Author's Note:
Yep, I'm back. Sorry for the long delay, but I decided to go on hiatus basically over the summer due to my summer job and writer's block. But I'm back now and hope to update this more often. Nothing really specific to respond to in the reviews. I just want to thank everyone for enjoying what I have so far. I know it's been a little slow without any kills right now. Just bear with me for a little longer; I promise kills are coming. Not just random characters too; actual Total Drama characters are going to start dying before too much longer.
But anywho, let's get back to it.
By the time the day of the cruise came, the shark had not been seen since the night it had attacked Gwen. Fears had generally calmed down amongst the populace regarding to the monster.
For the twenty-one teenagers expected to ride on the Wawanakwa, all their attention was now focused on the weeklong cruise they were about to undertake. Very few of them were even thinking about the monster.
But Gwen was still concerned. "I don't like this, Trent," she said as he drove them to the dock where the Wawanakwa was.
"I know you don't," Trent replied. "But it's not like we have much choice. Our parents think this trip will take our minds off Katie and Sadie's deaths."
"It's hard to do that when there's a killer mutant shark on the loose."
"Fair enough. But there's nothing we can do about this. We're just going to have to go on this cruise and try to relax. Who knows? Maybe if we're lucky, this monster shark won't even come after us."
He was trying to comfort her, Gwen knew. But she could tell that he was concerned too. The attack on her had rattled her friend more than he had admitted. And she had a sneaking suspicion that the shark would appear again.
The docks were coming into view now, giving Gwen her first look at the ship they would be sailing on for the next week. The Wawanakwa was indeed a magnificent looking ship, with a massive yellow hull, several lifeboats and jet skis attached to the sides, and twin propeller blades dipping just below the water. The insignia for the Drama Corporation was also painted on the side.
There were only a few other people from their class there when Trent pulled the car up: Courtney, Geoff, Beth, and DJ. And, to Gwen's surprise, Duncan. The delinquent was currently carving a skull face into one of the wooden poles on the dock.
Gwen grabbed her bags from Trent's car and carried them to where the others had apparently put their bags. Then she walked over to where Duncan was.
"Didn't expect to see you here," she commented.
"What can I say? A cruise just sounded like fun," Duncan replied.
"And his parole officer forced him to come," Courtney added. Duncan glared at her.
Gwen paused. "Hey…I never did get to thank you for, you know, saving my life the other day."
Duncan shrugged. "Whatever."
"Aww, look, it's the first hook up of the summer." This came from Heather, who had just arrived alongside Alejandro.
Gwen rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah. We're going at it big time." Heather would've shot something hostile back at her if Leshawna hadn't also shown up at that time.
"Girl, you can bitch all you want," she said to Heather. "But if you ask me, you got your own crush we can talk about next to you."
"She does make a good point, senorita," Alejandro commented in his usual smooth voice, taking Heather's hand gently.
"Ew! Ick, ick, ick!" Heather backed away from Alejandro in disgust, turning her back on him and stomping away to stand closer to the suitcases.
Leshawna and Gwen laughed. "It's always a good day when Heather gets upset," Leshawna declared.
Suddenly, in the distance, there was the sound of a speedboat running. Gwen turned towards the water to see a large speedboat barreling towards the docks. Driving the boat was Geoff. Owen was also seated next to him. Water skiing behind the boat was Tyler.
"Woohoo!" Owen cheered as Geoff pulled the speedboat to a stop next to the dock. Unfortunately, the force of the stop caused Tyler to tumble head over heels before flying headfirst into the pile of suitcases, sending one suitcase splashing into the water, drenching Heather in the process.
"Augh! My shoes!" she complained.
Leshawna laughed again. "This just keeps getting better and better."
"Wicked wipeout, dude!" Geoff called to Tyler, who crawled out of the suitcase pile and gave them a thumbs up.
There was a clattering of cans from the pavement. Everyone turned around to see Sierra walking over to them, carrying two suitcases in her hands and Cody stuffed in a large backpack.
"Sorry we're late!" she exclaimed in a sing-song voice. "I just had to get some protection for my future hubby! Now we'll never be apart even if the boat sinks and everyone drowns!"
"Why are there cans tied to the back of the bag?" Geoff asked.
"Really? That's your biggest question with this whole scene?" Trent asked.
"Hi, guys!" Izzy suddenly rounded the corner and ran towards the group. "Hi guys, hi-woah!" She tripped on the dock and fell to the ground, hitting her head hard.
Tyler chuckled. "Oh, man, that was bad."
Courtney rushed to Izzy's side. "Guys, she could be seriously injured."
"You do realize that this is Izzy we're talking about, right?" Gwen reminded her. "The girl that tried to tunnel out of the school once for fun." Sure enough, Izzy popped up a few seconds later.
Before long, the other remaining students in the class arrived, the last one being Justin, who, of course, brought the eye of every other girl on the dock. Gwen rolled her eyes at that. "If I ever fawn over a guy like that, please stab me in the head," she muttered to Trent.
A limo suddenly pulled around and came to a stop next to the dock. Out came both Mayor McLean and his assistant, Blaineley. "Morning everyone," he said as he joined the teens, flashing his signature grin. "Who's ready for a fun, relaxing cruise?"
"Woo hoo!" Owen cheered. Gwen rolled her eyes again.
The loading ramp of the Wawanakwa suddenly lowered as a portly man in a captain's uniform walked down it. "Welcome aboard the Wawanakwa," he boomed, flashing a smile. "I'm Captain Blompkins. I hope that you'll enjoy your stay on my ship."
"How's it going, man?" Owen asked, rushing over to grip the captain's hand in a handshake. "I'm Owen."
Blompkins, wincing in pain from Owen's grip, was about to respond when there was a loud coughing sound from an engine. Everyone turned their attention back to the road as a beat-up old jeep pulled to a stop next to the other cars. Driving this jeep was Chef Hatchet.
"What are you all staring at?" he barked as he got out of the jeep and grabbed two massive bags from the back.
"Mr. Hatchet, what exactly are you doing here?" McLean asked.
"What's it look like? I'm joining the cruise."
McLean frowned. "Mr. Hatchet, please, you can't possibly expect to be able to join this cruise without—"
Chef got right into McLean's face. "You going to try to stop me, Mr. Mayor?"
McLean swallowed. "W-welcome aboard."
Chef grunted in response.
"If everyone is here," Blompkins spoke up, "I'd like to get underway soon. Everyone followed the portly captain up the boarding ramp and onto the deck of the Wawanakwa.
The main deck had several lounge chairs on it surrounding a large swimming pool that ran over most of the front deck. Gwen could see from the looks on several of the girls' faces that they would be spending a lot of time there.
"I need to make sure that we're ready to cast off," Blompkins announced. "Mr. Mayor, you get the suite room near the bridge. Everyone else, please follow Mr. Lokheart downstairs to your quarters." As he spoke, a tall, thin man appeared with the name "Lokheart" on his shiny nametag.
"Follow me, please," Lokheart ordered in a nasally voice. He led the group down the stairs to the next level on the ship, where the group was greeted to a large lounge and dining room with multiple couches, chairs, an entertainment center, and even a pool table.
"Oh, it's so beautiful," Lindsay gushed. "I must be dreaming. Someone pinch me."
"Okay!" Izzy said with a grin. Lindsay then let out a yelp of pain as Izzy pinched her arm.
"Your rooms have been prepared and your belongings have been delivered to them," Lokheart told them. "There will be two of you in each room, with the exception of the one named Owen given what we've been told about his condition."
Owen laughed. "You mean my party filled nature?"
"I think he's referring to you producing enough toxic fumes to peel the paint off a battleship," Noah corrected dryly.
"Oh yeah."
"Do we get to pick our rooms?" Duncan asked, jerking a thumb at Heather. "Because I'd like to request a bunk under her."
"They're not co-ed, are they?" Heather asked in a worried tone.
"Of course not," Lokheart replied. "The captain does not want to have to clean up the aftermath of any sexual encounters."
"Think he's talking about you two," Owen joked to Geoff and Bridgette with a chuckle. Both turned red with embarrassment.
Lokheart, ignoring this conversation, turned his attention to Chef. "Sir, I wasn't informed of your presence on the ship. I'm afraid a room hasn't been prepared."
"I don't care," Chef grunted. "I'll get my own room ready." With that, he marched off to where, presumably, an empty room was, carrying his two massive duffel bags with him.
"Meals will be served at 8 am, noon, and 6 pm respectively," Lokheart finished. "There is no curfew, but we ask that everyone be down in this common area by 10 pm every night. Thank you for joining us on this voyage; please enjoy your stay." With that, he turned and stiffly walked away, as if he couldn't care less about what they'd do next.
"I get the feeling he doesn't like us too much," DJ commented.
"What was your first clue, big guy?" Noah asked dryly.
"Chill, dudes," Geoff declared. "This is going to be a wicked cruise. Who's ready to party?!"
The cheers of the kids could be heard clear up on the top deck.
The Wawanakwa began to pull out of the Boney Island harbor. With the sun high in the sky and the ocean calm and inviting, the massive yacht started to head for open water.
No one noticed the glaring eyes and shark fin that followed the boat, keeping a fair distance, yet never losing sight of ship filled with fresh victims to feast upon.
Alive: Alejandro, Beth, Blaineley, Bridgette, Chef Hatchet, Chris McLean, Cody, Courtney, DJ, Duncan, Eva, Fang, Geoff, Gwen, Harold, Heather, Izzy, Justin, Leshawna, Lindsey, MacArthur, Noah, Owen, Sanders, Sierra, Trent, Tyler
Dead: Katie, Sadie
And they're off! The cruise is finally underway! What adventures will the teens go on? And who won't survive the cruise? As I mentioned before, don't forget that there's a poll up on my profile where you can place your bets on who will live. The votes I've seen so far are quite interesting.
I hope you noticed all the nods I made to the very first Total Drama episode. I decided to make this chapter referencing that episode with the characters' arrival to the dock. There's also a few more lines taken from TDI that I found ways to use just to give it a little bit more of that TD flair in this alternate universe.
But anywho, that's all from me. Make sure you hit that favorite/follow button to stay informed on updates, and don't forget to leave a review to let me know how I'm doing. Until next time, this is Guest 1138, reminding you that lava is hot. Ciao!