Author's Note:
I'm tired of making excuses for myself for why it takes me so long to get updates on this and my other stories here. So I'm just going to move on with the story. Hope this chapter is worth the wait!
The sun rose higher and higher into the sky, boring down on the boat of survivors. No one spoke; everyone was busy focusing on the water below…and the shark fin that was slowly circling the boat.
"What's it doing?" Geoff asked.
"It's toying with us," Chef told him. "It wants to keep us afraid as to when it will strike again."
"I can probably get a shot off from here," Izzy commented. "Who wants to see if I can shoot its eye out?"
"No," Chef ordered. "Save your ammo for when you have a clear shot—and when it starts attacking again."
"It's not like these things can doing anything," Courtney whined. "That thing took all those bullets like it was nothing."
"Best shot you're going to get is attacking the eyes," Chef told her. "At the very least we can try to blind the damn monster."
Gwen let out a small sigh as she fingered the pistol Chef had given her, knowing that it wasn't going to do her any good. From the now four instances she'd encountered Fang, she was pretty much convinced that nothing short of some high-level explosives would be able to take it down for good.
"Uh, Chef!" Cody called from the bridge of the ship. Sierra was still by his side, refusing to let him out of her sight. "Sheriff Sanders is on the radio again!"
Chef muttered under his breath, heading over to the bridge. Gwen followed him to see what the sheriff wanted. Once inside the bridge, he picked up the radio. "Hatchet here."
"Mr. Hatchet? It's the sheriff," Sanders' voice piped through. "We're about a day out from your last known location."
"Well, hurry it up," Chef barked. "I'm losing kids quickly up here!"
"We can only go so fast, Mr. Hatchet. Just relay your current coordinates so we can find you better."
Chef glanced at the control panel. "We're still in the same goddamn spot we were yesterday! Do you think I'm an idiot and didn't make sure the anchor was down?!"
"There's no need to get angry—"
"I've got bodies dropping left and right and you're telling me there's nothing to get angry about?!"
"Mr. Hatchet, calm down. We'll be there tomorrow. Just hole up with whatever survivors are left and—" The transmission was suddenly cut off by a loud CRASH and the sound of static.
"What the hell was that?" Gwen asked, raising her pistol to where the crash had come from.
"Chef!" Geoff's voice yelled. "We got a situation here!"
Chef ran outside, followed by Gwen. Cody also tried to run out, but Sierra held him back. "You're staying right here, Codykins," she scolded.
"Argh! Sierra!"
Meanwhile, Chef and Gwen returned to where the others were gathering. "What happened?" Chef demanded to know.
"Look!" Geoff pointed up towards the top of the Wawanakwa. Gwen followed his finger and saw something large and metal lodged there, right where the radio antenna had been.
"Is that…" Trent trailed off.
"Yeah," Chef confirmed. "That's the damn anchor."
"But—that's attached to the ship with a metal chain!" Courtney exclaimed. "How is that possible?"
"The shark, I'd wager," Alejandro mused. "He appears to be much stronger than any of us thought."
"We've got a bigger problem than that," Chef grunted. "That damn thing just took out the only way we can contact our rescue."
"What does that mean?" Geoff asked.
"It means were dead," Noah replied stiffly.
Owen shrugged as he munched on a turkey drumstick. "Oh, come on, guys," he said. "It's not that bad."
"How can you be eating at a time like this?!" Courtney exclaimed. "People are dying and you're stuffing your face?!"
"Hey," Owen protested through a full mouth. "It's not like being on a full stomach could make things worse." The moment he said this, there was a loud BANG as something hit the ship, causing everyone to stumble.
"He's ramming the ship again!" Heather cried.
"I've got him." Alejandro ran to the side with his gun and aimed it down at the water.
"Be careful, Al," Owen warned, still eating his drumstick. "Remember what happened to Beth."
Alejandro's face twisted in annoyance. Everyone knew how much he hated being called "Al." However, he seemed to ignore this as he focused in on the water. "I think I see it," he announced.
"Save your ammo, boy!" Chef barked. "We're going to need it later."
"Don't worry, Chef. I won't miss." His finger closed on the trigger of the gun, ready to shoot.
The ship suddenly shook again as Fang rammed the Wawanakwa again. Alejandro stumbled, accidentally swinging his gun around as he pulled the trigger. The bullet found its mark—directly in Owen's shoulder.
The big boy cried out in pain, stumbling into the railing, tripping over it and falling into the water below.
"OWEN!" Izzy screamed out.
Owen surfaced with a gasp, the water around him starting to get stained red from his shoulder wound. "That hurt, Al!" he yelled back up to the ship.
"Hold on, Owen, I'm coming!" Izzy grabbed a life preserver and threw it down at him. "Grab on!" Owen did as he was told, grabbing onto the life preserver. Izzy instantly started trying to pull him up, but it was clear she lacked the strength to do so.
"Help me!" she pleaded. Geoff, DJ, Eva, and Trent all moved in to the rope, helping Izzy out. Slowly, Owen was starting to be raised up.
"You're going to be okay, Owen!" she called down to him. "Just don't look down."
That was when Fang burst from the water, seizing Owen's leg and trying to pull him back down. Owen cried out again as the group tried to hang onto the rope. Blood was seeping down his leg now, straight into Fang's open mouth.
"Just hold on, Owen!" Izzy told him. "Don't you dare let go!" Chef himself was now at the rope, helping the kids try to bring Owen back onto the boat.
"My leg!" Owen cried as Fang pulled harder.
"We're not letting you go, soldier!" Chef barked. "Just hold on." More and more people were grabbing onto the rope to pull Owen back.
"Just a little more, Owen!" Izzy called down as the group on the boat seemed to be winning the tug of war. She reached a hand down, about to grab Owen's hand—
The rope snapped. Izzy's hand missed Owen by mere inches as the guy fell back with a bloodcurdling scream. His body hit Fang and sent both back into the water. He surfaced briefly, looking back up at Izzy one las time, the fear evident in his pain-stricken face. Then he was gone, pulled under the water by the shark.
"NO!" Izzy sank down over the railing, choking back sobs. Gwen's heart broke for her too; Owen had been one of the few people on the island that she had considered a friend. And now he was gone—another victim of the Drama Corporation's horrible experiment.
"I am sorry, señorita," Alejandro said. "It was an accident—"
"YOU!" Izzy lunged for the boy's throat, only being held back by Chef. "YOU KILLED HIM!"
For a few seconds, a trace of fear floated over Alejandro's face as he took several steps back. "It—it was an accident!" he repeated.
"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Izzy swore at him. "I'LL KILL YOU! DO YOU HEAR ME! I'LL KILL YOU!"
"Calm down, soldier!" Chef ordered, struggling to hold Izzy back. "He's dead! There's nothing more we can do now!"
Izzy stopped her struggles and broke off into heartbreaking sobs, crying over the loss of her boyfriend. The rest of the survivors bowed their heads in remorse. And Gwen could see it in their eyes as well: the hopelessness of their situation.
They were starting to give up.
Alive: Alejandro, Bridgette, Chef Hatchet, Chris McLean, Cody, Courtney, DJ, Duncan, Eva, Fang, Geoff, Gwen, Harold, Heather, Izzy, Leshawna, Noah, Sierra, Trent
Dead: Katie, Sadie, Blaineley, Beth, Tyler, Lindsay, Justin, Owen
Let's be honest: did anyone really expect Owen to get out of this one alive? Originally I decided that his death would result in a classic Total Drama running gag-where Owen farts, laughs at his fart, and then fails at doing something strenuous. But I decided to change that in favor of this death, where Izzy is trying desperately to save him. Trust me-his death is going to have a serious impact on the craziest contestant in Total Drama history.
I would say that I'm going to try to finish this story off in the next week or two (there's only a few chapters left), but we all know how bad I am at keeping these sorts of promises. So for now, I guess all I can say is that if you want to stay informed on future updates, you should hit that favorite/follow button, and don't forget to drop a review to let me know how I'm doing. Until next time, this is Guest 1138, reminding you that everything is a trap. Ciao!