Mira was a winner. If her parents had taught her anything it's that the only way to get what she wants is by fighting for it. So, the minute that airhorn went off Mira was already gone and left her teammates in the dust.
She turned her head back and gulped, almost all of the contestants were still behind her. Mira growled, they were more athletic than she anticipated. Or perhaps was she not as fast as she thought? Nonsense she was amazing, she told herself.
"Mira wait for us!" Iris yelled.
She, Ariana, and Prism struggled to keep up with her pace.
"Suck it nerds!" Mira yelled.
Iris growled. "We're on your team!"
"Then keep up!" Mira snapped.
Iris frowned and kept running. How was she going to survive being on the same team as that girl?
"You know her confidence is admirable." Prism panted.
The boy's face was red and he looked like at any second he might pass out. Iris considered herself in pretty good shape, but even she was struggling to keep up.
"You know you would think with all the marching I do at protests I would have better cardio." Prism panted.
"Don't worry Prism you're doing just fine!" Ariana cheered.
Just as Iris was about to say something, she heard a loud whoosh. The girl turned to see Josh was riding on his skateboard with Dan clinging to the edge, desperate not to fall off.
"You're going too fast!" Dan yelled.
Josh turned back to look at the boy and frowned. "What did you say! I can't hear you over all this air we're shredding!"
Dan groaned and tried to balance himself so he didn't topple over. When Josh suggested that the two boys skateboard over to the finish line Dan thought it was a pretty good idea. Then he realized that the two of them would have to share a skateboard, something that Josh didn't seem to be worried about.
Iris looked between all of them and smirked. Everyone that had a lead right now was on their team. They were defiantly going to win this.
"Guys we got this," Iris said.
Ariana nodded and clapped her hands. The girl cleared her throat and began to sing. Iris winced, she had known Ariana for about ten minutes and the girl had already sung about six different songs.
"We're all in this together, once we know that we're all stars and-" Ariana's song was cut off by a loud shriek.
"Shut the hell up!" Mira yelled.
Elsewhere
"Eli get up or I'll carry you." Shaq threatened.
Eli groaned and rolled around on the ground. He and the rest of his team were just a few meters away from the finish line. He tried running but after he pulled a muscle, he decided to take a nap. Unfortunately, Shaq wouldn't let him rest.
"Just leave me here to die!" Eli groaned.
"Fine by me." Ashley shrugged.
Shaq ignored Ashley's comment and turned back to Eli.
"You're not just letting yourself down, you're letting your whole team done. The only way we can move on to the next challenge is if all of us cross the finish line together." Shaq said.
Eli groaned and rolled around on the ground.
Niu sighed. "It's the first challenge and we're already going to lose."
Niu looked around and frowned when she noticed she only saw seven of her teammates. Everyone was present and accounted for except for….Brady.
"Has anyone seen Brady?" Niu asked.
Chase shrugged. "He said something about going to count butterflies."
Niu groaned. They were so going to lose this competition. She turned back and began to walk further into the woods.
"Brady!" She yelled.
Her call was answered with giggling. Niu rolled her eyes.
Confessional Booth
Niu: I'm a team player, I'm like the best team player there is. But it's not fair we might lose this challenge all because Eli is lazy and Brady is counting butterflies. The only way we're going to this competition is with hard work.
End Confessional Booth
Niu stopped when she saw Brady sitting on the rock staring up about a dozen butterflies. Niu facepalmed when she finally caught the boy. She had hoped that counting butterflies was code for something, she never realized that it was so literal.
Back to the Finish Line
"Let go of me you giant!" Eli yelled.
At this point, Shaq had given up negotiation and picked Eli up by his legs and started dragging the boy. He was jogging right behind Ashley, Lauren, Tory, and Lucy. For someone as athletic as him, this little race should have been easy, but given the fact he had to run with his team was slowing him down. He would have been at the finish line ten minutes ago if it wasn't for them.
Ashley looked back and rolled her eyes. "Where are Niu and Brady?"
Almost as if on cue she heard Niu yell, "Brady leave the butterflies and keep running!"
"We are so going to lose," Ashley said.
"Well if you only expect bad things to happen something bad will always happen." Lucy shrugged.
"Lucy look at how useless our team is," Ashley said.
Lauren frowned. "Hey, that's mean."
"Sorry I forgot to say no offense," Ashley said sarcastically.
Tory scratched her chin and frowned. "I think I have an idea."
Tory walked in front of her team and cleared her throat. She was going to have to use her secret weapon if she wanted to unite her team.
"The first boy to make it to the other side gets to kiss me," Tory announced.
Lauren chuckled.
Confessional Booth
Lauren: I appreciate Tory trying to help but I doubt our boys are going to turn into a track star just so they can have the chance to kiss her. I mean that's just ridiculous.
End Confessional Booth
As soon as she said kiss it was like someone flicked a switched. All of the boys perked up like she just offered them a million dollars.
Eli grunted and yanked his foot from Shaq's grip and hopped to his feet.
"Come on guys stop wasting time we got a race to win!" He yelled.
With that he took off in a sprint, running so fast he was practically a blur.
Lauren and Ashley exchanged a glance. Typical. Of course, the boys would take the challenge seriously if Tory asked them.
Confessional Booth
Lauren: I stand corrected.
End Confessional Booth
Back With the Screaming Gophers
"We're almost at the finish line!" Iris yelled encouragingly.
Josh grinned and did a fist bump with Dan.
"Dudes we're like the dream team." He said.
"Stop talking and hurry up!" Mira barked.
She was one of the first ones to cross the finish line, her team not far behind. Iris sighed in relief as soon as her feet touched the other side.
"Are we done?" Prism asked. "Did we win?"
Dan frowned and looked his team up and down.
"Wait a minute we're missing someone." He said.
"Who?" Ethan asked.
"Kennedy!" Iris realized.
Mira rolled her eyes. "Who?"
"The crazy girl with the blue hair! We lost her." Ariana gasped.
The eight teens groaned.
"Well, where the hell is she?" Mira asked.
"Where is who?" Kennedy asked.
The rest of her team screamed and jumped back in shock. They turned around to see Kennedy was standing behind them nonchalantly eating some blueberries.
"Where did you come from?" Josh asked.
"I teleported," Kennedy said matter of factly.
The teens looked at each other and began to exchange nervous looks. Did she just say teleport?
"Jesus, is she on crack?" Mira asked.
Iris shook her head. "That doesn't matter. What matters is that we won."
"Oh, did you now?" Chris chuckled.
The nine teens looked up to see Chris was sitting on top of the hill, a latte in his hands.
"Yeah we won, our team got here first that means we win." Dan frowned.
Chris began to laugh like Dan had just said the funniest joke in the world.
"Hombre that was just the first part of the challenge you still have to complete Part B in order to win." He said.
Iris gulped. "And what's part B?"
Chris grinned. "I am so glad you asked."
He stood up and pointed to the area behind him.
"Behind me there is a junk yard. Your next challenge is to find materials in there to make a chariot that can fit all nine of you and race back to the cabins. The first team to get there wins." He said.
Charlie raised his hand.
"Didn't you say s-s-s-s-omething about an advantage for the next ch-ch-ch-challenge?" Charlie stuttered.
"I'm glad you remembered that. In the junkyard, you're going to find a wrapped gift box. Inside the box is something that will help you with the next challenge." Chris said.
Chris reached into his pocket and pulled out his airhorn.
"And go!" He yelled.
The nine teens took off in a sprint to the other side of the hill.
"Come on guys we got this!" Ariana said.
Her enthusiasm died when she saw the junkyard. The place was littered with trash. Plastic bottles, cardboard boxes, gum wrappers, etc. However out of all the things there she didn't notice anything they could actually build a chariot with.
"What the hell?" Mira asked.
Charlie frowned. "Maybe w-w-w-w-e can make our chariot with cardboard boxes."
"We can all try to fit on my skateboard." Josh offered.
"All of us?" Ethan asked skeptically.
Iris frowned and looked down at the wrapped gift box on the ground in front of them.
"Whatever is in there should help us right?" She asked.
Iris reached down and plucked the box from the ground. She picked it up and began to slowly unwrap it.
"Why are you going so slow?" Mira barked.
"What if there is a bomb in here?" Iris asked.
Mira growled. "Why the hell would there be a bomb in the box?"
"I don't know it sounds like something Chris would do!" Iris yelped.
"That does sound like something he would do." Prism agreed.
Mia scoffed and snatched the box from her hands. With not even the tiniest shred of fear she ripped the box open, revealing…..a small motor.
"A motor?" Ariana said aloud.
"What the hell are we going to do with this?" Mira asked.
Kennedy looked at it closely and smiled.
"I can work with this." She said.
She grabbed it and skipped over to a stack of old cardboard and water bottles.
"Now I can use this motor combined with Josh's skateboard and some old cardboard boxes to make us a chariot, however, I'm going to need you guys to find me some wires or extension cords," Kennedy said.
Dan raised an eyebrow. "Not to insult your intelligence or anything but do you have experience building stuff?"
Instead of answering his question, she erupted into a fit of hysterical laughter, causing the other teens to wince.
Confessional Booth
Kennedy: Am I good at building stuff?
The girl continued to laugh hysterically. Eventually, the laugh went from hysterical to diabolic.
Kennedy: Just ask the FBI.
End Confessional Booth
Ethan clapped his hands and turned to face his team.
"Well ya'll heard the lady let's get to digging." He said.
Back With The Killer Bass
"We made it!" Brady cheered.
The team finally made it across the finish line but it wasn't without a cost. Brady got lost several times and Eli kept tripping. Nonetheless, the nine of them made it to the junk yard in the nick of time. Eli paused and turned to face Tory.
"I was first, where's my kiss?" Eli asked.
The boy smirked and began to pucker his lips, slowly leaning in anticipation. Just as he got close to Tory, Ashley pushed the boy out of the way, causing him to fall to the ground.
"Focus Eli, we're not done yet." Ashley barked.
Eli groaned and sat up slowly. "But I ran like three miles!"
"It was exactly one mile." Shaq said.
Tory shrugged and turned back to the hill.
"Fine with me," She said.
Just as Eli was about to say something Lauren, cleared her throat.
"Guys!" She said.
They all looked up to see her standing on the hill.
"You might want to see this." She said.
Tory frowned and walked up the hill to meet the girl. Her jaw dropped at what she saw. The other team was digging through the junkyard like raccoons digging through a trashcan. Her eyes went to the center where she saw Kennedy was putting together some kind of goat cart.
"What the hell?" Chase asked.
"It's a scooter!" Brady called.
Lauren shook her head. "It looks more like a chariot."
"Unbelievable the other team is already building a car and we just got here." Ashley sighed.
Niu frowned. "I might be able to put something together if I have about ten minutes."
"Ten minutes? Kennedy looks like she's building something from Star Wars!" Ashley groaned.
Chase looked the other team's chariot up and down. That motor must have been the advantage Chris had given them. He smirked; it would be a shame if someone were to take it.
"What if you had that motor?" Chase asked.
"That would save me a significant amount of time," Niu admitted.
She looked back between Chase and the motor.
"You're not seriously thinking of stealing their motor? Stealing is wrong." Niu frowned.
"It's a competition, you have to do whatever it takes to win," Chase smirked.
Chase turned back to Tory.
"How good at you at being a distraction?" He asked.
Tory smirked. "Pretty damn good,"
"Guys even if we were able to pull off stealing their motor, it's not something we should do," Lauren said.
"That's why you're not stealing it, we are." Chase chuckled.
Back With the Screaming Gophers
"Kennedy I have to admit, you're not as useless as I thought," Mira said.
Kennedy ignored the girl and kept working on the chariot.
"I'm almost done, soon we'll be able to blast out of here." Kennedy said.
"Wow your chariot looks so pretty!" A voice said.
Kennedy and Mira turned back to see Tory eyeing their chariot with a look of intrigue. She smiled and gently caressed the side of the cardboard box.
"It looks so nice!" Tory complimented.
Mira growled cautiously. The Killer Bass must have been here, and they were probably looking at their chariot as a way to gain inspiration for their own.
"Back off Goldilocks." Mira threatened.
Tory pouted. "I just wanted to look at it, it's so pretty. Although I should have known it'd be impressive, I mean Kennedy looks like she's so smart."
Mira frowned; Tory was obviously some kind of distraction. She wasn't dumb enough to fall for whatever mind games she was trying to play. Tory smiled and pushed a strand of blond hair behind her ear.
"By the way, I love your lips. What kind of gloss do you use?" Tory asked.
Mira rolled her eyes. "Nothing, I guess I just have naturally glossy lips."
Tory giggled. "You are like so lucky I have to put on lip-gloss like three times a day. By the way, your makeup foundation is flawless, your boyfriend must be very lucky."
"Back off Tory and go back with your team." Mira hissed.
She wasn't dumb enough to fall for whatever trick Tory had up her sleeve.
Tory bit her lip. "Aw, but I'm just a dumb blond you shouldn't be worried about me."
She approached Mira and leaned in closely.
"You should be worried about him." She said.
With that, she pushed Mira away and did a backflip, in an attempt to put some distance between her and the girl.
"Chase now!" She yelled.
That's when everything began to click. Mira stopped and turned to see Chase ripping their motor from their chariot.
"Hey!" Kennedy yelled.
Mira gasped as the boy stole their engine and ran off back to his team.
"Get back over here you twerp!" Mira yelled.
Ethan heard Mira and Kennedy's screaming and ran over to the girls, a look of concern written on his face.
"What's going on?" He asked.
Mira growled. "Go after them they stole our motor!"
Ethan nodded and took off in a sprint, running after the two contestants.
Back with the Killer Bass
"I still think there's another way we can do this. We shouldn't have to win by stealing." Niu said.
Ashley frowned and turned to whisper in her ear. "It's either we do this or we lose. And if you're the one that could have stopped us from losing don't be surprised if someone tries to vote you off."
"Are you threatening me?" Niu gasped.
Ashley shook her head. "I'm personally voting for Chase no matter what happens, that pervert needs to go, but I don't think everyone holds the same sentiment."
Niu bit the inside of her lip and looked down at the chariot she was making. Was this the only way her team could win? What if they lost and everyone hated her? Or worse they eliminated her. Maybe this was the only way. She had to do whatever it took to win, not for herself, but for her team.
"Hand me that wrench Ashley, we're winning this thing," Niu said.
"Niu you better be ready for this motor!" Chase yelled.
Niu and Ashley looked up to see Chase and Tory running towards them, Ethan was not far behind.
Eli's jaw dropped. "Jesus that boy is fast, he's like a cheetah!"
Shaq gulped and turned back to face Niu.
"Is it almost ready?" He asked.
Niu gulped and looked down at the makeshift chariot she was making. It would have to be ready if they wanted their plan to succeed.
"Everyone hop on!" Niu said.
When Chase and Tory got close Niu began to start the chariot.
"Chase and Tory, hurry!" Niu yelled.
Chase and Tory grunted and leaped from where they were, landing roughly on the chariot. Ethan was only a couple yards behind them and closing the gap quickly. Chase panted, out of breath from the excessive activity he just did.
"What is that boy on steroids?" He gasped.
Niu snatched the motor from his hands and began to hook it up to the cardboard chariot they made.
"Hold on!" She yelled.
With that they took off, leaving Ethan behind like a distant memory.
"Why does this thing go so slow!" Shaq complained.
Niu frowned. "That's because it's made of cardboard and it's holding nine teenagers."
Back with the Screaming Gophers
Mira began to pace around the broken chariot. This was bad. Really bad. There was no way they were going to win without a way to power their chariot. She stopped pacing and turned to face Kennedy.
"This is all your fault." She said.
Kennedy frowned. "My fault?"
"I don't think this is anyone's fault." Josh tried to reason.
Mira pushed past the boy and walked up to the blue-haired girl.
"You let him take away our motor if we lose it's on you." She snapped.
"That's so not fair, you were there too!" Kennedy said.
"I'm not the one standing next to the machine, why were you distracted by Tory?" Mira asked.
Kennedy crossed her arms. "Have you seen Tory? Everyone's distracted by her!"
"It's true." Prism mumbled.
Just as Mira was about to fire back a comeback. Ethan jogged back over to their team.
"I lost them." Ethan panted.
"Oh no." Ariana frowned.
Mira groaned and stomped her foot.
"This is awful. We're going to lose this stupid competition all because of Tory!" Mira yelled.
"Surely there has to be something we can do," Ariana said.
Ethan frowned, if he was faster he would have been able to capture Tory and Chase, instead he let his team down. What could they use to power their chariot?
"Hook it up to me," Ethan said suddenly.
Everyone stopped bickering to turn to face Ethan. The boy smiled sheepishly at the sudden attention drawn towards him.
"Thanks to all the work I did on the farm I'm as strong as an ox," Ethan said.
He flexed his muscles almost to emphasize his point.
Kennedy smiled. "That could work. Like a horse pulling a carriage!"
"Dude are you sure you can pull all eight of us? You're jacked but you're not Superman." Josh said.
Ethan shrugged. "I've had to lift heavier, trust me guys I got this."
Back with the Killer Bass
"Guys I think I can see the finish line!" Shaq yelled.
He turned to Brady and gave the blond a high five. Suddenly things were looking up for them. They had this win in the bag.
Just as Ashley was about to celebrate with her team she heard loud footsteps hitting the ground beneath them. It almost sounded like galloping.
Ashley frowned and turned back to face Lucy.
"Do you hear a horse?" She asked.
"Is that supposed to be code for something?" Lucy asked.
Ashley opened her mouth to answer when Lauren gasped loudly.
"Guys you might want to check this out!" Lauren yelled.
The Killer Bass turned their heads to see Ethan charging towards them. The man galloped like a horse and was even faster than one. He had a rope tied around his mouth almost functioning as a gag, the rope trailed behind him and was being held by Mira who was using it as reins.
Lauren gasped in shock. He was pulling his entire chariot and his team with him.
"What the hell!" Shaq yelled.
Confessional Booth
Eli: It's bad enough I'm competing with people smarter than me, now I have to take on a god! Ethan is either on steroids or….nope it has to be steroids.
End Confessional Booth
"Giddy-up!" Mira yelled.
Tory gulped as the Screaming Gophers began to close in the gap between them.
"Guys they're getting close!" She yelled.
Niu grunted as she tried to make the chariot go faster, but to no avail.
"This is as fast as it goes!" Niu yelled.
Shaq groaned. "What the hell do you mean this is as fast as it goes?"
"Again it's made of cardboard boxes!" Niu snapped.
Back With the Screaming Gophers
"Guys we're catching up to them!" Dan cheered.
Charlie grinned. "T-t-t-hat's what they get for st-st-stealing." He stuttered.
"I can't believe Ethan is able to carry us all!" Ariana said in awe.
Kennedy stood by Mira watching as the girl steered Ethan like he was a racehorse.
"You know Kennedy, we might actually be able to pull this off," Mira smirked.
Kennedy rolled her eyes. Given the fact she put the chariot together, she failed to see how Mira deserved any credit. Kennedy frowned when she noticed something was in the road. Something small and furry.
"Is that a rabbit?" Kennedy said aloud.
Prism perked up at the mention of the rabbit. He ran to the front of the chariot and looked over the edge, and gasped.
"Guys we're going to hit a bunny!" He yelled.
Mira rolled her eyes. "No, we're not. It's going to move out of the way."
"Mira you need to brake before you hit it!" Prism yelled.
"As if, we're almost to the finish line I'm not letting Tory win!" Mira snapped.
"You're going to kill the bunny! All life is precious Mira just hit the brakes!" Prism yelled.
Their yelling caught the attention of Iris and Ariana. The two girls stopped talking and turned to face their teammates.
"What's going on?" Iris asked.
Instead of answering her Prism yanked the reins from her hands, the force was so strong it caused Mira to fall on her back, slamming into the cardboard box.
Confessional Booth
Mira: Prism has the strength of a mouse, however, him distracting me is going to make us lose. I'm not a moron, I know that I don't have any friends on my team, so I'm going to be the first person they eliminate….unless I have a scapegoat. It's simple I'll just act like Prism ripped the reins from my hands so hard that it caused me to fall backwards and hurt myself.
End Confessional Booth
"Ow!" Mira screamed loudly.
Josh ran over to Mira and tried to help her up.
"Dude, what the hell are you doing?" Josh asked.
Mira shook her head. "I don't know what happened he just ran up to me and started yelling! Then he pushed me!"
Prism frowned. "That's not what happened! Normally I would say believe all women but in case don't believe her!"
Iris looked between Prism and the injured Mira. The brunette looked like she was on the verge of tears. Had Prism really pushed her that hard? Granted she didn't like Mira but no one deserves to be attacked. She did see Prism yank the reins from her, but she had no idea why.
"How did you end up with the reins in your hands?" Ariana asked.
Prism looked down at the reins and gulped.
"I had to take them she was going to run over a rabbit! I did it to save him!" He said.
"I didn't see a rabbit!" Mira lied.
Confessional Booth
Prism: I mean come on, no one is going to buy Mira's act. Everyone knows I'm a good person.
End Confessional Booth
Prism turned to face Kennedy.
"You saw what happened, tell them the truth." He said.
Kennedy held up her hands in defense and simply shrugged.
"Hey who would believe me, I'm the crazy one." Kennedy said.
"The truth is that you attacked me and now you're trying to lie about it!" Mira yelled.
Mira limped over to Prism and growled. "I know who I'm voting for."
Dan stepped in between the two and tried to deescalate the situation.
"Hey guys why don't we just calm down," Dan said.
"Mira tell them the truth!" Prism yelled.
Mira scoffed. "I already did!"
Back with the Killer Bass
"Are they stopping?" Lauren asked.
Tory turned back to see that the Screaming Gopher chariot had indeed stopped. In fact, it seemed like they were arguing about something.
"Guys we might actually be able to win this!" Tory cheered.
"We're almost at the finish line!" Chase grinned.
"Killer bass for the win!" Shaq cheered.
Niu grinned as she steered her chariot over the finish line. At first, there was a moment of silence. The Killer Bass struggled to deal with the shock of actually winning.
"Holy shit we actually won!" Eli gasped.
"I was totally prepared to vote you off if we didn't." Ashley chuckled.
Tory jumped up and down and clapped her hands.
"Aw guys, we make a great team!" Tory cheered.
Chris smiled and walked over to the Killer Bass chariot.
"Congratulations on being the first team to win this season! I for one thought you guys would've lost. You must be luckier than I thought." Chris chuckled.
Shaq grinned. "Do we get a prize for winning? Like a special cabin?"
"Oh god, I hope we do I totally need a spa day." Brady groaned.
Chris smiled. "Your only prize is not being at the risk of being voted off."
They groaned at his comment and turned to face each other.
"Well at least we won," Niu said.
Chris turned back to face the finish line watching as the Screaming Gophers struggled to push their chariot to the other side.
"What happened to you guys?" Lauren asked.
Mira scoffed. "Ask Prism."
"I didn't do anything!" Prism yelled.
Chris began to laugh. He was going to have so much fun watching these kids suffer.
"Unfortunately Gophers you guys were the last ones to cross the finish line, that means you lose, and that one of you is going home tonight," Chris said.
The nine teens all began to exchange looks with each other. Who would they be voting off? Other than Mira and Prism, everyone seemed conflicted.
Confessional Booth
Ariana: Mira is really mean, on the other hand, Prism tried to sabotage us it's hard to trust either of them.
End Confessional Booth
Confessional Booth
Dan: I don't buy Mira's act, it's obvious that she was acting, although I think I'm the only one that caught on to it.
End Confessional Booth
Confessional Booth
Mira: Prism is the most expendable member of the team. He's the perfect scapegoat.
End Confessional Booth
"Go ahead and head over to the campfire to prepare for the elimination ceremony. I hope you choose wisely." Chris smirked.
And that's the end of the first challenge. Looks like one member of the Screaming Gophers is going home. Once the creators of the characters read this chapter please PM regarding who your character will be voting for.