Gabriel asked.
"Didn't feel the need to stuff myself silly." she grimaced, "Plus, no way, are you kidding?"
"That I understand." he nodded, "Is… Is Louise okay?"
"She'll be fine," she waved the notion off, "it's not like they were married or anything."
Clive smirked, "Fair. Wrong couple we're worried about?"
"Will you go to the hall already?" Gabriel snapped, clearly irritated.
Clive raised his hands in surrender, "I'm going." he jogged off, grinning all the way.
Gabriel rolled his eyes and turned to Bella, offering a hand to help her down the stairs, "Can you believe him?"
Bella did not take his hand and descended the three steps easily, "I guess it's been like that all night?"
"And all morning, yeah. Dude's obsessed with it."
"Maybe he's jealous?" she shrugged as they started the walk.
"Doubt it. I think he's trying to pick at me. Trying to distract me."
"Not everyone's trying to take you down."
"That's the attitude you get before you get taken down."
"You watch a lot of these shows don't you?"
"Let's say I've studied."
"Nerd."
"It's gonna save me, gonna save us. Step one, don't be terrible in challenges, step two, don't be terrible openly to people, step three, don't believe what people tell you."
"Wow, got a pen, I might need to write that down." she rolled her eyes, her lips betraying her eyes with a smile.
He shook his head, "Laugh all you want, I'm fairly sure it's why we're both still here."
"It hasn't even been a week." she pushed open the door to the mess hall.
"Whatever." he dropped the idea, joining the rest of their team at the table.
Confessional
Gabriel: She may think it's ridiculous, but it'll come back. You don't win by being a target.
Bella: He's got such a big head, doesn't he? Like he thinks he's playing chess while we all play checkers.
Clive: Yeah, I'm trying to get under his skin. I'd much rather get rid of him while he's on my team.
End
There was a tense, unspoken atmosphere hanging over the mess hall, as the two teams waited in silence for Chris to bring them another task. Lucas looked around the hall, checking for Chris, before raising his hands to his mouth, "Hey Gophers! Looks like you're missing a player!"
"Oh, yeah, classy dude!" Gabriel gave him a thumbs up, before reaching over to Louise.
Sabrina grabbed his arm, "Come on dude, do you even remember how upset she was last night?"
"But… It was funny when he did it!"
"Wasn't." Elijah shook his head, "And I would know."
"It was cheap." Oswald rested his head on the table, "And mean-spirited."
Lee spoke up, "Don't you think you're being… Harsh…" her voice trailed off, uncertain of if she meant what she was saying. She glanced over to the Gophers, but he didn't get close to meeting her eyes.
Suddenly there was a loud crash, and a cloud of smoke appeared in between the teams, and Chris stepped out, wearing a hockey mask and brandishing an axe. He put on his deepest, most threatening voice and screamed at them "Who's ready for a challenge!"
There was an electric discussion between the campers, Sascia, Indira and Louise clamped in each other's arms, Elijah and Oswald in theirs, and a quick share of aggravated impulse-driven glances between Gabriel, Bella, Ruby, Lucas and Sabrina.
Chris chuckled, and removed the mask, "So, sorry about that, but today's challenge will be much worse than that. I hope you're in the mood for… honey?" He brought out a pot from his pocket.
"Oh no…" Josh looked up, eyes wide.
Ysabel looked at him oddly, "Scared of honey?" He shook his head, but did not answer.
"No?" Chris' grin grew across his face, "Maybe you can have some on your toast when we go to the Kentucky Derby?"
Bella shuddered, "Please no."
Gabriel's eyes widened, "If he says…"
"No takers?" Chris drank in the atmosphere, the campers hanging on his every word. "I do believe there's a small circus coming to town we can catch instead? Do you like opossums?"
"Dammit…" he shook, drawing his knees to his chest.
"Okay, what's wrong with you two?" Ruby hissed, eyes on Chris.
"You remember those questionnaires they had us do when we applied?"
"What about em?" she snapped back, quick as a whip.
"You remember the questions? Favourite way to keep fit? Best prank you ever pulled…" he gulped, "Biggest fear?"
Ruby was taken aback for a second, before coming to her senses, "Your biggest fear is opossums?"
"... Shut up."
"I think some of you have figured it out." Chris smirked, "Yes, today you will all be conquering… Your biggest fears!"
A chill went around the room, as each contestant slowly remembered what they had answered for that question. Nate looked around, "Neat! I'm not scared of anything!"
"Oh I remember Nate." Chris' grin grew more malevolent than it ever had before, "Don't worry, we're saving you a special task for later!" Nate swallowed lightly.
Confessional
Nate: I didn't put anything for the answer… Like, what are they gonna do about it?
Gabriel: I never, ever, wanted to conquer my fear. I was perfectly fine giving those… Things.. Their own space…
Bella: This is cruel… Yeah, fits for this show I guess!
Sabrina: I knew things were going too well… I'd like to see what you've got planned for me!
End
"So!" Chris pulled out an elaborate scroll from another pocket, "I've got the day's schedule all ready, you'll be going head to head, but it's not a competition, just pass your fear-based challenge to earn a point for your team. Team with the most points - and most conquered fears - will be today's winners. If you can't get over it, well, you may very well be going home. First up, Ruby from the Gophers and Josh from the Bass, we've got your favourites!"
Ruby stiffened almost imperceptibly. Gabriel leaned in, "Oh, what could possibly scare Ruby? She's not scared of anything!"
"Yep, it's time to learn about the goats and the bees!" Chris finished, "Everyone to the Wawanakwa Official Concert Hall… Or whatever we're calling it…"
Nate turned, "You're… Scared of having the talk?"
"Gross." Ajay sneered.
"What? What does that mean?" he looked at his team, confused.
"Goats…" Ruby muttered.
"Bees…" Josh said raspily on the other side of the room.
In a quick cut, the teams were sat on their bleachers, as two pens were brought on stage, one with a beekeeper's beehive and one with a medium-sized metal cage, impossible to see into.
Chris walked on, stood in between the cages and tapped a microphone, "Would Joshua and Ruby please come to aisle one, we have a gift for you."
Josh stood up slowly, knees knocking. Lee took his hand, "Hey, it's okay, we'll be here! You're not alone."
"T-thanks." he tried to smile, and hobbled towards the steps.
Ruby was similarly terrified, and struggled to her feet. Clive looked her up and down, "It's just a goat."
"I'll be sure to tell you that when it's your turn." she spat, steadying herself.
"I'm not scared of goats." he blinked.
"Shut up."
"It'll be okay." Ajay tried to sound confident, "It'll be over before you know it."
"Yeah… Sure…" she grimaced, walking slowly to the stage.
Confessional
Ruby: It's the eyes… They're the devil's eyes!
Josh: When I was little, I got stung by a bee during a family picnic… My parents freaked out, and rushed me to hospital in case I was allergic. I wasn't, but I've been scared to go near them again…
End
They joined Chris on stage, and he put a hand on their shoulders, "Okay, so, just take a deep breath. All you'll need to do is, Ruby, go into the pen, and give the goat a stroke and a hug, and Lucas, you'll need to just approach the hive and collect a little bit of honey."
"Huh, like those are equal." Lucas scoffed.
"If you're gonna complain, complain that they've got more players than us." Sabrina rolled her eyes.
"Hey you're right!" Lucas stood up, "Hey, Chris, how is this fair if they've got more players than us!"
The hive and cage shook lightly, getting agitated. Josh and Ruby jumped into the host's arms. He grit his teeth and stared at Lucas, "I assure you, this is fair, we know what we're doing Josh! And if you're so worried, start winning challenges."
"Ooh!" Ysabel chuckled slightly. Lucas sat down, steam practically escaping his ears.
"Alright." Chris clapped, "Open the cages!" Two men in protective gear opened the hive and goat cage. The honeycomb was exposed, revealing the swarm of bees crawling over it. Josh shuddered. The goat slowly wandered out, a doe, brown and white, with large amber eyes and stubby horns.
"Aww…" Louise cooed.
"Do not do that!" Ruby said defensively.
"Okay kids, get going. If you leave the pen without completing your task, that's a failure." Chris told them, pulling open the gates. The two teens entered cautiously, Ruby coming face to face with the goat, who cocked her head, and stared into her eyes.
"Don't look at me with those eyes!" she hissed. The goat said nothing.
Josh shivered, and looked at his feet, noticing protective gloves, a jar of honey, and a squeegee looking instrument to collect the honey. He swiftly donned the gloves, and held the squeegee in front of him like a weapon, "Okay, it's… Just a little honey…" he told himself. He took one step forward, and the hive buzzed. He took one step back.
Ruby approached the goat, still gazing mindlessly into her eyes. She stuck out a hand, and the goat ran around her. She clamped her hand into her chest, and closed her eyes, "Please don't curse me!"
"Hey, Ruby!" Sascia called from the bleachers, "It can't curse you!"
"You don't know that!"
"I do! Curses don't exist! Just touch it!"
"You do it!"
"That's not much of a challenge." Chris chided.
"Just breathe!" Sascia comforted her, "It's not going to hurt you."
"Are they gonna hurt me?" Josh reached out for comfort.
Sascia thought for a second, "Yes."
"I knew it." he cried.
"They won't!" Lucas called, more to shut Sascia down than to help Josh.
"Ruby, just stick out your hand, don't open your eyes!" Bella advised.
"O-okay!" She did just that. The goat settled in front of her, curious. She stuck out her neck, and licked the hand. "Ooh…" Ruby trembled, but did not bring her hand back. The goat leaned her skull into her hand, rubbing her cheeks on Ruby's palm. She cracked open an eye and laughed, "Hey… She likes me!"
"Go Ruby!" Nate called, "Pet that goat!"
"Woo!" Ajay echoed.
Ruby laughed, rubbing the goat's neck and leaning in to wrap her arms around it. "That's a fear conquered for the Gophers!" Chris announced, "Way to go, Ruby! You can come out now."
"I don't want to." Ruby sighed, petting the goat more. The goat bleated happily.
"Suit yourself." Chris shrugged, "How you holding up, Josh?"
"D-d-decent." he said through chattering teeth.
"Come on, Josh! You can do it!" Lee encouraged.
"Yeah! Go Josh!" Sabrina seconded, nudging Ysabel.
She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, Josh, you can do it!"
His confidence was instantly renewed. He stepped towards the hive, maybe a little too confidently. A few stray bees flew off, circling him. He gulped, but leaned forwards, carefully reaching out the squeegee. Suddenly, a bee fluttered right in front of his eyes, and he flinched, slipping backwards, and dropping his instruments. He covered his face with his gloves, and all he could hear was the buzzing of the bees. "I give!" he squealed, wheeling backwards towards the gate. Still on his back, he pried it open, scurrying out, before closing it with a sigh.
Chris picked him up, "Let's get the bee guy in! Unlucky, Josh, but that's a failure."
Josh was hyperventilating, "Yeah… Yeah… Please don't make me do that again."
"We won't." He nodded, "That's 1-0 Screaming Gophers. Ruby, I'm gonna have to ask you to let go of the goat."
"Aww…" she whined, but let her go. The goat bleated, forlorn. "Can I stay with her?"
"I'll introduce you to the handler." Chris smiled, "You can talk with him."
"Yay!" Ruby beamed, hopping out the pen, "I'll just be a minute!" She hurried off-stage.
"Get James!" Chris motioned to a producer. "Now, that's the first from each team done! As these get cleaned up, I'd like to tell Lee and Elijah to get ready! It's stage time!"
Lee gulped, "Oh, no…"
Elijah just blinked, "Why… Why are we together?"
"I… I don't know… What did you put?"
"The Rolling Stones. It was, yeah, kind of a joke." he shrugged.
"Oh… Mine was, well, basically being booed off stage…" she admitted.
"So…" Oswald tried to put two and two together, "You're gonna be performing with the Rolling Stones?"
"And people are gonna boo them off stage?" Sabrina asked.
Elijah shrugged again, "Beats me!"
Confessional
Lee: I… Guess I've always been frightened of rejection. And it's worse when it's public. Like when the crowd don't react when you're singing or start talking or… Boo you off stage…
Elijah: I mean… They're wrinkly and old. I thought it was funny…
Oswald: Heh, the Rolling Stones… Classic!
End
Soon, Lee and Elijah were brought on stage, Lee stood in front of a microphone, and Elijah holding a guitar, unsure of what to do with it. Chris appeared from the wings, "Can I ask all of the Screaming Gophers to crowd around the front of the stage please?"
"No, my fear is crowds!" Gabriel immediately yelled.
"No it's not, it's opossums, get on down here."
"Ha! Opossums!" Lucas laughed.
Gabriel grimaced, but joined the stream of his team to the front of stage, where a flock of interns also appeared, forming a decent crowd for Lee and Elijah's next gig. "Hello Wawanakwa!" Chris screamed into a microphone, holding up the horns, "Sorry, always wanted to do that! Heh! Tonight we present Lee and Elijah!" There was polite applause from the interns. "Also joining them on stage are the Tumbling Rocks!" Four old men walked on stage carrying various instruments and showboating to the interns, who went wild. Chris smiled sheepishly, "Yeah, our budget doesn't exactly cover the real Rolling Stones… Not if we want to keep the showers. Anyway, you'll be performing The Chain by Fleetwood Mac, because it's one of your favourites, right Lee?"
Lee nodded, turning slightly pale, "I… I guess…"
"Great! If both of you can finish the song, you'll each earn a point for your team. If you can't… Well, you don't. Good luck, Tumbling Rocks, the stage is yours."
As Chris shuffled off, Elijah grabbed his sleeve, "Uh, hi Chris, what am I supposed to do with this?"
"Play it." Chris answered, before removing Elijah's hand from his arm and hurrying off, chuckling slightly. He ran straight to the Screaming Gophers, and gathered them into a semicircle, "Okay guys, you're integral to this, cause we're gonna need your boos to scare Lee, the interns will join in, but you guys have the chance to really win this round."
"Should be no problem for some of us." Bella rolled her eyes, searching the semicircle for Ruby, "Hey, where's Ruby?"
"Oh, she's still with the goat." Louise nodded.
"Shouldn't she be here? I'll get her." Gabriel nodded, starting to head off.
Chris stuck out an arm and stopped him, "No time, plus we still need her. But hey the concert's starting, why don't we stop and watch?" Chris smiled, though this time somewhat condescendingly, and stepped off to the side to discuss arrangements with another producer. Gabriel breathed in, and joined his team.
"Hey, isn't this your big shot?" Nate said, "Like imagine how much more you could crush her!"
Bella pushed him away with a hand to the face, "Don't listen to him."
"I don't."
"Just like, don't call attention to yourself."
"Gladly." he grinned sarcastically. But then the song started, the 'Rocks beginning the guitar and drum riffs. Indira pushed forward. Inadvertently knocking Gabriel right to the edge of the stage.
Listen to the wind blow,
Watch the sun rise
Lee began, voice backed by the man whose name was presumably Rick Jagger. The man probably named Richard Keiths glanced over at Elijah, who was paying no attention and messing with the guitar, occasionally producing a low twang. He slowly and purposefully stepped towards him, before hissing, "What's the problem?"
"Oh… Uh… I can't play guitar?"
"And you're up here with us? Don't ruin it, play!" he sneered. Elijah gulped, and picked a few random strings. Richard continued to stare at him, unblinking.
Confessional
Elijah: No, to be fair… That was the scariest thing that's ever happened to me, they got that one right.
End
Elijah's plucking did, however, begin to distract the audience. "Is someone cutting telephone wire back there?" Ajay shouted over the speakers.
"Yeah what is that?" an intern echoed, even louder.
"It's awful, is what it is!" another one answered.
Nate grinned, "Yeah, this sucks!" he shouted with the full strength of his lungs. Lee flinched. Sascia noticed.
"God it's dreadful, get off the stage!" she shouted, eyes gleaming with pleasure.
Never break the chain…
Lee weakly finished a verse, Rick looking at her with complete incredulity. A tear played at the corner of her eye. But now, it was time for the instruments to take over. "Play it!" Richard yelled at Elijah.
"I can't!" he responded, desperately, flailing at the guitar but only producing further incongruous noises.
"Garbage!" Indira yelled.
"Learn to play!" Clive shouted at Elijah.
The only two Gophers staying silent were Bella and Gabriel, Bella keeping a watchful eye over him like a hawk. He sighed, and looked at her, before mouthing 'Sorry.' She knitted her eyebrows, and watched him approach the stage. Lee was staring at her team, whose words of encouragement were lost beneath the speakers and the heckling. She bit her cheeks, on the verge of tears and on the verge of sprinting off the stage. "Hey!" came a voice from her feet. She looked down, as Gabriel had snuck to the front. She immediately looked back up, determined not to let him see an emotion on her face. "It's okay… You can do this. Don't listen to them. You can do it." His voice wasn't louder than her surroundings, but she heard him clearly. She melted into herself, and let out a shivering sigh as she smiled down at him. He smiled back, before looking over his shoulder, and crouching slightly, 'Good luck.' he mouthed, before scurrying back before his team could notice what had just happened.
Elijah was nearing a similar emotional meltdown. Now the other guitarist had joined in and he and Richard were staring him down, expressions getting angrier with every wrong note. He felt like throwing the guitar down and storming off. No shame in defeat, he figured. But just as he was removing the strap, Lee's voice picked up again, triumphant.
Running through the shadow
Chain... Keep us together!
Lee began to powerfully sing both parts, as Rich blinked, missing a line, before catching himself and rejoining. Elijah smiled, causing both the older man to take a step back, confused. As the vocals were brought to an end, Elijah began to violently play many random notes, loudly and proudly. Every other musician slowly came to a close, and gazed back at the boy, on his knees, mashing the strings. After a few seconds he opened his eyes and stopped playing, "Um… Rock and roll?" he offered.
"Congrats to Lee and Elijah, you have both completed the challenge!" Chris announced, "Though I do remember the ending of that song being a skosh more tuneful."
"Hey, you gave me the guitar, man." Elijah shrugged.
"Regardless!" Chris continued, "We now have a massive round, where six of you will face off with your nightmares! Bring on the pods!"
Five clear, plastic tubes were wheeled onstage, followed by one that was painted jet black, completely opaque. There were nervous glances thrown about between the campers. Ysabel knit her brows, "Um… That one better not be for me!" she attempted to sound confident.
"If you have to ask, you already know the answer!" Chris smiled, "Ysabel, up you come! And can we also have Bella, Gabriel, Sascia, Ivan and Oswald!"
Confessional
Gabriel: Honestly, I don't think I would've done that if Ruby was around… That was lucky…
Lee: I knew he cared! Or did I… Oh, can't this all be simpler?
Bella: Yeah, I don't blame him. But also if I told anyone they'd probably vote him out, so it's good to have that advantage.
Elijah: I think I'm actually more scared of the Rolling Stones now.
End
The campers were sorted by pod, only Ysabel still outside hers, trembling. Bella's was the largest, then Gabriel's, Ivan's, Sascia's, Oswald's and finally Ysabel's, barely big enough for her to stand in, compared to Bella's which seemed closer to a paddock. Chris waved a selection of handlers on, again carrying containers of various sizes that aligned with the sizes of the pods. The smaller ones rattled slightly, as if something inside was desperate to get out. Chris turned to the campers watching, leaning side to side to catch a glimpse of the contents of the plastic boxes. "This is crunchtime. We have a selection of your friends biggest fears: first, horses!"
"Wait, what?" Bella's eyes grew wide.
"Oh, come on, you knew it was coming!" Sascia snapped, "Just as I'm guessing that jar is full of spiders!"
"How cliche." Bella shot back.
"You're right!" Chris intervened, "There are spiders there, moths for Oswald, opossums for Gabriel-"
Lucas failed to suppress a laugh, "Are you kidding?"
"You're lucky I'm trapped in here!" Gabriel responded, a finger pressed against the hard plastic of his pod.
"Whatever, dude." he rolled his eyes.
"As you can see, Ysabel," the host continued, "yours is a sensory deprivation pod, meaning you'll be left alone, in the dark, unable to even hear your friends' cheers of comfort."
"Oh…" she tried to shake off the fear, "Can't someone be trapped in here with me?" She batted her eyelids across the stage.
"I choose the possum." Gabriel stated.
"I volunteer!" Josh stuck his hand up.
"No, because that would defeat the purpose of being alone, wouldn't it?" Chris' grin did not break.
"Y'know, I think you're having way too much fun with this one." Gabriel folded his arms.
"I agree." he nodded, "And finally, Ivan."
"Da?" he replied, almost oblivious to the cage around him.
"Well, most of your file was redacted," the host broke smile for a second to frown, and pulled out a beige dossier, "but we think we may have been able to fly something over. The only word we could read in this segment was jerboa?"
"Nyet…" he murmured.
"What's a jerboa?" Oswald asked.
"It's a small sort of kangaroo-rat thing?" Chris shrugged, "All I know is three of them are in that cat holder there."
"What?" Lucas stood up, "That's what you're scared of?"
"Jesus, just pushing everyone's buttons today aren't you, Lucas?" Sabrina sneered.
"What?"
"I bet your fear is incredibly dignified." Elijah said.
"Might be…" Lucas sat back down.
"Each of these guys will have to spend ten minutes in their enclosures with their purported 'biggest fear', and if they can do that, they'll win a point! The score is currently 2-1 Bass, so Gophers, here's your chance, release the creatures!" As the handlers began to swing open cage doors and the contestants backed themselves up against the walls, Chris turned to Ysabel, "If you'd like to step in?"
"I wouldn't." she shook her head, staring at the black cylinder.
"Hey, it's just ten minutes, then you're outta there." he smiled.
She pursed her lips and looked into his eyes, "Okay, but one second more and I'm suing."
"Sure." he nodded, as she stepped inside and a timer began ticking down from 10 minutes.
A horse was led into Bella's pod, taking up a good amount of space, forcing her to cower in a corner. "Come on, Bell!" Indira encouraged, coming up to the front of the stage, "It's not gonna hurt you!"
"Look at its muscles!" she wheezed, pointing to the horse's frighteningly sinewy sides.
"It's a horse!" Ruby shouted, appearing from nowhere.
"Yours was a goat!"
"And I did mine! You don't even have to touch it!" she folded her arms.
"Wait, sorry, timeout." Clive formed a T with his hands, "Where were you?"
"I was staying with the goat." she ended the questioning, "Plus, I have to do something later, so they had to brief me slightly."
"Oh, great, that'll help her ego." Gabriel called, as three possums sniffed the new space they found themselves in. He flinched, "God!"
"I can't help that I'm special." she sniffed, "Just don't quit on the possums!"
"Don't tell me what to do." he tried to sound confident, shivering as they came closer to him.
In the other pods, the spiders were gently tipped out of the jar, and the fist-sized spiders crept around the area, climbing the wall opposite Sascia, who sat in a foetal position, watching them in terror. A handful of moths began to flutter around Oswald's space, and he breathed deeply, closing his eyes and clenching his fists. One accidentally bumped into his chest, and lazily turned around. Oswald raised his hands to cover his face with an "Eep!".
Ivan sat, rocking back and forth, as a jerboa hopped to his feet, gazing up at his face, curious. "Leave…" he whispered, hoarsely. There was no way to know how Ysabel was holding up for the other contestants, and Josh sat with bated breath, staring at the black void.
Many of the campers were silent, as a large clock ticked down from ten minutes. "You can do it guys!" Lee piped up, breaking the silence as the clock hit five minutes.
"Yeah, Oswald and Ivan," Lucas emphasised, "halfway there!"
"Not Ysabel?" Sabrina raised an eyebrow.
"What does that matter, it's not like she can hear us." he waved her off.
Inside, the creatures began to inspect their new roommates. The horse leant into Bella and sniffed her hair. She stood frozen, eyes glued shut.
"Hey, Bella!" Gabriel said, eyes equally closed as a possum put its two front paws on his knee.
"Y-yeah?"
"You can do this! Do not quit on me!"
"Wouldn't give you the pleasure!"
"You guys know I'm on your team too?" Sascia complained.
"Um, no you're not?" Gabriel guessed.
"Yes you are?" Bella bet on the other horse.
"I am! Come on, show some-" at that point Sascia turned to the other pods and saw a large spider hanging by a thread just by where her ear was. With a scream, she burst through the pod doors, and an animal handler went in after her to clean up.
"Unlucky, Sascia," Chris arrived to help, "but I'm sorry you don't win a point. You did well though, you lasted seven whole minutes."
"Thank you…" she breathed, patting down her clothing as she left the stage to join her team.
As she sat down, Lucas looked over at her, eyes wide, "Hey, um, Sascia? There's still one in your hair!"
She screamed again, and batted at her head. Ruby grabbed her arms, "He's messing with you, you're good!"
Sascia looked into her eyes, breathed and turned to Lucas, "... Not cool."
He merely shrugged. Josh held a hand over his mouth to prevent a laugh escaping.
"You can do this Oswald!" Elijah encouraged, ignoring them, "One minute left."
"60… 59…" Ivan began counting down.
"Hey, he's got the right idea." Gabriel opened his eyes, seeing two possums curled up in the corners and one nibbling on his shirt, sat on his lap. He steeled himself and forced a smile, "58… 57…" The possum cocked its head at him, confused.
"56…" Bella continued, as the horse lost interest with her, and walked along the opposite wall. She watched it move, muscles throbbing. She shuddered, but kept up the count, "55…"
"54…" Oswald joined in, as the moths continued to flap around the space, bouncing off of him intermittently.
Together the four of them slowly ticked away the remaining seconds. As they reached 10, Gabriel reached out to give the possum a stroke. It leaned into it, content. He smiled, "10!"
"9!" Bella yelled as loud as she dared so as not to spook the horse.
"8!" Oswald opened his eyes to see the room, and held his breath, determined just to eke out the last few seconds.
"7!" Ivan shouted, still eyes closed and rocking.
"6… 5! 4! 3! 2! 1!" They triumphantly cried, and their doors were opened, Chris himself opening Ysabel's door as she sprinted out, and fell to her knees.
"Well done, you five! You all managed to last the full ten minutes, and have earned a point each for your team. This puts the score at 5-3 to the Bass however, with five Gophers and two Bass left to compete!"
"Wow…" Gabriel bent double in front of his pod, "I didn't know we'd been winning that much…"
"We haven't…" Bella panted, watching the horse wheeled off.
The five that had just competed looked at each other. "Hell yeah, 3 for 3 Bass!" Oswald held up his hand for a high-five. Ivan gulped, and smacked his hand. Hard. "Ouch." Oswald grabbed his wrist, "By the way, what was… Y'know… The…"
"I will not say." Ivan turned away, walking back to the bleachers in silence. His teammates slapped his arms as he passed, but he sat, stoically, staring directly forward.
Gabriel blinked back at Oswald, who shrugged. "Damn."
"I know, I think we broke him…"
Ysabel walked past Gabriel shakily, "H-hey, wanna know how I got through that?"
Gabriel looked her up and down, "I really don't think I do."
"T-t-trust me, you do…" she sighed, brushing a hand across his chest.
"Y'know, psychologically terrified is not a sexy look."
"It- it could be." she slunk back to the bleachers as he shook his head. Bella raised an eyebrow at him and he shrugged. The four headed back to their seats.
Confessional
Gabriel: That… Worked out well…
Bella: I don't think putting people in a confined space with a horse conforms to any health and safety protocols…
Ysabel: I knew Chris would keep me in there longer than ten minutes… That was half an hour, right?
Sascia: I am not ashamed. Because otherwise…... That was hard…
Ivan: I am disturbed. My heart beats… This is cruel! I still… I see… Eyes...
End
"So, time to whittle down those Gophers, would Ajay and Louise please take the stage." Chris continued, as soon as the pods had been removed.
Louise went pale. Ajay knitted his eyebrows, and turned to her, "Hey, take my hand, you look like you've seen a ghost."
"Not quite…" she squeaked, placing her hand in his. It was clammy and cold.
Ajay swallowed hard, "I'm with you all the way. And so's Edwin."
"Let's do this…" she breathed. He helped her off the bench, and they slowly and shakily made their way to the stage.
"Okay, guys." Chris clapped as they reached the stage. Louise jumped. "Louise, I need you here, Ajay, you've got a one-way ticket to the catwalks." he pointed to the series of passages over the stage.
He breathed deep and let go of her hand. "No please…" she whispered.
"It's okay." he nodded, trying to convince himself as much as her, "Everyone's got your back."
"Yeah we do!" Indira hooted, "Woo! Louise!"
She nodded, "Okay, okay… What am I doing, Chris?" Ajay began climbing a ladder to the top, never looking down.
"We've got someone backstage that wants to show you something special," Chris said, ratcheting up the tension, "and if you can sit through the entire show, you'll win yourself a point. Please give a warm welcome to… Mister Jelly!"
A brightly dressed clown with a rainbow afro twice the size of his head burst through the curtains with a powerful squeak. Louise screamed.
"Don't give up yet!" Ruby 'encouraged'.
"You got this!" Ajay called down, now with a harness and a helmet.
"And Ajay," Chris looked up, "we already know about your fear of heights! All you have to do is cross the gangway before Mister Jelly finishes to get a point. If you aren't on the other side by that point, it's a failure."
Ajay breathed, "Okay… Okay… Second time's the charm.
Confessional
Ajay: I'm still a little… Embarrassed that my fear of heights almost cost us the first challenge. I can't let it do it again, can I?
Louise: I had a birthday clown when I was younger… He burst a balloon in my face. Then another. And another. I spent the afternoon in hospital 'cause my parents thought I might be deaf. I think he got arrested… Good. All clowns should be. I wish Edwin was still here…
End
"Oh, I love clowns, can I join the audience?" Sabrina asked Chris as Mister Jelly began to blow up a balloon and Louise flinched, grasping at an imaginary hand on the floor next to her.
"Nope. You'll have to watch from a distance like everyone else. This is a special, one-on-one show." Chris shut her down, eyes glued to Mister Jelly. He had made a giraffe. Louise applauded politely. Sabrina pouted and sat down, sulking.
"How can you love clowns?" Clive asked, bewildered.
She shrugged, "I wanted to be a clown from when I was like six 'til I was like eleven."
"And how's it working out for you?" he replied.
She rolled her eyes, "It's the only reason I know how to juggle."
"That and a lack of people skills." Gabriel joined in.
"Oh, coming from you! Your team is 30% sociopaths!" she sneered.
"She's got a point." Clive turned to him. He shrugged.
Lee put a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, c'mon, don't worry about them."
"I don't."
Lee swallowed, "They're not sociopaths."
Sabrina softened, "Oh, come o- Lee, I'm just having a laugh, y'know?"
She nodded, "Of course."
Confessional
Sabrina: They're totally sociopaths. Out of anyone Lee should see it. Or maybe the opposite...
End
Ajay took his first step across the catwalk, clinging to a guardrail, trying his best not to look down. Mister Jelly lifted the giraffe to his ear. Louise braced herself. The clown subtly plucked a needle from his suit and pricked the balloon. It burst. Louise yelped. Ajay looked down. "Yah!" he cried and took a step back to safety.
"You're okay, Lou!" Sascia tried to help, "He's not gonna hurt you!"
Lucas squinted, and looked at Lee, "Hey!" he practically shouted, "You know what my favourite film is?"
"What does that have to do with anything?" she asked, shoulders raised, "And can you not be so loud what is-"
"It's IT! Y'know with Tim Curry as that child-eating clown!" he cupped his hands around his mouth. A bead of sweat dripped off of Louise's temple. Mister Jelly did a little dance.
Lee sighed, a little disappointed she couldn't see where that was going.
Gabriel sneered, "Cool, mine's Trainspotting!"
"Mine's The Devil Wears Prada!" Ruby joined in.
"I like The Breakfast Club." Bella observed. Louise chuckled.
"I'm partial to Ghostbusters myself." Josh admitted.
Ysabel lightly swatted his ear, "Missing the point, dude."
"Oh…" he sat into himself a little, "It's still a good movie." She slapped him again.
"Mine's High School Musical!" Louise yelled, arms held above her head.
"A noble choice!" Clive affirmed.
"I love Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind!" Ajay called, having taken a few steps forward, almost halfway across the catwalk.
"Um, yeah…" Sascia looked to her team, who mostly just shrugged, "That's a good choice too!"
Ajay took another few steps towards safety. Unfortunately, Mister Jelly was getting as close to finishing his act. He brought out a bucket from seemingly nowhere and began mishandling it, swaying left and right, trying not to spill anything from inside it. He stumbled backwards and forwards, edging towards Louise, getting closer and closer to spilling it. Louise froze and braced herself.
Ajay began to take the final step. Mister Jelly finally tripped, spilling a whole bucket of blue confetti over Louise. She shrieked, but remained in place, arms over her head. Ajay was caught off-balance and fell onto his back with an "Oof!"
Mister Jelly took a bow, and Louise picked through the confetti, beginning to giggle to herself. Her laughter grew louder and she chucked a handful of confetti over her head, "Woo! I lived!"
Ajay looked over the edge, "Congrats, Lou! Now-" At this point he realised what was happening, and lay back down, "Oh no, that-"
"Congrats to Louise, but commiserations to Ajay! So close buddy! Only Louise gets a point but I think you both got closer to conquering your fears."
Ajay sighed, and stood up, knees knocking. He took that last step, and an intern helped his remove the helmet and get back down to the safety of ground level.
Confessional
Ajay: Third. Third time's the charm. Heheh…
Louise: I still hate clowns. Mister Jelly just didn't try to cripple me, so… That was fine.
End
The next round involved Indira and Lucas, who were brought face to face, Indira smirking, towering over Lucas. "I guess we finally get to see your super macho fear, huh?"
Lucas' eye twitched, "Something like that, yeah."
She laughed, "I'll take that as a no."
Chris interrupted hurriedly, "Now, now. You two have surprisingly similar fears. You'll both be trapped in sound-proof pods we've brought in, with only your least favourite sounds as company."
"Spared no expense, did you?" Elijah asked.
"No we did not." Chris said, deadpan. Two conical pods were wheeled in, and Indira and Lucas stepped inside.
Indira said something to Lucas across the gap, pointing against the glass. No one heard a thing. Lucas replied, presumably telling her he couldn't hear her. No one heard that either. "Ah, peace at last, can we leave him in there?" Sabrina lay back in bliss.
"Sadly only for ten minutes. We're just bringing in the instruments. A bassoon for Indira, and a leaking air canister for Lucas."
"So… Like… his biggest fear is the sound of air escaping a canister… What does that even sound like?" Oswald asked, to no one in particular.
"Kind of like nails on a chalkboard." Lee answered, "I think."
"Sure, it's like a slightly more bearable nails on chalkboard." Sabrina nodded.
"Then… Why wouldn't his fear be nails on chalkboard?" Oswald pondered.
The Killer Bass were hit by a sudden silence. "He's a massive dork?" Ysabel offered.
"Seconded." Gabriel eavesdropped.
"You don't get to talk about our team like that!" Elijah protested.
"Yeah, only we can talk about our team like that!" said Oswald.
"Yeah." Elijah echoed.
Gabriel rolled his eyes, "On a similar note, what's a bassoon?"
At this point, a bassoon and a gas canister were wheeled onstage, as well as a professional bassoon player. "That." Clive pointed, smirking.
Gabriel leaned on one hand, "Great."
From inside their pods, Lucas and Indira began panicking, backing towards the walls but getting nowhere. The instruments were wheeled in, and the gas canister was slightly loosened. The bassoon player sat and took a breath. "Your ten minutes start now!" Chris said, for the camera's sake. Indira and Lucas both covered their ears, grimacing.
Confessional
Indira: Man do bassoons suck. Stupid… Awful.. Are you a tuba or a clarinet, make a choice!
Lucas: It's so… Uncomfortable… Ten minutes…
End
Both contestants sat in pain, watching the clock. The rest of the campers seemed a little bored. "I mean… We can't do anything but watch… Really." Sabrina couldn't tear her eyes away.
"... Yep." Elijah and Oswald played rock, paper, scissors.
"How you holding up, Ivan, you've been awful quiet." Sabrina turned to the big man, hoping to take her mind off the challenge.
"I am not." He did not move a muscle.
"Great. Lee?"
Lee was looking queasy, "I don't like watching this."
"Hey, it's okay, it's just… Sounds." she placed a reassuring hand on her back. "You don't have to watch."
"I'm gonna… Sit beneath the bleachers."
"Should I join you?"
"No… I'll be alright.
"Okay… If you say so." Lee got up and hurried beneath the seats.
Gabriel saw her leave out the corner of his eye. He looked back to Bella, who shook her head. "Wasn't thinking of it at all." She raised an eyebrow.
"It's amazing." Clive sat forward. "You can really see the anguish on his face."
"He's gonna crack soon." Nate said with morbid curiosity.
"How's Indy doing, I can't watch." Sascia said, hands over her eyes.
"... Better." Clive admitted. Nate nodded along.
"Good."
The clock ticked down to the final few minutes. Indira unclamped her head for a breather. "Could you not?" she yelled at the bassoon player, who didn't so much as flinch. She snarled and folded her arms, shivering. She looked into the other pod, where Lucas was clenching every muscle in his body. He sensed her watching him, looked up, and scowled. She stuck her tongue out playfully, and raised a finger and a thumb to her forehead, in the shape of an L. He folded his arms, then immediately replaced them over his ears, grimacing. She let out a cackle and fell backwards. He looked over again, and stood up, under much stress. He grit his teeth, and stared at his feet. She looked at him, smug grin plastered on her face. He let out what seemed to be a scream of anguish, and barged out the pod door, giving up. She gave a celebratory fist pump.
"Ooh, Lucas, so close, but you gave up with just a second left on the clock." Chris indicated the clock.
"There was a clock!?" he screamed incredulously, falling to his knees.
"... Yes? It's pretty big." Chris looked at it as Indira stepped out, following the bassoon player.
"I hate you." she hissed at him, then turned to Lucas, pounding the ground with his fists, "Ooh, tough luck." She ruffled his hair.
"Don't touch me." he pouted, sitting up, legs crossed.
"You're adorable like that." she whispered sultrily.
"I am?" he asked, hope in his eyes.
"Like a puppy." she winked, heading back to her team, hands in the air.
He grumbled, and shuffled back to his, head hung low.
Sabrina folded her arms, "I'm not gonna say a word."
"Good." he sat, "Ow, splinter…"
Confessional
Lucas: How am I supposed to know there was a clock there? If you ask me that's an oversight…
Sabrina: Big, strong, Oh-Your-Fear-Is-Lame Lucas can't handle ten minutes with a leaky tap? Yeah, checks out.
Indira: Feels good putting him in his place. This better not awaken anything in me.
End
To introduce the penultimate round, Chris actually left the stage, "Our next round is the only one that doesn't take place on stage," he announced, walking between the bleachers, as the campers turned around to follow him, "it takes place here!" A layer of fake foliage was yanked away to reveal two elaborate buildings, a creepy, decrepit mansion, and a construction site, populated with a crane and iron girders forming a frame. Clive and Sabrina looked at each other. "Yep, Clive, you've gotta make it through Wawanakwa's famous halloween attraction The Mansion of Dr McLean, a surprisingly handsome mad scientist," he paused to chuckle, "and Sabrina, you've gotta make it through the future site of Wawanakwa's own McLean brand hotel!"
"Really?" Elijah perked up.
"No, it's gonna remain a construction site forever," he admitted, "but way to ruin the atmosphere."
Clive sighed, "Might as well get this over with."
"For once, I agree." Sabrina slapped her knees, standing up, "Wish me luck guys."
"Good luck!" Elijah and Oswald said in unison.
"Good luck!" came a muffled Lee's voice from beneath the bleacher.
"You can come back up here now, Lee." Lucas offered.
"Oh… Okay…" she popped up at the side, and took a seat, "Um, yeah… Good luck!"
The two contestants got down into sprinter stances at the entrances to their respective attractions. Chris stood between them, "Hey, you guys know it's not a race? Just make it through without crying uncle. If you do, you'll be helped out, but you won't score a point. Got it?"
"Yeah," Sabrina gulped.
"Y-yeah," Clive nodded.
"Then… Go!" Chris shrugged, and the two sprinted inside, only to immediately slow, and edge their way forward.
In the house, Clive crept forwards, hands held in front of him like a T-Rex.
Confessional
Clive: Yeah, I've always hated horror and stuff… Boring I know, but being confronted by monsters and killers? It rubs me the wrong way.
End
He stumbled into a cobweb, but shook it off, "Ew… Is this real? No, come on, Clive, don't let it get to your head." He continued, following arrows that marked the course. Up the stairs. He took them one at a time, bracing himself for something to jump out at him. Sure enough, one of the pictures on the wall came off, breaking on the floor. He jumped, breathed, and took another step. That's when the rest of the pictures fell. He gasped, and fell back down to the bottom floor, "Great…" he shivered, "Back to square one."
Meanwhile, Sabrina was navigating a similar situation. Arrows also showed her the safest way through the site. The first one pointed up a sloping girder, leading up to the next storey. "Great…" she muttered.
Confessional
Sabrina: My dad works construction, and… I guess I've always been worried he'll hurt himself? But also one take your daughter to work day it was windy, and everything seemed so unstable… They're scary places!
End
When she reached the next floor, she scrambled to her feet, and was about to take a step when a wrecking ball passed an inch from her nose. She went pale, "Uhhh…"
"You can do it!" Lee yelled, though the sound was lost in the rush of the wrecking ball, and the distance between them. Sabrina watched the ball, as it came back on itself. She sucked in a quick breath, and dove past it, rolling her way past as it swung back behind her.
"This cannot be okay, McLean!"
"I can't hear you over the sounds of construction!" he replied, sipping a cup of coffee, "And by that I of course mean getting no work done!"
"God…" she muttered, getting to her feet again and shuffling forward.
Clive had gotten back on the steps and tip-toed his way to the top, only to find another arrow, pointing him into the bedroom to his right. He rolled his eyes, trying to convince himself he wasn't scared, and stepped in. He crept forward, eyes on the four-poster bed, draped in elegant translucent silk and made-up with simple, yet expensive-looking white sheets. As he rounded it, he noticed a lump under the covers, "No, no, no, not looking!" he said, trying to inch his way past, one hand over the right side of his face. But just as he was rounding the second post, he heard a creak, and gulped. His brain was screaming not to, but he let curiosity get the better of him, and lowered his hand. There was a woman, sitting up, wearing a wedding dress. She smiled wanly, and shrugged lightly, raising a hand to her lips. Clive tried to smile back, "H-hey I'm gonna be…" But the lady said nothing. She giggled, and threw some of the covers off the bed, revealing bloody guts and a woodsman's axe next to her. Her giggle turned to manic laughter. "Okay I'm going now!" he screeched, sprinting out the door and across the landing into a new room. He bent double and looked behind him. She hadn't followed. "Of course not, you idiot, that's not what she's supposed to do!" He slapped himself and looked up. A man stood there, staring, his face a light blue, glowing dimly in the low light. "And you are?" Clive asked. Again the man said nothing, but held up an arrow, showcasing he should go right again. "Thanks." he smiled politely. He took a step forward, but the man opened his mouth. He stopped, "Um, guy?" Suddenly the room was filled with the sound of wailing, and the man began to scream. "Is that the police? That's… That's a siren, right?" he asked, rattled. The man's face began to morph. His teeth lengthened, his nose split apart, his flesh began to drip off. "Um, man?" Clive said, teeth chattering. The man roared, and snapped forward at him. "Uncle! Uncle! Uncle!" he cried, going into foetal position, and rocking back and forth on the floor. In a second the lights were on, and the man had disappeared.
Chef walked in, "Hey, champ, tough luck, this thing is tough…"
"What was with this room?" Clive stood up, searching for where the man could've gone.
"I don't know, seems pretty normal to me, I'm just a bit upset you didn't get to the kitchen. my part was great."
"What was in this room, Chef?" he asked, fearing the worst
"Nothing, I think. Why?"
Confessional
Clive: Actually haunted! That sounds unfair, what the hell! That was terrifying! An actual ghost! AAH!
Chris: Holograms. They're the future! I didn't ask Chef to lie about it, though, give the man some credit.
Chef: Heheh. Kids…
End
Sabrina was still going strong, however, teetering along thin, unstable girders as the wind blew lazily, shaking the structure lightly. She reached the end of a balance beam, maybe three metres above a safety net. She reached a large platform and crouched down, hand on her heart. She spotted the next arrow, showing a beam going down, into a small pit of bricks and rubble. Her eyes went wide. She said to herself, "Don't say uncle, don't say uncle, don't say uncle!" She steeled herself and slowly shuffled forward on her butt, until she could go down the beam like a slide. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then inched her way down, stopping and starting. "Slow and steady, slow and steady..." Eventually, her foot hit a piece of foam. She knitted her eyebrows and looked down, picking up a piece of foam, convincing as a brick from three metres away. She rolled her eyes and fell into the pit, sighing. As she waded forward, one final arrow made itself clear, showing an open path to a gate labelled 'Finish'. She grinned and hopped out. She took a step, but stopped herself, watching to see if anything would come across to sideswipe her. One second. Two seconds. "Aw to hell with it!" she yelled, sprinting forwards. Behind her, as she ran, poles chased after her, threatening to trip her. She didn't look back however, and managed to reach the finish before she could slip. "Yes!" she cried, victorious, as a pole finally caught up, causing her to fall onto her behind. "Ow… But still, yes!"
"Congrats! You've earned yourself a point, Sabrina, sweet moves!" Chris congratulated her, leading her back to the starting point just as Clive was led out of the mansion by Chef. "Unlucky, Clive, but you don't earn a point. This makes it 6-5 to the Bass!"
The Killer Bass began to jump and hoot and holler, waving their arms in the air, and hugging Sabrina as she raced back to join them. "Two in a row baby!" Lucas raised a fist.
Gabriel squinted at his team, as Clive walked back to them sheepishly. Nate nervously scratched at his arm. Ruby was nowhere to be seen. "Hold up!" he announced, interrupting the Bass' celebrations.
"What's the problem, jealous?" Lucas teased.
"It's not that-" he began.
"Oh, just can't handle the idea that other people can have fun? Look at me, I'm so high and mighty when we win but I can't handle the other team-"
"We've still got a player to go." he said, deadpan.
"Oh…" Lucas blushed.
"No, I ain't got a fear, they can't do nothin' about that!" Nate crossed his arms smugly.
"In fact Nate," Chris clasped his hands, "we can. Everyone to the stage for the final challenge!"
Confessional
Sabrina: To be fair, I'm not sure a foam construction site is overall much of a challenge, but… I ain't complaining!
Lucas: … Dumb.
Nate: I'm like, there's no way you could find something that actually scares me! We've got this in the bag. Ay-o!
End
Chris stood on stage with Nate, who was looking back at the teams like a belligerent God would. "Now, Nate given that this is the final challenge, and your team is one point behind, if you can complete this, it will be worth two points, and will give your team the win."
"No problemo!" he scoffed.
Gabriel facepalmed, "Problemo."
"Okay, Nate. Let's bring on the fear!" A tall metal cylinder was brought in, with just breathing holes. It rocked back and forth as whatever was in it thrashed about inside. Nate's confidence wavered for just a moment. "Alrighty. We're gonna unleash that beast, and all you've gotta do is stay on the stage for thirty seconds, alright Nate?"
"A-alright. Yeah, let's go!"
"Hey have you guys seen Ruby?" Bella asked.
"Unleash!" Chris bellowed, and the cage was opened, and sure enough, Ruby stepped out.
"This is what you needed me for?" she shrieked, "Cause this little pipsqueak," Nate flinched, "can't handle powerful women? Are you kidding me, Nate? You're pathetic!" she raced forward.
"Aargh!" Nate screamed, running backwards and tripping off the stage.
"Ouch… Three seconds… Yeah, that won't cut it. The Killer Bass are the winners of today's challenge!" Chris announced, as Ruby stomped off behind him to confront Nate some more.
Nate himself lay in a daze, watching birds fly above him, until Ruby leant over, interrupting, "Ahem!"
"Aargh! I mean, ah, Ruby, hi…" he laughed nervously.
"You're unbelievable." she shook her head and stormed back to the cabin, amidst a Bass celebration, as Elijah and Oswald hugged each other, Lee, Ysabel and Sabrina high-fived, and Lucas pretended to be a proud team captain.
"Yeah… I am." Nate grinned.
Confessional
Ruby: They showed me his confessionals. I can't believe he was scared of me! Like what a useless loser. Also the way he kept calling me hot… Urgh, what a creep.
Nate: This is perfect! That was totally Ruby's fault! I can get rid of her and take control of the alliance myself! Nate you're a genius.
Lucas: Evened it back up. Score! In your face Ga-ophers! Gophers.
Bella: Ace...
End
"C'mon gang, let's get prepared." Indira shrugged, leading the team back to the cabins, following Ruby. Ajay and Clive shrugged, getting up, with Louise and Sascia in tow, talking in hushed tones about whose fault it was.
Bella sighed and looked at Gabriel, "Let's make a choice."
Gabriel looked at Nate, still staring at the sky, arms spread-eagled. "Done."
"You don't think this could be a golden opportunity?" she offered as they headed back.
"I think if we do, and leave him with a massive head, we're never winning a challenge again." There was not a hint of humour in his voice.
"True. I'd also rather never see him again." she nodded. He clicked his fingers and pointed at her in approval. A stray waving arm caught his eye, however.
He turned to see a reserved Lee, who mouthed at him, 'Can we talk?'
He grimaced, 'Not now. Later?'
'Okay.' She tried to force a smile at him, before one came more naturally as she was swept up in Elijah's dramatic reenactment of the day's events.
"And then Josh was all like, 'No, not the bees, please, they may make me seem masculine!"
The Bass laughed, except Josh, who blushed, "That's so not what happened…"
"Um, who's telling the story?" Elijah smiled, trying to make himself seem as nice as he could while also being objectively mean.
"You are…" he conceded.
"Thanks. Anyway where was I? Oh, yes, and then Ysabel's in the dark all like, 'Ooh, I wish a big strong man was in here with me, cause then he'd force his way out to get away from me and then it'll be light'!"
Ysabel scowled, "Okay, alright, at least I won mine."
"Ooh, snap!" Oswald said, "That's about you Lucas!"
"Me, oh come on are we not over that yet?" he whined.
"Actually, no. In fact, we have some questions." Oswald began.
Lee broke away for a second to look up at Ivan, still unmoving. She thought for a second, and clambored upwards to sit in front of him, "Hey… Ivan…"
"Da?" he still wouldn't move.
"You… You know we… Won, right?"
"Da." he sighed.
"Don't you wanna celebrate?"
"I do not feel like it."
"You did great, Ivan. You conquered your fear… You know if you hadn't done that we wouldn't have won." she laid a hand on one humongous bicep.
He nodded, and sighed again, "It is hard for me. Jerboa… They are… Evil…"
"I'm sure… You don't have to tell if you don't want to."
"I do not want to."
"That's okay… Can you at least… Be Ivan?"
"... I will consider…"
"Thanks! You're the best!" she wrapped a hug around his neck.
"D'aww… Thank to you!" he returned the gesture, breaking his slump.
"Group hug!" came the shout from the ground, as Oswald raced up the steps to wrap his arms around the other side of Ivan's neck.
"Group hug!" Ivan laughed heartily, leaping down to the rest of the team, and lifting all of them into his arms.
"Okay… That's at least two ribs gone…" Lucas yelped.
"I've got some good news that can come from that." Elijah wheezed.
Confessional
Ivan: It is nice to know people care. It is also nice to know I now have bravery to crush jerboa with boot… Maybe…
Lee: I knew he'd be alright! It just wouldn't be the same if Ivan wasn't Ivan.
Elijah: Great. For a half hour I was king… And now… Ashes in my mouth…
End
In the boys' side of the cabin, Clive and Ajay sat on their bunks, arguing. "I'm not saying it will be you, man, I'm just saying you didn't complete yours!" Clive gestured wildly.
"Neither did you!" Ajay folded his arms, resolute.
"Okay… Who didn't do theirs… You, me, Nate… Sascia? Is that is?"
Ajay thought, "... Yeah."
"So, it's one of us."
"No, it could be Nate or Sascia."
"I meant us four."
"Oh…" Ajay tried to think of a different way to contradict him, "We could vote off Ruby?"
"Why would we do that?" Clive sat forward, intrigued.
"If she had just been a little calmer, Nate could've done his. Like, if she'd just stood they could've done thirty seconds ten times over."
"True…" Clive began calculating in his head rapidly, "You've got a good point… But…"
"But?"
The door burst open as Gabriel strode in, with Bella behind, covering her eyes with her hands, "You guys better have cleaned up after yourself."
Clive rolled his eyes. Ajay subtly kicked a pair of underwear under his bed, "You're good."
Bella put her hand down, "Great, we have a proposal."
In the other room, Ruby had Sascia at Nate at her feet, and was pacing back and forth, her mind made up, unsure of what to say to them, however. "Okay, so, I'm the only one here who completed their challenge. That means that I at least know I'm safe, so I've gotta sort this…"
Nate elbowed Sascia, "Heh, that's what she thinks." Sascia looked at him, confused.
Ruby whipped around, "Okay, who is it then, Ajay or Clive?"
"Does it have to be one of them?" Sascia sighed.
"If it's not gonna be one of you, yes."
Nate thought for a second, "Clive."
"Okay…" Ruby was taken aback, "Why?"
Nate shrugged. Sascia stood up, "Okay then. Cool, Nate can you get out?"
"Wait, why?" he complained.
"Cause this is the girls' cabin?" she suggested.
"Oh… A good point well made, thank you." he slunk out the door.
As soon as the door was closed, Sascia turned, straight-faced, "Better idea."
Ruby grinned, "I love it."
That evening, the remaining Gophers gathered at the campfire again, and Chris stood at the podium, eight marshmallows on a plate. "Welcome back, Gophers, twice in a row, ouch." he started, tossing a marshmallow in the air and catching it, "I'm sure you know the drill. You will all go inside the booth and place a vote. When the votes are counted, those of you that are safe will receive a marshmallow, and get to stay on the island. For now. One of you will not. And they will be forced to take the Dock of Shame, take the Boat of Losers and will never be able to return to the island ever again. Please cast your votes."
One by one, the team left, voted and returned. Chris was handed a piece of paper, and he cleared his throat, "Okay Screaming Gophers… The first marshmallow goes to… Bella."
Bella grinned, and went to grab her marshmallow.
"Louise… Gabriel… Indira…" The three joined her at the podium.
"Ajay… Clive…" the two guys grinned at each other, racing to grab their marshmallows. Ruby's face creased.
"Ruby, Sascia, Nate… You're all here in the bottom three… Ruby, you may have conquered your goat fear, but you also directly caused Nate to fail… Sascia, Nate, you both failed to complete your challenges… The next marshmallow goes to…
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Sascia."
Sascia knitted her eyebrows, and took her marshmallow, looking back at Ruby and shrugging. Ruby's eyes went wide. Nate's smile did likewise.
"Now… The final marshmallow of the evening, and the player returning for another day is…
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Ruby. Nate, please take the dock, and the boat. You are eliminated." Ruby hungrily ran to grab her marshmallow, swallowing it, and glaring at the remaining members of her team, who all shrugged.
Nate's face fell, "Aw, damn, that was so close… Ah, well." He stood up, hunched, and walked down the dock slowly. Ruby waved after him sarcastically.
He stepped onto the boat, and Chef looked back at him, "Chin up, kid. That weren't your fault."
Nate's face immediately rose, "I know, right? Like, unbelievable, I can't even-"
Chef chuckled to himself and kicked the boat into gear, heading off into the horizon.
Chris turned to a camera, "Yeah, well, Nate was wrong… That was not close. But maybe tomorrow will be? Will the Gophers' losing streak continue? Will the Bass' winning streak? Those questions both have the same answer, but you can only hear it next time, on Total! Drama! Island!"
22nd: Lorelei
21st: Lisa
20th: Ophelia
19th: Ronald
18th: Edwin
17th: Nate
Screaming Gophers: Bella, Edwin, Gabriel, Ajay, Louise, Indira, Lisa, Ruby, Nate, Sascia, Clive
Killer Bass: Ivan, Lee, Lorelei, Lucas, Elijah, Ophelia, Oswald, Ronald, Ysabel, Sabrina, Josh
A/N: Hey, no one's ever called me consistent. I just get bursts of inspiration and such. I'll be honest, this one was hard. It's really difficult to structure this episode and try to make everything still entertaining. I think I did it for the first half at least. It's a slog, it's the longest chapter, but, hey, I'm having a good time, and that's what counts. I'm doing this, like, entirely for me, but if you want, you can leave a review or something I don't know I'm just spitballing here, it would make me happy. Probably. Anyway, see you in April!