Today we bid farewell to several people who had passed on this year. However some stick out more simply because their names were familiar to some. From Legendary hero Akira Toyama the creator of DBZ who will forever be remembered for his brilliance in creating what is without question the greatest action anime with battles that're literally earth shattering. To the more recent tragic passing of promising young star Chance Perdomo from Gen V who died too soon. We will miss all those who brought us joy in the past.
The story now continues and I hope it helps brighten anyone who's feeling dejected.
"Last time on Total Drama Island." The voice of Chris narrated from somewhere. "Our campers went head-to-head in a show of their natural skills to see who's got talent. It was a close competition but in the end, Duncan brought it home for his team when his performance ended with a literal bang that set fire to the stage. At the elimination ceremony however, an unexpected twist occurred when Beth was voted off. Heather was not happy about it and little did she know that it was all part of Noah's plan." The host chuckled. "Man, who would've thought that little nerd was so sneaky. Who's getting axed next? Find out today on Total… Drama… Island!"
Multiple stage lights were being set up as several cameras emerged from every kind of hiding place imaginable. From a groundhog's burrow, an owl's nest, bushes, rooftops, rising from the ocean and more. A directors slate board was then shown up close, being held by someone who clapped it.
The camera view then began to quickly move from a distanced view of the camp to into the grounds. Passing by Chris who was sitting down drinking coffee, the cabins where the teams were staying and moving through the woods.
Dear mom and dad I'm doing fine
You guys are on my mind
The camera view went all the way up the cliff before appearing to jump off like in the challenge. Plummeting as the view quickly dived down the middle of the safe zone and was now showing underwater. Owen was shown floating down there right before he propelled away with a large fart that knocked out a fish that had been behind him. It floated up where Geoff and Bridgette were shown looking into each other's eyes lovingly while floating on a surfboard together. The two cringed as the smell of Owens fart reached their noses before an eagle flew down and grabbed the knocked-out fish as it soared to the sky. The fish soon fell as the bird seemed to lose its grip on it or perhaps the smell made it discard it in disgust.
You asked me what I wanted to be and I think the answer is plain to see
I wanna be famous!
The view changed to down below where DJ was seen in the woods smiling with a bunch of cute and cuddly animals comprised of two birds, two squirrels, a chipmunk, a skunk, a bunny, a turtle and a frog who all smiled back. Until the fish landed in front of DJ and it seemed to startle the animals. Suddenly they all had angry expressions and lunged at him as they all bite into several parts of his body while the birds pecked his head. The poor boy ran away panicking and seemingly screaming. Duncan was shown nearby laughing while running away from Courtney who looked livid as she held a big stick that she wanted to whack him with.
The Jamaican kept running through the forest as he approached Ben who had been lying down with his head against a tree root relaxing in the shade. Dawn was hanging upside down in a branch above him with her legs bent as they held her up. The two were peacefully stealing glances at the other while a couple of birds peacefully chirped beside them. The two noticed DJ running by and stared with alarmed looks as he kept going in terror.
I wanna live close to the sun
Well, pack your bags 'cause I've already won
The view ran past some trees to show Leshawna and Heather were fighting on a raft as they slapped each other's hands without looking at one another. Too late they realized their raft ended up going down a waterfall. Down below Harold was shown practicing his so-called mad skills while standing over a cracked log. Izzy soon came crashing into him while swinging on a vine. The two ended up slamming face first into an out house and knocking Lindsay out of it while her skirt was down, exposing her pink panties.
The view zoomed into the window of the mess hall where a buff looking Chef was stirring a pot. Preparing god knows what with his bare hands before smiling almost evilly at those behind him. A tied-up Noah and Ezekial were shown shaking in fear over the 'dish' being prepared before showing Tyler nearby lifting weights indoors. He was having difficulty lifting what looked like 20-pound weights. Only to get startled when he suddenly found himself being lifted by his collar by Eva who had a superior smirk as she held him up with only one hand. She then dropped him which caused the poor boy to accidentally drop one of his weights on top of his foot. He screamed in pain and hopped on one foot as he held the other one up.
Everything to prove, nothing in my way
I'll get there one day
Cause I wanna be famous
Na-na-na-na-na
Na-na-na-na
Na-na-na-na
The view went outside and revealed Sadie and Katie in bathing suits lying down on the sand on top of towels as they tanned. The two BFFF's were gazing at a shirtless Justin as he ran across the shore like a character from Baywatch, slow motion and everything. The scenery turned to the ocean showing a seagull with a six-pack soda ring around its neck staring into space. A salmon jumped out of the water behind it before it got eated by a shark, and a tentacle rose, grabbed and pulled the floating seagull below the water.
I wanna be
I wanna be
I wanna be famous
Beth was then seen on the dock of shame twirling a flaming baton for a bit before throwing it up in the air.
I wanna be
I wanna be
I wanna be famous
The baton continued to spin in the air before it suddenly became nighttime, and it fell back down out of sight. Gwen and Trent were seen smiling at each other as they sat next to each other by the campfire with Trent holding his guitar. The two leaned closer to each other but were stopped by Cody popping up between them before the camera zoomed out and showed the rest of the campers as well as Chris whistling by the campfire.
Chapter 7: On your own part 1
It was now noon as the campers were all gathered at the ceremony grounds for their next challenge. After waking up and having their breakfast, Chris informed them their next task would be taking place. They were all seated or standing by as they waited for the host to show up. While they did so however a certain Asian looking girl was silently in aggravation from the previous elimination.
"I can't believe Beth is gone." Heather fumed. "Now my alliance is weakened and my control over who gets eliminated is diminished. I swear when I find out who did this they're going to pay!"
As she thought this, she looked at the other campers wondering who it could've been.
Ben was a prime suspect after he ruined her attempts to steal Gwens diary for public humiliation. She didn't know how but she still believed he had something to do with that bug that crawled on her which made her drop the diary and run in a panic. He seemed like a goody two shoes which made it that much more important to eliminate him because he would likely oppose her most. If it was him then getting payback would be oh so sweet.
Leshawna was another suspect; she hadn't forgotten about the first challenge and how the girl threw her down the cliff after an exchange of insults. She was practically the one most at odds with her. That ghetto girl thought she was all that with her street talk and whatnot but she was just a chunky loser. She also seemed like to be like Ben in defending those she considered her ally's or even likable. She was also one she needed to eliminate when the time was right.
Gwen was a possibility if Ben had told the goth how she tried to steal her diary. That dark loving girl seemed capable of this kind of retaliation. She would have to keep an eye on her to be sure.
Trent was a smaller possibility she considered. It was no secret that the boy was crushing on Gwen and if he learned what she attempted then perhaps he did it to stick up for the goth. But then again, the guitarist seemed too mellow to resort to this kind of action. She'd require a closer look at the boy to know beyond a doubt.
Izzy was somewhat in Heathers mind but only because she seemed crazy and therefore unpredictable.
The rest of her team she thought about but also dismissed. Owen seemed like the second least intelligent member of the team (first place went to Lindsay naturally). Dustin seemed to be all looks and not a lot of brains and while Noah was a nerd, he had also shown a lack of drive in the competition that seemed downright lazy.
However, her so-called teammates weren't the only ones in her mind. She glanced at the opposing team and thought about who had the requirements to pull this off. Duncan was the first one she considered as that juvenile punk was certainly devious enough. However, he wasn't the only main suspect on that team as Courtney seemed like she was crafty enough to think up a plan like this. Then of course there was that weirdo hippy girl Dawn who somehow seemed to know things about everyone. Lastly there was Eva who had a mean streak that could extend beyond simple physical violence.
The list of possibilities was vast and she'd need to look over each of them carefully while watching her back for anymore incidents like this. No way was she letting herself get taken out by surprise like she nearly was before.
"Morning campers." Chris greeted, as he finally arrived to join them.
"Took your sweet time getting here." Duncan complained since the guy was a few minutes late.
"I'm the host." Chris shrugged arrogantly. "I can do what I please." He then clapped his hands eagerly as his eyes suddenly got a mischief look to them. "Now then let's get todays challenge started, because I can personally tell you that this one is going to quite the ordeal, someone might even die."
At that all the campers got startled looks.
Chris chuckled. "Just kidding… maybe" he trailed off for fun which didn't help calm the campers as everyone started to get a bad feeling of what was in store for them today.
"Do I dare ask what it is?" The goth spoke.
"It's a wilderness survival challenge!" Chris declared with arms spread out.
"Huh?" Several sounded off.
"Confused?" Chris knowingly asked before continuing. "I'll explain, in this challenge you'll be showing us just how well you can handle being in the woods away from all regular accommodations. You'll be scored on how well you do in navigation, building shelter, gathering food, animal confrontation and returning race."
"Whoa hold up, did you just say animal confrontation?" Leshawna questioned, hoping she heard wrong.
To her dismay however Chris chuckled. "That's right, animal confrontation. As in seeing how well you handle yourselves when faced with a wild animal." He then took out a pair of maps which he threw to Duncan and Ben who caught them. "Those maps each lead to your teams new campgrounds in the woods which are exactly 2 miles away from here."
"We have to walk that far!?" Owen asked in panic.
"Tough it out Owen." Chris grinned before he began to list things off. "Now then campers, today's challenge will be divided into 5 parts throughout these next long hours. Your first challenge will be to navigate your way to the chosen spots, the first team that arrives gets a point. All team members must arrive at your chosen locations to earn the points, if anyone is missing you get nothing, so try not to get lost or separate."
"Great." Heather huffed at the requirement knowing Owen was definitely going to slow them down.
"Your second challenge will to be to set up and build your own shelter using the materials we packed for you there. Whichever team manages to make the best and most functional resting place will earn points." Chris continued.
"I bet we can win in that one." Courtney confidently said.
"We'll see about that." Noah secretly thought to himself.
"Your third challenge will be to forage for food in the wild however you can. Whichever team manages to acquire the most food for their respective teams will win the points." Chris continued which earned a horrified look from Owen.
"YOU MEAN THERE'S NO FOOD!?" The overweight camper gripped his head in panic.
"Of course, there is Owen." Chris patted the camper's shoulders. "You just have to go into the woods and find it." He then snapped his fingers as he remembered something crucial. "Oh yeah and a word warning to all of you, not everything you find will be edible… hehehe." He chuckled at the end, especially when he saw their looks.
"He's gotta be talking about poisonous foods." Several campers thought in dread.
"Your fourth task will be to solve a problem when confronted by a wild bear!" Chris revealed which got horrified looks from nearly all the campers.
"Bears! You expect us to take on a bear! Nuh ah!" Leshawna shook her head while crossing her arms.
"I bet I could take a bear." Eva added earning sweat drops from her teammates.
"She probably could." Several of the Killer Bass thought.
"Getting a bear to come after us is dangerous and crazy!" Ben expressed his outrage at the challenge. Seriously someone could end up getting killed by a bear.
Chris wagged a finger. "Not to worry we're prepared for that, which is why we'll have these two armed and ready to shoot the bears if it looks like one of you is about to be eaten."
He gestured behind him to show Chef wearing a ranger's uniform. He wasn't alone either as there was a second man beside him wearing the same uniform. The new man was as tall as chef, with black hair, sun tanned skin and had an equally muscular form. However, he had a slimmer look and was also wearing pitch black sunglasses. Both men were each holding a riffle in their hands.
At the sight of the guns, Dawn got a horrified look. "You can't kill mother nature's creatures!" she spoke out loudly, startling those around her at seeing the girl raise her voice for the first time.
"Relax." Chris waved off her concerns. "They're just tranquilizer rounds." His words earned a sigh of relief from the moonchild. Clearly, she took animal welfare very seriously.
Confessional
"I'm not looking to get sued by PETA or any other tree huggers." Chris stated for the fact before smirking. "Besides I may be needing those same animals in the future for other challenges so why waste them?"
(Static)
"They say that bears are the most powerful land apex predators." Eva stated while lifting a single dumbbell. When she finished her set, she dropped the weight and cracked her neck. "I'll be claiming that title before this challenge ends."
(Static)
"You know it's weird that given all I've been through in life and the number of times I've been camping I've never even seen a bear." Ben remarked while looking up in thought. "Bears in the zoo don't count."
(Static)
"I'm not worried about bears." Justin said as he admired himself in the mirror before gesturing to his face. "After all who would want to harm this face." He then opened his mouth and looked at his shining teeth.
(Static)
A bear was sitting down looking at a couple of photos in his hand. He then grinned before biting into the photos and shaking his head like a dog with toy. One photo fell out of his mouth which the camera caught showing Heathers face. The bear picked up the photo and stared for a moment before tossing it into its mouth and chewing on it as well. The photo of Justin was hanging beside him as he stared at it with an awestruck look.
"Umm who is that?" Courtney asked while pointing to the man next to Chef, having never seen him before. The C.I.T got an uncomfortable feeling about him which only increased when she could swear, she felt his eyes suddenly turn to her.
"Oh, this is Johnson." Chris walked over and patted Johnson on the shoulder. "He's an old acquaintance of Chef who has come to make sure none of you get eaten."
"Cool, what's up my man?" Geoff greeted the guy only to get silence in return as the man didn't respond or move at all. The surfer couldn't see the guy's eyes cause of the sunglasses but he was getting the feeling that Johnny was looking at him with disinterest. The surfer quietly lowered his hat to cover his face, trying to block out the gaze.
"Not much of a talker is he." Gwen remarked as even Chef spoke when addressed.
"Moving on people, your fifth and final challenge will be to race back here at the sound of the alarms which I will give you at 10am tomorrow morning. First team to make it across the finish line that will be set up over there." He pointed to a spot on the path leading to the woods. "Wins the final points of the event. Whichever team has the highest score will win invincibility from elimination along with a special reward."
At hearing the word reward, everyone suddenly got more interested.
"Reward? What kind of reward?" Heather immediately questioned, wondering if it was something valuable.
"Is it a new car!?" Geoff asked a bit excitedly.
"Our very own restaurant!?" Owen spoke while almost drooling at the thought.
"A personal stylist?" Justin showed his preference.
"A new house so that I can have all the privacy I need." Gwen added her own small desire.
"You'll find out when the challenge ends so give it your all cause we're about to start. So, head for the startling lines and get ready to run cause in this challenge you'll be completely blind to how your opposing team is doing." Chris pointed out the unique difference in the challenge.
"Aren't we allowed to bring anything with us?" Owen asked as he wanted to grab some food to bring along.
"No." Chris denied before pointing at the starting line for them to head to.
The teams gathered by the starting line and readied themselves to run. Chris stood by with a starting pistol ready to signal the start. Chef and Johnson had already left for their chosen campgrounds to prepare for their part. Everyone took their positions and anxiously waited for the signal.
BANG!
Everyone took off at the sound as both teams split up to follow their designated paths. The Screaming Gophers were trailing with Ben, Justin and Izzy in the front while Owen was in the back. The Killer Bass had Geoff, Bridgette and Eva in the front while Katie and Sadie were at the end. The two teams soon lost sight of each other as they entered the words from different sides. As they ran Trent began catching up to Gwen.
"Hey Gwen." The guitarist called after her.
The goth turned to him as he caught up and ran beside her. "Oh hey, what's up?" She greeted him.
"Crazy challenge we're having huh?" Trent asked as it certainly seemed like the craziest one yet.
She rolled her eyes. "That's an understatement, I'm starting to think Chris is insane or deranged. I mean seriously who sets a person up to face a bear with the possibility of being maimed or eaten?"
Trent shrugged. "No idea, he's certainly original though."
"Are you giving him props?" she questioned almost incredulously.
"Just recognition." Trent corrected as while he found the challenges to be an ordeal of pain, he couldn't deny Chris was certainly creative. He can only wonder what the future ones would be like.
"At least I have one less thing to worry about now." Gwen remarked about her recent discovery.
"What do you mean?" Trent asked with a raised brow at her words.
Gwen slapped herself mentally for her loose lips. Still there was no harm in telling him of what she had learned. He was the one who had brought it up after all. "Well… I talked to Ben to find out if he had a thing for me."
At hearing that Trent tensed up a bit, wondering if his suspicions had been proven true and Ben did have feelings for Gwen. "What did he say?" To his surprise he saw Gwen let out a chuckle, finding her small laugh cute.
"Turns out the whole thing was a misunderstanding." Gwen proceeded to tell him about how she had the same name as Ben's cousin. How Ben was looking out for her cause she reminded him of her a bit. He also had no romantic interest in her due to that other than friendship most likely.
"Wow what're the odds am I right?" Trent couldn't help but ask. There were several people who might have the same name as others but to actually meet someone who has or knows someone who does was certainly a rare find. Internally he was also relieved that he had been wrong in his assumptions on Ben's possible feelings for Gwen.
"Yeah, it totally caught me by surprise when he told me." Gwen admitted while also relieved Trent's theory was proven wrong. While Ben certainly seemed nice and she could admit that she did find him kind of cute, he wasn't the one the goth had an interest in. She fought down a blush at the thought as she glanced at her crush.
"So, are you and him buddies now?" Trent asked wondering if a friendship had been made.
The goth got a puzzled look as she thought about it. Truthfully, she wasn't sure although she could honestly say she wouldn't mind spending some time just talking to Ben and hanging out with him. Did that mean she wanted to be friends with him? Not necessarily but the idea wasn't something she felt like dismissing.
"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Ben's sudden question broke the goths thoughts as she looked to see him questioning Heather on the directions.
"Yes, it's this way now keep running!" Heather annoyingly declared as she ran.
The team continued running as they navigated through the woods. Following the directions on the map they were given as they went deeper into the island. Everyone was starting to feel tiredness beginning to set in as they felt their legs wearing out. For one certain camper however, it had already happened.
"Come on Owen!" Trent encouraged as he and others tried lifting him up after the guy fell over and said he wanted to take a break. They couldn't stop now; it would risk them losing their first event.
"(Gasp) Need water!" The large weight contestant let out through deep breathes.
"Get up Owen!" Heather angrily commanded. "You're costing us time and if we lose then I swear I'm going to-HEY!" her ranting was cut off when Ben swiped the mad from her hands as he looked it over.
"Hmm according to this map there's supposed to be a creak nearby." Ben mentioned before he knelt to talk to Owen. "Hey Owen, there's water nearby."
"Water?" Owen repeated as he raised his head from the ground, showing his sweat covered face. "Where?"
Ben blinked before looking to the map and then their surroundings to get an estimate. Once he got it, the American pointed in a direction past some trees. "I believe it's past those trees."
Without another word Owen seemed to gain his second wind and ran past everyone in the pointed direction. They were surprised by his speed given his girth but followed him after getting over it. It didn't take long for them to find that stream Ben had mentioned. When they arrived however the team was greeted to the sight of Owen dunking his head into the water before sipping it up like an animal as he submerged his lower jaw.
"This might take a minute." Noah remarked before walking upstream to drink some water himself.
"Anyone who's thirsty feel free to drink up." Ben told the group as he joined Noah.
The others soon followed suit. If nothing else the refreshment would get them running back at top speed.
Meanwhile far away from the Screaming Gophers, the Killer Bass were also trekking through the woods trying to reach their designated campgrounds. They had been walking for a while now and were all advancing together. Sadie had been trailing behind the group but had been managing to keep up unlike Owen. However, the heat and ordeal were starting to get to her as her stamina was tiring out.
"How much further?" Sadie asked alongside her closest friend while wiping her forehead.
"We're getting closer." Courtney answered as she paused to look at the map before continuing forward.
"You sure about that?" Duncan questioned skeptically. "Because I think you might be reading that map wrong or something." His comment earned a glare from the girl who turned looked ready to whack him.
"Hey! In case you forgot I'm the one with C.I.T experience! We're not lost!"
"Anyone else getting tired of hearing that?" Eva grumbled to the others, getting silent nods from them.
"Come on you guys just a bit further and earn the first point." Courtney encouraged as she continued advancing in front of everyone.
"How? In case you've forgotten, we have no idea how the other is doing. They could've already reached the campsite for all we know." Duncan reminded her as they kept going.
"Or they could be catching up and are about to take the lead if you all don't keep moving!" Courtney countered.
"They haven't reached it yet."
"GAH!" Courtney jumped as she turned around to see Dawn standing ahead of her. "How did… but you were…" the C.I.T stuttered as while pointing at the moon child and a spot behind her where she could've sworn the girl had been walking before. "Don't do that!" she then got a confused look. "And how would you know?"
"Mother nature told me." Dawn answered as if it were obvious, earning a sweat drop from the C.I.T and a few others.
"Uh huh… and what else did it tell you?" Bridgette questioned while hiding how weirded out she felt.
"That we should pick up the pace if we want to win the first part." The moon child informed before walking ahead.
"Finally, something I can get behind." Eva commented as he ran ahead to catch up to the girl but not before swiping the map from Courtney's hands.
"Hey!" The C.I.T cried out indignantly at the action.
"What, you got a complaint!?" The monstrously strong girl asked with a look daring to challenge her. Courtney wisely reeled in her emotions and shook her head.
Without another word they all pressed on and continued their race through the woods. The team carried on as they navigated through the horde of trees. Like before Sadie had some trouble keeping up with the other runners. But she persevered through the insistence of the rest as they all stayed together through their pacing. They passed by a cavern that immediately made them worry that a bear was inside but saw nothing. Finally, they reached their destination after a few more minutes. Relief washing over them as they took a breather from their trek.
The group saw it was a clean clearing with a few largely packed bags piled together in the center. The clearing was as spacious as one third of a football field giving them plenty of room for each of them to set up if they wanted.
"Huh, nice spot." Geoff complimented as he took in the sight.
"Yeah, very spacious with soft grass." Bridgette added as she stepped on said grass.
"Is that a letter attached to the bags?" Dawn questioned while pointing to them. Indeed, she was correct as they saw an envelope taped to one of the bags with the game shows logo printed on it. With curiosity, Bridgette stepped forward and opened the letter and read it out loud while Geoff and Courtney hovered over her shoulders and read it themselves.
Congrats on completing the first round! As I mentioned, your next task will be to set up your camp. However, the second challenge will not start until 2pm when you hear the ring from the alarm clock you'll find behind the bags...
Bridgette paused to indeed spot a small clock between two bags before continuing to read.
Whichever builds the most impressive housing will win the second round. And remember no cheating by starting early cause we're watching.
The letter ended with a cartoonish picture of Chris's face with a finger pointing at them.
"Even his drawings are mocking." Courtney grumbled as she leaned away after reading the letter.
"Nice emoji though." Duncan commented, earning looks from the others which made him get a defensive look. "What!? I like emojis, I used to love leaving them as parts of insults during texts… before my dad confiscated my phone." He grumbled at the last part with some bitterness.
"Well regardless our next challenge isn't for nearly an hour." Bridgette pointed out after seeing the time on the clock.
"So, what're we supposed to do until then?" Geoff questioned.
"We could take a break while waiting." Bridgette suggested before another thought came to mind. "How about we just sit around and talk? You know get to know each other better."
Duncan scoffed. "What you mean like form a social circle or something?"
"I'm surprised you even know what a social circle is." Courtney teased earning a small glare from the punk.
"It would be a good way to get to know each other better. Maybe we could even share some stories." Dawn added.
Eva crossed her arms. "Don't expect me to share my life story, I'm not the sharing feelings type."
"Wow big shocker Captain Obvious." Duncan remarked before tensing up in slight fear when Eva growled at him with a predatory look and his mind recalled the important fact that she was the strongest physical competitor on the island. Immediately instincts of self-preservation began flaring up and he wisely said "Sorry."
"Good boy." Eva warned as if lecturing a bad dog.
Confessional
"I think I almost threw up a bit." Duncan spoke with a gulp and slightly unnerved look. "Man, Eva's a real force of intimidation. No one from juvie even comes close to being her level of scary." he then paused as the memory of someone came to mind. "Except maybe my old enemy... Mal."
(Static)
"Duncan thinks he's tough." Eva grumbled with a clenched fist. "Maybe he is compared to the others but to me he's outclassed…" she paused as someone else came to mind. "and maybe Izzy." She smirked at the thought of the red head while recalling the dodgeball game. "She may be crazy but she's the tough kind of crazy."
Meanwhile back at the two dorms, Chris was currently seated in front of several monitors. He had been watching the two teams ever since a few minutes after they ran into the woods. The host was enjoying the sight of both teams as they competed against each other. He could see how not knowing the status of their opposition was making them a bit paranoid with thoughts of possible defeat. Such drama… he loved it.
The host could only chuckle in amusement. "This is such good television, I'm clearly a genius." He then took a handful of Cheetos from his bowl and began eating the cheesy treats. "I wonder how Chef is doing?" He decided to find out by calling him as he pulled out his walkie. "Yo Chef how're you doing buddy?"
"I'm all set up and in position."
"Nice… how's your buddy doing?"
"Same."
"Good…" Chris paused as he suddenly had a thought. "Hey Chef, I think I've just come up with a new idea for a future challenge which you can personally take part in."
"…Oh no."
Christ ignored the man's tone. "Oh, trust me you're going to like it, see what I'm thinking is…" he trailed off as he began to mention his latest idea. Describing the rules of the game and everything that would entail it. "So… what do you think?"
"Hehehehehehe" Chef gave an almost evil chuckle. "Oh Chris man, you are goooood."
The host gave his own evil chuckle. "Yeah, I totally am. It's going to be so much fun when we arrive to this challenge."
"Not as much fun as I'll be having." An eager Chef sounded.
The two conspirers then broke into another evil chuckle at what they had now planned.
"Well then, check with you later chef." Chris said before hanging up his walkie and picking up a clipboard. "Now then, first point is scored. Let's see who will get the second one." He wrote down before sitting back and watching the next events unfold.
Back with the Killer Bass the campers had formed a circle as they sat in wait. Well almost everyone, Eva had chosen to go for a walk around the place to do daily exercise. Many thought the girl seriously needed to chill out once in a while. Whatever her case, the group had started to talk a bit about themselves a bit. Courtney had spoken first, going on about her C.I.T experience (much to the others annoyance). Thankfully her turn came to an end when DJ diverted the conversation to Tyler who shared his desire about becoming a professional athlete. After that it was Bridgette's turn who had also so far been pretty open about herself.
"So, Bridgette you like to surf right. Have you ever competed in tournaments?" Dawn asked her fellow blonde despite knowing the answer to her question already. The others didn't however, so she saw it as a good ice breaker for talking.
"Oh well I have. I've competed in a few tournaments, even managing to win one of them but I haven't managed to qualify for the internationals yet." Bridgette openly shared.
"You're trying to go pro?" Geoff asked almost excitedly. "That's so cool!" He was a surfer himself but his love of the sport was more for just the enjoyment rather than seeking a career in it. Then again, he hadn't thought about his future much. Perhaps looking for a profession in what he loves to do would be a good idea.
Bridgette smiled at the other blonde. "Yeah, it's been my goal ever since I was a little girl. It was Bethany Hamilton who was my inspiration growing up."
At hearing that Duncan raised a brow. "You mean that surfer chick whose arm got eaten by a shark?" He promptly earned a small jab in the gut by Courtney who gave him a look.
"Not cool man." Geoff told the punk in disapproval.
Bridgette frowned a bit at the crass but accurate detail of her hero. "Yeah her."
"So what, you saw her competing or did you just see that movie about her?" The punk continued asking.
"I saw her on TV!" Bridgette shot back defensively before pausing. "Then I saw her movie later."
"Well, you have a nice hero. Anyone who can overcome a…" Courtney paused herself when she was about to say the word "disability" thinking it might be too insulting to use. "Loss like that is deserving of respect and recognition." She finished her sentence and was glad to receive a thankful nod from her fellow girl.
"I've seen her on tv a few times, she's cool." Geoff added as he found the one-armed surfer to be awesome.
"Yeah, even after her tragedy she became a real icon." Tyler added his own admiration for the fellow athlete.
"You know it's stories like that which make me glad I avoid swimming deep in the beach." Katie revealed.
"Oh my gosh, I know right." Sadie agreed. "I mean there are so many dangerous animals that could be living in the beach. You never know what could happen."
"Sharks, eels, jellyfish, sea urchins, sea snakes, poisonous fish and possible contaminations." Dawn listed off earning looks from everyone at hearing the variety. "But most don't go after people unless provoked or they confuse humans for something else."
"Can we change the subject, cause your starting to make the beach seem unpleasant and I love the beach." Bridgette politely requested as she didn't want to hear more about this.
"Well how about you Duncan?" Courtney asked as she turned to him.
"What about me princess?"
"That performance you did in the talent competition was really something. It certainly gives a literal meaning to the term bringing the roof down." Courtney pointed out.
"Yeah man that was totally rocking!" Geoff gave kudos while flashing the rock out sign.
"You should've seen my high school performance." Duncan chuckled with an evil look in his eyes. "Now that was a real blast. I mean you should've seen the size of the explosion and the fire that was caused." He paused when he saw everyone giving him looks. "Oh relax, no one was hurt. I just ended up burning a large section of the school."
"Yes, well I'm starting to get hungry y'all." DJ pointed out before turning to Dawn. "You're into nature, any idea where we can find some natural grown food?"
The moonchild nodded. "Sure, I'm familiar with all the plants that might grow berries, nuts or the like."
"I say just give me a spear or fishing pole and I'll get us some tasty fish we can skin, cook and eat." Duncan suggested.
Dawn gave him a blank look. "You do know I'm a vegan right?"
"And I'm a vegetarian." Bridgette also reminded them.
"Then you girls can go find your greens while we men get our delicious protein." Duncan waved off before turning to the others. "Now then speaking of food, does anyone know how to cook?"
To the surprise of some DJ raised his hand.
"You DJ?" Courtney asked almost incredulously.
"Oh yeah, I know my stuff in the kitchen. In fact, I always handle cooking the feasts for Thanksgiving and Christmas." DJ tried not to boast but cooking was his greatest talent.
"If your so good then why didn't you try cooking for the talent competition?" Duncan questioned skeptically.
"Now that he mentions it, I'm curious as well." Bridgette wondered.
"So that me and everyone else would be forced to watch Chris and Chef eat actual quality food I made with my two hands?" DJ retorted in displeasure at the very idea of feeding their tormentors. "I don't think so man, they don't get to enjoy my hard work while we get to keep eating that cafeteria slop."
"Good point." Courtney accepted with crossed arms and a frown. "It's bad enough we're working our sweat and tears off for his show. No reason to give him them more enjoyments than required."
"But there aren't any ingredients for seasonings or toppings?" Katie pointed out the lack of essentials for cooking.
"I can make do with whatever we can get. Just leave it all to me." DJ declared with pride.
"Oh yeah! Today we feast!" Tyler cheered, earning raised fists from the others.
"But first let's get ready to build our living quarters and make it a real comfort." Courtney reminded on how that's their next objective with food being after that.
RIIIIIING!
Several of the team members got startled at the sudden alarm.
"Looks like it's time we build our new digs." Geoff stated the obvious.
"I have an idea about what we can build." Dawn suddenly spoke up gaining their attention.
"We're listening." Courtney spoke for everyone.
"Okay now bring the rope down and… ok we're good." Ben guided as he grabbed it and tied it to the branch off his tree. "Good work Trent." He thanked his fellow camper who was on another tree with the end of the rope tied to it. Ben looked down at his teammates. "Ok you guys bring up the tarp."
"Coming your way!" Leshawna called out as she and Owen each threw a rock that was tied up to the ring hole of the tarp. Ben and Trent caught them and began moving it into place as they formed a large roof.
The team then began to build their large tents under the roof. Setting up two large tents that were each big enough to hold ten of them each. They used several tarps to create sun shields so that they'd remain in the shade even from morning to sunset. They had also set up a couple of towels to lie down on outside.
"Nice." Gwen complimented as she finished putting up the girl's tent.
"Where do we sleep?" Lindsay asked ignorantly.
"In the one Gwen set up!" Heather irritably told her. "Weren't you listening to when we were discussing the arrangement of where we'll sleep?"
Lindsay tilted her head. "Huh, guess not."
"Why did Beth have to get eliminated and leave me with the dumbest contender." Heather mentally wailed.
"Well anyway it looks like we made quite a new establishment for us to reside in for the night." Noah looked with appreciation at their new temporary living quarters.
"It certainly looks awesome, what you think Justin?" Owen asked the handsome contestant who gave a smile and thumbs up in response. "Yeah, we rock!"
"Now that it's done, we need to get started on gathering food." Gwen reminded.
"Umm guys, where's Izzy?" Trent suddenly pointed out causing everyone to raise their eyebrows before looking around and not seeing the redhead.
"Izzy? IZZY!?" Ben called out to their missing teammate. "She was with us when we started building, how the heck did she just disappear? Where would she even go in the middle of a challenge?"
"Urgh, will you come out of hiding you lunatic!" Heather yelled into the distance, gaining a look from Ben. "What?"
"That's not a nice thing to call her." He remarked.
"Oh, come on. We all know she's crazy." She rebuffed at the red head's lack of sanity.
"Doesn't mean you gotta diss the girl." Leshawna added defensively for her fellow Gopher.
"Tell it to someone who cares." Heather dismissed the girl's words.
"You better work on that attitude of yours girl!" Leshawna warned while stepping forward.
"Back of ghetto girl!"
"Oh, you want to start this again!" Leshawna smirked "Because you know how this argument ended the last time!"
At that, the memory of getting thrown off the cliff and into the sea flashed in Heathers mind. The anger she felt from the action resurfacing along with the momentary terror she felt before vanishing just as quickly.
Yeah well, we're not on a cliff this time."
"True but we are near a lake which I'd love to throw you in just as well." Leshawna countered.
"I'd stop if I were you Heather unless you want to end up seeing what horrors are living in there." Ben recommended.
"It's just a lake."
"Which could have man eating piranhas, poisonous jellyfish, electric eals, sharks like from the first challenge or who knows what else that Chris decided to introduce." Ben listed the possible dangers lurking below.
"Hey guys there's a big fish in the lake!" Owen suddenly called out.
Everyone there turned their heads to the lake. They tried to see what Owen saw and noticed a shadow beneath the water along with some light splashing that could've been from the tail. It was too far to tell what it was but it certainly seemed like it was big like a mackerel. It almost seemed like it was chasing something.
"Quick! Let's catch it and then feast on its meat!" An already hungry Owen yelled out as he already imagined eating roasted fish for dinner. Hmmm tasty, delicious fish cooked till it was well-done.
"I swear if Chris put psychotic barracudas in there, I'm having some real unfriendly words with him." Gwen swore.
"I don't believe that's a fish." Noah pointed out.
SPLASH
Everyone's eyes widened when the submerged shadow came out and revealed itself. It wasn't a fish as Noah had said but actually their missing teammate Izzy herself. That wasn't what caught their attention however, it was the three fishes she had in her grasp. One on each hand while the third was held by her teeth. All three fishes were clearly no longer alive given their lack of movements. The crazed redhead swam back to shore before walking up to her team.
Izzy then began to say something which was incoherent due to the fish in her mouth.
"We can't understand you Izzy." Ben sweat dropped. The redhead responded by spitting out the fish in her jaws.
"I was saying I got us out next meal. I was going to help out with the tent building but then I saw this fish in the lake so I went after it. Since Chris didn't specifically say that we couldn't focus on both the tents and gathering food I figured I'd take the lead and gather food for us."
Most raised an eyebrow at that.
"That's actually pretty good." Heather was forced to admit as she didn't consider that.
"Did they suffer?" Gwen asked a bit sadly while looking at the dead fishes.
"Umm… no." Izzy innocently answered which was mostly true except for one the one she caught in her mouth. That one she had to thrash her head around and bite hard into before it ceased all movements. However, they didn't need to know that. Ignorance is bliss as the saying went.
"I have a question, why did you go into the lake with all your clothes on when there aren't any replacements available?" Trent questioned while trying to not look anywhere but Izzy's face.
The redheads' clothes were soaking wet and were now clinging to her body more closely. Not to mention the fact they were also a bit transparent as a result, which helped highlight her figure. Her nipples were shown poking through revealing she wasn't wearing a bra. The drops of water running down her bare skin didn't help keep eyes away either. In fact, Ben was having to focus his eyes elsewhere, Owen on the other hand was looking entranced while Noah was staring at the fish she spat out to avoid looking up at her.
"I didn't have my swimsuit, should I have just gone in the nude?"
"NO!" Almost everyone immediately shouted all at once while Owen looked conflicted at the question.
"We're just concerned you might end up catching a cold." Ben expressed, which was well meant since she didn't have spare clothes and keeping them on could result in that.
"I'll figure something out." Izzy said unconcerned but appreciative.
"You sure girl, would hate to see ya get unwell for our sakes?" Leshawna showed her own concern.
"I think I can help with that." Justin suddenly spoke, gaining their startled attention. Which was understandable due to this being the first time he ever talked in their presence. "But I'll need somethings first."
With that he went to the backpacks and rummaged around before pulling out a pair of scissors and fishing wire.
"Trent and Owen, would you mind coming with me?" he asked the two.
"Umm ok?" The guitarist agreed in confusion.
Without another word he and Owen along with Izzy followed Justin. He led them away to a private corner on the woods. A couple of minutes passed as the others wondered what the heck Justin was doing. Heather in particular was getting impatient as they stood by with the three fish lying on a rock, waiting to be cooked. Finally the four of them came back and the rest of the team got raised eyebrows at a noticeably change.
The reason being that Izzy was now dressed differently along with Trent and Owen. The camouflage ends of Trent's long sleeve shirt were gone and had been turned into a short crop top that covered Izzy's breasts. Owen meanwhile was missing a few inches from the bottom of his shirt which Izzy was now wearing as a makeshift skirt that stopped near her knees.
"Wow talk about a fashion change." Gwen couldn't help but look impressed.
"I'll say." Leshawna agreed, also impressed. "You never told us you knew how to sow and make clothes."
"There's been no need for that particular skill of mine for any of the challenges, until now that is." Justin answered.
"Well, you certainly did ok work." Noah commented as he saw the makeshift clothing was well secured.
"It feels pretty snug." Izzy remarked while tugging at her top, testing its stretchiness.
Confessional
"As someone once said, if you want something done right then do it yourself." Justin revealed while looking at his reflection. "My grandma taught me how to sow so that I could make clothes to fit my personal style. Although I must admit this is definitely my most primitive creation."
(Static)
"I wonder if he could make me a fancy dress?" Lindsay wondered to herself while imagining a beautiful dress.
(Static)
"Looks like Mr. drop dead gorgeous is more than just a sweet piece of eye candy." Leshawna spoke while being surprised he could sow. "This girl definitely has another reason to want a piece of that."
(Static)
"He can sow, big deal." Heather scoffed dismissively. "Izzy looks like a savage girl now which she didn't need any help to pull off already. The only thing missing are leaves in her hair and running barefoot."
Izzy was shown fiddling with her new clothes, she then got a bothered look. She put her hands into her skirt and pulled down her green panties. She squeezed them like a towel, wringing some water out of it before putting them back on and getting a slightly relaxed look. "I'm feeling warmer already."
"So, is anyone here a good cook? Cause I hear fish can be bad for you if not cooked properly?" Trent asked.
"I assume you're talking about the mercury levels found in fish which are reduced by 30 percent when cooked properly?" Noah guessed the concern he was mentioning.
"I'll do it." Ben raised his hand.
"You know how to cook?" Leshawna turned to him.
"I'm not a chef but do I do know how to cook fish. Learned it from some camping trips as a kid."
"Cool, let's get to it then." Owen hungrily said as he wanted to eat.
"Ok then." Ben clapped his hands as he turned to the group. "Justin, Gwen and Trent you three go find some leaves and sticks we can use for firewood." He turned his head a bit. "Leshawna, Justin and Owen, I need you to find some rocks to make a safe circle around the firewood." He then turned to Noah. "You know how to start a fire without a lighter Noah?"
"Does pi equal 3.1415926 and so on and so forth?" Noah sarcastically said before seeing the looks he was getting. "Yes… I can make a simple fire." He rolled his eyes. "I just need two dry sticks that're sufficiently thick and sturdy."
"I'll scale and gut them!" Izzy offered while raising her hand which was now holding a knife.
Everyone did a double take.
"What the!? Where did you get that knife!?" Heather questioned as the redhead hadn't been holding it before.
"Justin used it to cut the wire of my new clothes and I've been carrying it on me." An unbothered Izzy replied.
"Umm well thanks Izzy, you know how to scale and gut fish properly?" Ben wondered about her technique.
Izzy began trailing her other hand over the knife, looking a bit too eager. "Oh yeah, I've been doing that for a while. When you're on the run from the RCMP, you need to learn how to live of the wild."
No one said a word after hearing that from her.
They all went about their assigned tasks. All the materials were gathered as sticks and leaves were gathered inside a circle of rocks over sand. Izzy had prepped the fish just as she said she would, which they were all thankful for since gutting an animal was quite a squeamish thing to even think about. Noah had instructed them how to start a fire by rubbing two sticks together. Speaking of their meal, they had caught a few more fish since there weren't enough for the rest of them and those like Owen required more than one to be satisfied with a full belly. All of which were now skewered on sticks being roasted by the fire as they were imbedded on the ground.
"Mmmm they're starting to smell good." Owen drooled a bit as the smell was making his stomach hungrier.
"A few more minutes, then we rotate them to cook the other side and then wait for them to cool down a bit before eating." Trent explained while keeping his eyes on their food to make sure they didn't overcook.
"Tasty fish…" Owen said while looking in a trance as he reached out to grab his fish.
"HEY!" Heather shouted before slapping the blonde's hand away as he cried and pulled it back before rubbing it. "No swiping until they're finished!"
"You hit hard." Owen whined while blowing on his hand to soothe the ache.
"Yo girl! There's no reason to be dissing a member of the posse." Leshawna berated with arms crossed.
"He tried to eat early and I'm not going to tolerate having to see him engorge himself while I have to wait."
"Why don't you take a chill pill for that attitude of yours Heather." Gwen joined in.
"Can't we just get along as we eat?" Trent asked as he actually wanted to enjoy the meal with Gwen and not have the atmosphere ruined by arguments. After being relieved to see that Ben didn't have a thing for the goth, he wanted to try asking her out in the future.
"Yeah guys, we're supposed to be a team." Ben reminded them.
The minor hostility thankfully died down as the team sat and watched their fishes cook. It only took a few short minutes before they were finally cooked on both sides, taking on a more brownish skin tone. Everyone eagerly grabbed their fish and blew on them to cool down a bit before taking their first bites.
"Mmmm these are good!" Owen cheered while taking more bites out of it. He would clearly be the first to finish his.
"Not a bad course considering the lack of seasonings." Noah commented while chewing on one side of his cheek.
"Hey at least it's better than the slop Chef makes for us." Gwen pointed out, enjoying the taste of an actual meal.
"Protean is an important part of one's diet and makes for a healthy body." Justin mentioned while also savoring his fish.
"It's no wonder Japan loves eating this stuff so regularly." Trent expressed after swallowing his piece, feeling the warm meat go down his throat and to his belly with his taste buds feeling delighted.
"Well today we're getting to enjoy this tastiness for ourselves and ain't no one gonna mess it up for us now." Leshawna declared while rotating her fish to bite into the uneaten side.
"I wonder what it would it be like if we had swordfish instead." Izzy pondered after swallowing her lump. "Or maybe Trout, Sea Bass… or maybe Shark soup!" she thought up the last one before grinning at the idea.
Far away from the team the group of sharks from the first challenge suddenly shuddered as if they had a bad feeling.
"I'm not a fan of the idea of eating sharks or any animals that're endangered." Ben frowned.
"Me neither." Gwen immediately agreed. She might not be a vegetarian or an animal lover but she was self-conscious about the state of world affairs. She could name a list of things she found wrong in the world and what they should do about it.
"How do you think the other team is doing?" Lindsay suddenly asked while hoping Tyler wasn't starving.
"Who knows." Noah shrugged as there was no way of knowing until Chris gave the scores tomorrow.
"And more importantly who cares." Heather added while giving the blond a look for showing concern for the enemy.
"RUN!"
The Killer Bass were running away from a swarm of angry bees that were chasing them after Duncan accidentally knocked their hive out of the tree. Needless to say the buzzing insects did not take that kindly and went crazy at them.
Their team had finished setting up good loving quarters for them to sleep the night in. When they went looking for food that's when things took a turn for the worst. They had gotten some fish but wanted to see about finding things they could use as makeshift seasonings or anything for different dishes. Now they were paying for it dearly.
While the team ran, Dawn observed them from the safety of a tree she was sitting on. She would've tried to help them but unfortunately those bees were stinging mad and not in the mood to listen to anyone.
"Looks like it's going to be a long day." She observed.
Hope you all enjoyed that. I've been thinking of what challenges to change up and this one came to mind.