(A/N: Well, and this is where shit officially hits the fan. Or, rather, the moments leading up to the shit hitting said fan. This story is drawing near to its completion, and I gotta say, this was incredibly fun to write in comparison to the rest of the series. Granted, I had a good time writing Overload with all the twists and turns, but taking the series to a new place with a darker tone and new competitors was a breath of fresh air. This seems like a rant best saved for the finale, but the point is, this has been fun, and the next few chapters are gonna be huge. Granted, so is this chapter- and I think you'll see why once you hit the ending.
Also, I'm a bit afraid to ask this, but I gotta know- now that you've had time to form opinions on them- an entire year, thanks to my incredibly sporadic updating schedule- who are your favorite OC's? I know what most of you are thinking: "Oh, typical. The insecure fanfiction author is fishing for compliments, LAME." But the only reason I'm asking is that I've had three seasons with the canon competitors, so by now, I'm pretty familiar with which of those guys you all like. As for OC's, I'm still not sure-and while I have a nearly finalized cast list for my final season, I'm there are still a few roles I haven't assigned yet. I know who the antagonist is, I know what surprise couple is going to hook up, and I know a certain unstable redhead who's eager to be back in the game. But there's still a few characters who I'm debating giving a main role, but aren't entirely sure yet. Anyway, I'm just hoping for some feedback, is all. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I hope the next one will be out sometime this year. :p)
Lucky and Johnny were sitting on the beach, looking out at the water.
"So," Lucky sighed, "am I still public enemy number one?"
"It's not that bad," Johnny told him, "I mean, Gwen and Quinn want to tear you a new one, but Duncan and DJ understand what you did. They don't approve, but they know it was a hard choice. Not that I approve, either."
"Yeah, I know," Lucky muttered, "you've told me eighty times now that I made a mistake- I get it. Didn't you hear Sunny? I don't understand morality, apparently."
Johnny shook his head.
"Listen," he said, "we all make mistakes. But at least you were trying to do the right thing. I guess that counts for somethin'."
The two sat in silence for a while before Johnny asked, "So what now?"
"I don't know. I guess maybe I'll see if I can reason with Quinn. Gwen... Well, she's going to have to be dealt with too. Hopefully I can just talk her down, but..."
"I don't think she'll be wantin' to talk," Johnny shrugged, "but you'll do what you have to."
"Yeah, well, I'm tired. Whatever I have to do, I'll do it tomorrow," Lucky yawned.
"Alright," Johnny nodded, "you go get some rest. I'm going to stay out here and keep watch."
"Alright, I- wait a second, keep watch for what?"
"Probably nothin'," Johnny shrugged, "don't worry about it."
"Probably nothing, don't worry about- Johnny, usually when anyone says that, there IS something to worry about," Lucky frowned.
"Fair enough," Johnny agreed, "look, we'll talk later. Just go get some sleep for now, it's been a long couple of days."
"Alright, fine. Goodnight," Lucky said before heading toward the cabins.
Johnny waited until Lucky was gone before he gave a sigh, and scanned the shoreline. What happened the other day confirmed his worst fears: they weren't alone on the island.
~o.0.o~
Gwen sat on her bed, her face in her hands.
"Hey," Sunny said, sitting across from her, "I'm sorry about Cody."
"Yeah, thanks," Gwen sighed unenthusiastically.
"I... Wouldn't worry about it, though. You'll get to see each other once the show is over, right?" Sunny said, forcing a smile.
"You don't get it," Gwen muttered, "there's something going on here. Something messed up. And Cody was helping me get through it. Now that he's gone, I don't know what to do."
"Wait it out, I guess," Sunny shrugged, "the game won't be going for much longer."
Gwen stared at the wall, fidgeting around slightly.
"A lot of empty beds around here," Gwen commented.
"Yeah," Sunny agreed somewhat darkly, "and there are gonna be two more soon enough."
"I need to be alone," Gwen muttered, getting to her feet. Before Sunny could reply, Gwen had already stormed outside.
"Awesome," Sunny sighed, leaning back in her bed. Through the window, she could make out Gwen staring at the night sky- as well as Lucky heading back to his cabin.
"He's got to go," she muttered to herself, "I can't believe I fell for him."
With that, she switched off the light, and laid back in bed. Just as she was drifting asleep, she smelt something funny in the air. Sunny got to her feet, and scanned the room.
"Ugh," she grumbled, "did a SKUNK wander in here or some...thing..."
There was a loud thump as Sunny fell to the floor, unconscious. Hearing the noise, Gwen poked her head in.
"Sunny? Are you-?"
It didn't take long for Gwen to pass out as well. The guys also had the same experience in their cabin, and before long, all the competitors were knocked out.
Chris, who had watched it all happen from his cabin, smiled.
"Good," he said, "I can... Get them all away from here. At least for a little while. Long enough for me to finish."
"You've decided then?" VIA asked.
"Oh, I've decided," Chris laughed, "what's the ony rational thing to do if an island like this is getting unstable? JUST GET RID OF THE ISLAND!"
With that, Chris broke out into a round of hysterics. An onlooker would have no way of telling whether the man was laughing or crying- or both.
"Over...soon..." He choked out between breaths, "all over!"
~o.0.o~
"Ugh, crap," Duncan groaned, stretching out, "I feel like I got hit by a- WHERE THE HELL ARE WE?"
"Duncan?" DJ yawned, "what's WHY ARE WE IN THE WOODS?"
As Duncan and DJ got to their feet, the other five campers who were laying nearby began to wake up.
"Great," Lucky muttered, "this hasn't happened to me since I moved out of this city."
"This ain't Specter Islands," Johnny said, rubbing his neck, "the trees are all different. Chris musta brought us somewhere else."
"Actually," Gwen said, "this place seems kind of familiar."
"You know, you're right," Duncan agreed, "but I can't-"
"Actually, I think this is Boney Island," DJ gulped.
"What?" Duncan asked, "Don't be ridiculous, it would take a day by boat- oh crap, how long have we been out?"
"About a day," DJ muttered, checking his watch, "Chris must have hit us with something strong."
"Great," Quinn scoffed, "so what now?"
"Now, you need to find a way off the island," a voice answered.
The campers spun around, an saw a radio lying nearby.
"Chris?" DJ asked.
"Good deduction skills, Sherlock," the host snarled back, "any thing else that's blatantly obvious you want to point out?"
"No, but I want to know where we are and what we're doing here," Duncan snapped.
"DJ got it right. You're on Boney Island," Chris answered, "Remember how Wawankwa became radioactive? Well, the radiation seeped it's way through the water and affected the wildlife here, making it that much more deadly. As for why you're here, well, it's a challenge. I dropped you off in the dead center of the island. Your job is to make it to the boat that's waiting by the eastern coast."
"That's our challenge?" Gwen asked.
"Yeah, and it doesn't end there," Chris continued, "it's instant death, meaning the last person to make it to the boat is instantly eliminated."
The competitors each looked at each other nervously.
"Get going," Chris instructed, "and try not to die. The predators here were known to hunt large prey even BEFORE they mutated. McLean out."
"Crap," Gwen muttered, "well, maybe we should think about working together-"
"Sorry, I work alone," Quinn said before taking off.
"Look, DJ and I work as a team," Duncan shrugged, "more people would just make it easier for predators to find us."
"Sorry Gwen," DJ sighed as the two walked off.
"I'll work with you, Gwen," Sunny offered.
"Thanks," Gwen smiled, "I think staying in a group would be best. What about- where'd Lucky go?"
"Wandered off," Johnny shrugged, "I think he figured he was unwelcome around you two."
"He wasn't wrong," Sunny muttered.
"Whatever. You in, Johnny?" Gwen asked.
"Yeah, alright," Johnnny nodded, "I mean, this is an easy one. All we need is a little wilderness know-how."
"Okay," Gwen nodded, "in that case, let's get started. You want to lead the way?"
"Sure," Johny agreed, "follow me."
~o.0.o~
"Huh. I never thought I'd be back here again," Duncan commented as he and DJ made their way through the woods, "granted I didn't think I'd be a part of this show again after last season either, but whatever."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," DJ agreed, "so, hey. Do you think we'll be able to make it much farther in the game?"
"I don't see why not," Duncan shrugged, "I mean, we've outlasted twenty people so far, what's five more?"
"Easy for you to say," DJ said, "you've made it to the merge twice."
"Yeah, but I got eliminate pretty shortly after both times," Duncan added, "we'll be fine. We just have to keep our heads in the game."
"I guess. Hey Duncan, thanks for sticking by me man. It means a lot."
"Don't mention it," Duncan shrugged, "let's just- did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" DJ asked.
The two froze in place, listening to their surroundings intently.
"I guess it was nothing," Duncan sighed, "let's just keep going."
~o.0.o~
Quinn was speeding through the forest, her mind racing. Options. She needed options. There were six other players left in the game. She was confident she could outperform most of them for today's challenge and win a spot in the final six, but after that she wasn't sure. She did still have one treasure chest, but that was a one time deal. After she used it, she was a vulnerable as everyone else. She figured a double-elimination would be a risky way to use the chest, but it could pay off. If she won immunity in the next challenge, and there was a double-elimination, that would mean an instant spot in the final four. And even then... Who would she take with her?
Johnny was obviously a no, as was Duncan. They were too strong as competitors. Sunny, as much as Quinn hated her and wanted her gone, was relatively harmless challenge wise, and could probably be easily beaten in the finals. Lucky needed to be taken down, no two ways about it. As for Gwen, well-
"Hey, Quinn," a voice called, "hang on a second."
Quinn turned, and saw Lucky walking towards her.
"You've got to be kidding me," she hissed.
"Look, I know you're not happy with how things turned out last elimination-" he began.
"That's an understatement," Quinn snapped, "save your breath, asshole. You're a deadman. You should be thankful I have bigger fish to fry right now, or I'd personally make sure you couldn't cross the finish line."
"Will you just calm down and listen to me?" Lucky asked, "what's done is done. We're both still here, and I'm sure we could-"
"Yeah, you know what? I don't trust anything you say," Quinn scoffed.
"You know what?" Lucky demanded, "Get. The fuck. Over yourself. I don't know what you expected to happen, but believe it or not, I didn't lie to you. I didn't promise to vote off Sunny. I told you it wouldn't happen. You're just a little girl throwing a hissy fit because she didn't get what she wanted."
"Fuck you!" Quinn shouted.
"Yeah, fuck me alright," Lucky nodded, "I tried to do the right thing by protecting you, giving you a chance. I thought maybe you could turn yourself around. I thought that because that's all I ever wanted to do. But you? You don't want that, do you? You just want to keep hurting people because you like the feeling it gives you. And you're so far Ito that mentality you've found a way to justify it to yourself completely. So yeah, fuck me. But you know what? You'll get yours. That's the thing about people like you. You're so eager to cause problems, you don't think about how they'll eventually come back to you."
Lucky began to walk off, but Quinn just smiled.
"Kind of like Veronica, right?" She asked.
Lucky stopped.
"You... That was you who got her thrown off?" Lucky asked.
"Oh yeah," Quinn nodded, "funny thing is it wasn't even supposed to be her going home that night."
"You rigged the votes?" Lucky demanded, "Why would- what did Veronica ever do to you?"
"Wasnt about her," Quinn shrugged, "it was about sending a message to Sunny. I think you'll start to find I have a habit of getting my way."
Lucky shook his head.
"You," he said, "you just wait, you fink."
"You're the one who gets to wait," Quinn told him, "I'll be coming for you soon. You're in awfully hot water with, well, pretty much everyone right now. It'll be easy getting rid of you. Right now, I've got to take care of someone else- the hunter is going to be hunted."
"J...Johnny!" Lucky exclaimed, but Quinn had already disappeared into the wilderness.
Lucky clenched his fists. So, her plan was to find a way to take Johnny down without having to vote him off. She was probably looking for a good way to trap or ambush him, to injure or stall him long enough so he couldn't make the finish in time.
"No, not happening," Lucky said, "I should have sent you home when I had the chance."
Lucky tore through the forest, keeping an eye out. He had to find Johnny before Quinn did.
~o.0.o~
Duncan and DJ continued to make their way through the forest, the former constantly looking over his shoulder and stopping now and then to listen intently.
"Are you okay, man?" DJ asked.
"I have no idea," Duncan responded, "don't you feel like we're being followed?"
"Well, the camera crew-"
"I'm not talking about the camera crew," Duncan sighed, "no, I can't shake the feeling something is stalking us."
"Stalking us?" DJ gulped, "Do you really think...?"
"I don't know, maybe I'm being paranoid," Duncan reasoned, "but Chris did say there were a lot of dangerous animals here."
"Thanks for reminding me," DJ shuddered.
"Besides, whatever's stalking us would have to be really intelligent to be as quiet and sneaky as it is-"
"Dude! Not helping!" DJ exclaimed.
"Sorry," Duncan smirked.
"Yeah, it- wait, you were doing that on purpose!" DJ frowned.
"Loosen up," Duncan said, "I'm just trying to have some fun."
"Well this isn't a good time to make jokes," DJ huffed.
"Oh relax," Duncan smiled, "I mean, all we have to do is find the boat, and then we're one step closer to the finals. How hard can it be?"
"DON'T SAY THAT!" DJ exclaimed, "You never say stuff like that, man! that's when everything goes wrong!"
"Chill out," Duncan said, "I was just-"
Duncan stopped talking when a shadowy figure peered out of the trees, staring at the two intently.
"D-DJ?" Duncan choked out, "What-"
"RUN!" DJ shouted, sprinting off ahead.
Duncan watched DJ run off, and then turned his sights on the figure. The figure took a step forward, and held out an arm towards Duncan.
"Nope, no way!" Duncan shouted before running off.
"W-wait!" The figure called, running out into the open, "You dropped your knife!"
~o.0.o~
Lucky made his way through the woods, growing more and more frustrated. He couldn't find a trace of ANYONE. He couldn't help Johnny if he didn't know where he was, and to be honest, traipsing through an unfamiliar forest alone wasn't on his list of fun ways to pass the time.
Eventually, he came to a large gap in the island, connected only by a single, rickety wooden bridge. The only other way across was to take a long detour around, but that would take too much time.
"Across the bridge of death it is, then," Lucky sighed before hesitantly walking forward. He placed a foot down on the bridge, which creaked alarmingly, but held firm.
"Okay, easy does it," Lucky said before cautiously making his way across. When he was about halfway, Quinn appeared on the other side of the bridge, looking smug.
"Quinn?" Lucky frowned, "What- oh shit!"
As Lucky turned and hurried back, Quinn pulled out a razor blade, and sliced one rope holding the bridge in place- and then the other. As the last cord snapped, Lucky was able to grab on to one of the planks just in time to find himself dangling precariously above the ground.
"Quinn, this isn't funny!" Lucky shouted, "I could die here!"
"Oh please, don't be a baby," She smirked, "you won't die. Your legs probably won't work again, and you'll probably break a few ribs, but you'll live. Isn't this great? You ran straight into my trap."
"Trap?" Lucky asked.
"I knew you'd come for me after I threatened Johnny," she explained, "so I figured, what the hell, just take out the both of you. I knew this would make for a perfect ambush, so I waited for you to come along, and, well, here you are."
"You really are a bitch, you know that?" Lucky asked.
"Yeah, but I'm about to be a bitch with a million dollars honey, so I think I can live with it," Quinn smiled, "well, I've got work to do. Hell, maybe you can hang on until rescue comes, but I'll be long gone by then. So will Johnny. Toodles."
Quinn blew a kiss, and then disappeared into the woods. Lucky, who's arms were beginning to grow sore, let out a groan. This was it for him, he realized. He came all this way, beat twenty other people for nothing.
"No," he groaned, "not like this."
Lucky reached up, and grabbed the wooden board above him. Then the next one, and the next one. It was deceptively hard work, and it wasn't long before he found himself, about to give out.
"Come on," he told himself, "not much- SHIT!"
One of two ropes holding the bridge in place snapped, leaving him hanging by a thread.
"Fuck my life," He sighed just before the final rope snapped.
It took a full second for Lucky to fully register that he was falling. As soon as he saw the ground below, his heart skipped a beat.
"SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-"
Impact. The light in Lucky's head instantly went out, the force of the landing knocking him unconscious immediately. Quinn, who had been watching from above, took a deep breath. Maybe she had gone too far.
"...fuck him," she said before walking off.
~o.0.o~
"You think we lost it?" DJ panted.
"Beats me man," Duncan shrugged, "let me catch my breath."
The two sat on the ground, in the cover of a massive oak tree.
"Dude, that was weird," Duncan said, "I could swear that thing called out to me as I was running away- I think it wanted something!"
"Yeah, to KILL us!" DJ exclaimed.
"Maybe," Duncan agreed, "still, I'm curi- there it is again!"
Duncan pointed to a nearby tree, where what looked like a human could just barely be seen lurking nearby.
"Let's move, man!" DJ shouted.
"DJ, wait! That looks like a person! Why don't we just see who it is?" Duncan asked.
"I- I-" DJ stammered.
"Hey, you!" Duncan called, "What's your name?"
The figure stepped forward into the light. It was certainly human looking, with a somewhat chubby build, curly brown hair, and sharpened fangs.
"That's not a person! Lets go!" DJ shouted. Before Duncan could protest, DJ grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away.
~o.0.o~
"Okay, we've been walking for a while now," Gwen sighed, "any idea where we are?"
"Well, we're near berries or some sort of edible plant life," Johnny informed her, "there are plenty of tracks here, meaning a lot of animal activity in the area. Since these tracks look to be deer, it's a safe bet there's food nearby."
"Smart," Gwen nodded, "gotta hand it to you Johnny, I'm impressed."
"Thanks, but it's nothing special," he shrugged, "not where I'm from anyway. I was expected to learn this sort of thing growing up. Wait, hold on a second."
"What's up?" Gwen asked.
Johnny knelt down to the ground.
"Footprints," he murmured, "almost human, but not quite... these haven't been here too long, maybe half an hour or so."
"What do you mean not quite human?" Gwen asked.
"It's weird," Johnny explained, "there are nail marks here, which is odd enough or a human footprint, but the markings are animal like in nature. They're the kind of nails you'd see on a dog."
"I... What? How is that even possible?" Gwen asked.
"I've seen all sorts of things," Johnny told her, "but assuming it's real, and not some sort of joke or prop, I'm not sure. The tracks are also a lot bigger than a person's would be, and-"
"Um, maybe we should get out of here instead of standing around talking about it," Sunny suggested, "I'm not sure I want to meet whatever these things are."
"Good idea," Gwen agreed, "Johnny, we should go."
Johnny nodded, and got to his feet.
"Now lets find that boat," Sunny smiled.
~o.0.o~
"Oh, crap," Lucky groaned, "what happened?"
Lucky slowly opened his eyes, and took in his surroundings. He was lying in an empty field, with no signs of life anywhere.
"What the- what happened?" He frowned, looking around, "Hello?"
Lucky got to his feet, beginning to panic.
"Hello?" He called again, louder, "Anyone out there?"
Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light, and a figure in a white cloak. appeared in front of him.
"I- what the fuck, Q from Star Trek?" Lucky gasped.
"Yes, I've been awaiting for you for a while," Q responded, "I'm afraid you didn't survive the fall."
"I... Wha..."
There was another flash of light, brighter this time. When Lucky could see again, instead of Q standing before him, it was a peculiar looking triangle with a single eye, a bow tie, and a top hat.
"Nah, I'm just pulling your chain Lucky," the triangle laughed, "my name's Bill!"
"Wait, then I'm not-"
"Dead?" Bill finished, "Nope, not yet anyway! Ha ha! You're unconscious!"
"And... It's normal for unconscious people to talk to triangles in their sleep?" Lucky asked.
"Probably not, you should see a therapist if you ever manage to wake up!" Bill responded in an unnervingly cheerful tone of voice, "You probably won't though. You're gonna die here!"
"I'm glad you're so cheerful about that," Lucky muttered.
"Yeah, for some reason, something about you just compels me to hate you with every fiber of my being!" Bill responded, "Well, it's been a blast, but I really need to go!"
"Wait, you can't leave me!" Lucky shouted, "What the hell is going on?"
"Hey, it's your dream sequence, you tell me!" Bill said, "But seriously though, I've got matters to attend to back in Oregon. Just remember kid: stock up on chocolate, and try not to be on the island in about four days! Bye!"
"Hey, wait!" Lucky shouted, but in a flash the triangle was gone. Lucky let out a sigh, and stared at the area where Bill had been previously.
"Huh," Lucky frowned, "weird. I think I have cousins or something in Oregon. Whatever, if this is a dream, it's time to wake up."
Lucky closed his eyes, but nothing happened.
"...waking up now," Lucky said aloud.
Still nothing.
"Fuuuuuuuuu-"
~o.0.o~
"This place is giving me the creeps," Duncan groaned, "we need to get the hell out of here."
"I hear that," DJ nodded, "the sooner we get on that boat the better. Man, I never thought I'd say this, but I'm looking forward to being back on- wait, no I'm not."
"So, DJ. Been meaning to ask, what are you going to do with the money if you win?" Duncan asked.
"Well, I don't know," DJ answered, "I know what I'd LIKE to do. I'd want to open up a pet store. We'd have lots of toys, the best food, and maybe a grooming station!"
"I figured," Duncan smiled, "that, or a pet shelter."
DJ let out a sigh.
"Don't get me wrong, I like volunteering, and I'd definitely kick some money their way help out, but to be honest, working at the shelters lately has bummed me out," DJ admittedly
"Why's that?"
"I don't know. I guess just knowing that I can't help every animal we get," DJ sighed, "you know. Some get sick and pass on, some never find a home, and some are too sick to help. I feel bad I can't do more. It might spun like the selfish thing to do, but... It'd be nicer on the flip side. Working with animals that are happy and have happy homes."
"Hey man, you've already done more to help than most people, and you need to make a living somehow," Duncan told him, "no shame in that."
"I guess not. What about you?"
"Me? Like I said, I'd donate a lot of it for that program I volunteer at. The rest of it I'd probably blow in a week an end up back here trying to win more money."
"Heh. You don't think there'll actually be another season, do you?"
"God I hope not. Hey, what's that over there?"
Duncan gestured to a large structure in the distance.
"That's a good question," DJ gulped, "we should probably stay back-"
"Oh no," Duncan snapped, "you can if you want, but I need to figure out what the hell is going on here."
"...fine," DJ sighed, "lets just make this quick okay?"
The two marched onward. The closer they got, the clearer it became/ what they were swing was someone's camp. It was pretty rushed and made out of logs and branches, but when the two got closer, they could make out a single entryway. When the two reached the makeshift shack, they stopped and stared at each other.
"Who should check inside?" DJ asked.
"Rock Paper Scissors?" Duncan said, grinning sheepishly.
"Okay, fine," DJ agreed.
The two held up their hands.
"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" The two chanted.
"Paper!" DJ exclaimed.
"Scissors!" Duncan called.
"Damn it," DJ groaned.
"Sorry man," Duncan smiled, "you're up."
"Okay, but if something grabs me, you pull me out, alright?" DJ instructed Duncan, "Well, here goes."
DJ approached the shack, and poked his head inside- only to back out a second later.
"Empty," he called, "except for a sleeping bag."
"Sleeping bag?" Duncan frowned, "This is getting stranger and stranger. Who'd set up a camp here?"
"Beats me," DJ shrugged, "but we should get out of here before they come back."
"Alright," Duncan agreed, "lets bail."
Just as Duncan turned around, something pounced on top of him and pinned him to the ground.
"Duncan!" DJ shouted. Duncan looked over, and saw DJ was being dragged away by something similar.
Duncan struggled to get the beast off of him- it looked like some sort of wolf, but he couldn't be sure.
"Get... Off!" Duncan shouted, finally managing to throw the animal off of him.
Duncan immediately ran over to DJ, and kicked the creature that had been carrying him away. The beast released it's grip long enough for DJ to get to his feet.
"Come on!" Duncan shouted, "Let's go!"
As the two started running, more of the wolves had arrived on the scene, and started giving pursuit.
"Crap, man! What now?" DJ asked.
"I have no idea!" Duncan groaned.
"Wait a second, see that tree over there?" DJ asked, pointing to a huge oak with massive branches, "Try to get on!"
Duncan nodded, and as soon as the two were close enough, they jumped up, grabbed on to one of the branches, and hoisted themselves up just in time.
"Nice!" Duncan smiled, "We got awa- sigh, never mind."
The pack of wolves was waiting directly under them, circling the tree and looking for a way to get to the two.
"Looks like we're gonna be here a while," DJ muttered.
~o.0.o~
Lucky was walking through the empty field, growing more and more desperate with each step. For a dream, he was having an awfully hard time waking up.
What threw Lucky off more was when he spotted a small object laying on the ground nearby. Frowning, Lucky hurried over to it.
"What the hell...?"
Laying on the ground was a rusty hatchet. Lucky eyed it cautiously for a minute. Before leaning down and picking it up. As soon as he made contact with it, the scene shifted from an empty meadow to a run down cabin in the middle of the woods.
"Wait a second," Lucky thought, "thats... That's the cabin from Evil Dead!"
Hatchet still in hand, Lucky crept up to the door, and tried to open it. Locked. Lucky crept around to the other side, and peered through a window. Inside, he could make out a child sitting alone on a bed, reading a comic book.
"Wow, what do you know, your childhood!" Bill laughed, suddenly appearing next to Lucky, "Weird! I thought he died in a fire!"
"You again?" Lucky asked, "What the hell is going on here?"
"Isn't it obvious? You came here to beat your evil alternate personality! ...No, wait, that's the other one, you haven't met him yet."
Lucky peered in through the widow, an gasped. Upon closer inspection, it really was him- as a child, anyway.
"This... This is fucking weird," Lucky stammered, "I really am going to need therapy after this-"
All of a sudden, the young Lucky let out a scream, and his room burst into flames.
"Now that's more like it! Ha ha!" Bill laughed.
"What the? Hey! Get out of there!" Lucky shouted.
Lucky tried to open the window, but it wouldn't budge- then he realized he was holding a hatchet. Lucky used it to smash up the window, and then he hoisted himself inside. He fought his way over to the bed, but to his surprise, it was empty when he got there. Not wanting to stick around, Lucky turned and headed back toward the window, only to find it boarded up. He tried in vain to chop through it, but eventually dropped his hatchet and started pounding on the widow.
"HELP!" He called out, "Hel..."
Lucky tried to keep shouting, but the words wouldn't form. He was helpless to watch as the flames grew closer and closer, and the sound of Bill's laughing echoed throughout the room.
As Lucky continued to bang on the window, his teeth began to fall out one by one, and he began to burn up.
No, he thought, no no no no no no no no-
~o.0.o~
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Lucky jolted upright, sweating and gasping for air.
"Fu... Fuck!" He shouted, looking around wildly.
Well, he was awake now. That much was very obvious. But that didn't make the fear he felt dissipate any faster.
"Holy shit," he sighed, "I... What the hell?"
Lucky tried to get to his feet, and winced. Oh, right. He forgot. Quinn had dropped him down a gorge. Lucky looked down, and examined his injuries. He felt like had a couple of ribs broken, and his ankle wasn't looking too good either. There was, of course, a plethora of cuts and bruises, but they weren't a concern right now. Taking a deep breath, Lucky forced himself to stand up, and then take a moment to thank whatever gave him the good fortune to still have functional limbs.
"I need to find a way back up," Lucky thought, "and then I need to find Quinn."
Lucky glanced around, looking for an easy way up. No dice. He'd have to climb. Which, with his injuries, just wasn't going to work.
"Great," he groaned, dropping to the ground, "looks like I'm stuck... Here... The hell?"
In he distance, Lucky could just barely make out the figure of another person gesturing to him. Lucky got to his feet and limped over, but by the time he arrived there, the figure was gone.
"Okay, that was- huh. Wow."
There was a ladder resting against the cliff nearby, apparently left there by whoever Lucky had seen earlier. That would make things easier. Still painful, but easier. Lucky took a deep breath, and started to climb.
"Okay, time to finish this."
~o.0.o~
DJ and Duncan were still up in their tree, holding on for dear life.
"We've been up here for half an hour now," DJ groaned, "why won't they just leave?"
"They must really be hungry," Duncan sighed, "look, DJ, we're gonna have to make a break for it."
"What? Are you crazy?"
"Well, they aren't going to get bored and wander off."
"Well I'm not gonna go down there, they'll kill us!"
"Oh, relax. The boat isn't that far anyway-"
"How do you knows here the boat-"
Amidst the arguing, the wolves suddenly turned their attention away from The two, and stared off into the distance, their ears perked up.
The leader of the pack let out a single bark, and then charged off, the others soon following behind.
"-and you know what?," DJ continued, "I'm not going to- wait a second, where are they all going?"
"Hey, they're leaving!" Duncan exclaimed, "Quick, now's our chance!"
The two dropped down from the tree, and charged off. After a few minutes of running, they finally exited the forest, and the boat came into view.
"There it is!" DJ exclaimed, "let's go!"
The two ran up to the boat, where one of Chris' interns was waiting.
"Congratulations," he said , "you guys are the first two back."
"Yes!" Duncan exclaimed, "Final six, here we are!"
"Nice!" DJ grinned.
The two high fives, and then headed on to the boat.
~o.0.o~
"We're gettin' closer to the beach, I think," Johnny announced to his group, "hopefully we ain't the last ones there, but we might want to speed things up a bit to be safe."
"Good idea," Gwen nodded, "come on, let's pick up the pace a bit."
The three started to run through the woods, drawing closer and closer to the exit.
"There it is!" Sunny exclaimed, "Come on!"
All of a sudden, a giant log swung out from the side, about to ram into each of the contestants- until Lucky leapt out and talked them to the ground.
"Hey!" Sunny exclaimed, "What giv-"
She stopped as the log swung past a few more times, and then harmlessly drifted in place.
"Lucky?" Johnny asked, "What's going on?"
"It's Quinn," Lucky explained, "she's lost it this time. She's gunning for you, setting up traps and all that to take you out of the game."
The four got to their feet, and dusted themselves off.
"Then thanks for the save," Johnny said, "but what happened to you? You look pretty beat up."
"Long story," Lucky sighed, "I sort of plummeted down a gorge, then there was a fire and a triangle man, and now I'm here. So yeah."
"You know what?" Johnny asked, "That makes about as much sense as anything else this season. So what's the plan?"
"You guys head to the boat," Lucky advised, "I'll go handle Quinn."
"Oh please, he's probably working with her!" Sunny scoffed.
"Okay, you know what?" Lucky snapped, "Sunny, I'm sorry you feel hurt, I really am. But f I was working with Quinn, I wouldn't have sard you just them. Hell, either way I could have watched you guys get taken out, ten been on my merry way to immunity. And maybe you're justified in not trusting me, but please, you need to believe me on this."
"I... I'm sorry," Sunny sighed, "you're trying to make up for things, and I'm not making it easy on you, am I? I... I trust you. Are we... Still friends?"
"Yeah," Lucky nodded, "still friends. Now come on, you guys need to get going. Johnny, you can spot her traps, right?"
"Course I can, now that I know to look," Johnny nodded, "don't worry about us. just take care of yourself, okay?"
"Don't worry about me," Lucky smiled, "I'll see you in the final six."
Johnny watched as Lucky disappeared into the woods, and then turned to his group.
"Okay," he said, "let's get goin'."
~o.0.o~
Quinn was sitting in a tree, rigging another log trap when Lucky appeared.
"Hey Quinn," he called, "miss me?"
"What?" She demanded, "Aren't you supposed to be in a hole bleeding to death?"
"It's over, Quinn," Lucky told her, "I told Johnny about all the traps, he knows what to look for. You aren't going to be able to eliminate him."
"Damn it!" Quinn hissed, "well, if I can't get Johnny, that leaves you."
Quinn adjusted the log trap, and then released it. The log swung towards Lucky, who got out of the way just in time.
"Don't get too excited," Quinn snapped, "I've got plenty more to- shit!"
Because of the way the log was angle, when it swung back, it slammed into the tree at an incredibly powerful enough to make Quinn loose her balance and fall to the ground.
"I said it's over!" Lucky exclaimed, "You lost!"
As Quinn got to her feet, Lucky began to walk away.
"Oh no you don't!" She shouted.
Quinn charged forward and tackled Lucky, pushing him to the ground. To their mutual surprise, however, the ground gave way, revealing that a pitfall had been dug there. The two screamed as they plummeted into the darkness below- an then everything was silent.
~o.0.o~
The other five competitors were waiting impatiently at the boat, eyes fixed on the horizon.
"What's taking him so long?" Sunny asked, "Hurry up and get back here, Lucky!"
At last, a figure emerged from the woods.
"There!" DJ pointed, "He's over there!"
"Wait a second, that's not Lucky," Sunny groaned. Everyone's faces dropped when Quinn limped up to the boat, a triumphant smile on her face.
"Hey kids," she greeted, "sorry to keep you waiting."
"Well, it looks like Lucky is out of the game," Chris' Intern announced, "come on, let's get going."
"Hold on a sec," Johnny interrupted, "we have to get Lucky!"
All of a sudden, Chris' voice came on the radio.
"Actually," the host said, "one of the penalties for losing the challenge is being left stranded here. Lucky isn't coming with you guys."
"You bastard," Sunny exclaimed, "You can't just leave him here!"
"I can and will," Chris told her, "and if anyone has anything to say about it, you can just stay on the island with him."
Everyone fell silent.
"Good," Chris said," now hurry back, I've got some amazing things planned."
"Shit," Johnny muttered, "I can believe we're actually going to leave him here."
"Chris will send an intern to pick him up, right?" Gwen asked.
"Probably," the host shrugged, "all aboard!"
Everyone got into the boat, but Johnny hesitated and looked back at the island.
"Be safe man," he said before disappearing inside.
~o.0.o~
"Ugh... What happened?" Lucky groaned.
When Lucky opened his eyes, he was surprised to find that his injuries were bandaged, and that he was now lying on a cot of some sort.
"What the- hello?" He called out.
"Oh, you're awake!" A voice called out.
Lucky gasped when a shadowy figure stepped into view.
"Sorry about that, looks like you fell into one of our traps," the figure chuckled, "but we managed to fix you up okay. My name's Mike."
The figure stepped into the light, an Lucky got a clearer look. He was tall, with tan skin, raggedy black hair, and yellow eyes.
"Shit, this has to be another dream," Lucky groaned, "No dice, Bill!"
"Bill?" Mike asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, is he awake?" A red headed girl asked, appearing next to Mike, "Uh, hey, sorry about all that. Are you okay?"
"Guys!" Another voice piped in, "Give him some room! Can't you see his Aura? He's terrified!"
Another figure stepped into view, and then another, and then another. There was somewhere near a dozen, all talking at once and making just about no sense. Eventually, Lucky sat up straight, and cleared his throat.
"Okay," he started, "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU PEOPLE?"
(A/N: And so ends the chapter. What did you guys think? I wanted to try some thing different this time, and I think it turned out okay. This chapter also doubles into a back door for a spin off I had been planning for some time involving the TDROTI teens and how they got to where they are now. So far I don't have any release date, but it should be up soon. Also, I'm not sure if any of you have ever studied sleep psychology, but I'm curious to see if anyone knows what losing your voice/teeth supposedly symbolizes in a dream. No, that wasn't something random I just threw in, they're both supposed to mean something I thought would be apropos. Anyway, final six. I'll try to have the next chapter up soon- see you next time!)