Chapter 5: Bad Apples

The next morning, as the jet flew south, Team Chris was having breakfast. Tyler smiled and ate his cereal. "Aww, man, first class rocks!", he said. Alejandro nodded. "Today we have the breakfast of champions." Meanwhile, Sierra was getting a massage. "Ohhh, yeah, that's the spot..." Nearby, Owen rolled over in his sleep, fell of a couch and revealed Noah. "Ugh, finally!" He sat up and glared at his team. "Thanks for not noticing I was missing all night! What am I, Tyler?" "Hey!"

Meanwhile, Team Amazon and Team Victory were going without breakfast. "Stupid economy section. What is that horrible smell?", Heather asked. "Defeat", Gwen said. "We could have won if we hadn't stopped to help Bridgette", Courtney said. Heather glared at her. "I'm not gonna just abandon my partner, even if she is on the other team." Gwen smirked at Courtney. "First chance we get, I'll totally help you vote her off." Courtney smiled. "Gladly. Can we WHIP her off?"

Confession Cam: Heather

"Whip me off? Not if I can prove my worth to the team. Or, manipulate Izzy and Cody into forming an alliance with me. Whatever works."

Heather slid over on the bench toward Izzy and Cody. "Hey, buddies! Have I mentioned how much I value your friendship?", she asked. Cody scowled at her. "You've only spoken to me three times, ever. Including now." Izzy smiled. "Aww, you're so nice now, Heather!" She jumped onto Heather's head and hugged her, knocking her over. Meanwhile, Team Victory was talking on the other bench. "This bites, eh. How're we gonna win when there's only three of us left?", Zeke asked. Lindsay smiled. "Enough downy talk, you guys! We aren't quitters, we're fighters! And we're winners!" Bridgette smiled. "Yeah... we ARE Team Victory, aren't we?"

Confession Cam: Lindsay

"I packed a season's supply of lip gloss, and I've barely finished one tube! No way am I going home yet."

Alejandro walked into the economy class, carrying some junk food. "Ladies? I've smuggled a few things out of first class", he said. "I'd better not. I might break ou... is that a Snuffers bar?" Lindsay squealed and took a chocolate bar from Alejandro. "Izzy, you want some too?" Heather pushed Izzy off her head and glared at Alejandro. "I don't think so. We never trust the enemy, especially the excessively, disgustingly flirty ones." Izzy giggled. "Ooh, he's the enemy? Fun!"

Confession Cam: Alejandro

"Of course Heather's plotting with Izzy! She makes a new alliance every season! And Izzy's crazy enough to not ask questions. Ohh, she's good."

Chris brought the contestants to a boat in storage room. "Take a seat, grab a handle, and I'll tell you where we're going!" Tyler chuckled. "A boat? Shouldn't we have parachutes or something?" "Why are you the only one wearing a life jacket?", Noah asked. Chris smirked. "Cause there's thirteen of you, but only one valuable me. Hit it, Chef!" In the cockpit, Chef pulled a lever, and the boat fell through a trap door in the plane. It landed in a river and Chris started driving. "Welcome to New York City!"

Confession Cam: Lindsay

"New York, New York? Do you know how many stores there are here? I'm gonna buy like ten seasons' worth of lip gloss without even trying!"

Chris brought the boat up to the side of the river, near the statue of liberty, and everyone got out. "Your first challenge is a carriage race to central park, which I like to call 'liberty or death'", Chris said. Owen applauded. "Oh, I've always dreamed of riding a horse drawn carriage!" Courtney glared at her team. "Don't even THINK about making me the horse, Heather." "Slow down, conclusion jumpers! It's a BABY carriage race!" Zeke looked around. "Where are the carriages, eh?" Chris pointed to the top of the statue. "Yeah... hope you brought your climbing gloves." The contestants groaned and whined, except Sierra. "LOL, Chris. I think your mischievous spirit makes the game", she said. Chris smiled. "Thank you, Sierra! It's nice to be appreciated!" Sierra walked up to him. "Appreciated? I love you! I always did! Even waaaaay back, when you were making those terrible movies about talking cats." The other contestants started laughing. "I was even going to call my first fan club the Christians, but that name was already taken." Chris pushed Sierra away.

"Okay! Less chatter, more splatter! Er, climbing! More climbing. We'll leave the splatter to fate", Chris said. "Anywho, once you reach lady liberty's crown, pull up your rope to bring the rest of your team up faster. Once everyone is up, your team grabs a carriage off the spikes, races back down to the dock and grabs a boat, and follows the buoys to your next exciting destination: central park!" Lindsay raised her hand. "Um, so when do we go shopping?" "You don't." Lindsay fell to the ground, screaming. "NOOOOO!"

Chris led the teams to three ropes. He blew a whistle and the teens started climbing. Alejandro started climbing first. Then, Izzy grabbed onto her team's rope. "Look, I'm a rabid monkey!" Meanwhile, the rest of Team Amazon was talking. "I know exactly how we should climb", Courtney said. Gwen raised an eyebrow. "You're not gonna suggest we billet again, are we? Cause that worked sooo well in Egypt." "But... no, I... never mind." She grabbed the rope and started climbing. Gwen and Heather did the same. "No way am I losing this challenge!", Heather shouted. Cody started climbing last. DJ grabbed his team's rope, then pulled his hand back. "Oww! What are these ropes made of!" "Steel wool. Strong and rough, just like the big apple", Chris told him. DJ sighed and started climbing, whining in pain the whole way. Sierra climbed up after Alejandro, who talked to her. "Hey, Sierra? Do you ever think Chris misses the old days? And thinks no one remembers, or cares?" Sierra frowned. "Oh, you're right... I remember! I care!"

A while later, Chris shouted down to the teens from the top of the statue. "It's been twenty five blister busting minutes, and none of you are up here yet! You guys are bumming me out!" Ten minutes later, half the contestants were at the top and pulling the ropes up. Chris was still whining. "Come on, come on! I'm tired, I'm hungry, and I gotta pee!" Team Amazon kept pulling their rope, and finally Cody made it up. They cheered. "I'll get the carriage, which is something only a really valuable teammate would do!", Heather said. She ran to get the carriage. Meanwhile, Sierra climbed up to the top of the statue and ran to Chris. "Hey Chris, did you know I own every one of your TV appearances? Even your cooking show, Keep it Plain with Chris McLean! Your recipe for white rice was amazing! It's totally unfair you got canceled after one episode." The other teens laughed and Chris crossed his arms. "I was going through a phase, okay?"

Heather got back to her team with the carriage. "Like I said, valuable!" "How do we get back down?", Courtney asked. Chris walked over to a hole in the top of the statue. "Fireman's pole, anyone? It's only a thirty story drop!" Team Amazon walked over to it. "Ladies first", Cody said. Gwen sighed. "Well, someone's gotta do it... here goes." She grabbed the pole and slid down, screaming the whole way until she crashed at the bottom. "I'm okay!", she screamed. The others followed her lead. Team Victory finished next and did the same. Meanwhile, Owen was stuck in the statue's nose.

Team Amazon ran to the dock and hopped in their boat. Courtney started the engine and sped off, but Cody fell off. Gwen gasped. "Cody!" "Turn around!", he shouted. Up at the top of the statue, Owen finally made it up. Alejandro got the carriage and the others slid down the fireman's pole. Owen got stuck. "Oh, crap... can you gimme a push, Al?" Alejandro nodded and raised the carriage over his head. "Oh, great big apple!" Alejandro bashed it on Owen's head and he fell down. Then, Al slid down the pole. Team Chris and Team Victory reached their boats and sped off while Team Amazon came back to get Cody. "Great! We've gone from first place to last!", Heather whined.

Team Victory sped ahead. "Yeah, we're totally in first place!", Lindsay said. "We're the bomb, eh! Now how do we get to the park from here?", Zeke asked. Bridgette shrugged. "I dunno, I'm just following the buoys!" She steered the boat and followed the next one into the sewer. "Ugh! There had better be a reward this time!", Bridgette said. The other teams followed them, groaning and trying not to get too dirty. After a while, they heard an odd groaning sound. "Was that an alligator?", Lindsay asked. "Sewer gators are just a myth, eh. They come up with this stuff to scare tourists." Meanwhile, Team Chris heard the same thing. Tyler looked around. "You hear that? It sounded like a-" Suddenly, a giant alligator jumped out of the water and attacked their boat. It missed, jumping over them. When it landed, Team Amazon drove their boat over it. It chased them until the end of the sewer pipe, where it got stuck.

The teams got to a dock on the river and cheered. "Yes, we did it!" "We're alive!" "Let's go again!", Izzy shouted. Chris walked up to the teams, wearing a gas mask. "Whoa, nasty! That's the kind of stink that never comes out!" He turned to Chef and said "make the gator sign a waiver so we can show it on TV." Chef grumbled, jumped in the river and swam to the sewer to do so. Sierra smiled. "Chris, you are such a brilliant commander! That's why you always stood out in your boy band." "Whoa, whoa! Chris was in a boy band?", Owen asked. Sierra nodded. "Back in the nineties he was. Making trouble is easy to do, but making you love me is painful!", she sang. Gwen looked at Chris in disbelief. "You were in Fame Town?" Everyone started laughing, except Chris and Sierra. "I really admire the way you never let mockery get to you. I'll have to include that in your obituary", Sierra said. "I already have a draft. Wanna hear? Okay. Chris McLean was born in nineteen seventy eight-" "That is it! Zip it! Permanently!"

Confession Cam: Alejandro

"That stupid Sierra! I thought her Chris obsession would help us earn his favor, but instead it backfired completely! Now what am I gonna do?"

Chris led the teens over to a chalk board. "Alright, people, time for the second challenge: bobbing for big apples, NYC style. Here's how it's gonna go down. Teams must push their carriages along one of the three paths to central park's turtle pond. There, one member of each team will bob for some very special apples, using only their mouths. No hands. Once they get it to shore, the rest of the team must load it into their carriages and race to the finish line in the heart of central park. And what's a baby carriage without a baby?" Owen raised his hand. "Ooh, ooh, a shopping cart!" "It was a rhetorical question." Sierra sighed. "Oh, Chris, that is so-" "Zip it!" Chris glared at Sierra. "One member of each team must ride in their carriage and stay there, all the way to the finish line. "Cody", the Amazon girls said in unison. "I'll do it", Noah said. "And I'll do it for Team Victory! I love it when people call me baby", Lindsay said. "I know you do, baby!", Cody said. Lindsay giggled. "Team Victory got here first, so they get the shortest path to the pond", Chris explained. "Team Chris is Really Really Really Really Hot gets the longer path, and Team Amazon gets the longest of all. Now get going!"

The teams raced though New York to the park, making a few stops along the way, and arrived at the same time. "How are the other teams here too? I thought we got the shortest path!", Lindsay said. "You're the one who wanted a cappuccino, eh!", Zeke told her. "And what the shizzle is up with that whack fruit!" "Remember, no hands!", Chris said. Ezekiel smirked. "Good thing I'm a champ at bobbing for apples back home, eh." Courtney waded into the lake. "I have perfect posture, so I can just carry the apple on my head." Alejandro turned to his team. Tyler smiled. "No problem, I've totally got this one!" He jumped in the water and landed on the bottom at the shallow end. Alejandro sighed. He turned to Heather and Izzy and smiled. "Central park is so romantic, don't you find?" Izzy smiled, but Heather rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I told you before, no trusting the enemy. So back off and leave my team alone, or you'll wish you had." "My wish doesn't involve backing off..." "Ugh! Just go play with your stupid team and leave us alone!" "You're beautiful when you play hard to get." Heather glared and growled at Alejandro. "I'm going..." "You bet you are! Right out of the game!"

Alejandro swam to one of the apples and started blowing on it. "It's not working!" "Come on, man! Use your head!", Al shouted. Tyler began headbutting the apple. Meanwhile, Zeke started dragging one of the apples with his teeth. Courtney dove under the last apple and started walking back to shore. "Go, Courtney!", Gwen cheered. "Hurry!", Heather shouted. Tyler got his team's apple to shore. Al handed it to Noah, Owen pulled Tyler out of the water and Alejandro smiled. "Come on, let's go while we're in the lead!" Ezekiel finished next, and gave the apple to Lindsay. "All hail to the Zeke!" Bridgette glared at him. "We can hail when we win, now come on!" As they left, Courtney got to shore with her apple and dropped it on Cody. "Hurry!", Heather shouted. She started pushing the cart and the others followed her.

Team Chris found Chris and Chef at a fountain in the park and cheered. "We did it!" "We're awesome!" Chris applauded. "And the winner of the New York challenge is Team Me!" The other teams arrived. "Team Victory, you lose again. You know what that means, right?" Bridgette frowned. "Elimination time again?" Chris nodded. "Yes, but you won't have to go through with it, because this is a reward challenge!" Team Victory cheered, Heather smirked and Alejandro frowned.

Chris brought Team Chris to the elimination room on the plane. "As the winners of this reward challenge, Team Amazon gets to keep or dump the prizes contained in the apples. So, have at it, guys", Chris said. He tossed a hammer to Noah. He dragged it over to the first apple and smashed it open. A ton of candy fell out. Owen ran over to Noah. "Hey, buddy! Are you gonna-" "Yes. You can have half of it", Noah said. Owen hugged Noah. "Thank you, thank you!" Owen started eating his half, and Noah shoved his into his pockets. Alejandro walked up to the second apple and punched a hole in it. He tore part of the shell away, and a bunch of apples fell out. "Well, apples are nice. One a day keeps the doctor away." "Who gets the last one?", Tyler said. Chris glared at them. "Anyone but Sierra." Sierra frowned and Tyler ran up to his apple. He broke it open and an odd device fell out. "What the heck, a meat grinder? You guys get candy and stuff, and I get this piece of junk?" Tyler groaned, pushed the door open and threw the grinder out. "Hmph. Stupid prize..." Chris shrugged. "Well, alright then. Have fun in first class, guys."