Chapter 9
"Last time on Total Drama Island!" Chris was stood on the dock, a green paintball gun in hand. "The remaining sixteen campers went on a magical mystery tour of the fabled Boney Island! There were thrills, spills and chills, as well as our very own Romeo and Juliet story as two campers on opposite teams got very close! In the end Josh's heroic turn ended with him crossing the finish line and winning the day for the Bass, leaving Louise as the unlucky loser sent back home. There are fifteen left, soon to be fourteen, and it's hunting season only on Total! Drama! Island!" He aimed the gun at the camera, lining up his shot.
"Okay, cut, don't shoot, thanks Chris perfect again."
"No problemo my man." He handed the gun to a hurried intern, who whisked it away onto the island proper. He turned, noticing most of the campers sprawled across the common area, having heard his speech. He blushed and tugged at his collar, "I thought teenagers slept until like 2pm…"
Sabrina shrugged, "Sorry?"
"No, no, just… 30 minutes, at the campfire, okay?"
"No worries." Ruby shrugged, as Chris walked awkwardly between them, then sprinted the last few metres out of the grounds.
"What time is it?" Sascia asked, sitting across from her.
"I don't know, time doesn't matter here." she replied, lying back. Ruby and Sascia were joined by Indira, Clive and Ajay sitting in the centre of the campgrounds, having staked their claim to it before anyone else. Bella and Gabriel sat on their cabin's porch, saying little. Sabrina, Lee, Elijah, Oswald and Ivan stuck close to their porch, but stretched out a few feet, pacing up and down. Josh and Lucas were inside, and Ysabel was nowhere to be seen. Gabriel was very aware of that fact.
"Romeo and Juliet…" he muttered under his breath as he watched Chris leave.
"Yeah, where is your star crossed lover anyway?" Bella smirked.
"I wish I knew…" he shook his head, "I feel like I need to keep track of her so I can be where she's not."
"Sure." she scoffed.
"You think I like it?"
"I know you like it." she smiled and sent him a withering look.
"Hey, I thought me and Lee was the thing."
"So did I."
"Well… Can't I just… Not have a thing?"
"Apparently not."
"Don't you have your eye on someone?"
She kissed her teeth, "Unlikely, it isn't exactly a prime meat market here."
"Ew."
"Ha ha, you know what I mean. Maybe Ivan's body with Ajay's brain, or Ajay's body with… Ajay's brain…" she trailed off.
"Ooo." he teased.
"He's alright." she shrugged it off. "He's nice."
"Steamy." he looked around for Ajay, spotting him in the circle and smiling.
"Shut up already." she broke down giggling.
Suddenly, the boy's door opened, hitting Gabriel in the back of the head, "OW! Even when no one's in there!"
"Sorry loverboy." Ysabel stood over him, letting her hair fall from a bun.
"How the hell did you… Why the-" His brain rapidly went through the implications, "You weren't-"
"Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answers to." she stuck on a pair of shades and strode down the steps, "If you want to keep track of me, I'll be at the campfire." and with that, she left.
There was a moment of silence, broken only by Gabriel's "WHAT?!"
The rest of the camp turned to stare at them, catching Ysabel leaving, sparking restless whispering. Bella looked at him, confused, "I'm… Not gonna."
He grimaced, and ran off after her.
Confessional
Ysabel: I did a little snooping so what? They left their window open and I'm nosy, what was I supposed to do? Was not a wasted endeavour mind you.
Gabriel: She's gonna be under my bed tonight isn't she? You've gotta invest in padlocks.
Sabrina: I mean on the plus side, Lucas and Josh didn't see. On the other… I'm ten bucks in the hole…
Oswald: Oh, yes the shrewd bettor always wins. They call me the Wolf of Wawanakwa, the Crown Prince of Canada, oh yes I am the man!
End
Sabrina fished ten dollars out from a pocket and handed them over to Oswald, who cackled, counting his winnings. Lee looked at them confused, "What's all that about?"
They stopped dead in their tracks. "Nothing…" Oswald said suspiciously.
"Nothing at all." Sabrina doubled down on the suspiciousness.
"Oh, okay." Lee smiled, returning to gazing out across the lake. Oswald and Sabrina breathed in relief.
"So…" Elijah broke the tension, "One week down…"
"Oh yeah…" Sabrina looked around the camp, "There used to be so many of us…"
"And it'll just keep getting smaller." Oswald nodded.
"Oh… Damn." Elijah kicked the porch floor.
"What?" Oswald asked, concern painted on his face.
"I forgot I had an alliance with Edwin and Louise…"
They looked to the other cabin. "Fat lot of good that did." Sabrina laughed bitterly.
"You never had an alliance with me." Oswald whined.
"If you don't say it so loudly, we could." Elijah leaned in.
"Okay." Oswald whispered, performing a pinky promise with him.
"Ahem?" They looked up. Sabrina tapped her foot on the ground impatiently.
"Oh my God, fine…" Elijah sighed, and she eagerly wrapped her finger around theirs. Then Ivan did the same thing. And then Lee. The three looked up at them.
"What are we doing?" Lee smiled.
"I think…" Sabrina looked back into the cabin, "This is us agreeing officially to stick together."
Lee immediately retracted, "Come on guys, there's… We're a full team!"
"Lee… Would you rather we stayed as a group and kept our strength," Elijah said calmly, "or tear us apart for the sake of someone else?"
"I…" Lee searched her soul, "I just… Can we not… Label it?"
"Yeah, fine." He put his hands in the air, "But you know… How this works right?"
"Yeah, yeah…" she brushed the notion away.
"Good. I would've been worried." Oswald nodded. Lee cracked a smile again.
"So wait what was the point of this?" Sabrina took a step back.
Oswald thought for a second. "People are slowly getting voted off."
"That they are." she nodded. "Anyone you guys miss?"
Elijah's eyes turned misty, "Ronald…"
Oswald kissed his fingers and raised them to the sky, "Gone too soon…"
"Well…" Lee looked at the ground, "I hate to be the killjoy but he did almost break my ankle?"
"Oh yeah, what was with that?" Sabrina asked.
Elijah shrugged, "Ronald."
"Ronald." Oswald echoed.
"... So no one else?"
"I mean Edwin and Louise were cool… But no not really." Elijah answered.
"I'd hope not." Sabrina nodded.
"So who's going next?" Elijah grinned cheekily.
"We don't even know the challenge let alone-"
"Okay then, who do we want to go next?"
Sabrina knit her eyebrows, "I really don't know… I just hope it isn't me."
"Yeah…" Elijah agreed, "I better make the merge or I'll be so disappointed."
Confessional
Sabrina: Lucas. I want Lucas to go next.
Oswald: It's so weird… Like people just disappear one day. I mean their team yeah, I know when our team loses but… People just… Leave. Mad.
Elijah: *He has a calculator… So, it was twenty-two of us right? So there's fifteen, and a merge happens halfway… Only like four more days and I'm Gucci, baby.
Lee: This is making me much sadder than I thought it… I mean I've made friends but I don't want to lose them and seeing everyone leave is… Sad. Yeah.
End
Inside, Lucas was pacing, keeping watch over Josh, sat on his bunk. Josh twiddled his thumbs mindlessly. There was an awkward, established silence. Josh sighed, "Can I not just-"
"No." Lucas shut him down. "You need to be focussed. All day today."
"But why?"
"Because you were so good yesterday, Josh." he put on a condescending and whiny tone, "And if you do it again and again, we'll never lose again."
"But I wanna go outside…" he whinged.
"It doesn't matter! If you stay in here until we're ready to start, you'll be in top shape."
"Okay…" he conceded, lying down.
"No you can't lie down!"
"Why not?" he sat up.
"You've just… You can't!"
"Okay." The silence settled again.
"Okay, I'll see if you can go outside."
"Yay!" Josh raised his fists in victory.
Lucas poked his head out the door, surveying the grounds. Elijah looked over at him, "Hey. Doing insane stuff?"
"Is Ysabel here?" he ignored him.
"No, she's by the campfire." he pointed in the vague direction.
"Perfect." he stuck his head back in.
"Y'know, I fully believe we should be worried." Elijah turned back to the other four Bass, who shook their heads.
"He's beyond help, just let nature take its course." Sabrina sighed, "Also, I kinda really wanna see where this goes."
At that point, Lucas opened the door and Josh burst out, tripping and falling down the porch steps. They looked over the rail to see if he was okay. Slowly, Josh picked himself up and dusted himself off, "Ah, fresh air!" He breathed deeply.
"Nice to see you Josh." Lee smiled leaning over the railing.
"Nice to see you too." he smiled.
"We've got like fifteen minutes, then we have to meet at the campfire." Sabrina explained.
"Oh, cool, let's go."
"No!" Lucas jumped in front of him, "We can just… Wait here?"
"That's cool too." Josh clicked his fingers and pointed.
"Hey! Psycho!" Ruby called, and the Bass turned to see the Gophers staring at them incredulously, Bella having reluctantly left the porch so as to seem sociable.
"Is that me?" Josh asked Lucas, then to Ruby, "Is that me?"
"No! It's the psycho standing next to you."
"What do you want?" Lucas snapped.
"Yeah, hi, Ruby, big fan, just wanted to know, what's wrong with you?" Indira and Ajay suppressed laughter.
"What's wrong with you?" he quipped, trying his best to ignore her.
"I'm a little too curious apparently." she sneered and sat back.
"You know Josh isn't, like, a child, right?" Clive asked haughtily.
"We're all children." Josh sagely offered.
"We're sixteen dude." Sascia smirked.
"Exactly." he smiled, dopily.
"Am I not vindicated?" Lucas gestured to Josh.
"No!" Clive laughed bitterly.
"Okay, maybe we should cut him some slack." Indira stood up and approached him.
"Oh no, back off!" Lucas dropped into a fighting stance.
"Geez dude, what the hell?" she backed off.
He blinked. "I'm sorry. I'm just… Josh you get distracted when Ysabel's around."
"Ysabel's around?" Josh whipped his head around desperately.
"You see?" Lucas turned back, but by now Indira was stood maybe a foot away from him. "Gah!" he jumped back.
"What's up baby?" she leaned over him.
"I'm not- nothing's wrong!" he stomped and turned in a huff.
"Are you sure? I can't help?" she tried to wrap her arms around him but he wriggled free.
"Stop making fun of me!" he scowled.
"I'm not…" she whispered meekly, "Dude, you're… Like you're scaring me."
Lucas furrowed his brow, "I'm… I'm going back inside."
And with that he bundled himself through the door, leaving the others standing around looking confused. Sascia came up and tried to put a hand on Indira's shoulder, only succeeding in stroking her tricep.
"Thanks for the attempt." she acknowledged.
"You could do so much better."
"Oh, I know." she nodded, "But there's nothing else to do here is there?"
"Fifteen minutes!" Chris' voice rang out across the campsite via loudspeaker.
"I'm gonna go see Ysabel!" Josh announced loudly, seeing if someone would stop him. No one paid him any heed. And with that he sprinted down the path.
Confessional
Indira: I guess he wasn't always stable, but man since arriving? Lucas has gone full on paranoid conspiracy nut. He probably went back inside to perfect his tin foil hat.
Lucas: She's out to get me too! If I'm gonna help Josh in any way, I have to be the shining example. No thanks, no distraction today Satan!
Ruby: Oh, yeah, full psycho. It's so much fun.
End
Ysabel sat filing her nails as Gabriel wandered into the campfire pit. She heard the footsteps but pretended not to notice. He stood behind her waiting for a second, before clearing his throat "Ahem?"
"Oh hey!" she turned and smiled, "Take a seat."
He chose the stump next to her, "So, uh… What the hell?"
"Oh, come off it, you know it's no big deal."
"It's not?"
"No, of course not, I didn't see your underwear or nothing."
"Ah, okay, that makes it fine then."
"Unless you wanted me to?" she swung her legs around to face him.
"What were you doing?" he leaned forward.
"Just rummaging." she copied him.
"What… Why?"
She shrugged, "Fun. Plus you still owe me?"
"What could I possibly owe you?"
"Why are you here? Or did you forget how truth or dare worked?"
He paused, "I don't have to."
"Ooh, no, wrong, that's not how it-"
"I voted myself off."
She was caught aback, "Oh, that is so hot, for me?"
"If you wanna put it that way… I was in the bottom two."
"Oh you were never getting voted off."
"I might've been! It never would've even gotten close if I hadn't 'lost' my sliders."
"Oh, yeah, ride that confidence, I love it."
She tried to reach over to him, but he softly grabbed her hands, "Did you hide my sliders so we'd have to row together?"
"Harder." she hissed.
"What?" he let go.
She placed her hands over his, and used them to swing over to his lap. He flinched but didn't move, determined not to show weakness. "And how would I have done that?"
"By doing the same thing you did this morning."
"You're smarter than that, when would I have done that?"
He grimaced, "So it's all one big old coincidence?"
"Well, I waited for you, but it was a happy accident."
"So you were gonna ride with me whatever?"
"Bingo."
"Why? Just to mess with me?" she tried to interrupt. "And to have fun." he finished.
"Oh yeah. It would've just been dull otherwise."
"I'd prefer dull."
"And that's what made it fun." she wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning into his face, lips inches from his.
"Hey Iz I'm here-" Josh came sprinting down into the clearing.
"Christ, dude, take a hint!" Gabriel snapped.
"I… I… I…" Josh's eyes immediately glazed over and he started stammering, frozen in place.
Gabriel rolled his eyes and huffed, "I think I broke him."
Ysabel looked at him with momentary anger, before standing up with some difficulty then stumbling to Josh as fast as she could. "Josh, can you hear me? Are you alright?"
"I… I… I…" he repeated.
Ysabel sighed and turned around, folding her arms, "Great, you broke him."
Gabriel shrugged, "Whatever, not my problem."
"How about I make it your problem?"
"Go ahead, make my day." he got up and stomped off, as Chris entered the area.
"Hey early birds, ready for today's festivities?" he grinned, as the three stood still, Gabriel seething, Ysabel surprised and Josh catatonic. Chris furrowed his brow, "I'll take that as a no…"
"Can I have five minutes Chris?" Gabriel sighed.
"No sir, it's time to begin, ready or not!" Chris clapped loudly, breaking Josh out of his trance.
"Oh… Hi Ysabel!" he smiled shakily.
Ysabel wrapped her arms around him, "Hi Josh."
"I… I… I…" Josh went comatose again.
"Oh Goddamn-"
Confessional
Gabriel: So what, I broke her lackey? Good he needed to grow up, she needed to be taken down a peg, whatever. This has been a bad day for me…
Ysabel: I mean… I should've seen that coming. Sitting on his lap in public… Dumb move Iz…
Josh: I think I blacked out for a minute there. Is… Should I consult a medic for hallucinations?
End
Once all the campers had gathered, and sat in their respective teams, Chris made an entrance for the cameras, "Good morning frontiersmen, how's life in the woods?"
"Um, what?" Ruby piped up.
"Oh yeah that doesn't work if you don't know the challenge… Ah well, welcome to challenge eight, congrats to the fifteen of you."
"Thank you." Oswald smiled.
"You're welcome. Today, I not only bring you a challenge, but also snacks!" Chris gestured for Chef to distribute small packed lunches for the campers, "Thank you Chef. You're all gonna need all your strength today, you're going deer hunting!"
"Yess…" Lucas fist pumped, raising a hi-five to Ivan, who graciously accepted the invitation, although he wasn't entirely sure why.
"So… We're just gonna be shooting deer?" Bella asked.
"Oh, no, we can't do that can we?" Lee raised her hands to her mouth, on the verge of tears.
"No," Chris grinned, "and thank you for pointing that out Lee, you'll be hunting your fellow campers." he revealed the paintball gun from earlier.
"We're playing paintball?" Clive asked.
"Can you guys, like, stop interrupting me before I've finished explaining the challenge?" Chris said, a little exasperated.
"Sorry…" Clive muttered.
"It's alright, and yes this is a paintball gun." Chris shot, with practised aim, one of the trees behind the campers' heads, leaving a bright orange stain. "That will wash off, but only half of you will be hunters. The other half… Are the deer!" He revealed a set of antlers. There was a deafening silence. "So yeah, eat up and we'll get going to the edge of the woods-"
"Who decides who's a hunter or a deer?" Lucas stuck his hand up with enthusiasm and worry.
"Me." Chris smiled. "And I am very proud of it."
Lucas shivered, "Oh…" His eyes drifted left to Indira, pretending to aim a gun at him, then mouthing 'Bang.'
Confessional
Chris: They're gonna be so annoyed with the choices, I can hardly contain myself.
Lucas: I'm writing this one down, this sounds suspicious.
Gabriel: Giving me a gun today? That would help… That would help…
Ruby: I've been waiting for this opportunity for so long you would not believe.
Lee: I would never have shot an animal… I don't want to shoot people either… Please deer…
Oswald & Elijah (in unison): Shoot and kill! Shoot and kill! Shoot and kill! Shoot and kill!
End
Chris was now standing in front of a board holding seven paintball guns, three red and four green. The campers were murmuring between themselves. "We're green right?" Gabriel leaned over to Bella.
"Gophers, green, yeah, but there's more of them." Bella did a quick headcount.
"Maybe it's like… Putting the enemy on the weapon?" Clive suggested.
"To remind you who you're fighting, yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Gabriel nodded, only half-joking, his eyes fixed on nothing in particular in the distance.
"Dibs on gun!" Oswald hissed.
"He said it's already picked." Lucas huffed.
"So… Unlikely Ivan gets one?" Sabrina shrugged. Ivan's face fell.
"I'll swap if I get a gun." Lee touched Ivan's arm. His smile returned.
"Ready for the moment of truth guys?" Chris' grin reached new unexplored areas of his face. The campers murmured approval. "Great. For the Bass, these green guns with blue paint go to Josh, Lee, Oswald and Elijah! You guys get to rock these stylish camo hats, and sick orange goggles"
Elijah and Oswald hugged and Josh beamed silently, but Lee frowned, raising a hand, "Chris I want to swap with-"
"No swaps!" Chris shouted, raising his arms, his grin only getting wider, "That's the beauty of it! All positions are final. And that means Sabrina, Ivan, Ysabel and Lucas are deer."
Lucas sighed, "Fine, give us the antlers…"
"Not just antlers my boy, you must also wear this tail and this cute little red nose. And also the orange goggles, that's just health and safety."
"Seriously?" Sabrina's shoulders sagged.
"Oh yeah. And if you take them off you're disqualified!" He tossed them their accessories. Ivan quickly affixed his to himself and Ysabel cautiously put on hers.
"Yeah, I can make this work, you agree Josh?" she turned and posed for him.
"Uh-huh, yeah, cool." Josh was mesmerised by his gun. She scowled.
Sabrina and Lucas looked at theirs and then at each other. She shrugged and he sighed, both giving in. Lucas' face turned red, "I hate this."
"Makes perfect sense to me." Sabrina scrunched up her face in disgust.
"Excellent." Chris said, turning to the Gophers, "Who's excited here?"
"Well not anymore." Gabriel admitted. Ruby was standing with her mouth agape. He turned to her, "Yeah it ain't us."
"These red guns with orange paint are going to Indira, Ajay and Bella!" Chris doled them out, "Sascia, Gabriel, Ruby, Clive come get your deer costumes."
Indira eagerly snatched her weapon, "Hey Lucas! You're mine!" she announced, aiming. Lucas fell to the floor, protecting his head.
Ajay and Bella looked at each other. Bella broke the silence, "I guess it's hunting season."
"Seems that way, seems that way…" he pretended to prepare the gun.
Gabriel and Ruby reluctantly put on their noses, shuddering. A tear ran down Ruby's cheek, "I can't believe… We don't…"
"I get it. I so get it. Reckon we can jump a hunter?" he put on the tail belt, batting at the fluffy nub at his back.
"Deers have hooves not fingers, how would they use a gun?" Chris chimed in.
"A good point well made Chris." Clive quickly joined in, waving away dissent, "Come on guys it could be worse."
"How could it be worse, tell me right now, Clive, you tell me right now how it could be worse." Ruby burst out of her shock.
"I mean… The girl whose heart Gabriel broke could be hunting him, oh wait…But hey at least no one over there doesn't like you Ruby… Oh wait…"
"You think this is a good idea?" Gabriel held Ruby back.
Clive shrugged, "I'm making the best of a bad situation."
"I disagree." Ruby said through gritted teeth.
Clive grimaced, turning to Sascia, "So… Wanna team up? Safety in numbers or something?"
"Oh, sure, yeah." she nodded rapidly, "But I will gladly use you as a human shield."
"Deal."
"If there are no more complaints for me to ignore…" Chris waited a second, "We get to it! You'll be out there for three hours, you have free reign of the woods, to an extent, obviously, but there's a lot of space to hide out there. Everyone covered with paint will be counted against the team, most clean team will be crowned winners."
"Wait, can hunters be shot?" Indira raised an arm.
"It's the wilderness, anything goes." Chris shrugged, "Deer, you now have a fifteen minute head start, so go on, get lost." Chris chuckled at his own joke as the eight deer hesitantly went off, Clive and Sascia sticking together but the others spreading out alone. Lucas stood his ground however.
"Josh, I'll wait here and then we can-"
"Ahem." Chris tapped his foot, "I said deer get a head start. Get moving!"
"But what if I-"
"Try to cheat? I'd say that's a disqualification."
"It's not cheat-" Lucas trailed off, noticing Indira peering down her scope. "Yes sir." And with an awkward few first jogging steps, he sprinted into the cover of the trees.
The hunters watched him leave. Chris looked at his watch, "When it gets to zero I'll tell you over the PA, you can prepare in peace." He then walked off, looking back to see if they were bold enough to cheat.
The Bass hunters looked to the Gophers. Elijah raised his rifle, "So… In theory I can just…"
"We'll just get you too dude." Bella shrugged, Ajay nodding along. Indira peered into the woods, trying to track Lucas.
"Ah… Yeah…" Elijah sighed, letting his gun fall. Josh accidentally shot the ground.
"Oops."
"I think we're good." Bella said to Ajay. She turned to see him looking down the barrel of his own gun. "Oh."
"Huh?"
"Trying to shoot yourself?"
"... Maybe…"
Bella couldn't hide the smile that broke across her face, "Please don't."
"I'll try."
"Say…" she brushed a strand of hair from her face, "What do you think we should do, tactically I mean."
Ajay shrugged, "Do we… Do we need tactics?"
Bella sighed, "How about we stick together? Like we can help each other out…"
"Wouldn't we cover more ground alone?" Ajay said, immediately cringing as he realised what he said.
"Um, yeah, but if there's two of us-"
He burst, "Yeah, duh, you're right, we should totally stick together."
Bella let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, "Yeah, good, okay, let's do that."
No one else paid them any attention, Indira standing at the ready at the woods' edge, and the Bass absent-mindedly messing with their guns. Lee held hers tentatively, afraid to pull the trigger. "Hey why do you think we're the ones they trusted with guns?" Elijah asked Oswald, aiming through his scope into the woods.
"I mean… Wouldn't you?"
"Comparatively yeah, I guess, but… Yeah… It was just quiet."
Oswald nodded, "Should we talk… Tactics?"
"Shoot the Gophers?" Elijah offered.
"A fair plan." he turned to Lee, "You good with that, Lee?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I just… I don't like guns."
"It's a paintball gun." Elijah tried to help.
"I know that but… Still… I'm going to be shooting someone with this."
"Hopefully."
"Not hopefully…"
"Well how else are we gonna win this challenge?" Elijah shrugged.
"You guys can shoot them?" Lee absentmindedly flicked at her gun's barrel, letting it hang from her fingers.
Elijah sighed, dramatically, "Oh, come on Lee… It's just paint!"
"I-" she was taken aback, "I don't agree with guns… Violence."
"You're really saying you don't wanna shoot any of the Gophers?"
"Well… No! I don't!"
Oswald stepped between them, as Elijah took a deep breath and turned away, "Lee, do you know what therapy is?"
"I… Yes, but… Yes?" she wracked her brain, suspecting it was a trick question.
"This is just like that. Like screaming into a pillow. Like breaking pots, or stabbing voodoo dolls."
"I don't…"
"If you are feeling negative feelings, you can let them out via paintballs. And Gophers."
Elijah looked over his shoulder incredulously. Lee met his eyes, "You know, I think that made sense to me."
He shrugged, "Whatever works."
Lee raised her gun, firing six shots into the woods, "Oh, yeah… That feels good. Let's do it!" she raised to shoot again.
"Don't waste ammo!" Elijah quickly lowered her gun to the floor, "And don't waste that energy! Hell yeah!"
"Heck yeah!" she echoed.
"We'll work on it!" Oswald joined in.
"Hi!" Josh appeared by their side.
They were all suddenly made aware that they were not standing on their own, and they looked across at the Gophers, suddenly all mildly concerned. India raised her rifle defensively. Suddenly the loudspeakers blared, "Alright campers, the hunt is on! Let's bag ourselves some bucks!"
The two teams of hunters warily eyed each other as they shuffled to the boundary, and as soon as they were sure they wouldn't be attacked, they sprinted off, Indira following where she saw Lucas going; Bella and Ajay going together in the opposite direction; Lee, Elijah, and Oswald marching off in formation; and Josh wandering aimlessly somewhere in the middle, gun barrel dragging along the floor.
In the forest, Clive and Sascia were strolling off together, showing no signs of urgency. Clive kicked a rock along absentmindedly, as Sascia looked back occasionally, checking if anyone was near them. Suddenly, Chris' voice on the loudspeaker broke their awkward silence. Sascia jumped. Clive pretended he didn't find it funny. "So… I guess we're being hunted now…"
"Yeah…" she responded. They waited a second. "I guess we're not in any danger right now."
"We have been walking for like a quarter of an hour."
"So… We're good for fifteen minutes?"
"More if we keep walking."
"So let's keep walking."
The two trudged forward and the quiet descended upon them once again. Clive grimaced at this. "So… Who you think's gonna win today?"
"Um… Us." Sascia nodded confidently.
"Yeah… Me too."
"Okay, this is weird."
"Yeah, I know we just like-"
"Like, why don't we split up?"
"W…" Clive stammered over his words, falling silent.
"I mean, think about it, if we're together they'll get both of us, if we're not-"
"I know, yeah it makes sense but…" Clive thought.
"But?"
"That sounds really boring."
"It won't be if you're getting hunted."
"But I don't wanna be hunted."
"I…" Sascia looked at him pitifully, "Frankly I don't care."
Clive scowled, "Okay, let's think about this logically?"
"I have."
"Fine, logistically."
Sascia opened her mouth to retort, but paused. "Okay, go on, I'm listening."
"Like, think about it, Ivan's a deer, so no one's gonna get him so we're already at a disadvantage."
"Is… Is this meant to help your point?"
"Yes, because it means he's not a hunter."
"I still don't get it."
"We're up against, Josh, who shouldn't be allowed near sharp sticks let alone a gun for fear of hurting himself, Lee, who wouldn't shoot a water gun at a carnival stall, and Elijah and Oswald, who… I mean they may be decent but we will definitely hear them coming."
Sascia narrowed her eyes, thinking, "So… You think they'll be in a group?"
"Yeah, if we split up we can't help each other, and we'll be run through by the group of them. If we stay together, we can be certain, if we keep our ear to the ground, that two from our team will be safe."
Sascia nodded, "Kind of a roundabout way of getting there but I get it. So if everyone else gets shot-"
"We win 2-1" Clive grinned, a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead.
"Okay." she caved, we'll stay together. Safety in numbers."
"And if one of us gets shot, we can cover for the other."
"Okay, you got me." she cracked a smile, "I agreed with you already."
"Good, good…" he breathed.
Confessional
Clive: The mental gymnastics I had to perform there real quick… My God I don't wanna be in these woods alone.
Sascia: I'll give it to him. Clive's not stupid. We'd just get lost and picked off alone.
End
"How'd you think the others are doing?" Sascia asked, after they'd walked a bit more in yet more silence.
"Ruby and Gabriel?" Clive thought, "They were pretty disappointed about not being given guns."
"Good." Sascia laughed humorlessly.
"Yeah, I guess." Clive shrugged, "They'll be fine. Probably."
"Hey." Sascia turned to him.
"What?" Clive asked, his voice breaking slightly.
"Wanna bet?"
"On what?"
"Who is most likely to end up covered in paint."
He thought for a second. "Okay, you're on. You choose first."
She squinted, "Okay… Lucas. 100%"
He clicked his fingers in dismay, "That was my choice… Okay, I think, bear with me, Josh."
"Okay. Okay." she considered this. "He is a danger to himself."
"That he is."
"Cool. You're on." she stuck her hand out.
"Wh- What's the wager?" he said, hesitating to take it.
"Hm… Okay… If I win I get to do your makeup tomorrow."
Clive laughed heartily at this, "Okay, and if I win?"
"If you win… Come on, you pick."
"If I win… I get to do your makeup."
"Sounds fair." they shook on it.
"Either way I'm gonna come out looking better."
"Yeah. Yeah you are." she laughed as they continued deeper into the woods.
Elsewhere, Ivan was sprinting and leaping through the woods, creating considerable distance between him and the starting line. As the loudspeaker announced the start of the hunt, he whipped his head up, and jumped into a nearby tree, shrouding himself in the canopy. He crouched on a thick branch and waited, scouring the forest floor. He heard a mechanical twitch, and whipped round to find a camera pointed at his face. He smiled joyfully, "Hello, I am too big for confessional, it is uncomfortable, may I confess here?" The camera didn't respond for a moment, but eventually it nodded, panning up then down. "Excellent." he grinned, "I am having fun!" And with that he had finished confessing, and returned his gaze to the ground. The camera did not react, for it was a camera. It just continued recording.
The rest of the deer had already spread out, leaving the hunters with precious little to go off as they first departed the camp. While Indira had ran off toward where she thought she had tracked Lucas to, Ajay and Bella had warily travelled down the already beaten path, and Elijah, Oswald and Lee had stampeded directly forward, Josh had stepped forward very carefully, flinching at every little noise of the woods, his hands shaking.
"Psst!" came a voice from the nearby undergrowth.
"AHH!" he screamed, firing wildly into the surrounding area.
"Damn, Josh, stop! It's me!" Lucas called, cautiously stepping out into the open.
"Oh… Hi Lucas!" Josh waved the gun after his heart had stopped rapidly beating.
"Yeah, and be careful with that!" Lucas hurried over to steady Josh's rifle, "And stop wasting ammo."
"I thought you were a ghost!" Josh breathed heavily.
"N… I don't even want to go into that… Have you seen anyone so far?"
"You." Josh nodded.
Lucas paused, frustrated. "Anyone besides me?"
"I… Yeah, Lee, Elijah, Os-"
"Any deer?" Lucas' face was turning red.
"Yeah, you!" Josh beamed.
"So no one."
"No one else, no." he nodded vigorously.
"Thank you. That took us way too long."
"We've got three hours." Josh shrugged.
"Regardless, let's get moving."
"Okay- wait, why?"
"You've gotta start shooting some Gophers. Now hurry up!" Lucas had already built up a sizable lead on Josh.
"Cool." Josh nodded. "Cool, cool… Oh." He suddenly realised he was being left behind and ran to keep up. "Um… Why?"
"Cause otherwise we won't win?" Lucas looked at him incredulously.
"Can't we just let the others do it?" he whined, "Even without me we've got the same amount of hunters as them…"
This made Lucas pause for a moment, "If that's the case why would we give up our advantage?"
"Cause I don't wanna do it?"
"What was your plan, Josh?" Lucas turned him and grabbed his shoulders, "What was the plan?"
"Stay out of harm's way and hope for the best?"
"You're a hunter!?"
"Chris said hunters can shoot hunters!" Josh's face showed his genuine worry.
"What are the chances of that?" Lucas yelled.
"Better than me shooting anyone else!" Josh shouted back.
Lucas was taken aback. "Okay, Josh-"
"Why do I have to do what you say?"
"Okay, I'm sorry, Josh!" Lucas placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "Look at me, I'm sorry."
"Okay… Good…" Josh calmed himself.
"How about we compromise?"
"What does that mean?" he pouted.
"We'll just walk, stay out of trouble-"
"I like it so far-"
"But if we see a Gopher deer, we should shoot them, yes?"
"Okay." Josh caved. "I'll shoot if we see any Gopher deer. And that's it!"
"That's it." Lucas reluctantly agreed, "Now come on, we don't want anyone to find us."
"Too late and too loud!" came a screech from the trees, as Indira swung down on a convenient vine, firing randomly into the clearing. Lucas and Josh leapt into bushes, cowering beneath the cover. Indira landed, head swivelling, then let out a "Yeehaw!" and sprinted further into the woods.
After a few minutes, Josh and Lucas carefully crawled out from their hiding spots, dusting themselves off. Josh picked a twig from his hair. "Did you get hit?" Lucas asked, checking himself for paint.
Josh patted himself down, and then beamed at him, "Nope!"
"Good. Good. Me neither. Now let's go. And no more shouting." He dropped his voice to a whisper.
"No more shouting." Josh nodded, miming zipping his mouth closed and throwing away the key. Once more they set off, much more cautiously this time. "Oh, did I ever tell you about that time my dad said he was gonna take me hunting, but he really took me to the mall and we went to the movies?"
"No Josh. No you haven't." Lucas sighed.
"My dad's awesome." Josh grinned.
Confessional
Lucas: I… I wasn't expecting that… Oh my God, I'm just becoming Ysabel, the thing I wanted Josh to be free of… This is what comes with giving him freedom. He's an actual person. Damn.
Josh: This makes me even more happy my dad didn't take me hunting. Hey dad! Thank you! *He waves into the camera…
Indira: And I almost got 'im too. Yarr, where be my white whale? Ahahaha… I don't know what Moby Dick is about?
End
The game was mainly uneventful for the first hour or so, what with the massive woods and relatively few campers. Ivan had sat in the same tree for the entire time, diligently watching and listening for any type of movement. He turned back to the camera, "I have seen more real deer than camper deer!" he chuckled lightly to himself. The camera zoomed in on his face. "I have seen three regular deer, two doe, one buck, and I have seen Gab- It is Gabriel? And Sabrina. No hunters. They are doing poor job." He shook his head at his newfound companion. "I would have been good hunter. But Chris knows. That is why I am not hunter. Unfair. But I appreciate challenge." He looked back at the camera and grinned. "Confession is good for soul. Just 97 minutes left." His face became more solemn, and he returned his gaze to the ground. "Four regular deer."
Ajay and Bella were combing through the undergrowth together. Bella's 'plan' had been fairly unsuccessful, as Ajay had insisted on near total silence, partly out of desire to win, and partly out of fear of the woods. Ajay was well aware he needed a win. He had felt near invisible since the talent show, and that most of the praise for that had not fallen on him, even if it was short-lived praise. Just one for confidence, he thought, back on the wagon, and then you'll get your groove back. He grit his teeth and continued peering through dense foliage. Bella sighed, blowing her hair out of her face. But just then, she heard a crack of a broken twig, and swung her gun around. "What was that?" Ajay hissed.
"Shhhh!" she spat back at him, poking the tip of the barrel out beneath a tree's hanging branch.
"Goddam- I mean, seriously!?" they heard from behind the leaves.
Bella rolled her eyes, "It's just Ruby." She stood up and pushed the leaves out the way, "Hey, girl, how's it going?" Ajay blinked, and tried to follow, being hit lightly in the face by the branch as it fell back into place. He grimaced and spit out some green.
"Bored out of my skull." Ruby moaned, shaking a stone out of her shoe, "You're the first person-" Ajay emerged from the brush, "people I've seen so far."
"Right back at you." she sighed, "Feels like we've walked miles."
"We probably have." Ajay sat down on a nearby rock, letting himself relax for the first time in hours.
"Now you're okay to talk?" Bella looked at him confused.
He shrugged, "We're not gonna sneak up on anyone standing still."
"Wait, you two weren't even talking?" Ruby looked between them.
"No, someone insisted on silence in case we spook the deer."
"Or alert Bass hunters!" He corrected her.
"Thank you." Bella smiled at him sarcastically, then rolled her eyes at Ruby.
"I don't know how you've done that. I would've killed for someone to talk to. I'd have killed for Nate back just for… Well I guess it wouldn't be conversation…"
"Careful what you wish for," Bella smirked, "Wait weren't you and Gabriel together?"
"No, he ran off as soon as we got like fifty feet in. Dumbass."
"Is that really a bad thing?" Ajay asked.
"Blessing and a curse." Ruby shrugged, "So you haven't shot anyone yet?"
"Nope. Just been walking." Bella sighed, letting herself collapse to the floor, "How long have we even got left?"
"Too long." Ajay offered.
"Yeah, probably."
"Well don't waste it hanging around me." Ruby stood up, "Go on, find someone to shoot."
"Come on, what are the chances we run into anyone else?" Bella complained.
"Pretty good I reckon!" came a voice from the other side of the clearing they were standing in. Bella and Ajay shot up, aiming their rifles down as Ruby carefully shuffled between and behind them. Before them stood Oswald, Elijah and Lee, brandishing weapons at them. "Give us the deer." Elijah snarled in his best war-movie-action-hero voice.
"I don't think so." Bella stood her ground, finger itching on the trigger. A bead of sweat fell down Ajay's cheek.
"I don't think that's a very smart idea." he chuckled, still playing the grizzled sergeant.
"What do you think's gonna happen?" Ajay took over the conversation.
"Uh-" he stuttered.
"You shoot us, we shoot you right back, what's the point in that?"
"N-No!" Oswald tried to help, "That… That won't happen!"
"Oh? Why not?" Ajay asked, feeling himself. Bella smiled smugly.
"Okay, why don't we just calm down-" Lee said shakily, the adrenaline from earlier wearing off.
"Nuh-uh." Bella wagged a finger at her, "Why don't you just back off, and we can pretend this never happened?"
"We can do that, right?" Lee asked her friends in vain.
"Why? So you can shoot us in the back?" Elijah accused.
"No, dude, cause then you'll just shoot us, there's no point hunters shooting hunters." Ajay said, already bored of the confrontation.
"Dude, I think he's right, let's just give it up." Oswald lowered his weapon. Lee gladly lowered hers as well, grateful.
"Alright." Elijah begrudgingly gave up, "Let's find some deer." They turned to leave, "First people we see and they're hunters what are the odds!"
As they walked away, Ajay looked behind him, noticing Ruby had already scampered off away from the conflict. He nudged Bella, who noticed the same thing. They shared an evil look, and opened fire on the Bass, covering all three of their backs in orange paint. Bella laughed heartily. "Oh that's just rude!" Oswald yelled, turning and returning paint, as Elijah did the same, and they both nailed Ajay and Bella with the orange paint. Lee pouted and just watched.
"What was that about?" Elijah asked, a little bit upset at them, and a little bit upset at himself for falling for it.
Ajay shrugged, "Seemed about right." Bella nodded along.
"That wasn't cool guys." he pouted.
Bella shrugged, "Shame." And with that she and Ajay turned and ran, giggling through the woods.
"Wait, didn't they have a deer with them?" Oswald asked as they disappeared into the forest.
Elijah looked back, "Damn, they played us. You okay Lee?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine." she said, tears playing at the corners of her eyes, "It just doesn't seem fair."
Elijah sighed, "Yeah… Doesn't, does it?"
Confessional
Ajay: Woo! What a rush! Played em like a fiddle! Hell yeah!
Bella: That was badass! Credit to Ruby for saving her own ass with no regards to us.
Ruby: I knew they'd be fine. They had guns. If I had a gun I'd have doused them with paint before they could finish the first sentence.
Elijah: I mean… Maybe we're just dumb but I can't help but feel cheated. Damn.
Oswald: Yeah… In the same situation… We got played.
Lee: It's… It's not unfair… But it's not fair! Or is it? Their deer… Oh I'm feeling too much right now…
End
Ivan was still sitting in his treetop perch as the final hour began to tick by. "Thank you for being here buddy." he said to the camera. "Yes, cameras are everywhere but it is good to have one just for me. This has been… Calming. Relaxing. Enjoyable. I have heard shots, but seen no paint. Alas, I can do no more than observe. I am doing my part. I hope my team does theirs.
As the clock ticked onwards and their boredom settled in, Sascia and Clive decided to just sit down and let themselves be shot if they were to be shot. Clive picked a stick off the floor and beat a rock with it. Sascia closed her eyes and lay on her back. "I spy with-" Clive began, sighing.
"It's either a tree or a rock, we've been over this." Sascia reprimanded him. They had already agreed not to play that game.
"At least it's a lovely day." he shrugged.
"It is, isn't it?"
"So I guess we've had a nice day out."
"Technically."
"Voices?" someone said from behind a cover of trees. Clive and Sascia immediately shut up. "No, I promise I'm a deer, please I haven't seen anyone for forever!" Sabrina stumbled into them, almost tripping over Sascia, "Oh hey! It's… You."
"Sascia." Sascia offered.
"Clive." Clive nodded.
"No I… Know your names." Sabrina glanced away, blushing, "I was just… Hoping for Bass."
"Lucas and Josh?" Clive smirked.
"Okay, this is probably for the best." she breathed deeply, falling to a seated position on the floor. She played with her antlers.
"Seen anyone?" Sascia asked her.
"Just Gabriel, once." she sneered, "He didn't want to talk."
"Shock horror." Clive rolled his eyes.
Sabrina chuckled at that, "Yeah, it's been rough. How've you guys been?"
They looked at each other, "All things considered…" Clive began, unwilling to put a label on it.
"Probably better than you." Sascia shrugged, "At least we had each other."
"Good idea, sticking together." she acknowledged.
"It hasn't been fun." Clive offered in consolation. Sascia nodded.
"Well what can you do?" she lay down.
After a minute's silence, Clive chimed in, "So how are you?"
"Huh?" she sat up.
"Like in general, how you doing?"
"Fine." Sabrina debated in her head, "As well as a reality TV star can do I guess. It's been mostly fun, I'm making friends, the challenges are cool. I haven't had to vote any of my friends out."
"Good to hear." Clive nodded. They all lay back down again.
After a good five minutes, Clive heard a rustling from behind him, followed by muffled voices. Slowly, he stood up, peering in the noises' direction. Sascia opened an eye and gazed at him, whispering, "What is it?" He noiselessly raised a finger to his lips, and crouched, shuffling forward. Sascia got up and tapped Sabrina's knee. Sabrina lazily opened her eyes and looked at her confused. Sascia pointed at Clive, and they both followed him, keeping low. Clive stopped behind a bush, just looking over. Sascia and Sabrina fell in line next to him. The noises and voices had come from Ysabel and Gabriel, Gabriel with his back up against a tree, Ysabel leaning into him. Sabrina involuntarily sneered and clenched her fists.
"Now, come on, just let me-" Gabriel tried to push his way away, halfheartedly.
"Nuh-uh, you've been avoiding me all challenge." Ysabel pushed him back to the tree.
"I- What? I've just been… Going."
"No, you've been running away from me, was yesterday not special?" Ysabel pouted, pressing herself against him.
"No, wait, you've just been stalking me?" He gently took hold of her wrists.
"What does it matter what word we use for it?" she fluttered her eyelids.
"Look…" he sighed, "I haven't been avoiding you, I've been avoiding everyone. That's the challenge."
"It doesn't have to be."
"Okay, come on, where's the intelligent you gone?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" She immediately broke character.
"What's with this… All into me, sexy act? Come on."
She sighed, "Okay, look, I… Don't you think we connected yesterday?"
He looked at her suspiciously, "I think we were goofing around yesterday. I wouldn't call it fun but…"
"But we didn't just goof around did we? We learned about each other as people." she said, condescendingly.
"Look, I don't know what this is all about."
"I mean, dammit, you seem like a good guy."
"How do you come to that conclusion after spending a whole day with me?"
"I… You seem like my type of good guy."
He considered all of what she said, "Okay, no, I don't believe this for a second."
"Why not?" she gripped his shoulders, her nails digging into him.
"Because of yesterday. How do you expect me to believe this when it's the exact type of thing you told me you do yesterday?"
"No it isn't…" her voice fell.
"How is it not?"
"What do I need to do to convince you?"
He looked at the floor, "Look, if your way of showing your feelings, and your way of manipulating people are the same… You've got to take a step back and look at what that says."
"I…" her eyes grew teary, "I can't believe you would-"
He took her by her shoulders, "Hey, no, listen I don't mean this at all maliciously. I'm just saying… What are we doing here? I don't think you're a bad person… You've just gotta… Think about this."
"Okay. I… I get you."
"I like you Ysabel." her eyes lit up, "Not like… I don't think like that but… You're my type of person. But that may not be a good thing."
"It is to me." she smiled, "Hey, there is one way my method of seduction is different to my method of manipulation."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, I don't do this to manipulate." With this she kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck. In this moment there was a crack from the undergrowth, and a muffled wrestling. Gabriel noticed, snapping himself out of the moment. He suddenly turned them around, pushing her against the tree. "Oh, yeah, I like-"
"I'm really sorry." he whispered, voice heavy with regret.
"What do you-" Before she could finish the sentence he was sprinting through the woods, and blue paintballs rained on Ysabel from a bush in front of her. "W- WHAT!?"
"Sorry!" Josh meekly called, arms in the air, emerging from the bush, "I got upset."
Lucas followed, "Josh, no, don't-"
"Did you two see that whole thing?" she screeched, shaking her hands free of paint and disgustedly wiping at her front.
"N… No?" Josh turned to Lucas to see if that was the right answer.
Ysabel snarled, "You did! What were you just waiting to shoot him and ruin the moment?"
"No, Iz, we just came upon you and we took her shot." Lucas desperately tried to salvage the situation.
"No way!" she slapped the gun from Josh's hand and picked it up before he could react. Lucas and Josh both raised their hands in surrender and tried to back off, Lucas hiding himself behind Josh.
"Oh my… This is fantastic!" Clive whispered excitedly from their hiding place.
"I know right!" Sabrina covered her mouth with her hand.
"Wait, aren't they your team?" Sascia asked.
"Oh, yeah, duh, but still." Sabrina shrugged, "This is hysterical." Clive turned to Sascia and nodded eagerly.
"Iz, why don't we just calm down-"
"Nope wrong answer." Ysabel said dryly, opening fire on the two friends, covering Josh in blue and splattering Lucas with the ricochet.
"I deserved that." Josh acknowledged.
"Okay, I think I may have to intervene." Sabrina whispered, walking through the bush, "Hey, guys, what's up?"
Ysabel immediately turned the gun on her, "Oh, another eavesdropper?"
"No, what?" Sabrina immediately did her best acting, "Why are you all covered in paint?"
"Three guesses." she replied.
"Okay, jeez, what's going on?"
"Well, these losers-" Just as Ysabel turned to aim back at the losers, Lucas knocked the gun out of her hand, and scrambled to pick it up.
"Okay, back off!" he said, shaking.
"Or what, you'll shoot me again?" Ysabel hissed.
"Yes?" Lucas squeaked.
Luckily, no one would have to make any such decision, as Indira came walloping out of the woods, spraying all three of them with orange paint, but especially Lucas, who dropped his gun in shock. "Banzai!" Indira shouted victoriously, "Y'all are loud!" Suddenly she noticed Sabrina, "Oh, hey Bass!" She aimed her gun and clicked the trigger. But no paint came out. "Aww, out of ammo." she sulked, "Tough." She shrugged and took off again, "See y'all later!"
"What was that?" Lucas shouted.
"Indira. Thought you'd know that." Sabrina said matter-of-factly, walking forward and picking up the gun.
Lucas sighed, "Great. Perfect. Thanks Ysabel." Ysabel ignored him, striding off in a huff. "Can this get worse?" he asked, turning to Sabrina, who was aiming at him.
"Yup." she said, shooting him one final time until she too was out of ammo. "See ya!" she turned, starting to walk away.
"Congrats campers, that's three hours over!" Came Chris's voice over the PA system, "Return to camp so we can assess the damage! And don't try to shoot anyone else, we're watching cheaters!"
Sascia and Clive looked at each other, shrugged, and stood up. "Great show guys, well done!" Clive called to Josh and Lucas.
"Thank you!" Josh waved back. Lucas slapped his arm down.
"You're welcome!" Sascia replied, as she and Clive turned to go back, "Oh, damn, I think we both lost that bet."
Clive blinked, "Yeah… Yeah we did. Heh, good luck tomorrow."
"I bet you'll have the worse day."
"Oh you're on."
Confessional
Gabriel: I guess that was low of me. I do like Ysabel, not like like but yeah like. I think. Maybe my mind has been changed. Still not taking a paintball for her.
Ysabel: Yeah, I know he's sorry. I'd have done the same thing. Says a lot about us I reckon. It's hot. You know what's not? Lucas and Josh.
Lucas: If Josh still likes Ysabel after this… There is no hope for that boy.
Josh: I deserved that. Also I kinda wanted to feel what getting shot with a paintball is like. It was not fun.
Sabrina: I mean… Wow. What a show. That was like a whole-ass feature film in three minutes.
End
Soon all the contestants were lined up back at the starting line. Gabriel stood next to Bella, noticing her completely paint-soaked front and also her insane grin, "Eventful time?" he asked.
"One event." she turned to him, still grinning, "But what an event."
"Seems you didn't get out of it very well."
"You should see the other guys." she nodded in the direction of Lee, Elijah and Oswald, who seemed much less enthusiastic.
"Nice." he smirked.
"I helped!" Ajay interrupted, equally paint-soaked.
"Attaboy." he said, "Still don't get how hunters are more paint-covered than deer."
Bella shrugged, "Is it really a surprise?"
"I guess not you're all pretty incompetent."
"Heh… Yeah." she agreed.
The Bass were, in general, a little less pleased, maybe because it was painfully obvious they had more paint on them. Ysabel stood indignantly on the other end of the line from Josh and Lucas, next to Lee, Elijah and Oswald, huddling together. Sabrina and Ivan stood together, looking around awkwardly. "Did you at least have a good time Ivan?" she asked him.
"Oh, Da." he nodded, "I had great time. No one found me."
"Well done. Well done."
"I saw you." he said, still smiling.
"Oh?"
"I was in tree. You were wandering. Looked very bored."
"I was. How weren't you bored?"
"I had camera." he beat his chest once. "I confessed. Like companion."
"Lucky you." she nodded, "I saw all our team shoot each other."
"Sounds fun."
"It was. It really was."
Chris wandered in, carrying a clipboard, "Okay guys- Whoa." He was taken aback by the sheer amount of paint the campers had covered themselves in, "I was expecting this to be a bit more subtle." he chucked the clipboard away, "What did you guys do bathe in it? And how have the Bass got Bass paint on each other?"
"Long story." Lucas groaned.
"Incompetent teammates." Ysabel flicked her hair, spraying paint.
"Paintball guns." Josh offered.
"I figured Josh." Chris nodded, "In fact those all sound realistic. I don't think I have to tell you, but the winners of this challenge are… The Screaming Gophers!"
The clean Gophers all wrapped their arms around each other, hugging and cheering. When Ajay and Bella tried to join in, Ruby quickly pushed them away, "Yeah, okay, no paint on us please."
Ajay shrugged and turned to Bella, raising his arms. She smiled, taking him up on his offer, pulling him into a victorious hug. "Aww, isn't that nice?" Chris asked rhetorically, "But now… What's not so nice is that: the Killer Bass… You are today's big losers, and you'll be voting someone off the island. Gophers, you get to enjoy a party at the camp's off-site hunting lodge. Enjoy it! While you can. Bass, I'll see you tonight. Alright, now that's good? Okay, Gophers follow Chef, he'll take you to the cabin."
The Gophers collectively cheered, and followed Chef Hatchet as he led them right back into the woods. Chris looked at the Bass sadly and walked off to get himself ready for the campfire ceremony. The Bass looked at each other shiftily, before Ysabel strode off, "I'm having a shower. I need to get Josh's paint off of me." The rest of the team looked at Josh, confused. He shrugged.
"It's a long story." Lucas leapt in front of him.
"We've got time." Elijah mumbled, disappointed.
After getting cleaned off, Elijah, Lee, Oswald, Sabrina and Ivan sat around the central camp, discussing the plan. "I still don't think we should discuss who we vote off, we should all make up our own mind." Lee said, sadly.
"We don't know all the facts, though." Oswald said, as Sabrina nodded, "We can't form a proper opinion."
"So tell us, Sabs." Elijah looked at her expectantly.
"I'm not gonna tell you who to vote for." she said defensively.
"Just go over what happened."
"Um…" she picked her next words carefully, "Josh accidentally shot Ysabel cause he and Lucas were spying on her, and then she shot them, then they all got shot by Indira. Then I shot Lucas again."
"Was it all Lucas' fault?" Lee asked, intrigued.
"Not really? I don't know, okay?"
"I mean… Why would they be spying on her, that's weird." Elijah observed.
"She was with someone else." she admitted.
"Not…" Lee gasped.
"Yeah… They kissed, Josh got mad or upset or confused, they shot at Gabriel, and he ran away."
"And you saw all this?" Oswald asked, mouth agape.
"Yeah, I was hiding with other deer."
"Gopher deer?" Elijah feigned offense.
"What were they gonna do?"
"I know. Just funny." Oswald nodded in agreement.
"So yeah. Does that… Help?"
"I think it does." Elijah said, looking around. Oswald and Ivan nodded, though not explaining how it helped.
"Yeah… I think so too." Lee said, "I think-"
"Excuse me!" said Josh, sheepishly appearing from inside the cabin.
"Josh, hi." Sabrina smiled softly at him, "How you doing?"
"I…" he considered the question, "I would like to input on your voting decision."
"By all means." Sabrina patted the spot next to her. He came up slowly and shyly, but sat next to her, and gave them his opinion.
Confessional
Josh: My dad always says I am enough. That people will like me for me. Or they won't and they don't matter. But it hasn't felt that way recently. And I don't like it. Thanks dad. Love you.
End
That evening the Bass sat around the campfire, each seemingly uncomfortable with their voting decision, save Ysabel, silently seething, and Lucas, doing the same on the other side of the grounds. Chris began his speech, "Today was a rough one for you guys, I see. A lot of paint swapped, a lot of insults swapped, some spit swapped, and Ivan you had a good time."
"I did!"
"That's nice to hear. But still, you're here tonight and that means that one of you will not be receiving a marshmallow, and will be forced to walk the Dock of Shame, board the Boat of Losers and leave the island never to return. Ever. You've all cast your votes, and I have seven marshmallows on my plate. If you receive a marshmallow please come and collect it. You are safe. For now. The first marshmallow goes to the fun-haver, Ivan."
Ivan enthusiastically leapt up and took the first marshmallow, flipping a thumbs up to the camera.
"Next… Sabrina… Lee… Elijah… Oswald…" The other four in the alliance went to collect theirs, leaving just Josh, Ysabel and Lucas without immunity. Ysabel and Lucas stared daggers at each other across the raging fire. Josh sat in the middle, silently upset.
"Josh, please come get your marshmallow." Slowly, Josh rose and took his safety, chewing on it thoughtfully as Lucas and Ysabel locked eyes.
"I have just one marshmallow left… That means one of you two will be leaving the competition tonight. The final marshmallow goes to…
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Lucas. Ysabel, please take the Dock of Shame and leave the island,"
Lucas looked at her smugly, walking up slowly and popping the marshmallow into his mouth. Ysabel's anger broke, and the reality of the situation hit her. A pit formed in her stomach. Wordlessly, she stepped onto the dock, ignoring any attempts of contact her team made with her. She stepped onto the boat, equally silent. "Hey kid." Chef tried to reason with her.
"Please don't. I can't…"
"I can't either." he nodded. "I'm sorry girl."
"Thanks Chef. Are the Gophers at least enjoying the reward?"
"One less so than the others." he smiled warmly at her.
"That's nice to hear." As the boat set off she looked back at the island. "I'll be back. One way or another. They won't know what hit 'em."
Chris turned to the camera to cap off the episode, "And once again, love leaves Camp Wawanakwa as soon as it arrives. It never lasts in a cutthroat environment that encourages backstabbing and scheming. Where would you find one of them? Where would you learn how Josh gets on with one of his puppeteers going home? Where will you find out how good that hunting lodge party is? And where will you find out how these teens tear each other apart next week? Only! On Total! Drama! Island!"
22nd: Lorelei
21st: Lisa
20th: Ophelia
19th: Ronald
18th: Edwin
17th: Nate
16th: Louise
15th: Ysabel
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
Hello me reading this over for mistakes/revelling in how funny I am and also people who skip right to the end to check the elimination order. It's okay we all do it. This was tough to finish, I hadn't even decided who would go home while I was writing the final monologue. I had my plan but I was so torn over whether to change it. Ah well, it is what it is and it has happened. I missed my April goal. By quite a bit. It's weird, innit, weird times. Motivation's hard to get. I think this is the first chapter since the news of new seasons broke. And that feels like years ago. Okay, yeah don't interact with this. Don't review it. Don't F/F it I don't want you to. Nyeh. Um, see ya in 2022. Me.
It's worth pointing out this is shorter than the last few chapters. It's the shortest since like Ep3. So Nyeh. Again. I enjoy this... I only upload here so I don't feel insane just leaving it on my computer. Thanks for reading. If indeed I still am.