After recovering from the Awake-A-Thorn, my body clock fully reset to Total Drama time, meaning I would wake at six. So, after quietly exiting the guys' side of the Gopher cabin, I went to shower under the waterfall. When I returned and knocked on the girls' door.
Ella opened up for me. She looked terrible. Eyes bloodshot, trails of tear stains, sullen face. "Hello, Cody. What brings you to our side this morning?" Her usually melodic voice sounded cracked and dry.
"I just wanted to ask how Dawn was doing,"
"Lady Dawn is still sleeping. I doubt she'll be able to participate in the next challenge,"
I couched down and spotted Dawn on the bunk above Gwen, the same place as Beth. If Ella looked terrible, Dawn's current appearance was heartrending for me. It seemed anathema, baggy eyes, frazzled hair, for I could feel my soul wince. I turned back to Ella and knelt. "What about you, Ella? You don't look up for today's challenge either,"
"We have another challenge today?" she asked.
I held back a curse for nearly letting it slip. "Ella, it's been days since the Awake-A-Thon started. With what Chris has made us do so far, would you really put it past him to force us into another one regardless of our well-being,"
Ella looked at her feet. "I suppose not," her eyes darted up and looked past me towards the Arts and Crafts Centre. "Can you excuse me, Cody? I have a small art project to complete before breakfast,"
I nodded and stepped aside. Ella walked out to the hut carrying one of her spare dresses. I sat on the veranda and waited for everyone to exit the rooms, so I could take care of Dawn while she recovered.
As I waited, I thought about my main goal for the day; preventing Noah from getting eliminated. Today would be the dodgeball match, during which Noah lazed and refused to play. Knowing what Heather would pull and how great a friend the Bookworm would become, I regretted voting him off. But at the time, I was justified. Noah said he had plans for his time on the show; I could make him the strategic brains of a larger Anti-Heather alliance.
I knew how I could force him into play. The issue would be ensuring the Killer Bass lost; now that Eva remained, they'd likely win without needing to wake Duncan. I had the strength to surpass Eva, but my size meant I'd be an easier target. Not to mention sports was not my forte in college, even after my growth. My ingenuity on the fly allowed me to get DJ and Katie out alone.
Soon Heather, Lindsay, and Leshawna left the room, and I heard Gwen groaning. Again, I knocked on the door. The Goth glanced at me and glared crackly. "Shouldn't you be on the boys' side?"
"Usually," I said, then I pointed to Dawn. "But I decided to help Dawn out while she recovers. Do you need help, Gwen?"
The Goth waved away. "I'm fine, just tired," and she slowly and heavily walked out. I walked over to the bunk and gently picked up Dawn, bridal style. She stirred and cracked her eyes open. "Cody?"
"You keep on resting, Dawn. I'll take care of you today,"
A faint smile crossed her lips. "Thank you," and she shut her eyes again. With that, I carried her to the main lodge.
As I walked in, Chris announced. "Hey, everyone, it's Dawn!" the rest of the Gophers, barring Gwen, and Ella, cheered as I walked in with her. I then noticed Ella had altered her attire; the heartbroken girl changed every pink part, shoes included, to black. Other than her white undershirt and sleeve puffs, the only dash of colour was the red bow.
"Good," Dawn began before yawning. "Good morning, everyone," she managed. Everyone looked concerned as I sat at the table head and placed Dawn on my lap, allowing her to lean her tired head against me. "Thanks for giving her some praise, guys. But right now, what Dawn needs is rest," and thus, I began spoon-feeding Dawn today's oatmeal with berries and honey.
Dave held back a smirk. "I know I shouldn't joke. But with their difference in size and the way Dawn's sat on your thigh, the two of you look like a ventriloquist act,"
A few giggles and chuckles went around the lodge. I smirked with a sigh and shook my head. "I think Dawn and I are okay with that type of banter. Just don't make it spiteful,"
As breakfast continued, I overheard Heather discuss her alliance with Lindsay and Ella. Lindsay responded while Ella simply nodded with quivering lips and distant eyes.
Chris walked up to us, clapping his head to announce the challenge would start in ten minutes. "And prepare to bring it!"
Eva hummed, getting everyone's attention. "My sports senses are going off." The Killer Bass all look at each other before smirking back at Eva. Meanwhile, at our table, Dave, Noah, and Owen gave each other worried glances.
When we entered the clear cuboid stadium, I immediately headed to the top of the Gopher bleachers. I laid Dawn down on top of them.
Chris began explaining the challenge. Something I forgot about Total Drama Island was the relative simplicity of many challenges compared to those in the Action and World Tour seasons.
"The first rule of dodgeball is,"
"Do not talk about dodgeball," Noah joked, and Owen giggled.
"That meme's getting old. The real first rule is don't get hit by a ball,"
"Correct, Cody," Chris said, then he frowned. "But can you not do my job for me? I still get paid either way, but I'd like the network to think I'm necessary,"
I nodded.
"As Cody said, if you get hit with the ball," Chris threw the ball in his hands at Courtney, striking her in the gut. "You're out."
"Ow!" Courtney wailed. "You can't do that!" she threw the dodgeball back at Chris, only for the host to catch the ball quickly. "If you catch the ball, the thrower gets sent out, and the catcher gets to bring another team member out on the court."
"Throwing balls," Noah said, rolling his eyes. "Jee, another mentally challenging test."
"I know, right." Lindsay agreed. Leading to Owen and Noah looking at each other.
"Okay now, Geoff, try to hit me," Chris said as he picked up another ball and threw it to Geoff. "If you're holding a ball, you can use it to deflect, but if it knocks the ball out of your hands, you're out."
"What do I do if the ball comes at me?" Lindsay asked.
"You dodge!" Chris said as he used the ball to deflect Geoff's. This caused the ball to hit Lindsay right in the face making her to the floor and causing a bruised welt to appear on her face. "Ooh!" Chris winced. "You were supposed to dodge!"
"Ugh," Lindsay groaned as she stood up. "Right."
"You have one minute until game time," Chris said as he walked next to the highchair Chef was on. "You'll all have five people on the court each game. If you catch a ball, you can bring in whoever you want. It's best of five, and you get a point by hitting all five people with the ball!"
"Hey, Chris," I called, raising my hand. "Can I request an adjustment before we start?"
Chris narrowed his eyes. "Cody, are you trying to dictate the show?"
"No," I said quickly; I did not want to get on Chris's wrong side since I knew how inhuman he could get when being spiteful. "I just wanted to point out the team number different. The Bass have nine members, and we've got eleven," I then pointed to Dawn. "Dawn's too tired to play," then I gestured to Gwen. "And Gwen can barely stand. I think they should sit this challenge out,"
Having Dawn at least take Noah's place would force him to step up.
Chris rubbed his chin. Then an intern in the red shirt uniform they started wearing in the Revenge series came rushing in with a piece of paper. The host took it and grinned. "Just got a memo from one of the new Producers. She approves your idea, Cody,"
I grinned.
"But," Chris added and pointed to a line. "She also points out that the idea should apply to Duncan too. So, since the Bass are now playing with only eight, you Gophers will need to sit a third person out as well in each game,"
My face fell. Heather asked who would sit out with the sleeping beauties. And as I feared, Noah nonchalantly volunteered himself, like before.
I stepped up to play in the first game, and Heather repeated her taunt, and Tyler responded with his poorly thought comeback.
Watching from the benches, Anne Maria quipped, "Best not to trash talk, Headband. You ain't the sharpest tool on the Christmas tree,"
Before anyone could point out her confusion of sayings, Chef blew the whistle, and the first game began.
I went first, took aim, launched the ball, and gave a hard punch, rocketing straight at Eva. The force knocked her back, but she shielded herself with her ball, which she didn't drop.
Tyler spun around but let the ball go too early. Like with Sadie, the ball bashed into Anne Maria, but her helmet hair deflected the sphere away, leaving her unharmed, though angry.
The first round played out much as it did the first time. Owen took Tyler out. Harold failed with his overly complicated karate-based attack on Leshawna. And Eva knocked Lindsay over as the Bombshell was too distracted figuring out the rules, resulting in the ditzy girl getting another lump on her face. Tyler waved to Lindsay as she sat down, spurring Heather into retaliating, balling the clumsy jock in the crown jewels.
Courtney threw a ball at Heather, which I caught. I might not like Heather as she was in the first season and was subjected to again, but I was still a team player. Having grabbed the ball, we could bring another player in. I called over, "Hey, Noah? Care to join?"
The Bookworm glanced up from his book. "I'm supposed to sit out this round, remember?"
Dave, sitting next to him, stood up. "I'll do it," he walked onto the caught just as DJ threw his ball at Owen. The party guy dodged.
Dave saw the ball, shrieked, and somehow managed to do the splits to dodge. Though his bowler hat got knocked off. The Germaphobe lost his balance and faceplanted.
On the bench, Ella gasped.
I helped Dave to his feet. "You, okay?"
Dave took out a wet wipe and scrubbed his face. "I'll be fine, I think," he picked up a ball on our side and wiped it down.
Owen and Leshawna were ordered off to level the playing field. I needed to send Eva off to make a statement. So, unlike last time I used the spinner on the bruiser. Eva dodged the front attack, but the ball arched and hit her in the back. She gritted her row of fangs and stomped off.
DJ chucked the ball. Dave shut his eyes and shielded himself with his. With his turn to throw, the Germaphobe gulped with big open eyes. "How do I win against the Brickhouse?" he threw his ball at DJ, but the Jamaican dodged and launched his.
Dave shrank into himself to brace, whether, from the incoming pain, or the possibility of germs being on the ball, I don't know. I, however, leapt in front and took the ball for him.
I sat on the floor beside the bleacher, allowing me to be level with Dawn.
Dave glanced at me before biting his lip. "Okay, Dave," he muttered. "Cody just took the hit for you when he didn't have to," he looked down and picked up another ball, then focused on the blue jumper underneath his tailcoat. "I sure hope this works like it did in that silent comedy,"
Much to my amazement, I watched Dave repeat my steps as the scrawny geek and static charged the ball. DJ gave a girly scream as he ran to escape the ball, only to trip on another one, go head-first into the wall, and get smacked by the sphere.
After Chef blew the whistle, everyone Gopher, except me, Dawn, Ella, and Gwen, cheered. I didn't because I covered Dawn's eyes so she wouldn't wake.
Dave stood stunned for a moment. "I did it," he murmured before he fisted the air. "Yes! David Kumar, you actually won something by yourself for once!" Elated, Dave showed us his dancing feet on the walk back to the bench. He sat down beside the simpering Ella and smirked. "What did you think of that?" the Fairy Tale Princess merely shrugged with a hum that sounded like whatever. Dave's face fell. "Okay, perhaps you didn't really see me do my magic. How about I go again this time?"
"Fine," Heather said, getting up too. She then looked at Noah. "All right, Noah, you're up,"
"You know, you guys did such an awesome job on the last game that I don't want to mess up your mojo,"
Chef blew the whistle to signify the start of the next round. Every Gopher paying attention to Noah's comments did not look impressed.
"Fine," Heather repeated. "Let's go, guys," she ordered to those who decided to play. Owen, Trent, Lindsay, Dave, and Ella, even though she looked distracted.
Tyler made another attempt at spinning, only to send them all over the place. First into Chef, then almost hitting Chris. The third came flying to us on the Gopher bench. We all jumped. Expect one. The ball slammed Dawn hard in the side of her head, some much so that she fell off the bleacher.
I quickly checked her, ignoring what went on with Tyler and Lindsay. Picking up Dawn and cradling her again, I walked up to Heather, who yelled at Lindsay. "I'm taking Dawn back to the cabin. Tyler might be out of this for a bit, but I'm not risking her getting hurt when she can't defend herself. Even if she was awake, I don't think Dawn would be capable of moving,"
The Queen Bee narrowed her eyes, huffed and turned her head away. "Whatever."
Dave rushed up, "Do take too long, man. You're our ace against Eva,"
I smiled. "You seem to have some smarts to you. Don't play harder; play smarter," I glanced at Noah. I leaned down and whispered in Dave's ear, so Heather wouldn't hear. "Also, get Noah to play at least one round. That supposedly intelligent mind of his could be useful for strategy in the game. I don't care if he's a lazy, stubborn ox. Tell him we'll eliminate him if he doesn't do his share of the work."
Dave frowned. "Isn't that coercion?"
"You wanted to play this competition cold, remember? There's a difference between forcing someone to do something against their morals and stopping a guy for laziness. For someone who brags about his wit, Noah's being very brainless,"
The Germaphobe nodded. "I'll see what I can do. Maybe Owen can help too,"
"Good thinking. I'll be back as soon as I can," and I ran off. I glanced back to see Owen lob a ball at Anne Maria, knocking the Jerseyite down and her hair bouncing the ball into Eva, taking the Bruiser out by chance. Eva looked furious; she would undoubtedly take command of the next round, probably making the Gophers lose.
I slowed to a brisk walk, which was still fast compared to most people, and contemplated the situation. Currently, the only significant changes were different faces and the order of elimination. People were still acting the same way they did the first time because I was the only one who had changed.
Heather's alliance was still in place. In contrast to Beth, who was classified as desperate, Ella suffered a similar fault to Lindsay, a naïveté. This led to her interest in Sugar and, from the looks of it, an infatuation with Dave for little reason, leading to her depression when Sugar insulted her.
I could control how people act, nor did I want to. That would make me as much a team dictator as Heather and Jo were. And I refused to be an emotional manipulator like Justin and Alejandro. But I could try and alter situations when they arise. The next challenge would be the talent contest. I definitely knew one way to ensure the Screaming Gophers won that one.
I reached the small set of sets beside the dock and near the main lodge, and I saw Tyler and Lindsay sitting under the pier. By now, her goose eggs had receded.
I called over to them. "You'd better not take too long. Otherwise, Heather's going to get angry,"
Lindsay stood up. "Oh, my gosh, Heather's going to kick me out of the alliance if she finds out," she started running back to the court. "Sorry, Tyler!"
The jock smiled as he watched her run. "Man, that girl is gorgeous," he then noticed Dawn in my arms and chuckled. "Nice going, dude."
I glared. "Dawn wouldn't be in this state if you were better at sports,"
"I so am!" Tyler protested.
"I haven't got time to argue," I replied, walking up the step. "Dawn needs to be somewhere safe and out of any firing line," without another word, I walked to the Gopher cabin and put Dawn down on her bunk. She moved to get comfortable, a move that made me smile. Gently I stroked some hair away from her face. "You can get some safe rest here," she sighed warmly, making my smile slightly bigger.
As I left the girls' room, I remembered a conversation from the past timeline. Everyone from the Original Cast spent the Revenge season in the Playa Des Losers. I spent a lot of the time I could get away from Sierra with Dawn. When the eliminated Second Generation cast member left for the finale, Trent asked me what I thought of Dawn.
I admitted I found Dawn cute. She was intelligent, kind-hearted, spoke her mind, and possessed this mystique with hidden depths and strengths. All wrapped up in a neat, attractive little bundle. I'm drawn to those kinds of girls.
A nasty thought emerged, and I stopped mid-step on the little stairs and tumbled to the sand. I sat up with widening eyes and a frown sinking on my lips. "Do I see Dawn as a replacement for Gwen?"
After quickly getting up and brushing the sand off me, I noticed something near the cabins. The shrubs stirred, and a bunch of animals scurried out. A young deer, a pair of rabbits and three little birds, coloured red, blue, and green. They looked worried and went over to the Gopher cabin.
Seeing this and needing a distraction, I slowly walked over. I knelt low and crawled at a certain distance to not intimidate the creatures. Once the dear and the rabbits started approaching me instead, I sat down in front of them. "Okay, I don't know if you can understand me since I'm not Dawn or Ella, but what brings you here?"
One of the rabbits pointed to the girls' side of the cabin.
"You want to see Dawn?" they all nodded. I sighed. "Sorry, but she's fast asleep right now," they looked down, saddened. "What's got you all looking so glum?"
The other rabbit started making ballet moves, and the bird sang.
"Ella?" they nodded again. "You're all worried about her, too?" they all nodded again with frowns. I nodded. "Don't worry, I do what I can to get our Fairy Tale Princess back to her cheery singing self," the five animals smiled and bounded back into the woods.
I stood up again and turned back towards the beach. Likely by now, the Gopher would have lost if Dave or Noah had not thought up something genius to counteract Eva.
I was walking behind the main lodge when something roared, a noise which dredged up some of my worst memories. Brown fur, fangs, the smell of rotting fish. Instincts took over, and I dived into the trees behind the lodge. Then anything happened at once, so fast I couldn't process what was happening. It ended when I drove my fist through something, and a cracking sound came.
My eyes widened, and I backed away. Blood and vitreous fluids with clumps of fur ran down my hand and between my fingers. A bear lay on the ground, its head bashed in at the left eye.
I ran. First, I washed the gunk from my hand in the communal bathroom and then back to the dodgeball court.
Owen threw his final ball at Harold just before I reached the inside. The spindly nerd caught it and got slammed against the wall. And like last time, Harold triumphantly held up the ball, signifying he outed the Big Party Guy. I walked in just as Chef blew the whistle, and Chris announced the Bass as the winner.
I walked over to the bleachers as Owen fell to his knees, just in time for Chris to ask what happened.
"What can I say?" Noah replied. "Weak effort,"
Gwen stood up indignant. "Oh, shut up! Noah!" as the Goth walked away, Heather stood too. "You know," the Queen Bee said. "For once, I agree with her," then she, Dave and the other girls on the team walked away from the Bookworm too.
"Touchy," Noah simply said. Trent glared down at him as Owen, and I approached with annoyed expressions. "What?" Noah asked, then he commented, "I'll tell you, the team spirit here is severely lacking lately,"
"No thanks to you," I muttered and walked away too. I caught up with the others, and Heather glared up at me. "And what took you? Surely you and Dawn didn't sneak off into the woods,"
I blushed at the implications. But I coughed. "No, I got distracted by a couple of things. I'm not excusing myself; I should have known better. Meet me under the dock after dinner, and I'll explain," I turned to Dave. "I guess Noah wasn't worried about being voted off?"
Dave sighed. "Yep, he thought he was too valuable for us to eliminate so soon,"
I rolled my eyes. "Typical. Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall,"
Gwen looked up at me. "Don't you just mean pride goes before a fall?"
"No, that's actually the fuel quote of Proverbs Sixteen verse Eighteen,"
A cameraperson joined as everyone on the Screaming Gopher, apart from Noah and Dawn, sat with me under the pier. "First, I want to apologise for taking so long," and I explained about the animals and the bear fight.
Most turned shocked. Ella, especially as she held both hands to her mouth, and more tears filled her already reddened eyes.
Owen grinned. "Awesome story, dude."
Dave raised an eyebrow. "There's no way that can be true,"
I sighed. "Check in the trees behind the main lodge if you dare. Anyway," I continued. "I think we can all agree Noah has proved himself useless to the team,"
Everyone nodded, though Owen frowned and looked away. Heather smirked. "At last, you said something smart,"
My eyes darted to her. "By which you mean something you like hearing,"
Leshawna laughed. "He's got you pegged, Prom Queen,"
"Before we devolved into an argument," I interrupted. "I just want to know how many of us will vote Noah out tonight. Show of hands," I raised my hand, as did Dave, Gwen, Heather, Leshawna, Lindsay, and Trent. That made seven, more than half.
Lindsay then noticed Ella hadn't moved a muscle and raised the Fairy Tale Princess's hand for her. Ella looked down and distant, this time not responding to the touch.
Dave frowned. "She's getting worse," he then raised a sceptical eyebrow at me. "If I were to believe your story about the animals, I'd be even more worried."
Heather crossed her arms and loomed over the Fairy Tale Princess. "Ella, Sugar's words were as meaningless, shallow and hollow as hers. That fat attention-seeking cow had no idea what she was saying. So, snap out of it!"
Ella merely mumbled and shifted in her seat.
Heather growled. "We can't I rely on anyone today!" she stormed off, with Lindsay at her heels. Ella slowly followed them too.
I sighed. "Depression is a terrible disease," the others nodded.
Leshawna then glanced at Owen. "Why didn't you raise your hand, big guy?"
The Party Animal groaned. "Sorry, guys, but I can't vote for my little buddy. I already promised Noah I'd vote for Lindsay; I just came to see if it would be a wasted vote," he gave another sigh. "I'm going to miss Noah when he leaves," and he walked off.
I nodded. "I think that's all we needed to know. I'll see you all tonight at the firepit then," I stayed on the beach while the others went their separate ways.
Once more, I considered what to do as I watched the lake waves.
"Cody Emmett Jameson Anderson!" a familiar, slightly raspy voice yelled. I flinched and looked back.
A still bedraggled and sleep-addled Dawn marched down the steps towards me. Her eyes narrowed intensely, burrows furrowed viciously, and her lips pursed aggressively. Despite not fully recovered, she stood straight, her arms stiff, pointed down and fisted like a warrior.
My heart screamed, seeing her look so mad right at me.
Before I could speak, the moonchild slapped me against the face and then pointed sternly. "The others found a dead bear, and Owen told me you killed it!" she smacked me again. "Chris said he will have the unfortunate creature made into a new rug for his trailer, and I dread what Chef Hatchet shall do with it."
New implications for the Brunch of Disgustingness halted my attempts to speak, "Dawn, I,"
She interrupted me, "If you needlessly harm another animal on this island, I swear by the Great Earth Mother, you shall suffer!" she turned and walked off.
"Dawn, wait!" I called, standing up and reaching out to her. "Can we talk about it?"
She didn't look back; instead, she flipped me the bird. "I shall talk with you again when our negative energies have subsided. As for the matter of Ella, I shall handle it myself when the time is right," she continued walking and disappeared into the forest.
With no clue what she meant, I just slumped back into a sitting position, knees bent against my chest and thought about my present situation.
Some hours later, I sat with the rest of the Screaming Gophers around the campfire for the Elimination Ceremony. Dawn sat as far from me as possible in a slumped lotus position.
Chris held the plate with ten marshmallows. "Campers, you've placed your votes and made your decision. One of you will be going home. And you can't come back. Ever."
I held back a scoff as I knew about the No Pain, No Gain episode with the ten-second tortures. Would it be Eva returning if she ever gets eliminated before then, or someone else? If fate was being really nasty, it would be Sugar.
"When you hear me call out your name, come pick up a marshmallow."
"Owen. Gwen. Dave. Trent." We all went to get their marshmallow.
"Heather. Cody. Dawn. Leshawna. Ella." Ella took Lindsay's hands into her own for a second before walking up with the other five campers to get their marshmallows.
There were only two campers left. Noah looked pretty confident in himself despite any common sense. And Lindsay, who appeared the exact opposite.
"The final marshmallow goes to,"
Lindsay tensed up with Noah's confidence staying put.
"Lindsay."
Noah's jaw dropped as Lindsay cheered and went to get her marshmallow. "What? Are you kidding me?" Noah yelled as Lindsay kissed her marshmallow.
Dave crossed his arms. "I did tell you this would happen. It wasn't even my idea to warn you," the Germaphobe pointed his thumb back at me. "It was Cody who told me to while he carried Dawn back to the cabin,"
I saw Dawn's posture soften in the corner of my eye, and she whispered something to Gwen. The Goth then whispered something back.
"All right," Noah said. "See if I care! Good luck because you voted out the only one with any brains on this team!"
I lead the charge against that comment. "Ready, aim, and fire!" Like last time we pelted the Bookworm with marshmallows.
Leshawna brushed her hands and yelled back at him, "You need to learn a little thing called respect, turkey!" Some others, like Heather, Gwen, and Dave, cheered and laughed.
I nodded. "Noah, why did you think we'd keep you when you did nothing during this challenge? And when I say nothing, that includes anything that could have proved your brains and strategic abilities."
Noah frowned, blinked, and slumped. "How did I not think of that?"
Dave crossed his arms. "Because you're no better than anyone else,"
Noah grumbled. "Whatever. I'm out of here," and he started walking.
As he passed Owen, the Big Party Guy pulled him into a bear hug and started sobbing. "I'm going to miss you, little buddy," the waterworks continued.
"Well," Noah said, between gasps of breath and strains of pain. "I'm not going to miss this place. When this show is over, let's meet up somewhere better."
"Yeah," Owen replied. "That would be cool,"
"Can you put me down, please," Owen dropped Noah to his feet. "Thanks," and he walked towards the dock.
