Author's Note: Hey, it's been a while but I'm back. I've been super busy with school these past few months. Now I can resume writing. By the way, did you hear that Squid Game (season 2) is almost here?

Chapter 4 - 5th Annual Squid Game

Chris woke up. Where am I? He rubbed his drowsy eyes, as he slowly stood up from the dusty ground. The TDI host looked around.

He was surrounded by walls in a strange outdoor confinement. The walls were painted in a light blue color, just like the sky. Bridgette, Geoff, Topher, Blaineley, Justin, and an unrecognizable old man were trapped here too. They were still unconscious. There was an enormous female animatronic-doll on the other side of the confinement. The doll was dressed in yellow and orange clothing. Two-armed Squid Game guards dressed in their usual pink uniforms stood nearby the doll.

"What in the world is this place?" murmured a confused Chris. He decided to try to wake up the others. "Psst! Hey guys, wake up!"

"Ugh…" groaned Geoff, as he got up from the ground.

The others slowly began to wake up too.

Geoff chuckled. "Chris, why are you wearing that? It looks funny on you."

"Huh?" Chris looked down at his arms and legs. He was dressed in a green tracksuit. "What the.. I don't remember putting on these clothes." He quickly rubbed his eyes again. Then, he immediately realized that everyone was wearing the same thing too.

"Weird. Looks like we're all dressed in the same green clothing," said Bridgette.

"For real?" asked Geoff. He paused for a moment to double check his clothing. Haha! "I guess you're right. Geez, I hate how my hat got disintegrated by those pink-looking dudes."

"Don't worry. I can always buy you a new hat," reassured Bridgette with a soft smile.

"Awh babe, you're the best," complimented Geoff.

Geoff and Bridgette hugged each other.

Ha! "I know what's going on here," laughed Topher. "See, the thing is, Chris wasn't quite ready for retirement. He's obviously hosting one last farewell season before he retires. And we're all officially in it because we accepted his retirement ceremony invitations. The winner of this season gets to become the new Total Drama host."

"This isn't a Total Drama season," stated Chris, in an annoyed tone.

"Oh, come on Chris. Don't play dumb with us," sighed Topher. "Just admit it!"

"I'm telling you the truth, Topher. This isn't a farewell Total Drama season," argued Chris. "I have no clue what's happening right now."

"I believe Chris," said Justin. "Even if this was a Total Drama season, then why would Chris invite an old man that has no connection to Total Drama here? Who is he?"

Everyone turned around to look at the old man.

The old man smiled and waved hello.

"Hi, um, who are you?" asked Blaineley.

The old man scratched his head. He looked confused. "Eh?"

"Are you deaf? Who are you?!"

The old man pointed at himself.

Blaineley's eye twitched a little. She was quickly becoming frustrated with him. "Yes, you. I'm talking to you. Who are you?!"

The old man pointed at himself, again. "Oh Il-nam."

"That's your name? Okay..." commented Blaineley.

Bridgette shrugged. "Maybe he doesn't understand English? He could be from another country."

Hmm... "I think you might be right, Bridgette," agreed Geoff.

All of a sudden, the PA (audio) system turned on. There was a quiet static sound for a moment. Then, a man began to loudly speak in English. "HELLO! WELCOME TO THE 5TH ANNUAL SQUID GAME! WE ARE VERY PLEASED YOU'VE ACCEPTED OUR INVITATIONS AND JOINED US FOR THIS SPECIAL COMPETITION!"

Pfttt. "You didn't invite us. You kidnapped us, you morons," mumbled Blaineley. There was an upset look on her face. "Great. Just great. Now I'm going to be late for my business meeting in Hollywood."

Geoff raised his eyebrow. "Squid Game? I never heard of that before-"

"Me neither," said Justin.

"Where the hell are we?! I demand answers! NOW!" yelled Chris.

"WE BROUGHT YOU TO A SECRETIVE AND SECURE LOCATION HERE IN SOUTH KOREA! YOU WILL BE SAFE HERE AS LONG AS YOU OBEY OUR ORDERS!"

"South Korea?!" gasped everyone.

"How did we even get here so fast?" questioned Justin. "We were in Canada not that long ago…"

Chris sighed. This is bad. Very bad. Everything is ruined for me... I can't even retire peacefully anymore. I'm stuck here in South Korea for a lame game show now.

"YOU'LL ALL BE COMPETING IN CAREFULLY DESIGNED GAMES! THE LOSER IN EACH GAME WILL BE ELIMINATED FROM SQUID GAME! THE LAST PERSON STANDING WILL BE CROWNED AS THE WINNER OF SQUID GAME AND WILL RECEIVE A GRAND PRIZE OF SEVENTY-THREE MILLION KOREAN WON! WHICH IS EQUIVALENT TO ABOUT FIFTY THOUSAND US DOLLARS!"

"What happens when we get eliminated?" asked Geoff.

"IF YOU GET ELIMINATED… YOU'LL BE TAKEN AWAY TO THE SANCTUARY! WE OFFER FREE WATER, FREE KOREAN FOOD, FREE SPA TREATMENT, AND FREE TELEVISION!"

"Well, that doesn't sound that bad," said Geoff, as he scratched his chin.

Topher nodded in agreement. "Haha, yeah! I could use a really nice spa treatment right now."

"AND THEN... AFTER SOME TIME IN THE SANCTUARY… WE'LL ESCORT ALL THE LOSERS TO THE LAB!"

"What happens in the lab?" asked Geoff.

"IT'S WHERE OUR SCIENTISTS WILL HARVEST YOUR BRAINS, FOR RESEARCH, OF COURSE!"

"WHATTT?!" screamed everyone.

"They're... They're going to..." Geoff gulped. "Harvest our brains?!"

"You just had to open your big dumb mouth," snapped Blaineley, looking directly at Geoff's eyes.

"Knock it off, Blaineley," warned Bridgette.

"Oh, well, excuse me for being concerned about my life and my well-being and surviving," responded Blaineley.

"And missing out on your Hollywood meeting," added Topher.

Bridgette frowned. "You're being very rude right now, Blaineley. Just cut it out!"

Justin began stretching out his muscles, to prepare for the mysterious and unknown road ahead of them.

Chris collapsed to the ground. He was in shock. No… No, no, no, no, no! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING TO ME! I'm too old to be competing for a life-and-death game show! And I'm probably going to die and miss out on retirement! I won't be able to spend my days visiting the Bahamas, Hawaii, Japan, or Spain. A few tears rolled down on his face. Is this karma...? What did I even do to deserve this karma? I was an amazing TDI host. I don't deserve this. Why is this even happening to me?! Is there someone behind this?

"IT'S TIME TO BEGIN THE FIRST GAME!"

Author's Note: To be continued...