A new day came to camp, Duncan was carving a skull with his knife on one of the walls of our cabin while I was meditating. Suddenly we both heard the door open abruptly and when we turned we saw Harold.
"Who was the funny guy who made sandwiches with my underwear!?" The nerdy boy showed his underwear caught in bread and peanut butter making Duncan and I start laughing.
"Sorry Harold, but that's what you get for being easy prey." I said with a smile while laughing with the Punk boy.
Me:
"I know I said the pranks were going to stop when Harold stops spreading his dirty laundry everywhere. But I can't help it, I never thought I'd meet someone who could fall for my pranks so easily. And I just can't help it." I could barely speak through my fit of laughter as if Harley had taken my place in my body.
"I know it sounds cruel but, could you please post the jokes I made at least these last three days?" I asked with tears of laughter looking at the camera.
Friday.
Harold was in the showers while Duncan, DJ, Geoff and I were fighting back laughter.
"Okay, okay, watch this." I slowly put my hands into the shower system in the room. My hair started to glow white, two deep blue magic circles formed in my hands and suddenly we heard Harold yell which almost made us burst out laughing.
"Who the fuck is playing with the water!?"
We all couldn't help but laugh out loud as we heard the nerdy kid yelling for the cold water.
Saturday.
We were all in the dining room having lunch quietly and we saw Harold come in, but when he came in, everyone started laughing which confused the nerdy boy but also annoyed him.
"What's funny!?" Harold shouted angrily looking at everyone and even at Cheff who was laughing.
"I can only say that Blanka will congratulate me for doing a good cosplay of him on you." I said laughing looking at the nerdy boy before showing him a mirror. When Harold saw himself, he shouted between horror and anger seeing that now his skin was green and his hair was now greener than it was before.
Sunday.
The boys and I watched Harold sleep comfortably in his bed while the boys laughed a little, except me.
"Umm, are you sure? It won't be too much?" I asked with some uncertainty looking at my friends.
"Relax, Kitsune. I promise the laughs will be worth it, now help me carry it."
The next morning, the nerdy boy was still sleeping in his bed without any problem until he felt something on his chest. When he opened his eyes he saw something with feathers and a beak, when his vision cleared he could see a seagull above him.
"What!?" The boy turned around in fright and fell out of his bed, only to be cushioned by the cold water of the dock. When he took his head out of the water he heard laughter and when he turned around he saw the boys and me laughing.
"I take it back. You're right, Duncan. The laughs were worth it." I said with laughter with the rest of the team and some other members of Screaming Gophers, who joined in the laughter.
"There are days when I think you really make things easy for us." Duncan said mockingly looking at Harold as he pulled his underwear out of the sandwich before throwing it angrily, but then we all heard a female scream and turned around to see Courtney who saw the dirty clothes on the floor just a few centimeters away from her.
"Harold, you're a fucking pig!" The girl screamed, clearly offended before walking away annoyed.
"No wait, it wasn't me!" The nerdy boy screamed, only to get angry when he saw Duncan and I laughing even louder.
"Idiots!" Was the last thing Harold said before locking himself in the cabin angrily.
"Oh man, and I thought this camp would be boring." Duncan said with a smile looking at me making me laugh a little.
"Now I can know why Harley and Junko love these pranks." I said with a giggle but then I saw Punk Boy look at me confused.
"Who are those girls? Your sisters?" The boy asked curiously, making me blush in embarrassment.
"Umm, well, it's a long story."
"Listen up, you insignificant cockroaches!" We all fell silent as we heard Cheff's voice booming through the speakers.
"I want all campers to be gathered at the Dock of Shame at zero nine hundred hours, without any exceptions!" The cook shouted in a firm and authoritative tone.
"Yes sir!" Suddenly everyone saw me running to the Dock of Shame leaving everyone confused.
"Are you expecting an invitation, recruits!? Get your asses up and follow Recruit Benjamin, right now!" Everyone jumped at Cheff's loud tone before following me to the Dock of Shame.
As we reached the dock, everyone seemed confused to see me as serious and firm as a statue, which brought everyone's gaze.
"Do you even breathe?" Trent asked, looking at Gwen. The goth girl looked at me with slight concern before approaching me.
"Benja, are you okay?" Before I could even speak, we all heard a whistle that made me stand firm again, looking straight ahead like everyone else.
Cheff was there, more serious and intimidating than ever, the man now wore a military uniform, revealing a navy tattoo on one of his arms, he wore a sergeant's hat and sunglasses that made him look more serious.
"Line up everyone, and pay attention. Do they even call that a formation?" Cheff asked through a megaphone before walking close to us.
"Stand together!" The man hit Geoff in the legs with a folding baton, causing the party boy to obey.
"Arms down!" Now it was Duncan's turn, the punk kid had his arms crossed but when he received Cheff's blow, he immediately lowered them.
"Look straight ahead." Cheff glared coldly at DJ, causing the boy to look up.
"Chin up!" The cook using the folding baton again, grabbed Heather by the chin, forcing her to raise her head.
"What does this mean!? Incorrect posture, soldier!" Cheff shouted before hitting Harold multiple times with the baton, in an attempt to make the nerdy boy stand firm, which did not work, and angered the cook even more.
"Oh, this is going to be a fun day." Gwen said sarcastically looking at Trent.
"What did you say to me!? Repeat it again, soldier!" The gothic girl's bravery fell before Cheff's cold authoritative gaze, causing her to tense up.
"I didn't say anything, sir." Gwen said between surprise and fear, getting a growl as an affirmation.
"And you better keep quiet until I tell you to speak!" The man shouted through the megaphone, leaving the girl partially deaf.
"Listen up, recruits. Today's challenge won't be easy, the infantry games are over, your mommy isn't here, and to be honest with you, I don't expect any survivors in this challenge." Chef's words made everyone nervous as they struggled to maintain the posture the chef ordered them to.
"My orders here will be to make sure everyone here but one is still standing. Whoever does that will win immunity for their team." Chef said seriously as he walked in front of everyone.
"Does anyone know what happened to Chris?" Heather asked quietly as she looked at Trent and Gwen. For the first time, all three teens agreed on one thing, and that was the absence of their original host.
"Listen up, maggots. Rule number one, you will address me as Master Chef. Do you hear me!?" The man shouted seriously, causing everyone to stand at attention.
"Yes, Master Chef!" We all shouted at once with our eyes facing forward as the chef walked in front of us again.
"You will sleep when I tell you to sleep, and you will eat only when I tell you to eat, do you understand me?" Cheff asked coldly looking at Geoff, the party boy gulped but stood firm.
"Yes, Master Cheff." The party boy said immediately looking the chef in the eyes.
"Rule two. If your poor asses can't take it anymore, you will walk to the dock of shame, and ring the bell there." We all saw the bell that the chef pointed to that was at the end of the dock of shame.
"And that brings us to rule number three. I want one of you here to quit before the end of the first day, and until someone does, rest assured that I won't stop until you're on the floor crying like babies." Chef said coldly before staring at us.
"Now, get your asses to the beach this instant!" Chef blew his whistle once he finished yelling, and we all quickly ran out to the beach.
Gwen:
"Good. Whoever the bastard was who came up with the idea of Cheff being in charge today, I can only say that I am. Really impressed." The goth girl said with a smile looking at the confessional camera.
Once we were on the beach, we saw some canoes in front of us and a beach chair behind Cheff as he stared at us coldly behind his glasses.
"Listen up, worms. Each team will have to lift this canoe above their heads, if I see anyone lower their arms or even a hand, they will be eliminated along with their entire team. Until then, no one will get lunch until one of you all gives up." The cook said with an evil laugh that worried most of them.
"Canos up!" The cook shouted before blowing his whistle and immediately we all raised the canoes above our heads.
"This is easy." Owen said with a confident smile making Geoff laugh.
"You're right bro, this is a piece of cake." The party boy said with an equally confident smile.
"Umm, I wouldn't say that if I were you two." I was the only one worried watching the two teams. Jack, Reyes, Reinhardt, Magrit's father, and many people I met taught me a valuable lesson that I learned both the good and the bad. Any training that looks easy will be torture.
Unfortunately I was right. It was already midday, the sun was beating down on us in a scorching way while the sound of stomach growls kept being heard as well as the tired sighs of many.
"Come on worms, it's only been three hours!" Cheff shouted seriously looking at everyone.
"It seems they missed lunch." We turned around and looked with both surprise and annoyance at seeing the two adults under an umbrella, enjoying drinks and food.
"Mmm, I guess they weren't hungry. Unless one of them wants to quit now." The cook said with a sadistic smile looking at everyone. Suddenly we heard a loud stomach growl and when we looked ahead we saw Owen who was struggling not to give in to hunger.
"Owen please hold on, I know you can." I said looking at the boy but then I noticed Geoff and Duncan using a fishing rod, I could see how the hook stuck to Harold's underwear making me have to hold back my laughter. One side of me wanted to stop them, but the other side wanted to see what would happen.
"Time to fish." Duncan said quietly, Geoff laughed before pulling the fishing rod, causing Harold to scream for a wedgie that would rip his underwear. No one resisted him and we started laughing.
"Assholes!" The nerdy boy shouted angrily looking at everyone.
"What's going on down there!?" We all stood to attention as we saw Cheff approaching us looking at us before setting his eyes on Harold.
"You got a problem, inmate?" The cook asked seriously looking at the boy who was sweating.
"No, no sir." Harold said nervously looking at Cheff.
"Yeah, I thought so." When the cook left, the teenager looked angrily at Geoff and Duncan who were laughing secretly.
When the moon rose over the camp you'd think we'd given up, but we didn't. We were all determined not to fail and we kept our arms up no matter what, and some of us even fell asleep standing up with the canoes up.
"There were only twenty-five of us in the jungle that night. Only five of us managed to get out." Cheff said looking seriously at the fire. The cook had spent much of the afternoon telling stories about his military service.
"What war was that?" Gwen asked between yawns looking at everyone.
"I told you to talk, recruit!? Because I don't remember giving you that permission." Cheff said seriously looking at the gothic girl.
"Ugh, whatever, he probably wasn't in any." The girl said angrily looking ahead.
"Guys. Forgive me." We all turned around and saw Lindsay lower her arms.
"Lindsay, don't do it!" Heather screamed angrily, looking at the bombshell girl, but the other girl didn't turn around.
"I can't feel my arms, I can't go on anymore." The girl walked to the dock in shame under the pleading gaze of her entire team. Unable to use her arms, Lindsay hit the bell with her head.
"Down, inmates!" Everyone but me fell to the ground due to exhaustion while I saw Cheff walk to the dock where Lindsay was.
"Listen, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Except for being the little girl who let down her team. As for the others, go to the dining room, dinner is served!" The cook shouted while everyone was on the ground weak.
"Sir, as a certified combat medic. I will first have to go through the rest for medical treatment before eating." I said looking at Cheff before seeing the cook approaching me in a threatening manner.
"Combat medic, huh? I want to see that." The cook said looking into my eyes. The man saw me take out my wallet before giving it to the cook. But then we all saw that the man looked surprised.
"What's wrong?" I asked confused looking at Cheff, the man shook his head and then gave me back my wallet.
"Nothing, everything is in order. Start with the little princess, and then with the others, I want them all in the dining room in ten minutes!" Cheff shouted before leaving while I walked to where Lindsay was.
"I'm sorry Benja, I failed everyone and you again." The bombshell girl said embarrassedly as I took her arms.
"Don't worry, Lindsay. Not everyone can handle military training, in fact, my training is much more demanding than all of these." I said as my hair began to shine. Suddenly I heard a moan that petrified me and it was Lindsay's.
"Lindsay?" I asked nervously looking at the girl.
"Benja, forgive me, it's just that, it's very cold." The bombshell girl spoke between moans while I was fuming, some were laughing at this scene, but Gwen was the only one who saw everything with annoyance and discomfort.
Me.:
"I applied cold magic to relax Lindsay's tense arm muscles. It's part of the procedure!" I looked at the camera with a red face in embarrassment. Diana, Magrit, Cerebella, Abbey, Parasoul and Yasaka always showed me that they were sensitive, but the bombshell girl took that to the extreme.
Gwen.:
"That busty bitch, what's wrong with her!? And why is Benja always standing so close to her?" Gwen noticed that she spoke out loud and looked at the camera in panic as her face turned red.
"Don't misunderstand! Benja, he's just a friend, my best friend. I only have eyes for Trent, but I wish that bitch Lindsay would at least have decency with Benja, he's too sweet to be corrupted by Lindsay's nonsense." The goth girl said seriously. But when she realized that she said the word "sweet", her face turned redder.
Fortunately there were no injuries, just tense muscles and cramps which weren't a problem. Once everyone was healed, we went to the dining hall to have dinner but we were confused when we didn't smell anything.
"Night training will start in thirty minutes. So it would be better if everyone eats and digests their meals before we start." Cheff said seriously looking at everyone, the teenagers were horrified to hear that while I watched everything calmly. How many times did Kokabiel and Momoyo keep me awake for hours to train?
"Excuse me, Master Cheff. Where's our food?" Gwen asked looking at the cook who laughed before pointing at the trash cans.
"They're watching it." The cook said evilly. Owen was the first to step forward before opening the trash cans.
"These are the leftovers from this morning's breakfast." Everyone almost threw up at the sight of the almost spoiled food in the trash cans.
"What did you expect, five star food!? In war you have to eat everything you find, I survived alone in the jungle with nothing but my trusty knife and a bag of bugs with me until they could find me." Cheff said seriously looking at all of us.
"Well. It seems like you have everything under control around here, if anyone needs me, I'll be in the craft hut." Chris said with a smile before walking to the exit with Cheff.
"Don't waste all the clay this time, Mclean." When the two adults left. We saw Owen take a piece of trash out of the container before eating it with slight disgust.
"I'm not eating this." Heather said seriously while some of them searched through the trash for something valuable or that wasn't dirty.
"Well, that makes two of us." Courtney said with her arms crossed while Duncan walked with a mocking smile.
"You don't like today's specials, princess?" The Punk boy asked in a mocking tone looking at the girl, who became more upset.
"Someday, I'm going to run for president. And they're not going to get any documents from me that say I ate trash." Courtney said seriously looking at the punk teen who just rolled his eyes before walking over to Harold with a glass.
"Hey Harold. We felt bad about the underwear fishing incident so here I brought some juice for you." Duncan said with a smile before holding out his hand with the glass.
"Thanks a lot Duncan." Harold brought the glass to his lips and drank with delight but that would only last a second before he spit the contents of the glass onto the floor making the Punk girl and Geoff laugh.
"Oops, sorry dude, I think I got confused. That was chicken fat." Duncan said with a smile making most of us laugh and myself but Courtney was clearly upset.
"You two are so immature. I hope you're proud." The girl said with her hands on her hips looking at Duncan who couldn't stop smiling.
"Okay listen. I know you like me, he knows you like me, everyone here knows you like me. So, a little tip for you, if you want to kiss me I might let you." The Punk boy brought his hand to Courtney's cheek but she pushed him away roughly.
"And to think I thought you were someone nice." Courtney said seriously. Duncan paled at that and motioned for the girl to stop talking.
"Nice? I don't know what you're talking about." The punk boy said with a smile while Geoff ate a burnt toast.
"Why did you think of that?" The party boy asked confused, but only got an annoyed sigh from the girl.
"Forget it. I was wrong, he's just as bland and horrible as all the trash here. Enjoy your dinner, asshole." As Courtney left, everyone looked at Duncan who smiled carefree. I sighed somewhat disappointed but decided to stay quiet and wait for training.
Once again we were all outside, but the detail that caught our attention was that many interns were walking around with fake graves and cheap costumes.
"Alright worms. Let's see if you know anything about culture, tonight, you'll show me how to move your skeleton, on a dance floor." Cheff said seriously looking at all of us.
"What does that have to do with the challenge?" Heather asked with a raised eyebrow, but then backed away when Cheff brought his face closer to her with a cold look.
"Do you hear complaints, Soldier?" The man asked coldly looking at the girl.
"No, Master Cheff." The girl said, although saying "Master Cheff" was like swallowing poison for her.
"Sir, I have a question." Cheff's gaze was now directed at me, while I had my hand up.
"Go ahead, recruit." The cook said looking at me firmly.
"Exactly, what song are we going to dance to?" I asked curiously, looking at the man.
"Excellent question. The song you're going to practice is none other than one of my favorites. Thriller, by Michael Jackson." Cheff said with a smile. I couldn't contain a cry of excitement but then I was surprised to see Gwen scream in the same way.
"I love that song, especially the zombie part. I remember I was the only one in the classroom watching the song because all the other kids ran away when they saw the zombies. I love that song." The goth girl said, breaking her goth side for a second, but when she realized that everyone was looking at her, she turned to look away.
"Well. I'm also happy to do that song. I remember that at my school we rehearsed it for a dance festival, and we won." I said smiling looking at everyone.
"Excellent, worms. Because of your initiative, you two will be the couple in the video clip, while the others will be the zombies, so I hope you give your best. And as for the couple, I want contact and realism, nothing fake." Cheff said seriously while the goth girl and I turned red when we realized that we would be the couple in the video.
"To the beach, brats. The dance floor awaits, Recruit Benja, since you're the only one here who seems to have studied choreography, you'll be in charge of showing these rats how they move. Don't let me down." Once the cook spoke, we all went to the beach, ready for rehearsal, although Gwen and I were still a little uneasy knowing that we would have to act like a real couple.
The music was booming all over the beach, I was in front of everyone dancing while the others were copying my moves to the letter under the cold and strict gaze of Cheff.
"Shit, what a difficult choreography." Leshawna said trying to keep up with me.
"You don't have to copy me, just let the music take effect on you. The rhythm is in your heart, let it flow." I said smiling as we all continued dancing.
"Less talk and more moves!" Cheff shouted through a megaphone. Just when we thought we were going to continue dancing, the music stopped, when we turned around we saw Duncan, who turned off the radio that was next to Cheff.
"Duncan, have you gone crazy!?" Courtney shouted surprised looking at the punk boy.
"One gave up, that means the day is over for everyone." Duncan said in a carefree manner. But that bothered Cheff.
"The day will end when I say so. Get on the ground and give me twenty, now!" The Punk boy just rolled his eyes before obeying the order without saying anything.
"Does anyone else have something to tell me?" Chef asked seriously, looking at everyone before seeing Gwen raise her hand.
"Can I go to the bathroom?" The goth girl asked, looking at the chef.
"This isn't what I had in mind." Unfortunately for Gwen, Cheff handed her a mop and bucket with the task of cleaning the bathroom from top to bottom.
"Ugh, why did Owen have to come here five minutes ago?" the girl asked in disgust, holding her nose.
The clock said it all. 2am, with Lindsay gone and the clock still ticking, Chef promised that the night would last forever if necessary to get more of us to give in.
"For your next challenge, you'll have to write a three hundred word essay about how much you love me. Whoever falls asleep, or doesn't finish before zero six hundred, will be eliminated." The chef said seriously, looking at everyone.
The night was perhaps the most boring, tedious and annoying of all. Time moved at a snail's pace as we all struggled to finish the essay, fighting over the details to make them acceptable enough for Cheff. When the first rays of sunlight hit the dining room window, most of us, including myself, were on the verge of fainting while some couldn't take it anymore and fell asleep at their tables.
"Alright, recruits, let's see how much you love me." We all turned to see Cheff enter the dining room before taking the papers from us one by one.
"Shit." Harold sighed in annoyance as the cook took the sheet from him that was only 8 words away from being completed while the cook also grabbed Duncan's notes who smiled carefree.
"I, love Master Cheff, he's very, very, very, very, very, very. This is just one sentence with five pages with "Very" in the middle." The cook said angrily looking at the Punk boy who didn't stop smiling.
"It's exactly three hundred words, you can check it out for yourself." Duncan said with a smile while Cheff walked to our table reading the pages.
"Very, Very, Very, Very, VERY!" Cheff screamed when he suddenly slipped on something. When he touched it, he saw with disgust but anger that what he had tripped on was Owen's drool who was struggling to keep his eyes open.
"Wipe that drool off, soldier!" The cook shouted but then he noticed DJ and Trent sleeping. Suddenly both teenagers were suddenly awakened when Cheff lashed out with a loud bang on the table, waking up the two boys.
"You two lazy bums are out. The rest of you I want to go to sleep, I want you awake at fifteen hundred hours!" Cheff shouted seriously looking at all of us who could barely open our eyes.
"You're missing a little piece, sir." Duncan said in a mocking tone holding a napkin, pointing at the cook's neck. However, that was not to Cheff's liking.
"Do you want to run fifty laps around the entire island, you big-mouthed piece of shit?" The cook asked with a vengeful look at Duncan, but before the Punk boy could answer, he was pulled by Courtney.
"Don't worry, Master Cheff. He'll go to sleep right now." The girl said with a nervous smile before looking at Duncan seriously.
"Have you gone crazy? Don't provoke him, do you want to be eliminated?" Courtney asked seriously looking at the Punk boy.
"I thought you wouldn't mind that." Duncan said nonchalantly. That bothered the girl a lot.
"I don't care. But we're not going to lose this challenge, so stop ruining it by being so arrogant and do what you're told once in your stupid life, you hear me!?" The girl shouted seriously before leaving the dining room with heavy steps.
"He loves me." The Punk boy said before bumping fists with Geoff.
"No doubt about it, old man." Gwen rolled her eyes at that, but then remembered something.
"Master Cheff, why does he want us to be awake for the fifteen hundred hours?" The goth girl asked confused making the cook laugh.
"Oh, they'll find out soon enough." The cook said in such a gloomy manner, that Gwen instantly regretted what she said.
The goth girl was quick to regret her question, internally, she insulted herself for not keeping quiet. Right now, we were all in the forest, tired and on the verge of fainting due to lack of sleep while in front of us there was a military obstacle course, but that wasn't the worst, the worst was that it was raining cats and dogs and we were all getting wet while Cheff was under a tent with a hyperneable.
"Alright, you fucking worms. What you have in front of you is what a soldier experiences in war. Your mission will be to cross this obstacle course in the shortest time possible, is that clear to me!?" The cook asked seriously looking at everyone.
"Like glass." Duncan said with a smile looking at the man.
"Alright. Now, I'll say your names, and when I call you, your asses better be on that battlefield at my signal, understood." The cook looked at a list before looking back at us.
"Recruit Benja." Everyone looked at each other before seeing me sleeping standing up like a statue.
"Benja, wake up, quickly." Gwen pulled my clothes in fear trying to wake me up, but then the girl had to move away when she saw Cheff approaching with firm steps.
"Recruit Benja!"
I opened my eyes suddenly when I heard Cheff shout, but when I saw the cook, my vision distorted, and instead of seeing the man, I saw Reyes in front of me.
"What kind of behavior is this, soldier? You dare to disrespect me in such a dishonorable way by falling asleep in the middle of a fight leaving your platoon alone!? Are you even a soldier or not!?" Reaper shouted seriously making me clench my fists.
"Sir, yes sir!" I shouted looking Cheff in the eyes.
"Then fight, brat, fight until your hands bleed. To the battlefield now!" Although everyone saw Cheff pointing at the obstacle course. I saw that I was in the middle of a fight.
"Get to the end, recruit, now!" the cook shouted before blowing his whistle.
Everyone saw me start running before taking a big leap, going over the middle wall before starting to run again, but I didn't notice a rope that when cut, ballistic dolls would come out of the mud. I immediately made my katana appear and without thinking I attacked head on with lethal cuts, one would receive a cut that extended from the abdomen to the throat, the second would receive a clean cut in the throat and the last would be decapitated.
I kept running until I saw a huge hole that I didn't hesitate to jump using the strength of my legs, once I got to the other end just to dodge a bullet, looking up I saw two snipers angrily.
"Bastards, out of my way!" I shouted angrily before running to the wall under the rain of gunfire. I quickly pulled out my claws and began to climb the wall on all fours, until I reached the chasm where I quickly grabbed one of the weapons before taking it away and attacking a sniper with a leg sweep before shooting the second one in the head, causing both of them to fall.
When I got off the wall I resumed running where I saw more soldiers waiting on their feet. I would immediately take out my daggers and accurately throw the soldiers one by one before tightly gripping my daggers and throwing quick slashes until I reached the end.
"Oshitari Style: Cherry Blossom Dance." I said coldly before putting my daggers away as the soldiers behind me, were losing blood uncontrollably from the cuts on their throats.
Everyone had their eyes and mouths open at what they had seen. More than one was disturbed seeing the damage of the ballistic dummies at the beginning, two interns on the ground in pain who had Painball weapons, but what scared them the most was seeing the massacre of the ballistic dummies at the end of the race.
"Zone secured, Reyes." They all jumped to see me back with a tired smile.
"Umm, good job, brat. You can rest as much as you like." Cheff said before showing me an empty chair where I sat before falling fast asleep, ignoring the looks of shock and horror from some of my friends.
Owen.:
"Okay. Right now, I'm eternally grateful that we didn't have to fight a bloodthirsty Benja when we took his magic." Owen was somewhat terrified as he looked at the confessional camera.
Duncan.:
"Man, if I thought Benja was amazing before, now that just got even more intense." Duncan was smiling as he looked at the screen holding the head of the valistic doll that I had previously decapitated.
Cheff.:
"One minute and eleven seconds!" Chef was showing his stopwatch in the confessional before pushing it away.
"In all my years of service I've never seen such combat effectiveness through an obstacle course. Heh, if I'd had Benja by my side in my youth, he'd be a good drinking buddy. Although now I wonder, why did he call me Reyes?" Chef asked, staring at the floor, searching for a way to understand how I addressed him.
"So? What are you all waiting for? An invitation to tea? Be happy that Recruit Benja cleared most of the obstacles on the track, so get your asses moving now!" Cheff shouted before blowing his whistle, causing everyone to start running.
Everyone was giving their best effort on the obstacle course, fighting to complete this challenge. Jumping over walls, climbing them, crawling on the ground, jumping on ropes, and evading the ballistic dummies even though many were scared to pass by them.
At one point in the race, Harold would end up falling off the highest wall to the ground, when he fell, he raised his head only to start vomiting mud.
"General madman, we have a problem here." Duncan said, who stopped to point at the nerdy boy while Cheff approached where they were.
"Too much mud." Harold said between coughs before being lifted up by the cook.
"Ring the bell and report, your work here is done." The man said seriously as the nerdy boy walked off to the dock of shame.
"Wow, poor thing." Duncan said sarcastically looking at Geoff, who laughed a little.
"And you recruits, back to the circuit. I'm after you like the stench behind a shitty truck!" Although Cheff's shout was enough to force everyone to run again, Duncan stood there with a calm smile.
"I can't wait, sir." The punk boy said before giving a military salute before continuing with the others, but of course, that annoyed Cheff.
Unfortunately, everyone's performance dropped due to exhaustion and lack of experience. Owen fell into the mud while trying to climb a half wall, and unfortunately, the wall fell with him, Geoff was having difficulties climbing the highest wall with his arms shaking like jelly, Gwen also fell into the mud, after colliding with a ballistic dummy, Heather on the other hand, was upset as she now found herself suspended on the jump ropes above the gap, and Leshawna was running towards the finish line until her feet got stuck in a deep part, now being passed by Duncan.
"Man down." The punk kid said mockingly, but when he reached the finish line, Cheff was waiting for him, and not very happy.
"You just earned yourself 20 more lizards, worm. A true soldier never abandons his comrades." The cook said with venom and anger in his voice.
"Thanks." To everyone's horror, they watched as Duncan once again, mockingly not only spoke to Cheff, but gave him a kiss on the nose. The campers, including the punk kid, watched as the cook's body slowly began to smoke and his teeth ground in anger.
"Dude, I think you really pissed him off now." Geoff said, terrified, looking at Cheff.
"I think you're right." Duncan said, who for the first time today, now felt terror for his actions.
"One night, in solitary confinement, in the boat house." When everyone heard Cheff's cold words, they were all horrified, and even Heather while now looking at Duncan with shock and pity.
"Pff, big deal. How scary can it be?" The punk boy asked in a carefree manner.
The boathouse, possibly the scariest and most chilling place in the entire camp. Not only were there the canoes that we took for trips, but there were also certain things that on more than one occasion, gave us the creeps. Shark teeth hanging from the walls like trophies, meat hooks where one even had a shark hanging from, a wall full of knives of different sizes and blood that was spilled on the floor and on the work table of the place.
"I should have shut my big mouth." Duncan felt terror, disappointment and sadness when he saw the place where he ended up, and all because of his jokes.
I don't know what came over me. Suddenly we were all in the dining room eating oatmeal, I was confused as many looked at me with some fear or surprise.
"Umm, Gwen. Why is everyone looking at me like that?" I asked uncomfortably looking at the goth girl. She looked at me for a moment, remembering how I literally made a massacre on the obstacle course.
"Don't pay attention to them, relax and eat." The girl said as she began to eat with me but then I noticed something else, the absence of Duncan.
"Where's Duncan?" I asked looking around, looking for the punk boy.
"Detention in the boat house." Gwen said looking at me, leaving me surprised and worried.
"Holy trinity, take care of him." I said quietly, praying that nothing serious has happened to the punk boy.
"I'll go see him." We all turned to see Courtney standing up.
"You like him." Geoff said with a smile, but it annoyed the girl.
"No, I don't like him." The girl said firmly but it only got a laugh from the party boy.
"I don't like him. And not only do I like him, he's rude, disgusting, rebellious and completely annoying. I'll just bring him food, that's all." We all watched Courtney leave the dining room but I laughed wickedly with a cat-like grin.
"The scent of love is always recognizable to me in the air." I said smiling making Geoff laugh.
"She loves him." We both laughed before going back to eating. But I didn't notice that Gwen seemed uncomfortable.
"So, Benja. How is it that you can smell love?" The goth girl asked curiously looking at me making me laugh a little.
"Yes. It's a trick that someone special to me taught me, she taught me everything related to love and the magic that it carries with it, she taught me all the basics, from giving advice to being able to smell soulmates that meet." I said smiling looking at the girl who seemed slightly uncomfortable.
"And, how do you know when they are soulmates?" Gwen asked with some nervousness looking at me.
"It's easy. When I smell love, it's a sweet and gentle scent, a scent similar to flowers and candy, but. If love is dying, it starts to smell bitter and putrid, and I don't like that." I said with slight seriousness looking at my bowl of oatmeal.
"I understand. And umm, have you been smelling that since you got here?" Gwen's question made me laugh a little and I looked at the girl with a smile.
"Many times. A clear example, was you and Trent. When I arrived at the camp I could smell that scent of love between you two, a very sweet and delicious scent in my opinion." The goth girl was surprised to hear what I said and blushed slightly.
"Do you really think there's something between him and me?" The girl asked with some shyness looking at me.
"It's a possibility, even though you're angry with him for the beach incident, you still love him. I know it, the way you reacted when he was poisoned by the fugu fish, it was a clear reaction of your fear of him and how you asked to stay with him in his weakest moment, you love him." I said looking at the goth girl who was surprised and blushed more.
"And, umm, me." Gwen's face was turning red, leaving me confused.
"Yes, Gwen?" I asked looking at the girl who stood up suddenly.
"I have to go to the bathroom!" We all saw the goth girl leave the dining room leaving everyone confused.
Gwen.:
"Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot!" The first thing seen in the confessional was Gwen hitting her head against the wall before looking at the camera between embarrassment and frustration.
"How the fuck am I going to ask him if he smells the same scent when we're close!? Doesn't he even notice it!?" Gwen screamed but then went silent with her face red as a tomato.
"No, wait, it's just that, I, well, him." The goth girl began to blow smoke before hitting the confessional camera and leaving.
"Ugh, why the fuck am I doing this?"
Courtney was walking with a flashlight to the boat house with a bowl of oatmeal, the girl was questioning herself as to why she was doing this, risking a scolding from Cheff just to get Duncan to eat.
"Just leave the oatmeal and go." Courtney said seriously before grabbing the doorknob. She sighed before walking inside where she saw Duncan sweeping.
"Princess!" The punk boy shouted with a smile making the girl roll her eyes.
"I wish you would stop calling me that." the girl said in annoyance looking at the punk boy who was laughing.
"Well, you came to rescue me, are you looking to claim your prince's kiss?" The boy stretched his lips making Courtney laugh who showed him the bowl of oatmeal.
"Even pigs deserve to eat." The girl said with a smile while Duncan looked at the bowl.
"No thanks. I'll take the shark caps and the chum bucket," the punk kid said, pointing at the buckets of shark carcasses and worms.
"Yeah well, be glad you have something to eat. It's all Cheff gave us for our lazy performance on the obstacle course." Courtney said before wiping dust off a box so she could sit down.
"Really? And Kitsune? Didn't he literally destroy everything?" Duncan asked, looking at the oatmeal on his plate with some distrust. The girl couldn't help but shudder as she remembered how I destroyed the dolls.
"Cheff offered Benja to eat with him and Chris, but he refused saying that he didn't feel comfortable with him eating expensive things and the others didn't." Courtney said looking at Duncan as he dragged another box over so he could sit in front of the girl.
"Yeah, something told me he would say that." The Punk boy stared at the oatmeal. The plate of food had a wet and sandy consistency that was not at all appetizing, and without saying anything, the boy put the plate on the ground.
"Why did you have to provoke Cheff like that? You knew perfectly well that making him angry would only get us into trouble." Courtney said looking at Duncan while the boy smiled carefree.
"Well, why are you stuck up all the time?" The boy's question was a hard blow to the girl, who looked offended and stood up angrily.
"I'm not stuck up!" Courtney shouted firmly while Duncan stood in front of her, still keeping the same smile.
"You always follow the rules." The punk boy said with a smile, which annoyed Courtney even more.
"And you always have to break them!" The girl's anger was more evident when she saw how the boy in front of her laughed.
"No, only the ones I like to break." Duncan said with a smile before winking at Courtney, making the girl blush who quickly turned to look away, trying to keep her composure.
"Okay, maybe I follow the rules too closely. I guess that makes me a stuck up failure in your book, huh?" The girl asked, glancing sideways at Duncan.
"Maybe." That simple answer caused Courtney's anger to return, and even greater than before.
"So why do you have to follow the rules?" The punk boy asked with a smile, causing the girl to turn around in annoyance.
"Because if you don't follow them, they end up locking you in a fisherman's cabin!" The girl shouted angrily while she threatened Duncan with a fish in her hand.
"But I'm in the cabin with you, alone, right?" The punk boy asked in a flirtatious tone looking at Courtney. The girl smiled while blushing, she couldn't suppress a small giggle upon hearing that.
"Tell me, Princess. Don't you want to change this shit for a Peanut Butter Sandwich?" Duncan asked with a smile, making the girl laugh.
"Really? For your information, all we ate these past two days was this shit. Not even Cheff deigns to give us something more decent than this garbage." The girl said angrily, kicking the bowl of oatmeal she brought earlier.
"See!? That's the problem with your way of thinking, the trick here is not to ask for it." Duncan's words were like a tentative melody to Courtney, making her smile grow even more.
"Do you have any peanut butter here with you?" The girl asked curiously, making the punk boy laugh.
"No, although I know where to find it. Although, that involves breaking more than one rule, are you coming with me?" Duncan asked with a smile looking at Courtney.
A part of her was against it, telling Courtney to cut the talk and walk away, leaving the boy with the shark guts and the bait. But another part, a side the girl didn't know she had, told her to stop being boring and just do it.
"Let's do it!" The girl shouted without hesitation before high-fiving Duncan.
"Alright. Just remember, do what I do, this will be dangerous work." Once Duncan finished speaking, the pair left the fisherman's cabin without looking back before running into the woods.
What Courtney was doing was beyond belief, not even to herself. The girl knew that what she was about to do would not only bring trouble to everyone, but to herself as well, but still, she couldn't explain how all this danger, instead of terrifying her, was exciting her.
"Let's be careful, if we're lucky, they won't see us." Duncan said as the two slowly approached a huge tent.
"And what if they see us?" Courtney asked curiously, but was then silenced when the Punk boy gestured for her to stay quiet, making her nod before slowly entering the tent.
"There were 25 of us entering that jungle, only five of us managed to survive." Cheff was telling stories of his military service with Chris, ignoring the fact that the two teenagers were looting the fridge.
"If they catch us, we're dead." Courtney said nonchalantly and smilingly looking at Duncan, who was putting the food in a backpack with the girl.
"I mean. Come on buddy, everyone knows I'm nothing without my beard." Chris said with a smile looking at Cheff who laughed.
"Amen bro." The cook said with a smile. While the two were talking to each other, the two teenagers were busy emptying the fridge.
"You sure you want to keep doing this?" Duncan asked with a smile, making the girl laugh.
"Yeah sure, I've never had so much fun in my life." Courtney said before taking out a fish, Duncan's smile widened as he watched the girl put the fish on an empty plate that had cookies on it.
"A little present, courtesy of Killer Bass." The girl said with a smile making the punk boy almost laugh.
"Now you speak my language princess." The boy noticed a cake and with an evil smile he grabbed it before slowly closing the fridge.
"Let's get out of here." Duncan said before starting to run with Courtney to the camp. Along the way, the girl couldn't help but laugh as they escaped with the food.
At camp. We all had stomachs growling like lions, all we had been eating was garbage and oatmeal that looked more like sewage.
"Benja, can't you use your magic to make cookies appear like you did before?" Gwen asked looking at me hungrily, but I shook my head sadly.
"I can't. Those cookies were from a tea party I had with my older sister before I came here." I said tiredly looking at the goth girl.
"Ahem." We all turned to see Duncan and Courtney coming back with a backpack.
"Who's hungry?" The punk boy asked before opening the backpack. We were all amazed to see a wide variety of dishes, sandwiches, drinks, desserts and cookies.
"But where did you get all this?" I asked amazed looking at the two boys who started laughing.
"There are days where you have to break more than one rule, Benja." Courtney said with a smile before grabbing the bag.
"Hey, Screaming Gophers, let's all go eat. You can join in if you want." Duncan looked at the opposing team with a smile. Heather was about to speak but her hungry stomach took over, making her nod reluctantly along with the others.
Our cabin now had a tea party atmosphere. We were all gathered together eating after two days of not eating anything.
"Ugh, I think I have an infection from that race we had today." Owen said taking off his shoe where we saw a blister on his foot not realizing that he also covered his foot with the strawberry jam he was eating.
"Owen, we're eating!" Lindsay screamed horrified seeing the blister now covered in jam.
"That reminds me. Benja, you were pretty wild, I must admit you scared the hell out of me, man. Where did you learn to do all that?" Geoff asked looking at me while I was eating a cookie. Hearing that confused me.
"What are you talking about?" I asked confused looking at everyone.
"We had a challenge in the rain, we had to complete an obstacle course and you were the first, you crossed all the obstacles and massacred many ballistic dummies." Gwen said looking at me, leaving me surprised and nervous.
"Well. At home I do a lot of training of all kinds. Karate, Kung-Fu, Fencing, Koppo."
"Koppo?" Trent asked looking at me curiously making me laugh nervously.
"It's a training that involves physical strength combat, and umm, breaking ligaments and bones." I said with a nervous giggle while everyone looked at me between surprise and fear.
"So that means, you're able to break bones?" Trent asked between surprise and fear.
"Well, yes. But it's a very strict combat style as well as illegal due to its brutal effectiveness, so by law, I don't use that combat style until it's strictly necessary." I said looking at everyone, who sighed in relief.
"Well, and what do you have to say about Chef's absurd stories? Was he really in all those wars?" Gwen asked mockingly while drinking a soda making some campers laugh.
"Sister, these nails weren't made for fighting." Leshawna said looking at her nails. The girl was happy to see that none of her nails were broken.
"If I had wanted to join the army, I would have already done it." Bridgette said boredly as she ate an ice cream sandwich.
"Oh please!" We all turned to see Harold who was looking angrily at his bed. When we peeked in we couldn't help but laugh at the sight of a smiley face made out of peanut butter.
"Oh man, that's a waste of peanut butter." Duncan said between laughs with Geoff. Everything was seen by the nerdy boy, who became even more upset.
"Well, I think you've had enough for today." Bridgette stopped Courtney just when the girl was going to grab the last Ice Cream Sandwich, but suddenly, Courtney snatched the sandwich from the surfer girl's hands, taking Bridgette by surprise.
"Oh, no, no, just one more please." Courtney said before devouring the sandwich in one bite, taking us by surprise, a surprise that increased when the girl let out a burp worthy of Owen.
"Oh god, that last thing was a mistake." The girl covered her mouth with her hands before running hastily outside to vomit amidst the laughter of Bridgette and Leshawna.
"The little princess has a dark side, huh?" When Courtney recovered, she turned to see Duncan who was standing in the doorway with a smile.
"Okay, that was disgusting. But it was the first time I did something bad, and it was so fun that I wanted more." The girl said, looking at her hands with a smile, remembering that feeling of adrenaline and danger when she stole Cheff's things.
"Well, you can always give me that kiss if you want, that would be very evil of you." Duncan said with a smile as he caressed the girl's lips with his fingers, making her laugh.
"You're still not my type." Courtney said with a smile as she ruffled the punk boy's hair, making him laugh.
"Fine, enjoy your life with less peanut butter." Duncan said in a carefree manner looking away making the girl laugh.
"Thanks, enjoy prison." That statement made the punk boy laugh as he looked at the girl out of the corner of his eye.
"Thank you very much." But then he was surprised when she grabbed his shoulders with a smile before kissing him. That surprised the boy even more, but then, they both started enjoying that kiss.
"I knew you two liked each other." The punk boy turned to see DJ, Geoff and I standing there with a smile.
"I told you that she and I were one." Duncan said with a smile looking at us, causing a few giggles.
"Listen, you shit worms. I want everyone to go to bed, the next challenge will be at zero six hundred hours. And a message for the brat who stole my cake, your ass will be mine!" We all turned worried and saw Owen with his face full of frosting but with a look that made his panic and fear clear.
The day couldn't have started any better, and let's be clear, that was sarcasm. Cheff literally trumpeted us out of bed before immediately performing the next challenge. We were all now hanging upside down from the tree branches as the cook walked in front of us with a cold stare.
"What you are experiencing right now is an ancient method of torture. Today's challenge will be to see how you will hold up as the blood slowly rushes to your brains, as you weakly fight off dizziness and nausea, as blood overflows from your eyes and your bodies turn as pale as snow as your heads look like the tip of a match." Cheff's words were scary enough to make a terrified Trent, followed by Leshawna, and Bridgette.
"Deserters, go with the other weaklings. The rest, I don't want to see even one of you flank." Cheff said as he looked at the others and me, who remained on the branches.
Time passed. Everyone was staring at us as we struggled to stay sane in the challenge while Cheff paced back and forth with a cold stare.
"The first half hour is up, recruits. By now, much of the blood in your bodies must be churning your brains like soup." The cook said sadistically with a smile looking at us. Suddenly we all heard a loud thud and saw Duncan fall.
"Duncan!" Courtney was the first to react with fear and concern while Bridgette helped the punk boy get back up.
"Don't worry, he's okay!" The surfer girl shouted with a smile looking at us. Courtney nodded before grabbing the tree branch firmly, an action that Geoff and Gwen imitated.
"Come on, come on!" Owen was struggling with all his might to grab the branch with his hands but due to the effort, the teenager would end up farting on Heather, angering the girl.
"Okay, that's enough, I'm not going to continue with this shit." The girl said before elegantly getting down from the branch, but suddenly she would be crushed by Owen, who accidentally fell on top of the girl.
"Get off of me, you greasy fatso." Heather said venomously looking at Owen. The boy quickly stood up with an embarrassed smile while the girl left without thanking him.
Out of nowhere, we all heard something that caught our attention and it was a giggle, when we turned around we saw Courtney covering her mouth, but slowly she began to laugh more and more to the point that she ended up falling from the branch where she was.
"I expected more from you, soldier." Cheff said seriously looking at the girl, who couldn't stop smiling.
"I'm sorry. Master Cheff, can I tell you something?" Courtney asked with a smile while the cook crossed his arms still seriously.
"Speak then, soldier." The man said seriously waiting.
"You, haha, should take anger pills." Those words left everyone with their mouths open, especially Cheff who was now very surprised and furious to hear that as the girl walked to where Duncan was.
"Haha, yeah, that's my girl." The punk boy said with a smile looking at Courtney. Suddenly another loud noise was heard and when we turned around we saw Geoff unconscious.
"Goeff!" Bridgette immediately ran to where the party boy was and caressed his cheek with a soft smile.
"You did what you could. Rest now." The surfer girl said with a smile looking at the boy in her arms.
"Surfer brat, take the party boy to bed." Cheff said seriously making the girl nod and she didn't hesitate to take Geoff. Meanwhile, the cook looked at Gwen and me seriously.
"And as for you two brats, congratulations for making it this far. However, only one of you two will have the right to win this challenge, so don't let your teams down, worms." Cheff said seriously looking at us.
"Benja, it's all up to you!" Courtney shouted seriously looking at me.
"Did you hear that, Gwen!? It's all up to you too!" The chubby boy shouted just as seriously.
"Oh yeah, this will be a piece of cake." Gwen said looking at me mockingly making me laugh.
"May the best man win, Gwen." We both looked at each other with a competitive smile, ready to continue.
Minutes turned into hours and day changed to night. Gwen and I continued to hang, clearly bored, staring into nothingness.
"So, what's the hardest training you've had?" The goth girl asked curiously looking at me making me think of all the martial arts I had to practice.
"Well, it's a difficult question. I had many teachers throughout my life, all with different training, one more demanding than the last. Being a master swordsman is more than just throwing cuts, you must think very carefully about how to handle the blade, be the blade and move with the wind, a master with the spear must be fast but forceful at the same time, a delicate and fragile balance, being skilled in fencing will be one of your allies as well as precision and speed, and when it comes to bow and arrows, you have to know when to shoot, see the exact moment, shoot where you think the enemy will go, not where he is." I said looking at the moon but then I blushed realizing that I had said too much.
"Sorry. I got carried away, the answer is that choosing a difficult fighting style is something complicated for me." I said with a nervous smile making the girl laugh.
"Dude, you really are an enigma and you've barely told me about your life. When will you tell me the whole story?" The goth girl asked with a smile making me laugh.
"Well, you'd be surprised at the things I did and what I have to keep doing, but I promise that one day I'll tell you every detail of my life, just give me time, please." I said with a nervous smile. Although Gwen showed me to be trustworthy, I couldn't tell her my secrets because of the cameras everywhere.
"Hey, Benja." I turned around again to see the goth girl who seemed nervous.
"Yes, Gwen? Are you feeling okay? If you want I can come over and give you a quick checkup." I said worried. So many hours of head was serious for human health, but I saw that she shook her head.
"No, that's not it." The girl said before taking a deep breath and looking at me.
"Benja. When, do you love someone...?"
"What the hell is this!?"
The girl and I looked down and saw Cheff who was standing with his arms crossed with everyone else behind him.
"Well, well, brats. I admire the courage you have to stay up there for 14 hours straight. But explain, how did you do it?" Cheff asked seriously and curiously at the same time looking at us, making me laugh nervously.
"Well, this is awkward but. I'm not just a Kitsune, I'm part vampire." I said shyly showing my fangs. That surprised everyone.
"What the fuck did you say!?" Heather shouted shocked and annoyed looking at me, that made me more nervous.
"Well, I'm a hybrid monster, one with many things." I said that last thing in my mind. I didn't want to give more details about myself.
"That's cheating, they have a vampire, those monsters spend years on end!" Heather shouted annoyed looking at Cheff.
"But wait. Gwen, how could you keep up with me?" I asked surprised, looking at the goth girl who smiled at me.
"Benja, this isn't the first time I've spent hours on my head." The girl said with a mocking smile.
"Enough!" We all stood speechless at Cheff's loud shout.
"You two, down!" The cook shouted seriously. The moment Gwen and I got down, the man approached us seriously.
"You are tough nuts to crack, I congratulate you, unlike your weakling comrades, you have proven to be tougher than any other soldier in my ranks. But as I said, only one can win, and as I expected something like this, I want your asses on the beach and put on these uniforms." The cook said before giving Gwen and I military uniforms.
"What the hell are you waiting for!? Move already!" We all ran to the camp again, leaving the cook behind.
Cheff.:
"Those two brats are really strong, I'll admit that. But now, we'll see how strong they really are against what I have prepared for them." The cook looked at the confessional camera with an evil smile as he laughed.
Gwen and I are in the dining room, divided by a huge curtain that Cheff put up while we both change clothes.
"Ugh, this uniform is so itchy, I never wash it?" Gwen asked annoyed putting on a dark green bra that made her itch.
"I know, ugh, it's like I have fleas now." I said annoyed while scratching my arms with my claws.
"Benja." I stopped when I heard the girl speak.
"I want you to answer this with all honesty." Gwen said with seriousness mixed with nervousness. The girl took a deep breath and then sighed before speaking.
"How do you see me?" The goth girl's question caught my attention as I continued to dress.
"What are you talking about?" I asked as I put on my military pants and the goth girl did the same.
"I mean, how do you see me? In the sense of, what am I to you?" Gwen asked with some fear at that last part, leaving me speechless and blushing.
"Well. I think you're an amazing girl." What I said surprised the goth girl a lot, who stared at herself in the mirror.
"Are you serious?" The girl asked, looking sideways at the curtain that separated us.
"Well, yes. You're kind, smart, nice, you're a very sweet girl to me. You're very loyal and trustworthy, funny, and, I'm surprised that after seeing me struggling, you still approached me to ask for forgiveness, a forgiveness that I didn't even deserve for being so cold and hard with you." I said with sadness and annoyance, remembering how I was cold and distant with Gwen for something she didn't do.
"Well. I already told you that I'm also partly to blame that day, I didn't stop anyone and let everyone continue with Chris's absurd game. But, even so, it makes me happy to know that you forgave me, you've also done incredible things for me. You're funny, kind, you care about our well-being, and, you saved my life." We both turned bright red remembering the moment I performed CPR to save the goth girl when she ran out of air.
"Gwen."
"Yes, Benja?"
"You umm, do you really see me like that?" I asked timidly as my ears lowered and my tails moved. The goth girl was speechless with a red face.
"I..."
"Brats, the night isn't going to wait for you forever, get your asses here right now!" Cheff's voice was heard clearly from the speakers silencing us.
"We better get out." I said as I looked at myself in the mirror seeing my military clothes.
"Yeah, let's go." Gwen said seriously.
As we left, everyone was waiting for us outside with Cheff dividing the teams in the middle. Slowly, the goth girl and I walked with strong and determined steps, looking at the cook seriously.
"Worms. My congratulations, you two are the first to get this far, consider yourselves lucky, but that luck ends right now, because the next challenge you'll have to face will be so hard, that I'll make you go back crying to your mommies." Cheff said seriously before smiling.
"Behold, the path of pain." The cook moved and we all saw a long path full of obstacles, one more dangerous and demanding than the previous one that extended almost the entire length of the entire beach.
"Each of you will have to cross this track, not in the shortest time possible. You two will compete against each other in this deadly race until the end, or until one of you two falls to the ground defeated, if you fall a total of three times you will be disqualified and the last one standing will be the winner. Now, I want your asses on the starting line, now!" Cheff shouted seriously making Gwen and I go to the starting line.
"May the best man win, Benja." The goth girl said with a smile looking at me, making me laugh.
"Yeah, may the best man win, Gwen." I said before bumping fists with her.
"Alright brats. On your marks." Everyone watched as the girl and I stared at the race track seriously.
"Ready!?" Some were sweating and others were staring at the scene.
"Get out!"
I'm Me - (Phineas and Ferb.)
When we heard the whistle blow, Gwen and I immediately ran to the obstacle course with looks of determination.
I can do it, I can run, I can hunt you down.
You can try, but you can't stop me 'cause I'm gaining ground.
Gwen and I ran to some medium sized walls that were nearby, and I immediately jumped to avoid her, the goth girl did the same but by mistake she slipped on the mud, falling to the ground.
"One fall. You have two left, soldier!" Cheff shouted seriously through a megaphone while Screaming Gophers were worried.
"Come on Gwen, up!" The girl saw that I extended my hand to her, she nodded before accepting it, letting me help her up before resuming the race with her.
I'm light on my feet, and I'm quick to the punch.
I had a heavy breakfast, but a real light lunch.
The two of us continued running until we reached some hoops that we jumped over without hesitation to start crossing the well, but when I went to grab one, the rope broke, making me fall while the goth girl reached the other side.
"A fall, Killer Bass!" The cook shouted seriously, looking at me.
"Benja, come on!" I saw how Gwen raised her hand to me, I smiled and accepted the gesture before starting to run with her again.
I'm a raging bonfire, a cherry bomb; I'm me.
"We won't get far alone, we'll have to work as a team!" I shouted as we both approached a high wall.
"Are you sure!?" The girl asked, looking at me in surprise while I nodded.
"Your safety is more important to me than this challenge, and I prefer a draw than a victory where you get hurt!" I quickly decided to take the lead while Gwen was surprised and blushing at the same time.
I'm rough-and-tumble, I'm the one to beat,
I'm a fresh coat of blacktop burnin' at your feet.
As I arrived I knelt down, ready to push Gwen off the ground, the goth girl understood and ran faster.
"Up!" I yelled before throwing the goth girl to the top of the wall before following behind her.
"Nice throw, Benja." The girl said with a smile making me smile.
"Nice landing, Gwen." We were both interrupted when a paint bullet almost hit us.
"Get down!" I immediately jumped on the goth girl, knocking her to the ground just as a storm of paint bullets almost hit us.
I've got a poisonous sting, when I rain I pour.
I'm the best of the best; I'm the soup du jour.
"Second fall for you two brats." Cheff said in a mean and mocking tone, which really annoyed Gwen and I.
"Bastard, you planned this whole thing. How are we going to get through this!?" The goth girl shouted amidst the gunfire. Suddenly we saw the cook hand us Painball weapons before saluting.
"Good luck, brats, you're going to need it." Cheff said seriously while Gwen and I looked at the weapons.
I'm smooth as glass and sharp as a tack, I'm me.
I'm the last and best stick of gum in the pack; I'm me.
"We don't have to waste them, every bullet counts. Gwen, are you sure you can handle this?" I asked looking at the girl with concern, but she gave me a confident smile.
"This isn't the first time I've used guns, Benja." Hearing that surprised me greatly.
"You've used guns before!?" I asked surprised. The goth girl realized what I said and quickly shook her head.
"Video games! Umm, my brother forces me to play with him all the time." The girl said with a shy smile making me laugh embarrassed.
"Less talk and more bullets, worms!" Cheff shouted seriously before blowing his whistle. Gwen and I looked at each other before nodding with a smile as we took the safety off the guns.
I'm a strong woman, fast-talking, big-bad-dog walking,
High falutin', drum-beatin', foot stompin', corn-poppin',
When the enemy fire stopped, Gwen and I quickly got out before opening fire ourselves, taking down four interns, two each with headshots while the others attempted to reload.
"Don't let them reload, to the hands!" I shouted seriously before shooting at the interns' hands, causing them to be unable to reload and raise their hands in surrender.
"Nice shot, Benja." The goth girl said as the two of us made our way through the enemy barricades.
"I can say the same about you, Gwen." I said smiling looking at the goth girl.
Speeding locomotive that just won't stop!
I'm a hot apple pie with a cherry on top!
The goth girl heard something and turned around to see an intern pointing a gun at me, she quickly responded with a side kick, knocking the man unconscious, I turned around in surprise when I heard the kick.
"I hate those who shoot from behind." Gwen said seriously before running again while I followed behind her.
"I owe you one, Gwen!" I yelled as we both ran until we reached a wall with ropes that we had to start climbing.
I'm a crowd pleasin', head spinnin',
Winnin' in the ninth inning,
"Let's go Gwen!"
"Let's go Benja!"
The two teams were shouting our names as we both continued to climb the wall, at one point the goth girl slipped but I quickly caught her.
"I told you, I don't leave anyone behind." The girl looked at me with a smile, a gesture I returned before helping Gwen back to her rope and resuming the race.
Whip-lashing, record-smashin',
Black-tie party crashing!
When we reached the top, we saw two different weapons than before, they were weapons with real magazines, that surprised us a lot.
"Take your weapons and shoot your targets, whoever manages to hit at least five targets, can continue advancing!" Cheff shouted before pressing a button.
"This won't be so difficult." Gwen smiled confidently, but when the targets came out, they began to move randomly, almost impossible to predict, that made the gothic girl immediately regret what she said.
Cyclone of fun, I'm an army of one!
I'm strawberry sprinkles on a hot cross bun!
My entire team was supporting me as I shot accurately, managing to hit all five targets cleanly.
"Recruit Benja takes the lead!" Cheff shouted seriously, causing my team to celebrate. I prepared to leave, but saw that the goth girl hadn't fired a single shot, which worried me.
"Remember what I said, Gwen. Shoot where they're going, not where they are!" I shouted looking at the goth girl. Upon hearing that, she remembered what I told her about my archery training before nodding and raising the weapon.
I've got you beat by a nose at the finish line
I'm a semi truck trailer with a scent of pine
With great difficulty but full of determination, the girl shot at the targets that kept moving, but her heart was in her throat, with each target she managed to hit, a bullet flew out into nothingness.
"You have one bullet left and only one target, worm!" Cheff shouted looking at the goth girl who's hands were shaking. Gwen raised the gun, ready to give the decisive shot, but then she was very surprised when I hugged her from behind and put my hands on hers, something that made her tense and red.
"Benja."
"Relax your mind, Gwen. You must keep your mind blank, take a deep breath and relax your arms." I said as I helped the girl raise her gun.
I'm the cold hard walls of a prison cell
I'm a winter trip to the Wisconsin Dells
The girl slowly took a deep breath and relaxed her shoulders before aiming at the target with precision.
"Shoot!"
The girl fired at the command I gave her, and her smile was huge as she saw the last target shot down.
"I did it!" Gwen shouted with a smile looking at me, a smile I returned.
"Eyes on the race brats, they're close to the end!" We both heard Cheff's shout and quickly got down to continue.
I'm a blood-red rose with a string of thorns, I'm me!
I'm a heart-shaped locket on a cold steel chain, I'm me!
Once we got down, we saw a long hallway that extended to the end where everyone was.
"This is very easy." Gwen said seriously looking at the place.
"Too easy." I said before making an Ice Kunai appear in my hands, when I threw the weapon into the sand, we were both surprised to see a large explosion that took us by surprise.
"Chris is not the only one who loves explosions. And, let's make this more interesting." Cheff said with an evil smile before pressing a button where we saw a thirty second countdown.
I'm a big haymaker in a title fight.
I'm a cute black kitten with a nasty bite.
I'm an action double-feature on a Friday night!
"Guys, run!" Owen shouted from the other side in fear.
Gwen and I didn't hesitate to start running through the minefield, being careful with each step we took, but even so, one or another mine began to explode unintentionally, making our escape difficult.
"I love this show." Cheff had an evil smile on his face as he played with a control panel.
I'm me!
I'm me!
Fifteen seconds. Gwen and I were running with great difficulty between the explosions that made us stagger from one side to the other, at one point, the girl was hit full force by an explosion.
"Gwen!" I screamed terrified seeing the girl fall to the ground but quickly rushed to catch her with eleven seconds behind us.
I'm me!
I'm me!
I grabbed Gwen in my arms and we quickly started running against the last 7 seconds.
"We're not going to make it!" The goth girl shouted as I ran through the explosions. I looked at the timer and saw that there were only 4 seconds left.
"Not me, but you do!" I shouted before throwing Gwen to the other side with force.
I'm me!
When Gwen landed on the other side, she heard explosions behind her that scared her, she turned to see smoke in what was once the race track.
"Benja!" The goth girl looked at the smoke in terror as did the others, no one noticed that Heather had a huge smile.
"Benja, no!" Gwen screamed before running but was held back by Trent.
"Gwen, calm down!"
"No! He sacrificed himself for me, this isn't fair, it's not fair!"
"Gwen, look at me!" The musician boy grabbed the goth girl by the cheeks, forcing him to look.
"Trent." The girl couldn't bear it and hugged the musician boy tightly between tears.
Everyone was terrified seeing the place of the explosion, one by one they lowered their heads while Cheff took off his hat in silence.
"Look!" Everyone heard Lindsay speak and watched as the smoke slowly disappeared, I was in the middle of the place with a magic shield around me, protecting me from the explosion.
"He's alive!" Geoff shouted with a smile, throwing his hat in the air as everyone ran to where I was.
"How could you!?" Gwen was the first to arrive and grabbed my shirt in anger and tears.
"Never ever do something so stupid again, Benjamin, or I swear to god I'll beat the shit out of you!" the goth girl screamed through tears before hugging me along with everyone else.
"Recruits!" We all turned to see Cheff, who walked over to where Gwen and I were. The cook stared at us before saluting.
"Congratulations, you've had a good race. Still, Screaming Gophers takes the win today. Congratulations, Gwen, I would personally go to war with you and recruit Benja." Cheff said before saluting the two of us.
"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind." The goth girl said with a smile before being stood up by her team as they marched off to celebrate.
"Maybe someday, Sergeant, maybe someday." I said looking at the cook who nodded.
"Go get some rest, Killer Bass. I want to see you all at the elimination bonfire in half an hour." The cook watched as my team and I left as a tear of pride slowly rolled down his eyes with a smile.
Once again. We were all at the elimination bonfire, Cheff was standing next to Chris while the host had only seven marshmallows on the plate.
"Alright, campers. I only have seven marshmallows for you tonight, and they represent the campers, who will still be campers here." The host said with a smile while Courtney was smiling carefree along with Duncan, who smiled back.
"Everyone cast their votes, in the confession booth. Whoever is not mentioned, will have to walk down the dock of shame and take the loser's boat, and leave the island forever." Despite Chris's harsh threat, Courtney remained carefree while some were scared.
"Benja. Cheff told me about your performance and you managed to meet his expectations, all worthy of you, Commander." The host said before throwing a marshmallow at me. I froze at that before catching the marshmallow with everyone's confused gaze on me.
"Duncan. That despite your rebelliousness, you are not the first to make Cheff angry, and without any hard feelings, he lets you continue among us." The host said before giving the punk boy a marshmallow.
"DJ." The caramel-skinned boy raised his fist in victory before receiving his marshmallow.
"Bridgette." The surfer girl was finally able to breathe before receiving her marshmallow with a smile.
"Owen." The big teen opened his mouth, letting the marshmallow land in his mouth.
"Geoff." The party boy grabbed his hat, letting the marshmallow land on it.
"Campers. Before you is the last marshmallow for tonight." Chris said seriously, raising the last marshmallow to our eyes. We looked at Courtney and Harold, the girl had a confident smile while the nerdy boy was very nervous.
The tension was heavy in the place, I looked at Harold with some sadness while Duncan looked at the girl with a smile, the host looked at everyone seriously before smiling.
"Harold." When we heard that we were shocked, but especially Courtney while the nerdy boy received his marshmallow.
"What!? You chose Harold over me!?" Courtney shouted indignantly and shocked looking at us while the nerdy boy walked to the bonfire to roast his marshmallow.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. This is shocking." Chris said as he put a hand on the girl's shoulder, but she pulled his hand away angrily.
"I demand a recount!" the girl shouted angrily looking at the host.
"Seriously man, I know for a fact that at least the majority of us voted for Harold to leave." Duncan said angrily looking at the host.
"The votes were clear, man, the majority of you voted against Courtney, there is no mistake." The host's words made the punk boy raise his fist in anger, but before he could do anything, Cheff stopped him.
"Enough, brat. Accept defeat." The cook said seriously before grabbing Courtney by the arm and dragging her to the dock of shame between kicks and screams with the help of Chris.
"This is unheard of, a farce, you can't do this to me, you can't!" The girl screamed before being thrown into the boat roughly by the two men holding her.
"You'll see, you'll hear from my lawyers." The girl's threat was nothing more than a joke to Chris who laughed as Cheff climbed into the boat to start the engine.
"Courtney wait for me!" The girl turned around in surprise as she heard Duncan running to where she was.
"I made this for you!" The punk boy shouted with a smile before throwing a wooden skull into Courtney's hands. When she caught it, she looked at the skull with some fear but with a smile.
"Oh Duncan, it's, disturbing and strange, but I love it, I'll never forget you!" That was the last thing we heard from Courtney as she slowly walked away from the island. The punk boy stretched out his arm, as if trying to stop the boat, but then lowered his head in sadness, I watched the whole scene in shock and then saw everyone at the campfire roasting their marshmallows.
"Something's not right." I whispered coldly clenching my fists.
The silence was burying the camp. Unlike the others, I was awake staring at the ceiling, remembering everyone's performance and our team's actions, I got out of my bed to go outside before walking to the dock with the silence of the night and the darkness as my only company.
"Courtney took these challenges very seriously. She never wavered and was determined to finish everything, yes, she may have been bossy, rude and upset with us, but it's because she wanted to win to prevent us all from leaving. And what she did with Duncan, stealing Cheff's food, that's a more than valid reason to let her stay here." I said with annoyance before looking at the moon coldly.
"Harold. She failed the challenges, she didn't take anything seriously and even refused to cooperate with us, her poor performance and lack of help is more than easy reason for him to leave." I crossed my arms, looking at the water seriously. Thinking about everything before I growled.
"This isn't going to stay like this." I said before walking into the forest.
Me.:
Entering the confessional, I glanced at the camera before pulling it out, leaving only static.
I looked at Chris' trailer before walking over to it, just as I was about to open the door I saw with a smile an electronic lock on the door.
"An electronic lock. A classic, thank god Olivia taught me how to deal with this." I said before generating static in my hands and then placing them over the lock. I closed my eyes to concentrate until I saw a green light.
Once I entered, I stared at the room intently before seeing the host's computer, I reached out my hand for some roots to grab the laptop before bringing it to my hands.
"Okay, now let's get this over with." I closed the trailer door before heading to the dining room to start working.
Once I arrived, I sat down at one of the tables before starting to take apart the camera, once I managed to get what I wanted, I turned on Chris' computer before watching the recordings before today's elimination.
Geoff.:
"Sorry, man. It's nothing personal." Geoff spoke as he wrote "Harold's" name on his paper before putting it in the box.
Bridgette.:
"I hate having to do this. Sorry." Bridgette showed "Harold's" name on her paper before placing her vote as well.
Owen.:
"Oh umm, I don't usually know what to do in these situations." Owen said nervously looking at his piece of paper.
"Hurry up, man!" Duncan's shout made the big guy freak out.
"Sorry!" Owen didn't hesitate to write "Harold" on his paper note before putting his vote in.
Duncan.:
"Sorry, man, this is as far as you go." The punk kid showed a mocking smile before putting "Harold's" name in the box.
Me.:
"Ugh. It took me a long time to decide, if it were up to me, I'd ask for no one to leave." I said before sighing in defeat.
"Forgive me, Harold. I swear this isn't personal." It was the last thing I said before I put my vote in the box.
Courtney.:
"Since I know everyone will be in favor of me staying, I wouldn't mind making this a no-brainer." I was surprised to see Courtney put her own name in the box with a cocky smile. But the next thing I saw didn't just shock me, it infuriated me.
Harold.:
Harold, using a screwdriver, forced open the voting box angrily.
"You guys thought that was funny, huh?" The nerdy boy pulled our sheets out of the box before pulling out some more from his shirt.
"Let's see what you guys think when I mess with your love life, motherfuckers." The nerdy boy said before putting his sheets away with a smile.
I gritted my teeth in anger, my hair began to float as a crimson aura covered me. I admit, I was cruel and mean to the boy for the pranks I played on him, but even I had my limits, obviously I was going to apologize for everything. But what I saw infuriated me like I never thought I would feel in this place before.
"Harold. I swear, by the most sacred thing in me, that you will regret playing with the hearts of my friends. And I swear, that when I'm done with you, you will wish you had never made me angry." My demon wings came to light before disappearing into the darkness, leaving the laptop behind. I appeared in the shadows of the room and saw Harold with disgust, the nerdy boy did not even show guilt for his actions. Without saying anything, I returned to the dining room, I had to put things in their place before it was daylight. A truth that I would make sure would come to light, no matter what the cost.
That's it for today's chapter, dear readers. I hope you liked it and I also hope you're enjoying it...
*Knock, Knock, Knock*
Huh?
I turned off the camera before finishing my greeting, as I approached the door I opened it with fear because I didn't know if it was the girls or something worse, but when I opened it, I saw the most adorable thing I thought I would ever see. A small, chubby-looking being with white fur, one white ear and the other black, a black suit with an orange scarf around his neck with the number 18.
"Aww, aren't you the cutest little thing? What are you doing here, cutie?" I asked with a smile, suddenly I saw how the small being stretched out his hands in an adorable way, showing me a letter.
"And this?" I grabbed the letter and when I opened it, I saw that instead of handwritten letters, everything was written with pieces of newspaper.
"Dear storyteller. I, Billy, a member of the Cunning Hares, submit this formal request to implore you for a unique space in your story catalog. I, as a star knight, pledge to take this as seriously as possible in order to be the ideal audience pleaser, and even Nicki is super excited about this, she says that if we appear in public, we will earn more denquis than any other assignment. Uhm, I think I went off the rails, in any case, we beg you to please accept our request. Sincerely, the star knight, Billy."
After reading the letter, I looked at the robot on the ground and bit my lip in worry.
"Umm, little friend. I appreciate this, but I have requests for many stories and right now Twilight and the other girls are busy in the recording studio." I said looking at the table full of requests. Hazbin Hotel, Helluva Boss, Queen's Blade, Boku no Hero, and others while I also saw the girls in the studio giving voice to the stories.
"Maybe next time?" I asked with a nervous smile. But then I felt my heart break as I saw the poor little animal lower its head in sadness as well as its little ears, I saw how it slowly walked away taking soft steps making me sigh in defeat.
"Wait!" The little being turned to look at me for a moment.
"Umm, it's possible that Leina or even Charlie would be a little upset about having to delay and think about their requests again but." I didn't finish because the little animal ran and threw itself into my arms making me laugh.
"Okay, okay, you win. Just give me some time, okay?" I asked looking at the little round being who jumped with happiness.
"Okay. Just let me think about it, I have a marathon ahead of me and many projects behind and many others in the future. Give me a few days, okay?" I turned to go back to my study to finish the chapter.
"Yeah, no problem. Bye!" The little creature screamed before running off, leaving me surprised.
"Wait, you can talk!?" But when I went to catch up with him, I saw that he was nowhere to be found, which surprised me.
"Discord, he must be messing with me again." I sighed somewhat annoyed before heading back inside. Not noticing that he was right behind me, just as shocked as I was.