Darren, Miranda, Mike, and Sam were still in the water together while everyone else at the military camp was either keeping watch or was asleep due to a big morning ahead of them after their sleep.
"Pace yourself, guys," Miranda panted as she looked behind her. "We're almost at the halfway mark."
"Right!" Darren replied breathlessly as he caught up close behind her.
"I'm just glad we don't have to worry about sharks with legs around here." Mike grumbled to himself.
"You said it," Sam agreed. "Also at least we don't have to worry about those squids in Mario Kart that blind you with their ink."
They all continued to swim, but it seemed like no matter how far they got, the island on the other side was very far away from them.
"And... lights out!" Dodie commanded Ginger, Courtney, Macie, Zoey, and Dakota as they began to get ready for bed while she clicked the light switch.
"Dodie! We're not ready yet!" Ginger complained.
"Lights out is lights out, Ginger. Non-negotiable." Dodie replied as she headed for her bunk.
"This kid is starting to bug me." Dakota whispered to Zoey.
"She usually means well," Zoey whispered back. "...Most of the time."
"But, Dodie, I haven't even properly moisturized!" Courtney fussed while Macie was using nose drops.
"One day, perhaps you girls will know the weight of true responsibility," Dodie advised as she began to crawl into her bed for the night. "What it means to have your own whistle."
"Ginger, Macie, and Courtney are your age and me and Zoey are the older ones here." Dakota reminded her firmly.
"Yes, I know, but I'm C-I-T and you guys are just cabin Big Sisters," Dodie reminded them as she smirked smugly. "Margie is counting on me and I won't let her down," she then yawned as she began to lie down and looked very sleepy right now. "However, camp rules DO permit the use of flashlights." she then added before falling asleep.
Ginger then turned on her flashlight while the other girls stumbled around the cabin in the dark. Macie then walked right into Courtney by accident.
"Ow!" Courtney cried out.
"Super sorry, CG." Macie told her.
"Macie, I'm warning you!" Courtney glared at the bespectacled girl as she turned on her flashlight in the other girl's face.
"Macie, please stop calling Courtney 'CG'," Dakota told the younger girl. "She doesn't like it."
"Can I call you DM?" Macie then asked.
"Well, all right, you can do that." Dakota then decided to allow it.
"You're on my nightgown! Could you move?" Ginger complained to Courtney.
"Not really! I can barely see where I'm going!" Courtney replied.
"This is insane," Zoey complained. "Can't we just keep on the lights for a few more minutes?" she then added.
"You all know who has the key, girls..." Dodie muttered in her sleep.
"Turn them on, she won't notice." Ginger told her cousin.
Zoey then turned on the lights and looked over as Dodie barely reacted at that.
"Look at her. Sleeping like a baby." Macie remarked.
"She's probably exhausted from ordering people around all day." Zoey replied.
"It CAN be very tiring." Courtney had to admit.
There was then a knock at the door.
"Who could that be?" Dakota wondered.
"Solicitors at this hour?" Courtney scoffed as she opened the door to see someone out there, but she thought they were a salesperson. "No, thank you!" she then dismissed.
"Melanie!" Ginger cried out once she saw who was really at the door.
Melanie smiled innocently from the other side.
"Allow me to handle this one, CG-I mean Courtney," Macie said before she was flashed a look from Dakota for the nickname. "Little girl, are you aware that Dodie Bishop resides at this cabin?" she then addressed Melanie. "Do you know who she is?"
"It's okay, guys. Melanie just came by to get her guitar," Ginger reassured them as she stepped out the door to see the younger girl. "Right?" she then added.
"Right! And I couldn't sleep." Melanie replied.
"I'll walk you back to your cabin," Ginger offered with a smile before she looked over. "You wanna come too, Zoey?" she then asked her cousin.
"Sure, I can do that," Zoey nodded. "Dakota, keep an eye on the others. Remember to be mature and responsible." she then added.
"Has anything really gone wrong for me when I've been let in charge?" Dakota replied innocently.
"Didn't you hold a wild teen party at the Ridgemount Estate and got your friend Lo in so much trouble that she had to work for the summer and you abandoned her?" Courtney asked her older cousin.
"First of all, that party was Lo's idea and secondly, I would've helped her if I didn't get accepted on Total Drama." Dakota defended.
"Uh-huh. Sure." Courtney replied.
"Courtney, you know I'm responsible these days!" Dakota told her younger cousin.
"Well, uh, good luck." Zoey said to Dakota as she went after Ginger and Melanie.
MEANWHILE...
Miranda, Darren, Sam, and Mike continued to swim until they finally made it to the little island to catch their breath.
"We should rest a while," Miranda suggested. "Get our strength up."
"That's the best idea I've heard all week." Sam commented.
Mike rolled his eyes at that.
"Good idea. Hey, how about some dinner?" Darren replied and then asked.
"That depends, whatcha got?" Mike asked the younger boy.
"Um..." Darren paused as he checked his pockets "Oh, I have three breath mints and a nickel."
"You can have the nickel, Mike, cuz us being here is all your fault." Sam complained.
"Hey! Don't take this out on me!" Mike glared.
"Uh, I'll take care of dinner," Miranda said as she grabbed a stick before going to sharpen it on a rock. "Why don't one of you start a fire?" she then suggested.
"Uh, I don't have a lighter." Darren shook his head.
"Us neither." Mike and Sam added.
"You know, guys, you actually could have used a full summer at military camp," Miranda advised as she was about to stab her pointy stick in the water to catch a fish. "For real."
"Well, Revenge of the Island wasn't really much of a summer camp experience and was more of a reality show challenge once a week that happened to be in a rundown old summer camp when the Veterans like Justin, Duncan, Gwen, and Owen were on there," Sam defended and explained. "Besides, I'm more into video games."
"Yeah, it's the only thing you're good at." Mike mumbled to himself.
"Hey!" Sam glared at that.
"Well, it's true." Mike defended.
"Well, at least I'm not a psycho with multiple personality disorder!" Sam retorted.
"Boys..." Miranda scoffed and shook her head.
"Oh, yeah? Well, I'd like to see you on something like Revenge of the Island!" Sam challenged Miranda.
"I'm over Total Drama, I'm more into The StayLongers anyway," Miranda huffed. "I hear they're gonna do a season that has the Cartoon Cartoon Tribe against the Nicktoon Tribe, so I'm gonna try out. I could definitely use a break from people like Ginger Foutley." she then added.
"Easy, that's my girlfriend's cousin you're talking about." Mike replied.
"Whatever." Miranda rolled her eyes.
"Oh, Zoey... I just wanna hear your voice so badly right now..." Mike sighed to himself.
BACK WITH THE GIRLS...
"Oh, Mike, why haven't you called me?" Zoey frowned as she checked her phone to see no new messages or missed calls from Mike.
"You see, if you and Sasha got married, then you'd be part of my family." Melanie smiled hopefully at Ginger.
"Oh, I don't think that's gonna happen, Mel." Ginger replied apologetically.
"But you said you don't have a boyfriend." Melanie reminded the older girl.
"Yeah, but I'm mad at your brother and I guess he's mad at me too." Ginger said softly.
"But you wrote that song for him!" Melanie pouted.
"Listen, Melanie, Ginger never said that it was-" Zoey was about to say to help out her cousin in need.
"I just know it was for him!" Melanie interrupted and argued. "My mom says you're supposed to SAY how you feel or else nobody KNOWS how you feel and that's what she says!"
"I'm sure your mother is a very smart lady, but Melanie, you need to understand." Zoey tried to explain to the youngest girl.
"Alright, Jed! I'll patrol this area and you take the south side!" Margie's voice was suddenly heard.
"Sure thing, Margie!" Jed's voice agreed.
"Crap! It's Jed and Margie!" Zoey panicked suddenly.
"Melanie, run!" Ginger said as she held out the girl's guitar.
Soon, the girls rushed off their separate ways, heading back to their respective cabins before they would get caught being out after curfew which was a strict violation of summer camp rules.
"Be careful, the others are probably fast asleep right now." Zoey reminded her cousin in a hushed tone of voice.
"Got it." Ginger nodded as she looked like she had a lot on her mind.
"You okay?" Zoey asked Ginger softly.
"I just... I don't understand myself right now." Ginger explained quietly before they made it to their cabin door.
"Whatya mean?" Zoey asked curiously.
"Well, why didn't I tell my friends that I like Sasha?" Ginger began to explain.
"Try not to think about it right now, okay?" Zoey advised. "We'll probably talk about it in the morning."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Ginger nodded as she began to look tired herself.
Soon, the two opened the cabin door and began to sneak in together as they heard everyone else snoring. Ginger climbed into her bed and yawned as she began to fall asleep while Zoey went to her bed next to Dakota's as she rolled over in her sleep as well.
After a while, a squeaking sound could be heard, mostly by Ginger since she was right underneath it. Courtney groaned as she could soon be heard scratching herself.
Eventually, Macie climbed out of her bed and shined her flashlight onto the board in their cabin. "It's just you, Lightfoot. Same as always." she then told herself, crossing her goal off the board which was to conquer her fear of the lake as she wore her swimming outfit and headed out while everyone else was still asleep.
The wind blew the door behind Macie, causing it to accidentally slam and wake up Dodie instantly. "Don't slam the screen door!" she then shouted before looking to the bunk beside her, seeing that it was empty. "Macie?"
Soon, Macie was at the docks as she decided to accomplish her ultimate camp goal. "Sink or swim, Lightfoot! Do it for Jed!" she then told herself before she got ready to dive into the lake. However, before she could get into the water, she suddenly heard a rather frightening (at least to her) sound. "Oh! The Lost Swimmer of Caprice Lake!" she then panicked.
"Are you okay?" Miranda asked Darren who was hopping up and down with a pain in his leg.
"I guess he has a leg cramp." Sam noted.
"No! I think it's broken!" Darren complained before he sat down.'
Miranda then stepped over to check on him. "Does this hurt?" she then asked as she tried to move his leg.
Darren suddenly screeched out in pain. "AAAAAUGH! Yes!" he then told her.
"I'm going back for help," Miranda decided. "It really could be broken or at least sprained."
"That'll be the least of our problems when the camp finds out we went AWOL." Mike reminded her.
"Go on without me, guys!" Darren said dramatically as he laid back and began to act like he was about to die. "Goodbye!"
"Wow, and we thought you could be a drama queen sometimes." Sam smirked at Mike.
"Not funny." Mike complained.
"Patterson, please, gimme a break," Miranda scoffed. "Look, how about this? I'll swim to the lake at Camp Caprice by myself and get some help. Mike and Sam will look after you." she then added before going to the water suddenly.
"Promise you'll come back?" Darren asked her.
"I promise." Miranda replied.
"I'm still gonna keep an eye on you cuz Zoey tells me you're pretty dangerous, especially around Ginger." Mike said to her.
"So sue me." Miranda rolled her eyes as she started to swim.
"Careful!" Darren called out to her.
Mike and Sam then came to sit next to Darren to keep him company for now.
Macie began to listen out for any other cries, but it was quiet so far... at least until a few seconds passed by.
"Hold it right there!" Dodie glared as she saw a camper out of their cabin after curfew.
"Dodie, it's out there!" Macie cried out and panicked as she hugged her friend. "The Lost Swimmer of Camp Caprice!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Macie," Dodie scoffed as she made Macie let go of her. "That's just a ghost story."
They then suddenly heard a howling sound.
"You heard her! Did you?!" Macie panicked to Dodie.
"Eh, probably just a wolf or something," Dodie shrugged as she began to take Macie back to the campsite. "Now back to the cabin. You are in violation of the Camp Caprice curfew." she then tutted her friend.
They then heard a wailing in the distance.
"You go, Dodie! I've got my peace to make," Macie glared as she got herself free, then headed for the water. "Don't worry! I won't let you drown twice, Lost Swimmer! Count on me!" she then called out before she plugged her nose and jumped right into the water.
"Macie! Get back here this instant!" Dodie called out, then took out her whistle to blow on it only to blow on the string around her neck because her whistle was missing. She then panicked and went back to camp to get some help since Macie was causing trouble.
Macie looked around in the fog as she floated in the water with her water wings. She heard a faint crying, but couldn't see anyone yet due to the fog. "Hold on, Lost Swimmer! I'm coming! I'm coming!" she then called out bravely.
Suddenly, Dodie ran back into the cabin urgently. "Oh! Where is it?!" she then complained aloud. "Oh, no!" she then grabbed the blanket from her bunk which woke up Ginger.
"Dodie. What's going on?" Ginger asked as that woke her up.
"Again?!" Courtney whined as she woke up too. "Do you girls just want me to be ugly?!"
"Dodie, what are you doing?" Zoey asked as she began to wake up along with Dakota.
"Did we miss breakfast?" Dakota murmured.
"Macie in the lake! Need my master key!" Dodie explained frantically as she threw her blanket on top of Courtney. "Where's that key?!"
Ginger soon checked under her bed and then moved her blanket to shake it out, then found two items.
"Found the key and your whistle," Zoey told Dodie as she picked those up. "I just wonder how those could've gotten there?" she then pondered as she looked at Ginger almost suspiciously.
"Mm-mm." Ginger shrugged innocently as she didn't seem to know either.
Meanwhile, Macie continued to swim across the lake until she found a surprisingly familiar face. "Miranda?! You're The Lost Swimmer of Camp Caprice Lake?!"
"What are you talking about?" Miranda scoffed and glared at her. "I just escaped from military camp, but I got a cramp."
"Oh, dear." Macie frowned as that sounded serious.
"So gimme one of your water wings, okay? I'm really tired." Miranda continued.
Macie was about to do that when they all suddenly heard a motorboat approaching them. Inside had Dodie, Ginger, Zoey, Dakota, and Courtney in it as Dodie shined a flashlight in the water.
"Miranda?! Is that you?" Courtney gasped.
"Get in you guys! Now!" Dodie told them urgently. "If Margie catches me, then my bright future is over!"
Ginger and Courtney soon reached into the water and began to pull Miranda and Macie inside.
"Now, what are you doing all the way out here, Miranda Killgahen?" Dakota asked her cousin's best friend while helping her out.
"Long story." Macie replied.
"I'm sure it's an interesting one." Zoey remarked.
"I have to get this boat back right away!" Dodie told the others. "This is total violation of Camp Caprice policy!"
"Do you want me to drive?" Miranda offered.
"That's weirdly nice of you." Zoey commented.
"Yeah, well, my uncle has a speedboat I practically grew up on." Miranda explained.
"Fine. Just go easy on the camp property." Dodie told her as she moved aside to let Miranda take control.
"Excellent. Let's see what she's got," Miranda smirked as she took the wheel. "Oh, and we'll be making one little pit stop along the way."
"This better be good," Zoey told Miranda. "We might get in enough trouble as it is."
"Don't worry, it'll be worth it." Miranda replied as she started the boat.
Soon, the boat ventured off and went back to the island that Miranda left the guys on.
"Whatya know? Miranda actually came back." Sam commented.
"Yeah, I guess I owe ya a buck." Mike replied.