The following two days were without challenges, giving the campers a chance to get settled into their new routine. For Liam, this included some key observations.

One, do not touch Eva or Duncan's stuff. Ever. Second, waking up before Owen was a smart idea; the bathrooms smelled better during that time. And most all, Izzy wasn't just quirky. She was insane.

In that time, he had seen the girl chase down a raccoon that stole her toast, kick a shark in the nose when the Bass went swimming without even noticing, and vanish into the woods before emerging for dinner with a deerskin blanket.

All on the second day.

And Daphne, he was discovering, was hardly any better. The brunette seemed to treat every crazy thing Izzy suggested as a chance for a thrill ride, and would even provide her own ideas for how to make their activities more 'fun'. Over half of those ideas seemed to include fire, something that made him much more wary to be around her.

Thankfully, it seemed some of the Bass also weren't fond of her. Gwen and Leshawna in particular seemed irritated by the sheer volumes of tales Izzy wove when she was around them.

Speaking of which, he was surprised to see Leshawna and Heather talking civilly with one another, despite their clash during the challenge. That was worrisome; Lindsay was already following Heather around like an eager puppy. If the queen bee managed to form an alliance with Leshawna, their combined cunning could make outlasting them… difficult.

So, what to do? What to do...

On the third morning after the challenge, Chris approached the cabins. Holding up an air horn, he was about to blow it before pausing. With an evil grin, he pulled out a megaphone and flipped it on, holding the air horn to it.

The subsequent screech nearly shattered the windows in both cabins, and effectively woke up all twenty-three campers at once. Gwen, in fact, shot upright fast enough to hit her head on the bunk above her. "Ow! CHRIS! It's…" she said, before looking at her bedside clock. "Seven a.m.!"

Leshawna nodded, opening the window and leaning out it. "There's only one farmer on this island, and it ain't us!" she yelled.

Despite everyone's irritation (sans Ezekiel and Eva) at the early wake-up call, they soon showered, dressed and formed a line outside. "Morning, campers! Hope you all slept well," he greeted tauntingly.

Heather gave him a cheery smile. "Good morning, Chris! Can I just say that you look great in those shorts?" she told him.

Rather than fall for the flattery, Chris just said "I know," and started walking past them, making Heather grimace. "Hope you're all ready, because your next challenge begins in one minute."

Owen frowned. "Aw, come on! Can't we have breakfast first?" he complained.

"Oh, there will be breakfast, Owen," Chris assured him. "Right after your twenty-kilometer run around the lake!" he announced.

Eva glared at him, unamused. "Oh, so you're supposed to be funny, now?" Marching towards him, she began winding up her right arm. "You know what I think would be funny?" she said, before Trent, Leshawna and Heather held her back.

"Eva! Save your anger for the challenge!" Heather whispered.

That got her to pause, and she snapped "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" to Chris.

He nodded unashamedly. "A little," he said. "You all have thirty seconds."

Confessional Stall - Heather

"Eva is a complete pain to live with. Our cabin now has a draft because she threw her suitcase through a window, and I refuse to use one of the bathroom stalls after she broke the lock on it. But she could be useful for winning challenges, so I'll try to rein her in… for now."

Once the run started, several of the campers were putting their all into it and sprinting, while others jogged or walked at a more sedate pace.

One of the people sprinting was, surprisingly, Ezekiel. As he passed by Duncan, Harold and Liam, he called "Come on, guys! We can do this, eh!" and kept running.

Duncan watched him with a raised eyebrow. "Guess doing manual labor his whole life helped build him up," he commented, but made no move to start running.

Cody, meanwhile, panted as he tried to keep pace with a determined Courtney. "You… really… want to win, huh?" he said between breaths.

She nodded. "I am not starting this show with a losing streak," she said fiercely. "Now pick up the pace! We are going to win this race and taste those marshmallows!" she declared, before starting to run faster.

Cody's eyes widened, and his panting increased as he also sped up to remain with her.

Confessional Stall - Cody

"I'm starting to think Courtney might not be the girl for me. I can do bossy, but she seems more controlling than I can handle," he said, briefly looking down. Then he smiled and looked back up. "But it's cool! There are still plenty more ladies at camp for the Codemeister," he said confidently.

As the walking campers passed by the river, they saw Owen on all fours lapping from it. "Can't go on… Must have a condition…" he said hoarsely.

Heather rolled her eyes. "Yeah, it's called 'overeating'. Look into it," she said bitingly.

Leshawna, who was leaning against a tree further ahead, looked back. "And what's your excuse for not running? Miss... Bossy… whew… too tired for this!" she said, before starting to run again.

Just then, Chris sped past them on a moped. Using his megaphone, he called "Pick up the pace, people. If you're not back by dinner, you don't eat!"

This was enough to get those walking to at least start jogging. Already jogging next to DJ, Daphne said "I'm really starting to not like him," and DJ nodded in agreement.

Eventually, most of the campers made it back to the main lodge, where they all sat to relax their tired muscles and wait for their teammates. The Gophers were missing Harold, Tyler and Liam, while the Bass were waiting on Leshawna, Owen, and Noah.

Suddenly, the door slammed open and Owen and Tyler emerged, the former holding Noah over one shoulder. "Clear a table!" he yelled, and the other Bass were quick to clear theirs. As he laid Noah out on it and began administering CPR, Leshawna staggered in after them.

Harold and Liam were last to arrive, and Courtney asked "What took you both so long?"

Harold gasped for air, unable to answer. Liam, meanwhile, looked unwinded and said "Saving my energy in case there's more."

The C.I.T. looked at him suspiciously, but then Gwen spoke up. "Wait. If we all got here first, then… we won the challenge!" she realized.

There was a pause before the Bass began cheering, even Noah. But then Chris waved his hands. "Hold on, campers. That wasn't the whole challenge!" he said.

Geoff paused. "Come again, man?"

Chris chuckled, before walking over to a curtain against the back wall. "But let me ask all of you: Who's hungry?" he said, and the curtain parted to reveal a giant buffet table of varying foods.

Confessional Stall - Gwen

"After three days of paste and brown sludge, I almost cried at the sight of that table."

Confessional Stall - Eva

"I wish I could say I held myself back. But after three days of Chef's gruel, I tore into that turkey faster than Owen," she admitted.

Confessional Stall - Owen

"That Eva girl can be pretty scary. But you know, I can respect someone who isn't ashamed to eat. And when I tried to take a leg from the turkey she was holding, I nearly lost my fingers," he said, his expression equal parts intimidated and impressed.

Half an hour later, the previously full table had been picked clean, and every camper groaned in either displeasure or comfort at their full stomachs.

Of course, Chris chose that moment to speak up, and did so with his megaphone despite being indoors. "Okay, campers! Time for Part Two of your challenge!" he said, making Liam's eyes open fully.

"I thought the food was Part Two," Owen said in confusion.

"Incorrect!" Chris shouted. "Now, it's time for… the Awake-a-thon!" he announced. "Rules are simple: the team with the last camper to stay awake wins!"

Eva's eyes widened, and she muttered "Crap…" under her breath.

Gwen's eyes also widened. "So the early wake-up, the long run and the buffet-it was all just to make staying up harder for us?" she asked.

Chris grinned. "Yes, yes it was," he confirmed. "Now, to the bonfire with all of you!"

Daphne thinned her lips. "That is cruel," she stated, rising to her feet.

As the campers began exiting, Trent stopped next to Gwen. "How long do you think everyone will last?" he asked.

Thinking it over, she answered "A few hours, give or take." Then Owen staggered past her, and she amended "Probably take."

Contrary to her expectations, no camper fell asleep within the first twelve hours. However, almost all of them gained bags under their eyes, and several were yawning. That changed a moment later, when Owen fell over and started snoring, bringing the Bass down to eleven.

"This. Is. Brutal," Eva declared, and Leshawna nodded.

"So boring…" Gwen said, prompting Trent to look over at her.

"Hey, it could be worse," he reckoned.

She quirked an eyebrow. "How?"

He smiled. "I could be here without you to talk to," he said, getting her to smile in return.

Next to her, however, Heather had a calculating look on her face as she examined her teammates.

Confessional Stall - Heather

"In an ideal scenario, I would pick two gullible campers to do whatever I say in order to get to the semifinals with me. Unfortunately, my team has too few idiots for that to work. So… I'll have to go with Plan B," she said reluctantly.

"Lindsay, Leshawna, can I talk to you for a moment?" she said, walking off to the side.

Lindsay, who had been standing on her head, said "Sure!" while Leshawna nodded.

Once they approached, she declared "I have a plan to get me and two other people into the final three, and I chose you guys."

The blonde gasped. "Really?!" she said excitedly, while Leshawna didn't look convinced.

"Oh yeah? And what is this plan?" she asked.

"Simple: The three of us work together to vote off whoever we need to, especially if one of us does badly in a challenge. And we don't let anyone else know about it, so they never suspect," Heather explained.

Leshawna hummed. "I don't know... We got a truce and all, but we won't be on teams forever. I don't know if I can trust you past that point," she stated.

That got her smile to dim, but she rallied. "Trust is a two-way street, I understand," she replied. "How about this? For now, we agree to be in an alliance until the teams break up. Once we've gotten the chance to gain each other's trust, we'll reassess, 'kay?" she offered.

"Sounds good to me!" Lindsay said, despite already agreeing.

Leshawna crossed her arms. "You wanna start gaining trust? Then stop talking down to me and everyone on the team. We do not need that mean girl routine up in here," she said, making Heather freeze.

Confessional Stall - Heather

"That 'mean girl routine' has served me well ever since elementary school!" she stated, using up her hands for air quotes. "I may not like doing it all the time, but it's always worked."

Then her expression grew further annoyed. "But I saw my other teammates already starting to 'bond' with each other, especially the guys and the two psychos. If I don't make an alliance now, I'll fall behind. I refuse to be at a disadvantage, even if it means… playing nice."

There was a long moment of silence as the two girls stared at each other. Eventually, however, Heather let out an explosive sigh. "Alright," she said angrily. "I'll keep my comments-about the Bass, at least-to myself. Happy?"

Leshawna smiled victoriously. "Peachy," she said, holding out her hand to shake.

Heather shook it, and Lindsay called "Yay!" before hugging both of them. "We're going to the final three!" she cheered, the part about 'reassessing' completely lost on her. Both girls hugged her back, though with reluctance from Heather, and she said "By the way, speaking of alliances…" while looking in the direction of Tyler.

Heather's eyes widened. "Oh, no, you can't date him," she said firmly, making both girls frown.

"And why not?" Leshawna immediately asked, placing her hands on her hips.

She scoffed. "Because he's on the other team! You know, the same people we're trying to get booted off?" she said condescendingly.

"And?" Leshawna shot back. "That don't mean she can't have fun while it lasts. Heck, they might even get together after the show!"

Lindsay gasped. "You think so? That would be amazing!" she said, hands clasped as she envisioned it.

Heather looked between the blonde's now-distant stare and the thick girl's glare. She was giving up more ground than she wanted, but her pride wouldn't allow her to walk away with nothing. Gritting her teeth, she said "Fine! Date him! Just don't come crying to me when he's on the Loser Boat!" before stomping off.

Lindsay clapped happily. "Eee! You're the best, LeFonda!" she said, giving Leshawna another hug before running off to sit next to Tyler.

Confessional Stall - Leshawna

"Do I trust Heather? Heck no! Girl's sketchy as hell; I doubt she even meant that apology before!" she said, waving her hand. "But I'll give her a shot to prove she's for real. And if she's not? I'll knock her skinny ass down."

A few hours later, Eva removed the earbuds to her MP3 and stood up. "I'm going to the bathroom," she announced, and Chris nodded before letting her go. As she walked away, the MP3 fell from her pocket.

Daphne, who had been sitting with her head propped on one arm, noticed and sat up. Frustrated as she was, Heather noticed a moment later, but before she could get up, the other girl had already picked it up and handed it to Chris. When Eva returned a few minutes later, he handed it to her.

Nothing else of note passed for nearly another twelve hours, by which time night had fallen. Bridgette, Izzy, Noah, Katie and Sadie had all fallen asleep, leaving the Gophers down 10-8 on awake campers.

Tyler, who was seated at the back of his team, bobbed his head up and down as he struggled to stay awake. As he looked at the sleeping forms of Sadie and Katie, the exhaustion created the image of a bear, which burst out of the bushes and swiped at the girls. "AAAAHHH!" he screamed, startling his remaining teammates to full alertness.

Chris chuckled, before saying "Alright, contestants, you've reached the twenty-four mark. And that means it's time to kick it up a notch," he said. As Chef walked up next to him, holding a harp and wearing a sheep costume, he unveiled the surprise. "Fairy tales!"

Gwen stared in horror. "Oh, he is not serious," she said, before seeing him pull up a chair and grab a book from the pile. Both her and Trent groaned.

As Chris began reading, he did so in the slowest, most monotone voice possible. "Once... upon a time, inside a boring kingdom, there lived... a boring village filled with boring people. And these people in this boring, sleepy village…" he began.

The longer he went on, the more Geoff struggled to keep his eyes open. Finally, with one more yawn, he fell off his seat and was asleep, leaving the Killer Bass with nine.

Once Chris had wrapped up that storybook, Chef left. But halfway through the next one, he returned, this time dressed as a ballerina. Several of the campers rubbed their eyes, not quite sure if they were dreaming or not. But then, as he danced, Chef flung small handfuls of sparkling powder at several campers, who immediately yawned afterwards.

In an effort to stay awake, DJ tied himself to a tree. But when Chef hit him with a cloud of sleeping powder, he not only fell asleep, but he took the tree to the ground with him.

"Timber," Gwen tiredly called, getting Trent to chuckle.

Courtney, who was trying to stay awake by staying mobile, was pacing around their side of the bonfire. That's when she noticed that Harold and Liam were gone. Looking around, she saw them seated on a log a ways off into bushes, though right next to a camera to ensure they were still watched. Narrowing her eyes, she crept around behind them and slowly sneaked closer.

Once she was close, she heard Liam ask "Have you considered the offer?"

Harold responded "From a strategic point of view, an alliance does make sense. Not every challenge will involve one of my many mad skills, and having a safety net is smart."

Courtney managed to cover her mouth to avoid a gasp. That let her hear him continue "But if we're both being honest, Cody and I already have an agreement to look out for each other. I don't want to add more people without discussing it with him."

There was miniscule pause, almost short enough for Courtney to not notice. But she did, and heard Liam casually reply "That's cool, man. We don't want you to feel pressured, so take all the time you need."

"I appreciate that," Harold said. Then she heard him yawn. "Well, I'm going to get back," he said, and heard him walk away.

She waited until he was gone and heard Liam get up. Then she stood up and saw him walking away. "Liam!" she said, causing him to freeze.

After a moment, he turned around to face her, still smiling and looking half-awake. "Courtney," he greeted her. "I'm going to guess you heard all that?"

She nodded, crossing her arms. "You're darn right I did. I thought you wanted an alliance with me!" she said angrily.

After the first challenge…

Liam ate his food slowly as he waited for Courtney to finish hers. When she did, he dumped the rest of his and followed her out. Once they were a respectable distance from the lodge, he said "Courtney? Excuse me?"

The brunette stopped, looking back at him. "What is it Liam?" she asked, impatient to go take a shower after losing the challenge.

Seeing that, he went straight for the throat. "You're in danger of being voted off," he said bluntly.

Her eyes widened, and she turned to face him fully. "What? Wh-What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean that our team is uncoordinated enough that Beth only needs half of them to vote for you. She makes one, and the fact they also set us back in the challenge means she can get two sympathy votes from Katie and Sadie. If she convinces one other person, she'll have what she needs," he explained.

Courtney considered that, before frowning. "Hold on. That's only four votes," she said.

His smile moved into a small smirk. "Correct. But there's also me, and Ezekiel will vote however I tell him to," he revealed.

The C.I.T. froze, letting him see surprise and a small hint of flicker of fear across her face. Then it turned to anger, and she said "Are you threatening to vote for me?"

He waved his hand. "Of course not, just making you aware," he said, which didn't defuse her anger but succeeded in pausing it. "I'm letting you know this because there is a way out: We vote out Beth instead."

Courtney grunted. "How? You, me and Ezekiel would only be three votes. Duncan seems to have made up his mind, so he'd be the fourth. The other two?" she asked.

Liam chuckled. "Now, now, I'm not telling you my entire plan," he said, to her irritation. "But I am making you an offer: I can swing the votes in your favor tonight. In return, you consider forming an alliance with me to the final two."

She raised an eyebrow. "What about Ezekiel? Not going to take him along?" she inquired.

His smile dimmed. "Ezekiel is… an investment," he said. "But to be honest, I don't think he's 'final-round material'. You, on the other hand, are someone I can see making it there, and I want to be on your good side until then," he told her.

Courtney was quiet for a while. Eventually, however, she shook her head. "I think you're bluffing. I don't think you could get Beth voted off," she said tauntingly.

Liam raised an eyebrow, acknowledging the reverse psychology for what it was. Deciding to play along, he said "But if I could, would you consider an alliance?"

Smiling, she said "Prove to me that you can put your money where your mouth is, and we'll see."

The redhead nodded. "Then I will," he promised.

As Courtney glared at Liam for his betrayal at talking to Harold, he gave her that same small smirk. Seeing it a second time, she realized it suddenly made the slacker seem much more… ominous.

"Courtney, what are we on this island to do?" he asked.

She gave him a look that said exactly how smart she considered that question to be. "To win a competition for a hundred-thousand dollars," she answered dully.

"Precisely. And to do that, we need to survive being voted off for as long as possible," he said. "I already had Ezekiel by the time I approached you with my offer. With a victory on national television on the line, did you really think an alliance with you was my only iron in the fire?"

Courtney looked away. Truth be told, she had thought that, but only because the slacker had done nothing but sleep and lie around for the two days after the challenge. Apparently, she had miscalculated. "So what now? You ditch me in favor of Harold and Cody?"

He shrugged. "I don't see why I have to," he said, getting her to look at him. "Myself, Ezekiel and those two make four votes. If you were to join, that would become five. And after a few more eliminations, that becomes a controlling majority on our team." Liam smiled. "At that point, the only people being voted off would be the ones we choose."

She was silent, mulling it over in her mind. Then she looked him in the eye. "Tell me this: How did you get two more votes against Beth?"

Liam's smile widened.

After leaving Courtney, Liam sat on the steps of the lodge until another certain camper left. "Justin!" he said, standing up and walking with him.

The male model gave him a winning smile by way of greeting.

Smiling back, Liam asked "Tell me this: What would I need to trade for one of your shirts?"

Justin's expression turned questioning.

Five minutes later, Liam walked away from the Gophers' cabin with an olive green shirt in one hand. Approaching the lodge again, he sat down until his final targets left. "Katie, Sadie," he said, getting them to stop. "I have an offer for you."

Courtney stared at him. Not only was it two votes in her favor, but they had been votes taken directly from Beth's potential bloc, and in such a simple way… She had indeed miscalculated regarding the redhead. And she needed time to restrategize.

"I see. I'll keep my word and consider your proposal," she said.

Liam nodded. "That makes me glad. I look forward to hearing from you," he said, getting her to smile. She began to walk away, but once she passed him he continued "I wouldn't take too long to decide, however. Irons and all that."

Courtney paused, but didn't respond and continued walking a moment later.

Confessional Stall - Liam

"The fact that I'm good with scheming… I wasn't planning on revealing it so soon, since it makes people tend not to trust me," he said, before chuckling. "Can't say I blame them. But Courtney's competitive enough to be a problem, and the sooner I turn her into an asset, the more I can kick back and relax."

By the time forty hours had passed, both teams had been whittled down further. For the Gophers, it was Courtney, Duncan, Cody, Justin, Liam and Eva, while the Bass still had Heather, Gwen, Leshawna, Daphne, Trent and Lindsay.

Stifling a yawn, Heather said "We need to talk strategy, Lindsay." When she didn't respond, Heather nudged her with her elbow.

"Huh?" Lindsay said, her eyes fluttering open. A moment later, she fell backwards and off her seat, snoring.

The sound of it began lulling Daphne to sleep, before he shook her head. "Come on, Daph, come on!" she said, lightly slapping her cheek. "You've gone through longer runs than this!" she said, standing up to stretch.

Gwen and Trent were now seated on the ground, backs resting against the wooden stump seats. "Alright. Favorite song?" Gwen asked him.

He hummed. "She Will Be Loved," he answered. "Favorite color?"

"Midnight blue," she quickly answered.

He smiled. "How mysterious," he remarked. "I like it." Gwen smiled, but then yawned and began to lower her head. He quickly grabbed her shoulder. "Don't fall asleep yet! Quick: Favorite movie moment?"

She shook her head. "You'll think it's silly," she said.

"I promise I won't," he assured her.

Accepting, she said "You know that road trip movie with the guy and three girls?" He nodded, and she said "The kiss scene at the end of it."

"Nice. Didn't think you'd like a movie like that," he said.

Before Gwen could respond, however, Owen suddenly walked past them, still asleep... and now naked. Both were stunned wide awake by the sight.

Confessional Stall - Owen

"So… that buffet table had baked beans on it, which I love with maple syrup. But, uh, the thing about baked beans… They make me sleepwalk," he admitted.

Eleven hours later, Justin had yet to move from where he was standing since the first day. Liam shook his head. "I… underestimated the man," he said tiredly. "Only sheer force of will… could keep someone immobile in one spot...for that long."

Slowly rising to his feet, he yawned and approached the model. However, once he was close enough, he realized the truth: Justin's eyes were closed, and he had applied paint to his eyelids.

The supposed slacker let out a dry chuckle. "Now that's… a good one," he said, eyes fluttering closed. He fell to his knees and then sideways, going to sleep at the model's feet without touching him. A moment later, Leshawna followed.

Another thirty hours later, and Duncan had refused to fall asleep yet. In order to break the boredom, he took a mug he had swiped from the lodge and filled it with water. Placing it on the ground next to Harold, he slowly lifted the nerd's hand and placed it in the water.

Sure enough, a dark wet spot soon appeared on the front of Harold's pants. Duncan laughed. "Awesome!" he said loudly.

Between that and the sudden sensation, Harold stirred awake and immediately realized what had happened. "Aah!" He said, snapping to full awareness. He quickly stood up and began running for his cabin, Duncan's laughter following him. Elsewhere, Cody had fallen asleep next to Noah, and the second boy had cuddled him from behind. However, once he began kissing his ear, both of them woke up, screamed, and ran away from each other.

The only Bass left now were Trent, Gwen, Daphne and Heather. Justin's trick had been discovered around the seventy-hour mark, leaving the Gophers with just Duncan and Eva.

Gwen groaned. "I'd kill for a coffee right now," she said.

Chris then walked up to them, looking well rested and with a coffee in hand. "What is the matter with you all? Sleep already!" he taunted, taking a sip.

Daphne stared at the cup and leaned over to Gwen. "I'll distract him, you swipe the cup, we each chug half," she offered, and the goth did not appear uninterested.

Having heard them, Chris quickly moved along. "Okay, you six stay here. The rest of you, hit the showers!" The remaining campers did as bade, waking those that were asleep. Once they were gone, Chris turned to face the camera. "I didn't want it to come to this. I even told Chef Hatchet that I didn't. But darn it, these campers are tough! So I have prepared the most mind-numbingly boring activity I could think of."

Confessional Stall - Gwen

"Oh, come on! You know what? Bring it on," she challenged.

Holding up a book, Chris announced "The History of Canada: A Pop-Up Book. Chapter 1: The Beaver."

Daphne's eyebrows rose. "Oh, shhhiiii…" she said, before trailing off. Just the idea of listening through that was too much, and she finally toppled over in defeat, eyes closed.

Five hours later Eva had fallen as well, leaving it 3-1 against the Gophers. But then Heather fell only minutes after her. And as Chris began the chapter on the War of 1812, Trent began to slowly fall over.

Seeing that, Gwen reached out to him. "Trent, no! Don't leave me," she said, but he was already out, and hit the ground.

Once that chapter was over, Chris momentarily closed the book. "Alright, time for a bathroom break. Any takers?" he offered.

Duncan smiled nervously. "I've held it for this long; I can keep going," he said.

Gwen smiled. "Maybe, but can you go another ten chapters?" she asked, making his smile vanish as he got to his feet.

"You've got five minutes," Chris warned.

Duncan nodded and began heading for the washroom, one of the cameramen following. Once he was gone, Gwen yawned and sat down, nodding her head.

Slowly, her eyes began to close.

Duncan moved for the washroom as fast as possible. But just as he was approaching it, none other than Ezekiel crossed his path. As he tried to move around him however, he moved to intercept him with a smile. "Hey, Duncan! Good to see you, eh!" he greeted.

Duncan nodded, eager to use the bathroom. "Cool, man, cool. Hey, can you do me a favor and…?" he said, trailing off.

The naive farmboy frowned. "A favor and what? Another favor?"

The punk stared. Did he not notice how he had been squirming as he held it in? "No dummy, can you do me a favor and move?" he asked bluntly.

Ezekiel looked confused. "Did I say something wrong? I'm trying to work on that, y'know," he remarked.

Duncan groaned and shoved Ezekiel out of the way, ignoring his shout and running to the washroom. Just as he slammed the stall door shut and sat down, Chris's voice came on the loudspeaker. "And Gwen has just gone down! Meaning that the winners of this challenge are the Screaming Gophers!"

"Yes! Oh, thank Mama!" Duncan cried, though whether that was for winning or for making it in time was unknown.

Later that night, the Killer Bass were gathered before the bonfire for their own first elimination. After Chris repeated the proceedings to them, he said "You cast your votes, and it's time to serve your marshmallows."

"Our safe contestants are Gwen…" When Chris tossed it to her, she was tired enough that it hit her face.

"Trent…" He smiled and walked over.

"Geoff…" He caught his with a grin.

"Leshawna…" She smirked and claimed her marshmallow.

"DJ…" He took his with a tired smile.

"Heather…" She caught hers with a look of satisfaction.

"Lindsay…" Said blonde was already asleep again, and didn't catch hers.

"Daphne…" She sighed and caught it with both hands.

"Eva…" She stoically caught and said nothing.

"Owen…" The large boy cheered and caught his in his mouth. That left one more marshmallow.

"And our last safe camper is…" Chris said, once more drawing it out. Both Izzy and Noah looked at each other, nervous and unsure.

…

…

...

"Izzy."

"Woo-hoo!" Izzy called, and ran up to claim hers.

Noah stood up, turning to face the others with a glare. "Oh, so just cause I fainted during the run and fell asleep first, I'm suddenly dead weight?" he angrily said. "Well fine, 'cause you just got rid of ninety percent of the brains on this team!" he said, getting several of them to glare back as he stomped down the Dock of Shame.

Chuckling at the bookworm's outburst, Chris said "Sleep well, tonight, Killer Bass. Sleep while it lasts," before walking away.

Confessional Stall - Heather

"Yeah, it was pretty much what he said. I need someone who can keep up in competitions, not drop out of them. Plus, Noah wasn't aligned with anyone yet, so it was an easy sell to Leshawna," she explained. Then she frowned. "Though the fact that I even have to sell it to her is beyond annoying. Making an alliance with Miss Loud 'n Proud better be worth it."

Eliminated:

1. Beth, the Wannabe

2. Noah, the Know-It-All