(AN:) No Warnings beside Sam puking once during the challenge.
…
…
…
I don't know if you can hear this…
…
…
But when you wake up it's important to remember…
…
…
No matter what happens…
…
…
You deserve everything that's coming to you.
It was with a full-body ache that Dave awoke, his eyes adjusting to an intense, artificial light. Once he could clearly see the overhead lights wrapped around the tent's rafters, he jumped to his feet with the realization that he was laying down on the ground the entire time.
"What happened?!" He exclaimed, looking around in a panic. His surroundings were new to him, some sort of large tent full of cafeteria tables. The kind he remembers from highschool that he hated with a burning passion.
"Dave?" A voice called out to him.
He turned to look at the tent's entrance, and there he spotted that weird girl. One look at her face and everything came rushing back to him. The horrible bus ride, the decrepit Film Lot, and the apparent gas attack that greeted them once they entered.
Dawn, the correct name he hoped, waited there with a tense, but controlled expression. Intertwining her fingers in front of her body while keeping her arms down.
"I'm happy that I found you Dave, I was afraid something happened to you while we were all unconscious." She said, "I'm glad to see you're alright, physically."
Before Dawn tacked on that quick "physically" at the end, Dave was about to argue that he wasn't fine at all. Not only did he get knocked out by what was likely some form of domestic terrorism, but he awoke on a filthy floor far away from where he passed out - meaning someone else moved him .
He walked closer to Dawn, but kept a safe distance. It didn't hurt to be more cautious from now on.
"Where is everybody?" He asked. "Are we the only ones here?"
"No, fortunately with you awake I am now sure that everyone is accounted for." She said, "The rest of our group has gathered near the entrance of this…place."
"Place?" Dave prodded.
"Yes, I believe it is the same film lot we had fallen unconscious in." She elaborated. "But there have been many changes that had undergone while we slept, and these renovations make me worry over how long our period of sleep was."
Dave looked perturbed, but Dawn motioned him to follow her.
"It's best if I show you, it's much safer to remain as a group." She then left, not even turning back to see if Dave was following.
Weighing his options, Dave found being alone in that tent to be too harrowing, so despite some reservations he chose to follow her.
The pair made their way through the film lot, consisting of several sound stages, trailers, and other constructs to meet the needs of every type of production that could be held there. Of course, the crafts tents were hollow and the trailers showed the tell-tale signs of abandonment that drove in how empty the Lot was nowadays.
A few minutes passed before they finally arrived back to where it all started, the entrance of the Lot. However, Dave's knees began to buckle against each other as he realized what Dawn meant by "renovations".
The entrance was sealed off, what was now a simple gate was a makeshift barrier, sheets of metal bolted to a slab of concrete that blocked the entrance. As if to drive the point home even further, the blockade itself was wrapped up with a wire fence, a sign tied to it with zip-ties warning anyone who's thinking of touching it of the shock they'd be in store for.
"What is this?" Dave found himself asking, so distracted by the wall that he failed to notice his fellow competitors gathered in front of it.
"We've been sealed shut man!" A panicked Shawn exclaimed, looking ready to make a run for it. "I knew they'd catch up to me someday."
"I don't wanna agree with the hobo but something's not right." Jo said, trying not to show her own misgivings on the situation. "What I wanna know is who the hell drugged us and did all this shit while we were sleeping on the dirt like idiots."
Murmurs of agreement rang out.
"Maybe it's part of the show?" Dakota proposed. "I've seen some cameras put in, and they were definitely not here before. Maybe they had to set stuff up and we came too early?"
"That's no excuse to drug us all!" Zoey countered.
"Where's that slippery McClean, I wanna' give him a good lickin' or two." Sugar expressed angrily. "Took me too long to get my hair did, don' he know what bedhead is?"
"Speak on it." Anne Maria agreed.
"Who cares about hair?" Scott said, ignoring the aghast looks from some of the girls and Beardo. "Anyone notice all these screens everywhere? How long were we out, this stuff would need three hours to set up minimum ."
"Affirmative!" Brick agreed. "We have signed no prior agreement to be held in an undisclosed area, unconscious to boot, so it's very likely the staff have violated several laws in this stunt."
"I have a cousin who's a lawyer." Staci spoke up.
"Come on guys, no need to get all hot and bothered." Topher tried to calm everyone down. "I mean, did anyone really read those contracts-"
Several members of the group held up their hands.
"Okay, but do you remember every little detail in them?" Topher offered as a rebuttal, causing the hands to go down as no one remembered the fine print in full.
"Chris is smart, his producers probably put in a clause that means we agreed to the knockout gas even if we don't think we did." Sierra said. "And maybe that wall is for people trying to get into the lot, y'know, to keep us safe?"
"Oh what a load of bull, so you mean we have to deal with shit like this the whole season?" Amy shouted. "And that D-List celebrity can't even bother to show up?"
"And who are you calling D-list?" Sierra shouted back.
Before Amy could answer her, a high-pitch screech sounded out through what seemed like the entire lot. Everyone in the group went to cover their ears to block out the sound, and after a full minute of harsh noise it suddenly stopped.
As contestants slowly uncovered their ears, a frightened Cameron rhetorically asked "What was that?!"
As if to answer him, a voice rang out from unseen speakers.
"Attention, Attention." An oddly distorted voice rang out. "Please gather in Crafts and Services Tent C, located 1.02 miles from your current location. Further instruction will be given once all contestants are accounted for in Crafts and Services Tent C. Halfway your paths will diverge, keep going straight but if you follow your heart the money might be coming to you sooner rather than later. That is all."
As the voice cut off, several of the newly installed screens lit up. Now they displayed a map of sorts, a red arrow pointing down at what was labeled "The Entrance Gate" with a dotted line leading to a large red dot labeled "?".
"Was that Chris?" Ella asked earnestly.
"I think so?" Said an unsure Sierra. "It sounded like him, but it was off too. Maybe it's the sound quality."
"He sounds like those automated voices on LipLok." Max commented, before quickly adding on "Not that I use that app."
"Who cares?" Lightning said. "Sounds to me the game finally started, and Lightning is gonna' be the first one there."
Without waiting for anyone else Lightning went into a full sprint, catching the attention of Jo.
"Oh no you don't!" She said, running after him.
Soon others followed, until only Dawn and Alejandro remained at the entrance.
The few in dead last were near each other in a small group, running briskly but not getting far by much.
"Oh I hope this isn't a real race, I was never good at those." Staci lamented to Mike in the middle of a mild jog.
"If it is a race, something feels off." Mike said.
"Wait, you can talk?" Staci asked. "I was talking to you the entire bus ride, man."
Mike shrugged apologetically.
"Yeah, sorry." He said earnestly. "Didn't have much to say at first, but nothing's been right since we got here."
"Tell me about it." Dave said, catching up to them. "Can't wait to see how they explain the drugging part to us."
"Yeah…" Mike said, looking uncomfortable. "Really not cool."
"Totally not cool!" Staci said quickly.
A few more minutes of running, and everyone began to show signs of sweat even when the sun dipped down by noon.
"Gosh, I hope this isn't the first challenge." Staci said.
"Yeah me too," Mike agreed.
"At this rate we might end up in the bottom, and everybody else would probably be gunning to vote off whoever got there last."
"Yeah…" Mike said, an uncomfortable look on his face.
"And like, that'd totally suck, bombing the first challenge and going home first."
Mike looked like he was on the verge of a panic. "Uh-huh…"
"Chris wouldn't be mean enough to do that right?"
Mike's breathing became a little more erratic, ending with him taking a deep breath and almost forgetting to let it out until five seconds later. By then the panicked look on his face was replaced with a confident one, who looked around with a glint in his eye.
With a shift in his posture, using his longer legs better, he suddenly picked up speed and darted past those in the back.
Staci and Dave looked on with mouths agape at Mike's sudden speed.
"Geez, was it something I said?" Staci asked Dave.
He shrugged, not really caring. "Probably."
Further up were a larger chunk of competitors, who were merely outpaced by the jocks of their group. Among them was an angry Anne Maria, and Rodney who slowed his pace to stay behind her a bit.
"Oh I can't wait to get my hands on him, whoever's got my bags now better be handlin' them with care or they're gonna' have big problems real soon."
"They took my phone too, who does that?" Dakota complained nearby. "And Daddy just bought it for me to celebrate getting in the show."
Overhearing the conversation, a panting Cameron piped up. "They -huff - also took - huff - our phones too."
Beardo, who went at his own pace next to the smaller guy, mimed holding a phone up to his ear, making a decent mimicry of a vibrating sound, before tossing the imaginary phone away.
Cameron began to drag behind and fell to the back alongside Sam who looked to be in equally bad shape.
"Heh, haven't worked out this much since the Whii got big." A sweaty Sam joked to Cameron.
Cameron looked confused in return. "What's a Whii?"
Sam looked shocked but that shock quickly turned to disappointment at another failed joke.
-BZZT-
"Okay, so B just told me what a Whii is." Cameron said, now seated in what appeared to be a dressing trailer filled with miscellaneous objects to assist in costuming and applying makeup. "Pretty lame for my first confessional, but Sam looked really down about it. I'm what people call a bubble boy, I got sick easily so my mom kept me indoors for all my childhood. My mom had a tight grip on what 'fun stuff' was safe for me, and the Whii was all physical so it's no wonder my mom parent-locked it away."
Cameron shrugged. "It is what it is."
-BZZT-
Near the front of the middle group, just barely behind the hard sprinters, were the twins. Sammy kept as much distance between her and her sister as she could, and Amy kept a close eye on Sammy to make sure she didn't try to run ahead of her.
The front group consisted of Sky, Lightning, Jo, Brick, Jasmine, and surprisingly, Shawn.
Lightning and Jo led the pack, neck and neck with neither wanting to be outran. Brick was right behind them, and everyone else was at equal pace with each other.
"You gonna' love second place lady," Lightning said, wiping the sweat off his brow with his forearm.
"Who're you calling a lady?" Jo laughed, though Lightning only looked confused.
"Wait, are you a chick or not?" Lightning asked. "Lightning don't judge, just need to be clear bro."
Jo rolled her eyes but once her eyes were back on her set path she realized where they were all heading, skidding to a halt with a loud "Damn it!"
"Now what is this?" Lightning asked out loud.
The other pack leaders stopped alongside them, all realizing what that map they were following led to. They had just arrived at an intersection that splintered into three different paths. The nearby screens showed the same map as before, but now the dot labeled as "?" had three additional dotted lines branching from it. They ended in three unique icons, the left path led to a pot of gold pictogram, the middle line led to a dollar sign emoji, and the right line led to a cartoon heart sticker.
"It appears we have to pick a path from here on out." Brick stated. "Which do you think it is?"
"Lightning don't got time for this!" Lightning announced. "I'm going right, you nerds can do your nerd junk without me."
Lightning then ran to his randomly picked path, which was the one that led to the pot of gold.
"Okay, I think this is part of the challenge." Sky propositioned. "We pick a path and hope it leads to our destination, maybe there was a clue we missed?"
"Obviously," Shawn said. "Did you guys forget what he said, go straight and follow your heart!"
"Wait, he said more than just that." Jasmine responded first. "Something about getting the money faster."
"So we go straight, but does his clue point to the middle path or the one on the right." Brick concluded. "The heart symbol can't be a coincidence."
"Duh, go straight to reach your destination but follow your heart and the money will get to you quicker." Jo pointed out. "Obviously the right path is the shorter of the two, do I need to spell it out?"
She crossed her arms smugly, but Brick lit up.
"You're right Jo!" He said, clapping a hand on her shoulder. "Thanks for pointing that out, I owe you one, Soldier's honor!"
Brick then sprinted down the right path, looking back to give a flabbergasted Jo a thumbs up. The others followed him, thanking Jo as they passed her.
"Should've kept my mouth shut," Jo said, facepalming.
She then ran after her fellow racers, shaking her head in embarrassment. "Might as well have handed the money over to the nimrods with a big bow on top."
A few minutes after Jo left, the twins arrived at the intersection. Amy rolled her eyes, but chose to go down the middle path wordlessly.
As she ran she couldn't help but think to herself. 'Course I remember what that douchebag said, I just have to go down the straight path and I'll get to the tent. Sammy's probably too stupid to realize that.'
Sammy, now alone, thought back to what the supposed host said over the speakers and chose the path that led to the heart.
Meanwhile, Leonard skidded to a halt catching the attention of Max, Ella, and Sugar. Their group was in between the ones in the far back (Staci and Staci) and the competitors near the back of the middle group (Now consisting of Cameron, Beardo, and now Dave).
"By Thrognott's beard, we've been misled." Leonard declared.
"What are you blabbering about?" Max asked, hands on his hips.
"Behold the mystical map we have followed blindly!" He said, pointing his staff to one of the nearby screens. "So preoccupied by the drawn path we have forgotten that there are more ways to explore these lands."
Ella squinted her eyes. "Oh I see what you mean, I think there might be a faster way than the one we're going."
"Now that's some motherfuckin' magic!" Sugar complimented Leonard. "Lead the way wizard!"
"Hmph." Max snorted. "I could've thought of that."
Despite this, Max followed the other three on their detour.
The middle group then arrived at the intersection, this time it was Zoey, Topher, Sierra, Anne Maria, Rodney, and Mike making the choice.
"He said go straight right?" Anne Maria asked Rodney, who nodded unsurely. "Hey, if the tv says there's money there that's where I'm goin'."
As Anne Maria and Rodney took the middle path, Zoey chose to strike up a conversation with Mike.
"Hey, Mike was it?" She asked. "What do you think?"
"Mike?" Mike asked back, with a much more effeminate tone than Zoey expected. "Dear, zee name is Svetlana, and it iz no concern which path iz taken, rather, how gracefully one reaches zee end. Something you and zee dear boy can both learn."
"Um…okay?" Zoey responded.
"I got it!" Sierra gleefully exclaimed. "The message Chris sent us had clues!"
Topher nodded.
" Halfway your paths will diverge, keep going straight but if you follow your heart the money might be coming to you sooner rather than later ." Both Topher and Sierra repeated flawlessly.
"Clearly the right path is the one that leads to the heart, 'Follow your heart'!" Sierra giggled. "Chris is so clever."
"Then follow zee heart we shall!" 'Svetlana' proclaimed, sprinting down the path with Zoey following close behind.
"Oh drat." Topher cursed. "Go ahead, my shoelace just got untied."
Sierra didn't bother to look as she waved back, assured that Topher would just catch up in a few seconds.
Topher was lucky, as she missed him smirking as he stood up and ran down the left path with the same sneakers whose laces have remained tied since the start of the race.
-BZZT-
"Untied shoelaces lead to faceplants, which lead to dental injury, which leads to no gorgeous smile." Topher recited with a toothy smirk. "Of course, what the others, including that surface level 'superfan,' don't realize is that Chris is far cleverer than they can even imagine. What would the correct path be other than the one not mentioned at all amongst the clues. What awaits me is a pot of gold held by the equally handsome Chris McLean."
While Topher gave a closed-eye smile, they shot open over what he said.
"Forget that last part." He hurriedly added.
-BZZT-
Due to the difference in speed, some contestants arrived at the intersection alone.
Dakota kept going straight on, as a Spinsterest board once told her that the fastest path to any destination was a straight line.
B arrived a little later, realizing what the clues meant before choosing the path to the right.
Scott simply chose the middle path because he didn't feel like it mattered.
The final group that arrived at the intersection included Sam, Staci, Cameron, and Beardo. Beardo was the only one who looked content, as the others showed signs of full-body exhaustion.
"Okay, so 'keep going straight' but 'follow your heart'," Cameron thought out loud, grateful for the break from running. "So both paths will probably lead to it, but maybe the right one gets us there faster?"
"If that means that's the shortcut to the flagpole at the end, the Game Master is down to play, heheh…" Sam promptly bent over and vomited on the lot's blacktop.
"Do you need, like, help?" Staci asked. "Cause my Aunt Jessi is a nurse in New York, y'know."
Sam gave a weak thumbs up. "I'm cool, cool…"
"Maybe the crafts tent has some supplies to help you out." Cameron offered.
Beardo shook his head, pointing at Sam and mimicking the sound of an Ambulance.
Cameron frowned. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."
The crafts tent was similar to the one Dave had been found in, though the tables were moved to the back to make space for the contestants.
Speaking of, Jo ran in triumphantly. She skidded to a halt, threatening to burn the rubber off her soles, and jumped in the air in self-congratulation.
"Hah! Knew I'd make it to…" Jo stopped hopping, spluttering as she realized somebody else was already in the tent. "Second!?"
Alejandro waved with his fingers, smirking as the Jockette stared at him flabbergasted.
"But how?"
"Shortcut mi amor ." Alejandro teased. "While you all busied yourselves with a set path, I took a step back and realized that there was a more straightforward way to the finish line. Outpacing las Bonitas was child's play."
"I took Doblelingo goatee, don't call me that." Jo threatened.
Unabashed, Alejandro turned to the tent's entrance as a third person arrived soon after Jo.
"Whoo! Now that was a workout." Brick cheerfully greeted his fellow competitors. Sky, Jasmine, and Shawn quickly followed after him.
"Nice running for a shaggy little dingo like yourself," Jasmine complimented Shawn.
Shawn looked up at Jasmine, a little pride mixed with trepidation. "Th-thanks."
A few minutes later, Lightning came running in. "No way, how'd you extras get here so fast."
"Shortcut." Jo snarked.
The next person to enter was surprisingly Scarlett, who nodded as she walked past Alejandro, who gladly nodded in return.
Sammy arrived, and right behind her was Dawn who allowed the twin to go first.
Sammy let out a sigh of relief when she saw Amy wasn't there, but her worry returned when she realized that she got there before her sister.
"Amy's going to be pissed." She muttered.
Dawn walked up and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Oh Samantha, stay strong. Even blood bonds can be weakened with age."
Somehow, that cryptic comment didn't make Sammy feel any better. Dawn at least stood in front of Sammy, obscuring her a bit as Amy entered the tent. She was still spotted, turning the cheerleader's sneer into a snarl. Amy crossed over arms and went to stand somewhere close to the group of first arrivers.
Mike, Sierra, and Zoey arrived next. Followed by Anne Maria and Rodney. The wait for the next arrivals was a full two minutes until Leonard's party finally arrived. Leonard entered first, with a rehearsed walk that gave the illusion that he was gliding across the floor. Then Sugar, keeping a smile on her face even as she panted heavily, who was then followed by Dakota.
"Not tired princess?" Sugar asked the socialite, who looked almost bored with the situation.
"Nifty Legends don't get tired." She grinned, pulling a compact out her pocket to check her makeup. "Sweat proof makeup also helps."
Ella entered with a Ballerina's grace, ending with a hop and a skip. Max was going to enter next, but was shoved aside as Scott marched in. With a huff, Max entered right after him.
An exhausted Dave entered, followed by a nonchalant B, who both waited silently with the rest.
Three full minutes passed before Sam, on his hands and knees, crawled into the tent. Topher ran in next, skidding to a halt at the realization that he may have overthought some things.
Staci came in dragging her feet, sitting down on the floor the first chance she got.
Beardo and Cameron finally arrived, or rather, Beardo entered with a passed out Cameron slung over his shoulders.
"Sha-Christ, is that little girl good?" Lightning asked.
Beardo gave a thumbs up before walking over to B's side.
"Well that's done, now where's McLean?" Anne Maria asked. "Like Hello, I ain't do all that runnin' for my health."
To answer her, another screech was let out. This time it came out from a speaker that was physically present in the tent.
"Welcome to Camp TV," the voice said. "From our hundreds of auditions, it was determined that you all would be the best cast for the second season of this ratings darling."
There were nods of agreement to that statement, with the Chris fans squeeing at the faint praise. Though some like Sam and Sammy looked uncertain about it.
"As for today's task, you have all completed it in under fifty minutes - which will be a pain to edit down." The voice continued. "I congratulate the first fifteen arrivals for arriving in a timely manner, whether it was from following the suggested path or taking your own. As for the rest, do not be afraid, this was a non-elimination challenge."
Staci and Sam sighed in relief, while Beardo sounded his own little victory horn.
"However, despite that, this challenge was very important for one reason." The voice announced. " It allowed us to determine the teams, please separate into groups as I direct you. Based on the placements of the race, with all the odd numbered arrivals making one team, may the following please move to the right side of the tent: Alejandro, Brick, Jasmine, Lightning, Sammy, Amy, Sierra, Anne Maria, Leonard, Dakota, Scott, Dave, Sam, and Staci. That means the second team will be: Jo, Sky, Shawn, Scarlett, Dawn, Mike, Zoey, Rodney, Sugar, Ella, Max, B, Topher, and Beardo."
The larger group was now split down the middle, though Beardo still had the unconscious bubble boy slung over his shoulder.
There were mixed feelings amongst the groups, especially for those who made small kinships on the bus ride.
Rodney looked disheartened to be separated from Anne Maria, though the Jersey Girl in question was more preoccupied with filing her nails at the moment. Sugar was also disappointed that she didn't have the wizard on her team.
Zoey gave Mike an odd look when she walked over to stand with his group. He smiled nervously, in stark contrast with the bold confidence he had during the race.
"Enjoy carrying Locker Hopper Brick for Brains!" Jo called from her side of the room.
Both Brick and Lightning looked around for who she was talking to.
"Not to state the obvious, but what about the wimp in last place?" Scott asked.
"Yeah, the announcer left Cameron out." Sky said, before leaning towards a nearby B. "Cameron is his name, right?"
B nodded silently.
"Hmm, Announcer is a good name - from now on refer to me as that for the rest of the competition." The Announcer said. "As for Cameron, I left him out for a specific reason. While his athleticism leaves much to be desired, his measured IQ is amongst the highest of you all. Hedging out the likes of Scarlett, B, and Alejandro…even by only a couple more points."
The three intellectuals mentioned tried to look unperturbed, though none of them missed the fact that the Announcer called Cameron smarter than them.
"Quite a mixed bag, which makes him suitable for a role in the next challenge!" Announcer proclaimed. "Tomorrow, at exactly 11 AM, you will all gather at Sound Stage 12-B for your first official challenge of the season!"
A few cheers rang out, though most of the cast remained unenthused.
"Yeah whatever, but what was up with drugging us?" Dave asked.
"Apologies, our setting was still under construction and you all arrived much earlier than expected, so our security thought that you were all intruders." Announcer explained. "In case you're wondering, though you didn't outright agree to it, your contracts do allow us to remove you from the premises however we see fit. So no lawsuits, but understand that we will only use these methods in the most extreme of circumstances."
While not satisfied, most of the contestants had nothing else to say after that explanation.
"Now, let me go over the rules and this introduction will be wrapped up quickly and you will have the rest of the day to yourselves." Announcer said. "Though judging from how late it is, you guys probably don't have that much free time. I also suggest that you all get an early rest for tomorrow."
"Now, Camp TV is still following the same playbook with a few important updates. This season, we decided to ditch the summer camp motif and play around with a Film and television theme, putting a new coat of paint on things. For the next eight and a half weeks you will all be battling out in semi-daily challenges with day long breaks in between, after each challenge, outside of special occasions, the losing team will have to vote for one of their teammates to get the boot. Whoever receives the most votes will be eliminated from the show, losing their chance at a million dollars and being removed from the premises permanently. We will continue until the merge, where challenges will be used to determine who receives immunity from the elimination ceremony, shrinking the voting pool for those days."
"Outside of the tent you will find a box full of PDA-like devices, one for each of you. They will provide a set of the rules, maps of the Lot, and even occasional instructions sent by yours truly. If they shut off, simply leave them in a Crafts tent to be recharged, otherwise, don't lose them as you only get the one. Follow the maps provided to the residential area, where there are four trailers you can share evenly amongst yourselves."
"Finally, Confessionals will be employed this season. There are multiple trailers on the lot used for makeup and costume storage, behind the mirrors in each of those is a camera that you can divulge your secrets to. Our editors will place confessions wherever they see fit, so feel free to dish out any drama no matter how old it is. The confessional makeup trailers are marked with golden stars on their doors, you can find them with your maps as well. That is all, goodbye."
Mutters of discontent followed that long message, but with no further instruction to stay, everyone began filing out of the tent. As they exited, a mysterious box was present on the ground nearby, just like the announcer said. Everyone went to pick up a PDA, sometimes shoving people out of the way to get theirs first.
Some decided to stick around the Crafts tent to see if there was anything to eat there, but most went off to investigate either the residential area or the confession trailers. Though before Mike could split off from the group, Staci caught up to him.
"Hey Mike, wait up!" She called out to him.
He froze and gave her a curious look. "Oh, what's up Staci?"
"Just wanted to check up on you, you were acting really weird during the race." Staci said, looking worried.
He gave a shaky smile. "Oh, what d'ya mean?"
"Well, I know I tend to ramble sometimes, and I shouldn't have dumped that all on you-"
"Oh it's fine, seriously, if that's all-" Mike made an attempt to leave but Staci ran up to his front.
"You looked really worried when I said the race might end with an elimination, and then you ran off." She elaborated. "Did I say something wrong?"
"Oh don't worry about it," Mike tried to laugh it off. "But all that running made me really tired, so I think I'm going to go to sleep early. Bye Staci."
While unconvinced, Staci let Mike leave. She went back to the tent, hoping that he really was okay.
-BZZT-
"That was close." Mike said, locking the door behind him as he entered the confessional. As he sat down he gave a worried look to the mirror/camera, wondering what to say.
"Okay so…" He started. "I'm a method actor! Yeah, and sometimes when I get overwhelmed I need to 'get away' from it all, so I go into one of my characters and suddenly everything isn't so bad anymore."
He held his hands up as if he was revealing the truth, but there was a clear uncertainty on his face.
"It's a problem, I get it." He said. "But I'm learning to deal with things better, that's why I signed up for the show! Honest."
-BZZT-
-BZZT-
"So this is Camp TV," a collected Alejandro began. "A strange gathering, perfectly ripe for surprises. But I welcome them, if only to hasten how quickly I'll stamp them out."
Alejandro looked directly to the camera haughtily. "I'm making it clear, my goal is to win. And what a Burromuerto does, always, is win ."
-BZZT-
-BZZT-
"Something's up with Chris." Sierra said, her arms crossed. "Like, I get wanting to change your stage name but Chris McLean is already a brand, and totally better than 'Announcer'."
She scoffed. "Sounds like a guy in charge of trains."
"Plus," she continued. "He still hasn't shown up yet, I promised my mom a selfie…and more, but I don't want this confession confiscated as evidence. Not like I'm doing anything illegal, not at all."
-BZZT-
Jogging around the lot, now wearing a tracksuit, was Sky. With the free time she was given, she decided to check out the Lot some more since she was too focused on the race to take in her surroundings.
She turned a sharp corner and nearly ran into another person. Her wouldbe drive-by turned out to be Dave, who stumbled back to avoid colliding with her, nearly dropping his PDA.
"Woah!" She exclaimed. "Sorry about that, didn't know anyone else would be around here this late."
"It's okay." Dave said, trying to play off the fact he almost fell on his back. "Can I ask what you're doing here?"
"Just checking the place out, this place is so big I can't believe nobody got lost during the race." Sky said.
"Well, at least everyone here can read a map right." He said. "Some better than others, I feel like a total idiot missing that alt route."
"Oh totally," Sky agreed. "I heard Sugar brag about Leonard figuring out about the map trick too, I can't believe I missed that."
"The wizard guy?" Dave questioned. "Now I feel extra stupid."
The two chuckled at that, before Dave got a bit serious.
"Hey, what's your thoughts on all this?" He asked, gesturing towards the general area they were in. "Drugging and all."
Sky sighed. "I heard of crazy stuff like this happening sometimes, never thought it'd happen to me. But we weren't hurt, right?"
Dave shrugged, still looking unsure.
"And like, I heard of worse stuff happening on live TV." Sky said. "I mean, if someone died they'd have to pull this show off air so they totally care enough about that, right?"
"Yeah, I guess." Dave answered.
The two went quiet for a bit.
"Hey, you know these teams aren't going to last forever right?" Sky prompted.
"Yeah?" Dave said questioningly.
"Heather, from the first season, got a pretty good idea about forming alliances." Sky continued. "She was a total, you know what, but it was a smart idea."
Dave agreed. "Sucked that she was an uber douche about it, but I see what you mean. So what are you asking for exactly?"
"I don't know, who knows what'll happen while the teams are together." Sky said. "But after the merge, it might help to make some friends. Especially if people think you're a threat."
Dave nodded. "So…we do an insurance type thing. We get to merge and play the game together to win?"
"I think we can at least get to the top six." She tacked on. "I mean, you don't need to be a prodigy to reach the end."
"Okay, I like the idea but I do have one question." Dave butted in. "Why me?"
Sky shrugged. "I don't know, you look like a nice guy. And…"
She tapped her finger on Dave's PDA, which displayed a map on it's screen. "It looks like great minds think alike."
"Gotta know the battlefield, right?" Dave said, his blush thankfully obscured in the darkness.
-BZZT-
"So here's the alliance rules," Dave began his confessional. "One, don't sabotage each other unless absolutely necessary. Two, don't tell anyone until after the merge. Three, We meet up before the eliminations but play the game like we're solo unless we can get away with it."
He looked at the camera confidently. And Finally, break a rule, at least own up to it."
"Sky's pretty smart, I was gonna play this game stone cold and keep everyone at arm's length, but that would've put me at a disadvantage come merge. With this, I have a backup plan until the final six."
He crossed his arms sternly. "But don't get it twisted, once we get there it's every man, and woman, for themselves!"
-BZZT-
The two would return to the residential area, where most of their fellow competitors had already clocked in for the night. The cast was split amongst the trailers by gender, mostly by accident. Most of the cast members chose trailers that had at least two other teammates in them as well. David and Sky went off to their respective cabins, unknowing of the morning that would await them.
0-0-0-0-0
Team 1: Alejandro, Amy, Anne Maria, Brick, Dakota, Dave, Jasmine, Leonard, Lightning, Sam, Sammy, Scott, Sierra, and Staci.
Team 2: B, Beardo, Dawn, Ella, Jo, Max, Mike, Rodney, Scarlett, Shawn, Sky, Sugar, Topher, and Zoey.
TBD: Cameron
Total of Survivors: 29
(AN:) Well that's the first episode done, totally normal.
I bet you can't wait to see how it all goes wrong.
Tell me what you think of the story so far! Any characters you're rooting for, or heck, hoping to see die? Leave your thoughts and predictions in the reviews, I'd love to read them! Otherwise, Fave Follow and Review as always. See you next episode.