A/N- Sorry for the wait, but this chapter ended up being 11.5k words so I hope that makes up for it. Enjoy!
Chapter Nineteen:
It was six in the morning, the sun was barely peeking through the clouds, and Zoey was awake in bed. She peered at her fellow contestants who were still asleep in their beds. Frustrated, she sighed to herself.
I have to get out of here. I won't wake them up if I open the door, right?
Resolved to escape the humidity of the cabin, Zoey quietly slid off her bed. Pausing for a moment, she quickly reached into her bag and pulled out her Tarot cards.
I'm not forgetting this time.
She slid her feet into her shoes and quietly left the cabin, taking care to close the door behind her without any noise.
It was cooler outside compared to the stuffy air in the cabins. Zoey took a few steps down the dirt road, not completely sure where she was going.
I made it to the merge…No, all three of us made it to the merge. I really wanted that to happen, but I wasn't sure if it would…This is so exciting! But…I don't know how we're going to stay in the competition. We're outnumbered. We all need to be on our best behavior so the others don't vote us out…Gwen is nice and all, but I can't expect her to vote out her best friends over us. Although, it doesn't seem like Courtney and Heather even want to be here, and Heather DID already win…I guess it's the principle of the thing. It seems like Duncan has been getting along with Mike and Cameron, so maybe that won't be a problem. I wish we could get rid of Scott, though. He might be the most difficult to vote for. If only he wasn't dating Courtney…well, what can I do? Break them up? It looks like we'll have to figure something out.
She wandered towards the trees, pondering her circumstances.
It's not going to be easy. I'm mostly worried about Cam getting kicked off…he's pretty quiet, and he already won, so Chris probably won't let him win again…Then again, it's supposed to be "All-Stars," so maybe he will. There's no point in bringing back most of the previous winners if there's no chance they can win again. Just focus on the goal. Friendship finale.
Zoey found a log that had been placed on the ground not too far from the treeline. She sat down and took out her packet of Tarot Cards. She selected one from the deck, then paused.
It's not that I'm not having fun…I guess…I don't know. I feel out of place. Like, maybe I shouldn't be here. They all seem to be such good friends, and I'm the outsider again. It's just like being home. How does this always happen to me? At least everyone was on equal footing last season, but now? I'm sure they'll vote me off soon…
She sniffled.
Ugh, I can't get upset over this. Everyone's gonna wake up soon. And Mike and Cameron need me to be strong. I need to see this through. It's just a little isolating. Well, it's very isolating…
Back in the guy's cabin, Duncan was laying on top of the covers and staring at the ceiling.
Disgusting. So goddamn humid. I need to peel off a layer of my skin. I can't believe I miss the Spa Hotel.
He quickly glanced around the room at his fellow contestants, who were all still asleep.
Well, I'm not staying here and sweating to death. It's probably cooler outside. Chris really couldn't have put a window in here?
He rolled out of bed, put on his shoes, and crept towards the entrance of the cabin. Quietly, he opened the door and closed it behind him.
Well, now what?
He looked around and saw nobody. Choosing a path at random, he began to walk.
After walking for a few minutes in silence, he stopped.
Wait, what's that noise?
He strained to listen.
Breathing? Heavy breathing? Oh God, is someone having sex out here? In these woods? That's disgusting.
The breathing was broken up by a sob.
Oh, great. Someone's crying. Gross…I really don't want to deal with it. But who could it be? None of the guys…Gwen or Courtney? If it's one of them, I should go help…but would they even want me to? Gwen consoled me, so it wouldn't be weird if I helped her out. And Courtney would tell me to fuck off if she wanted me to.
Duncan took a few steps closer to the source of the noise, clearing a few branches out of the way as he stepped into the woods. Through the trees, he could see a shock of neon red hair.
Oh, no way. Zoey? Why's she so upset? I hope it's not me…I can't deal with another person hating me. Should I go up to her? No way, I'm out of here.
He turned around and immediately stepped on a branch, which snapped in half with a large crunch.
"Duncan?"
Damnit!
"Ah…yeah?" He turned to see Zoey staring at him.
"How long have you been there?"
Great, I hope he didn't hear me crying…
"I was just passing through," he played it off. "Sorry, I didn't realize you were there."
Please let me go…
"No," she quickly wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you or anything."
C'mon, stop crying…
"Not at all," he shoved his hands in his pockets. "Um, so, I'll just go-"
"Want to do a Tarot Reading?"
Oh, why'd I say that? He obviously wants to leave…
Now I have to say yes…Ugh.
"I mean, it's fine," Zoey continued. "You totally don't have to-"
"No, I'll do it-"
"I know you want to get out of here-"
"Zoey," he sighed, then smiled. "Just show me the cards." He started walking towards her. "I can use the guidance."
Hopefully this will distract her from whatever's wrong.
"Alright," she nodded. "If you're sure."
He took a seat next to her on the log.
"Nice pajamas."
"I- oh," Zoey realized to her horror that she was still in her pajamas and blushed. "Um. I didn't think I'd see anyone out here. Sorry."
So embarrassing…
"I don't care," he shrugged. "So, how does this work?"
"Well," she held the deck of cards in her hands. "To be honest, I don't know everything, but you have to ask the deck a question, and then draw a card, and that will help you answer it? I made this deck myself, so-"
"Woah, really?"
"Ah, yeah."
"No fucking way, let me see- or, does that fuck with the magic if I touch it?"
"I don't see how it would," she handed him a few cards.
"You know," he pondered as he held the cards. "They feel magical, I think."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yup," he nodded. "Like, who's that one guy who's a wizard? And he lives under the stairs and stuff?"
"Harry Potter?"
"Yeah, that guy," Duncan looked at the cards. "He would use these, I think."
"Wait, have you seriously not read Harry Potter? Or seen the movies?"
"Hmm? Nah, I wasn't allowed to, and then I lost interest in it. And I guess I'm not a movie guy. Anyways,-"
"Wait, why weren't you allowed to read it? Not to pry or anything…"
I'm not getting into this.
"Ah, it was a whole thing," he glossed over it. "Anyways, I like music better. Easier to smuggle."
"Smuggle past who?" She was lost.
"Oh. I just have really strict parents," he tried again to change the subject. "So. You painted these?"
"Yeah, but I'm not that good at it."
Oh, she's not kidding…
"Nonsense, I really like this one," he chose a card and looked at the design. "It's a…dinosaur?"
"It's a dog," she sighed.
"That was my second guess."
"Yeah, yeah," she smiled and took the cards from him. "Here, I'll shuffle the deck. Ask a question."
Shit, what do I ask? Something dumb.
"Ok, will I-"
"Don't say that!"
"What?"
"You can't start a question with 'Will I' because the card will lock you into a certain future that you can't change."
"Jeez, really? That's kind of creepy…"
"That's why Mike refuses to do it," she sighed. "He gets freaked out."
He was always superstitious…
"Actually, I don't think he's read Harry Potter either," she pondered. "And he doesn't watch a lot of movies…But he does like that one- what's it called, with the mafia."
"No idea."
"You know the one, with…The Godfather!"
"Oh, right. I've never seen it."
"Well, me neither. Ask another question."
"Um…how will I…find…success? In life? I'm grasping at straws here."
"No, no, that's perfect. Here, draw a card."
Duncan chose a card from the center of the deck. He examined the surface, trying to decipher what it meant.
No idea.
"It's the stars," Zoey explained to him. "It means inspiration."
"So, that's a good thing?"
"Yep."
"Well, that's a relief. Not sure how it answers my question, but I won't argue with it," he gave her the card.
"Alright, campers! Wake up and grab some breakfast, because we have a challenge!" Chris announced from a loud-speaker.
"Great," Duncan rolled his eyes. "We better head back- wait, you have to pick a card."
"Me?" She widened her eyes.
"Of course, I can't be the only one to do it. Ask a question."
"Hmm," she considered. "Well, something that I always like to ask is: how will I find strength today?"
He couldn't hide his look of amusement.
"Oh, stop it."
"No, no, good for you. Strength and all that. Pick a card."
Zoey chose a card covered in red and white designs.
"Ah, the Magician," she smiled. "That's a fun one." She put it back in the deck.
"Wha- that's it? What does it mean?"
"Hmm?" She stood up and dusted off her pajamas. "Opportunities."
"Well, isn't that joyful?" He stood up as well. "C'mon, gruel time."
"Gross," she frowned. "Maybe I can go steal Scott's breakfast."
Oh, shit. Scott. Huh, I wonder if he'll mention anything today.
"Hey now, don't start breaking the law on me. I might have to report you," he stepped over a small bush.
"You wouldn't dare," she smiled.
"Eh, you're right. I don't have it in me. Then who would do my Tarot Readings? Heather? Besides, I need you here to tell me what the pictures are supposed to be."
"Ouch, I hope you pick the Three of Swords next time."
I guess I do have another friend here…I can't believe I was crying a few minutes ago. Ugh. At least he didn't mention it…
"And what's that one?"
"Unhappiness."
"Well, it's certainly no Magician."
The two of them wandered up the dirt road towards the cabins, where Mike and Cameron were already gathered outside holding several bowls of gruel.
Probably wanted to avoid talking to Scott…
"Hi guys!" Zoey smiled.
"Hey, Zoey," Cameron stared. "Are you doing the challenge in your pajamas?"
Oh my God, I'm still wearing them!
"Oh! Sorry, I have to change really quickly!" She made a break for the girl's cabin. "But save me some gruel!"
No, don't leave me here with these two…
She disappeared into the building. Duncan turned to Mike and Cameron, who handed him a bowl. Duncan looked at the substance in disgust.
"So, what's going on?" He tried to make conversation.
"Not much," Mike sighed. "What were you guys up to?"
Do I mention she was crying? Absolutely not. That would make no sense.
"I went on a walk, then I found Zoey wandering in the woods, then we came back here. So, exciting morning."
"I bet."
"Sorry," Cameron stared into his gruel. "You guys aren't panicking right now?" He almost whispered.
"About what?" Duncan tilted his head.
"You know…Scott!" He mouthed.
"What about him?"
"What if he…does something?" Cameron looked behind his shoulder.
"Well, look," Duncan explained. "Zoey just did a Tarot Reading on me, and she said my future's looking bright, so I'm not too worried."
"Oh, those things freak me out," Mike closed his eyes.
"I almost locked myself into an uncertain future, apparently."
"No no no, don't tell me that."
"And don't worry, Cam," Duncan reassured him. "Scott's not gonna do anything."
"He's not even here," Mike added. "He's eating breakfast at the Spa Hotel-"
"Lucky bastard."
"I know, right? But he can't do anything while he's over there."
"And if he does say something," Duncan smiled. "We all just fake ignorance."
"Exactly," Mike nodded. "You can do that, right, Cam?"
"Umm," Cameron tapped a spoon against his bowl. "Yeah, I guess so," he didn't look pleased. "But, what about Zoey?"
Hmm, better keep my mouth shut on that one.
"Oh, it's fine," Mike dismissed his concerns. "Just don't mention it- I don't want her to worry."
"You want me to lie?" Cameron's eyes bugged out of his head.
"What? No," Mike frowned. "Of course not. But…don't bring it up first."
"I don't know…" Cameron rubbed his hands together. "Is that alright to do?"
"Look, Cameron," Mike ate a spoonful of gruel and immediately started choking. "Oh, gross," he coughed. "Hang on." He took a few steps away to gather himself.
"Are you alright?" Cameron asked in concern.
"Yeah…just…" he coughed again. "Don't eat it…keep talking, I'll be right there."
Duncan put his bowl on the ground, giving up completely on breakfast that morning.
"I miss the Spa Hotel," he sighed. "Cameron, does gruel count as a balanced breakfast?"
"Gruel has no nutritional value," he explained.
"Wonderful."
"Look, Cameron," Mike cleared his throat, having pulled himself together. "You know Zoey's already nervous about Scott, right?"
"She has mentioned that," Cameron trailed off.
"Exactly. We could tell her what happened, but I think she would only be more upset. And we'll never see Scott again after a few days, so it won't even matter." Mike stared at him.
"I guess," he didn't look totally convinced.
Cameron is notoriously bad at keeping secrets…there's no way this will work.
"Duncan, what do you think?"
Why ask me? What do I say? I don't want to take sides here…but let's be real, we shouldn't tell Zoey. It's not worth it. From a logical standpoint. What's she really gonna do to Scott? There's nothing she CAN do. And she's obviously struggling- I mean, she was just crying in the woods. Do I want to add this to her plate?...Is it weird that he's asking me this to begin with? I'm just a witness, I didn't even do anything. I'll say something kind of neutral, but I can double back on it later on if I need to. Just in case.
"Well," Duncan pondered. "Personally, I'm of the belief that not everybody has to know everything all of the time…but that's just me."
Did that even make sense?
"Exactly," Mike nodded. "I mean, I can think of at least one example when someone found out something they weren't supposed to, and that didn't end well, did it?" Mike kept staring at him.
"Um," Cameron paused. "I'm not sure?"
"Really?" Mike tilted his head. "You don't know what I'm talking about? Because if my memory serves me right, you weren't supposed to tell Scott about…but then you…you did, right?" He frowned and stared at his friend.
Holy shit, where's this coming from? This is way too out of character. Something else has to be going on here.
"Uh, I guess I…did?" Cameron looked nervous.
"Right, right, you did…Scott even said so himself. And how did that turn out for me?"
The staring…the threats…it has to be Mal. Damn, did Mike fake that whole coughing fit just to switch over? Or maybe Mal told him to do that…Well, no matter. I'm intrigued to see where this goes.
"I guess…it didn't turn out…well," Cameron answered his question.
"Hmm, you're right…it turned out pretty badly. But, did it turn out badly for you? Or- wait, you won the season. Interesting. Well, it seems like you got away with doing that, but I was the one who got badly screwed over. I don't know," Mal sighed. "Should we see what happens if history repeats itself? I can't imagine I would be thrilled if you went behind my back…again. But I guess it's up to you? What do you think, should we tell her?" He smiled.
"No," Cameron answered quickly. "Maybe not."
"Nah, I think we should-"
"We shouldn't."
"Well, if you're sure," Mal shrugged. "Then let's keep this between the three of us. Right?" He asked Duncan.
"Oh, yeah. Sure."
This is bizarre- how does Cameron not realize that he's talking to a completely different person? It seems so obvious to me, and yet…I guess it's not my business...
"I'll do something with the, uh, bowls," Cameron looked for an excuse to leave. "So, yeah." He scrambled to collect different bowls of gruel. "Um, ok, bye." He scampered off.
"Dude," Duncan shook his head. "Subtle."
"Why am I always stuck cleaning up the messes?" Mal frowned. "Whenever something fun happens…whatever. Scott's a dipshit. He deserved to get fucked up."
"Did you come up with the pig thing?"
"Oh, yeah," he broke out into a smile. "You liked that one?"
"It was pretty good. It cuts to the core. But you know Cameron's probably gonna snitch on you."
"No way. He's too loyal. He won't make the same mistake twice."
"And if he does?"
"Well," Mal crossed his arms. "Mike can deal with it. I'm tired of this shit. How do I get us voted off so we can go home?"
"If I knew, I would have already done it for myself."
Ooh, they're disagreeing with each other…how interesting.
In the girl's cabin, the other contestants were getting ready when Zoey entered.
"Oh, hey," Gwen smiled when she walked in. "You were out early, huh?"
"It was so hot in here," Zoey smiled. "I went for a walk, but I can't compete in my pajamas, so…here I am."
"Well, our ratings would probably go up."
"Huh? Oh, uh…thanks?"
"Don't give Chris any ideas," Heather glared at Gwen.
Ugh, they always say that stuff about Chris…I wonder if he's really a creep, or they're just saying it?
"How's the gruel today?" Courtney asked her.
"I have no idea."
"Isn't Scott bringing you breakfast?" Heather asked.
"Oh, right! Huh. Well, nevermind then."
"Lucky," Gwen frowned. "I guess it's gruel for me, then," she walked towards the door of the cabin, Courtney and Heather in tow. "See ya, Zoey!"
"Bye, guys," she mumbled.
Well, at least they're acknowledging me today.
While Zoey changed into her regular clothes, the remaining contestants were gathered outside of the cabins.
"Hey guys," Duncan smiled at the girls. "Ready for some gruel?"
"Courtney over here is getting room service hand-delivered from the Spa Hotel," Gwen complained.
"Wow, Courtney. You're ditching the peasantry with the gruel, just like that?"
"Can you blame me?"
And I have to admit…it's nice of Scott to give her his breakfast. Well, he's still scummy, so who cares?
Right on cue, Scott emerged from the woods holding a bowl.
"Who wants breakfast?" He smiled. "Here ya go," he walked over to Courtney and handed her a bowl. "I wasn't sure what you wanted, so I got a bunch of stuff."
"Awe, thanks!" Courtney blushed and took the bowl.
Duncan locked eyes with Gwen, who made a face.
"Romance isn't dead?" He smiled.
"Apparently not."
"Alright, campers!" Chris' voice boomed throughout the island. "I hope you're all ready for your next challenge! Please, proceed to meet Chef outside of the Spa Hotel!"
"Wha- seriously?" Scott whined. "I just walked back from there!"
"Sorry, Scott!"
"Whatever," he mumbled.
"So, get moving!"
"Alright, guys," Courtney scanned the crowd. "Do we have everyone?"
The door to the girl's cabin flew open and Zoey scrambled outside, now dressed in her regular clothes.
"Wait for me!" She ran over to the other contestants.
"Alright, now we have everyone," Courtney nodded her approval. "Well, let's get this over with." She led the contestants towards the woods.
Duncan fell in step with Gwen.
"What do you think Chris is making us do? I hate when he's cryptic," Gwen shuddered.
"I try not to imagine it beforehand."
I've stopped predicting what Chris is going to do…It's never good.
"This is so dumb," Heather complained. "Why does he have to drag it out like this? Just tell us the stupid challenge so we can get it over with."
"Because he's a jackass," Gwen sighed.
"What do you think the challenge will be?" Zoey asked Cameron.
"Dunno," Cameron barely whispered.
"I'm sure it'll be something crazy."
"Yeah, maybe," he stared at the ground.
Huh, he's being quiet…more so than usual.
"We should unionize," Duncan announced.
"How would that even work?" Gwen asked.
"I dunno, I've never been in a union…but we should do it."
"I think Chris is anti-union," Courtney frowned. "Have you seen how he treats his interns?"
"Guys," Gwen lowered her voice. "I know we've had this discussion a thousand times, but…how much money does he actually have?"
"I'm not changing my answer," Duncan explained. "I still think he has money, but not a ton of money. But, still a lot. "
"What a copout answer," Gwen complained. "You have to give a number."
"Then, I have no idea."
"Well, it can't be that much," Courtney deduced from the front of the line. "He doesn't actually give the winners a million dollars."
"You're telling me," Heather crossed her arms.
"Yeah, but it's still a lot of money," Gwen shrugged.
"It's more than I've ever made at Subway," Duncan conceded.
"I still can't believe you worked at Subway."
"I learned valuable life skills at Subway."
"No, you didn't."
"Ah, you're right."
"I'm gonna guess he has…two million dollars."
"Guys," Heather pondered. "We'll never know the answer because we don't know how much the show makes. Like, how much does he get from the network, how much does he get from promos…it's too complicated."
"And we have to factor in the fact that we're not all paid the same," Courtney added.
Woah, really? We don't all get paid the same? I've never considered that before. Why would someone get paid more than the others? Maybe if they're in more episodes?
"But he does pay the winners a lot of money," Courtney finished. "Now, if only those winners made smart decisions with their money…"
"Woah, woah, are you talking about us?" Gwen frowned.
"You know what I'm talking about."
"What'd you spend the money on?" Zoey asked.
Cameron and Mike are being so quiet…Scott too…well, I guess I'm also not contributing too much either. But I'm still trying.
"Gwen and Duncan spent their money-"
"A portion of the money," Gwen interrupted.
"-to go see some guy at some concert."
"Oh, please don't get them started with this," Heather complained. "I've heard this a million times before."
"Alright, first of all," Duncan started. "It wasn't that much money."
"And it was a good investment," Gwen jumped in.
"And second of all, Gerard Way is not just some guy-"
"Courtney, you just don't get it-"
"That concert was life-changing-"
"It was, like, a religious experience."
I've heard that name before, but I don't totally remember who he is.
"I dunno," Courtney shrugged. "I don't think the songs are that good."
"Stop riling them up," Heather sighed. "I've heard enough about this guy to last me a lifetime."
Zoey tugged on Mike's sleeve.
"Hey," she whispered. "Do you know who they're talking about? I'm lost."
He looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Um, Gerard Way, he's like…he's the lead singer of this band, um…," he lowered his voice. "He's the lead singer of…." his voice was too quiet to hear.
Why's everyone so quiet today?
"The lead singer of what?"
"Um, My Chemical Romance."
"Oh!" She smiled. "That's that band you like!"
Gwen whirled on him instantly, attempting to walk backwards and interrogate him at the same time.
"You!"
"Me?" He looked terrified.
"You listen to My Chemical Romance?"
Duncan made sure not to smile.
Mal must be gone- he wouldn't be able to contain himself.
"Ah, yeah, kinda," Mike stumbled. "I mean, I used to listen more a couple years ago, but every now and then I check in."
I'm taking all the credit for that.
"Hmm," Gwen looked him up and down. "I wouldn't have expected that from you."
"Ah, well, you know."
"Hmm- ah!" Gwen almost tripped over a rock. "Jesus- are we almost there?"
"Almost!" Courtney announced.
Hmm, I swore he really liked that band…
"Aaaand…we're here," Courtney led the group out of the woods. "But I don't see Chris."
Instead, Chef was standing outside of the Spa Hotel, a tall computer monitor next to him. He was reading a book and not paying the campers any attention.
"Uh, Chef?" Heather asked.
"Oh!" He jumped. "Jesus, you scared me," he put down his book. He took an index card out of his pocket, cleared his throat, and began to read. "Alright, welcome to your next challenge. Please standby for your host, Chris McLean." He put the index card back in his pocket and pulled out a small remote, which he used to turn on the screen.
"Hello, campers!" Chris smiled from the computer. "As you can see, I'm not there with you right now!"
"Cut the gimmick, Chris," Heather sneered. "What's going on?"
"Today is the 100th episode of Total Drama! Isn't that exciting?"
"Hey," Gwen whispered to Duncan. "Do you see that? That smudge in the background?"
Duncan narrowed his eyes at the screen.
Hmm…what is that?
"As a celebration of our one-hundreth episode, we have a special challenge today!"
Could it be an animal?
The smudge moved closer.
Wait, what's that thing in the background?
"Do you see that?" Zoey asked Mike.
"Yeah…what is that?"
"Why is nobody reacting to my announcements?" Chris frowned. "Anyways, here's the special challenge! Today, you will all be playing a game…"
No, it's a person.
"Did anyone hear that growling?" Chris interrupted himself.
The smudge pounced.
"Ahh!" Chris screamed.
"Woah, what the hell?" Chef was alarmed.
"Help! Help me!" Chris was dragged off-screen and the camera cut out.
"Damnit!" Chef snapped. He took out another remote and clicked the screen, to no avail. "All of our cameras are down."
…I know who that is.
"Zeke," Duncan murmured.
"Huh?" Gwen noticed. "Was that him? No fucking way."
"Who?" Scott asked.
"Chef," Courtney looked unnerved. "That's not him…right?"
"Ah," Chef panicked. "I don't know. Don't ask me!"
"Oh, I'm gonna be sick," Gwen took a few steps back.
"What happened to him?" Duncan asked.
"How could you guys leave him out there?" Courtney was enraged. "How long has he been on the island?"
"That's not important right now!" Chef snapped. "What's important is that you all go out there and find Chris!"
"And why should we do that?" Heather put her hands on her hips.
"No Chris means no show!"
No show…Heh. I could go home. I could leave this all behind…Hmm. No show. No Chris. Would it all be over, just like that?
"And…we would leave?" Gwen asked. "If there's no show."
I wouldn't have to deal with this anymore…
"We'd go home?" Courtney perked up.
"Chris…kidnapped," Heather smiled like she was recalling a fond dream.
"How about this?" Chef glared. "Go find Chris right fucking now or you're gonna wish you were being kidnapped instead!"
"Oh, fine," Heather frowned. "Worth a shot."
"Good," Chef was satisfied with her answer. "Now, get out of here. I need to fix the camera system."
"Wait, you want us to go into the mines without any cameras?" Cameron shivered. "What happens if we get lost down there? How will they find us?"
"Not my problem," Chef glared. "Now, what are you waiting for? Go!"
"Alright!" Courtney turned to address the group. "Where do we go?"
"He was in the mines last season," Scott explained. "And I guess…he's still there?"
"Jesus," Courtney shuddered. "All this time…well, where are the mines? We've never been down there."
"Ah, that way," Scott pointed.
"Alright, lead the way."
As the group began to walk towards the mines, Zoey wondered to herself.
I don't understand…Chris just kept Ezekiel here for an entire year? Underground? How could a person do something like that? Why is nobody panicking more? They all got over it so quickly…
"I'm really freaking out," she told Mike.
"Hmm? Cause of Zeke?"
"How could Chris leave him there for a year?"
"I dunno, that's just Chris for you."
See? Even he's not too freaked out. Is it me? Am I overreacting?
"Yeah, I guess so," Zoey crossed her arms. "It's just intense, that's all."
On her other side, Cameron neglected to say anything.
"Cam, aren't you worried?"
"I'm worried about a lot of things, Zoey," he stared straight ahead.
And he's being weird too!
"Could Zeke even survive down there by himself like that?"
"I suppose," Cameron appeared distracted. "If he figured out how to find a source of nutrients, and the mines provided adequate shelter, then I suppose it's possible."
"Ah, well, ok," she didn't want to press the matter.
Clearly, he has something on his mind.
"Alright, stop," Heather announced.
"But we're not near the mines-"
"I know that, Cameron," she frowned. "We need to talk. All of us."
"Oh, team meeting?" Duncan smiled.
"Something like that. We need to discuss this before we go into those mines. Seeing as none of you are brave enough to say it, I will."
What's she talking about?
"Are we really doing this? Are we going to save him?"
"Thank God you brought it up," Gwen sighed. "What are we supposed to do?"
"I'm not marching in there," Heather decided. "It's disgusting."
"But," Courtney spoke up. "Can we let him…die?"
"Woah, woah, who says Zeke is gonna kill him?" Duncan offered. "Maybe he'll just hold him hostage and let him go later on."
"True, true," Gwen nodded. "We have no way of knowing."
"But could we get in trouble? If he…you know," Courtney rubbed her hands together. "Could they arrest us for that?"
Slowly, the three girls (and Scott) turned to look at Duncan.
Awe, what the hell?
"Why do guys always think I've memorized the Canadian legal code? I have no idea if we'd get in trouble," Duncan explained. "But, off the record, I think we'd be fine. It's not like we're killing him directly."
"And nobody's killing anybody, for all we know," Gwen jumped in. "Maybe Zeke is being nice to him. A polite kidnapping."
"Exactly," Courtney murmured. "He might be fine."
The thought of leaving Chris in the mines filled Duncan with a mixture of guilt and sick excitement, a feeling shared by the other three original contestants.
What are they talking about? Obviously, we need to save Chris! We can't just leave him there!
"Guys," Gwen whispered. "Are we doing this?"
Nobody wanted to speak first.
"...We can't," Courtney broke the silence. "We can't do it."
"Fuck, you're right," Duncan rubbed his eyes. "We have to go down there."
I'm not puting Chris' death on my conscience.
"I know," Gwen resigned herself to her fate. "You're right. But you have to admit…it's a nice thought."
"Well," Heather sighed. "I guess we should get going. Nice talk, everyone."
"We had to put it all on the table," Gwen decided. "But, let's be real. None of us can kill him…and that's a good reflection on us. We're better people."
"Plus," Duncan added. "My PO would have been so pissed."
The group began to walk again.
See, they wouldn't leave him. That would be crazy…I can't believe they even considered it. Sure, Chris can be annoying, but he's not that bad. I'm sure they were just joking around. Some sort of inside reference I don't understand.
"Well…we're here," Courtney looked ahead at the mines. "So, who's going in first?"
"Maybe we should split up," Gwen suggested. "We'd find him faster in two groups of four."
"Split up?" Cameron's eyes bugged. "I don't know about that," he looked into the dark opening of the mine shaft.
"Yeah," Scott quickly agreed. "Let's stay together."
The group stepped into the cave. It was almost pitch black.
"Oh, I don't like this, I don't like this," Gwen hugged herself. "Heather, maybe you were right," she looked around. "Wait, Heather?"
No way.
"She's gone!" Courtney shrieked and grabbed onto Scott, who almost jumped into her arms. "Oh my God, Heather! Where are you?"
"Heather!" Duncan yelled. "Come on, quit fucking around!"
"Holy shit, this isn't happening," Gwen shook her head. "No, no, this can't be happening."
"She has to be around here," Zoey tried to appear brave. "Right?"
"I don't know," Gwen whimpered. "Maybe-"
Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed Gwen's ankles from below and dragged her through the ground.
"Ahhh!" She screamed. "Help me!" She vanished into the dirt.
"Gwen!" Duncan yelled.
Scott looked like he was about to pass out.
"Nope!" He decided. "I'm not doing this. Forget it."
Just as he turned to leave the cave, a wall of rocks tumbled down, blocking the opening and sealing the contestants inside.
"Oh my God, we're gonna die!" He wailed.
"Scott!" Duncan hissed. "Shut up! He can hear us, that's how he knows where we are."
"Duncan's right," Cameron barely managed to speak. "We all have to remain calm."
The six contestants stood in the darkness, trying to be as quiet as possible.
Are we going to die down here?
"Courtney," Duncan whispered. "Now, what do we do?"
She's a natural leader, she has to have a plan.
Why does Courtney make all the rules here?
"Alright," she nodded. "Everyone, be as quiet as possible. Zeke knows the mines better than we do. If someone gets separated, we have no way of finding them," her voice broke on the last word. "There has to be a way out of here. How did you guys get down here last season? Cameron?"
"There's another way," he closed his eyes. "Near the water. We had to use minecarts, but I assume they're still down here, unless Zeke moved them."
"Alright," she nodded. "Now, does anyone know where he might have taken Gwen and Heather? We have to find them."
"Probably the same place he took Chris, but I have no idea where that could be."
"We can't leave them here," she decided. "Fuck, I guess we have to find Chris. Damnit!" She hissed. "And nobody knows where Zeke took him?"
"No," Cameron frowned, then turned to his friends. "Do you guys?"
"No idea," Mike shook his head.
"No…" Zoey trailed off. "But it's probably somewhere deep in the mines."
"Fine," Courtney set her jaw. "Then we have to keep going. Anybody who doesn't want to is free to wait around here, but I'm leaving," she started to walk further into the mines.
Gwen…she has to be here somewhere.
He made the quick decision to follow Courtney and Scott.
"What do you guys think?" Zoey asked Cameron and Mike.
"I don't want to," Cameron looked terrified at the idea of walking into the mines. "But I think we have to."
"Agreed," Mike nodded. "We can't leave anyone down here."
"That's what I was thinking," Zoey sighed.
The trio followed behind the other contestants, Cameron constantly looking behind his shoulder to make sure nobody was there.
Poor Cam, this is exactly the kind of thing he hates.
"I can't even see anything," Duncan whispered.
"Just don't trip," Courtney instructed. "No noise."
"Easier said than done."
Scott has barely said anything…neither has Mike or Cameron, unless addressed directly. Jeez, these guys have no idea how to play it cool.
A faint scratching noise sounded in the distance.
"Oh, what the hell is that?" Courtney looked around.
"Wait," Duncan put his hand up. "Is that…growling?"
"I hear it too," Zoey murmured.
"It's getting louder," Cameron whimpered.
"Wait," Duncan paused. "Now I don't hear anything."
The cave was silent.
"Well," Courtney sighed. "Maybe-"
A loud "bang!" echoed throughout the cave.
"Oh, shit!"
Darkness.
…
What…What the hell?
Duncan was lying on his back on the hard surface of the cave. He felt dizzy, and when he tried to sit up, he was overcome with a wave of vertigo. He sealed his eyes shut.
Where am I?
He took a deep breath and tried to sit up again, eyes still closed. When he opened them, he saw a flash of yellow eyes looking back at him.
"Ah!" He leaned back.
The eyes disappeared and were quickly replaced with the blackness of the cave.
Fuck, I have to get out of here.
Duncan looked around the cave and saw that he was in some sort of cavernous room. He could see a trail going left, and a trail going right, but nothing else.
Great, which do I choose?
He took a step forward, but he tripped over something on the ground. He quickly sprung up and looked around the room.
"Hello? What was that?" He frantically called out. He glanced down at the floor to see a person laying there.
Mike?
"Woah, are you alright?" Duncan asked, unsure of what to do. Mike didn't answer.
"Hey, Mike, wake up, yeah?"
Still nothing.
Now what? Do I…touch him? I feel like that's crossing some sort of line…but he could be dead. What happens if I get out of here and I have to explain that he might be dead, but I didn't want to check because it would be awkward?
Duncan lightly kicked him on the shoulder.
"Ugh," Mike groaned.
Oh, thank God.
"Wake up."
"Wha?"
"C'mon, get up," Duncan hissed.
"Wha's goin' on?" Mike opened his eyes and looked up at him.
"You're making this so difficult," Duncan crossed his arms. "Would you get the fuck up so we can leave?"
"You're not being very nice," Mike furrowed his brow. "Maybe I'm concussed, you don't know."
"Are you?"
"No…don't think so."
"Then get up?"
"Fine," he sat up.
Should I lend him a hand? No, that would be weird.
"Where is everyone?" Mike asked after he stood up.
"No idea. It's just us."
"Oh."
We haven't been alone together in a while…I don't know what to say. It feels so uncomfortable. Even having a third person here would make it easier. But the two of us?
"So," Duncan cleared his throat. "Um. Let's go," he turned to look at the two paths. "Left or right?"
"Huh? Oh, um, does it matter?"
"Just pick one," Duncan sighed.
"Right?"
"Great," he started walking.
"Hey- wait up!" Mike followed behind him. "Where are we going?"
"I don't know, but I'm not staying here so Zeke can eat us."
"He eats people?" Mike's voice shook.
"Who knows what he does? He could be watching us right now."
I wish we could just walk quietly…I don't know what to say to him.
"Really?"
"Yeah, maybe he's right behind you."
Duncan could hear Mike's footsteps quicken.
"Why did he separate all of us?"
"Don't know."
"Where do you think everyone is?"
"No clue."
"What will he-"
"Look, Mike, I'm not trying to be a jerk," Duncan stared straight ahead. "But do you think we could just walk quietly for a bit?"
"Oh. Sure."
"Great. Let's keep going. The others have to be around here somewhere."
In a completely different part of the cave system, Zoey had just woken up.
Oh, gosh, where am I?
"Zoey?" A voice called out to her.
"Hello?" She quickly sat up and looked around.
"It's me. Cameron."
"Oh," she let out a breath of relief. "Where are we? Where is everyone?"
"I'm not sure, I just woke up," he stepped closer so she could see him. "What's the last thing you remember?"
"Um, let me think," she tried to concentrate. "We were in the cave, and then…there was a noise, and then I woke up here."
"It's the same for me," he nodded his head. "I think Ezekiel split us all up. The others are probably in different parts of the cave."
"Oh, I hope Mike's alright," she bit her lip. "I wish he was with us. Then we could all be together."
"Yeah," Cameron spoke quickly. "Well, let's try and find a way out."
He doesn't want to talk about Mike…Hmm. He doesn't look worried.
"Sure," Zoey agreed and stood up. "Where should we go?"
"I'm not sure," Cameron looked around. "Let's just keep going on this path."
"Alright," she followed him through the dark cave.
Something's going on, for sure.
Meanwhile, Duncan was trying to endure the awkward, crushing silence that had settled between Mike and himself. They had been walking for several minutes, and while Duncan had badly wanted to say something, he had no idea what to talk about.
I still haven't figured out his motive. What is he trying to get out of me?
"Hey," Mike started talking. "You know what would be pretty cool? What if-"
"What's your deal?"
Hmm, maybe that's not the best way to ask.
"Huh?"
"I've been trying to figure it out, but I can't. There, happy? I give up. Tell me what's going on?"
"What's going on with…?"
"Mike," Duncan stopped walking. "Why are you being nice to me? Is it so I won't vote you off? Did Zoey put you up to it? What's the deal?"
"This again? I already told you, there's no deal."
"There has to be a catch."
"No catch."
There's always a catch.
"...Are you sure?"
"Look, Duncan," Mike sighed. "Have you ever considered that I just want to be your friend?"
"Friend?" Duncan repeated the word like it was in a foreign language.
"Yep."
"You want to be my friend," Duncan couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Exactly."
This makes zero sense. Why would he want to be my friend? I'm pretty sure he hates me.
"Why?"
"Why not?"
"Mike. You don't like me. You can't stand me. Why would you ever want to be my friend?"
"That's not true," Mike frowned. "I don't dislike you. You have to stop thinking like that. Not everyone is out to get you, you know. And just because it didn't work out between us doesn't mean we have to be at each other's throats. Exes don't have to be enemies."
"I'm surprised you even said that."
"No cameras down here, remember?"
"Oh, right."
"And I mean it. We used to get along."
"That was before. It's different now."
"Look," Mike sighed. "I'm not gonna force you to be friends with me. I just thought it would be nice. Don't worry about it." He started to walk again.
This is tricky. I'm playing a dangerous game. I'm getting too involved.
"Wait."
"Yeah?" He stopped walking.
"Fine," Duncan crossed his arms. "I'll be your friend or whatever."
I want to see what he says.
"Great!" Mike was beaming.
He's happy…Maybe he's being serious. Maybe he does want to be my friend. It's not like I can talk to Courtney or Scott. And I think I'm getting on Heather's nerves. Well, fuck 'em.
"Now, can we keep going?"
"Ah, well," Mike looked ahead. "How do we know we're going the right way?"
"Dunno, maybe there's a method we don't know about."
The two started to walk again.
"I wish we could see where we were going."
"Well…I can't help with that."
"Guess not," Mike frowned.
In a different section of the cave, Cameron and Zoey were trying to navigate the complicated layout of the tunnels.
He hasn't spoken at all…Is he just scared? No, he was also quiet this morning.
"Hey, Cam?" Zoey asked him.
"Yeah?"
"Well, I was just wondering, is everything alright?"
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know," she looked into the darkness. "I mean, you seem a little quiet today."
"Oh."
He offered no further explanation.
"So, everything's fine, then?"
"Yeah."
"Alright, then-"
"I was thinking."
"Oh?" She encouraged him.
"Well, I was thinking about Mike, and I was thinking about how we really don't know much about him."
Hmm? Where's this coming from?
"What do you mean?" A hint of defensiveness crept into her voice.
"I don't know," he quickly answered. "I was just thinking about it. I think he hasn't told us a lot of things about himself."
"So you think he's hiding things from us?" Zoey crossed her arms.
"That's not what I said," Cameron sounded irritated. "I'm just saying- I think there's a lot about him that we don't know. Or maybe you know, but I don't. I'm not accusing anyone of anything, I'm just stating a fact."
"Like what, then? What don't we know?"
I've never argued with Cameron before. What's going on?
"His childhood, for example. Yes," he kept going before Zoey could cut him off, "we know he was born in Sicily, and he moved around a lot when he was younger, but what else? What about his family? He never mentions aunts, uncles, grandparents, nothing."
"He was adopted," Zoey argued.
"They were his foster parents, right? Why was he in foster care? And he always talks about it vaguely. He'll say he moved around a lot, but he never says why. Sicily to Montreal?"
"His parents were Canadian citizens, they were already living there."
"And then…what? How'd he get to Nova Scotia? There's ten years he glosses over. What happened to his parents?" He lowered his voice even more. "Something did, right?"
"I'm not sure what you mean, Cameron," Zoey glared. "And I have no idea where this is coming from. Have you been thinking about this for a while? Do you not trust him or something? You're supposed to be his friend."
"I am his friend," Cameron insisted. "I'm not saying he's done anything wrong. It's just something I was thinking about. He doesn't usually talk about himself. He only talks about what's happening currently, or in the future, but not in the past. It's like, he doesn't like to reference anything that happened before we met him. He spent his sophomore year in Italy, right? Most people would talk about that a lot, but he stays quiet. Whenever I ask, he dismisses it. And I know he can be shy. I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing. He's a good guy, we both know that. I'm just throwing it out there," Cameron was almost out of breath. "There's no accusations. No issues that I have with him. It's just something…it's just something. That's all."
"Well," Zoey was unsure of what to say. She had never seen Cameron go off on a rant like that, and especially not about Mike.
I suppose parts of what he said were true. I can't deny that Mike can be quiet. But some people are like that. They don't like to talk about themselves. And his past…well, I know he's had some issues. He'll talk about them when he's ready. I would never make him discuss it if he was uncomfortable. It takes him a long time to trust people. I get it.
"Well," she repeated herself. "I don't really know what to say. I guess I don't understand where all this is coming from," she suddenly felt nervous. "Have you told him any of this?"
"No, I thought of it today."
"Well…I don't know. I thought you two were close, but now…"
"No, no, it's not like that," Cameron reassured her. "Like I said, this doesn't change our friendship at all. I just wanted to know what you thought."
"I guess," she pondered, "I can understand what you mean. And you're right, he doesn't talk about himself. But I think it takes a long time for him to open up. I mean, remember what happened with Scott?"
Cameron winced at that.
"Exactly. So I don't blame him for being worried. And I do think he trusts us, and he knows we're not like Scott at all, and I think we need to trust him to open up when he's ready to talk about it, whatever 'it' may be."
"Yeah…I think you're right," Cameron breathed a sigh of relief. "I was overthinking this. I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to cause any problems."
"You didn't," Zoey reassured him. "And I totally understand what you're saying. Really, it's ok. You should be able to tell me when you're worried."
"Thanks, Zoey," Cameron smiled.
"Of course. I'm always here when you want to talk about something."
Suddenly, the floor began to rumble.
"Hang on, what's that?" She asked.
"I don't- ah!" A pair of hands grabbed Cameron and pulled him upwards.
"Cameron!" Zoey shrieked. Then, she could only see black.
Meanwhile, Mike and Duncan were still trying to figure out where they were.
"This sucks," Duncan announced. "Chris is such an idiot for getting kidnapped."
"I know. I'd never do that," Mike agreed.
"Exactly."
"It wouldn't even be that bad if we could see."
"You've said that, like, nine times."
"Because I'm annoyed about it. You should've brought a flashlight."
"You should have brought a flashlight."
"Not possible. My pockets aren't big enough. It just wasn't an option for me."
"Well- ah, shit," Duncan stopped walking. "I'm a dumbass."
"What is it?"
Duncan pulled his lighter out of his pocket and flicked it on, casting light in the narrow passage of the cave.
"You're kidding me."
"I forgot! I didn't think to use it for light."
"I can't believe you still carry those around," Mike kept walking.
"Well, I don't know, I don't actually use it…It just makes me feel better."
"You're so strange."
"You're one to talk."
"Fair."
They walked in silence for a few moments.
"I have to say," Duncan tried to think of something to talk about. "All things considered, you're good at this game. Total Drama. I'm a little impressed."
"Yeah? I don't know about that. It's mostly Mal, he's a lot better at this stuff…I wish he was more careful, though. That Alejandro thing was a disaster."
"What Alejandro thing?"
"You know. When I had to kick him off."
"Ok, wait, what happened?"
"He saw Mal break Sam's video game thing? Then he asked me about it, and I couldn't think of a lie fast enough, so I had to come clean? And I had to destroy the footage of me admitting it?"
"Oh."
"What?"
"I thought something totally different happened…Nevermind."
"What did you think happened? I told you that I told him something I wasn't supposed to."
"Yeah, I just thought you told him something different."
…about us. Why did I think that? Of course Mike didn't say anything like that.
"What'd you think I told him?"
"I dunno," Duncan lied.
"Well, good riddance," Mike didn't push the issue. "He was getting on my nerves. Does he always do that?"
"Always. To be honest, something about reality television attracts really annoying people."
"I've noticed…"
"Alright, who is it? Who was the worst?"
"I can't pick just one. But possibly Sam. "
"Sam? The crying? Brutal. I don't know how you held it together."
"Well, I didn't want to be mean to him or anything…but he needs to learn how to cry quietly. That should be a basic life skill for everyone."
"I couldn't agree more."
All of the sudden, Duncan heard a faint growling sound from behind him. He looked over his shoulder, then looked straight ahead.
Last season…he was terrified of those things.
"Mike…don't turn around."
He instantly turned around.
"What did I literally just-"
"No fucking way," Mike gasped and stopped walking.
There stood a large mutant gopher with beady red eyes, staring up at the two contestants.
"Stay calm," Duncan whispered.
The gopher took a step forward.
"No, no, no," Mike was grabbing onto Duncan's arm. "Do something."
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Something!"
The gopher took another step.
"It keeps moving closer," Mike whimpered. "Duncan, you have to kill it. Duncan. Duncan. Help."
"It doesn't even look that angry. Kind of cute-"
The gopher opened its mouth and let out a piercing shriek, then started to run towards Mike and Duncan.
"Run!" Duncan yelled, extinguishing the lighter and plunging the area into darkness.
Mike was already on it. The pair took off racing through the tunnels. Duncan tried to see if the gopher was still there, but it was too dark to see anything, forcing him to rely on the creature's periodic screeching.
Up ahead, the path diverged into two different trails.
"Left!" Duncan yelled, picking a direction at random. Behind him, the gopher shrieked. He could hear a series of other gophers join in, and the sound of the pack's footsteps was echoing off the walls.
I'm not dying down here. No way.
After another minute of running, the path came to an end. There was a short cliff blocking the way, and the two campers were standing at the bottom of it. Duncan looked up at the wall they would have to climb. It was slightly taller than him. He stopped running. In the distance, he could hear the gophers approaching.
"Shit! There's no way we can get up there!"
"Ah, that is what you may think! But do not worry, I have this covered!" A familiar voice announced.
"Svetlana!" Duncan smiled. "Oh, thank God."
"Step back, we have to hurry."
Duncan quickly moved away from the cliff, giving her the space to scale the rocky surface and make it to the top.
How the fuck does she do that?
"Give me your hand!" She ordered.
The gophers' shrieks were growing louder.
"Here!" Duncan grabbed onto her hands as she yanked him upwards, pulling him over the edge of the cliff and away from the mutant gopher. They both collapsed onto the hard surface of the cave floor.
"See?" She stood up, completely unscathed. "I told you I handle it."
"Thanks, Svet," Duncan was still lying on the floor catching his breath. "I have no idea how you did that, but thanks."
"Ah, this is no problem."
Eventually, the gophers realized they couldn't scale the wall. They stopped shrieking and left the two alone.
Duncan dusted himself off, stood up, and pulled his lighter from his pocket, flicking it on.
"No!" Svetlana gasped.
"What? What is it?" Duncan looked for the source of danger.
"Your hair! Oh, what have you done?" She looked horrified.
"Hmm? Yeah, I dyed it. Hehe."
"This is very disappointing," she frowned.
"What? No, don't be disappointed! I'll shave it all off, how about that?"
"No! That would be worse," she decided. "It is fine. I suppose I will live with it," she took a step closer and pulled Duncan into a hug. "Is good to see you, da?"
"It's nice to see you too. How have you been?"
She let go of him.
"Oh, I do this, I do that, I practice back handspring, I save you from gophers. Very fun stuff."
"Sure sounds like it."
She looked around the cave.
"I do not like it here," she decided. "No place for an olympic gymnast. I will let Mike come back, just to get us out of here. See you later?"
"Of course," Duncan smiled. "Bye, Svetlana."
She changed back into Mike, who looked around, confused.
"What happened?" He asked.
"Svetlana saved us. The gophers are gone."
"Oh. Good. Well, shall we?"
"We shall," Duncan put the lighter back in his pocket to save the fluid as the two began to walk again.
Somewhere deeper into the cave, Zoey could hear a voice calling out to her.
"Zoey?"
Hmm…
"Zoey?"
"Is she alright?"
"Zoey, wake up!"
"What?" She opened her eyes and sat up. "What…where are we?"
"Good, you're finally awake," Heather complained.
Zoey looked around to see all of the contestants gathered around her.
"We're in a cage," Cameron explained.
"A cage?"
Sure enough, Zoey realized that they were in a metal cage somewhere in the cave. She looked through the bars to see Chris suspended over a barrel of mysterious liquid, while Zeke scampered around the room grabbing various objects.
"Oh my God!" Zoey gasped.
"Yup," Gwen frowned from her corner of the cage. "Doesn't this suck?"
"He's gonna kill him!"
"Well, maybe not," Cameron tried to reassure her. "Mike and Duncan are both out there somewhere."
Oh, at least Mike is alright…Hopefully.
"And we're supposed to rely on those two to save us?" Heather crossed her arms. "They could both be dead out there."
"Heather," Courtney hissed.
"What? It's true!"
"I'm sure they're alright," Zoey said, more to reassure herself than the other contestants.
They have to be alright. I'm sure they'll come save us.
"Then how come they're still out there when the rest of us have been in here for a while? You think Zeke just forgot to grab them?"
"Heather, please," Gwen was miserable. "I really don't want to die down here. Just let us have some hope they they're alright?"
"Fine, whatever," Heather shrugged. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see."
In the tunnels, Mike and Duncan were in the middle of a heated debate.
"No, no, you don't get it," Mike shook his head. "Black Parade is the best album."
"How? It's obviously Three Cheers."
"That makes no sense."
"It makes a ton of sense. Helena? The Ghost of You? Masterpieces."
"Ugh, that's what Mal thinks."
"That's because he has good taste."
"Listen, I will admit that the concept for Three Cheers is better-"
"See?"
"-but you can't beat the music on Black Parade. Sleep? Teenagers? And they're goth band kids! It literally doesn't get any better than that."
"Fine, but can we at least agree that Bullets is underrated?"
"It's so underrated."
"Thank you."
Up ahead, a screeching sound tore through the cave.
"Oh, great," Duncan sighed. "Now what?"
"Zeke! Ezekiel! Hey now, there's no need to take such drastic measures."
Up ahead, the tunnel led into a large room that presumably held Chris and Ezekiel.
"That's Chris," Duncan realized. "Oh, cool. We found them."
Mike and Duncan crept down the tunnel, careful to stay out of view. They peered into the room to see Chris hanging by his feet from the ceiling. A thin rope covered in rats was preventing him from falling into a barrel of green liquid. Meanwhile, Ezekiel was holding a large flameflower, which he fired off a few times in Chris' direction.
"Oh, hell yeah," Duncan grinned. "I have to-"
"Absolutely not."
"Awe, what?"
"You can't be trusted around fire."
"But Mike. It's so cool."
"It is pretty cool…No. Let's figure out how to save Chris. Hang on, what's over there?"
The two of them looked across the large cavernous room to see the remaining contestants trapped in a metal cage.
"Well, I guess we're on our own," Duncan noted.
"Huh," Mike frowned. "I wonder why he didn't throw us in there?"
There's something kind of ironic about that…
"Zeke!" Chris was smiling out of fear. "Come on, don't you think this is a little ridiculous?"
No answer. Zeke kept pacing the floor in front of Chris.
"Zeke, this is bullshit!" Gwen screamed from the cage. "Take Chris, but at least let us go!"
"Thanks, Gwen!" Chris glared at her.
"Well, it's true! Nobody's coming to save us!" Courtney yelled back.
"Not true, Duncan and Mike are still out there! I'm sure of it," Chris didn't let his smile falter. Then, he dropped his voice so the caged contestants couldn't hear from the other side of the large room. "Zeke…where are they?"
Nothing.
"Zeke…come on," Chris started to sound nervous. "They're fine, right? You didn't do anything, right?"
Zeke dropped the flameflower and walked over to Chris, staring down at his face. Then, he smiled a toothy grin.
"I took care of them."
Woah, he can talk?
"What does that mean, Ezekiel?" Chris tried to keep his voice steady.
"Oh, nothing. Let's just say they met an…interesting ending."
"What ending, Ezekiel?" Chris whispered.
Zeke leaned in close and whispered:
"Gopher food."
"You didn't," Chris was pale.
"Oh, I did. And now it's your turn," Zeke couldn't contain his excitement. "All this time, you've kept me down here. Now I can finally have my revenge!"
"Alright, how are we doing this?" Duncan tried to come up with a plan. "I think we should just march in there and see what happens."
"That's a terrible idea."
"Do you have a better one?" Duncan asked.
"No."
"Alright, I'm going for it. Hey, Zeke! What, did you forget about us?" Duncan stepped into the room, Mike right behind him.
Oh, thank God!
A chorus of cheers rang out amongst the other contestants.
"What!" Zeke was shocked to see them standing there. "How did you escape?"
"Wasn't too hard," Duncan shrugged. "Let's say you let Chris down so we can all get out of here, yeah?"
"Not a chance in hell."
"Well, I didn't want it to come to this," Duncan sighed. "Mike, go fight him."
"What? Are you serious?"
"Do you think I would joke at a time like this?"
"I'm not fighting that guy."
"Ok, well, he's running over here, so someone has to do something."
Sure enough, Zeke was charging towards both contestants.
"Mike, c'mon. Please? You know firsthand that I can't fight for shit."
"Oh, fine," Mike sighed and threw an elbow at Zeke's face like it was no big deal. "Just hurry up."
Duncan ran over to Chris, who was suspended over the barrel.
"Well, look who's here!" Chris grinned, then winced. "It'd be great if you could hurry, though. I think I'm gonna…faint."
"Don't be dramatic," Duncan rolled his eyes. "Let me figure this out."
He took stock of the situation. First, he waved off the rats who were biting on the rope, causing them to flee.
How heavy is this barrell?...Alright, pretty heavy. I need Mike to help me move it.
He looked over at his now-friend, who was trying to prevent Zeke from scratching his eyes out.
Alright, so that's a no…But this rope doesn't look strong.
"Mike, you got a second?"
"No, I don't have a 'second,'" he dodged an uppercut from Zeke.
Looks like I'm on my own.
"Alright, I'm gonna move the barrel," he informed Chris.
"Great."
Duncan didn't move. Instead, he stared at Chris, hanging upside down.
Hmm…
"Why aren't you doing anything?"
"I'm thinking," Duncan waved him off.
"Duncan-"
"Hang on, just…hang on," he began to pace.
Chris…his life, directly in my hands? After everything he's put me through…the humiliation. The breakdowns.
He glanced over at Mike, who was still fighting with Zeke.
Him. I begged Chris not to bring him here, and he still did it. Chris knew how upset I would be, but he didn't care.
"Duncan! What are you doing?" Gwen yelled from the cage.
Faintly, Duncan could hear someone yelling his name.
Now I'm expected to save him. Just like that. Chris can think of a million creative ways to hurt me, but the moment he needs my help, I'm supposed to put all that aside? I'd be stupid to not try and leverage this.
Duncan took the knife out of his pocket and stared at it.
"What's up?" Mike was at his side. "I knocked him out for a bit, but we really need to move."
"Hold this," he handed the knife to Mike.
"Duncan…haha…what are you doing?" Chris looked up at him, eyes wide with fear.
"Chris…" Duncan trailed off. "How's it feel?"
"Ah, what?" Chris gasped.
"Are you scared?"
"I…don't…"
"Save your breath," Duncan smiled. "You'll pass out."
Back in the cage, the campers were watching the scene in curiosity.
"I wish we could hear them," Heather was leaning against the bars.
"I don't understand what they're doing," Courtney shivered. "Why aren't they cutting him down?"
"Duncan's probably messing with him," Gwen observed.
"He's not that crazy. He won't let Chris die."
Zoey wasn't thinking about that.
Why isn't Mike stepping in? He has the knife, he can save Chris, but he's just standing there!
"Chris," Duncan pondered. "I don't think you deserve to be rescued. After everything you've put us through…I could leave you here and call it even."
"You wouldn't!"
"Would I? I can think of a few things you said you wouldn't do…but then, you went back on your word. How would this be any different?"
"Duncan, please," he strained to breathe.
"What was that?"
"Mike…"
"He's not gonna help you."
Mike looked between Chris and Duncan, then chose to stare at the floor.
"I don't think he's your biggest fan," Duncan smiled.
"Look," Mike whispered, looking intensely uncomfortable. "Can we just…hurry this up?"
"What do you want?" Chris begged. "Money?"
Duncan laughed at that.
"I want you to beg."
"No."
"Alright," Duncan shrugged, then turned to Mike. "Let's head out of here."
"Wait! Fine, fine…Please. Duncan, please help me. I'm begging you. I need you."
"That's more like it," Duncan smiled. "Mike, help me move the barrel."
The two of them dragged the barrel away from Chris, leaving him hanging over the cave surface. Duncan cut him down, while Mike grabbed his arms so his head wouldn't hit the floor.
"You good, Chris?" Duncan asked.
Chris was half-passed out.
Duncan looked at Mike.
"We can just- duck!"
Mike jumped out of the way. Zeke had gotten back up and taken a swing.
"Oh, shit," Mike took a step back.
"Thought it would be that easy?" Zeke smiled. "I've been down here for a long time, you know."
What, is he indestructible?
He lunged at Mike, who caught him by the shoulders. The two began to fight again.
Shit, what do I do? I can't just jump in there. There's gotta be a way to stop him without killing him…Chris is no help. They're all locked up. Let's see…
He looked around the room for anything that could be used to help. The only thing in reach was the rope and barrel full of mysterious substances.
What is that stuff, anyways?
He peered into the barrel. The liquid was green and had a distinct odor.
Smells like gasoline…Hmm. Gasoline and food coloring? Maybe some oil? Is that possible? I don't see how Zeke would have access to anything else.
He looked over to see Mike and Zeke wrestling next to the flamethrower towards the other side of the room.
Shit. This is risky. It's too risky. But what else do I do?
Duncan grabbed onto the edge of the barrel and braced himself.
"Mike, let him grab it!"
"What?"
"Let him have the flamethrower, just get up!"
"Why?"
"Just do it!"
Mike let go of Ezekiel. At the same time, Duncan poured the barrel out, dousing the floor in gallons of gasoline.
Zeke grabbed the flamethrower. At the same time, Duncan ran over to where Mike was standing.
"Oh, two for one special, eh?" Zeke smiled. "About time I finished the job." He aimed the flamethrower at both of them.
"Zeke, don't!
"Why shouldn't I?" He snarled.
"Because you don't want to burn alive!"
"What are you talking about?" Zeke paused.
"The floor!" Duncan yelled. "It's covered in gasoline. You shoot that thing, we're all going up in flames!"
Sure enough, the trio were standing in a large puddle of gasoline.
"Clever," Zeke scoffed. "Well, I don't want to burn to death," he put down the flamethrower. "But I'm not letting you leave, not when I've come this far." He pulled a large machete from a pocket in his tattered clothes. "What?" He noticed the surprised look on Mike and Duncan's faces. "Didn't think I'd have a backup plan?"
"What now?" Mike asked through gritted teeth.
Duncan pulled the lighter from his pocket, flicked it on, and held it out to his side.
"One more step and I'll drop it. Try me."
"Are you fucking crazy?" Mike stared at him, more amazed than scared.
"What're you gonna do, Zeke?" Duncan smiled.
Ezekiel stared between Mike and Duncan, unsure of his next move.
"You two," he growled. "You two…" he started pacing, the gasoline splashing with every step. "No wonder Chris is so obsessed. Both of you…are very impressive."
"We don't have all day," Duncan frowned.
I have no idea how much juice is left in this thing.
"Hmm," Ezekiel contemplated. "Fine. Let's make a deal. I'll let you guys go, and you let me leave unscathed."
"Fine," Duncan agreed. "How do we get out of here?"
"Chris knows," Ezekiel put down the knife and began to walk towards the opening to another tunnel. "I'll see you two later, I'm sure of it," he smiled, then laughed. "Good luck." He vanished into a tunnel.
Duncan let the lighter go out.
"Well, that was something," he turned to Mike. "Thanks for the help, by the way."
"No problem," he looked bewildered. Then, he smiled. "You owe me for these shoes."
"I'll send Chris the bill," he scanned the room to find the other contestants, who were still in a cage. "Hey guys!"
The campers stared at him with looks of horror, confusion, and fear.
"Who's ready to get the hell out of here?" He grinned.
Why do they all look so freaked out? Did I do something?
A/N- My cellmate's a killer. They make me do push-ups in drag.