FIFTEEN YEARS AGO
Leonard McLean sat hunched over in his office, scouring through his lab notes. The answer was here. It had to be.
"No, no, no, NO!" He shouted, swatting all of his papers off of his desk.
The papers gathered on the floor, accompanied by empty bottles of scotch and cigarette butts. He was the only remaining member of The Specter Corporation left after years of failure after failure, most of which he blamed on Chris. Hell, he STILL blamed most of his problems on Chris, despite the fact that he was away at college. College- fah! The scientific knowledge he could have gained with Specter Corp would have lasted him a life time. Maybe several, with the advances they were making. HAD been making.
His thoughts were cut short when an ear piercing shriek was heard from outside the room. Leonard got out of his seat, and bolted out of the room and down the hall towards his daughters room. He flung the door open, and stepped inside, prepared for the worst.
"What's going on?" He demanded, "What happened?"
His daughter sat upright in her bed, shaking violently.
"Th-th-th-the boogeyman!" She exclaimed, "Daddy, please, he-"
"Avianna," Leonard hissed, "for the last time- you are getting far too old for this!"
"But-"
"No buts! You're almost twelve, and I've had enough of this boogeyman nonsense," Leonard hissed, "there's no Santa, no Toothfairy, and certainly no monster under your bed! Knock it off, and go back to sleep!"
Leonard turned and exited the room, slamming the door shut behind him.
Avianna, still in bed, pulled her blankets up to her chin and shivered. She could still see him in the beams of moonlight that shone through her window: the man in his bunny suit. The boogeyman who had haunted her dreams since she was a child.
The boogeyman put a finger to his lips- or, rather, his mask. Then, he put both of his hands on his mask, and slowly lifted it off of his head. Avianna nearly shrieked upon seeing his face- his charred flesh with bits of skin dangling here and there. He slowly grinned a wide, toothy grin, his eyes trained on her. Avianna closed her eyes, ready to let out a scream- but when she opened them, she was shocked at what she saw. The boogeyman had put his mask back on, given a quick wave- and vanished.
PRESENT DAY
"And I would do anything for love," Sunny sang, "but I won't do that, oh no- I won't do that."
Sunny smiled as she finished up the last few notes on her guitar, and then looked over to her audience of two.
"Well? What'd you think?"
"You're really good, Sunny!" Courtney smiled, "Where'd you learn to play?"
"My school band teacher was the one who taught me how to play te basics," Sunny said, "but now I can learn most songs just by listening to them a few times."
"Yeah, I used to be that way with my old violin," Courney reminisced, "I haven't played it in years, though."
"Do you play anything, Miri?" Sunny asked.
Miri, who had been the other person watching Sunny play, scratched her head.
"Um, not really," she frowned, "although I was the pyrotechnician for my friend's band until I accidentally set their drummer on fire. Oh, and I can play 'Hot Cross Buns' on the piano."
The girls were startled when the door to the cabin slammed open, and Quinn walked inside. She looked at the three girls, scoffed, and headed towards her bed.
"Hey Quinn," Courtney greeted.
Quinn ignored Courtney, and instead began to sort through her things.
"You know, we're all glad you got rid of Eva and Vevo," Sunny frowned, "but maybe you could work on being less of a bitch. Just a thought."
Quinn froze, and turned around slowly.
"And maybe you could work on your manners a bit more," Quinn smirked, "you know, just a thought."
Quinn grabbed something from her bag, then turned and strolled out of the cabin.
"What's her problem?" Courtney asked, "I've tried talking to her before, but she blows me off every time."
"She's not very fond of other people," Miri shrugged, "at least not from what I've noticed. She's usually alone reading."
"Reading?" Sunny asked, "She definitely never struck me as the bookish type. Whatever, I guess it doesn't matter. We should give her the boot soon, anyway."
"I don't know," Courtney frowned, "she might be a jerk, but she did get rid of Eva and Vevo. Maybe if we get her to open up, she'll turn out to be trustworthy."
"Maybe," Sunny muttered, "look, have it your way, but don't be surprised if it ends with her knifing you in the back."
~o.0.o~
In the boys cabin, everyone except Johnny and Cody were eating breakfast.
"Geoff man, I still can't thank you enough for all of this food," DJ smiled, "we might be able to make this last over a week if we're careful!"
"Don't mention it, dude," Geoff smiled, "I couldn't sit back and let everyone starve."
The door opened, and Johnny walked in, a smile on his face.
"Good news," he said, "I found some tracks on my routine today. They belonged to a deer- lead me right to a few berry bushes."
Johnny reached into his pocket, and pulled out a handful of blueberries.
"Alright!" Geoff exclaimed, "Nice going!"
"I figure I can take a few people out there after the challenge today. Whoever I bring can gather some food while I scout out animal nests and things like that," Johnny said, "it wasn't as good as the place I was using before, but it'll probably give all of us enough food for a little while, at least."
"What about the fish?" DJ asked, "Anyone able to catch more of those."
"No," Johnny sighed, "the weather's gotten colder, and I'm starting to think maybe they moved on."
"Oh, well," DJ shrugged, offering a plate to Johnny, "have some food. You earned it."
"Thank you," Johnny said, accepting the plate.
"Say, where's Cody?" Duncan asked, "I could have sworn he was here a minute ago."
"Oh, I think he snuck out to go meet Gwen," DJ smiled, "I think the poor little guy is still in the friend zone."
"That's too bad," Geoff nodded, "although come to think of it, I was planning on meeting up with Courtney once I was done eating. What about you, Lucky?"
"What ABOUT me?" Lucky asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You know... You and Sunny," Geoff shrugged, "anything going on with that, or...?"
Lucky, who hadn't been given any reason to believe the veteran competitors were giving him any sort of attention, turned red slightly, and began to eat his food a bit quicker.
"No idea what you're talking about," he muttered.
"Oh, I see, so you're at THAT stage," Geoff smirked, "okay, fair enough. What about the rest of you guys? You have anyone back home?"
"Uh, I mean, I've had a few dates here and there, but nothing serious," Duncan shrugged.
"And I've been way too busy with all my animals," DJ explained.
"Careful you don't become a crazy cat lady," Duncan teased.
"Ha, ha," DJ smiled, "what about you, Johnny?"
"Hm?" Johnny looked up from his plate, and cleared his throat slightly, "Um, no, not really. I've got my family to worry about, I ain't really got time for that sort of thing."
"Oh," DJ nodded, "you guys are close, then?"
"Sort of," Johnny shrugged, "it's just me and my two sisters, Ruby and Cass. Ruby's the eldest, and she used to be in charge. I looked up to her a lot- she taught me everything I know. But then there was an accident, and I sort of had to take over."
"Oh man," DJ sighed, "what happened?"
"Drunk driver," Johnny shrugged, "Ruby was out by the road walking one night when this guy hits her. She's alive, but... Well, her legs don't work anymore. She has to roll around in a wheelchair all day."
"Damn," Lucky frowned, "what about your other sister?"
"Cass?" Johnny sighed, "Thats a little more complicated. We ain't exactly on the best of terms."
"You two get into a fight?"
"Oh, she gets into plenty of fights, but not with me," Johnny muttered, "remember when I said Ruby taught me everything I know? I guess that's inaccurate. I picked up how to fight from watching Cass- and she's a year younger than me. But back home, she could knock any guy I knew flat. When Ruby and I went hunting and fishing, she went out picking fights. When we went for a hike through the woods, she went out drinking. I was taught to believe family was everything, that nothing was thicker than blood, but sometimes she makes me question that."
"Hey man," DJ said, "I used to have issues with my older brother. Really big dude, star quarterback, and Dad's favorite. He got into a bunch of legal trouble when I was just 12- went ballistic on some kid after a football game and nearly killed him. My dad still acts like its my fault, somehow. So, sure, I guess families aren't always perfect, but I guess that's sort of the whole point."
"Maybe," Johnny shrugged.
An uncomfortable silence followed this- the morning had been relatively chipper up until then, and none of the boys had really been expecting the sudden mood shift. Geoff, eager to break the silence, cleared his throat.
"So," he said, "you guys like ketchup?"
~o.0.o~
Chris tossed and turned in his bed, Nightmares running through his mind.
"No," he groaned, "she can't... Why is... No... No!"
Chris suddenly bolted upright, panting heavily.
"Just a... Just a dream," he sighed.
A chill ran through his spine, however, when a shadow flew past his doorway.
"What the-"
Chris slowly got out of bed, and began to approach the doorway.
"Hel... Hello?" He called.
He craned his neck out, and peered around his lodge. No one.
"Must be seeing things," Chris groaned.
"It's a shame Lance is gone," VIA chimed in, "you could have used a few of his anti-psychotics."
"Gee, thanks," Chris muttered.
The host walked into his bathroom, showered, and got dressed- then something dawned on him.
"CRAP!" He shouted, "I forgot today's challenge!"
Chris ran over to his desk, yanked open a drawer, and pulled out a folder filled with various notes and drawings.
"Maybe there's something in here I can use," he panicked, "crap crap crap-"
"If you need a challenge," VIA announced, "I believe I have just the thing- my sensors indicate bunker 32A is still active."
"Bunker 32A? What the hell is-" Chris started.
"It was used for a 'rat in a maze' type of experiment. Except instead of rats, they used people, and instead of a regular maze, they used one with trap doors, mirrors, lasers, and nerve gas," VIA explained.
"Oh," Chris frowned, "well, that's... That's perfect! Print me up a map VIA, you're a lifesaver!"
"Already done," VIA announced.
Chris walked over to his printer, tore out the map, and smiled.
~o.0.o~
"So, it's just a maze?" Cody asked.
"Yep," Chris nodded, "just a maze. Heheheh."
Chris was leading the contestants through the woods and towards the bunker.
"Alright!" Cody grinned, "I'm awesome at this sort of thing! Once, I beat the worlds eighth largest corn maze in under half an hour!"
"This isn't a corn maze," Chris smirked, "it's... Well, I hear it's a work of art."
"Oh, you mean it's one of those mazes that if you view from the top, it forms a picture?" Cody asked.
"No," Chris sighed, "it's a much more refined art that I don't expect any of you to understand or appreciate."
Eventually, the contestants reached the bunker.
"Okay, here we are," Chris announced.
"Wait a second," Gwen gasped, "we have another challenge in one of these bunkers?"
"Yep," Chris nodded, "problem?"
"Of course there's a problem!" Gwen exclaimed, "Every time we have a challenge in one of these things, something goes terribly wrong! Remember what happened to Lindsay?"
"Who?" Chris asked, "Oh, right, her. Well, we all have to make sacrifices, Gwen. In the name of cheap reality entertainment."
"This is going to end badly," Gwen said, "just you wait."
"Probably," Chris agreed, "but hey, you all signed contracts."
Chris turned to the bunker door, where there was a key pad to open the door. Chris punched in a combination, and the door slowly creaked open.
"Okay, get in there!" The host ordered.
The contestants did as they were told, with Chris following behind. They found themselves in a room filled with monitors, buttons, levers, and... A huge ominous looking stain covering the ground.
"Is that... Is that blood?" Duncan demanded.
"Psh, whaaaaaat?" Chris gulped, "You crazy."
Chris turned and hit a switch, causing a door near the back of the room to slide open.
"There's the maze entrance," Chris said, "the first one to reach the end wins immunity from elimination tonight. Now, get moving! I'll be watching you from in here!"
"Whatever," Duncan shrugged, "might as well just get it overwith."
Duncan stepped through the door, the other campers following behind slowly.
Chris turned, and hit a few buttons, each of the monitors lit up, showing him various parts of the maze. On one screen, he saw all of the campers gathered around the entrance, talking to one another.
"Okay, time to get started," Chris smiled.
~o.0.o~
"I'm telling you, this is a bad idea," Gwen muttered, "something is going to go wrong."
"Maybe," Duncan agreed, "but what are we supposed to do about it? Just quit the challenge?"
"Maybe, I don't know!" Gwen exclaimed.
All of a sudden, the door slammed shut behind them, startling a few of the competitors.
"Well, too late now," Quinn shrugged, "lets quit whining about it and get this done."
"Maybe we shouldn't be so hasty," Miri cautioned, "I mean, we have no idea what could be ahead."
"Exactly," Quinn said, "you don't get results by sitting around and wondering what might pop out from around a corner. You get results by getting things done. But if you all want to sit here and hand me the win, by all means."
Quinn turned and stormed off, vanishing behind a turn.
"We'll, I'm not letting her win," Sunny huffed, "come on, let's move."
~o.0.o~
VIA, having access to the island's cameras, watched the campers with amusement.
"It's lucky Chris had some of his 'fear toxins' left over," she mused, "testing them in this environment should make for an interesting change of pace. After all, it IS for science..."
VIA accessed the bunkers ventilation systems, and soon the toxin was flowing freely through the maze: a sight that would have brought a cold smile to VIA's lips if she had any.
~o.0.o~
A few minutes had passed, and gradually the campers began to split up.
Quinn was off on her own, Duncan and DJ stuck together, Courtney was with Geoff, Cody was with Gwen, and Miri, Sunny, Lucky and Johnny made up one last group.
DJ and Duncan were doing well initially, except for feeling a bit light headed. And then they came across a hall of mirrors.
"Oh great," Duncan groaned, "just what... Just what we... are you feeling okay, DJ? I sorta... I sorta..."
Duncan leaned over and threw up, now feeling completely sick to his stomach. DJ was oblivious to this, looking around at each of the mirrors, which were slowly beginning to change before his eyes. They no longer looked like reflections of DJ- they were now horrible, demonic looking figures. One of the monsters leapt out of its mirror, and jumped onto DJ, pinning him on the ground.
DJ screamed as the beast sunk it's claws into his skin, tearing away chunks of flesh and bone.
"NO! NO! GET AWAY!" DJ screamed.
Duncan looked over groggily, and saw DJ thrashing around on the ground.
Duncan walked over, and began to shake his friend.
"DJ? DJ!" Duncan shouted, "Snap out of it!"
DJ stopped screaming, and lay on the ground for a minute, panting heavily. Cautiously, he peered down and saw no that he wasn't wounded. He had imagined the whole thing.
"Uh..." DJ groaned, "I... What... What happened?"
"I don't know," Duncan muttered, "I just saw you flailing around on the ground like you were being attacked."
"Sorry man, no idea what happened there," DJ said, getting to his feet, "are you okay?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing," Duncan chuckled, "I'm fine, I guess. I just feel really sick right now."
"Come on, lets get out of here," DJ said, "I'm sure we'll feel better once the challenge is over and we're back at the cabins."
"I hope so," Duncan groaned, "I'm starting to feel like shit... Like I have a fever or something, I don't know."
"Okay, just take it easy," DJ suggested, "one step at a time, alright?"
~o.0.o~
"So, any idea how to get out of here, Johnny?" Miri asked.
"None," Johnny sighed, "why're you askin' me? I thought you were the smart one."
Miri smiled a little, but shook her head.
"Be that as it may, I'm feeling a little disorientated," Miri admitted, "a maze might be nothing but a big puzzle, but... I'm having a hard time focusing. I thought maybe your tracking skills could help us out."
"Sorry," Johnny shrugged, removing his hat momentarily to wipe his forehead, "I'm having some difficulty keeping it together myself."
"No kiddin'," Lucky muttered, tugging at his collar, "are you holding up alright, sweetheart?"
"Oh, I'm fine," Sunny lied, forcing a smile, "just awesome, really. But I think we should probably speed our exit up a bit."
"I'll agree to that," Miri nodded, "I just-"
As Miri stepped forward, the floor suddenly sprung upward, launching her into the air.
"What the-" Sunny started, looking horrified, "MIRI!"
Miri flew over the wall to the right of them, where she made a rather hard landing.
"Miri! Are you alright?" Johnny asked, rushing over to the wall. When he reached it, it gave out a volt of electricity, shocking him badly. Johnny stumbled back, before slumping to the ground.
"Oh, shit!" Lucky exclaimed, "come on Johnny, talk to me."
Johnny let out a groan, and put a hand to his face.
"Okay, he's conscious," Sunny said, giving a sigh of relief, "we need to keep moving, but we can't just leave either of them!"
"Look, Johnny we can help, but we can't reach Miri," Lucky said.
"I guess you're right," Sunny sighed, "Johnny? Can you hear me?"
"...yeah," Johnny said after a while, "I... I guess."
Lucky and Sunny helped him to his feet, and he shook his head, still in a bit of a daze.
"Come on," he insisted, "we need to get out of here."
~o.0.o~
Cody and Gwen were walking through the maze together, beginning to get anxious.
"I have a really bad feeling about this," Gwen whispered, "I think I'm starting to see things."
"You too?" Cody asked, "I have been for a while now, but I didn't want to say anything."
"Let's just try to get out of here as quick as we can," Gwen said, "the season is already more than half way over. If we can just hold out til the end, maybe we can win this thing and put this crappy show behind us."
"I'm with you on that," Cody nodded, "I think we can do it, too. We've made the final three before, haven't we?"
"Yeah," Gwen nodded, "and this time, we don't have to deal with that witch."
At that moment, a figure rounded the corner.
Initially startled, Cody leapt back.
"WHO'S- oh, Quinn?" Cody blinked.
"You guys?" Quinn asked, looking a little annoyed.
"Yeah," Cody nodded, "I guess you're a bit lost, then?"
"Yeah, I guess," Quinn muttered, "it didn't help that I got shot with a damn laser, either."
"Wait, what?" Gwen asked.
Quinn turned to the side a little, showcasing a burn on her right shoulder.
"Chris isn't playing around," Cody gasped, more than a little shocked.
"No shit, really?" Quinn scoffed, "I totally thought having third degree burns was such a great fucking joke, it never occurred to me Chris could possibly be-"
"Okay, okay, you made your point," Gwen snapped, "lay off on Cody."
"Oh? And what are you gonna-" Quinn started.
"Guys, c'mon!" Cody interrupted, "Look, we should be working together, not going at each others throats!"
"...fine," Quinn sighed, "I'm... Sorry, Gwen. I hurt and I just want to get out of here."
"It's fine," Gwen shrugged, "lets just try to get along at least until the challenge is over."
CONFESSIONAL: GWENAt least she said sorry. It takes a lot to apologize.
CONFESSIONAL: QUINN
Whatever. I don't have anything against Gwen or her shadow. They'll have to go eventually, but right now my main concern is Geoff. He made a lot of friends by getting all that food, so he's going to be a huge threat. Problem is, I can't take him out now. Going around saying, "hey, vote out the guy who kept us from starving!" is going to raise a few red flags. But that doesn't mean I can't take out a few of his friends in the meantime until he becomes more vulnerable.
END CONFESSIONALS
The three walked together until Cody suddenly came to a halt.
"What is it?" Gwen asked.
Cody pushed a button, and suddenly a panel on the wall slide open, revealing the exit.
"Hey!" Cody exclaimed, "It's-"
"The way out, nice going," Quinn smirked, rushing past him.
"Hey!" Gwen shouted, "Wait up!"
Quinn headed through the open slot, and into the bunker where Chris was waiting.
"Congratulations, Quinn!" He announced, "As the first person out, you win immunity!"
Cody and Gwen entered the room shortly after, the latter looking immensely displeased.
"What was THAT?" Gwen demanded.
"Oh, come on," Quinn scoffed, "ONE of us had to win. What was I supposed to do, just roll over and let one of you get immunity?"
"I- fine, whatever," Gwen grumbled, "I guess you have a point."
"You threw can go back to the cabins," Chris said, "or wait around for everyone else to get back. Either way, I don't care."
~o.0.o~
Minutes turned into hours as one by one the contestants began to exit the maze. Geoff and Courtney were first, soon followed by Johnny and his group. Miri arrived a while after them, with DJ and Duncan coming in last. The campers all went back to the cabins, as instructed, and began to plan for that nights elimination ceremony.
~o.0.o~
"Okay, guys, I know you need some rest after today, so I'll make this quick," Chris announced.
"No kidding!" Gwen shouted, "Why would you send us in there?"
"You all signed contracts," Chris shrugged, "anyway, first marshmallow goes to Quinn, since she has immunity.
Duncan.
Lucky.
Sunny.
Cody.
Johnny.
Gwen.
Geoff... And Miri.
Courtney and DJ, it's down to you. And the last marshmallow of the night goes to...
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"DJ!"
"Oh no," Courtney groaned.
"Courtney, the boat of losers awaits," Chris announced.
"Okay, just let me say goodbye to Geoff first," Courtney muttered sadly.
As Courtney said her goodbyes, the other contestants began to walk back to camp. Quinn, a smile on her face, approached Miri, Johnny, and Lucky.
"Good to know I could count on you guys," Quinn smirked, "it's about time we evened the odds. The veterans would have picked us off one by one."
"Maybe," Johnny muttered, hands in his pockets.
"It certainly was well within the realm of possibility," Miri admitted, "although Courtney was a nice girl."
"Who tried to vote me out," Lucky scoffed, "I say she had it coming ever since she sided with Vevo and Lance that night."
"It's a good thing everyone else couldn't agree on who to vote off," Quinn continued, "otherwise we couldn't have pulled that off. Well, I'm off to bed- goodnight, guys."
With that, Quinn disappeared into her cabin.
"You sure we can trust her?" Johnny asked Lucky and Miri.
"Probably," Lucky shrugged, "she hasn't lied to me so far."
"I guess not,"Johnny muttered, "just be careful."
"Of course," Lucky muttered, "look, I'm gonna go lie down. I'm still feeling a bit sick from earlier."
"Of course," Johnny nodded, "go get some rest."
After Lucky was gone, Miri sighed.
"What do you think?" She asked.
"Honestly?"Johnny frowned, "I don't know. Quinn isn't known for her willingness to get along."
"True, but she did bring up some good points," Miri admitted, "now the number of old and new competitors is even."
"I guess," Johnny shrugged, "but I think we should avoid working with her again if possible."
~o.0.o~
Later that night, Chris was whistling as he let himself into his cabin.
"Funny," he said to himself, " could have sworn I locked the door."
Chris walked inside, and then froze up when he saw the silhouette standing in the bedroom doorway.
"What the hell...?"
(A/N: I wasn't planning on leaving an authors note anytime soon, however I have found myself having a bit of trouble. Usually I'm very good at planning ahead when it comes to his series, but this time I find myself having trouble picking finalists. So I figured I'd ask- if you could pick any two or three competitors to be in the finals, who would they be? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!)