Author's Note: I'll put the votes for each couple to the right of their names, and an "X" for them being voted off on the left.

X-Izzy and Owen-3

-Heather and Justin-30

X-Lindsay and Tyler-0

X-LeShawna and Harold-4

X-Beth and Cody-4

X-Eva and Ezekiel-0

-Bridgette and Geoff-29

-Gwen and Trent-77

-Courtney and Duncan-98

X-Sadie and DJ-2

-Katie and Noah-30

The campers walked out of the open gates of the carnival and climbed into the waiting helicopter. "Jerk," Noah mutters as Duncan walks past him.

"What did you say?" Duncan threatens, holding Noah in the air by his collar. Geoff and Trent pull Duncan off Noah.

"Dudes, what's your problem?" Duncan asks Geoff and Trent. "You guys haven't been talking to me at all! And everybody keeps looking at me like I'm a criminal!"

Geoff and Trent shrug, then go to sit by their girlfriends. Duncan huffs and sits in a seat at the back of the helicopter. Nobody sits by him.

He sees Gwen say something to Noah and her hand him the blue chip. Duncan grimaces. Where has he seen that chip before? Duncan mindlessly rubs the raw, red mark on his neck -- square, and about the size of a penny.


"Duncan, man, the guys don't wanna sleep in the same bunk as you, so… you sleep in that tent over there," Chris explains, pointing to a green tent.

"Why don't they want me to sleep near them?" Duncan asks. Chris shrugs.

"Ask them yourself. Or just think of what you did at the carnival," Chris says, walking away.

"I don't freaking know what I did at the carnival!" Duncan yells after Chris. But Chris doesn't reply; he just disappears into his tent. So Duncan runs up to his old bunk and tries to open the door. Locked.

He turns around and looks for the medical tent. Duncan runs over. Courtney must be inside, he thinks. Duncan runs in the tent, and there Courtney is, laying on a cot.

"Courtney!" Duncan exclaims. A look of fear flashes across Courtney's eyes, but before either of them could say anything, Chef runs in the room.

"No, no, little man. Get in your own tent," he growls.

"But I need to talk to Court--"

"Out."

"I nee--"

"Out!" Chef insists, shoving Duncan outside. Duncan furrows his eyebrows and heads to his new sleeping quarters. His luggage had been thrown on the cot. But Duncan was too tired to unpack. He sits on the end of the cot, his head in his hands, thinking.

Why doesn't anybody want to talk to me?

Or even be around me?

Why am I the only one who doesn't know what "horrible deed" I did?

How come my neck aches, even though it didn't ache all that much after I was choked?

And worst of all, Why is Courtney now afraid of me?

Duncan stands up and wanders over to the TV, which had a scene from the carnival frozen on the screen. Duncan found the remote and hit 'play'. It was when he and Courtney went searching for the microphone for the loudspeakers. Duncan stood and watched it all unfold.

The arguing. The words Duncan didn't even remember being said.

The slap. Duncan flinched when that played on screen. I slapped Courtney?

Then came the part when Duncan flung Courtney into the ground. His eyes started to water. No wonder Courtney is afraid of me, Duncan thinks.

The scene was over. Duncan shoved his luggage off the bed and he laid down. Words he said kept running through his mind.

'Uptight'.

'Annoying'.

'Messed up ex-girlfriend'.

'Arrogant son of a bitch'.

Then Duncan thought of something and he jumped off the bed. He rewinded the scene and played it in slow motion. There, Duncan thinks, When Trent tackles me.

The blue chip Gwen found was on Duncan's neck. When Trent tackled Duncan, the chip fell off, leaving that red mark and causing the metallic bouncing noise. That chip made Duncan hate Courtney. That chip made Duncan forget everything.

Duncan again paused the tape and opened his duffel bag. He took out some duct tape and stuffed it in his pockets. It was time for a kidnapping.


Duncan tip-toed through the night towards the medical tent. He stood outside the part of the tent where he guessed Courtney was. Then he slowly pulled the end of the tent up, until he saw her sleeping form. He quietly ripped off a piece of duct tape and then quickly placed it over her mouth. Courtney's eyes shot open and she started mumble-screaming something into the tape.

"Courtney, stay still. I don't want to hurt you," Duncan says, referring to all the bandages on Courtney's body. But she took that as a threat and laid stiff, eyes open wide in fear.

Duncan slid his arms under Courtney and, avoiding her many bandages, lifts her up. She was still laying as stiff as a board, and she refused to lay her head against Duncan's chest. In his tent, Duncan lays Courtney on his cot.

"You can take the tape off, but if you scream, the tape is going back on," Duncan warns. Again, Courtney takes this as a threat, and her eyes widen. But she takes the duct tape off.

"What d-do you w-want?" she stutters.

"To show you this," Duncan replies, pressing 'play' on the remote. He sits on the end of his cot, and Courtney curls up on the complete other side of the cot.

"I don't want to see this again," Courtney says, her voice wavering.

"I know you don't want to, but you have to," Duncan says, eyes glued to the screen. He presses 'pause' when he is in mid-air, in Trent's tackle.

"There," he orders, "Watch my neck."

"Your neck? Why do I--"

"Just watch." Duncan hit 'slow-motion' and the tape continued. "See that blue chip on my neck? I swear I have no clue what that was. But I didn't even know I had attacked you until Trent said so and I watched this tape."

Courtney flinches as Duncan grabs her arms. "Courtney, I would never have done what I did unless… Nevermind. What I'm saying is that wasn't me. I'd never want to hurt you, Sweetheart."

Courtney is silent, staring into Duncan's eyes. Her eyes still look full of hate… and pain.

"Uh, Duncan?" Noah calls from outside. Duncan swears under his breath.

"Quick, hide under the covers," Duncan whispers, whipping white sheets out of his duffel bag.

"Why should I?" Courtney mumbles, crossing her arms. Duncan sighs.

"Or else I'll have to hurt you," Duncan hisses. Courtney's face screws up and she curls up on the cot. Duncan gently puts the covers over her, making it look like he hadn't made his bed yet.

"Yeah, Noah?" Duncan calls. Noah walks in.

"I have the proof. You didn't mean to hurt Courtney," Noah reports, holding a thick manila folder stuffed with papers and a plastic bag with the blue chip in it.

"Gee, thanks, Captain Obvious. But what's your proof?" Duncan asks. He wanted Noah to spill everything so Courtney could hear it all.

"I dissected the blue nanochip to find that it held human enzymes. The chemical allopregnanolone and serotonin were in these golden wires. That's what caused you to act different," Noah says.

"In English?"

Noah sighs. "Allopregnanolone is a chemical in the brain that causes forgetfulness. Serotonin is a chemical in the brain that causes anger. These chemicals take a while to activate. So I think that when the doll choked you, it planted this chip on your neck. The serotonin kicked in when you were alone with Courtney, leaving you extremely angry, which was why you attacked Courtney. It was completely out of your control. Then when the allopregnanolone kicked in, that was when Trent tackled you. The chip fell off, and since your brain has chemicals that balance out anger, your anger was gone. But there are no chemicals that balance out forgetfulness, and the allopregnanolone was already in your bloodstream, so you forgot all what you did."

"Uh, wow, Noah. Um, thanks," Duncan says.

"No problem. Want me to go explain to Courtney?" Noah offers.

"No, no. It's fine. I'll explain it to her myself," Duncan excuses, not wanting Noah to walk into the empty medical tent.

"Alright, whatever. But it may be hard to get her to listen to you, after what she's gone through."

"I know. I felt so guilty after I watched that video and…" Duncan says.

"Hey, Duncan, your eyes are watering," Noah exclaims. Duncan chuckles.

"Yeah, just get out of here, Noah," Duncan ushers. Noah leaves, and Duncan sits on his cot, next to the lump of bed sheets. He carefully lifts the sheets up to reveal Courtney. A crying Courtney.

"Jeez, Courtney, are you okay? What hurts?" Duncan asks. She wipes her eyes.

"D-Duncan, let me see your neck," Courtney says, climbing into Duncan's lap and examining his neck. Her cold fingertips brush the red spot, and Duncan gets chills. "I'm so sorry!"

Duncan smiles, because Courtney is in his lap, and chuckles, because she thinks she's sorry. "Why are you sorry? I should be sorry. Do you need to see the video again?" he asks.

Courtney sniffs, and smiles. "No, you said it yourself you felt guilty, and I was being all mean towards you and--"

"I would want you to be mad at me if I beat you up, you know, without the nanochip influencing me and stuff," Duncan says, wiping Courtney's tears with the hem of his shirt. She smiles and kisses Duncan on the jaw. She leans against him and curls up in Duncan's arms.

"I think I should bring you back to the hospital before Chef freaks out at you not being there," Duncan says, gently stroking the white bandage on Courtney's forehead.

"No way," she replies, "I want to stay right here."

Duncan smiles as Courtney yawns.

"Fine, but you need to sleep now," Duncan says, laying Courtney on his pillow. She groans.

"I want to stay up!" Courtney protests.

"You need to sleep," Duncan persists. He starts to make a bed on the floor, but he looks up when Courtney puts her hand on his shoulder.

"No, sleep with me on your cot," she says, tugging his shoulder. Duncan smiles and climbs onto his cot next to Courtney. He gently tucks the covers in around her, and he lays down with his arm over her.

"Night, Duncan."

"Goodnight, Princess."

She kisses his cheek.