DISCLAIMER:
Chapter 9 is here. What will happen in the forest? What will happen to the ferrets? And can the foxes keep their advantage? Find out next now on the second part of the episode.
And as always, if you like the story, please leave a review or mark it as a favorite. That is the only way I know you like the story, and also what you liked about it. Now let me reply to some reviews.
LovelyLuly: First fo all, thanks for pointing the typos, it helps me a lot, there are always some that escape the review. About Topher, I think of him more Bisexual than gay. In another story, I have to explore that. And about Dramaman, I liked that theory, I will remember it in the future XD.
guest:That was the intention that the explanation was hard to follow. I am pretty glad you had liked the story so far.
Total Drama belongs to Fresh TV and their creators, and associates companies. I don't own anything from the properties used in this fic.
Are this also a sucky outdoors? Part 2
The third challenge was ongoing. The foxes already arrived at their campsite and were preparing for the night. The ferrets meanwhile were just arriving at theirs.
"I, I believe, is this way, not wait, let me check again," said Lilly, she was double-checking all her decisions since they started the challenge.
Shawn rolled his eyes. "C'mon, you will surely be right, like all the other 43 times before. Can you stop doubting yourself? If a zombie horde were following us, we would already be turned into their lunch."
"Sorry, but this is,*sniff* is an important responsibility, and I, I don't want to fail the team again," sniveled Lilly, who was about to cry.
Shawn scratched his head. This was becoming awkward. So he tried to comfort her. "Calm down, you are doing great. You haven't failed the team, just focus on the map, and which way we should go."
"I always fail the team. I couldn't cross the rope bridge," said Lilly sniveling and sobbing, " and, I, I couldn't eat more than a few bites of my steak. I just keep disappointing everyone," as she talked, the treehugger walked to the left side of the road.
"We all have weaknesses and strengths. You haven't disappointed anyone. Just know your weakness and work to overcome them. That way, in the future, you will not fail again. And who knows, you may even survive the coming zombie apocalypse," said Shawn shrugging.
"Thanks, Mr. Shawn," said Lilly, wiping the tears off her face, "you are kinder and less weird than you seemed in television."
"Thanks?" Replied Shawn, not sure if she just praised or insulted him.
Lilly chuckled at Shawn's expression and turned around to keep going, but in front of her, she found a ferret shaped totem.
"See, you did it. Great job," said Shawn excited as his ordeal was over. He then shouted at the rest of the ferrets."HEY! WE FOUND THE CAMPSITE."
The treehugger smiled satisfied, then she noticed a small note attached to the totem. She tried to tell Shawn about the note, but he ignored her soft and low voice.
The rest of the team began to arrive at the site. "At last, my feet are killing me," said Amy, sitting in a nearby rock.
"I agree with the twin. Evil is to take over the world, not to walk hours in the forest. My poor feet are also killing me," said Max, his voice going from loud and serious to wimpy as he talked about his feet.
Lilly kept trying to tell the others about the note, but nobody was paying her any attention.
Brick began to examine the totem. "But, where is the camping equipment?"
"Maybe finding it is part of the challenge?" said Jay, putting his hands behind his head and leaning against a tree.
Lilly tried once more to tell them about the note, and this time Dramaman noticed her. Lilly's face beamed.
"Can you tell the others about the note? Everyone is chatting and can't hear me," said Lilly offering the note to the wrestler.
Dramaman took the note and nodded. At that moment, Lilly panicked. She just realized that he almost never talks. It would be even harder for him to be noticed than it was for her.
But to her surprise, the wrestler just walked to Shawn, tapped his shoulder, and give him the note.
Lilly felt in her knees, she never thought about doing it that way.
Confessional: Lilly
"I want to be a tree, a cute little tree," Lilly is singing, while, holding her knees, still shocked about how easy the wrestler, without talking, resolved the problem.
Oblivious to the poor treehugger's personal drama, Shawn read the note aloud. "As part of the challenge, you should find where to sleep as well. But don't get too far from this totem, you need its blessing in the morning before coming back. Love you, Chris."
Amy looked at the conspiranoic with wide eyes. "WHAT!? That means we have to sleep outside? Like animals?"
"Maybe we can build a shelter on a tree, like the Kinosewak during the last season," said Sky, looking at Topher and Sammy.
Topher put a hand on his chin, showing his best angle. "Back then we have a lot of wood planks from the challenge. I don't think we can do it with what we have around here."
"We can sleep under the stars. I do it a lot, and it's not that hard. Well, only the part of balancing while sleeping on a branch. But if you tie yourself before sleeping, there would be no problems," said Shawn smiling confidently.
Charlotte looked at him with wide eyes and shaking her head. "You are not serious, are you? This is not that kind of game."
"Jasmine also sleeps like that," said Shawn with a sad smile on his face.
"Ok, it sounds like the best strategy," replied Charlotte, making a 180 turn from her previous opinion.
"There is no way I can sleep in a branch," said Amy, looking at her teammates, shocked, "I mean, sleeping in the outdoors? Tying ourselves to a branch? Are we crazy?"
Sammy frowned at her sister."Amy, can you try to not be so negative all the time? It's just a suggestion."
"Samey, do you really believe that you, or me, can sleep all night in a branch without moving? Like really?" said Amy in a more composed voice than she usually uses.
Sammy bowed her head, smiling timidly. "Well, we cannot know until we try."
"I am so sorry. I am not confident enough to climb a tree to sleep. I am so sorry," said Lilly twiddling with her fingers.
"I also can't sleep in a branch," said Topher raising a hand timidly. "We can try if the majority wants, but I am sure I can't."
"EVIL geniuses are not like damn monkeys. EVIL geniuses don't climb trees just for fun. Try to use your brains for once. We can look for a cave and sleep inside," said Max, smirking.
Brick gulped nervously. "But Chris said that there are bears in the caves."
"That's nonsense! I haven't seen a single bear in all my days in the forest. Chris surely invented that story so we don't try to sleep in the caves," said Max, folding his arms.
Topher groomed his hair before talking to the team. "Then who is in favor of exploring the caves to try to find one where we can sleep?"
Topher, Amy, Max, Jay, Brick, and lastly, Lilly raised their hand.
"Then let's give it a try. Let's divide into groups to find a cave. What do you think? I will go with Amy," said Topher smiling confidently.
Both twins were startled by the host wannabe words.
Confessional: Sammy
"I don't understand. I felt we connected so well on the way here. Why he chose Amy instead of me? I'm so confused right now," said Sammy with a sad expression
Confessional: Amy
"I wanted to go with Lilly, but well, if I have charmed that good looking guy, what can I do? I will go with him and reject him. I don't have time to date right now, even someone as hot as him," said Amy blushing and smirking at the camera.
"Ok, I will go with Sky," said Shawn looking with cold eyes at the Cree girl, that was surprised by his decision.
"And I will go with Sammy. If Sammy is ok with that, of course," said Jay, rubbing his neck.
"Yes, no problem, of course," answers Sammy, still shocked about Topher wanting to go with Amy of all people.
Max laughed maniacally. "Gwahahaha. Sidekick, it seems like it's our chance to advance our EVIL plan," said the supervillain, looking at Lilly. Charlotte narrowed her eyes at them with suspicion.
"Then it seems it's you, Dramaman and me. Charlotte," said Brick pointing to the E-gamer. The wrestler nodded, but the black girl shook her head.
"Sorry, I am already in the queue with another team to enter the game, maybe next time." Replied Charlotte, with a cold expression.
"No problem. Next time then," said Brick smiling.
"Ok, we will meet again here, good luck everyone," said Topher as the 5 teams started to look for a cave.
On the foxes side, Duncan and Courtney were looking for woods and stones to make the campfire. They were both in silence, looking for dry branches and good-sized rocks.
"You seem to know what you are doing, I expected to be supervising you," said Courtney, looking at Duncan confidently gathering the stones.
"You may be a counselor, but I was a muskrat boy. So at least I know the basics of building a campfire," said Duncan, smirking. "Do you remember the time we did this challenge on Wawanakwa?"
"Ugh! Of course, I do. It was terrible! You scared the others with that silly story about the killer with a hook." said Courtney, with an annoyed tone.
Duncan interrupted her. "Hey! It's a great story. And you were also quite scared."
"Ok, maybe I was also a little scared. Anyway, you told us that story, then Bridge burnt the tent, and we had to sleep outdoors," said Courtney shaking her head.
"Under a thunderstorm," added Duncan, looking at the sky smiling.
"It's true! It was a downpour. And to top it all, we almost won, but Katie and Sadie got lost in the forest all night and reached the goal later. So Chris gave the victory to the Gophers. It was so frustrating," said Courtney, chuckling.
The delinquent picked some stones from the ground. "We were so young. I was sure you were just an uptight girl that didn't know anything about the real world."
"And I thought you were a vile prankster without future that only knew how to get into troubles," replied the Latin girl, sighing.
"But even then. I thought you were so hot when angry," said Duncan waggling his unibrow.
"Duncan. Please stop," said Courtney, her tone more tired than angry.
He sighed and shrugged. "I'm sorry, I just got carried away." He then went away to look for more stones, leaving her alone.
Courtney watched at him. There was a question at the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't make it, not after what she talked with Heather. If he really was playing her, this question would be the biggest humiliation of her life. So she kept quiet.
"Well, I think we get enough wood. Let's go back with the others," said Courtney, after picking some more branches.
Duncan offered a hand to her."Do you need help carrying those?"
"Thanks, but I'm fine. If I need help, I will let you know," said Courtney, smiling.
Confessional: Duncan
"I'm not dumb. There are some issues with Princess right now, and I would like to know if it's my fault or not. I am not smart enough to figure it out by myself. So I need help, but from whom?" said Duncan hitting his chin lightly.
On the ferrets' side, Topher and Amy were looking for the cave, but the former Chris' fan had other plans on his mind.
"Ouch, my feet hurt, can we take a break?" said Amy, frowning.
Topher smirked, this was the chance he was waiting for. "Of course, no problem."
"Thanks," said Amy sitting next to a tree. "You more athletic than I thought."
"I have been training since the last show," said Topher, winking and flexing at the twin.
"That sounds good. Since the last show, I have only been fighting with my fool sister," said Amy rolling her eyes.
Topher smiled. He was waiting for this. "It seems like you and Sammy are in worse terms now than ever."
"You said it! That Samey is so full of herself after that giant Aussie filled her head with bullshit," responded Amy, folding her arms while frowning at the thought of Jasmine.
"Really? I talked with her, and I think she is quite a wonderful girl," said Topher, looking at the older twin's eyes.
"Hahaha, that's because you don't know Samey as I know her. She had always been naïve and clumsy, too kind for her own good. And now she grows a spine and says I bully her. She had some nerve," said Amy, ripping some grass from the ground.
Topher leaned against a tree, trying to understand her."Don't you think that maybe she really felt bullied?"
"Of course not, I only make her do some chores because it was my right, as I was born first. Also, she was always slow, hesitating when she had to decide anything, and making a drama about every minor thing that happened," said Amy, scowling at Topher.
"Maybe treating her like a servant affected her self-esteem, so it was harder for her to make decisions," said Topher, at last, he had a clear image of the problem between the sisters.
Amy raised an eyebrow, trying to not laugh. "What? Are you saying it was my fault that Samey is so useless? Ple-e-ase, that is just her playing the victim to get attention."
The host wannabe didn't want to let her avoid the truth, so he pushed forward. "Are you happy to continue like this? At this rate, you and your sister will keep fighting all the time. If you really don't hate her. Why you don't try to see the problem from her perspective?" said Topher, watching her intently.
"Here you are, taking her side as if I was some kind of monster," shouted Amy, glaring at him.
"Why should I take a side? I think you are right and wrong because you both refuse to acknowledge how the other one feels. Did you thought how painful it must be for Sammy to be treated like a slave by her own dear sister?" said Topher, the last part in a harsher tone, getting tired of Amy's attitude.
The twin sister stood up and shouted at him, "I DON'T NEED TO HEAR THAT AGAIN! You are not my mother, so leave me alone," she then stormed away, going inside the forest.
"Wait, where are you going?" shouted Topher. After a moment, he began to run behind her.
Confessional: Topher
"Ok, I wanted to try to help the twins to resolve their issues. But it will be harder than I thought. Also, their relationship reminded me of my relationship with Chris, so I lost my cool. I am not sure what I am doing anymore," said the host wannabe, sighing.
While this happened, Zoey, Dawn, and Heather were looking for a place to set the camp.
"C'mon girls, move faster! It's already getting dark. We need to find a place quickly," shouted Heather while Zoey and Dawn followed her.
"Wow! You seem very enthusiastic about finding shelter," said Zoey smiling and keeping the Queen Bee pace.
"I don't want to sleep outside, thank you. So we had to hurry while we have sunlight," said Heather putting her hands on her hips and looking back. "Dawn, c'mon, you can admire the flowers later."
The moonchild was talking with a butterfly on her finger.
"Wait, this friend said that there is a cave near that we can use," shouted Dawn (well, as loud as she can shout.)
Zoey hugged herself, shivering a little."Chris said that there were bears in the caves."
"This friend said that the cave is empty. Let's go and take a look," said Dawn.
"Ok, I hope your little friend is not lying," said Heather looking with contempt at the butterfly.
Confessional: Dawn
"Heather is a mystery, her aura is dark blue, and full of arrogance, and red, a sign of a controlling person, but all are covered in a light green aura. I don't know how to read that, but I can't fully trust her," said Dawn putting a hand under her chin.
The three girls followed the butterfly to a river near a small waterfall. Behind it was a cave.
"Thank you, my friend," said Dawn as the butterfly flew away.
Heather frowned at the cave, patting her chin. "The insect was right. The only problem is that we have to get wet to enter the cave."
"Oh, it's not so bad, we can enter from the sid-" Zoey was saying when she found inside the cave a large bear looking back at her.
Zoey blanched and began to go back slowly, Dawn and Heather looking at her with confused expressions.
"What happened, Zoey? Is something wrong in the cave?" asked Heather folding her arms, but her question was answered by the roar of the bear.
"BEAR!" shouted the three girls at the same time, Zoey and Heather running away.
"That damn butterfly lied to us, I knew we couldn't trust a painted fly," said Heather as she ran.
Dawn smiled tenderly at the bear, putting a hand in front of it. "Calm down, my friend, we didn't intend to bother you."
The bear answered roaring at the moonchild. She blanched and began to walk backward, her eyes full of fear.
Zoey went back and took Dawn's hand. "Don't stay there, run!" then she started running away with her.
"Hurry, climb here," shouted Heather, that was already in a high branch of a tree.
Confessional: Heather
"Usually, I would not care for them. But even I cannot just leave them to die there. Also, if we are together, I can simply ditch one of them to escape, so only one of us had to be mauled. Brilliant!" said Heather smiling at the camera.
Zoey and Dawn climbed as fast as they could, sitting near Heather. The bear stood below the tree, standing on his rear paws and clawing the tree.
"Look, he is trying to climb, what do we do?" asked Heather, pale as a sheet.
"That bear is not normal. I cannot talk with him. I don't understand what is happening," said Dawn covering her head with her hands.
Zoey raised an eyebrow. "You mean that bear is not a normal bear?"
"No, I don't know what it is," said Dawn, trying to figure what was the meaning of this.
Heather was shivering, looking with despair at the animal. "Ok, but whatever it is, it's starting to climb, so we need to do something NOW!"
Zoey's face beamed as she realized something. "Heather, I have an idea, how much do you weigh?"
"I will not say that on international TV," replied Heather, upset by the question.
"Ok, I hope together we weight enough," said Zoey, as she went near her.
The redhead hugged the Queen Bee and jumped from the tree.
"NOOOOO!" shouted Heather, maybe come back to this show was a bad idea after all.
Both girls fell on top of the bear head, crushing it with their legs.
"Nooo! You didn't have to kill him!" shouted Dawn, crying, while slowly climbing down the tree.
"I don't think we kill it," reply Zoey looking at the rest of the bear head.
Instead of blood or flesh, the head of the bear was made of metal and cables. The broken head sparkled here and there with less frequency each time.
Heather frowned over the unresponsive body of the bear and kicked it. "A robot?"
"Yes, it was obvious. Dawn couldn't talk with it, and the butterfly said the cave was empty. Chris must have put it in there to scare us," said Zoey smiling proudly.
"I almost had a heart attack there. Well job indie girl, let's call the others," said Heather, tossing her braid. "And don't say anything about the bear to the others."
Dawn looked ashamed at the ground. "Sorry, Zoey. For a moment, I thought you had killed that poor bear and had a lot of negative feelings against you. I should have trusted you more."
"No problem Dawn, no problem," replied Zoey with a nervous smile.
Confessional: Zoey
"Actually, I didn't know it was a robot. I only thought that hitting it with our full weight from that height would be enough to knock it out. I was desperate. Lucky for us, it was just a robot. Phew," said Zoey, cleaning the sweat from her forehead.
On the ferrets side, Jay and Sammy were also looking for a place to use as a shelter. Unknown to them, they were followed by Dramaman and Brick, who didn't trust letting the twin with the skater alone. Especially when it was getting dark.
"I feel bad for stalking them, but we must be sure that Sammy is ok. Right, my friend," said Brick, looking at them from behind a tree.
Dramaman nodded for the nth time at Brick. He was also looking at them, but they were too far away to hear them talking. But at least they seem fine, Jay keeping his distance from the younger twin.
"This forest is larger than it seems, where are those caves?" asked Jay, tired of looking for the caves.
Sammy replied absentmindedly. "Well, you are right. Maybe it is better to go back to the totem." She was still thinking about what happened with Topher before.
"Are you all right, Sammy? You seem worried about something," said Jay. He tried to start talking with her a few times, but Sammy always replied with short answers, not paying him any attention.
"Eh? Oh, sorry, I'm fine, thanks. I was just distracted about, ehm, the challenge! Yes, I was distracted thinking about how to find a cave." said Sammy, that tried to sound ok.
Jay clicked his tongue. It was obvious she was lying. Anyway, he had to make his move now before they go back to the others.
"I'm glad to hear that, I was afraid you were thinking about Topher," said Jay, trying to sound relieved.
"Eh? Of course not," said Sammy blushing and smiling, "Why would I be thinking about him?"
"Yes, of course," said Jay, bitting his piercing. "I don't want to tell you this. But after I watched you early talking to him, I think it is important for you to know."
Sammy tilted her head while looking at the skater. "What are you talking about?"
"The other night, I hear Topher talking with Amy. They were making some kind of agreement, maybe an alliance. And to show her he was serious, he would vote to eliminate Jasmine," said Jay, taking off his torque and putting it over his chest.
"NO! why would Topher do that? I mean, Jasmine was one of our best players, and he wants to win," said Sammy, feeling her heart pumping faster.
Jay lowered his head, avoiding her eyes. "Because he is a selfish person. Topher wanted to lead the team, and Jasmine was an obstacle. I know because he also wants to eliminate me."
Sammy was deeply hurt. She was still trying to make up her mind and replied to the skater without thinking. "No, it doesn't make any sense. Not after what he told me."
"Sammy, I don't know what he told you. But he lied so he could gain your trust and control your vote. Just wait, he will ask you to vote for me," said Jay, trying to look as sad as he could.
Sammy wanted to cry. This was just so cruel. She opened her heart, and Topher used her. And as always, her sister was behind it. She then began to run away.
"Sammy, WAIT!" shouted the skater, but he was too late. Sammy ran into the forest, trying to escape from the pain. Jay cursed his luck, just now it was his chance to comfort her.
But the skater was not the only one that was distressed by the twin running away.
"C'mon, we have to go after her NOW!" shouted Dramaman to Brick as he ran, trying to follow the twin.
"Just behind you," replied Brick, "You seem anxious, are you ok?"
"Don't worry about me. There are bears on the island. We have to find her before them," said the wrestler, his voice not hiding his fear.
Confessional: Brick
"I'm not sure what is happening. Jay made Sammy cry. She ran into the forest full of bears, and Dramaman goes all ballistic to help her. But what I know is that one of our fellow teammates needs my help, and I never leave a man behind," said Brick smiling and saluting at the camera, then gulp nervously, "even if it's getting dark."
Back in the foxes totem, Alejandro and Cody were waiting for news from their team. Cody was sitting in a branch over a tree watching out for any sign of their teammates or bears, as Alejandro examined the fox totem.
"They are not coming back and is already dark. I hope everyone is ok," said Cody climbing down the tree. It was futile to keep trying to watch for the others at night.
Alejandro was knocking the head of the totem. "They will be fine. Bears are not violent animals. They are probably as scared of us as we are scared of them."
"You say that because you never had a close encounter with a bear. Especially a Wawanakwa bear," said Cody shuddering.
The Codster didn't like Alejandro, especially after Hawaii. But there was something he needed to take out from his chest.
"Hey Alejandro, man to man, I have to ask you something," said Cody, looking serious at the Spaniard.
"Of course pequeño amigo[1], ask whatever you want," said Alejandro, smirking. Thinking it would be a complaint about Hawaii.
"Why did you cheat on Heather? I mean, I know you had always been a sneak. But man, after all that happened, I was sure you loved her," said Cody, glaring at him.
Alejandro blanched. He looked at Cody opening and closing his mouth, taking a moment to recover his composure.
"That's what she says?" replied Alejandro, looking at him with a sad expression.
Cody narrowed his eyes at him. "Yes. It is not a surprise because you are a womanizer. And I know how hard it's to be as popular with the ladies as we are. But you were in love, or not? That's why I want to know, why did you betray her like that?"
Alejandro shook his head, "Pero sera cabrona," he took a deep breath before talking again. "I don't know. I really loved her, I still do. It was just that, I don't know, we all do stupid things at the heat of passion."
"I hoped you at least had some kind of justification. But it seems you are as bad as Duncan," replied Cody, a thunder falling while he spoke. "You are a shame to all the ladies men out there, Alejandro Burromuerto. You are going down, mark my words."
Alejandro chuckled. "In my land, there is a saying 'Perro ladrador poco mordedor.' Let's see what kind of dog you are, Cody Anderson," said Alejandro, hitting the fox totem. Another thunder falling, and with it, rain began to pour.
The fox totem fell, and its head dropped from the body. Inside of it was a medallion with their team's logo.
"Wait, what is this?" said Cody taking the medallion.
"It was hidden inside the totem. It is probably what we need to bring to the goal tomorrow. The totem must be built, so when the temperature drops in the night, it releases the medallion hiding on its head," said Alejandro examining the head.
Cody grinned. "So, with this, we can run directly to the goal tomorrow."
"Yes, this was a great find mi amigo," said Alejandro, also grinning.
Then they realized that they were cheering with their new mortal enemy, and stopped grinning, coughed, and started glaring at each other.
"Sorry, did I interrupt something?" asked a woman suddenly appearing in the place.
"AAAHHHH!" Cody and Alejandro scream, the first jumping on the arms of the second.
Dawn rolled her eyes. "C'mon, drop the act. It's raining, and I am getting wet. We found shelter, follow me."
"You follow her. I will wait here, in case other teammates come," said Alejandro going under a tree to escape from the rain.
Cody nodded. "Ok, I will go with Dawn. And then I will go to look for the rest of our team."
Alejandro looked at the clouds. It was already dark and raining, luckily they found a cave, it would be a long night if they had to sleep under the rain.
Confessional: Cody
"I can't believe it. Since Alejandro is my rival, I expected to hear from him an explanation of why he cheated on Heather, anything. It seems I overestimated him. I know Heather is not trustworthy, but I will keep voting with her. At least until we eliminate him from the competition," said Cody folding his arms.
On the central room under the island, Chris yawned and stood up. It was already dark, and both teams were on the move. With only what happened today, he had enough to make a great episode.
"Thanks, everyone," said the handsome host to the interns. "I will go to my room for the rest of the day. If something noteworthy happens, contact Chef."
One of the interns stood and walked next to him. "But Mr. McLean, Mr. Hatchet said he was not doing overtime."
Chris smirked and scratched his head. "Sorry kid, I didn't get your name."
"My name is Logan, Mr. Mclean." Replied the young man, bowing politely.
"Well, Logan, my friend. Chef is working overtime, so even if he gets angry, you wake him up. Ok?" said Chris in a melodic and a bit menacing tone.
The host then walked to the door before another intern interrupted him.
"Mr. McLean, before you go, there is some information from DAM about the rain that is falling over the island." Said the intern with a report on his hand.
"Didn't you hear what I said to Logan? If it's important, call Chef. But if it's only because there is a small squall falling on the island. Save it. I already told you it is a good addition to the episode."
The intern nodded. "Ok, I will try to talk with . Good Night Mr. McLean."
Chris sighed and, at last, went into the aisle toward his room. It was so hard to find good interns these days. At least they were cheap. Maybe after the success of this season, he will raise their pay. Chris just laughed at that joke, perhaps he should use it on the show.
The storm started to fall over the island, it was a sudden, heavy and cold rain. Thick clouds covered the sky, immersing the woods in darkness.
Sky was searching for a cave with Shawn. She didn't know why the zombie expert decided to go with her, but he didn't say a word in all this time. Ignoring all of the Cree girl attempts to start a conversation.
Now both were drenched by the rain and getting cover under a tree.
"It's not dangerous to hide under a tree during a storm?" asked Sky, trying for the nth time to talk with the conspiranoic.
To her surprise, this time, Shawn replied. "That's is not totally true. In a storm, the lightning tends to strike in the tallest object. If there is a lone tree, it will strike on it. But her are plenty of tall trees, so the possibility of a lightning striking this one is lower."
A flash of light illuminated the night, and after a few seconds, the sound of thunder shook them.
"I hope the lightnings also know they have to strike the tallest objects," said Sky trying to lighten the atmosphere.
Then silence again, except for the sound of the rain falling heavily over the trees and the ground. But after a brief moment, Shawn broke the silence.
"Tell me, why did you fool Dave?" said Shawn glaring at her.
Sky was surprised by the sudden question. She took a moment to get a hold of herself. "I didn't fool him, and I thought you didn' want to hear me."
"Please don't make this harder than it must. I want to give you a chance to explain yourself, so you, me and Sammy can be a team. So go on, I will try to be impartial," said Shawn, taking off his torque to wring it out.
Sky sighed, it didn't sound impartial, but probably it was her only chance. "I don't know where everything went wrong. When I come to the island, I was focused only on the competition and on winning the prize, but then Dave was there."
Shawn had already thought so many things to rebuke her argument but decided to stay silent and give her a chance, just as Jasmine asked him.
"Dave was cute, and he was polite. He was not my type as I prefer brawny man, but there was something in him that attracted me," said Sky looking at the stormy clouds.
"Are you saying you really liked Dave?" said Shawn, he can't believe her.
Sky keep looking upward, some drops running through her face. "Yes, I liked him. But I was here to win. And he couldn't understand it. Then when I switched teams he became so clingy and obsessed. I had to stop him at that moment. So I said it straight to him."
"And he just voted himself out of the game, for you. The one that just stepped on his heart. But then why did you kiss him on the final?" said Shawn narrowing his eyes at her. "He lost it after learning the truth just because of that kiss."
"It was to win, yes. But I didn't lie, I also wanted to date Dave after the show. I just couldn't accept his feelings because I was dating Keith at the time. I tried to tell him multiple times but-" but before she could end Shawn interrupted her
"Please, that doesn't make sense." Shawn cut her. "I also talked with Dave, and he also interrupted me when excited, and I always could repeat him what I was about to tell," he glared at her. The wind slowly dampening his hair.
"That's true, maybe," a thunder interrupts her. "Maybe I didn't want to tell Dave. I was about to break with Keith anyway, and I feared if I tell him, I will lose him. It's funny, right? Because I didn't tell him I lose Dave anyway. And he ended hating me."
"Is not funny," said Shawn, his voice as cold as the drops that were falling over them.
"I know," replied Sky, the rain rolling across her cheeks. "You will not believe me. But I tried to contact him after the show, but he disappeared. There was no response from his mail, no updates on his social media, no nothing. I believed he had blocked me. But then I heard he didn't go back to school either," another lightning and thunder interrupted them again.
Confessional: Sky
"Yes, I come back not only for the money but also to find what happened to Dave. When I asked Chris, he said that if I wanted to find out, I have to participate in the season. So here I am." Said Sky, looking at the ground with a serious expression.
"I know, I also tried to find him to no avail. His parents told me that the production said that he was still working in the show and that he cannot go back home. But that's a lie," said Shawn, the rains also rolling across his face.
"What do you mean?" said the Cree girl, trying to dry the drops from her face with her arm.
"Don't you see? The corporation is hiding the truth. They left him here, stranded on Pakhitew island. So they invented that story to avoid an investigation, those bastard neckties," said Shawn hitting his palm with his fist.
Sky straighten out, looking with wide eyes at him. "But that's absurd. They wouldn't leave him here."
"Believe what you want. But I will not leave this island without finding him or his remains. I owe him at least that," Shawn closed his eyes, the rain falling with more strength.
"Remains? Shawn, you don't mean, they wouldn't-" The gymnast fell in her knees, it was too crazy to be true.
"I believe you, Sky. After hearing your side of the story, I want to believe you. But please, don't tell this to anyone, especially Sammy. And if I disappear, don't look for me," another thunder fall, making Shawn words sound more ominous.
But before Sky could reply, another person interrupted their conversation.
It was Topher, his hair falling across his face. "Please, I need your help. I can't find Amy," plead the host wannabe, heavy breathing and completely soaked.
The foxes were all inside a cave behind the waterfall, waiting for the rain to pass.
"Wow, if this continues, we may have to begin building an ark," said Alejandro as the rain started to fall harder.
"You mean as in arc apparel? That's like a great idea, I also want to get shelter from the rain in a clothing store," said Lindsay waving her hand.
Alejandro looked at her frowning. "No! With ark, I mean Noah's ark, argh, just forget it,"
"Brrrr, is starting to freeze here. Courtney, can you start the fire already?" said Heather, shivering.
Courtney was trying to get sparks while hitting two rocks. "Just wait a minute, this rock isn't exactly a flint."
"If you let me, I was a muskrat boy," said Duncan kneeling beside Courtney.
"Here, but I don't thin-" but before Courtney could end her sentence, the delinquent took out his lighter and start the fire.
Courtney narrowed her eyes at him. "I really hate you, you know."
"I know," Duncan replied, winking.
"Mike and I found some fruit, blueberries, nuts, and a lot of mushrooms, but we are not sure if they are edible or not," said Beth smiling sheepishly, "but you should have seen Mike. He was like a true explorer out there."
"It was not so great," said Mike blushing, rubbing his arm.
"Let me see," said Dawn picking the mushrooms. "This is beefsteak, is edible. This is emetic russula, is poisonous. This is Apricot jelly, which is edible. And this is Imnotsure, let leave it for Duncan."
Heather clapped enthusiastically. "This Dawn really knows her way in the wilderness."
"You are all so funny," said Duncan as the rest laughed.
"We sha-found lots of water. But it is really not needed cuz is sha-falling lots of it from the sky. What a waste of Lightning's time," said Lightning, glaring at the entrance.
"Well, at least we have a nice chat, and we look at that beautiful deer," said Lindsay smiling tenderly.
"That's true, Sha-bam. You are right as always se- Lindsay," reply Lightning, avoiding to call her sexy girl.
Cody scratched his head while looking at the ground. "The only problem of the cave is that we will have to sleep on the stone ground.
"I can teach you how to make a pillow with your sweater or t-shirt. It's not much, but at least you can rest your head on it," said Courtney, taking off her gray sweater.
"You mean if we have a sweater or shirt we can take off, right?" said Heather, narrowing her eyes.
Alejandro winked at her."I can give you my shirt if you want it."
"I prefer to use a stone as a pillow," replied Heather glaring at the Spaniard.
Lindsay counted her teammates, smiling. "Dean, Carrie, Mark, Dawn, Jalapeño, Lightning, and Kole can use their shirts as a pillow. Then if we sleep like in turns, we can all use a pillow."
"It's a great idea, Linds," said Beth, giving a high five at her best friend.
"Of course she did, she is wonderful, sha-zing!" added Lightning, flexing.
"Well then, Heather, Dawn, Lightning, Mike, and I will take the first turn, the other six the second," said Courtney.
"Is not better men sleep first and women second, so you can get more rest?" said Duncan raising the side of his unibrow.
"No, we also want for the people that are awake to take care of any situation that arises in the night. So I prefer to mix us leaving smarts and brawns in both teams," explained Courtney, who also wanted to make sure that Duncan wasn't awake in her turn.
"Well, if we are all ok, let's go to sleep. We have a challenge to win tomorrow," said Heather, as the first turn began to prepare some shirts and sweaters as pillows. Everyone used their own except Heather that used Cody's sweater.
On the other side of the woods, the twin cheerleader was soaked in the rain and tired of crying. She was on a cliff near the lake. On the side of it, she noticed a small cave in which she could take shelter from the storm, and also from her team.
In a moment, she climbed down the slippery stone and entered the narrow cave. At least it was dry.
Then she looked at it, it was like a mirror. Drenched, the eyes red from crying and disheveled blond hair, it watched into her blue eyes with the same surprised expression, raising the right hand to try to touch it.
The only difference between her and the reflection was a beauty mark under the right eye.
"What are you doing here?" said the twins at the unison, as a thunder resounded across the cliff. The storm was just intensifying.
Author Notes:
[1] pequeño amigo = little friend, you dear reader decide if he was mocking him or not.
Pero sera cabrona = This is hard, literally What a bastard. But in context is more an expression of shock about something someone did.
Perro ladrador poco mordedor = Barking Dogs never bite, spanish version.
About killing bears jumping from a high height. In a desperate situation, it can be possible. But more surely it will maul you to death. This is a fictional story, so the characters can be as stupid as they can. But if you are trapped in a tree with a bear chasing you, call for help and don't try to hurt it.
This chapter was a roller coaster because it happened much and not so much at the same time. I hope you enjoyed it. I enjoy writing many of the scenes, So I hope at least one made you feel something. In the next episode, the end of the challenge and the third elimination.
Immunity idols left: 3
D.A.M. Eliminations left: 7
Favorite Foxes: Alejandro, Beth, Cody, Courtney, Dawn, Duncan, Heather, Lightning, Lindsay, Mike, Zoey.
Fan Ferrets: Amy, Brick, Charlotte, Dramaman, Jay, Lilly, Max, Sammy, Shawn, Sky, Topher
Eliminated: Cameron, Jasmine
As always, thanks for reading and I hope you like it.