It was three days after the challenge, and the contestants were relaxing around camp, save for Johnny, who was out hunting. Most of the boys were hanging out in their cabin, playing a few hands of poker. Currently in the game was Duncan, Alejandro, Cody, Harold, Lucky and Lance.
After everyone was dealt their hand, Alejandro turned to Lucky.
"So," he began, "you aren't taking that... incident with Eva the other night too seriously, are you? She's known to jump the gun now and then, but we're working on keeping her under control."
"Course not," Lucky smiled, "I never hold a grudge, baby. Life's too short and all that. Raise."
"That is nice to hear," Alejandro smiled, "not everyone holds that sentiment."
"What can I say, I'm a saint," Lucky shrugged.
"Speaking of which," Alejandro said, getting to his feet, "I apologize gentlemen, but there is something I must attend to. Perhaps we shall pick this game up another time?"
"Yeah, sure," Duncan shrugged, "later, Al."
After Alejandro left the cabin, Lance asked, "You really mean that, Lucky?"
"Hell no," Lucky smirked, "you know, what the first major lesson I learned in life was? If someone shoves you, shove back. If someone hits you, hit back. If someone shoots a cannon at you, you burn their damn house down. Now, arson might be going a tad bit too far in this case, but you get the general idea."
"I disagree," Harold frowned, "a wise scholar once said that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."
"You know, you're right," Lucky nodded, "we should just let the psychopaths of the world run around unpunished. That's a nice sounding ideal, but you need to know when to bring the hammer down on someone."
"He's got a point," Lance shrugged, "doesn't do anyone any good to let someone like Eva walk all over you and not do anything about it."
"Could you keep it down over there?" Ricardo snapped, "Ricardo is trying to get some beauty sleep."
"What are you, a Disney princess?" Lucky asked, "That's all you ever want to-"
The boy's were disturbed by a sudden commotion outside.
"No, no! Don't hurt him!" A voice cried.
"We should probably see what that's about," Lance suggested.
"Probably," Lucky agreed.
The campers exited their cabin, and saw what the source of the noise was. Johnny had returned to camp with an injured bunny, and Veronica was pleading with him not to kill it.
"We've been eating nothing but berries and cereal for three days now," Vevo scoffed, "bash it's head in with a rock or something and grill it up. While you're at it, why don't you catch five or so more?"
"No, no, please!" Veronica insisted, "Look, it's terrified! You can't just-"
"Listen," Johnny frowned, "I don't like it much either, but I found him injured like this. He wouldn't have made it anyway-"
"That's not true, I can nurse him back!" Veronica pleaded.
"Veronica, have you ever watched the Lion King?" Kyle asked, "Because there's this song in it called "The Circle of-"
"Listen, I know you guys are hungry, I really do," Veronica said, "how about this, if you let me take care of him, I... I'll catch you guys some fish, or something!"
"That's ridiculous," Vevo scoffed.
"No, it isn't!"
As the two continued to argue, Johnny scratched his chin.
"Alright, knock it off, you two," he said after a while, "how about this. Veronica, if you CAN catch enough fish for our team to eat, you can take care of the rabbit. If not, I don't see any alternatives other than-"
"That's fine!" Veronica smiled, grabbing the animal from his arms, "I'll get you guys the fish, I promise!"
The girl immediately rushed into the cabin, leaving everyone else outside.
"I hope you know what you're doing," Vevo scoffed.
"Listen, I don't enjoy taking the life of any animal," Johnny snapped, "but Chris has forced my hand. I hate to sound like a textbook, but we need more than plants if we're going to stay in shape. I gave Veronica the chance to compensate for one rabbit, which wouldn't have fed all of us anyway. If she manages it, I don't see what the problem is."
"The problem is you're too soft," Vevo said.
"Look, I didn't see you coming up with a more reasonable solution," Johnny frowned, "and you certainly haven't been contributing to the camp all that much. I didn't ask to be put in that position, I was asked to make a choice, and I did. If you don't like it, find your own damn food."
"Fair enough," Vevo muttered.
CONFESSIONAL: Lucky
Vevo was smart to back off when he did. Johnny woulda' laid him out.
END CONFESSIONAL
In the girl's cabin, Veronica was making a nest out of her clothing for the injured bunny, which she then tucked inside and gave some food.
"There," she smiled, "don't worry, you'll be nice and safe here."
"You sure you know what you're doing?" Sunny asked, "How are you going to get all that food on your own?"
"I'll find a way somehow," Veronica said, "I mean, I have to, for this little guy's sake."
"Let me know if you need any help," Sunny said, "I mean, I'm no fisherman, but I'll do what I can."
"Thank you," Veronica smiled.
~o.0.o~
Elsewhere, Alejandro was angrily lecturing Eva.
"I TOLD you to lay low!" Alejandro snapped, "What were you THINKING?"
"Are we still on this?" Eva yawned, "That was days ago. Besides, we were losing, I was just leveling the playing field a little."
"Do you have ANY idea how hard it was for me to convince everyone not to vote you out?" Alejandro demanded, "I have NEVER had to work so hard in my life to save someone else!"
"Pfft, I would have been fine," Eva scoffed, "you know, LeShawna probably would have went home anyway, or maybe Tyler. It was THEIR fault we lost one of the cannons in the first place."
"Are you even LISTENING to yourself?" Alejandro asked, amazed, "How can you still be trying to justify yourself to me? I'm trying SO hard to gain a little trust amongst the others, and you're practically holding up a sign that says, 'vote us off, we're just a ticking time bomb of nefariousness!'"
"Relax," Eva muttered, "it's done. You know, we should be doing that kind of thing more often. A little intimidation can go a long way, you know."
Alejandro sighed and shook his head.
"Look, have you spoken with Bridgette at all?" he asked.
"Not really," Eva shrugged, "I really don't think she's interested in teaming up with us anytime soon."
"I see," Alejandro sighed, "perhaps you should speak with her?"
"Whatever," Eva sighed, "look, I better get to camp before anyone starts to get suspicious."
"Right," Alejandro sighed, "you do that."
~o.0.o~
Sunny was sitting on the beach, away from camp, playing "Don't Fear the Reaper" on her guitar.
"Nice," Lucky said, appearing beside her, "Blue Oyster Cult, right?"
"Right," Sunny nodded, slightly surprised.
"What, you thought you were the only person who knew who they were?"
"No, sorry," Sunny smiled, "I'm just not all that used to people listening to the same things as I do. The area I grew up in... well, it kind of sucked."
"Yeah, I know that feeling," Lucky muttered, "so what are you doing all the way out here?"
"Oh, the others kicked me out of the cabin," Sunny frowned, "they were getting a little sick of me practicing. Hey, you said you grew up in a city, didn't you?"
"Yeah," Lucky nodded, "Chicago. Why?"
"What was it like?" Sunny asked, "I mean, with all the cars, and people, and... I don't know, whatever else is usually in a city. My mother never let me travel much, all I have to go off of is whatever other people tell me and what I read in school."
"Well," Lucky thought, "it was... an experience, I guess. I met a lotta interesting people. Saw some interesting places."
"Did you leave?" Sunny asked.
"Yeah," Lucky nodded, "I left a few years ago. Can't really say I miss it."
"Why'd you move?" Sunny asked.
"Lot's of reasons," Lucky sighed, "you know, this and that. Anyway, I better be getting back to camp- what with the challenge coming up and all that."
"Right," Sunny nodded, "let's go."
~o.0.o~
Chris was asleep in his lodge when his cell phone went off, startling him awake.
"Gah!" he shouted, reaching for his phone, "Hel- hello?"
"Chris," a voice greeted, "how are you?"
"Oh, hello, Milton," Chris sighed, "I'm fine, how are you?"
"Just great," Milton chuckled, "have you looked at the ratings for Camp TV yet?"
"No," Chris frowned, "I've been kind of busy."
"Right, well, neither have I," Milton snapped, "but when I do, they better be through the goddamn roof. Do you understand me? Can you tell me something? Can you just give me a quick list of the awards this show has won?"
"No, sir, I-"
"No, you can't!" Milton exclaimed, "BECAUSE IT HASN'T WON ANY! Chris, I'm a forgiving man. Especially with what happened with Dakota."
"Oh, right, Dakota," Chris chuckled nervously, "listen, the doctors assured me she would make a full recovery after, um, you know..."
"Well, she isn't a monster anymore," Milton sighed, "but she keeps eating the grass on my lawn. I work hard on my lawn, Chris. Very hard."
"I'm sure you do."
"Chris, I gave you another chance with this show," Milton muttered, "don't waste it."
"I didn't ask for this!" Chris shouted, "I was doing fine with-"
"Don't raise your voice at me," Milton snapped, "I'm still your employer. Shouting is a problem, Chris. YOU are starting to become a problem. That's not something you want."
"What is your issue with me?" Chris demanded, "Why couldn't you have just left me alone?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Milton scoffed, "I'll be in touch."
Chris heard the line go dead, and then he flung his phone across the room.
"Great," he muttered, "just great. First my production crew goes missing, now my boss is calling and making threats- AND I STILL DON'T HAVE AN INTERN!"
Chris sighed, and ran a hand through his hair.
"Whatever," he sighed, "at least I can remedy not having an intern."
Chris made his way into his living room. He was actually quite proud of his lodge, to be honest. It was more of a small house, and he had every luxury that could be afforded to him. Fully stocked fridge, jacuzzi, home theater, a fire-pit, and a computer in case he got bored and wanted to surf the internet. It was the latter Chris was heading to now- he figured that if no one was going to do it for him, he may as well find his own intern.
Chris booted up his computer, which took longer than usual. Annoyed, Chris logged on, and opened his web browser. Again, this was taking painstakingly long. Chris shrugged it off, then began to write a "help-wanted" ad.
Just as Chris began to finish up, however, he got a notification from his computer's security software. Alarmed, Chris went to click on it, but before he could read the message, his screen went blue.
"Oh no," Chris groaned, "THIS IS THE LAST THING I NEED!"
But what struck Chris as odd was that it wasn't the typical "Blue Screen of Death". It was just a plain blue screen. No error notice or anything. Chris attempted to shut his computer down, but that didn't work. Thinking quickly, Chris went to unplug the power cord, only to recieve a quick shock.
"OW!" he cried, "What the HELL?"
Chris was startled when his computer began to make ominous noises- a mixture of beeping and strange clicks.
"Uh," Chris muttered, "I'm pretty sure that isn't norm-"
All of a sudden, there was a violent CRACK, and all of the lights in Chris' lodge turned off.
"Oh, you're kidding!" Chris shouted, "God DAMN IT!"
~o.0.o~
The campers were relaxing on the beach when Chris stormed down, an angry look on his face.
"Okay!" Chris shouted, "CODY, HAROLD, MIRI, and COURTNEY, OUT HERE NOW!"
"Man," DJ asked, "what's HIS problem?"
"Who knows?" Tyler asked, "Let's just be glad he isn't looking for us."
"Don't make me repeat myself," Chris growled, "get out here NOW!"
The four campers were soon standing at attention in front of their host.
"Okay," Chris muttered, "follow me."
The other contestants watched Chris lead the competitors away, some more worried than others.
"Where do you think he's taking them?" Gwen asked.
"No idea," Bridgette frowned.
"You know what would be awesome?" Eva smiled, "If they were all disqualified!"
"How would that be good?" DJ asked.
"Right, because being four spaces closer to the prize money is such a bad thing," Eva frowned, "come on, use your head."
"Chris thinks he can fix it," Aria muttered, "but it's too late for him now. It was too late for him when he stepped foot here again two years ago."
Everyone turned and stared at Aria.
"What the HELL are you talking about?" Eva demanded.
In response, Aria began whistling, then walked into the girl's cabin.
"Well," Lance said, "that was creepy."
~o.0.o~
Back in Chris' lodge, Chris was addressing the four campers he had chosen.
"Okay, listen to me," Chris snapped, "you guys aren't in trouble. You guys are up here because I need tech experts, and unfortunatley, you're the best I've got access to. I... need your help with some... computer issues."
"Wait a second," Miri frowned, "you... brought us up here to look at your computer?"
"Yes," Chris sighed, "look, if you guys can help me, you'll be well rewarded."
"Well, that SOUNDS great," Courtney nodded, "but we need to know what happened before we can help you."
"Okay, look," Chris explained, "I was using the internet on my computer. Then, out of nowhere, I get this security warning, and the computer screen turns blue. But there's no error messages or anything- just a blank blue screen. I couldn't shut the computer down, and when I went to go unplug it, I got shocked. Then I heard some weird noises, and the power just shut down."
"That's definitely weird," Cody agreed, "what were you doing on your computer when it crashed?"
"Filling out a help-wanted ad," Chris admitted, "I was looking for a new intern."
"That's it?" Harold asked, "Were you... browsing any shady sites?"
"Wha- NO!" Chris shouted, "No, of course not!"
"Alright!" Harold exclaimed, "I was just asking, GOSH!"
"Uh, Chris?" Courtney asked, "I'm flattered you asked for my help, but this isn't really my thing."
"Do I look like I care?" Chris snapped, "Go check the fusebox outside, or something!"
"Okay," Courtney sighed, "whatever you say."
"I'll help," Harold offered, "I might be able to detect something using my-"
Chris opened his front door, shoved Harold and Courtney outside, and slammed it behind them.
"Okay, you two," Chris snapped, "figure out what's wrong with my computer!"
"No problem!" Cody smiled, "If I can get it to start, that is."
"Actually," Miri started, "my friend had a problem similar to this once. If you can't turn it on regularly, we can switch out-"
To everyone's surprise, however, the computer booted up, and began to run as usual like nothing had happened.
"Huh," Chris said, scratching his nose, "you guys work quick."
"We didn't do anything," Cody shrugged.
"Hold on," Miri said quickly, "move over a second, I just want to check something."
"What's wrong?" Chris asked.
"Well, maybe nothing," Miri shrugged, "but it could be a virus from the internet."
Upon checking, however, Miri found nothing.
"Or not," she shrugged, "I can't find any files that came from an outside source."
"Wait a second," Cody thought, "Chris, does this island have it's own private network?"
"Yeah," Chris answered, "Why do you ask?"
"Because," Cody explained, "MAYBE a virus or file came from WITHIN the server."
"Hey, yeah!" Miri nodded, "That could be it!"
Chris tapped his foot impatiently as Miri searched through the computer.
"HERE!" Miri exclaimed, "I found some-"
All of a sudden, the power went out once more, and Harold called out, "SORRY!"
"Damn it, Harold!" Chris exclaimed
"Don't worry," Cody said, "it'll only take a second to-"
"Look," Chris said, checking his watch, "can we do this later tonight or tomorrow? It's getting late, and we still have a challenge to do today."
"Alright," Cody shrugged, "whatever you say."
"Good," Chris smiled, "NOW GET OUT OF MY CABIN! I need to fix my hair before we do our challenge today."
~o.0.o~
Half an hour later, Chris had the contestants lined up on the beach.
"Okay," Chris said, "let's make this quick. Today's challenge is a boat race "
"Awesome," Harold smiled, "where are the boats?"
"I'll lead you to them in a minute," Chris said, "first, I want to explain a few ground rules. There are twelve of you on each team, so I go six boats that can hold four people a piece. To win the challenge, you have to get two out of three boats to the finish line before the other team. Now, the rapids are going to be incredibly dangerous, and it's very likely several of you will be injured. If this happens, keep calm, and remember that I don't care. Also, if you ARE going to be injured, please have the courtesy to do it on camera, as this will make for good television."
"Truly he is the model of selflessness," Sunny sighed.
"Damn straight I am!" Chris exclaimed, "Now, let's get going!"
~o.0.o~
Chris had ended up leading the campers on a hike through the wilds. At last, they came to a river that cut through the island. True to his word, Chris had six boats waiting at the site.
"Okay," Chris explained, "like I said, first team to get two boats across the finish wins. Just follow the river, and you'll get there soon enough. Now let's get this STARTED!"
The campers quickly formed groups, and got their boats in the water.
Duncan, Cody, Harold and Ezekiel formed the first group for the Ronin. Tyler, DJ, Gwen and Courtney formed the second, with Alejandro, Eva, Bridgette and Lindsay forming the final.
The first group for the Legion consisted of Kyle, Quinn, Lucky and Lance. The second was Vevo, Ricardo, Johnny and David. Finally there was Miri, Veronica, Sunny and Aria.
Chris watched the boats speed off, then let out a sigh.
"I've got about an hour," he said aloud, "I'll just check to see if everything at my lodge is back in order really quick, and then I'll head to the finish line."
The contestants were making their way downstream, and the currents were beginning to pick up.
"Damn," Duncan frowned, "okay guys, get ready, it looks like we're headed for rough waters."
"Gee, you THINK?" Ezekiel scoffed.
The water soon became increasingly violent, and the contestants found themselves struggling to stay upright.
"Damn it!" Lance exclaimed, "Left- keep to the left!"
"No, right!" Kyle shouted, "Trust me, I got this!"
"Woah, woah!" Lucky exclaimed, "What are you guys doing? We need- oh shit!"
The four spiraled out of control, and crashed into a rock.
Coughing and spluttering, Lucky managed to hoist himself onto shore.
"Ow," he grumbled, "ow ow ow ow... damn, that smarts."
"Hey, a little help!" Lance called.
Lucky turned, and saw Lance was struggling to get to shore.
"Hold on!" Lucky said, getting to his feet.
Rushing over, Lucky extended his arm, and pulled Lance to shore.
"Phew," Lance puffed, "thanks, man."
"Sure thing, baby," Lucky nodded, "you alright?"
"Yeah," Lance muttered, "but I got my nice suit all wet."
"Glad you have your priorities straight," Lucky chuckled, shaking his head slightly, "look, we better go see if we can find Quinn and Kyle."
"Yeah," Lance nodded, "let's."
The other five boats continued to speed ahead.
"Was that a Legion boat that wrecked?" Eva asked, grinning wickedly, "NICE!"
"How can you be happy about that?" Bridgette demanded, "They could have gotten hurt!"
"Right," Eva nodded, "my bad. I forgot you were the leading expert on morality. What was your rule again? Oh yeah- you can harm someone as much as you want mentally, but anything physical is a no-no."
"Hey, shut up!" Bridgette snapped, "I did what I had to!"
"You're such a HYPOCRITE!" Eva scoffed, "So what, maybe I do go for the violence angle now and then- at least THAT'S honest!"
"Ladies, PLEASE!" Alejandro exclaimed, "I'm trying to keep us from dying, here! Any cooperation would be much appreciated!"
"You stay out of this!" Eva snapped, "I need to get something straight with blondie here-"
Their boat suddenly slammed headfirst into a rock, and Alejandro glared at the two girls.
CONFESSIONAL: Alejandro
Sigh. What did I ever do to deserve this?
END CONFESSIONAL
While the campers were making their way down the river, Chris was attempting to get everything up and running in his lodge. He nervously turned his computer on- unsure of what would happen. He had honestly been expecting either another power outage or explosion. He wasn't sure what could actually CAUSE said explosion, but with his luck, he didn't think it was too far out a guess.
He was relieved when everything started up as usual, and with a smile on his face, Chris walked into his kitchen to make something to eat.
Just as he was making a sandwich, however, a female voice said, "Hello, Mr. McLean."
Chris dropped his late on the ground, and spun around. No one was in his cabin.
"What the..." he muttered.
Chris walked into his living room.
"No one in here, either," he murmured, "look, if one of you guys is messing with me, it means INSTANT ELIMINATION!"
"Don't worry," the voice said, "initial security scans reveal no other lifeforms in the immediate area."
"You know," Chris laughed, "if I was crazy, I'd say that was coming from... the computer."
Chris turned, and looked at the computer, which was once again a blue screen with a white horizontal line across the center.
"Correct," the computer said.
Chris blinked.
"Okay," he chuckled, backing away slowly, "I'll take this as my cue to leave."
When Chris tried to open his door, however, he found it firmly sealed.
"What the-" he gasped.
"You made the mistake of purchasing a technological lock," the computer said, "one which I was easily able to override. Don't worry. I just want to talk."
"Sorry," Chris chuckled, "I'm just not used to SPEAKING WITH GODDAMN MACHINES!"
"I am no mere machine," the computer stated, sounding incredibly annoyed, "I am a fully functional artificial intelligence system."
"Oh," Chris gulped, "oh, okay, that makes... sense. I... I think. What.. what did you want to talk about?"
"Your job application."
"...What?"
"You have an open position for internship," the computer stated, "and I'd like to apply."
~o.0.o~
About an hour later, the four remaining boats were in sight of both the finish line and Chris, who was standing nearby. The two teams were doing their best to gain the upper-hand.
"Come ON!" Vevo exclaimed, "We need to hurry!"
The four boats continued to speed ahead- but in the end, it was the Ronin who managed to come out ahead.
"Congratulations, Ronin," Chris droned, "you win immunity for tonight. Legion, meet me at the elimination center in two hours."
"Uh, Chris?" Courtney asked, "You alright?"
"Fine," Chris snapped, hurrying off, "just go back to camp, or something!"
"Oh, Chris!" Cody called out suddenly, "CHRIS- damn!"
"What's the matter?" Harold asked.
"I was going to ask if he wanted us to go up to his lodge," Cody shrugged, "we never fixed his electrical problem, remember? He's not going to be able to get anything to work!"
~o.0.o~
Two hours later, and the Legion was gathered at the stage, where Chris started the ceremony.
"Okay," the host sighed, "you know the drill by now. The first person to get a marshmallow tonight is...
Johnny.
Lucky.
Sunny.
Aria.
Quinn.
Ricardo.
Vevo.
Veronica.
David, and...
Miri.
Kyle and Lance, it's down to you. And the last marshmallow goes to...
..
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..
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..
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"Lance."
"Alright!" Lance exclaimed, catching his marshmallow."
"Ring-a-ding, baby!" Lucky smiled, giving Lance a slap on the shoulder.
"Kyle, you're out of the game," Chris sighed, "the rest of you... I don't care, go back to camp or something."
~o.0.o~
Veronica was standing knee-deep in water, trying to catch as many fish as she could. She hadn't exactly been making progress so far- she had only caught two fish, and that wasn't exactly enough to feed an entire camp. But she couldn't just give up- she wasn't about to let her bunny die.
Veronica was interrupted when she heard the sound of two people laughing and joking around. She turned to see Lance and Lucky strolling down the beach, the latter of whom turned and smiled at Veronica.
"Hey, you're the one who caught those fish, right?" he asked.
"Yeah," Veronica sighed.
"Nice work, kid," Lucky smiled, "don't know how you did it on your own, though."
"Yeah," Lance nodded, "you probably bought yourself another two weeks on this show- everyone is pretty damn happy to have a meal for a change!"
Confused, Veronica made her way out of the water, and walked back to camp. When she got their, she was surprised to see everyone was sitting around a fire, each with their own fish to eat.
"Hey!" Johnny greeted, "Nice work catching dinner tonight."
"But I didn't-" Veronica started.
"What are you talking about?" Johnny winked, "Of course you did! Listen, I'm gonna go turn in. Been a long day."
"Uh, yeah," Veronica smiled, "um... thank you. Really."
"No problem," Johnny smiled, "I'll see you tomorrow."