The episode starts with Don narrating. "Last time on the race around the states, Jesus Christ, things have gone from bad to worse." "Chris attempted to murder Hazel, and turn her into dinner." "He ended up shaving her completely." "Jay was absolutely horrified by what he saw, and he went berserk." "He attacked Chris, with the intent of hurting him as much as possible." "Chris was a completely disfigured mess after this, with blood absolutely covering him, and his arm completely gone." "Chris was then taken to the hospital, and Hazel was taken to the vet." "Clearly traumatized by what just happened, Jay proceeded to take his frustration out on Taylor." "He called her out for her selfish attitude that she's had since the start of last season." "Then when we went to North Dakota for a boat race, we found out how flawed our legal system really is." "Courtney is somehow able to compete in Chris' place, despite awaiting trail for attempted murder." "Dwayne then got his second win in a row, Kelly took the point lead, Lorenzo and Jen finally quit denying their feelings for each other, and Brody returned after making a full recovery" "Who will be the points leader by the end of today's challenge?" "Find out on this episode of, the race around the states."

Intro consists of a shorter version of the final countdown.

Zoey was waiting at the bus stop, ready to go home. She had asked Junior to come to the bus stop with her to see her off. "Ever since the Loki incident, you have been a completely different person" said Zoey. "When you were little, you weren't the kind of person to attack someone out of frustration." "A lot can change after a near death experience" said Junior. "Look, as much as I really want you to win this whole thing, I have to be realistic" said Zoey. "Even without your concussion, you still wouldn't be able to compete." "You've been losing control of your emotions ever since the season started." The bus then pulled up, and before Zoey left, this was the last thing she said to Junior. "This has gone on long enough, you can't continue to live like this."

Jay was currently sitting on a park bench, doing nothing but looking down at the ground. There was a small puddle being formed on the ground, made entirely out of his tears. Taylor then sat down next to him. "Listen, I need to talk to you about something important" she said. "Forget it, i'm tired of listening to your bullshit" said Jay. "Jay, i'm being serious this time, all of us are in danger" said Taylor. "With Carson Matthew still on the loose, and with somebody convicted of attempted murder on the show, we need to continue on with self defense classes." "That's literally impossible, Officer Chambers is no longer here, we don't have a teacher anymore" said Jay. "That's where you come in, you need to act as his replacement, you need to be our new self defense teacher" said Taylor. Jay finally looked up, and turned to face Taylor. "Nobody likes a kiss ass" he said. "Trying to suck up to me isn't going to get me to forgive you." "Just hear me out on this" said Taylor. "There is no denying it, you are the strongest and most athletic contestant on the show." "You are not the underdog you were last season, you have clearly proven that you are a force to be reckoned with." "You're even stronger than Ryan, and he's like the buffest contestant on the show." "Everyone believes that you're a powerhouse, everyone except you." "We need you." "Okay, i'll do it" said Jay.

Later on, everyone except Courtney and Junior had gathered in a gym for their first class with their new teacher. Before walking into the room, Jay took one last look at two photos he was holding, before putting them in his pocket. One of them was a photo of he and Mickey on their fifth birthday, and the other was a photo of him petting Hazel. After the lesson, everyone agreed that Jay was a much better teacher than Officer Chambers.

(Confession cam- That's saying something)

Junior- "He gave me a private lesson after everyone else was done." "He didn't feel comfortable letting me spar with anyone, not in my current state."

Josee- "Now that Jay has taken on a leadership role, I love him even more."

**End confessional**

(Room 11- mother and daughter)

"That was a really smart move, nominating Jay to be our new self defense teacher" said Kelly. Taylor then hugged Kelly out of nowhere. "I love you mom, I love you so much" said Taylor.

(Room 6- the daters)

"I'm not surprised Courtney pulled a stunt like that" said Ryan. "I'm out of the lead because of that bitch." "Agreed, Courtney is one fucked up person" said Stephanie.

(Room 12- Harold and Carrie)

"I've fallen all the way back to tenth, what is wrong with me?" asked Harold. "Listen Harold, it's not over, you still have plenty of time to get caught up again" said Carrie.

(Room 8- Jay and Courtney)

"How come i'm not allowed to attend your classes?" asked Courtney. "Because you're one of the things that's a danger to us you moron" said Jay. "You have no right to refer to me as moron, I am a CIT" said Courtney. "Damn right you are, cunt in training, minus the in training" said Jay. The sound of Courtney's parole officer throwing up in the bathroom could now be heard.

(Room 3- father and son)

"Back to back wins, way to go dad" said Junior. "Forget the wins, i'm more concerned about the fact that my son is in even more danger, because a psychopath is in the competition" said Dwayne. "Okay, i'm getting sick and tired of you not believing I'll make it out of this alive" said Junior. "Just have some God damn faith."

(Room 1- the fashion bloggers)

"I knew it, there was no way you two were going to keep it a secret forever" said Tom. "Yeah, I should have been honest about my feelings since the start" said Jen.

(Room 2- the stepbrothers)

"I knew I was gonna be able to do it, I knew I was going to get a girlfriend before you" said Lorenzo. "Screw you" said Chet.

(Room 10- the surfers)

Brody was currently petting Toby. "Oh my gosh, I missed you so much" said Brody. "You should have seen the way Zoey was treating him, she absolutely loved Toby" said Geoff.

Everyone got on the bus the next morning, and they got off next to a pond. "We are in the state of Oregon, this state has a lot of fishing competitions" said Don. He then spoke directly to Laurie and Miles. "Don't worry, what we're doing is catch and release." "All of you are going to get on a rowboat, row out into the pond, and do some fishing." "Your fishing rods have an electronic sensor in them, and are able to tell you how heavy your catch is." "After you have caught your fish, release it back into the water, then wait one minute before throwing your line back in." "After one hour, the contestant that manages to catch the heaviest fish, will win the challenge."

For all 36 of the contestants, this challenge was a pain in the ass. Most of the time, nothing would be tugging on the line. Other times, they were able to take the bait right off the hook and escape. By the time it was finally over, it was revealed that Dwayne had caught the heaviest fish, at 5 pounds 4 ounces. Surprisingly, all 36 of the catches were within one pound of each other. Owen ended up getting second, Kelly got third, Brody fourth, Kitty fifth, Ryan sixth, Courtney seventh, Lorenzo eighth, Noah ninth, Tammy tenth, Jay eleventh, Geoff twelfth, Jen thirteenth, MacArthur fourteenth, Junior fifteenth, Sanders sixteenth, Stephanie seventeenth, Mary eighteenth, Miles nineteenth, Jacques twentieth, Laurie twenty first, Emma twenty second, Rock twenty third, Pete twenty fourth, Crimson twenty fifth, Taylor twenty sixth, Ennui twenty seventh, Spud twenty eighth, Ellody twenty ninth, Tom thirtieth, Leonard thirty first, Gerry thirty second, Chet thirty third, Harold thirty fourth, Josee thirty fifth, and Carrie thirty sixth.

(Confession cam- Gonna fry me a trout)

Dwayne- "Wow, three in a row, did not see that coming."

Kelly- "If I continue to have consistent finishes like this, i'll easily win the whole thing."

Harold- "I go into the chase as the leader." "Halfway through i'm over two challenges worth of points out of the lead." "Something is gonna have to change."

**End confessional**

The podium ceremony was now happening. Kelly was on the third place pedestal, Owen was on the second place pedestal, and Dwayne was on the winners pedestal. "Nice one Dwayne, three in a row" said Don. "You just got yourself a fireman's jacket, complete with 75 pounds worth of gear." He then turned towards the camera. "We are now halfway through the chase, and points wise, three contestants are within one challenge of each other." "Can Kelly keep her lead?" "Find out next time on, the race around the states."

Point standings

First place: Kelly, 2,163 points, 1 win

Second place: Jay, 2,135 points, 4 wins

Third place: Ryan, 2,130 points, 3 wins

Fourth place: Laurie, 2,127 points, 2 wins

Fifth place: Junior, 2,125 points, 3 wins

Sixth place: Emma, 2,125 points, 1 win

Seventh place: Sanders, 2,116 points, 1 win

Eighth place: Chet, 2,103 points

Ninth place: Crimson, 2,098 points, 2 wins

Tenth place: Taylor, 2,087 points

Eleventh place: Leonard, 2,085 points

Twelfth place: Harold, 2,082 points, 12 wins

Thirteenth place: Owen, 1,059 points

Fourteenth place: Kitty, 1,048 points

Fifteenth place: Noah, 988 points, 2 wins

Sixteenth place: Lorenzo, 969 points, 1 win

Seventeenth place: Ennui, 951 points

Eighteenth place: Tammy, 941 points

Nineteenth place: Geoff, 926 points

Twentieth place: Jen, 869 points

Twenty first place: MacArthur, 820 points, 1 win

Twenty second place: Stephanie, 807 points

Twenty third place: Mary, 748 points

Twenty fourth place: Miles, 706 points

Twenty fifth place: Jacques, 688 points, 1 win

Twenty sixth place: Brody, 634 points, 4 wins

Twenty seventh place: Chris, 605 points, 1 win

Twenty eighth place: Rock, 603 points

Twenty ninth place: Pete, 600 points

Thirtieth place: Spud, 533 points

Thirty first place: Ellody, 410 points

Thirty second place: Dwayne, 398 points, 3 wins

Thirty third place: Tom, 372 points

Thirty fourth place: Gerry, 333 points

Thirty fifth place: Josee, 314 points, 2 wins

Thirty sixth place: Carrie, 294 points

Thirty seventh place: Izzy, 272 points, 1 win

Thirty eighth place: Leshawna, 171 points

Thirty ninth place: Mickey, 139 points

Fortieth place: Devin, 114 points

Forty first place: Zoey, 101 points

Forty second place: Dawn, 81 points

Forty third place: Courtney, 64 points

Forty fourth place: Duncan, 35 points

Forty fifth place: Lindsay, 18 points

Authors note: I like fishing, but I won't deny it, I suck at it. I can't remember the last time I successfully caught a fish.

The reason why firefighters have so much gear, is because they have to be prepared for any kind of situation. There are a ridiculous amount of emergency scenarios that require the fire department.

As always, if you have an idea for a challenge in an upcoming state or a prize for a future challenge winner, feel free to let me know in a review.

Thank you for reading and please have a great day.