Chapter 2: Another One Eats the Grease
After a night of restless sleep, and tossing and turning more times that she could count, Sammy awoke to the sight of Ella sleeping soundly beside her, a smile permanently etched on her face. Her first thought of the day was that Ella was as serene and peaceful asleep as she was when awake. Sammy was a little jealous that someone could be so cheerful and well-put-together at the same time, both conscious and unconscious.
Her second thought of the day was, I really need to pee.
Exiting the shack as quietly as she could, she made her way for the confessional outhouse. The smell of damp grass from the rain overnight infiltrated her nostrils, though it helped to wake her up more. The morning sky was light, and the sun was still relatively low, so she figured it was somewhere closer to six or seven o'clock. She wished they had found some mattresses or pillows from the junk pile, as lying on a blanket alone wasn't enough to help her get a good night's sleep on the cold, hard ground. Then again, Dave would probably just complain about how dirty those would be, too.
She found the outhouse and quickly relieved herself, making sure to switch the camera off so as to avoid any future embarrassments. As she was making her way back, intent on finding a dry rock and watching the sun rise, she jumped when Shawn actually, literally hopped from a tree and landed right in front of her. "Agh!" she cried out, tripped over her own feet, and fell to the ground. She had to fight to control her breathing, and when she did she sent an alarmed look to her teammate. "OMG, Shawn, don't scare me like that!" she shouted up at him, more frightened than angry.
"Ah, good, you didn't get bitten overnight," he said, wiping his forehead as he sighed. Then he remembered himself and offered a hand. "Oh, and, uh, sorry."
"It's okay, I think," she said unsuredly, accepting his help. She wasn't sure what exactly his deal was with zombies, but she figured it wasn't going to harm them for the time being. "Just… don't keep doing that. I get startled really easily."
"Shoot, for real? I'll remember that for next time," he said with a hand raised in vow. "What are you doing up so early anyway? I had you pegged as being a late sleeper."
Her cheeks flushed and looked aside. "I… am, but uh, nature called. Also I'm not used to lying on the ground for so long, so sleeping was kinda tough."
"See, that's where most people screw up," he said, a look of frustration in his eyes. "They rely too much on the comforts of their home and so they're not prepared to face the wilderness when the apocalypse is bound to happen! They're just setting themselves up for disaster!"
She ended up backing away just a tiny bit. Perhaps it was best to end this topic sooner rather than later. "Uhh… right, um, I guess it's something I need to work on. Hey, I noticed we're low on food from last night. Should someone do another bit of foraging before the challenge?"
"I was just about to do that, actually," Shawn said, holding up a handful of small sacks and barely registering the change of topic. Where he found them, Sammy wasn't sure. "I underestimated how much seven people could eat yesterday, so it'd be best to get even more today. Especially before the challenge, if we want to be at full strength."
…Oh, actually, this could be my chance to contribute! The best way to ensure she stayed on the island and in the game both would be to actually be a part of the team, after all. "Did you, ah, need any help? I've never picked berries or fruit before, but the more the merrier, right?"
He thought it over and shrugged. "Yeah, I could use all the help I can get. C'mon, before Chris calls us all out to compete." He led the way back into the forest, Sammy following along without a sound. Not all that far away from where they were was an actual field of berries, a handful of which she recognized but most she did not. There were blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, what she thought were probably blackberries, and a whole assortment of others she couldn't put names too. And it wasn't just berries either - there were other types of fruit as well, though they weren't as abundant.
"Whoa," she said in awe, taking it all in. "I've never seen so much in one place before."
"I was surprised when I first saw this place, too," Shawn said to her, going directly for a nearby blueberry bush. "They've got stuff growing here that aren't even native to Canada. Not sure how they're maintaining the island's ecosystem, but everything here is thriving so I've got no complaints."
Gardening and ecosystems and whatnot weren't something Sammy excelled in, so she just assumed Shawn knew what he was talking about. Her teammate instructed her on what to pick and how much of each, gave her half of the bags he was holding, and sent her off to work on acquiring the morning's breakfast.
She moved from bush to bush, slowly taking what she could get. She was trying to be careful not to damage anything, so it made for more tedious work. Her hands weren't the most skilled, but she reasoned she had to do this as best as she could. She didn't want her team to think she was a layabout.
About ten minutes in, Sammy was wondering if she should actually be chatting with Shawn, and not just working with him in silence. If one were to look past the whole zombie thing, he was an alright kind of guy, if a bit of a loner, though that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He knew his way around fruit, that was for sure. Unfortunately, conversation really didn't come easy to Sammy, especially with someone she'd only known for a day, and so she continued to struggle with something to talk about for the next little while.
That turned around, thankfully, when someone else entered the clearing. "Oh, Jasmine!" Sammy said happily when she saw the other girl bent over picking at a bush. "Good morning!"
She glanced up and smiled at her. "Morning," she called out, and resumed her foraging. "Wasn't expecting to see anyone else this early, especially from the other team." She threw a handful of berries into her bag and walked over to Sammy, just as she was putting in a couple more strawberries. "Glad to see you made it to day two," she said good-naturedly, tapping her shoulder with her fist.
"Uh, th-thanks!" Honestly I'm surprised myself. "And you as well!" she added, and then wanted to slap herself. "...A-Although, you won yesterday, so I guess that's a given, haha…"
Jasmine raised a brow and took a second longer to answer than Sammy was comfortable with, and so the latter looked away with another awkward laugh and a hand rubbing her arm. Ugh, stupid, stupid! Why are conversations always so hard?!
To her immense relief, though, Jasmine didn't look like she wanted to be anywhere else. "You're right about that, but anything could happen going forward. Who knows, maybe your team will win next."
"Oh, yeah, that'd be great," she said. "But I wouldn't want you to risk getting voted off. You really seem to know what you're doing, I wouldn't want to put you in danger like that."
"So, you're not going to try and win?" Jasmine asked her with a confused look.
Sammy flushed crimson. "Huh? I- Oh, n-no, I'm going to try, that's not what I meant, I just mean that, um-"
Jasmine laughed a bit and put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to stop blubbering. "Relax, I know what you meant. Besides, you don't have to worry about me, I'm not going home that easily."
"Oh, good," she said with a shaky laugh.
"The rest of my team though, yeesh." Jasmine sighed and ran a hand down her face. "I swear I'm the only 'good' person on there. Everyone's either a jerk, a narcissist, an idiot, or all three at once! …Though I s'pose Scarlett's alright."
Sammy grimaced. As rude as it was to think, Amy definitely fell into the 'all three at once' category. "Sorry you have to put up with my sister. She can be, um..."
"Something else, right?" She shook her head. "You don't have to apologize for the way she acts, by the way. Especially since she won't shut up about you."
That was never be a good thing. "And everything she says isn't the most… flattering, I'm guessing."
"Not even close, no." With that said, Jasmine nonetheless chuckled. "Wait 'til I tell her that you got through the elimination, though. She'd been so cock-sure that you'd be gone last night. Her face alone will be priceless."
Sammy smiled wryly at that. It was always nice to be able to take Amy down a peg. "That would be… a sight to behold, for sure."
After a moment of thought, Jasmine followed up with, "Actually, it'd probably be better for me not to tell her and for you to show her you're still here."
"You think so?"
"Yeah, I do. Mostly so you can see her reaction, but who knows, maybe it'll help you start standing up for yourself."
…Oh. So that's the reason. Frowning, Sammy looked away. It's not like she hadn't tried numerous times before, but she seriously doubted anything would happen now if nothing happened yet at all. "I, uh…"
"You're the underdog between the two of you, and underdogs have a lot of fight in 'em. I can see you going far if you just assert yourself a bit more, y'know?"
You say that like it's so easy… But it's anything but. Jasmine obviously had no idea how much Sammy had suffered, but at least she was trying to help. "Gosh, um, I guess so," she opted to say, but felt that she couldn't meet her eye.
Whether or not Jasmine saw how uncomfortable she was, Sammy wasn't sure, but the tall girl changed topics regardless. "By the way, I noticed your picking's are a bit slim."
"What?" She looked back up and saw Jasmine glancing at her bag of berries. "O-Oh, yeah, I was helping Shawn, but I'm not very good at it yet. I haven't exactly done this before."
Jasmine hummed, looked to her own sack, and scooped some berries out. "Here. Don't let anyone know."
"W-Wait, you don't have to do that," Sammy hastily said, pushing the offering back. "You already helped me once, you might get in trouble if you keep doing this."
She smirked despite the warning. "I can handle a little trouble. Besides, I'm not doing this so I can call in a favour down the line, I'm helping because I want to help."
This gave Sammy pause. "...Oh." Normally whenever people said they'd help, it was just a trick to get Sammy to do their work for them (and it was usually Amy who did it). As such, she was a little skeptical to accept Jasmine's help right away, but it was a surprising offer despite that. "Really?"
"Yes, really. Now c'mon, don't be shy."
Every one of her instincts were telling her to refuse, but Jasmine seemed like she really did just want to help, so in the end Sammy gave in and accepted the fruit. "I-I still want to keep picking my own though." If only so I can feel better about this.
"For sure, I need to do some more myself." She turned around and started for a nearby bush. "Wanna work together? Four hands are better than two."
In truth, Sammy wouldn't have minded it, and they likely would have been able to pick more together. But she was determined to at least do some of this on her own. "Uh, thanks but no thanks. I want to contribute on my own as best I can."
She nodded in understanding. "Ah, say no more, I get'cha. I'll let you get to work, then."
She started picking at the bush, so Sammy figured it would be best for her to go somewhere else. "Okay. A-And thanks again for the help, I really appreciate it."
Jasmine gave her a wave, and Sammy departed for another nearby bush. She was incredibly pleased to have had a conversation with another person, on her own at that, and not mess it up too badly somehow. Perhaps this was the start of something new, something better.
Though Jasmine's advice wasn't the best, in her opinion. I've tried standing up and it never got me anywhere. I don't know how continuing to do that will change anything. And it's not like Amy's going to give me the time of day anyway.
That said, she had to do something. She just wasn't sure what.
"Mm, these are delicious!" Ella declared as the six of them walked to the next challenge and ate breakfast at the same time. "Sammy, Shawn, thank you so much for fetching these for us!"
"Seriously, these are great," Sky agreed, popping a blueberry in her mouth. "You both got a good eye for this."
Sammy laughed nervously and looked away. "Ah, thanks." Though it's probably Jasmine's haul that you're eating.
"Make sure you guys eat your share, we'll need to be able to perform our best," Shawn told them. "Given we're at a disadvantage, any mistake made could be crucial."
"No pressure or anything," Beardo said quietly as he munched away.
"Let's try to think about this positively!" Ella said happily. "We have the opportunity to make a comeback today, and if we work hard enough I'm sure we will win!"
"How you can be so endlessly optimistic is lost on me," Dave said to her.
"It's not hard! I simply try not to focus on the good rather than the bad." With a proud smile she added, "It's given me a more positive outlook on life, I find."
"More like it made you delusional," he muttered under his breath.
Sammy wasn't sure if Ella heard that or not, but she didn't react to it at all. She wasn't entirely fond of Dave's judgement of her, though - and coupled with all the complaints he had made so far, it wasn't all that surprising that he was starting to get on Sammy's nerves. He reminds me a bit too much of a certain someone...
She wasn't planning on saying anything, but Beardo, whom she was walking alongside of, didn't seem to mind speaking about it. "Dave doesn't seem to like us much, does he?" he asked, leaning in closer to whisper.
"N-No, I guess he doesn't," she replied, unconsciously moving her head away from him a bit. "He's been getting upset at Ella and you a lot, hasn't he?"
"Yeah, not something I appreciate." He gave an exasperated glare at the back of Dave's head.
"And he complains a lot too," Sammy heard herself continue. "Every minor thing he's just… griping about."
He nodded. "And don't get me started on his germaphobia. I mean, I recognize it's a phobia and all, but what was he expecting, coming on here? TD's disgusting, and if he's gonna whine about unclean blankets and unwashed fruit, then he's really not gonna be prepared for the rest of the show."
"Yeah," Sammy agreed. "I really hope it doesn't cause us to lose or something."
"For real."
She then turned to her taller and hairier teammate. "Um, on an unrelated note, you're a lot more talkative this morning."
Beardo instantly shot back up and took a half-step away from her. "Y-You think?" He laughed nervously as he scratched his head through his hair. "I, uh, guess you're just easy to talk to."
She blinked. No one had ever said anything like that to her before. Amy had always told her that no one liked her and that's why she was friendless, but Beardo was telling her the complete opposite. She knew her sister loved to make her feel bad, but was it really as simple as that?
"Oh, uh, thank you," she said to him, though she wasn't really sure what else to say. "It's… easy to talk to you too. Actually, it's easy to talk to a lot of the guys on our team. They're some of the nicest people I've met." Like… ever.
"Some are, some aren't, but yeah, I know what you mean." He paused for a second, then added, "Talking with people in general is tough, though."
"Oh God, yeah. You're so right about that."
They soon came to a small clearing near a lake not too long after, where Chris and Chef were waiting. The Salmons had already arrived, and as expected Sammy's gaze zoomed directly on her sister. She was examining her nails, not interested in anything going on around her, but she did look up when the Bears entered the area.
Her face had a smug grin on it, but it fell away when she locked eyes with Sammy. In fact, what she was thinking was plain on her face - first confusion, then anger, then frustration as she turned away and fumed on the spot.
Sammy had to desperately fight to keep from smiling, let alone laughing. Wow. Jasmine was right, that was worth seeing. She glanced at Jasmine herself, who was having a harder time holding back her own laughter, but was able to send Sammy a wave and a wink. Sammy sent back a shaky smile, but left it at that.
As the host and his assistant were getting the final touches ready, Sammy looked past them and further down the lakebed. Not too far away were two logs that looked like they were arching over a large thorn bush, and Sammy couldn't help but think it was going to be involved in the challenge somehow. There also seemed to be something near a cliff where the lake fell into a waterfall, but it was too far away for her to make out what it was exactly.
After a moment, the host explained the game - they were to compete in a relay race/obstacle course, with each person on both teams tackling one of the six legs (the Salmons would have to double up for one of them, of course). According to the large flatscreen TV hanging from a nearby tree, the legs included the logs and thorn bush, a zip line across a ravine, maze-like tubes, the sorts of tires the guys on the football team practice on, pushing a wheelbarrow, and climbing and vaulting over a large wall.
And because this was Total Drama, Chris revelled in his twists and turns. Not only were all of the legs covered in slick, off-color grease that looked like it could be mistaken for oil, both teams were tasked with passing a baton to each other as they went along - in this case, a live, greased pig.
"Oh my goodness, he's adorable!" Ella practically sang as Chef dragged the animals to them. They looked like they wanted to be anywhere other than here. "I think I'm going to call ours Mr. Truffle Hunter! Or Mrs. Truffle Hunter, if it's a girl."
"Is anyone else grossed-out at all the grease?" Dave asked, looking paler than before. "Because that is… a lot of grease. A lot of grease to get on our shoes… and clothes… and skin…" He turned to Sky, his body slightly shaking. "W-We get a choice on if we want to do this or not, right?"
"Knew it," Beardo whispered, and Sammy could only nod in agreement.
"Dave, we need everyone to play their part," Sky told him. "Now more than ever, since we're a team of six to their seven." She placed her hands on his shoulders. "Can I trust you to do this for us?"
Dave continued to squirm, but sighed and hung his head. "Okay, fine," he said in defeat. "But I want the leg with the least amount of grease."
As he spoke, Sammy spotted Shawn look over to the other team, and likewise followed suit. It seemed that Jasmine was giving out orders and positions to her teammates - Sammy wasn't exactly paying attention, but she did pick out that Jasmine herself was going for the wall at the end, and that Amy (who for some reason was doubled-up with Sugar) was going to be in the tube.
"Who's gonna take the last part?" Shawn asked. "We need someone actually capable of lifting a pig up a wall."
Dave's head seemed to perk up at the question. "Why not Sky?" he immediately offered, much to her surprise. "She's practically an Olympic gymnast! It would be like cakewalk to her!"
"Uhh," she started, clearly flattered but somewhat hesitant. "I mean, I suppose I could. My training focuses more on my leg muscles than my arms, but I'll give it a shot."
"Great! I'll take the wheelbarrow then!" He grinned at Sky, who gave him an uneasy smile back. Sammy may not have been the best at conversing with others, but even she could see when someone was interested in someone else.
"If it's alright with you guys, I'd like to go first," Beardo interrupted, his face set in determination. "After yesterday's wake up call, I need to try and prove myself."
"And, um, I'd be willing to take any leg that isn't the third one," Sammy said, eyeing Amy as she and the rest of her team ran off. "I-If that's okay with you all."
She was half expecting to be denied, but she didn't feel that way for long. "I can take third," Shawn offered, to her immense relief. "Not too keen on the narrow tubes, they're a bit too small to maneuver away from zombies. But I've already got the layout down, so it shouldn't be a problem getting in and out."
"And if that's the case, then I shall traverse the tires!" Ella declared happily, spinning on the spot like a ballerina. "Isn't this great? Everyone has their part to play! I love it when a plan comes together!"
"Chop-chop people, we don't have all day!" Chris called out to them.
"Let's hope the plan works then," Shawn mumbled, walking on ahead of them towards his leg.
Sammy agreed, but was mostly thankful that she wouldn't have to wait around for the pig baton right next to Amy. Any time spent near her was enough to give her a headache. Unfortunately, as she soon realized it, she got the opportunity to wait with someone else who was just as nosy as her sister.
"So you're the fabled Samey," Topher said to her immediately as she approached the zip line. The fact that he called her by that name just ended up putting her on her guard. "Amy's said so many things about you. Can you confirm if they're true or not? The audience at home is dying to know!"
Something about Topher felt… slimy. Like he was trying to find a way under her skin. "Amy… says a lot of things. Not all of them are true."
Her response failed to deter him. "How's it feel to be separated from her for the first time? She says that you rely on her so much that you must be incredibly lost. Is there any merit to this statement?"
In the distance, Chris's air horn went off, but she was too focused on Topher to fully register it. "W-What? No! I'm not lost without her! If anything, she'd be lost without me!"
"Ooh, a little sisterly rivalry, I take it," Topher said with glee. He leaned in closer to Sammy, forcing her to lean back. "Honestly, I wish you were on the same team. The drama would be so thick between you two. It'd make for great TV!" He looked past her and back towards the starting area. "Maybe I can convince Chris to get you to swap with someone…"
"Uhh, no thanks!" she replied, quickly scooting back to free up her personal space. "I'm perfectly fine being on a team without her."
She made a point to turn back around and focus entirely on Beardo trying to make his way over the log with their pig - he somehow ended up sliding along it on his stomach with the pig on his back, all the while mimicking the sound of a train whistle. "Go Beardo! You can do it!" she called out, half in an attempt to distract her from Topher's questions and half because she genuinely wanted him to do good.
Her teammate slid onto the ground, just at the same time the pig squealed, ditched its ride, and ran in her direction. "Oh crap, heads up!" Beardo shouted her way.
"Oh no," she said quietly, and though she was scared and worried that she would mess up, she nevertheless stood in its way and readied herself.
The pig charged for her, but stopped and tried to maneuver around. She leapt for it, missed entirely, but was fortunate enough to grab the leash. "Got it!" she happily cheered, but was quickly shushed when the pig started dragging her along. "Agh, wait, stop!"
She hastily got to her feet and dug her heels into the dirt to stop it, and thankfully it did after a short time. Sammy sighed in relief and headed straight for the zip line with it in tow. "So I just need to carry the pig and slide down the rope. That's…" She eyed the hog behind her, keeping in pace with her but glaring all the while. "…gonna be tough."
She reached the rope and accepted the helmet the intern gave her. Strapping it on, she turned to the pig and knelt in front of it. "Okay… c'mon, M… Mr. Truffle Hunter. Mrs.? Whatever. I won't hurt you! We're just going to…" She eyed the zip line precariously. "…go on a fun ride, is all! Nothing to be s-scared of." It was a statement that would probably have been more believable if she wasn't shaking in her boots.
The pig was hesitant, as was to be expected. She really wasn't sure if talking to it like she would a dog would even work, but it also didn't seem like it was going to keep trying to run. Unfortunately, she just so happened to spy Rodney finishing his portion of the race… somewhat painfully. "Well… desperate times, I guess. Let's go, piggy!"
Since it wasn't running, the pig was easy to grab, though still weighed a ton. Regardless she hefted it onto her shoulders, attached herself to the rope and, with a look down and a shaky breath, leapt out over the ravine.
Just like yesterday's skydiving trip, Sammy had never been on a zip line before now, and while she could see how some people found it enjoyable, it was definitely not for her. Mainly for two reasons - one, the pig was squealing in her ear and wasn't doing anything to help her anxiety, and two, the grease-slicked rope was causing the clip to slide without friction. And that meant the longer she rode, the faster she went.
"Too fast, too fast!" she cried. The panic was rising in her once more, her breathing quickening but she was going too fast to get any decent air in her lungs. The pig was squirming, trying to break free, but she held on as tight as she could - she couldn't cost her team the loss by dropping it. There was too much going on, too many thoughts in her head, I'm going to die, I can't make us lose, what was I thinking, that the trip to the other side of the ravine thankfully took almost no time at all.
She hit the end of the rope, causing the harness to snap at the speed she was going. She flew up, screaming, rolling backwards through the air and becoming dizzy. The pig was ejected from her arms, and she couldn't for the life of her pick out where it went. She landed on the ground head first, and her momentum caused her to keep going a little ways through the mud before coming to a halt, face into the ground.
She waited a moment for the pain to set in, but was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't as bad as she was expecting. That… could have been worse. Apparently.
While the trip down had been terrifying, at least her part in the whole race was over with. And with Topher still behind her, it wouldn't be her fault if they lost again. After the life she'd lived, Sammy took her victories where she could.
The sounds of the pig's continued squealing, and the shouts of frustration from Shawn as he tried to run after it, were enough to stir her from her thoughts. She raised her head and shook the muck out of her eyes to see him chasing it, luckily towards the tube maze, and silently wished him the best of luck.
She briefly acknowledged the sound of footsteps behind her before the voice spoke. "Wow, sis, that looked like it hurt."
Sammy tensed. In all of the chaos, she had forgotten Amy was there as well.
She gingerly rose to her feet, wiping the dirt off of her shirt and face and giving her sister a hesitant look. "W-What do you want, Amy?"
The smirk she was wearing faded. "Huh, I was hoping you suffered brain damage or something."
Yeah, that was about what I expected. "Well, I didn't." As much as she wanted to say something else, though, she knew it was pointless, and just hung her head and allowed her sister to continue.
"Listen, there's no way you're going to win," she said haughtily. "I've got the superior team, in brains, brawn, and beauty. Your team doesn't hold a lightbulb to our team, not in a million years."
"It's 'hold a candle'," Sammy mumbled, but went unheard.
"How about you do us all a favor and lose for us?" Amy stepped forward and stared straight into her eyes. Sammy did everything to avoid them and ignore the fact that her bubble was infiltrated once more. "Or better yet, just forfeit the game. I'm sure your teammates would be happy if you did, seeing as how it's you."
"W-What?" That couldn't be true - her teammates treated her like everyone else, not as an annoyance. Amy had to have just been spouting another lie.
But of course, her brain was no help in the matter. What if they actually do think that?
"Yeah, it's pretty obvious they kept you around only because they pity you," she continued. "I just know if you lose tonight- no, when you lose tonight, you'll be sent home. I'm sure they'll all see the error of their ways."
Her shaky breath was quickening, and her fists clenching. She had to say something. She had to fight back against her sister, to make her know that she wouldn't put up with this torment anymore.
"That's… That's…"
"Hmm?" Impossibly, Amy seemed to get closer still. "What are you mumbling?"
She squeezed her eyes shut and tried forcing the words out. But try as she might, she couldn't do it. She couldn't get the words that had been stewing in her head for all these years to come out. Trauma couldn't be rewritten in just a few days, after all.
Having said her piece, Amy stepped back. "Hm, whatever, not like it matters what you say anyway. Now, stay out of my way. Unlike you, we have a game to w-"
"Comin' through!" All of a sudden Sugar roared passed the two of them, the Salmon's pig under one arm, and the other arm grabbing Amy by the wrist and pulling her away. "Let's go, Chicken Legs, we got ourselves a pageant to win!"
"What- Ow! Let go, that frickin' hurts!" her sister shouted, and the two of them disappeared into the greasy tubes. Amy's cries of disgust echoed out through the entrance, and Sammy couldn't help but revel in them.
She also revelled in Sugar essentially insulting her. That was the first time she actually heard anyone say something mean to Amy. That said, she looked at her own legs, realized the same could be applied to her, and decided to keep that thought to herself.
"I knew it," Topher said suddenly, startling Sammy into gasping and whirling around. "That was some spicy drama. You sure you don't want to come to our side? I can guarantee, the ratings would skyrocket!"
Is that all he cares about? He sounds like a younger version of Chris. "I already said no," she told him quietly, and pressed onward without waiting for a reply.
She passed by the exit to the tubes, and saw Shawn emerging from it. He was covered in grease from head to toe, doubly so for the hog at his heels, and he shook the gunk off like a dog. Ella and Scarlett both had to shield their faces to keep it from getting in their eyes or on their glasses.
"See? Told ya it was a piece of cake," Shawn said, happily handing the dirty leash to Ella.
She took it without a second thought. "Yes, I see what you meant!"
"Careful with the pig, now," Shawn warned as he eyed the animal with a bit of contempt. "He's a feisty one."
"Oh, that won't be an issue for me," Ella said confidently. She kneeled down to the pig, who huffed in agitation at her. She didn't seem to pay it any mind though, and actually started to sing to it.
"Hello, little friend, would you like to come here?
"Please do not be scared, as there's nothing to fear!"
The second Ella started, Sammy gasped and found herself coming to a stop. The first few times Ella sang for them, she had been too distracted either with the challenge or wallowing in her own self-pity to properly notice, but listening now, it was clear her teammate had a really nice singing voice.
And once again, Sammy felt a pang of jealousy at that. Optimistic, pretty and has a beautiful voice? God, she's like, the complete opposite of me.
Their pig responded surprisingly quickly - rather than squeal angrily at her, it calmed down and ran up to her, nuzzling its greasy snout into her skirt. She didn't seem bothered by it at all, if a bit surprised, and in fact gave it a hug right back.
"Does she do this… all the time?" Sammy heard Scarlett ask Shawn.
"You know, you'd be surprised," Shawn replied.
"Hey, I'm here," came the deep voice of Beardo to Sammy's left, somewhat out of breath. "Ran as quick as I could. Did, uh, anything happen?"
"Umm," Sammy started, but she was interrupted.
"Now, let's be on our way," Ella said, rising to her feet as gracefully as a girl in a grease-covered blouse and skirt could, and lead the pig to the tires. As she walked, she began stepping to a beat that only she could hear, and resumed singing once more.
"To my friend I asked, 'Would you like to dance, Mr. Pig?'
"My friend replied, 'Why yes, I think it's time we did a jig!'
"We twirled and turned and then returned to the center of the stage.
"We gave a bow, they cheered, and how! It seemed we were all the rage!
"What fun it is to sing and dance with one of your own age!"
"...Whoa." Sammy had been, truthfully, entirely enthralled with the impromptu song, so much so that she didn't realize right away it had stopped.
"Dang," Beardo said with a loud whistle. "I keep forgetting, girl's got lungs."
"Y-Yeah, for real," Sammy agreed. Not only could she sing, but she could belt out rhymes just as easily. The lyrics weren't the greatest, but there was definitely a passion behind her voice. Sammy wouldn't have minded listening to a bit more from her if they were given a chance.
"Agh, finally!" Sammy's head shot over back to the tubes to see Amy and Sugar just exiting. They were covered in grime, although Sugar didn't seem to mind at all.
"I knew I smelled something nutty!" the southerner cried, still holding the squealing pig under one arm, as she reached for something on the ground and popped it right in her mouth. Sammy nearly gagged at the sight.
"You realize the pecans are for the swine," Scarlett said to her, unimpressed.
"Oh, sweet, ya got more of 'em!" She swiped at Scarlett's hand for the pile of nuts in them, though the redhead raised them up and out of reach just in time.
Amy began yelling at Sugar to give Scarlett the pig, but Sugar wasn't too keen on giving it away so soon, prompting a small argument to start between them. Shawn, who saw where that was going and began making his way over to his own team, was waving his hands to get them to go. "We should probably hurry!"
Sammy glanced over to Ella, who had finished singing and had moved on to humming instead. Despite that, she was still going at an agonizingly slow pace, and Sammy was afraid if she didn't go faster then Scarlett was going to overtake them whenever their argument finished. Not wanting to demand her of anything she didn't want to do, but also recognizing the situation, Sammy quickly approached her teammate. "H-Hey, Ella?"
She stopped her humming and turned to her. "Oh, Sammy! Would you like to dance with us?" She offered a gloved hand to her, made somewhat dirty from the grease.
Ignoring the fact that she had never been asked to dance by anyone at all before now, Sammy glanced back towards the Salmons. "Um, maybe later, but right now I think you should… g-go faster? We don't want to lose the lead and all, y'know?"
Ella gasped, placing her hands to her cheeks. "Oh heavens, I forgot myself for a moment. Thank you for the reminder, Sammy, I greatly appreciate it." She lightly pulled on the pig's leash and broke out into a run. "Come, Mr. Truffle Hunter! To the end! But be careful not to trip, these tires are tricky!"
The pig screeched again, and followed closely at Ella's heels as they both took off at a hurried, if somewhat dainty pace. Sammy let out a relieved sigh, pleased that her teammate actually listened to her, and gave a thumbs up to the other two.
And just in time, too, as Scarlett traded Sugar her pecans for the pig, and was headed right for the tires. Not wanting to be left behind with the rest of their team, Sammy ran to catch up with Ella and keep pace with her, and she noted that Beardo and Shawn did the same.
Surprisingly, Ella was rather coordinated when it came to walking on the tires, and didn't miss a single one the whole way through. The pig wasn't as lucky, stumbling over itself multiple times, but every time it did it would rush right back to Ella's side.
"Little guy's working hard, isn't he?" Shawn asked, also noting the pig's determination.
"Yeah," Sammy said. "Ella's got a way with animals, apparently."
Lucky for them, the last of the tires were passed, and Ella elegantly came to a stop next to Dave and the wheelbarrow. The grease path they were standing on stretched for a while, and Sammy had a feeling that maneuvering through it was not going to be easy.
"That wasn't so bad!" she happily said, directing the pig up into the barrow. "You were an excellent dancer, Mr. Truffle Hunter. I wish you the best in your future endeavours!" She gave it a head rub, and then turned to Dave with the leash in hand. "And the same goes to you, Dave! Make us proud!"
Dave's eyes bulged at the leash, and just how greasy it was. To be fair, it was dripping with the stuff, but it wasn't like the grease was going to seriously hurt him. "U-Uh, can… can you like, wipe it off first? Please?"
"Huh? Oh, certainly!" Ella started looking around for something to use.
"Is that necessary?" Beardo asked him.
"Yes! Very necessary!" Dave answered back. Beardo merely held up his hands, choosing not to argue.
"Ah, here we go!" Ella cheered, and bent down to the ground.
"Wait, what are you-" Dave started, but stopped and gawked when Ella held up a rather large leaf. Without waiting for anything else, she started wiping down the leash, not even registering that Dave's eyes were twitching.
"This is… not going to help us, is it?" Sammy asked quietly.
"Nnnope," Shawn replied with a sigh.
She held both the grease-free leash and grease-covered leaf up into the air when she was done. "Finished!" she sang, and handed the leash back to Dave. "Just as you wanted! Completely greaseless!"
Dave swallowed and laughed nervously. "R-Right. Just how… I wanted it." He reached his hand out slowly to it - very slowly, actually.
"And Scarlett reaches the end of her leg!" Chris announced over the speaker, just as the girl in question dashed up to Max. "Team Maskwak better get their act together, or they'll be behind!"
"Just take the leash!" Shawn yelled at Dave. Beardo nodded, made a growl not unlike what a dog would make.
Dave looked back at the Salmons, at Max doing some quick stretches, and also at Scarlett who placed Max's odd device on the pig's head. He howled in frustration, and snatched the leash from Ella's hand before running off.
The four of them, plus Sky at the last leg, were cheering him on. Sammy actually felt a little happy for him - a complainer he may have been, but if his phobia was legit, then this might have been a big first step in overcoming it. Maybe that's why he's on the show? To overcome his fears…?
He was making good progress, and was just reaching the halfway point when, unfortunately, the grease hit the fan. Somehow, Max's pig was reaching down into the grease and chucking it ahead towards Dave. The first couple of shots missed, but then one managed to hit him square in the back of the head.
Dave literally screeched and looked backwards. "I've been hit! I-" Another glob hit him right in his face. "Ahh! My eyes! It's in my-" And yet another clump landed right into his open mouth.
"Oh dear," Ella murmured.
He gagged, and started spitting it out to little success. That little bit of progress he made came to a crashing halt the exact moment Dave himself stopped moving. He doubled over and clutched his throat, the wheelbarrow going a little further before stopping in its tracks. The pig just looked around, though it stayed exactly where it was.
Dave kept spitting and coughing, but he tried to do so a bit too hard, as he also began dry heaving. "So gross… so dirty," he was saying between his hacking.
"Wait, Dave, no, keep going!" Sky called out from her position at her end. Jasmine was right alongside her and watching in disgust, but wasn't doing anything to try and help. "H-Hang on, I'm coming!"
Or she would have, had Chef Hatchet hadn't grabbed her by the arm to keep her in place. He and Chris started saying something to her, but they were too far away for Sammy to be able to make out what it was. Regardless, she was too focused on not watching Dave throw up in the grease.
As he was retching, Max ran by laughing like a madman as he had proven to be fond of doing, kicking up even more grease into his face. Which caused him to retch even harder.
"Ohh, I think I'm going to be sick," Sammy informed her teammates, and turned away from them just in case. Seeing others puke made her easily do the same.
"Um… Allow me to assist," Ella said gently, and held back Sammy's hair and soothingly rubbed her back.
"Th-That actually helps, thank you," Sammy told her. It was good to be around nice people for a change.
"It's the least I could do after you just helped me," Ella told her. "Although… I fear what we had hoped to avoid has come to pass regardless."
She listened to Shawn and Beardo yelling at Dave to get going, and to Sky trying to shout encouragement from the end of the grease trail, but it didn't do any good. "Water! I need clear, clean water to gargle!" Sammy turned back around and watched him, to her and everyone else's shock, run away from the wheelbarrow and towards the crew. He attached himself to the leg of one of the interns, who started looking around unsure of what to do. "Please! Water! Before I-" Sammy looked away the second the retching started again.
"We're toast, aren't we?" Beardo asked.
"Looks that way," Shawn said with a nod.
Chris's air horn cut through and made it official - Jasmine had already scaled the wall with the Salmon's pig and safely reached the other side. "And with the early departure of the germaphobe, Team Kinosewak wins the challenge!" he announced. Their opponents cheered, and were rewarded with proper dinner for the second night in a row. Sammy's stomach growled as she watched them run for their treehouse, but she turned away when Amy stuck her tongue out at her. It was so childish, but it still really hurt.
Sky had run off to check on Dave, which left her and the rest of her team to head back to their shack. They were silent, brooding over their loss, until Shawn spoke about five minutes in. "We need to talk about who's going home tonight."
"I know exactly who I'm voting for," Beardo said quietly.
Shawn looked back towards him. "Sounds like you really have it out for him."
"Normally I wouldn't, but he just… feels like a hypocrite, y'know?" Despite how relaxed he was yesterday and earlier, he seemed rather peeved at the moment. "He's got that attitude where he'll criticize everyone and everything around him, but never himself, even when he's the problem. I've seen people like that before."
"I… know people like that," Sammy said. All too well.
"Sh-Shouldn't we discuss this further before coming to any conclusions?" Ella said quietly. "I mean, maybe if we give him a chance…"
"Who else will we vote for then?" Shawn asked. "Everyone did their part. Well, except for Sky, but that wouldn't really be fair since we never even got to her."
"I realize that. It just doesn't seem very nice to gang up on him like this. How can we judge him for reacting to his fears?"
"It… does leave a bad taste in my mouth," Sammy said. Who was she to condemn someone for something they couldn't control?
"Well get used to it," Shawn said sternly. "You'll have to make difficult choices in this game. That's something you should have known before auditioning."
Deep down, Sammy knew he was right. It was just as Sky said yesterday - if they couldn't pull their weight, they shouldn't be able to stay on the team. Sammy just wished it was an easier thing to do, and didn't make her feel like crap.
Elimination time came, and the final two ended up being between Dave and Ella. Sammy, relieved that it wasn't her going home again, was still nonetheless worried. She knew the majority had vote for Dave, but that small voice in the back of her head was telling her otherwise, as it always did.
"Ella," Chris started after a moment. The girl in question tensed at her name. "You lost your team valuable time in the race, and instead chose to do a musical number. I shouldn't have to remind you that this is a non-musical season. Plus, people find it kinda annoying."
"What? They do?" She turned back to the rest of the team with eyes of worry. Sammy rapidly shook her head, since she genuinely liked Ella's singing, but she didn't really know how the others felt about it.
"Yeah, not very shocking," Chris said with a chuckle, and turned his attention elsewhere. "Dave, your knack for attracting gross stuff and reacting hilariously to it sort of lost the challenge for everyone. And your constant complaining really didn't win you any favors."
"Both my reactions and complaints are justified!" Dave defended.
"Oof, yeah, keep telling yourself that, buddy," Chris laughed. "And so, the final marshmallow of the night goes to…" He paused for drama, but not as long as it was the night before. Sammy assumed it was because the answer was fairly obvious.
"…Ella."
She sighed in relief, and graciously accepted the treat tossed at her. Dave, on the other hand, groaned rather loudly and stood from his stump. "Fine! I get it. I didn't want to be here anyway. Shoot me out of a cannon for all I care, it'll be better than this place. This dirty, filthy place." He stormed off down to the cannon, muttering all the while.
Sammy knew this was for the best, but the thoughts that this was wrong wouldn't leave her head. She looked to her campmates, and saw similar looks of unease from Ella and Sky. Shawn looked mostly indifferent, but Beardo seemed pleased with the outcome. She couldn't really blame him, but still.
Rather than follow him down, the five remaining members of Team Maskwak stood near the cliff to watch Dave off. He climbed in on his own accord and said nothing as Chris and Chef prepared.
"Any final words before you leave the island forever?" the host asked him as he held his remote control aloft.
Dave was quiet for a moment, but then he adjusted himself in the mouth of the cannon to look back up at the rest of his former team. "Yeah I have something to say," he practically growled. "My team sucked! This has to have been the weirdest team in all of Total Drama history! Barring Sky and myself of course."
"You're not wrong about that," Chris said with a laugh.
"I mean, just look at you guys!" He waved his hand at them. "A guy who talks only in sound effects, a guy obsessed with zombies of all things, and the queens of being overly positive and overly negative!"
Sammy winced and frowned. I have deep-rooted family-related issues and years of trauma from abuse, but fine, go off, I guess.
Dave continued, "Not to mention that guy who thought he was a wizard yesterday…"
"Yeah, this season's teams are pretty crazy, aren't they?" Chris couldn't help but put in his own jabs.
"Right?!" Dave seemed happy that someone finally agreed with him for once. "I mean, who was the moron that invited them onto the show?!"
"Ha! Yeah, what was I-" There was a pause, and Chris finished with, "Actually I've heard enough." He pressed his button and Dave was shot out of the cannon at blinding speeds, his screams echoing into the wind.
Chris gave a send off to the camera, and Sammy found herself being the first one to turn back and head towards the shack. The rest followed, but no one said anything.
Upon returning, they had their fill of leftover fruit and berries and day-old river water. They sat in front of their own, fire, one Shawn had started and was maintaining. It was warm and, aside from the glow of the moon and the occasional blinking of camera and other equipment, the only source of light. The night was cold, so Sammy tried her best to warm up as much as possible before bed.
Illuminated by the fire, she saw the morose looks everyone was giving off. Losing certainly had a big effect on them all, and doing so twice in a row was even worse. That said, she seemed to be doing better than she would have previously expected. Perhaps coming second to Amy so often had gotten her used to losing.
As they sat and ate, lost in their own thoughts, Sky suddenly spoke up. "We need to do better."
It took a moment for anyone to reply to the abrupt statement. Looking at the rest of them to see if someone else would bite, Shawn decided to reply. "We tried our best today. Though I suppose it wasn't really enough."
"I know that," Sky replied patiently. She was sitting on a rock, legs crossed with an unopened banana laid on one of them, staring intently into the fire. The light from it was making her look somewhat intimidating. "I mean we need to do better working as a team."
"What's the difference?" Beardo asked, laying on his side as he chewed on an apple.
Sky looked at him. "The difference is, until now we've sort of been doing everything individually. Sure, we may be on a team, but we've really only relied on ourselves to complete the challenges, and not on each other. Does that… make sense?"
"I think it does," Ella replied. She was kneeling down on the grass and delicately eating from a small sack of blueberries. "We should try to play the game more as a group working together than as individual people who just happen to share a common goal. Is that right?"
"Exactly, yeah."
"You gotta remember though," Shawn said, poking at the fire with a stick, "not all challenges are going to be 100% team-oriented. Today's, for example."
"Maybe we could've talked it through a bit more," Beardo suggested.
"Or m-maybe did what Team Kinosewak did," Sammy said. She had her legs folded up along her chest and arms wrapped around her knees. Alongside her lay an empty sack that was filled with discarded strawberry tops and leaves. "Have someone give out orders, like a leader. Like Jasmine."
Sky's gaze looked over them all. "Is anyone here leader material?"
No one answered.
"That's what I was afraid of," she sighed.
"I think you would be a good leader, Sky," Sammy told her sincerely.
She smiled and scratched her head. "Well, maybe, but I don't think I want to be a full-time leader, honestly. Too much responsibility."
Sammy nodded. That was fair. Lord knew she wouldn't want to be a leader all the time, even if she had the capabilities.
"Maybe what we need isn't a leader," Ella said. "Maybe we just… need to communicate better?"
"That's what I was saying," Beardo said. "Talk through challenges and get an idea of what we can all do to get us to win."
"Well, yes, that would be good. But I was also thinking…" She searched for the right words, and settled her eyes on each of them. "I've thought about this once or twice already, but even though we've all been together since yesterday morning, I know almost nothing about any of you."
No one said anything as that sunk in. Sammy supposed she didn't exactly talk about herself, but there was a reason for that. Bringing up memories when most of them were painful wasn't something she liked to do.
Ella continued when nothing else was said. "I know that Sky's an athlete, Beardo can make various sounds, Shawn is afraid of zombies-"
"For a good reason!"
"-and Sammy doesn't exactly like her sister," Ella finished.
Sammy snorted and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "That's an understatement."
"But that's about it." Ella clasped her hands to her knees. "I feel that we would work better with one another if we actually… knew one another."
"Yeah, I get what you're saying," Beardo said with a nod. "Getting to know each other more personally would make it easier for me to talk to you guys, at least." Sammy nodded, wholeheartedly agreeing.
"That sounds like a good idea," Sky said. "It would be nice to know who I'm working with."
"Uhh," Shawn stammered. He was looking at them all with wary eyes. "Thanks but no thanks. You guys are cool and all, but getting closer with other people is a huge liability for surviving the apocalypse." He tossed his stick in the fire and stood, heading in the direction of the forest. "I'm alright with discussing the challenges, but I draw the line at becoming emotionally compromised when a zombie's got one of you in a headlock."
He disappeared through the bushes without looking back. After a moment, Beardo said to them, "Four out of five's not bad."
"Then shall we get to it?" Ella's mood had swiftly brightened.
Guess she really wanted to talk about herself… Sammy's face scrunched behind her arms. Wait, no, that came out wrong. God, even in my head I'm an embarrassment.
Ella chose to start, unsurprisingly. She gave her name, age, where she lived, and a few other details. What she really went into was her love for singing, which just made complete sense. She said that she had been singing for the majority of her life, and that she'd been in numerous plays and musicals hosted by her school. Unfortunately, she had yet to be cast as the main character in any of them, but she was hopeful that it would happen one day. Her lifelong dream, however, would be to join a children's sing-along TV show, and be able to entertain kids all over the world with her songs.
"I've babysat my neighbor's little girl several times, and she loves it when I sing to her," she explained. Her hands were placed over her heart as she reminisced. "It made me realize how precious children can be, and I've been wanting to make them smile any chance that I get. Sometimes I'd go to parks with my guitar and sing them a little melody to brighten their day, and other times I'd go to the children's hospital and play for them there. They really appreciate it when I come around."
"Gosh." Sammy was simply in awe of how selfless Ella was sounding at the moment. Finding happiness in making other people happy… She could only wish her life were that simple. "It really sounds like they would. I know if I were a sick kid, I'd want someone to come and sing to me every day."
"Yes! Sadly, the staff had been thinking that I was going a tad bit too frequently, so they asked me to come in only twice a week. Still, it's a marvelous experience!"
"Wait… Twice a week isn't frequent?" Beardo asked, mid-bite.
Ella chose to ignore that and move on, and brought their attention to Sky by asking her some questions about herself, her goals, and so on. Sky's answers were rather predictable - she wanted to become an Olympic athlete, specifically in 100 meters or 100 meter hurdles. She was really big on fair play and healthy competition, and enjoyed exercising and going on runs around her block. She was also a vegetarian, and enjoyed a good fruit salad over junk food any day of the week. She hated cheaters and people who played dirty, and insisted that jeans were the most uncomfortable pants in the world and that she would stick with tights, thank you very much.
"If I may ask," Ella interrupted. "If you're so interested in the Olympics, why did you decide to audition for Total Drama? The two don't seem very alike."
"For me, it isn't about the money. It's mostly as a way to, uh, challenge myself, pardon the pun," she said with a laugh. Sammy snorted behind her hand, though she did her best to keep the volume down. "I'm already the best runner at my school, my records prove that, and the track there was no longer meeting my standards. I needed something new, something… not dangerous, but rigorous, and felt like a game show like this one would be the best way to get experience. And coming in first wouldn't hurt, either." She paused for a moment in thought. "I did also want to audition for a show where you race around the world, but I didn't have a partner who'd be able to keep up with me, and the show requires you to have one."
"Sounds like that would've been a better fit for you," Beardo said.
Sky shrugged. "This place isn't so bad. I'd, uh, like to actually win, though."
"Fair enough."
"Okay, Beardo, your turn," Ella said happily.
Beardo had loved music all of his life, and aspired to be a world-renowned DJ at some point. While yes, he was incredibly shy of people he had never met before, he claimed that being in front of an audience while in 'the zone' was far simpler. He already had a few songs and albums up available for people to listen to, though he hadn't made any money off of them yet. As for the sound effects, he really only did them for both fun and as a coping mechanism, though he understood that they could annoy people pretty easily. He enjoyed making them, though, and knew he was talented with it, but he had no plans to use them for anything.
"I auditioned for a bunch of reasons," he said when Ella asked. "The chance to win the money, to get my name out there, to maybe meet some new friends, and somewhat to try to get over my fear of new people." He sighed and rolled over onto his back. "Though truthfully, I dunno how far I'm gonna get. As you could probably tell, I ain't the most fit person here."
"Just because you aren't in the best shape doesn't mean you can't win," Sky told him. "The winners of seasons one and four weren't very athletic, were they?"
He thought about that for a second. "Huh, you're right. Never considered it like that."
"What about dislikes?" Ella asked. She seemed rather determined to keep the questions going. "You haven't told us that yet."
Beardo hummed. "I'm mostly a chill guy, but there are a couple of things that get to me. Hypocrisy, for one. People who don't practice what they preach are almost always bad news. For two, apples. Can't stand 'em, should never eat 'em." He punctuated it by reaching into his bag and making a show of biting into another apple.
Sammy laughed, louder than before, along with the others. She was thankful that there was at least some humor available during these dark times.
Ella then turned to her, and she instinctively gulped. "Sammy?" she asked, wonder clearly in her eyes.
"Oh. R-Right." She wasn't really looking forward to talking about herself. "So my name is Sammy, but, uh, you know that. It's short for Samantha. And it's definitely not Samey. Please don't call me that."
"We weren't going to," Sky said for everyone.
Sammy allowed herself to smile. "Th-Thank you. Um, I don't have too many interests. I like b-books, and music, and movies, and, uhh…" She fished for something else to say, but came up short. Anything that could be considered an interest was usually taken over or made worse by Amy.
"Cheerleading?" Beardo asked.
"What?" She looked down to her uniform. Crud, I forgot I was wearing this stupid thing for a second. "Oh. Right. It, uh, wouldn't really be my first choice of club, but it's where I am now, I guess."
"What does that mean?" Ella asked.
"Just that…" She tried to think of some excuse, something that didn't relate back to Amy, but she was coming up short. She didn't want to talk about it, but knew she wouldn't be able to hide it forever. Rather than continue the tangent, she got straight to the point. "So, um, you're all probably wondering what the deal is between Amy and me."
The three of them looked between each other, slightly shocked by the sudden topic change. "Just a smidge," Beardo said eventually.
With a sigh, she said, "Honestly? I really don't know what her problem is. She just… hates me. With a passion. It's something I've wondered about for years, but I sort of stopped questioning her about it."
"Why's that?" Sky asked. She had a concerned look on her face.
"She just… refuses to answer. I dunno why." She looked up into the cloudless, star-filled sky. "After a few years of it, I just gave up. Figured that I was never going to get anything out of her. That this was how it was going to be, and I had no control over it." She took a shaky breath. "I've sort of come to… accept it now. And expect it. That's just how my life is. Amy will bully me, insult me, hurt me, embarrass me in front of the whole school, force me to do things I don't want to do, all for some unknown reason that I'm likely never to find out. She's never really let up before, and I doubt anything different is going to happen. It…" She looked back down. "It kinda sucks."
No one said anything. Beardo sat upright, his half eaten apple forgotten and fallen to the ground. Ella stared at her with wide eyes, her hands covering her mouth in shock.
Sky, on the other hand, was fuming. Her hands harshly clasped her knees, and a scowl had made its way onto her face. Now, in the light of the fire, she really looked intimidating. "How long has this been going on?" she asked. Sammy felt a chill up her spine when she spoke.
"U-Um," she stammered. She knew the answer all too well. "I think it's been something like… t-ten years now? Wait, no, eleven. Since we were five, at least."
She was expecting some sort of outcry, a burst of anger from someone. Instead everyone stayed silent. Sky's clenched hands shook, and Beardo had his arms crossed and was tapping his fingers irritably. And Ella...
Before she knew it, she was tackled into a hug.
"W-What?" she tried to ask, though her voice was muffled by her teammate's shoulder. "Ella?"
She was shushing her, one hand moving down to her back and gently rubbing it. Even though she wasn't vocalizing, she still sounded strained. Sammy wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but it was nice to be hugged for the first time in what felt like forever.
"That's not fair," Sky said angrily. "Who does that? For ten years?"
"Um… Eleven," Sammy quietly corrected.
"Eleven years!" Sky stood up and started pacing, her fists close to her sides. "I can understand bullying in like, elementary school or something. Maybe junior high. But for it to keep going until now?" She gave a yell of frustration and kicked a small rock into the woods. Sammy heard it thunk off of a few trees before it stopped. "She sounds like… like a brat. A brat who needs to grow up!"
"For real," Beardo said, nodding. "That's just… straight up messed up." He looked at her with heavy eyes. "I don't envy your situation one bit. Sorry we didn't notice this right away."
"I-I-" Ella stammered. She wrapped her thin arms around her and squeezed with what strength she had. "I'm so, so sorry. This isn't what I intended when I started asking the questions. I can get… easily distracted, I wasn't even thinking if I was hurting anyone by-"
"N-No, no, it's fine, you guys," Sammy interrupted. She removed Ella's arms from around her, but still held on to her hands. "You don't need to get angry on my behalf. I'm…" She hesitated on continuing. "...I'm used to it. I guess."
"That's not something you should be used to!" Sky nearly roared, repeating what she said last night. Sammy involuntarily flinched, squeezing Ella's hands in the process.
"Sky, please!" Ella cried out to her.
Her hands shot to her mouth, and any outrage she was feeling seemed to vanish in an instant. "Oh gosh, I'm sorry. I just get… so furious over this sort of stuff. I'll, I'll just-" She took a few deep breaths to calm herself further, and sat back down on her rock. "Okay. I'm good."
This was all far too surreal. Sammy looked at all three of them, to their worried and/or horrified expressions, and realized for the first time that… they actually, probably cared about her? It was a difficult concept to grasp, but… they all seemed so genuine. Maybe there were people out there who actually did care about how she was being treated?
But then Amy's words from during the challenge flashed in her head. What if they didn't care, and were just baiting her so they can eliminate her later down the line? What if they were acting, just like Amy would do, or Amy's friends would? She wouldn't put it past them - this was a game where something like that was a common tactic.
"I think we should stop for the night," Ella suggested.
"Agreed," Beardo said. He stood up and stretched. "It's late, and we oughta rest if we want to win tomorrow."
Sky stood up as well. "Plus, we'll be in a better state of mind to figure out what to do with Amy."
"Wait, what?" Sammy wasn't sure what she meant by that. "W-What are you going to do with her?"
"Not sure yet," Sky answered. "But I refuse to let her keep harassing you like this. I don't know what I'll do, but I'm going to make sure she knows that picking on you is not acceptable."
Sammy gawked. She's… going to help me? "No, you don't- You guys don't have to-"
"No, we don't," Sky said to her. She crossed her arms and smiled, and despite still being in the light of the fire she looked far less intimidating. Almost… heroic, even. "But we're going to."
She couldn't stop herself. Never in her life had anyone been willing to stick with her and help her overcome Amy. Never before had she actually felt hope, even if it was just the tiniest spark in her heart. Maybe if she actually had support, maybe if she actually had people backing her up rather than throwing herself to the wolves, she'd be able to do something about her sister. Maybe coming onto the show was a good idea.
She couldn't stop herself.
She started ugly sobbing on the spot.
And she couldn't feel happier all the while.
