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Courtney stood in her pyjamas and looked at herself in the mirror. The green lines that she had thought so pretty three days earlier now seemed as if they wanted to curl around her neck and strangle her to death. She jumped as she heard the boat horn, signifying the arrival of another camper. Despite feeling angry and sad, she was still curious enough to see who it was.
She watched from her balcony as the boat of losers drew up to the dock. She looked down at the other eliminated contests congregating, waiting to see who the next victim of the game was. Even Harold was down there. It seemed he felt safe enough to come out, seeing as Courtney had spent the last few days in her room alone. She couldn't bear to go out and face the mockery (or worse, the pity) of her former teammates. It was humiliating. She'd written another three letters to her lawyers, but she was still having no luck. She was by now sure that the letters weren't even being sent. At least she'd stopped crying.
Looking down on the group of people below, she saw a head of thick blonde hair step off the boat, and she knew Bridgette had been eliminated. She didn't really know how she felt about that. Three days ago she would have been glad of someone to talk to, but now she didn't really want to talk to anyone.
Bridgette was talking to Trent, and they both simultaneously looked up at where Courtney was standing on her balcony. Subtle, she thought. They were obviously talking about her. She kept her face blank, though she was pretty sure they couldn't actually see that far in the dark. She stepped back into her room without waving at Bridgette, closing the glass doors behind her and drawing the curtains before slipping into bed.
Someone was knocking on her door, waking Courtney from her blissful slumber, where none of this had ever happened. Unfortunately, reality called, and it came in the form of Bridgette.
"Courtney, let me in!" she called through the door. Courtney didn't answer at first, but Bridgette kept knocking so Courtney sighed and slipped out of bed and opened the door a crack. Bridgette's big green eyes stared back at her. Courtney sighed again and opened the door further, enough to let Bridgette inside before she shut and locked it again.
"How are you doing?" Bridgette asked.
"I'm brilliant," Courtney said flatly. Bridgette's eyes fell to the visible mark on Courtney's chest and Courtney felt the urge to cover it with her hands, but she restrained herself. Bridgette had already seen it anyway.
"Trent said you haven't spoken to anyone in three days," Bridgette said.
"I don't like anyone here," Courtney shrugged.
"Courtney…" Bridgette started, and Courtney could hear the sympathy in her voice. That was the last thing she wanted.
"If you think I'm upset about Duncan, you're wrong," Courtney said firmly.
"Really?" Bridgette raised an eyebrow dubiously.
"Yes," Courtney nodded. "I've just been so busy trying to get in touch with my lawyers I haven't had time to get out of this room."
"Your lawyers?" Bridgette questioned.
"Because I was unfairly eliminated due to Harold switching the votes," Courtney informed her primly. She knew Bridgette wasn't buying her 'I'm perfectly fine' act, but Courtney knew that if she told Bridgette the truth she'd probably just start crying again and that was not happening. Courtney wasn't the type of girl who cried over boys, even ones that were supposed to be her soulmate.
"Right," Bridgette nodded. "Just answer one question."
"What's that?"
"Have you been eating? I mean no one's seen you at any meal time…" Bridgette asked in concern.
"Of course," Courtney smiled brightly. She hadn't really been eating, of course. She wasn't really hungry anyway, and the one time she had been she'd just snuck into the kitchen in the middle of the night to steal some food. She had experience in that area after all.
"Okay," Bridgette nodded again, but Courtney could see she was still worried. "Why don't you come and have breakfast and then we can go to the pool area? Everyone's been really worried about you."
"No they haven't," Courtney snorted. It was obviously Bridgette's turn to lie. No one had bothered to come and see her so how worried could they have been? They were probably glad they hadn't had to see her in three days. Harold especially. He really shouldn't be allowed to just wander around freely when he'd done something so wrong.
"Bridgette. I promise I'm fine," Courtney lied. "But I will join you, since I've had no luck with my lawyers. And of course I'd like to hear about what's been happening in the competition."
And while she was out there, she was going to double her efforts in punishing Harold. She figured she may as well channel her anger and sadness into something productive. Harold wasn't going to know what hit him.
Somehow, despite the inaptitude of Owen, Geoff and DJ, the guys' alliance was going swimmingly. They'd managed to eliminate both Bridgette and Lindsay, and now there were only four girls left. Duncan had it in his head that they should get rid of Leshawna next, because she seemed most likely to be a threat.
In the meantime though, they were being treated to a horror movie and they hadn't had a challenge in three days, so Duncan was feeling pretty relaxed, unlike DJ, who was terrified of the movie.
"Aw, come on Deej," Gwen said, "for a slasher flick it was pretty tame!" she pointed out, putting the movie away.
"Yeah, there was hardly any hacking!" Duncan agreed. "Not like Blood Bath 2: Summer Camp Reign of Terror!"
"No way, that's my favourite movie!" Gwen burst out. Duncan grinned at her. He hadn't known she liked horror movies. "I love when the killer jams that guy's hand into the lawnmower!" Gwen continued excitedly.
"Ha! Or when he pushes the chick off the dock and she lands on a propeller blade that slices her in half!" Duncan added. He could see DJ was getting more and more spooked and it only egged him on. He glanced at Gwen and suddenly they were talking in unison.
"Or when he shoves that big dude's head inside the woodchipper!" they cried animatedly and DJ flew into Leshawna's arms. Duncan turned to Gwen and high fived her, happy with his handy work. Scaring DJ may have been easy, but it was still satisfying.
"Aww! Looks like Gwen and Duncan have more in common than bad fashion sense!" Heather mocked. Duncan did not appreciate what she was insinuating. "It's just mindless guts and gore!"
"Horror movies aren't mindless," Gwen snapped.
"Yeah. They're loaded with psychological trauma," Duncan agreed. "Look at DJ," he snickered. Leshawna promptly shoved DJ from her arms.
"Whatever!" Heather retorted. "Does anyone have any idea what our challenge will be this week?"
"Yeah," Geoff wondered. "Where's the Chrismeister?"
The group of them noticed Chef Hatchet by the dock, loading up a boat with suitcases. Curious, Duncan wandered over to see what was going on.
"Hey yo, Chef! Where's the fire?" he asked jovially. Chef didn't respond, just gave Duncan a terrified scare and jumped on the boat and it sped away with Chef and Chris inside. Okay, Duncan knew he was a scary guy, but he wasn't that scary. Something weird was going on. The others joined him on the dock and Owen picked up a pack that had been left on the dock.
"Dude!" he yelled, though Chef and Chris were long gone. "You forgot this!" As he spoke, a newspaper fell from the pack and onto the wooden dock. The others watched as Owen picked it up and read the page it had opened to.
"Escaped psycho killer on the loose," he read. "Be on the lookout for a man wearing a hockey mask with a hooked hand and carrying a chainsaw!" Owen finished dramatically.
"Haha! He's on the loose," Izzy laughed.
"Oh, come on!" Heather rolled her eyes. "They don't expect us to fall for this! Scary movie? Followed by hasty exit, followed by strategically placed prop?" she snorted disbelievingly.
"I don't know, he looked pretty spooked!" DJ disagreed nervously.
"Puh-lease!" Heather scoffed. "It's all part of their little stunt to freak us out!" Duncan didn't really like it when Heather was right, but she was probably right this time. It was too convenient. It had to be a set up.
"If this was a stunt, would Chris leave behind his… hair gel?" Owen pointed out dramatically, pulling the hair gel from the pack. Everyone gasped in horror. Okay, maybe this was real.
"Whoa. This is for real," Gwen said, a little worriedly. It was kinda cute how she was trying to hide her terror.
"Let me get this straight. Chris left us for dead, and now we're alone? While that escaped psycho killer with a chainsaw is on the loose?" DJ panicked. Duncan smirked at him.
"No," he shook his head and grinned menacingly. "We're alone while that escaped psycho killer with a chainsaw and HOOK is on the loose!" he cried gleefully while DJ screamed in terror and curled up in a ball on the ground. Duncan looked at him disappointedly. It really was just too easy to scare DJ.
Ten minutes later Gwen had gathered everyone by the campfire to talk strategy. Heather had already wandered off and Duncan couldn't help but think it was for the best. Maybe the psycho killer would get her.
"Okay, rule number one," Gwen said authoritatively, "do not go off on your own. Rule number two; if you do go off on your own, never go in the woods! Rule number three; if you do go in the woods, never ever ever make out in the woods! Or you will DIE in the woods!" Gwen continued. Duncan listened half-heartedly. He already knew all this crap.
"Where's Izzy and Owen?" Gwen asked, finally noticing their absence, despite the fact that they'd disappeared before the group had even made it to the campfire.
"Breaking rules one through three," Duncan grinned suggestively. He was glad Owen was finally getting some. Too bad it would be his last time. Gwen rolled her eyes at the news before running to the mess hall to grab some paper and a pencil. When she returned, Duncan watched her intently as she drew pictures of the remaining campers. She was actually a really good artist. Duncan was thinking about asking if he could keep the picture she drew of him, but he was stopped by the sound of DJ whispering his ear.
"Dude, I really have to pee," DJ said through gritted teeth.
"So go," Duncan said in annoyance.
"But, but… the psycho killer!" DJ stammered.
"Take Geoff," Duncan said in exasperation. DJ's wimpy attitude was really getting on his nerves. The two guys wandered off and Duncan went back to watching Gwen draw. She quickly finished the last person and propped the paper up on an easel.
"Okay, now that I've drawn a chart of all the players we can-," she trailed off as she glanced at her audience, now only consisting of Duncan and Leshawna. "Where's DJ and Geoff?" she asked.
"DJ had to take a leak so he took party boy with him," Duncan told her. Good riddance too. The sooner he got rid of everyone else, the sooner he could be alone.
He was plotting how to get rid of loud mouth Leshawna when a scream came from the bathroom.
"It must be Heather!" Gwen said.
"Ha. That would be great!" Leshawna laughed. Duncan couldn't help but agree.
"As much as I hate her, I'm going to go check on her," Gwen sighed, leaving Duncan alone with Leshawna. He sighed in disappointment. He was only stuck with her for a minute though, before her stomach started to grumble audibly.
"I'm gonna go grab some snacks," Leshawna told him. "Want anything?"
"Nah, I'm good," Duncan replied and Leshawna wandered off. Finally, peace at last. That was until Gwen returned. Damn, he had enjoyed being alone. But at least it was Gwen and not DJ. Gwen angrily crossed off Leshawna's picture when Duncan told her where Leshawna had gone.
She sat down on one of the stumps, looking somewhat defeated.
"This isn't your fault, you know," Duncan assured her.
"I know. If everyone had just listened to me, we wouldn't be in this mess!" she groaned, her words sounding like something Courtney might say.
"Who cares?" Duncan snorted, shaking his head to rid it of thoughts of Courtney. That was over now.
"Where's Geoff?" Gwen asked. Duncan shrugged.
"Probably bit it with DJ," he guessed.
"Well, it's no surprise! Rule number eight; party guy is a prime target for psycho killers, right after the big loveable jock," Gwen informed him knowingly. Duncan rolled his eyes. Did she have to keep going on about the rules? He knew. He'd probably seen more horror movies than she had. Gwen got up and crossed the two guys off her chart.
"You know what really ticks me off?" Gwen said angrily. No, but I'm sure you're going to tell me, Duncan thought in annoyance.
"Live and learn, sweetheart," he said, lighting up some sticks to keep himself entertained.
"You really are a pyro, aren't you?" she said.
"So?" Duncan replied flatly. "I like burning stuff."
"Is that what you went to juvie for?" Gwen asked, sitting down.
"Ha, like I'd tell you why I went to juvie," Duncan scoffed. If she thought they were going to have a heart to heart right now, she had another think coming. This whole thing was becoming dull. He was sick of hanging out with Gwen, and he was sure by now that this was a challenge. A challenge he was going to win. He gave his arm a flick and Gwen's dumb chart caught on fire. As Gwen ran off to get water Duncan smirked to himself.
"And then there was one," he chuckled, still holding the burning sticks. His smiled dropped when he heard someone calling his name. Must be the psycho. Time to win this thing.
"You and me, psycho," he grinned wickedly, throwing the burning sticks to the ground and following the sound of the killer's voice.
The echoing voice led him down to the dock where he found the psycho killer waiting for him.
"This is gonna be fun!" he said to himself as he approached the killer. He picked up a chair and the killer turned towards him. Duncan threw the chair but the killer just sawed it in half and kept coming towards him. Duncan continued to throw whatever was in reach but the killer kept advancing on him. Somehow, Duncan managed to get his hands on the chainsaw and gain the upper hand. Chef removed his mask and Duncan declared himself the winner as Chef led him to a tent in the woods where Chris and the remaining campers were waiting.
"Hey," Izzy pointed to the monitor, "coolio! Gwen's taking on the psycho all by herself!" Everyone else glanced up to see Gwen standing face to face with the psycho killer. Only…
"Wait a second," Duncan said, suddenly feeling worried, "if Chef's in here… then who's in the lodge with Gwen?" he panicked. Holy shit, Gwen was going to die and it was going to be his fault. He had to do something. He sprinted from then tent, with everyone else close at his heels. After running for what felt like an eternity (and him thinking Gwen was already dead the whole time), they burst into the dining hall, Duncan's heart pounding from running but also from the adrenaline of trying to save someone.
"Gwen! He's the real escaped psycho killer with a chainsaw and a hook," everyone yelled in unison.
"What?" Gwen said in surprise, before screaming her lungs out. She then proceeded to kick the psycho killer in the face multiple times, causing him to walk out in outrage. Duncan was pretty sure he'd never been more impressed in his life. He played it cool though, and simply gave her a high five, his expression only showing a fraction of the awe he felt.
As Duncan cast his vote that night, he had to give up on the guys alliance. DJ was only bringing down the alliance anyway, he was a liability, and an extremely annoying one at that. Apparently everyone else felt the same as he was as he was booted at the campfire ceremony.
"You will be missed," Chris told DJ, but Duncan doubted it.
"Group hug!" Owen declared and rushed towards DJ, throwing his arms around him. Duncan wasn't going to join in but Gwen grabbed his arm and dragged him into the hug, and though he wasn't really a hugger, he couldn't deny he liked the way Gwen's arms felt around him and the warmth of her body against his.
Abruptly, he remembered the black lines on his chest and he quickly pulled away. That was enough hugging. He didn't even like Gwen. She was super annoying, and kind of a know it all.
"You okay?" Gwen asked him as they walked down to the dock to see off DJ.
"Yeah, fine. Just… jealous I didn't get to fight the real psycho killer," Duncan grinned.
"Ha! Maybe you'll get your chance someday," she winked.
"Maybe I will."