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| There is some language or violence that may not be appropriate for people under thirteen years of age. |
So, last season, we took ten TDI veterans and 12 completely new people and pitted them against each other. There was romance. There was backstabbing. There was evil and good all on one team. It was awesome! So we, the producers of the TD series, decided to do it again! All the Drama you ever experienced from the worldwide hit Total Drama Insanity and then some! And by some we mean lots! That's right, the Total Drama has gotten so great that only one possible word could ever do it justice! So say goodbye to the normal characters you've seen before! Say goodbye to the worn-out veterans too, because this season we're going all out with twenty-two all new contestants that will put the old bunch to shame! Say goodbye to all the rules of shows like this you once knew because this time we're forgetting all of that! I welcome you to the insanity, the madness, the lunacy, the utter chaos and mania that is, Total Drama Infinity!
The Campers
Forget veterans and new guys, this time we're starting anew with twenty fresh faces! Take a look for yourself!
Chapter 1: “Why do I feel that something’s going to go horribly wrong?”
The sun shone bright in the afternoon sky. The sun’s rays made the waters of Lake Wawanakwa look as beautiful as ever, and the view of such a beautiful sight was perfect for the 21 passengers on a Luxury boat called SS Insanity. However, for reasons unknown, things just didn’t feel right.
A small African boy by the name of Richard stood at the deck with a small Asian girl by the name of Patricia. They both gazed at the beautiful lake. Richard sighed. “Why do I feel like this?” he asked, “Everything’s so perfect. Why do I feel that something’s going to go horribly wrong?”
“I don’t understand why,” said Patricia, “But I feel the same way. Too bad I can’t forget about this and enjoy the ride like the others,”
“Yeah, it sucks,” said Richard. “Maybe if I head back inside and hang with my brother Seto, I’ll feel better. Seto always has a way of cheering me up when I’m blue.” Richard turned around and walked away.
“Good idea,” whispered Patricia, “If only I had brought family with me.”
Inside the ship, in a small room, a skinny, blue-haired, nerdy boy sat playing a video game. On the back of his video game system read his name, written in permanent ink. The words read, “Lee”.
“Today I’ll finally beat the evil fiend!” Lee proudly exclaimed, even though nobody else was in the room to hear or care. “I’m so close!” he continued. Suddenly, Lee heard a knock on the door to his room. “Come in,” he said.
A large, brown haired boy opened the door and walked in. “Why are you here alone?” he asked.
“Because I want to be,” said Lee. There was no emotion in his voice.
“Hey,” said the other boy, “Why don’t you come join the party with the rest of us? It’s lots of fun.”
“Sure,” said Lee, “Just give me one second to,” Lee interrupted his own sentence by putting his video game down and jumping up in joy. “I won! I beat the game! Okay, Timmy, I’m right behind you!”
“Cool,” said Timmy, “You head in. I’ll go get Richard and Patricia. It’s just not complete without them.”
“Okay,” said Lee. His signature dorky smile on his face, Lee left the room and headed for a nearby room, where you could hear the loud music coming from there from a mile away.
In the large room, a pretty brunette walked up to a black, tough-looking guy and sat down next to him. “Hi!” she said, “What’s your name?”
“Spike,” said the boy, “What’s yours?”
“Luciana,” said the girl, “Want to dance with me? The music’s perfect, and you’re cute.”
“Really?” asked Spike. He was shocked.
Spike: Nobody’s ever called me cute before, especially not hot girls like Luciana! This may be the start of a really good summer.
Luciana: Sucker! I knew it! The boys here are just as easy as the boys back home. I’ll be dominating this game in no time!
Spike and Luciana got up and started dancing. Elsewhere in the room, two girls were talking. One was really skinny with a big smile; the other was dressed in gothic purple clothing, with spiky hair and no smile at all.
“Come on, Darla! There’s music and dancing! Have some fun!” said the first girl.
“You know what would make me feel better, Becca?” said Darla, the second girl, “If you just leave me alone!”
“Not until you come out of your shell!” said Becca.
“Why don’t you just shut up and annoy somebody else, like...” Darla scanned the room until she found a mean-looking boy leaning against a wall. “Him. Samuel.”
Becca’s smile suddenly faded. “Because...” she began, “Watch.”
Lee walked up to Samuel, with his signature dorky smile. “Yo, dawg,” he said, as nerdy as you could possibly imagine.
“Get lost, dork!” yelled Samuel. He grabbed Lee by his shirt collar and threw him across the room.
“That,” said Becca, “Because of that. Samuel scares me.”
Darla shrugged. “I’ve had meaner boyfriends than him,” she said.
Samuel: Let that be a lesson to everybody else! DON’T mess with me, unless you enjoy being in a body bag!
Richard and Patricia entered the party room, both smiling. Seto, Richard’s little brother, ran in after them. “Wait up, bro!” he said.
“No need to rush,” said Richard, “This is a party, right? Let’s enjoy ourselves!”
“Yeah, while we can,” said Patricia, “Who knows what kind of messed-up game we’ll be dragged into in a couple of hours?”
Richard, Seto, and Patricia ran to the dance floor and started dancing. Meanwhile, a blonde, artsy girl was working on a sketch in the corner. “Okay, just a little longer,” she said. In front of her stood a dark-skinned, muscular boy, posing.
“Is it done yet, Noelle?” asked the boy.
“Almost, Jeffy,” said Noelle. She made a few final swings of her pencil, and then smiled. “Done!”
“I thought I’d freeze if I posed any longer,” said Jeffy, “C’mon! There’s dancing to be done!” Jeffy started wildly dancing. Noelle shrugged and joined him.
Noelle: Sorry, but I can’t help saying this. Jeffy is HOT! He’s the perfect model for my sketches, and I’m always inspired when I’m around him.
Meanwhile, outside on the deck, two people were playing catch. One of them was a girl with blonde hair, a baseball cap, and sporty clothes. The other, a boy, had red hair and a sports jersey with a 7 on it.
“So Alexa,” said the boy, “What do you think’s going to happen when we get there?”
“I don’t know, Phil,” said Alexa, “They’re probably going to put us in teams and give us a first challenge. I really hope it’s a physical challenge.”
“I hope so too,” said Phil, “I hope I’m on your team. You’d be a strong link to the team. I mean, you’ve got a great arm for throwing.”
“Thanks, Phil!” said Alexa, “You’re not exactly a weakling yourself, you know.”
“Thanks,” said Phil.
“No problem,” said Alexa, “I’m just glad somebody like you appreciates me. Back at my hometown, none of the jocks take me seriously. I tried out for my school’s football team, but this one jerk went out of his way to prevent me from making the team! It’s madness!”
“Why would anyone do that?” asked Phil.
Phil: Seriously, why would anybody sink so low as to go out of their way just to keep a girl from joining a sports team? I hate some people...
“I don’t know,” said Alexa, “But that jerk paid the price for it. I hate people like him.”
“Me too,” said Phil, “A lot of my jock friends make fun of me for always letting girls join in our sports. They’ll never understand.”
“Nope,” said Alexa, “They probably won’t.”
Back at the party, Spike and Luciana were still dancing.
Spike: This is amazing! Being with Luciana makes me so happy!
Luciana: I would have left him to flirt with some more guys at this point, but Spike’s a good dancer. He says he’s never danced with a girl before. I highly doubt that. But I can’t let myself get too attached to anyone here.
“I’ll be right back,” said Luciana, “I have to go, bad.”
“Okay then, babe,” said Spike, “I’ll be waiting right here!” Luciana smiled and left. “Sucker,” she said under her breath. She came across a boy with long, fiery red hair, giving Lee a wedgie.
“Classic!” laughed the boy as Lee walked off. As he turned around, he saw Luciana. “Well, what do we have here?” he asked.
“Hi!” said Luciana, “I’m Luciana, what’s your name?” she winked at him.
The boy blushed. “I’m Quentin,” he said.
“Nice to meet you, Quentin!” said Luciana, “Okay, I’ll see you around!” she blew a kiss to Quentin, waved to him, and left. Quentin just stood there, in shock, blushing.
Oh her way back, Luciana bumped into Lee. “Oh, h-hi, Luciana,” he stammered.
“Can it, nerdy,” said Luciana, “I don’t date dorks.” Luciana walked past Lee and headed back to Spike. Samuel stood by the wall and watched the others dancing. He frowned.
Samuel: I didn’t join this stupid thing to dance around like a moron. I came to win. These guys have no idea who they’re dealing with, especially the flirty one. If she thinks she can charm me, she has another thing coming.
Samuel grimaced and left the room. After leaving, he bumped into a very creepy-looking boy with insane red eyes.
“Hi!” he said, “What’s your name? I’m Steve. Do you like partying? I do! I LOVE partying! Did you see that girl Luciana? She sure is hot, isn’t she? You know you – ACK!”
Samuel had grabbed Steve by the shirt collar. He proceeded to throw Steve across the hallway.
“Ouch!” said Steve, “What was that for?” Samuel began to walk away. “You better get back here, you hear me? You’ll regret the day you threw me across the hall!”
“Oh, I can’t wait,” said Samuel, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he disappeared down the hallway.
A blonde, paranoid-looking girl by the name of Alyssa heard footsteps from outside her room. She gasped. “Nah, it was probably just the wind,” she said, “Anyway, please, my family, guide me, like you always have. I see you near me, I feel your presence. I hear your voices. I can do this, with your guidance. Amen.”
Alyssa: My whole life, since they passed away, my entire family has been by my side my entire life. People think I’m mentally unstable, but I’m not. I’m just... not alone. Shut up, Cousin Al, who asked you?
On the deck, a boy with seemingly-white hair was skating circles around a cheerleader-type girl. “This is what I life for, girl. I life for the thrill of the ride!” said the boy.
“Oh please, Xavier,” said the girl, “So you’re standing on something with wheels. Whoop-do.”
“Lighten up, Trixie,” said Xavier, “This is gonna be fun!” Trixie simply rolled her eyes.
“Hey guys,” said Gabriella, a brunette dancer, “We’re here!”
“About time!” said Georgia, a redhead girl with a freckled face.
The boat stopped, and everybody got off and onto a mysterious, dark island.
“Welcome, victims,” said a mysterious voice from the shadows.
“Hey guys,” said Seto, “The boat’s gone!” The others looked behind them and found that Seto was right. The boat that landed here mere seconds ago was gone.
“I’m scared,” said Luciana. She suddenly clung to Spike. “I’m scared,” she said again. Quentin glared at Spike.
“Are you guys paying attention to me at all?” boomed the mysterious voice. A figure emerged from the shadows. He had black hair, was very tan, and appeared to have been working out for a long time. “Hello, everybody,” said the mysterious person in front of the 21 scared teens.
Lee: I think I just **** my pants! He’s scary!
Seto: I think I wet myself when I saw him. He looked so familiar, somehow. But he was really scary!
Samuel: So I thought to myself, who the hell is this pushover?
Becca: He looked so evil, and yet, so beautiful!
Muttering was heard amongst the 21 teens standing before this sinister man.
“I’m sure you all know who I am,” said the man.
Then suddenly, it came to them, all at once. The 21 teens all cried out in unison, the name of who was to be their worst nightmare, “Justin?!”
Chapter 2: “So what you’re saying is we’re screwed.”
“Yes, it is I, Justin,” said the sinister man in front of the 21 teens. All of them were stranded on a dark, scary island. Justin started laughing manically.
Seto: I never thought Justin would be like this! I wanna go home!
Georgia: This is insane! I came, expecting a normal reality show, and I get this? Has this stuff really sunk that low?! This has to be some kind of trick!
Trixie: No way, I am NOT doing this!
“Now,” said Justin, “Allow me to clear things up for you miserable wretches! While you are here, you must answer to me. You are the puppets, I am the puppeteer, and there is nothing any of you can do about it! You expected a traditional reality show, and if you still think that’s going to be the case, then you really are morons!”
Samuel: Okay, seriously, you have got to be ****ing kidding me! Even if this Justin guy were speaking the truth, if he actually thinks that he can handle me, then he’s got another thing coming!
Justin continued. “If any of you go out of line, I will have one or more of my seven guards, the seven strongest people I could find, teach you a lesson! And before you ask, Samuel, these are not people you can handle. These guys also carry tranquilizer guns, and one shot from one of those will knock you out cold!”
Samuel: Damn!
“I bet most of you wish to leave,” said Justin, “And I say, go ahead and go if you wish. That is, if you can swim! If you look into the darkness ahead, you’ll see a house of sorts. Meet me in there in twenty minutes!” With that, Justin turned around and left.
“That no good son of a b*tch is going to pay for toying with us like that!” said Spike as soon as Justin left.
“I feel safer already!” said Luciana, who was clinging to Spike.
“Guys,” said Patricia, “We’re never going to overcome this if we just go without thinking. He’s obviously planned a revolt. We’ll have to think this strategically.”
“You said it, Patricia!” said Richard, “This is just like a game of chess. If we charge in now, we’ll all get captured and checkmated. We have to make our moves carefully if we want to prevail.”
“Problem is,” said Noelle, “We’re the pieces, not the players; Justin has full control over both sides. I fear we may get pitted against each other in an attempt to weaken us.”
Quentin smiled. “So you’re saying that we can’t wait, or else we’ll lose for sure. I like the sound of that! We’ll beat them all right now!”
Jeffy rolled his eyes. “We can’t,” he said, “Because if we charge now, they’ll be prepared and wipe us all out. We may even die!”
“So we can’t afford to wait,” said Timmy, “And we can’t afford to not wait. So what you’re saying is we’re screwed.”
“When you put it that way, then yes,” said Darla. She appeared to be the only one who wasn’t scared out of her mind at the moment.
“We’ll come up with something,” said Richard, “And we’ll do it together. In the meantime, let’s follow Darla’s lead and not let this get to our heads.”
“Teamwork, yay!” piped in Becca, “Teamwork makes everything better, right guys?”
Alexa rolled her eyes and stared walking toward the building. “We’ve no time to waste,” she said, “Let’s go.”
Phil ran up to her. “Wait up!” he said.
Spike ran after them. “Yeah, wait for me!” he yelled. Luciana smirked, waited until Spike was out of sight, and walked up next to Quentin.
”Hi cutie!” she said, and latched onto him.
Luciana: Piece of cake! I already have two boys right where I want them. And Lee, but he honestly creeps me out. I have dignity too, you know!
Lee ran up to Luciana and started sweating. “H-hi L-luciana,” he began.
“Beat it, loser!” snapped Luciana.
Lee: Geez, how could she think that Spike and Quentin are better than me? She doesn’t even know what she’s missing!
Alyssa walked behind the others, shaking with every step. “I told you this was a bad idea!” said a deep voice inside her head, “Why don’t you listen to me?”
“I’m sorry dad,” she whispered, “But Cousin Zachary and Uncle Niles insisted. They said it’ll be fun.”
“Don’t listen to them,” said the deep voice, “I’ll guide you through this.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
When the teens entered the building, they saw Justin waiting for them. “About time you showed up!” he said. “Now that you’re here, I’m going to get down to business. First of all, I’m dividing you into teams. This is a reality show, right? So, here we go. Samuel, Alyssa, Spike, Luciana, Lee, Trixie, Quentin, Patricia, Darla, and Steve, you will be known as the Wretched Souls!”
“Wretched souls?” said Steve, “That sounds just like a pirate movie! Are we gonna go looking for buried treasure?”
Gabriella: I seriously think that boy is insane. As if it wasn’t obvious already!
Trixie: Those guys are messed up in the head! How am I going to survive here?
“The rest of you,” continued Justin, “Gabriella, Jeffy, Timmy, Alexa, Phil, Richard, Georgia, Xavier, Becca, and Noelle, are henceforth the Victims of Terror!
Noelle: That sounds scary, really scary. But at least I’m on the same team as Jeffy!
Richard: This stinks. I was hoping to be on the same team as Patricia. She’s really smart, and I was counting on her to come up with a plan with me. Looks like I’m on my own.
“Wait a minute,” said Seto, “What about me?”
“I never invited you, squirt,” said Justin. He looked down, annoyed, at Seto. “Maybe my guards can work out something.” Justin started laughing.
“Wait!” intervened Richard, “He’s with me!”
“Very well,” said Justin, “You’re with the Victims of Terror now. If Richard goes, you go, blah, blah, blah. Happy?”
“Very!” said Seto. Seto ran to Richard and hugged him.
Seto: Richard and I are going to do this together, just like we always do!
“If anyone would like to switch teams, speak now or forever hold your peace,” said Justin.
“I would,” said Patricia.
“Too bad!” laughed Justin, “I just wanted to see who did! Now, let’s get on with the challenge. I want to see you squirm!”
“Isn’t this great, Gabby?” asked Becca, “We’re on the same team!”
Gabriella glared at Becca. “Don’t call me Gabby,” she said.
“That guy has some serious issues,” whispered Gabriella to Timmy as their team left the building.
“You said it,” said Timmy. The teens followed Justin to a huge tree in the middle of a forest.
“First team to get everyone up the tree wins,” said Justin, “And to make things fair, squirt will sit out of the challenge.”
“It’s Seto,” said Seto.
“Who gives a crap?” asked Justin, “And... begin!”
Not even a second after he said that, Alexa and Samuel had already started climbing.
“You can’t out-climb me!” taunted Alexa, and continued climbing. She found a sturdy branch and climbed onto it.
“You don’t want to taunt me,” warned Samuel, as he climbed onto a different branch.
“Wait!” chimed in Becca, “We have to win with teamwork! It’s the only way!”
Jeffy rolled his eyes. “Can we talk after? I’m trying to focus on the challenge.” Jeffy quickly started climbing the tree. He was joined by Noelle.
“This is crazy!” said Noelle as she climbed the tree.
“You said it,” said Jeffy. He climbed onto the branch Alexa was on. Noelle tried to do that too, but she slipped and fell.
Jeffy grabbed Noelle’s wrist before she could fall all the way down. “It’s okay,” he said, “I got you.”
“Thanks, Jeffy!” Noelle blushed, as Jeffy helped her onto the branch.
Jeffy: Yeah, I like Noelle. There’s no denying it. I’m just scared to ask her out, because if she says no, I don’t know what I would do!
Steve climbed the tree faster than a tree squirrel. The others looked at him, shocked, when he reached the branch. “What?” asked Steve, and broke into laughter.
Justin: I wanted to make things a little harder for them, but I thought to myself, maybe I should lower their guard before I go in for the kill. Like what Courtney did to me way back when! When I’m done with these miserable souls, she’s next! She will pay for what she did to me! They’ll ALL pay!!!!
After ten more minutes, Becca, Timmy, Richard, Lee, Luciana, Trixie, Spike, Patricia, and Alyssa had all climbed the tree.
“This is easy!” said Xavier, after climbing onto the Victims of Terror’s branch. “What do you think I did in my spare time, before I started skating?”
“THIS is the best they can come up with?” taunted Darla, as she climbed onto the Wretched Souls’ branch.
“I’ve had more trouble doing my laundry!” laughed Georgia from atop her team’s branch.
“Same here,” said Phil, who was next to her, “I’m not the star player on my football team for nothing!”
Only Gabriella and Quentin remained. At the same time, they started climbing the tree.
“You can do it, Gabby!” cheered Becca from her branch, “Just remember that kindness always wins in the end, no matter what!”
Gabriella stopped climbing and gave Becca the dirtiest look she’d ever seen. “I told you, don’t call me Gabby!”
In that moment, Quentin grabbed Gabriella by the back of her shirt and threw her off of the tree. By the time she hit the ground, Quentin was already on his team’s branch.
Justin: That was awesome! That’s the kind of action I was looking to see!
“The Wretched Souls win!” shouted Justin, “Which means that the Victims of Terror will have to meet me tonight at that building from before! Oh yeah, that’s the mess hall. You’ll eat your meals there. I took the liberty of getting four trailers on this place. They’re behind the mess hall. There are two for each team; one for the boys of the team, and one for the girls. Just wanted to let you know, that I’m not completely heartless. Next to the trailers, there is a voting booth, Victims of Terror, you guys must cast your votes in there by tonight. Each of you MUST vote! I’ll see you tonight, at 11!”
Richard voted for Gabriella. “You messed up, big time!”
Jeffy voted for Becca. “You messed up, big time!”
That night, at the mess hall...
The members of the Victims of Terror team stood in front of Justin, shoulder-to-shoulder. The clock read 11:00. Justin smiled.
“Usually,” he began, “The host gives everyone something like a marshmallow, or ice cream, or chocolate, as a symbol of life on this game. The person who doesn’t get one would then leave. Now that you all have cast your votes, I’m going to explain how I do things here. You each get a marshmallow, no matter what. You take it from me, eat it, and then go to your trailer for a good night’s sleep. For one of you, this will be our parting gift to you. So, here we go.”
Justin took a plate with eleven marshmallows on it from behind him. “One for Richard,” he took one of the marshmallows and placed it in Richard’s hands. He ate it and left. This process continued with everybody else, one by one.
“Gabriella, Noelle, Jeffy, Xavier, Becca, Alexa, Phil, Timmy, and Georgia. And we can’t forget little Seto, now can we?”
Seto left after everyone else. “Perfect,” said Justin after he left, “My first victim won’t even know what hit her!” Justin laughed manically and left to get his own good night’s sleep.
Becca slept fondly in her trailer, dreaming about what friendships she’d make on the island. Suddenly, she felt strange. Her thoughts started spinning, as if they were a basketball, rolling downhill. Suddenly, Becca started to lose her thoughts. She tried to move, but quickly realized that she couldn’t. Finally, everything went black.
One of Justin’s guards walked into one of the trailers, and walked out carrying Becca. Justin smiled approvingly.
“You know,” he said, “I’m kind of glad they voted her out first. We don’t want things getting too cheery around here, now don’t we?”
“That’s right, boss,” said the guard, “Now what do I do with the girl?”
Justin sighed. “Didn’t we talk about this? Take her to the boat on the other side of the island, drive over to Boney Island, and leave her there.”
“Okay boss,” said the guard, and walked away.
“Excellent,” said Justin.
Chapter 3: “Holy crap! I think I’m in love!”
“NOOOOOOO!!!”
Darla’s eyes opened at the sound of that shriek coming from her trailer. Her watch read 5:00. Darla sighed.
Darla: I’m miserable as it is. I’m trapped on this evil island, and at the mercy of a hot psychopath. I don’t need some scared-out-of-her-mind chick keeping me awake every night.”
“Who’s there?” asked an uneasy Darla.
“Darla? I’m sorry, did I wake you up?” asked Patricia, “That was me. I had a bad dream, that’s all. Hehe.”
“It’s okay, we all have our bad dreams,” said Darla. She smiled. “Could you describe your dream?” she asked.
“Okay,” said Patricia, “In my dream, we had to do a race in a challenge, and I was running alongside Richard, the smart guy from the other team. Suddenly some giant bear comes out of nowhere and starts chasing us. Suddenly Richard and I both trip over a log and the bear catches up. He mauls Richard with his giant, hideous paws. I woke up after that.”
“At least he didn’t maul you,” said Darla, “Hold onto that dream. I swear, it means something.” Darla paused to think for a minute. “Wait,” she said, “Did you say that Richard was in your dream?”
“Yeah, so?” asked Patricia.
Patricia: In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have asked that.
Darla smirked. “You like him, don’t you?” she laughed.
“No, I don’t!” yelled Patricia. Darla was unable to see Patricia blushing in the dark.
“Right,” said Darla, rolling her eyes, “He was in your dream, on your first night here. That’s your brain telling you that you like him. But since the bear mauled him and not you, it could also mean that you wish to see him go.”
“Well it’s neither!” said Patricia. Darla rolled her eyes.
Patricia: I do not like Richard! Okay? Darla thinks that she’s some kind of holy matchmaker, but she’s not! She’s just annoying!
Darla: She SO digs him!
Steve: I love pie! I love pumpkin pie the best, because it’s so pumpkiney and yummy! Hooray for pie!
One hour later, the sound of a loud air horn woke everybody up.
“Rise and shine, my lovely victims!” said Justin over the megaphone.
Trixie: Ugh! That Justin’s getting on my last nerves!
The 19 competitors left, and Seto, entered the mess hall for breakfast. “Hello, campers,” said Justin.
“Wait a minute,” said Gabriella, where’s Becca?
Justin smirked. “There will be plenty of time for explanations later. It’s time for your challenge. This is a personal favorite of mine, so you’re all in luck!”
“Wait a minute,” said Trixie, clearly annoyed, “What about breakfast?”
“Food comes after the challenge,” said Justin, “Now, follow me.” Justin left the mess hall, and the others reluctantly followed him.
Justin led the others to a dodgeball court. “Welcome to dodgeball!” cheered Justin, “I LOVED this game in TDI! This court is my one sanctuary from the evils of outside, and now you guys will play a sport in it! You guys know the rules of dodge ball, so, pick your five players, and begin!”
“Wow,” said Timmy, “This place looks just like the court from Total Drama Island!”
Justin nodded. “Indeed it does,” he said.
The Victims of Terror team huddled together. “We need to send our strongest out there,” said Richard, “I nominate Jeffy, Timmy, and Alexa.”
“Sounds like a plan,” said Phil, “I’m going in too!”
“I wanna play!” said Seto, “I’m good at dodgeball!”
Timmy smiled. “Sure, little tyke, of course you can play,” he said. Seto high-fived him.
“YES!” cheered Seto.
Meanwhile, the Wretched Souls team huddled together.
“We need our strongest out there,” said Luciana, “To show those wimps what power’s all about!” She put her arm around Spike. He blushed. “I nominate Spike,” she put her other arm around Quentin. He blushed. “And Quentin.”
“I’ll do it too,” said Steve, “I can dodge better than the monkey on the sugar high! Boh-yah!”
Lee gave his signature dorky smile. “Let me play, too!”
Trixie rolled her eyes. “Fine,” she said, “And I’ll play too.”
“Great!” said Luciana, “Let’s play some ball!”
Lee: This is my big chance to prove myself to Luciana!
Trixie: I wasn’t going to let my team accuse me of being a weak team player!”
Steve, Quentin, Spike, Lee, and Trixie each took a dodge ball and proceeded to their side of the court. Seto, Timmy, Jeffy, Alexa, and Phil each took a dodgeball and proceeded to their side of the court.
“And... begin!” shouted Justin. Alexa instantly threw her ball, hitting Trixie in the stomach. Trixie picked herself up and walked over to the bench where the others sat.
“Take that!” shouted Alexa. She high-fived Phil.
“That was awesome!” yelled Phil. A dodge ball to the face quickly shut him up.
“Nice toss, Spike,” said Quentin.
“Thanks, bro,” said Spike.
Quentin: I’m beginning to respect Spike as a person. He’s not just some punk who stands between me and Luciana. He’s a cool guy.
“Take this!” shouted Lee. He threw his dodgeball as hard as he could; only to have it hit the ground before even crossing the line and into the other side. The ball rolled to Alexa, who grabbed it, smirked at Lee, and nailed him in the face with the ball.
Lee: Holy crap! I think I’m in love!
Steve spun around a few times, jumped six feet up into the air, and threw the ball as hard as he could at Seto. When he landed, Steve gasped at the sight that lay before him: Seto had actually caught the ball! Steve slunk to the bench, and Xavier got onto the court.
“Let’s do this!” cheered Xavier. He picked up a dodgeball and, in complete unison with Alexa, chucked the ball at Quentin. Quentin rolled to the side, evading both balls.
Xavier: Damn it! He’s good!
Quentin tossed both balls thrown at him, at Alexa and Xavier. Timmy jumped in front of them and took the hits of both dodgeballs.
“Thanks, Timmy!” said Alexa.
“No problem,” said Timmy, as he walked back to the bench.
Xavier picked up the two dodge balls and glared at Quentin. He chucked both of them at the other side at once. To the surprise of the others, one dodgeball hit Quentin, while the other hit Spike.
“Victims of Terror win!” cheered Justin, “All right! Wretched Souls, you’ll have to vote somebody off tonight, but it has to be one of the five people that participated in the game! Alyssa, Darla, Patricia, Samuel, and Luciana all have invincibility.”
Georgia ran up to Xavier and hugged him. “You were awesome!” she shouted. Xavier smirked.
“I know,” he said confidently.
Richard ran up to Seto and hugged him. “That was amazing!” he said, “Way to go!”
“Thanks, bro!” said Seto.
“Okay, we did your stupid challenge,” said Samuel, “Now what about our food?”
“Ah yes,” said Justin, “come with me.”
The teens followed Justin back into the mess hall, where there was a pile of grey sludge on a plate waiting for each of them. “There’s your food,” said Justin, “Enjoy!”
“Did your eyes just turn red?” asked Quentin.
“SHUT UP AND EAT!!!” Yelled Justin. After making his point, Justin left the campers to their meals.
“This stuff is disgusting!” said Noelle.
“Yup,” said Jeffy, “But I have a solution!”
Jeffy: I just gotta do this right!
Jeffy ran to his trailer and returned with his backpack. He opened it, revealing hundreds of energy bars. “I brought them with me, in case this would happen,” explained Jeffy. He took one out and ate it.
“Can I have one?” asked Noelle.
“Sure,” said Jeffy, “But only if you’ll go out with me!”
Jeffy: I can’t believe I had said that so easily! I just got to pray that she says yes!
Noelle: Wow! Jeffy asked me out! OH MY GOD!!!
Noelle’s eyes lit up. “Oh Jeffy, I’d love to!” she said. She hugged Jeffy tightly. “Oh Jeffy,” she said.
“Noelle...” said Jeffy, “Thank you.”
Noelle then reached into Jeffy’s backpack and took out an energy bar. “And thank you!” she said. Jeffy smiled as Noelle ate the energy bar.
Meanwhile, things got a bit complicated at the Wretched Souls’ table. “It’s either Lee or Trixie,” Luciana explained, “Who’s it going to be?”
“Lee,” said Spike and Quentin at the same time.
“My dad says to vote out Trixie,” said Alyssa, “He’s always right.”
“I’m going with Alyssa here,” said Patricia, “Trixie has to go. She’s a snob.”
“Agreed,” said Darla, “And she’s mean.”
“Ugh!” shouted Trixie, and left the room.
“I’m voting with the boys,” said Luciana, “That leaves Steve and Samuel as the deciding votes.”
“I’ll think about it,” said Samuel. He got up and left the room.
Steve smirked and left the room without saying a word.
Throughout the day, the votes were cast!
Patricia voted for Trixie. “There’s no room for you here.”
Luciana voted for Lee. “You nerds freak me out!”
Steve voted for Darla. “HEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!!!!”
That night, everybody went to sleep except for the five members of the Wretched Souls team who were up for elimination. “I’m glad you could make it,” said Justin, “I tallied the votes, and now, one fo you will feast on your last marshmallow here.” He handed out marshmallows one at a time. “One for Spike, one for Quentin, one for Steve, one for Lee, and one for Trixie.” The five took their marshmallows and ate them. “Good night, everybody,” said Justin. His eyes shone red as the others left.
That night, Lee enjoyed a pleasant dream about his video games. Suddenly, Lee started to lose control of his thoughts. Everything started spinning around and around, until everything went black.
One of Justin’s guards silently took the unconscious Lee and carried him to a far-away boat.
Chapter 4: “What the heck would I have to gain from tormenting you?”
The night was covered in darkness. There were no sounds except from the owls and bats that took residence in the forest that is The Dark Island.
Timmy: My friend Richard and I dubbed this place, The Dark Island. It’s fitting, isn’t it?
The only other sounds were the snoring noises, coming from the trailers in which 19 teens, and little Seto, slept, always fearing what Justin would do next. Not a soul slept soundly. No soul will ever sleep well on this god-forsaken island. The sheer dread and terror simply engulfs everybody, every night, and if not that, then it’s somebody’s own insanity that provides cursed dreams. Being awake isn’t much better, when you’re constantly reminded that you’ve been doomed to spend a summer here, at the mercy of a psychopath. A living hell is what waits at The Dark Island.
Nobody slept soundly, and Spike was no exception. He dreamed of his gang back home, spending days and nights on the streets of New York City. Spike did not dream scenes, rather, he dreamed pictures. He dreamed of his gang suffering without him. He dreamed of his gang being taken down by another without Spike’s strength. His gang was his family, and was torture to even think of these things for poor Spike. But alas, that was what filled his mind on his second night at The Dark Island.
He dreamed of Woolly Beavers attacking his gang, his family, and devouring them. He dreamed of a tornado swallowing them up, while Spike could only look on helplessly, shouting “Make it stop! Make it stop!” again and again. The tricks of The Dark Island never did answer those pleads.
Spike tossed and turned in his trailer bunk, asleep, as images of his gang being stabbed to death by Justin rushed through his head. Finally, an image of Justin laughing triumphantly while his gang lay dead on the streets, their blood everywhere, forced Spike back into consciousness. Spike let out a single cry, and then just lay awake in his bunk, breathing hard, dripping sweat, while trying to forget his dreams.
“Why,” whispered Spike in his sleep, “Why do I have to be put through this torture? What the hell did I ever do to deserve this?”
Out of the corner of his eye, Spike saw Lee’s bunk empty. The sheets were nice and neat, but there was no person in it. “Where did they take him?” Spike asked himself, “Where do the eliminated go?”
Spike reflected to earlier that day, when he wrote Lee’s name on the ballot. “If I had known of the madness,” Spike said softly to himself, “I wouldn’t have done that. Who does that freak Justin think he is, messing with our heads like that?” he sighed, “At least wherever Lee’s going, it’s better than here. I’d give anything to leave this place.” Quietly, Spike got up and looked around him. It seemed that bad dreams were spreading like the plague. Spike’s heart sank as he saw Quentin, his only fiend here, sweating and tossing around in his top bunk. Steve too, was uneasy, his insane mind probably projecting the worst of images. Finally, Spike looked at Samuel. He was certainly not smiling, and his eyes were tightly shut, but Spike noticed that Samuel wasn’t tossing, turning, sweating, or showing actual fear like the others were. “How does he do it?” whispered Spike. He opened the trailer door and looked outside, at the pitch-blackness that surrounded him and the trailer. “Darkness as far as the eye can see,” Spike turned around to find Richard also outside, sitting at his trailer’s front step.
“Richard?” asked Spike. He went outside completely, shut the door, and walked over to him.
“Yup,” said Richard, “You’re Spike, right?”
“The one and only,” said Spike, “What the hell are you doing outside?”
“The same could be asked of you.”
“I couldn’t sleep.”
“Me neither.” Richard let out a deep sigh.
“Figures,” said Spike, “How long were you out here?”
“An hour, give or take.”
“How long will we be trapped here?”
Richard’s eyes welled up with tears. “I don’t know,” he said, “But I want to go home! I want to go back to the street; at least it’s better than this!” Richard suddenly started sobbing.
“So do I,” said Spike, “But we can’t let Justin win. We can’t let these tricks get to our heads. We have to stay strong!”
“Easier said than done.”
Spike nodded. “I know that,” he said, “But we’ll have to try. Stay strong, for your brother.”
“Seto?”
“Yeah, Seto. Think about it. He’s probably even more scares right now than you are. Richard, You can’t let him down.”
“Okay,” said Richard, “I’ll try to stay strong.”
Spike gave Richard a pat on the back. “That’s the spirit!” he said. For the first time since arriving, Spike smiled. The smile quickly vanished as an air horn blew over the loudspeaker. “Great,” said Spike, “Challenge time. I’ll see you,” with that, Spike turned around and walked in the direction of the mess hall.
“Bye,” whispered Richard.
The kids walked silently and somberly into the mess hall, where there was sludge waiting for each of them. Jeffy sat next to Noelle. She rested her head on his shoulder.
“Hey Noelle,” said Jeffy. He smiled.
Jeffy: The only thing keeping me from breaking under the madness is Noelle. I don’t know why, but she makes my happy.
Noelle: I guess you can say that Jeffy’s my one connection to sanity on this stupid island.
“Hey Jeffy,” said Noelle. She started to giggle.
“What?” asked Jeffy.
“Nothing,” replied Noelle.
Just then, Justin walked into the room. “Hello everybody,” he laughed. His eyes shone red. “I hope you’re ready for today’s challenge. So, are you?”
Quentin: Oh god no!
“Whatever,” said Quentin. He collapsed on the table.
“Quentin, are you okay?” asked Luciana.
“Let’s see,” mumbled Quentin, “I’ve collapsed from exhaustion, after having the worst dreams last night, and I’m at the mercy of a ****ing psycho. So no, I’m not okay.”
“Well, excuse me for caring,” said Luciana.
“Sorry Luciana,” said Quentin, “But if you had bad dreams like I did, you’d understand.”
Luciana: I dreamed about being ugly. It doesn’t get any worse than that!
“So,” said Patricia, “Will we get the pleasure of doing one of your favorites this time?”
“NO!” shouted Justin, “Today you shall go through tests of endurance. Last team remaining wins invincibility. Now get your sorry butts outside NOW!” Everybody got up and went outside to begin the challenge.
“I’m kind of scared,” said Georgia.
“Don’t be,” said Xavier, “You’ll do fine, I can guarantee that.”
“Thanks, Xavier,” said Georgia.
Georgia: What IS it about that guy that’s so reassuring?
Alyssa walked behind the others. “I’m scared,” she whispered to herself.
“You’ll do fine,” said the voice of her dad, “We’ll make sure of it.”
“Thank you,” said Alyssa, “Dad? I’ve been thinking about something.”
“What’s that, sweetie?” asked her Dad.
“I was thinking about committing suicide,” confided Alyssa, “So I can escape the nightmare that is my life, and join you on the other side at last.”
“Sweetie,” soothingly said her dad, “You have so much life left to live. You have something we don’t. Don’t throw it away.”
“So I have to live only to fulfill an obligation to you?” Alyssa folded her arms. “Great, just great.”
The campers followed Justin to an area of the forest, with two canoes waiting for them, each containing a few weights.
“For the first part of the challenge,” said Justin, “Each team must lift their canoe together. If you want to quit, simply let go and head to the voting booth, to cast a vote for somebody else. The vote will not count if your team wins. We’ll move on to the next part of the challenge when one team collapses under the pressure of the canoe. Begin!”
The two teams grabbed their canoes and lifted them over their heads. About five minutes into the challenge, Trixie let go of the canoe.
“There is no way I’m putting up with this bull****!” said Trixie, and went back to camp.
“Jeez, she could at least try,” commented Patricia.
At the booth, Trixie voted for Steve. “Bye-bye, freak show!”
Back at the canoes, both teams were struggling to hold theirs up. “Stupid weights,” said Darla.
“You said it,” said Patricia.
“That reminds me,” Darla smirked, “When are you going to tell him?”
“Tell who what?”
“Richard.”
“What about him?”
“Tell him that you like him.”
“But I do not like him!”
“Riiiight.”
“I don’t believe you!” chimed in Steve.
“You let go of the canoe, Steve!” said Justin, “you’re out!’ Steve shrugged and left.”
Steve voted for Samuel. “He doesn’t even like pie! 3.1415926.....”
“You can’t hide it from me, bro,” said Timmy, “I can tell that you like her.”
“What?!” asked Richard, “what the hell gave you that idea?
“Let’s just say that my best friend’s a matchmaker. I can tell by the way you look at her. You should totally ask her out!”
“Okay, mister smarty pants, who do you like then?”
Timmy sighed. “Look. I know you like Patricia. I’ll make a deal with you. I’ll hook up you and Patricia, if you help me hook up with Darla.”
Richard smiled. “You’d really do that? I mean, the whole thing wasn’t just torment?”
“Look,” said Timmy, “What the heck would I have to gain from tormenting you? We’re a team, so we should act like one. Right?”
“Right!” said Richard. “It’s a deal!”
Richard: Okay, saying that I like Patricia would be the understatement of the year. I’m smitten with her! She’s the smartest girl I ever met, and she’s caring, and sweet, and she’s beautiful too! I’ve never felt this way before. I can’t let Seto find out, or else he’ll tease me about it, like he teased me about liking this girl named Jess back home, two years ago.
Soon, the weight of the canoe became too much for little Seto. “I can’t go on any more,” said Seto, “Besides; I have to go pee-tinkle.” Seto ran out of the area as fast as he could.
“What a baby,” muttered Gabriella under her breath. The canoe collapsed on her and on her team. “Damn it!” she screamed out loud.
“Next up,” said Justin, “You all must jog in place as fast as you can. When you get tired, leave and vote.”
Everyone started jogging. After twenty minutes, Timmy, Richard, and Noelle all stopped.
“Tired...” moaned Richard. The three left.
Richard voted for Gabriella. “Sorry, but you’re kind of a pain in the butt.”
Timmy voted for Alexa. “I can’t think of anyone else. Sorry.”
Noelle voted for Phil. “I can’t think of anyone else. Sorry.”
“Hey Alexa, what’s up?” asked Phil while jogging.
“Now much, besides the obvious, why?” said Alexa.
“Well, having someone to talk to helps distract from the fatigue,” mentioned Phil.
“Good point,” said Alexa.
“I hate to bring this up,” said Phil, “But I heard rumors coming from the other team about you.”
“Oh god, not again,” said Alexa, “Last year; the cheerleaders started a rumor that I was a lesbian to keep me from joining the basketball team.”
“Ouch!”
“Yup. So, what was the rumor?”
“The rumor was that you have a crush on me. Is that true?”
Alexa suddenly stopped in her tracks. “Out!” yelled Justin.
“Wait,” said Alexa, “Phil, who told you that?”
“Luciana,” said Phil, “And Quentin, and yesterday, Lee.”
“Figures,” muttered Alexa, as she headed back to camp.
Suddenly, Samuel collapsed on his knees. “Cramp!” he cried, “Cramp! I knew I shouldn’t have eaten that goop this morning!”
“Samuel is out!” yelled Justin. As Samuel returned to camp, many others collapsed, because of cramps from the breakfast goop.
Samuel voted for Trixie. “Snobby little bitch.”
Richard, Timmy, Georgia, Xavier, Darla, Patricia, Phil, Spike, Quentin, and Gabriella all walked back to camp.
“We have a winner!” announced Justin, even though the only one there was Jeffy, “Jeffy wins! The Victims of Terror win! You head back, dude, I’ll let the others know who should be worried tonight.” With that, Justin ran off.
Jeffy: I knew those energy bars would pay off!
That night at the mess hall, the 9 remaining members of the Wretched Souls team stood before Justin.
“You’ve all cast your votes, and made your decision. Now, here are your marshmallows. One for Samuel, one for Trixie, one for Spike, Luciana, Patricia, one for Quentin, one for Steve, one for Darla, and finally, one for Alyssa. Good night, everybody!” The campers ate their marshmallows and went to sleep.
Justin crept into the girl’s trailer, where Trixie slept. He walked over to her, and found her completely unconscious. Justin smirked. “Hey Trixie, I got you an early birthday present,” whispered Justin, “It’s called spending eternity rotting on Boney Island. I hope you don’t already have one!” With that, Justin carried Trixie out of the trailer and sent her away.
Chapter 5: “Because shut up.”
12:00, midnight. The night was pitch-black, and there was no noise, except for the shrieking of the bats. Not a soul was awake. Nobody that is, except for Noelle. She sat outside her trailer, sketching.
Noelle: When I get angry, or annoyed, or sad, I take out my good old sketchpad and start drawing. It soothes my soul.
With a book light attacked to her pad, Noelle was able to sketch even in the darkest of nights. She closed her eyes and let her hand move freely, the pencil making a mark on the paper in the process.
Noelle: I’m completely at ease when I sketch.
When Noelle allowed her eyes to open, she saw an image of Jeffy on the paper. Noelle sighed happily, turned the page, and started to sketch again. She hummed a tune as she drew. Then, she started to sing.
“All you need is love,” she sang, “All you need is love. All you need is love, love, love is all you need. There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done...”
When she opened her eyes this time, Noelle saw her college dorm, complete with her roommate, perfectly portrayed on the paper. Noelle smiled, and a tear formed in her eye. The tear ran down her cheek and fell on the paper, followed by many others.
“I miss you guys,” she said. Noelle held the picture to her heart, and cried.
“I promise,” she said, in between sobs, “I’ll come back as soon as I can. As soon as I get off this hellhole, I’ll be able to see you all again!”
Noelle closed her sketchbook, and simply sat there, sobbing. She looked around her; everything was patch-black without her book light. Noelle smiled and walked back into her trailer. She got into her bunk, and drifted off into sleep.
Meanwhile, Gabriella tossed and turned in her bed, unable to escape the nightmares that befell her. In one dream, her dance classroom got set on fire, with everybody inside it, including her. In another, Justin had her cornered, and put a knife against her throat, while Gabriella could only beg for mercy as Justin killed her.
Gabriella’s eyes shot open, and she found herself on the floor. She got back into her top bunk, and lay there, wide awake, shivering from her own nightmares.
“Why...?” she asked herself, over and over again. Six hours later, an air horn over the loudspeaker, courtesy of Justin, woke up the remaining campers.
“I hate that,” muttered Darla.
“So do I,” said Patricia.
“That reminds me,” said Luciana, “Shouldn’t Trixie be whining too right about now?” Right after saying that, Luciana saw that Trixie’s bed was empty, and there was no sign of her in the trailer. “Never mind,” she said.
“Another day, another victim of Justin’s wrath,” said Alyssa.
“Yup,” said Darla, “Yo Luciana, when are you going to decide between those two guys that are nuts about you?”
“You mean Spike and Quentin?” she asked, “Maybe never. Their votes go a long way. And why are you so nosy?”
“It’s my nature, I guess,” said Darla. She shrugged. “Just ask Patricia.”
Patricia glared at Darla. “Will you get off of my case already?” she inquired, rather annoyed.
“No,” was Darla’s reply, “Probably not.”
“Whatever,” said Luciana, rolling her eyes.
Luciana: If Darla tries to play matchmaker on me, it’ll ruin my entire strategy! I can’t let that happen!
“Come on, you losers!” said Justin on the loudspeaker, “You have a challenge to lose!”
Luciana rolled her eyes and left. The others joined her.
The campers found Justin in front of the mess hall. “Challenge first, today,” he said, “Follow me.” Justin walked off, the others right behind him. They arrived at a large river, with a gymnastics pole above it. The pole was connected to the ground, yet hovering over the river.
“Your challenge,” said Justin, “Is to hang on to that pole, and to not fall off. Last one still hanging on wins immunity for his or her team. Do you understand?”
“Yeah, we get it,” said Xavier, annoyed.
“Good,” said Justin, “However, since you guys have two more team members, Wretched Souls, pick two people from the Victims of Terror team to sit out of the challenge.”
The Wretched Souls team members huddled together. Everyone else heard whispering from the crowd. Finally, the team separated, and Samuel stepped forward.
“We choose Alexa and Phil.” He said. Alexa and Phil looked shocked.
“Okay then,” said Phil.
“You two return to camp,” said Justin, “The rest of you, get ready for the challenge.”
Phil: What I heard the other day about Alexa liking me completely threw me off. I need to know for sure, but I don’t want to come off as nosy.
Alexa: When Phil told me about those rumors about me having a crush on him, I was shocked! I mean, it’s just like some of the jerks on the other team to do that, but still, I never told them anything!
Darla: Guilty as charged. Alexa never told me that she liked Phil, but I saw it in her eyes. Besides, they’re perfect for each other! Just look at them!
“So,” said Phil, as he and Alexa walked back to camp, “You want to play some catch?”
Alexa shrugged. “Whatever,” she said, and walked ahead of him. Phil could tell that she was unhappy.
“Hey,” asked Phil, “What are you so glum all of a sudden?”
Alexa looked behind her, at Phil. “Because shut up,” she said, and continued walking. Phil ran up to her.
Meanwhile, the campers who were competing in the challenge hung onto the pole, above the river.
“Begin!” shouted Justin.
“Hey Gabby,” said Luciana, “How are you doing?”
“Don’t call me Gabby!” screamed Gabriella. In her rage, she accidentally let go of the pole, and fell down into the river, screaming the whole time.
Justin: That was hilarious!
Steve: That was fun! HEHEHEHE!!!
“Cannonball!” shouted Steve. He let go of the pole, and did a cannonball into the river below.
“I’m scared of heights,” said Timmy.
“You’ll be okay,” said Richard, “Trust me. I’ve done this before. All you have to do is close your eyes and forget about the situation.” Richard closed his eyes and smiled, and Timmy and Seto did the same.
Noelle and Jefy hung next to each other. Noelle looked down at the river below.
“Jeffy, I’m scared of heights,” said Noelle.
“You’ll do fine, babe,” said Jeffy, “I promise.”
Suddenly, Noelle slipped and fell. “NOOOO!!” she screamed as she fell.
“I’m coming Noelle!” yelled Jeffy. He let go of the pole, and fell as fast as he could until he was next to Noelle again. Noelle clung to him.
“It’s okay,” said Jeffy, “It’ll be okay.” He held Noelle until they hit the water. The current brought them back to camp.
“I can’t do this,” whispered Alyssa to herself, “I just can’t!”
“Don’t say that,” said the voice of her dad inside her head, “You’ll do fine.”
“I can’t,” she kept on saying, “I can’t, I can’t, I can’t. I hate heights more than anything!”
At that moment, Alyssa allowed herself to let go and fall into the water. “I just can’t,” she whispered. The current of the river consumed her, taking her back to camp.
Georgia closed her eyes and smiled without saying a word. Xavier looked at her in awe.
“How does she do that?” he asked, “The rest of us are scared, or worried, or something, but not her. She just stays calm. That’s incredible!”
“It sure is,” said Darla.
Darla: Sweet! I’m on fire! I figured out that Alexa likes Phil, that Patricia likes Richard, and now I realized that Xavier has the hots for Georgia! I might actually enjoy it here.
Darla looked down at the river and saw Timmy being taking back to camp by the strong current. She sighed.
Meanwhile, Luciana was between Spike and Quentin. All three were looking down at the river and taking deep breaths to calm themselves down.
“Are you two going to be okay?” asked Luciana, with genuine concern.
“I’m not going to lie to you,” said Quentin, “probably not.”
Luciana: He’s only human, and I can’t blame the guy for being scared. I’m terrified of heights, after I went rock climbing and fell. Nobody was paying any attention, so I broke my leg that day.
“It’s just a river,” said Spike, “It’s nothing too dangerous. Even if we fall, we’ll land in water. Don’t be so scared, guys. Just relax.” He smiled.
Quentin: Spike’s a real pal. I probably would have freaked out if not for him.
Luciana: I’m really glad Spike was there. I don’t know how he did it, but he made the rest of us feel better. I picked the right guys to hang out with!
“You’re right,” said Quentin, “There is nothing to be scared of. Thanks, Spike.”
“Anytime,” said Spike. Suddenly, the three heard screaming. They turned their heads and saw Darla and Xavier falling into the river.
“Okay, now I’m freaked out,” said Spike.
Patricia looked down at the river and started breathing short, fast breaths. Richard opened his eyes and saw her.
“Hey Patricia, are you going to be okay?” he asked.
“No,” said Patricia, “The current’s moving so fast! It’s scary. Seeing everybody get swallowed up by the current is so scary.”
“Just relax,” said Richard, “Just close your eyes, breathe deep, and forget about the river. You’ll be okay. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Richard went back to doing just that. Patricia smiled and blushed, and then joined him. Richard opened his eyes again to the sound of screaming. He looked down, and saw Seto falling down.
“Seto! No!” shouted Richard.
Richard: The tide was too strong for Seto to handle! I knew what I had to do!
Richard let go and fell as fast as possible. When he reached Seto’s altitude, he held him.
“It’ll be okay, little bro,” said Richard.
Seto started crying. “Thank you, Richard,” he said.
Patricia opened her eyes to find out what was happening, just in time to see Richard and Seto washed away by the tide.
“Richard!” she shouted. In her worry, she accidentally let go of the pole and fell into the river.
“There goes another one,” said Spike.
“Yeah,” said Quentin.
“Oh no!” said Luciana, “I think I’m slipping!”
Right then and there, Luciana slipped and fell into the watery abyss below.
“No!” shouted Spike and Quentin simultaneously, “Luciana!”
Samuel just hung there, silent. He showed no signs of fear or worry, and certainly didn’t show any signs of falling anytime soon. Georgia hung with similar perseverance, unwilling to let anything break her concentration. Justin looked at his watch, annoyed.
“This has been going on for two hours now!” he complained, “So I’m stopping the challenge. Since the Wretched Souls team has three members hanging on, and the Victims of Terror team only has one, the Wretched Souls win immunity. Everybody fall; the current will take you back to camp. I’ll head back to announce the results.”
Samuel shrugged and dropped. Spike and Quentin let go, screaming all the way down. Georgia dropped into the river without saying a word.
Later that day, the teams had their meal. The Victims of Terror team discussed elimination.
“I nominate Gabriella,” said Richard, “She’s been acting kind of nuts today and recently.”
“You have a point,” said Timmy, “And she was the first to fall.”
“Well?” asked Georgia, “Anything you have to say in your defense?”
“Yes,” said Gabriella, “I say we should vote off Noelle. She’s not much of a physical asset anyway.”
Georgia shrugged. “Well, I know whose name I’m writing down tonight.” Alexa nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, at the Wretched Souls team’s table, Darla noticed something unusual.
“Hey guys,” she said, “Has anyone seen Alyssa? She’s not here...”
“Maybe she’s just wandering around,” said Patricia, “She has been known to do some unusual things recently.”
“If she’s not in our trailer tonight, I’ll look for her,” said Patricia.
“Very well,” said Samuel.
As the night approached, the votes were cast!
Richard voted for Gabriella. “I never was that fond of you.”
Gabriella voted for Noelle. “This had better work.”
That night, the members of the Victims of Terror team stood in the mess hall, in front of Justin.
“You guys know the drill,” said Justin, “You eat the marshmallow, and go right to sleep. Understand?” he gave one marshmallow to every member of the team, and when they got it, they ate it and left.
“I’ve been waiting for this one to go for a while now,” said Justin quietly, after everyone else had left. His eyes shone red with madness.
One hour later, Justin walked up to one of the trailers, and snuck inside. When he walked out, he carried an unconscious Gabriella. “It’s about time you got it,” he said.
Chapter 6: “Darla was right about us!”
The night, as always, was pitch-black. Everybody left on the accursed Dark Island lay asleep, dreaming horrid dreams. Everyone that is, except for one person.
Patricia lay awake in her bunk, unable to sleep. She was too worried about one of her team members to even try.
Patricia: Alyssa went missing earlier that day, and she didn’t show up, not even at midnight. I knew that I had to find her.
Unable to just lay there any longer, Patricia got up and left the trailer with a flashlight. She ran in the darkness. She turned her flashlight to the left to see is Alyssa was there, when all of a sudden; she bumped into something and fell down.
“Ouch,” she said out loud, “I need to be more careful.”
“Yeah, so do I,” said a male voice in front of Patricia. “By the way, have you seen my glasses? I can’t find them anywhere.”
Patricia got up and pointed her flashlight in the direction of the voice, only to find Richard there, also with a flashlight. His glasses were right in front of him.
“I’ll get them,” said Patricia. She picked up Richard’s glasses and handed them to him. He quickly put them on.
“Patricia...?” asked Richard, “What are you doing here?”
“The same can be said about you.”
“I’m looking for Alyssa.”
“So am I.” Patricia was confused. “But why are you looking for her? For all you know, she’s back in her trailer.”
“If that’s the case, then why are you here?” Richard smiled. “Besides, I’m really worried about her. If this stupid game were anywhere else, I wouldn’t be so worried, but we’re here. Any number of things could have happened to her!”
Patricia gasped. “You don’t think...” she began.
“I don’t want to think that,” said Richard, cutting her off, “But there’s only one way to know for sure. Besides, if she’s in trouble, we can help her.”
Patricia nodded. “Good point,” she said, “Let’s go.” With that, Richard and Patricia ran off in the same direction, into the darkness.
Meanwhile, Georgia lay awake in the darkness; she too could not sleep.
Georgia: Yesterday’s challenge completely threw me off. Sure, it looked like I was doing fine, but hearing all the screams and the intense roar of the current below was a lot for me to bear. I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover.
Georgia closed her eyes, and attempted to drift into slumber, but couldn’t. She started to take deep breaths, hoping that would help, but it did not work.
Georgia: Sometimes, when I’m really scared, I sing. It really works! There’s one song in particular that really soothes me.
Georgia took another deep breath and started to sing. “Imagine there’s no heaven. It’s easy if you try.”
“No hell below us,” sang a different voice inside the trailer, “Above us, only sky.”
“Alexa, is that you?” asked Georgia.
“Yeah,” said Alexa. “That’s Georgia I’m hearing, right?”
“Yup,” said Georgia.
Alexa heard sobbing. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I just remembered,” said Georgia in between sobs, “Gabriella used to love this song!”
“Yeah,” said Alexa, “She’d sing it to herself every night until she fell asleep. Great, now I feel really bad for voting for her.”
“It was either her or Noelle, and Noelle didn’t have temper issues.”
“Yes?” asked a third voice inside the dark trailer.
“Noelle, is that you?” asked Alexa.
“No, it’s Maya. Of course it’s me! Who else is in here?”
“So that confirms it,” said Georgia, “Gabriella left us tonight.”
“I hate it when this happens,” said Alexa.
“Who doesn’t?” asked Georgia.
“Justin,” said Noelle.
“Touché,” said the other girls at once.
Richard and Patricia continued running aimlessly, until they heard a voice in the distance. “It’s the current of the river, from yesterday,” said Richard, “Let’s follow it.”
Patricia nodded. “Yeah, maybe we’ll find her there.”
The duo ran in the direction of the sound. Richard saw the panic in Patricia’s eyes as they ran. He put his hand on her shoulder.
“It’s going to be okay,” he said, smiling, “It’s going to be okay.”
Patricia looked at Richard, and put her hand on his hand. “Thanks,” she said. Richard blushed.
Richard: I knew that it wasn’t going to be okay, but I had to make sure that Patricia wasn’t freaked out.
Patricia: That was really sweet of Richard to do that. I think we both knew it wasn’t going to be okay, but I’m touched that he cares. Okay, why the **** am I kidding, Darla was right about us!
Darla: Score one for me!
Richard and Patricia eventually reached the river. “The current does that way,” said Patricia. She pointed to their right.
“Right. Let’s go,” said Richard. They ran in the direction of the current.
“How far does this river go?” asked Patricia, over the loud current.
“Probably right down the entire island,” shouted Richard, again over the roar of the river’s strong current.
“Great,” said Patricia, “At this rate, we’ll never find her!” Right then, Patricia and Richard came across a boulder that cut off the river. On the boulder was Alyssa. Richard picked Alyssa off of the boulder and placed her down on the ground.
“Alyssa, wake up!” shouted Patricia. She shone his flashlight at her and found that her eyes were closed.
“This is bad!” cried Richard. He picked up Alyssa’s wrist, put his thumb on the bottom of her wrist, and waited a few seconds.
“Any pulse?” asked Patricia
Richard shook his head. Tears ran down his cheeks. “No pulse,” he said.
Patricia suddenly became shocked. “Does that mean...” she began.
“Yes,” finished Richard. He dropped Alyssa’s wrist. “She’s dead.”
“No!” yelled Patricia. She hugged Richard and cried in his arms. “No, this can’t be!” she said in between sobs.
Richard held Patricia and cried as well. The two just stood there, crying in each other’s arms, for about a minute before Patricia realized what she was doing and pulled away.
“Sorry about that,” she said.
“Yeah, sorry,” said Richard. He looked at Alyssa’s body. “What should we do about her?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” whispered Patricia, “I really don’t. But we can’t just leave her here.”
“What else can we do?” asked Richard. “Neither of us have shovels or anything to bury her with.”
“I have an idea,” said Patricia. She carried Alyssa’s body to a nearby tree, and leaned her against the tree.
“There,” said Richard, “That’s all we can do. Let’s head back and tell everyone the news.”
Patricia nodded, and the two headed back the way they came.
By that time, everybody else was at breakfast. “Still no sign of Alyssa,” said Luciana, “I wonder where she went.”
“Yeah, it is pretty scary to think about,” said Spike.
“I’m sure she’ll be back soon,” said Quentin, “Don’t worry so much.”
Just then, Richard and Patricia ran into the mess hall.
“Guys,” said Patricia, “Alyssa’s dead!”
All at once, everybody gasped.
“Dead?” asked Jeffy, “As in, dead?! Richard nodded.
“Wow...” said Timmy. The others saw the tears on his face.
“I didn’t see that coming,” said Phil.
“Neither did I,” said Alexa.
“This game has gone way too far!” shouted Samuel.
“Since when were you so sensitive?” asked Darla.
“This has become a matter of life and death,” said Samuel, “It’s not just some madman’s game anymore.”
Steve started laughing hysterically to himself.
“Samuel’s right,” said Xavier, “We have to do something!”
“But what?” asked Richard.
“We have to do something,” said Xavier, “We can’t just sit around here and cry!”
“He’s right,” said Georgia, “We have to do something to stop Justin, once and for all!”
Just then, Justin walked into the mess hall. He found everybody, minus Steve, glaring at him, and Steve laughing uncontrollably. “What?” he asked.
“Alyssa’s dead,” whispered Richard.
“That explains the anger,” said Justin.
“She’s dead because of your twisted game!” yelled Xavier. He stood up. “Have you no remorse?”
Justin simply shook his head. Everybody else, minus Steve and Xavier, gasped.
“You killed Alyssa!” yelled Xavier, “You KILLED her! You monster!”
Xavier ran towards Justin, raising his fist while running, ready to beat him up for what he did. Quickly, Justin got out a tranquilizer gun and shot Xavier with a tranquilizer dark, knocking him out cold instantly.
“Take him away,” muttered Justin. A really tough-looking guy walked in, picked up the unconscious Xavier, and left. Georgia suddenly burst into tears.
“Does anyone else have anything else to say?” asked Justin. Everybody else shook their heads.
“Very well,” he said, “After what recently happened, I guess I’ll give you guys the day off. I’m not in the mood for a challenge anyway.” With that, Justin left, and the room grew silent.
Georgia: This is too much! First Alyssa, and now Xavier! Who’s going to be next?
Chapter 7: “Justin can torture, but he sure can’t cook!”
Darkness, as far as the eye can see. That is what one would see on a given night on The Dark Island. Most nights there were uneasy for the people sleeping there, but on this particular night, tension, worry, and fear filled the minds of everybody on The Dark Island. This fear the 15 remaining people at The Dark Island is not without cause; earlier that day, they had found out that one of their own had died, and another paid the price for messing with the wrong person that day.
The fear and sadness was so great that night that nobody could sleep. Not even Samuel, the one who was too tough to let anything get to him. He lay in his bunk wide awake, with what happened earlier that day still clear in his head. No matter how hard he tried, Samuel was unable to push that moment out of his head, not even for a second.
“Hey, is anyone else awake?” asked Samuel weakly.
“Yeah,” Quentin, “I can’t sleep at all tonight.”
“Me neither,” said Spike.
“Couldn’t sleep if I tried,” said Steve, “I usually don’t, though.”
“Seriously?” asked Spike.
“Yeah,” said Steve. An uneasy silence filled the trailer. Steve took a deep breath, and started to talk again.
“What happened today really left an impact on me,” said Steve, “During this whole game, and through most of my life, I thought my life was just a giant joke.”
“What do you mean?” asked Samuel.
Steve took another deep breath. “I guess I didn’t take anything seriously. I considered everything to be a giant comedy to be lived, so I spent all of my time joking around. When Alyssa died, I thought that was just a joke, too. I was wrong. When Justin knocked out Xavier afterward, I suddenly realized that all this is for real. I’m kicking myself for ever doubting that. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m sorry.”
“It’s cool,” said Spike, “At least you’re okay now.”
“By the way,” said Samuel, “When did you start joking around all the time?”
“I guess it all started when I was five,” explained Steve, “I was in first grade, because I started Kindergarten a year early. We were eating lunch, and then the guy sitting next to me started a food fight. The whole place exploded in chaos, and something told me that this was real life: just a giant joke. I started spending all of my time joking around, until I lost control of myself a few years later. I just couldn’t stop. I thought nothing was for real. I realize now that I was wrong. Don’t get me wrong, I was always a happy soul. The doctors say I was born laughing sweetly, and when my parents saw a psychic, she predicted that my purpose in life would be to shed light on dark material, and make people smile.”
Quentin smiled and shed a single tear. “That’s deep, man,” he said. He sniffled a little.
Samuel also smiled. “I’m proud of you, Steve,” he said.
“Thanks, guys,” said Steve.
Suddenly, there was a loud banging at the door. “Who is it?” asked Steve.
“It’s the guys from the other team,” said Phil from outside, “We couldn’t sleep, and we were wondering if we could spend the night with you guys.”
Samuel shrugged. “Sure, why not,” he said. “Come on in!” he shouted.
Phil opened the door and held it open. One by one, Richard, Jeffy, Seto, and Timmy walked into the trailer. Phil came in after them and shut the door. On his way in, he turned on the lights.
“If you guys mind, I can turn the lights off,” said Phil.
“Nah, its better like this,” said Steve, “It’s always good to shed some light on a dark situation.”
Jeffy turned to look at Steve. He looked puzzled. “Is that you, Steve?”
“Yeah,” said Steve, “Why?’
“You look so... different,” said Jeffy. The other guys nodded in agreement. It was true, in the light, Steve looked completely different. His hair was lighter, and his expression was significantly more serious. But the thing that looked the most different about Steve was his eyes. Steve’s eyes became blue and deep, as opposed to how Steve’s eyes used to be, which was red and soulless. It was as if he was a completely different person.
Steve: A lot of people I know question their purposes in life. I know mine for certain. My purpose in life is to shed light on dark times, and to make the bright day brighter. I actually have to thank Justin for this; what he did the day Alyssa died opened my eyes to the real world, after all these years in my fantasy corrupt circus. I’m a changed person, and I’m proud of it!
Timmy: It was really nice of the other guys to let us stay with them. I really appreciate that they did.
“So how are we going to pass the time?” asked Spike.
“I have an idea,” said Steve, “I just told a story about myself, so we should each take turns doing the same.”
“That’s actually a really good idea,” said Richard.
“How about you start, Samuel?” asked Seto.
“Sure,” said Samuel, “Ever since I was a little kid, I had seven major fears in life. They were my seven brothers. They were all big, strong, and mean, not to mention eight to twelve years older than me. Since I was five, they would bully me every day, because there was nothing I could do about it, they said. They tormented me, they pulled pranks on me, and they beat me up, a lot. I’ve been to the hospital on account of them more times than I can count. I knew only two things in life then: pain and fear. Eventually, I became sick of it and taught myself a third thing: strength. On my fourteenth birthday, my brothers tried to beat me up again, but I fought them all off. I beat them all to a bloody pulp that day, and then ran away from home. I haven’t seen my brothers since; at least, I think I haven’t.”
“Oh my god,” said Richard, “That’s awful! Where are you living?”
Samuel shrugged. “Wherever I can find a roof over my head, I suppose. After two years, you get used to it. While I was on the street, I learned of many other feelings that my brothers kept out of me, like sadness, hurt, anxiety, and frustration. But I rarely see happiness. I don’t know why.”
“That’s really sad,” said Seto, “I’m so sorry.”
“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about,” said Samuel, “It’s not your fault.”
Just then, the sound of a megaphone through a loud-speaker got everybody in the trailer groaning.
“Come on you people,” said Justin over the loud speaker, “Challenge in one hour! I’m not exempting you from a challenge today unless somebody dies again.”
“That’s not funny!” shouted Steve.
“You know he can’t hear you, right?” asked Samuel, as he left the trailer.
Steve shrugged. “I know, but it had to be said.”
The teens, and Seto, sat at their team’s tables and ate breakfast, which was the usual glop. “Ugh, this food stinks!” said Steve. He made a puking gesture. “You know what? Justin can torture, but he sure can’t cook!”
The entire table exploded in laughter. “Good one, Steve!” said Luciana.
“Thanks,” he said.
Steve: I’m smart enough to know how Luciana’s been using Spike and Quentin. Well, not exactly. She cares for both of them, but I think her indecision is for the extra votes. It’s not going to work on me, I’m too smart. I have an IQ of 177, you know. So much for the smart being sane...
Patricia poked at her glop. “I bet you can mold something out of these.”
“Let’s find out,” said Steve. He began to mold his gray sludge into a sculpture. After five minutes, he smiled triumphantly. “Done!” he proudly said.
“What is it?” asked Darla. It was a total mess, the sculpture, and didn’t resemble anything human or living at all.
“It’s Justin!” exclaimed Steve. The table exploded in laughter again.
Meanwhile, Noelle giggled at the sound of the other table’s laughter.
“They’re like a bunch of monkeys!” commented Jeffy.
“Yup,” said Noelle, “It’s kind of funny to watch.”
“You said it,” said Richard.
“Yup,” said Alexa.
Georgia mumbled something. Her face had the tracks of bucketfuls of tears on it. “You okay?” asked Alexa.
“No,” said Georgia, “I keep thinking about what happened to Xavier. It’s not fair!”
Richard smirked. “You like him,” he said.
“Yea, you’re right,” said Georgia, “But you’re one to talk. Everybody knows how you have the hots for Patricia.”
Richard blushed. “I never said I didn’t like anybody,” he said.
Just then, Justin walked into the room. “Hello, ginal 14. I have a surprise for each of you today.”
“What is it?” asked Patricia.
“It’s your challenge! Everybody, come with Me.” The campers shrugged and followed Justin.
“Hey Richard,” said Timmy, pointing at Patricia, who was right in front of them. “Now’s your chance. Ask her out now, while the time is still right!”
Richard glared at Timmy. “Are you serious?’ he asked, “No way!”
“I’ll have to force you then,” said Timmy. He pushed Richard ahead, so that he was right next to Patricia.
“Oh, hey Richard,” said Patricia.
“Hay Patricia,” said Richard awkwardly. His face turned red. He looked back at Timmy, who gave him a thumbs-up.
“Is there... something you want?” asked Patricia.
“Um... yeah,” said Richard.
Richard: I had just one chance. That was it. If I couldn’t pull it off then, I’d never be able to!
Patricia: I really hope he’s about to ask what I think he is!
“Um, Patricia,” began Richard, “Do you think that sometime, maybe after this is all over, we can, um... go out? You know, as a... couple.”
Richard: That was so hard! But at least I said it.
Patricia smiled at Richard. “I’d love to!” she said, “But I don’t think we should wait until this is all over. I think we should hook up right now, if you want.”
Richard beamed with joy. “Yes!” he nearly shouted, “That would be awesome! Thank you so much!”
Patricia rolled her eyes. “Don’t get too crazy,” she said.
“Sorry,” said Richard, “I’ve... never asked out a girl before now.”
Patricia looked puzzled. “Really?” she asked. Richard nodded.
“You’ll never be able to say that again,” she said. The two hugged, and then walked the rest of the way to the challenge area hand-in-hand.
The challenge area was simply a giant wheel, like on wheel of fortune, with headshots of everybody left in the game on it.
“Since I’m not in the mood for a real challenge,” said Justin, “This’ll work like this: Everybody takes turns spinning this wheel. Whoever’s picture it lands on it out, and I mark the picture with a black X. If it lands on a picture with a black X, you’re out. Only people who are in get to spin the wheel.”
“Aren’t these challenges more suited for a merger?” asked Darla.
“I don’t care,” said Justin. “Samuel, you’re up first.”
Samuel went up and spun the wheel. As it spun, Darla saw Richard and Patricia holding hands. She gave them a thumbs-up, and they returned the gesture.
The spinner landed on Jeffy’s picture. Justin marked the picture with a black X. “Noelle’s turn,” he said.
Noelle spun the wheel, and it landed on Steve’s picture. Before Justin could mark the X on it, Georgia got out a blue marker and colored in the red in the headshot’s eyes, blue. Steve smiled.
“Spike,” said Justin. Spike spun the wheel. It landed on Quentin. “Sorry bro,” he said.
“It’s okay,” said Quentin, as Justin X’d out the picture.
“Richard,” said Justin. Richard spun the wheel, which landed on his own picture. Richard shrugged and went back to where he was a few seconds ago.
“Patricia,” said Justin. Patricia spun the wheel, which landed on Steve’s picture. Justin marked Patricia’s picture with the black X. Patricia walked next to Richard, and held his hand. They both smiled.
“Alexa,” Alexa spun the wheel, which landed on Samuel.
“Darla,” Darla gave the wheel a good spin, eventually landing on Phil’s picture.
“Georgia,” Georgia spun the wheel, which eventually stopped on Luciana’s picture.
“Noelle,” Noelle spun the wheel, which landed on Jeffy. Noelle cringed as her handmade self-portrait was marked with the black X.
“Timmy,” Timmy spun the wheel, which landed on Spike.
“Darla,” Darla spun the wheel. She watched nervously as it spun. It landed on Georgia, and Darla took a sigh of relief.
“Alexa,” Alexa spun the wheel, which Landed on Luciana. Alexa sighed.
“Timmy,” Timmy took a deep breath and gave the wheel a good, hard spin.
It eventually landed on Darla. Timmy smiled.
“That means that the Victims of Terror team wins!” said Justin, “Wretched Souls, you know what to do.”
The campers headed back to camp. Luciana caught up with Spike and Quentin. “Hey boys,” she said.
“Hey Luciana,” said Spike and Quentin at the same time.
“Guys,” said Luciana, “We’re allied, right?”
“As in, alliance? Sure,” said Quentin. Spike nodded.
“Good,” said Luciana, “We need to vote for Darla tonight. Try to convince Samuel and Steve to vote with you. I don’t think I can do that.”
“Okay, sure,” said Spike.
“Luciana?” asked Patricia as she and Darla headed back to camp.
“Yup,” said Darla, “Let’s try to get Steve and Samuel to vote with us.”
Patricia nodded, and the two ran back to camp.
Throughout the day, the votes were cast!
Darla voted for Luciana. “We need you gone.”
Luciana voted for Darla. “Before you can ruin my strategy, matchmaker girl.”
Spike voted for Darla. “Honestly, I don’t know why it has to be you, but it’s not like I was planning on voting for anyone else tonight. Sorry.”
Steve voted for Luciana. “This is the best for Spike and Quentin. Please understand.”
That night, the seven remaining members of the Wretched Souls team stood before Justin.
“Glad to see you all came,” said Justin, “Here are your marshmallows.” Justin silently handed one marshmallow to each of the seven people standing there. They all ate them and went to bed. Justin’s eyes shone red as they left. “Excellent...” he said.
Thirty minutes later, Justin crept into one of the cabins. He left carrying Darla.
“This one surprised me,” said Justin quietly, to himself, “Must be the work of a strategist.” Justin shrugged and carried Darla away.
Chapter 8: “What an asshole”
Whether its day or night, at The Dark Island, you will never find any light. The thick, dark trees obscure it all from the inhabitants of the island, leaving only darkness and despair. For all, the experience there was unlike one they had ever experienced, or like one that they ever wish to experience ever again.
Alexa would know, as she was one of the many unfortunate people trapped on The Dark Island. In her entire life, she has always been able to rise up to any sort of challenge, but not this time. This was a challenge too great for even her. In the past, Alexa had risen up to challenges in sports, academics, and popularity, and was able to surpass everyone else in all three. Now, however, she was lost in a world where she didn’t belong.
Alexa: I feel so out of place here. For the first time in my life, I feel like I don’t belong. I feel so sad here...
Alexa lied down outside the trailers, having built a fire.
Alexa: I enjoy my solitude, a lot.
She had brought a sleeping bag, her pillow, and blankets with her, and began to drift off into sleep next to the warm, cracking fire, when the sound of a crow work her up.
“****ing crows,” she muttered. Just then, she heard one of the trailer doors open and close. She heard footsteps coming toward her, so she started to scream, at least until the light from the fire showed that it was Phil who was there.
“Oh, hey Phil,” said Alexa awkwardly.
“Hey Alexa,” said Phil. He casually sat down. He looked at Alexa and smiled.
“What?” asked Alexa.
“What?” asked Phil. The two both smiled.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” asked Alexa.
Phil shrugged. “Maybe it’s because you’re in front of the fire.”
“You can come closer to it, if you want,” said Alexa.
“Sure,” said Phil, walked over to the other side of the fire, and sat down over there.
“So, what are you doing out here in the middle of the night?” asked Alexa.
“The same can be asked of you,” said Phil.
“What can I say, I enjoy my solitude,” said Alexa.
“Understandable,” said Phil. He looked at Alexa and smiled again. Alexa looked bak at him and smiled. They just sat there, gazing at each other for a few minutes, until Alexa looked down and took a big sigh.
“You okay?” asked Phil. He walked over next to her, around the fire.
“Yeah,” said Alexa, “Hey Phil?”
“Yeah?”
“You had asked if the rumors were true about me liking you.”
“Yeah, but you don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.”
“Well, it’s true. I do like you, a lot. I never met a guy like you before. Most of the jocks I know are jerks, sexist ones too, who want all the fame to themselves. Phil, you’re not like that.”
“Alexa...”
“You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to. It’s okay if you don’t like me, I understand. I’ve dealt with rejection before.” Alexa looked down and almost started to cry.
“But I do like you,” said Phil. Alexa looked at Phil and saw him gazing at her, smiling a sweet, compassionate smile. Alexa smiled.
“I’ve never met a girl like you in my entire life,” said Phil, “Most of the girls I know are well, really girly. None of them care about sports, and the ones that do, are my own family. You’re strong, outgoing, smart, fun, and beautiful. You’re the most amazing girl I ever met.”
Alexa and Phil gazed at each other. Simultaneously they started to lean in until they started to make out. The fire died, but they didn’t care. It was cold and dark, but they didn’t care. All Alexa and Phil cared about was each other. However, they did care when the sound of an airhorn through the megaphone broke their perfect moment.
“Oh well,” said Phil, “Wait till we tell the others the great news!”
“Yeah, it’ll be awesome!” said Alexa. The two got up and headed to the mess hall.
Justin stood in front of the door to the mess hall. “Challenge first, as always,” he said.
“Aw man,” said Jeffy, “I’m REALLY hungry!”
“THEN DEAL WITH IT PUNK!!” shouted Justin. The others flinched in fear.
“What an asshole,” whispered Richard to Patricia.
“Tell me about it,” said Patricia back. The two smiled and put their arms around each other.
“Anyway,” said Justin, “For today’s challenge, you guys will have to build a fire, a huge fire. The fire has to burn up an entire tree. I will select the trees.”
“Sounds simple enough,” said Samuel.
“Xavier would have loved this challenge,” said Georgia.
“Quit your whining!” said Luciana.
“You’re good with fires, right?” asked Spike to Quentin. Quentin nodded. “Good.”
“Everyone, follow me,” said Justin. He took the campers to an area on the Dark Island, where there were two identical trees, big, tall, and handsome trees. “Victims of Terror, you get the one on the left. Wretched Souls, you guys get the one on the right. Now, begin!” said Justin, and walked away.
Noelle: This challenge made me cringe. Those trees were beautiful works of art, and yet, we had to destroy them. Noelle sighed in the confessional.
Alexa, Phil, and Timmy went into the wood to get rocks and wood to make the fire with. Meanwhile, Spike and Quentin stood in front of the tree.
“You said you were good with fires;” said Spike, “Let’s see what you’ve got!”
Quentin nodded, took out a lighter, opened it, and lit the bottom of the tree. The fire burned, and made its way up the tree. Quentin smirked, closed his lighter, and put it away.
“Told you,” said Quentin.
Steve applauded Quentin. “Nice job,” he said, “The tree looks real nice when it’s burning. Kind of like Luciana.” The entire team laughed at that one.
“Thanks, I think,” said Luciana.
“It was a compliment,” said Steve.
While the Souls’ tree had a decent start, the Victims had a harder time. Phil was hitting two stones together trying to make a spark on the roots of the tree.
“C’mon, burn, burn...” said Phil. He struck the two stones together as hard as he could, and the roots of the tree caught fire. Phil got up and stood back.
“Nice job,” said Alexa. She put her arm around him.
“Thanks, babe,” said Phil.
“Wow,” said Patricia, “You two are really cute as a couple!” Alexa and Phil both smiled.
Noelle tried frantically to sketch her team’s tree ablaze on her sketchpad. “This is harder than it looks,” muttered Noelle.
“The fire looks real nice,” said Georgia. Suddenly, she heard a voice coming from the flaming tree. “Save... me...” whispered the voice. Georgia would know that voice anywhere.
“Alyssa?” asked Georgia.
“Um Georgia,” said Richard, “She’s kind of dead.”
“I swear I just heard her voice coming from that tree,” said Georgia, pointing at the tree, “Did any of you?” everyone else shook their heads.
“You’re just hearing things,” said Noelle, “It’s probably from exhaustion. If you don’t get enough sleep, you start to hear things.”
“You’re probably right,” said Georgia.
Just then, she heard the voice again. “Georgia... please... save me... put out the fire... you have to...”
Georgia lost it. She ran away from the area as fast as she could. When she returned, she carried a bucket of water, and threw it onto her team’s tree, extinguishing the fire immediately. Georgia started panting.
“What have I done...” asked Georgia to herself, “This is crazy! I’m going insane! That wasn’t Alyssa; it was a trick of my mind! I HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!!”
“Well good,” said Justin, appearing out of nowhere, “Because the Wretched Souls win immunity! Victims of Terror, cast your votes, I’ll see you guys at 11.” With that, Justin left.
throughout the day, the votes were cast...
Richard voted for Georgia. “It’s for the best.”
Noelle voted for Georgia. “You’re losing your mind!”
Georgia wrote down her own name on the ballot. “Get me out of here; get me out of here...”
That night, the 7 remaining members of the Victims of Terror team met with Justin at the mess hall. Justin silently gave each one of them a marshmallow. Each one silently ate it and left to go to bed. Only Georgia did not eat her marshmallow.
“Poor girl,” said Justin...
Later that night, Justin found Georgia wide awake, outside the trailers. “I was waiting for you,” she said.
“Should you be...” began Justin, “Never mind.”
“Please tell me that you came to take me away from here, that they voted me off!” said Georgia. Justin nodded.
“THANK YOU!!” shouted Georgia.
“Quiet,” demanded Justin, “You get some shut-eye. When you wake up, you’ll be out of here.” Georgia nodded and lied down on the grass. Within seconds she was in a deep sleep. Justin picked her up and carried her away.
Justin: I felt sorry for the poor girl. She reminds me of... me, for some reason. Hopefully she’ll be happier at Boney Island.”
Chapter 9: "PUT ON A FRIGGIN HAPPY FACE! OR ELSE!"
When there is nothing but the dark, many succumb to the despair and terror that darkness brings with it. So many have. Darkness is a scary thing, especially when you know that there won't be any light to banish the darkness. Fear of the dark has nothing to do with it. Darkness preys on all of your fears. The only way to survive the darkness is to make your own light.
One person did just that. Jeffy lay in his bottom bunk, smiling during his own dreams. Unlike the others, Jeffy's dreams were his sanctuary at The Dark Island, so he tried to sleep as often as he could, to be in his dreams. This particular night, Jeffy dreamed of what he loved the best, which would be surfing. He dreamed of riding a huge wave across Hawaii, overcoming the many dangers of the wave itself. One trick after another, Jeffy wowed his imaginary crowd until the wave crashed into the shore.
Darkness always tries to invade your dreams at The Dark Island, and this one was no exception. Suddenly, Jeffy's fans vanished, and storm clouds covered the sunny sky. In the distance of Jeffy's dream, the biggest, roughest, most dangerous wave he had ever seen was forming. Jeffy approached the wave on his surfboard. Determined to prevail, he began to ride this "death wave".
The giant wave seemed to try to sabotage Jeffy with all sorts of tricks and obstacles, but no matter what, Jeffy never gave up until the titanic wave crashed into the shore. Victory...
Jeffy's eyes slowly opened. "What an awesome dream," he said. He put his hands behind his head, closed his eyes, and imagined himself surfing once again.
Jeffy: I know this place is creepy, and scary, but I stay cool. I have my own thoughts to turn to. Inside my head, it's always paradise. I'm happy, as long as I have these happy thoughts.
Out of curiosity, Jeffy got up and checked to see how the others were doing. Timmy was tossing and turning, so Jeffy figured he was having a bad dream. Richard was beginning to sweat, so it seemed that he wasn't doing to good either. Phil was clutching something under his pillow. Finally, Jeffy turned to look at little Seto. Seto was tossing and turning, and sweating. He was also talking in his sleep.
"No!" cried Seto, "You'll never get me alive! I'll never let you get me without a fight! No! No! No!!!"
Seto's eyes suddenly shot open. He started breathing heavily. "What a horrible dream," he said. He then noticed Jeffy. "Hey Jeffy," said Seto.
"Hey Seto," said Jeffy, "Bad dream?" Seto nodded. Jeffy walked over to Seto.
"Are you okay?" he asked. Seto shook his head.
"It'll be okay. It was only a dream."
"It's not like being awake is any better," said Seto sadly. Jeffy nodded.
"I feel you, man," said Jeffy, "But I have a feeling that it'll be all right in the end."
"Thanks Jeffy," said Seto.
Later that morning, the remaining teens (and Seto) were eating breakfast, which was the same old sludge.
"Hey Luciana," said Steve, "Last night, during the challenge, did you hear anything strange? I was working on the fire, and I swear I heard Alyssa's voice coming from the other tree. Do you have any idea what it was?"
Luciana smirked. "Steve, that was me,"
"Huh?"
"Let me explain," said Luciana, "I have a talent for imitating other people's voices. I don't know why, I just do. So I hid behind the other tree and started talking in Alyssa's voice, to psyche out the other team. Spike and Quentin were in on it, and I think you should be too. I don't want my scare tactics to backfire."
"Impressive," said Steve, "You're cooler than I thought."
"Thanks," said Luciana, "I always have been a master of sabotage."
Luciana: Steve? Meh, Steve's okay. I like that I have his support as a friend. It means that I won't have to pretend to like him for him to vote with me.
Steve: I really appreciate and respect Luciana as a friend. She comes up with all these crazy ideas to help us win challenges. It's so much fun to talk about! And, she is pretty hot... Wait a minute, what am I saying?
"Georgia really freaked out yesterday," said Noelle, "I mean, I heard it too, but I just assumed it was a weird wind, or I was just hearing things. It's not like I've been getting much sleep."
Alexa nodded. "Poor girl," she said.
"Yeah," said Phil, "I hope she's happy wherever she is now."
"Agreed," said the two girls in unison.
"Let's just hope it doesn't happen again," said Timmy. The others nodded.
Meanwhile, Steve and Luciana were laughing at a joke they shared.
Spike: I was worried that Steve might steal Luciana from me, so I had to make sure that never happens.
Spike walked over to Steve and Luciana. "Hey beautiful," said Spike, "And hi, Steve." Spike sat down next to Luciana. Steve rolled his eyes.
"Hey Spike," said Luciana, "What's up?"
"Waiting for the challenge to begin," said Spike.
"It's about time someone mentioned the challenge!" said a voice from outside. The voice turned out to be Justin's, as he walked inside the mess hall.
"This challenge is going to be a good one," said Justin, "So put on a happy face!"
Samuel spoke up, "What is the challenge going to—"
"PUT ON A FRIGGIN HAPPY FACE! OR ELSE!" yelled Justin. His eyes shone red as he yelled.
Quentin: Touchy.
Phil: I think I'm going to puke!
"Everybody, come with me," said Justin. The campers all got up and left with Justin.
"What do you think the challenge will be?" asked Richard.
"I don't know," said Patricia, "But it can't be good." Richard nodded.
Richard: It can't be much worse than the last one. I swear, I heard a ghost that night. And this is coming from a man who doesn't even believe in ghosts!
When they arrived at their destination, what awaited the campers were 13 shovels.
"The first team to dig a hole," said Justin, "6 feet deep, and 6 feet wide, wins. However, there is a twist this time. The team that wins will get to vote off someone from the losing team. Now, begin!" As Justin left, the others ran to grab shovels and start to dig.
After each team designated a location, everyone immediately started to dig. While the Souls dug in relatively the same location, their shovels acting as one giant shovel, the Victims had two halves of their team start of 6 feet apart, facing each other, and digging towards each other.
"This is easy," said Quentin, as he threw another shovelful of dirt behind him. It accidently hit Patricia.
"Sorry," said Quentin.
"It's okay," said Patricia, as her shovel removed more dirt from the ground.
"This is harder than it looks," said Timmy, tossing another shovelful of dirt aside, "Oh well; we have our six feet across now. All we have to do is dig deep." Jeffy nodded, and they got to work. The others joined them.
"Oh man," said Seto, "I'm aching all over!"
"Keep on digging, bud," said Timmy, "If we work together, it'll be over soon." Seto nodded.
"This is hard," said Steve, "And I think they're winning!"
"I'm aware of that," said Luciana.
"Should we try that trick you used yesterday?" asked Steve.
"Not yet," said Luciana, "Save it for the last resort" Steve nodded.
"Why are you all complaining so much?" asked Samuel, "This isn't a big deal!"
"Easy for you to say," said Patricia, "You're probably the toughest one here!"
"I think that honor belongs to me," said Spike.
"We can debate this later," said Luciana, "Now we have a challenge to win!" At this point, the Souls had dug a hole 6 feet deep and 4 feet across, while the Victims had dug a hole 5 feet deep and 6 feet across.
"Now?" asked Steve.
"Now," said Luciana, "I'm going to the bathroom," she said out loud, just loud enough for the rest of the team to hear. She left the hole, ran behind the nearest tree, and started talking while mimicking Alyssa's voice.
"Why are you hurting the earth?" asked Luciana, sounding as spooky as she could while using her former comrade's voice.
"A-Alyssa?!" asked Timmy in shock and fright.
"Keep your cool," said Jeffy, "We're about to win!"
Timmy started trembling, as did Richard and Seto. "Not again," said both.
"Please stop," she continued, "Please stop harming the earth. Jeffy, please stop."
"She knows who I am?!" asked Jeffy. Now he started trembling.
"I know all of you," she said, "I know what you're all doing right now. I am omnipresent. Now please, stop digging this stupid hole and help me!"
Jeffy dropped his shovel in panic. Timmy threw his and started running around in circles. The shovel hit Richard in the head, knocking him out instantly. Alexa and Phil clung to each other in fear.
Luciana: Suckers! They're all gullible idiots! Looks like I win again!"
At that point, the Souls finished their 6-by-6 hole. Justin walked into the area.
"Wretched Souls win!" he announced, "Wretched Souls, go vote someone off from the other team. Victims of Terror, I'll see you tonight." With that, Justin mysteriously disappeared into the darkness.
Luciana returned to the others and high-fived Steve. "That was so cool!" said Steve.
"That was so much fun!" said Luciana. "Are you going to vote with me?"
Steve shrugged. "Depends on who we're voting for," he said. Luciana whispered a name into Steve's ear.
"Aha," said Steve, "Sure.". The two went their separate ways.
"Hey Spike! Hey Quentin!" cried out Luciana. The two were heading to the voting booth together. Luciana caught up to them and put her arms around them. Both blushed.
"H-hey, Luciana," said Quentin, stammering.
"Wha-what's up?" asked Spike, also stammering.
"I was wondering," said Luciana, "If you could vote with me tonight." Luciana whispered the name of the person she was voting for into their ears. Spike and Quentin both nodded. "Great!" said Luciana. She stood in front of them, hugged Quentin, and then hugged Spike. She then left, leaving both boys blushing deeply.
Patricia voted for Alexa. "I do strategy, you know, and you're a huge threat!"
Samuel voted for Alexa. "I got no other choice."
That night, the remaining members of the Victims of Terror team met up with Justin at the mess hall. He gave each a marshmallow. Everyone then ate their marshmallows silently and left.
Justin walked into one of the cabins later that night. When he left, he carried Jeffy out with him. "I'm impressed," said Justin, "You kept your cool when everyone else freaked out. But, that apparently rendered you a threat." As Justin carried Jeffy away, he noticed a folded piece of paper fall out of his pocked, with the name Noelle written on the front of it. Justin put Jeffy down, put the note in his pocket, and resumed carrying Jeffy away.
Chapter 10: "Then we're on the same page."
Creepy things have happened at The Dark Island Recently, even creepier than usual. Things you haven't seen yet... The Dark does weird and insane things to the mind. It makes you hear things, see things, and feel things that you haven't before.
The biggest victim of this, in more ways than one, was Timmy. Timmy lay in his bunk, having horrible dreams about what had happened the previous night. The words of his teammates and the words of that one voice that day haunted his dreams.
What was that for? What did I do to deserve a shovel to the head? Timmy cringed. I know it was scary, but you really need to calm down, man! Timmy tossed and turned. What are you, some kind of baby? Grow up! Timmy started to sweat.
"No, please understand," he muttered in his sleep, "I'm terrified of ghosts! I always have been ever since I was little!" Poor Timmy could hear others simply walking away from him, not caring about what he had to say. In his sleep, Timmy began to cry.
Timmy: It's true, I always have been afraid of ghosts. It's not my fault though, I swear! Ever since I was a little kid, my big brothers would tell these really scary ghost stories to me while I was trying to sleep! Vivid, descriptive, horrifying ghost stories that plagued my dreams forever! I want nothing to do with anything that has anything to do with ghosts! But despite my pleas, my siblings forced it on me, and now my own teammates won't listen to me explain!
Timmy's eyes shot open, and he silently cried. "I try to be positive," he whispered, "And this is what I get. I get nightmares and apathetic teammates." Timmy started to breathe deeply until he stopped crying.
"Hey Timmy, is that you?"
"Who's there?" asked Timmy.
"It's only me, Phil," said Phil, "You feeling any better since last night?"
"Like you care," said Timmy coldly, "You don't care about my feelings at all."
"Bullcrap," said Phil, "I just figured you should be left alone for a while. That's what I try to do when I get freaked out."
"Thanks for the advice," said Timmy, "I'll go do that now."
"Okay," said Phil, "Later."
"Later," said Timmy, as he stepped outside, carrying a flashlight. As soon as he went outside and turned on the flashlight, he saw Spike leaning against a tree.
"Spike?" asked Timmy, "What are you doing outside?"
"I had bad dreams, I couldn't sleep," explained Spike, "So I went outside to hang and clear my thoughts."
"Same here," said Timmy, "So, who'd you vote off?"
"I know that me, Quentin, and Luciana all voted for Jeffy," said Spike.
"Oh," said Timmy, sadly. "Why?" he asked.
Spike shrugged. "I don't know, Luciana said he was the biggest threat,"
"I see," said Timmy.
Just then, the sound of an air-horn, through the loudspeakers placed around camp, startled Timmy and Spike, and woke the others up.
"We should go," said Timmy. Spike nodded, and they headed to the mess hall.
Timmy sat at his team's table, and Spike sat at his. Spike looked at Timmy for a second.
"Dude," said Spike, "What's the matter? I can tell that you're not doing too well."
"It's about last night," said Timmy, "I swear I heard a ghost."
"So did the others," said Spike, "But you're not taking it as well."
"I know," said Timmy, "It's because I don't want anything to do with the g-word. When I was little, my brothers and sisters would come into my room while I was trying to sleep, and tell me the scariest ghost stories. I finally got a break from them when they all want to college, but now, it's like the fear is starting all over again, you know?"
"I know," said Spike, "I've lived my whole life with a fear of losing my gang. My bros from there are the only family I have left."
"Then we're on the same page," said Timmy. Spike nodded.
One by one, the others entered, and sat at their respective tables. Noelle was worried when she found that Jeffy hadn't entered.
"What happened to Jeffy?" asked Noelle.
"We voted him off," said Quentin from the other table, "Sorry."
Noelle said nothing, though her eyes clearly showed panic.
"Poor girl," said Richard, "I'd hate it if that happened to one of us."
"Don't worry," said Patricia, "I have a feeling it won't. We'll be together through thick and thin!"
"That's right!" said Richard. The two hugged.
"Shouldn't you be at your table?" asked Alexa. Patricia shrugged.
"I'm not sure," said Seto, "It could be any one of us at this point. You never know where Justin'll strike next."
"Hello, everybody!" said Justin, at the center of the mess hall.
"How did you get there so fast?" asked Samuel.
"I have my ways," said Justin, "But that's not important! Today, the two teams will become one! That's right, we're having a merger!"
Upon hearing the good news, everybody in the room cheered.
"With that in mind, let's get going!" said Justin. "My cohorts and I have decided that one of you will not compete in the challenge, but instead receive a reward. We have decided that person will be...
Timmy!"
"Sweet," said Timmy, "What do I win?"
"One of my cohorts will be waiting for you outside the mess hall," said Justin, "Go with him and you'll have your reward."
Not even one second after Justin had said that, Timmy was out the door.
"Anyway, back to business," continued Justin, "For this challenge, you will be competing in teams of two, for a three legged race! Squirt will sit out—"
"It's Seto," cut off Seto.
"Whatever," said Justin, "And I will be naming the teams. The two pairs to make it across the finish line first win immunity! Do not speak until I have finished naming the teams. Patricia and Richard, Steve and Phil, Alexa and Luciana, Noelle and Samuel, and Spike and Quentin."
"Awesome!" said Quentin. He high-fived Spike.
"Sounds great," said Patricia. She and Richard hugged.
"Everyone, follow me," said Justin. He led the others to an area devoid completely of trees. However, for some reason, the area was still as dark as the rest of the island. The five teams stood on a yellow, horizontal line, as Justin tied one leg from one member of each team to one leg of the other member of the team with rope.
"Listen well," said Justin, "In the distance is a red line. The first two teams to cross that red line win! Is everybody ready?"
All five teams nodded.
"GO!" shouted Justin. All five teams simultaneously fell flat on their faces.
Quentin: Well, that wasn't the best start.
Samuel: We suck.
Alexa and Luciana immediately picked themselves up.
"Outer foot, then inner foot," said Luciana. Alexa nodded, and they started off.
Steve and Phil were the next two to get up. However, they couldn't even take a single step without falling again.
"This stinks," said Phil. Steve nodded, and gasped as he saw Spike and Quentin start walking on, almost like one person.
Steve: How DO they do that?
Meanwhile, Samuel tried to get up, but was pulled down by Noelle, who was lying down, sketching.
"Immunity is on the line," said Samuel, "And you're just drawing the day away?" Noelle nodded.
"Do you even care?!" Noelle shook her head. "Ugh," groaned Samuel. He shrugged, and lied down on the grass.
Richard and Patricia were already up, and they started speed-walking, almost like one person. They had their arms around each other to prevent falls. However, they didn't last long, for as soon as they started to pass Alexa and Luciana, Luciana used her free leg to trip Richard. He fell, bringing Patricia down with her. As they hit the ground, the rope cut right open, freeing both their legs.
"Foul!" shouted Justin, "Richard and Patricia are out!" Richard and Patricia sulked and headed back to camp.
"Suckers," muttered Luciana, as she and Alexa continued power-walking.
Steve and Phil, however, weren't having much luck getting up. Every time they tried, they simply pulled each other down.
"Ready?" said Phil, "One, two, three!" he and Steve tried again, but with no success.
"We quit," said Phil. Steve nodded.
"Very well," said Justin, walking over to them. With a knife, he cut the rope and pointed toward camp. Steve and Phil got up and walked in the direction Justin pointed.
"Yeah, we quit too," said Samuel, who was still lying down on the grass. Justin cut their rope as well, and ran to catch up with the other two teams.
"Stop!" he yelled, and ran in front of Alexa and Luciana, and Spike and Quentin, who were nexk-and-next. "You all win," said Justin. He cut their rope. The four cheered and headed back to camp.
"Hey Justin," said Alexa on her way back to camp, "Where's Timmy?"
"Going home," said Justin, "That was his reward: a boat ride home."
"Lucky..." muttered Alexa.
"Spike, Quentin, Alexa, and Luciana win!" said Justin over the loudspeaker, "Also, Timmy will no longer be in this game. That is all."
Later that day, Spike and Quentin found Luciana and Steve behind one of the trailers.
"About time you came," said Steve.
"Alliance meeting," said Luciana, "Now that we're all here." The others nodded.
"We're voting Phil," said Steve, "He's a huge threat."
"Sounds cool to me," said Spike.
"Sure, whatever," said Quentin.
"We'll try to get Samuel and Noelle to vote with us," said Spike, "The others are allying."
"Good to know," said Luciana.
Meanwhile, Richard, Patricia, Alexa, and Phil met up behind the mess hall. "So, now that we're allied," said Richard, "We should discuss who to vote for, as a team."
"Sounds good to me," said Phil, "I say Steve."
"Why?" asked Alexa.
"Because," said Phil, "Luciana, Spike, and Quentin already have immunity, and Spike, Quentin, and Steve are allied with Luciana. She's the big threat here, and Steve's the only alliance member we can take down." The others nodded.
"So Steve it is," said Patricia, "Let's get Samuel and Noelle to vote with us." The others nodded.
Richard: Finally, I'm rocking an alliance! I'm great at strategy, so this is a great chance for me to get far!
That night, before the elimination meeting...
Phil voted for Steve. "You always freaked me out, man."
Steve voted for Phil. "You're too strong to keep around. It's nothing personal, just the game."
That night, the 10 remaining campers, and Seto, met up with Justin in the mess hall. He silently gave each of them a marshmallow. Each person ate theirs and left without saying a word.
Three hours later, Justin crept into one of the cabins. When he left, he was carrying Steve.
"Your time has come," said Justin, as he carried Steve away.
Chapter 11: "Tell me something I don't know"
For some, darkness is something to be feared. The mystery of what cannot be seen, and the terror that lies within it, is indeed scary. However, for others, darkness is something to be appreciated, even celebrated. After all, darkness provides solitude and bliss for those who see it that way. That is exactly how one person in particular felt.
Quentin lay awake in his bunk, relaxing as he did every night here, enjoying the quiet and peace that come with darkness. Quentin never did need that much sleep, as long as he was in some state of relaxation, which came to him every night on this island. Quentin closed his eyes and drifted off into a light sleep, and dreams of pulling hilarious pranks back home promptly appeared in his head. Quentin smirked.
Thirty minutes later, Quentin's eyes opened once again. He felt like taking a walk. After turning on a flashlight, Quentin stepped outside. He began to walk around aimlessly, taking in the chilling night air and the sounds of the owls and bats above. Anyone else would be freaked out by these circumstances, but it gave Quentin bliss. He walked over to a nearby tree, sat under it, turned off his flashlight, closed his eyes, and simply sat there, enjoying the darkness of night at The Dark Island.
"Hello, anyone there?"
Quentin's eyes shot open at the sound of that voice. It was a familiar voice, but one that he had not heard in a long time. It was a girl's voice, a little deep. Quentin wondered who it came from. Was it on his team? Quentin decided to investigate.
"Is anybody awake? Hello?"
The girl walked through the dark woods of the forest. It was true, she had not been walking around there in a while, but it was there now. Her head jerked to the left to the sound of rustling in a bush. The girl shrugged and continued walking.
"C'mon, can anybody hear me?"
"Yeah, I can hear you!"
Quentin started to run, following the sound of the strangely familiar voice.
"Awesome! I knew I'm not alone out here!"
"There's always someone lurking around these parts!"
The girl nodded at the sound of the boy's voice she heard. It was true. She sighed with relief; at least someone had heard her, and judging by the voice, it wasn't Justin. She didn't know why she decided to sneak off of Boney Island to return to this awful place. Maybe it was because she loved the darkness, or the competition. Or maybe she wanted to help the others escape Justin. The girl honestly had no idea.
Eventually, the girl and Quentin caught up to each other. Quentin shone his flashlight at the girl's face, revealing blue eyes, many ear piercings, and a wild purple hairstyle.
"Darla?" asked Quentin, "Is that you?"
"It's me," said Darla, "Hey Quentin, long time no see."
"Tell me about it," said Quentin, "Say, I thought we voted you off."
Darla nodded. "But I'm back," she said.
"I can see that," said Quentin, "But why would you return to this hellhole?"
"I honestly don't know," said Darla, "I guess it was my instinct telling me to."
"Well, welcome back!"
"Thanks!" The two hugged, then quickly let go.
"Sorry," said Darla and Quentin at the same time.
Darla: Well, I'm back. Back to the three things I love best: darkness, despair, and matchmaking!
Quentin and Darla, walking together side-by-side, headed to the mess hall. Once there, they found Justin sitting there in the dark.
"Morning, jackass," said Darla. Justin turned on the lights, and his eyes turned red when he saw Darla.
"I thought you were eliminated!" yelled Justin.
"I was," said Darla, "But I'm back."
Justin shrugged. "Whatever," he said, "I can dig a twist in the game. Note to self: increase security at Boney Island." Justin then left.
"Wake up, sleepyheads!" yelled Justin's voice on the loudspeaker, "Rise and shine, for another miserable day!"
"That dude is psycho," said Darla.
"Tell me something I don't know," said Quentin. The two took seats next to each other at one of the tables, and began eating the slop on a plate that was waiting for them. After a few minutes, the others took a seat at the same table, one by one. All of them were surprised to see Darla sitting there.
"Darla?! Is that really you?" asked Patricia. Darla nodded.
"Great to see you again!" said Luciana.
Noelle started sketching Darla, while Phil and Alexa looked on as Noelle's magic made its way onto the paper.
"How'd you get back here?" asked Samuel.
"And more importantly, why?" asked Spike.
"I just snuck onto some boat on its way here," said Darla.
"Well, it's great to have you back," said Phil.
"This is cause for celebration!" said Richard. Seto nodded.
Just then, Justin walked into the room, smirking. The celebrations suddenly halted, and everyone returned to their seats.
"Good to know you little brats are obedient," said Justin, "As we all know, Darla somehow snuck back here, so she's competing for a second time. Now, it's time for your challenge."
"And what would our challenge be?" asked Patricia.
"Simple," said Justin, "Today's challenge is nonexistent. There will be no challenge today. Darla has invincibility today. That is all." Justin then left the mess hall.
Later that day, Quentin headed to the meeting spot of his alliance, which was behind his trailer. He took Darla along with him.
"So, this is it," said Darla.
"Yup," said Quentin. Luciana and Spike were already there.
"So," said Luciana, "Darla's joining us now?"
"That would be correct," said Quentin. Darla shrugged.
"Great!" said Spike, "Now we just have to decide who to eliminate, and how to get Samuel and Noelle to vote with us this time."
"I think I know who to vote off," said Luciana, "We're eliminating Alexa."
"I have a better idea," said Spike, "Let's vote Phil. We can get Noelle to vote for him instead of her own friend, and we can devastate Alexa in the process."
"Nice," said Luciana, "I'm impressed."
"Thanks," said Spike confidently.
Darla: I sense some serious chemistry between Luciana and Spike here. I suppose it's up to me to convince Luciana of this.
"So that leaves us with one question," said Quentin, "How do we convince Samuel and Noelle to vote with us?"
"I'll take care of Samuel," said Darla, "Luciana, why don't you persuade Noelle to vote with you?"
"Sure," said Luciana. The four went their separate ways.
Meanwhile, Richard's alliance of himself, Patricia, Alexa, and Phil met up behind the mess hall.
"So," said Richard, "I think it's obvious to everyone who we're voting for tonight."
"Yup," said Patricia, "Luciana is going down!"
"I'll talk to Noelle about voting with us," said Alexa. She was resting her head on Phil's shoulder.
"Cool," said Phil, "And I'll talk to Samuel."
"Let's do this!" said Richard. The four headed off their separate ways.
That night, before the ceremony...
Phil voted for Luciana. "You will manipulate the boys here no longer!"
Luciana voted for Phil. "Your time here is up. Deal with it."
Later that night, the 10 remaining campers, and Seto, met up with Justin at the mess hall. He silently gave marshmallows to everyone there. Everyone in the room ate their marshmallow and left.
Justin crept into one of the cabins two hours later. When he left, he was carrying Phil. He silently walked away, into the night.
Chapter 12: "There's a lot about me that I haven't told you "
When you're alone in the dark, you want nothing more than to see the light. Alas, some people never do. Some remain in the dark for all time, to never breathe or live again. All that is left of those people is marks on the hearts of others.
Patricia wept at the memory of her sister, who appeared beside her in her dream. Her sister was eight years of age at the time of her death, as old as Patricia was during that day. Her sister, named Serenity, looked very much like Patricia, but had blond hair instead of black hair, and was tanner. In Patricia's dream, she and her sister were sitting atop a rainbow. Patricia looked at Serenity and smiled.
"Sure is a great view," she said.
"It is, sis," said Serenity. She yawned, lied down, and rested her head on her sister's lap.
Just then, the light of the dream went out, and the area was pitch-black. The only light came from the rainbow. Panicked, Patricia turned to look at Serenity, only to find that she was a skeleton, quickly turning to dust. Once Serenity was completely gone, the rainbow itself vanished, and Patricia fell down through the huge heights...
Patricia's eyes shot open, and she started breathing heavily.
"Serenity, Serenity..." she said in between breaths until she started to recover from her nightmare. Her sister had been dead for ten years, but it still haunted and hurt her. It was odd, Patricia had seen a bit of her sister in Alyssa, and she's now six feet under.
"Oooooh, Patricia..."
Patricia jumped up in panic. "Alyssa?!" She grabbed a flashlight to defend herself.
"You really fell for that! It's only me!" Luciana chuckled , as Patricia glared at her.
"Not Cool," said Patricia, "That was SO uncalled for!"
"And your point is..." asked Luciana. The two started to laugh again.
"You don't sound too good," said Luciana.
"I don't feel too good," said Patricia, "I'm thinking of my dead sister Serenity."
"You never told me about a dead sister," said Luciana.
"There's a lot about me that I haven't told you," said Patricia, coldly.
"Why so cold?" asked Luciana.
"I'd rather not say," said Patricia.
"I understand," said Luciana. She noticed that Patricia was leaving. "Where are you going?" she asked.
"Out," said Patricia, and slammed the door shut on her exit.
Patricia walked over to the mess hall, where she found Justin already sitting there. Patricia gasped.
"Sorry, did I scare you?" asked Justin, "I tend to have that effect on people."
"Here, at least," said Patricia. She sat at one of the tables, and started crying. Justin stared at her, until Patricia looked back and glared at him.
"All this is YOUR fault!" she yelled, through her tears, "Can't you see what you're doing to us?!"
"To be honest," said Justin, "I haven't seen the light since Courtney betrayed me that day."
"Look at yourself;" said Patricia, "You're insane all because some girl broke your heart! You killed a girl and drove others insane!"
"It's not that," said Justin, "It's that on top of the fact that on that day, both my parents and my two little brothers died in a car accident. I became truly alone." Justin began to shed a tear, "And now there's no going back! The Justin I thought I was is dead, and now I'm all that's left. This is the last you'll see of what's left of me."
"In that case," said Patricia, "Goodbye."
Justin silently left the mess hall to announce that it was challenge time. Minutes later, Alexa, Quentin, Spike, Darla, Luciana, Samuel, Noelle, Richard, and Seto entered the mess hall. Richard noticed Patricia's crying and sat next to her, and put his arm around her.
"Hey babe, what's wrong?" asked Richard. Patricia hugged him and started crying in his arms. Richard held her close.
"How touching," said Justin mockingly. His once deep blue eyes became demonic red, and seem to be soulless.
"Phil?!" yelled Alexa, "You guys voted for Phil?! How could you?" Alexa started to cry.
"Phil would want you to stay strong," said Darla.
"Shut up!" yelled Alexa, "I'm sick of this!"
"Come with me for the challenge," said Justin. Samuel dragged Alexa along with them.
"Poor girl," said Quentin. He sighed.
"Yeah, she's got it rough," said Darla.
"For your challenge today," said Justin, "You'll all stand on these hot coals," he gestured to show a bed of hot coals, "And whoever can stay on the longest wins. Starting NOW!" The campers all rushed onto the coals.
"Thank god for boots," said Darla. Quentin Nodded. The coals were burning through his yellow sneakers. Suddenly he yelped and jumped off the coals.
"Wimp," muttered Spike. Luciana nodded.
"You think I should try..." she began
"No," Spike cut her off, "Don't do that again."
"Okay, whatever," said Luciana. Darla walked over to the two.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey Darla," said Spike and Luciana in unison. They glanced at each other.
Darla: I can see the love in the air!
"So, who's our target tonight?" asked Darla.
"Alexa," said Luciana. Spike nodded.
"Cool," said Darla. She left.
"So," said Spike, "Now what?"
Luciana: Okay! Okay, fine, you win! Okay, I like Spike, but I thought that I could lose the feeling! I wanted to keep my power over the guys, and my feeling was getting in the way, but... Something about him... I don't even know how to describe it!
"We can do this," said Luciana flirtatiously. She kissed Spike.
"Woah," said Spike, in shock, "You mean..."" Luciana nodded and kissed him again. He kissed back this time.
Quentin looked on, and sighed. It was a happy sigh, though.
Quentin: I had gotten over Luciana a few days ago. There's someone else here that I have my eye on, but I'm not telling who it is. Not even Darla could figure it out.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Yelled Alexa, Patricia, and Seto all at once. They immediately jumped off of the coal and took sighs of relief. Noelle soon joined them.
"Hey guys," said Noelle.
"Hey," said Seto.
Some time passed, and only Spike, Samuel, and Darla were left on the coal.
"How do you do it?" asked Luciana. Spike shrugged. He was sweating from the coal, as were Samuel and Darla. Samuel walked around to help ease the pain.
"Gotta go to the bathroom," said Spike, and ran off. Luciana smirked.
Luciana: Just because I'm with Spike, doesn't mean that I can't be the flirty bitch I am.
When Spike walked around and approached Luciana, and nobody else was looking, she grabbed him and quickly kissed him on the lips. In shock, Samuel fell off of the coal.
"Darla is the winner!" announced Justin. Darla got off of the coal and high fived Luciana and Quentin.
Justin: I forgot to mention something. In case of a tie, the person to most recently get a vote will be eliminated. But they don't know it yet.
Richard's alliance met behind the mess hall, joined by Noelle. "Welcome to the Yi Min alliance," said Richard.
"Yi Min?" said Noelle, confused.
"It means smart," explained Richard.
"Ah," said Noelle.
"So, who are we voting for?" asked Alexa.
"How about Quentin?" asked Patricia, "Voting Luciana didn't work, after all."
"So true," said Richard, "Quentin it is!"
"So we're voting for Alexa," said Quentin, who was with his alliance behind one of the trailers.
"Yup," said Darla. Spike and Luciana nodded.
"Our only task left is to get Samuel to vote with us," said Luciana.
"I'll handle that," said Darla. She smirked.
Later that night...
Quentin voted for Alexa. "You're too strong."
Alexa voted for Quentin. "You're too annoying."
Samuel voted for Luciana. "You cost me the challenge! No kiss is worth that!"
Even later that night, the final 9, plus Seto, met up with Justin at the mess hall. He gave each one a marshmallow, and everyone silently ate theirs and left. However, Quentin threw his away instead.
Later still that night, Justin was seen walking deep in the woods, carrying Alexa. He placed her on a speedboat at the far side of the island, and the boat drove away. Justin laughed manically and returned to camp.
Chapter 13: "That was hilarious, painfully hilarious!"
"Come in!"
The door to the boy's trailer opened, and Luciana, Patricia, Noelle, and Darla all entered the boys' trailer. The light was on.
"Safety in numbers is always a good thing," said Richard, "It's boiled down to the eight of us now and we need to stick together. I see Alexa has been eliminated."
Luciana nodded. "She was a major threat, and somehow, we won the tiebreaker," she said.
"The time may have come to plan an escape," said Darla, "We know the nature of this place now, a lot better than we did at first. At the far side of the island, north from here, there's a small speedboat. Justin takes whoever's eliminated on that speedboat to Boney Island every week."
"The boat is our only escape," reasoned Seto, "If we lose that, we're no better off than Alyssa."
"But the boat is here," said Quentin confidently, "And as long as it is, we can create a plan around it."
"But what are we supposed to do to stop Justin?" asked Spike, "I used to have a pistol on me, but now it's in Justin's possession. I saw him put it in a room adjacent to the mess hall. The door is locked and there are no windows. The room itself is made of steel."
"I bet I can break it down if I work out a bit more," said Samuel, "Justin didn't take my dumbbells."
"Great!" said Patricia, "We'll just have to bide out time a little longer! We can finally be free!"
"What an amazing thought," said Noelle, "Freedom, getting away from here. The mere sound of it is simply wonderful!"
"Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves," said Luciana, "Justin does have seven powerful cronies at his side, and he has a million dollars for one of us to win."
"What's more important," asked Spike, "The money, or being able to escape?"
Luciana sighed. "Escaping," she said reluctantly.
"Exactly," said Quentin, "I'm pretty sure, also, that the cash is a lie."
"Lies are worth fighting for," said Richard, "Just ask any other person we know. Everyone holds on to lies. It's how the world works."
Patricia sighed. "Sadly, you're right," she said.
"I'm going to miss you when this game's over," said Richard. He and Patricia hugged.
"How sweet," said Noelle, "It reminds me of Jeffy." Tears started forming in Noelle's eyes.
"It'll be okay, you'll see him soon," said Quentin. "Once we get out of here, we're going to Boney Island to get the others, including Jeffy."
"Thank you," said Noelle softly.
"I wonder which one of us will go while we bide our time," said Spike.
Seto shuddered. "It's a scary thought," he said, "And I don't want to lose any of you!"
Richard nodded. "Neither do I," he said, "Neither do I."
Spike decided to step out of the room with a flashlight. He saw the Justin had finished setting up the challenge. "The challenge is starting," he said. His friends followed him outside.
Justin approached the group. "I never thought you folks were early risers," he said, "Well; I suppose it is challenge time." He pointed to the front of his challenge course. "Everybody line up over there," he said.
The campers did just that. First in line was Darla, followed by Richard, Luciana, Samuel, Patricia, Quentin, Noelle, and Spike last.
"Now," said Justin, "It's time for your challenge. As you can see, I have prepared an obstacle course. I will time each of you, and the fastest person wins immunity. If you touch any of the sandpaper I have laid down, you're out of the challenge. If you'd like to, you can opt out of the challenge, but at the end, there will be a raffle, and one person who participated but didn't win will also have immunity. Darla... now, begin!"
Darla rushed forward. She found a vine over a bunch of sandpaper, and swung on the vine to a sandpaper-free zone. Ahead next was a long sheet of sandpaper with small holes made in them. Darla jumped to the first hole, but tripped and fell flat on the sandpaper.
"Darla is out," said Justin. Darla left and sat down on the grass.
"Richard, go!" yelled Justin.
"Go Richard!!" cheered Seto from the sidelines. Richard ran to the vine and jumped to get to it, but missed and fell right on the sandpaper.
"Ouch, that hurt," complained Richard as he got up and left for the sidelines.
"That was hilarious, painfully hilarious!" laughed Justin. Richard glared at him.
"Luciana, go!" yelled Justin. Luciana rushed forward and made a jump for the vine. She got hold of it, and swung over to the sandpaper-free zone. Then, without any sign of falling, she hopped across the layer of sandpaper, jumping from one hole to the next as quickly as, well, as something fast.
Once she got to the other side, she saw a rock flying toward her. She ducked, but gasped as other rocks came flying her way. She jumped past each of them, and eventually saw Justin's cronies catapulting the rocks at her. She saw the finish line in sight, just as one of Justin's minions fired a hugs boulder her way. Luciana slid under the rock and past the finish line. The others applauded her.
"Luciana passes," said Justin, "With a time of 10.75 seconds!" Luciana high-fived the others on her way to the sidelines, and kissed Spike.
"That was awesome!" he said.
"Thanks, I know," said Luciana confidently. She then sat next to Darla on the sidelines.
"Samuel, go!" shouted Justin.
Justin rushed forward and jumped past the vine. He landed past the sandpaper. He quickly jumped onto one of the holes, and then jumped to another. Then, he took a giant leap of fate and made it across the sandpaper. He then rushed forward for the finish line. When a rock was fired at him, he punched the rock and it broke. He took this approach with every rock hurled his way, and was able to charge over the finish line.
"Wow," said Justin, very impressed, "Only 7.5 seconds! Samuel is in the lead!"
Samuel walked confidently right to the sidelines. He fist-bumped Richard and Seto.
"Patricia, go!" yelled Justin. Patricia rushed forward and swung on the vine to the other side. Then she jumped from one hole in the next layer of sandpaper to the next. She the rushed for the finish line, but was knocked out cold by a rock to the head.
"Patricia!" yelled Richard. He ran to her aid and carried her to the sidelines.
"Patricia is out," said Justin.
Richard held Patricia in his arms while she was unconscious.
"Quentin, go!" yelled Justin.
"Here goes!" yelled Quentin. He ran forward and jumped for the vine, but missed and fell on his face on the sandpaper below. Quentin got up and walked to the sidelines.
"Quentin is out," said Justin, "Noelle, go!"
Noelle simply shook her head and sat on the sidelines.
"Sorry guys," said Noelle, "I'm not that strong."
"Spike, go!" yelled Justin. Spike rushed to the vine and swung on it to the other side. He then jumped onto one of the sandpaper holes, then to another, and another. However, he tripped on sandpaper and fell on it.
"Spike is out!" declared Justin, "Samuel wins immunity! Since Luciana was the only other one to complete the challenge, she also wins immunity! Cast your votes and meet me tonight." With that, Justin mysteriously vanished into the darkness around him.
The "Yi Min" alliance of Richard, (with Seto) Noelle, Patricia, and now Samuel met up behind the mess hall, as usual.
"Welcome to the team," said Richard.
"Thanks," said Samuel, "Who are we voting for?"
"Quentin again," said Patricia, "I have a good feeling about this, trust me."
"You got it," said Noelle, "Quentin it is!" The alliance high-fived and went into the mess hall for a meal.
Meanwhile, Luciana's alliance of herself, Spike, Darla, and Quentin met up behind one of the trailers.
"Samuel's immune, so that leaves Patricia, Richard, and Noelle," said Luciana.
"Richard isn't that physically strong," reasoned Spike, "Neither is Noelle. But Noelle isn't strategic, Patricia is. We have to vote for Patricia."
"Good thinking," said Luciana. She kissed Spike. Spike smirked. "Patricia it is!" she said.
"Sounds okay to me," said Darla, "If we have to."
"We have to," said Quentin. Spike and Luciana nodded. Darla sighed.
Justin: I have a twist planned here. I want to get to the end faster, and this'll help.
That night, votes were cast, as usual...
Patricia voted for Quentin. "It has to be done."
Quentin voted for Patricia. "It has to be done."
Justin met up with the others that night, with nine marshmallows. He gave one to each of them, and one by one, they silently ate them and left. Justin smirked.
Justin: So here's how it's going to work. I'm eliminating the two people with the most votes, plus one more person that I choose, besides someone with immunity. I guess I should have told them...
Justin and one of his cronies walked into one of the two trailers with people in it, while a second crony walked into the other. Justin and the first minion left carrying Spike and Quentin, respectively, while the second minion left with Patricia. The three headed to the far side of the island, so they could sent the losers to the others.
Chapter 14: "Do you think we'll ever see each other again?"
A knock was heard on the door to the boy's trailer.
"Come in" yelled Seto. The door opened and Luciana, Darla, and Noelle entered.
When the trailer door shut, Richard turned on the lights. He then started to tear up.
"Are you okay?" asked Samuel. Richard then burst into tears.
"They got Patricia!" he cried, "So no, I'm not okay. She's probably fighting for her life!"
"This has to stop," said Noelle, "I lost Jeffy, you lost Patricia, and by the looks of it, Luciana lost Spike just now."
"No, this can't be!" cried Luciana, "None of us voted her off! Did you?"
"We targeted Quentin," said Samuel.
"So Justin's picking off whoever he wants to," said Noelle, "This has gone too far. The time has come for us to escape."
"But how?" asked Richard.
"We need a well drawn-out plan," said Samuel, "Something foolproof, before another one of us goes."
"Before we go any further," said Richard, who had stopped crying, "We need to dissolve whatever alliances we still have, so we can work as a team."
"Good idea," said Luciana, "Let's." Luciana and Richard shook hands, and the others cheered.
"So, now what?" asked Seto.
"One of us has to be voted out, and lure Justin into a trap tonight," said Richard. "I nominate Samuel, because he appears to be the only one left who can beat Justin in a fistfight."
"Good idea," said Darla, "But nobody else was able to overcome Justin that night."
"I've figured out why," said Richard, "Justin drugged the marshmallows he gave us, so the loser, or losers, would be out cold by the time Justin enters. It's possible that all the marshmallows were drugged so that nobody could fight back. So, nobody can eat any marshmallows given by Justin tonight."
"Smart thinking," said Darla, "Of course, Justin will fight back, so we need some way to make sure that we win."
"We'll use Spike's gun," said Luciana, "That is, if Samuel can break down the building that contains it."
"Already have," Samuel smirked. He took out the revolver from under his pillow as proof. The others applauded him. "However, it only has one bullet," he finished.
"So we're going to kill a man today," said Seto, "I'm scared. I don't wanna be a murderer."
"It's not murder," said Richard, "its vengeance. Justin tortured us, killed an innocent soul, and took 14 others prisoner, including Darla."
"I was the only one to escape," added Darla.
Noelle drew something furiously in her sketchbook. When she was finished, she showed it to the others.
"Blueprints," commented Seto, "Our dad used to use these."
Samuel looked at the blueprints. "I can work with these," he said. "There's one more thing I forgot to mention. I found ten duffel bags filled with cash in that building. I'd say it all adds up to about ten million dollars."
"If you don't mind," said Richard, "Seto and I would like to use that money to get off the street. We'll get a house, and Samuel, you can join us."
"Thank you so much," said Samuel, "I've always wanted a family that actually gives a crap about me!" Richard, Seto, and Samuel shared a group hug.
"That's great," said Luciana, "But can you guys really carry ten million dollars?"
"We'll carry that to the boat at the far side of the island," said Darla. She gulped and said, "When Justin's dead."
"Alyssa, this one's for you," said Noelle.
"Thank you," said Luciana, in Alyssa's voice. The six laughed at that one.
The sound of a megaphone through the loudspeakers silenced the group. "It's time," said Noelle. The six stepped outside.
Justin suddenly appeared. "Hello," he said menacingly, "Today, your challenge will—"
"I forfeit the challenge," said Samuel.
"So do I," said Noelle.
"Me too," said Richard and Seto simultaneously. Darla nodded.
"Then Luciana has immunity," said Justin, "See you tonight." With that, he faded back into the darkness.
Later that day, the six met back up in the girl's trailer.
"So we know what to do," said Richard, "We all vote for Samuel, except for Samuel, of course, and then he'll throw away his marshmallow later. When Justin comes to capture him, we take our plan into action."
"Yup," said Samuel "Sounds like a plan."
"Be careful," said Luciana worriedly.
"I'll try," said Samuel.
Seto took many deep breaths. "I'm, scared," he said.
"We all are," said Noelle, "We all are. But we've no other choice if we want to live."
"Sadly, you're right," said Darla.
"Do you think we'll ever see each other again?" asked Luciana.
"I hope so," said Richard, "I really do."
That night
Luciana voted for Samuel, but said nothing.
Noelle voted for Samuel. "I hope this works."
Richard voted for Samuel. "場合は、バディこれを行うことができます." Captions underneath Richard read, "You can do this, buddy."
Later that night, the six met with Justin at the mess hall. He gave each a marshmallow and mysteriously vanished. All six left and threw their marshmallows as far away as they could.
One hour later, Justin walked into the boy's trailer and approached Samuel's bottom bunk. However, Samuel was not there.
"Where did you go?!" yelled Justin.
"Right here." Samuel turned on the lights to the trailer. The two were alone.
"So, you think you can just stop me in my tracks, after all this?" asked Justin mockingly, "You forget, I have my seven cronies, and you are all alone."
"I put two and two together," said Samuel, "And I took care of my brothers right on the spot."
"Where are they?!"
"Out cold. I found their tranquilizer guns in your super secret building, and my friends shot them with their own drugged weapons in their sleep. You're all alone."
"How cute," laughed Justin, "But I can still beat you up right now!"
"Three words," said Samuel, "Bring it on!"
Justin ran at Samuel and swung his fist at him. Samuel countered by blocking the punch and punching Justin in the face. He landed on the ground. Justin kicked Samuel while he was down, and it hit Samuel in the stomach. Samuel fell to his knees, and Justin got up and kicked Samuel in the face.
Samuel fell down, but leapt back up and delivered a powerful left hook on Justin's jaw. Justin replied by delivering the same blow to Samuel. Both started breathing heavily.
"Still think you can win?" asked Justin mockingly.
"I'll fight you until the day one of us dies," said Samuel.
"That would be today," said Justin.
"I was hoping you'd say that." Samuel rushed at Justin and punched him hard in the face. Justin grabbed Samuel by the shirt collar, threw him down, and stomped on his face.
Luciana: Things weren't looking so good. I needed to do something.
"You'll get what was coming to you!" yelled Luciana, in Alyssa's voice, from outside the trailer. "You'll pay for ending my life!"
Samuel: I knew right away that it was Luciana, but I don't think Justin knew.
Justin began to panic. "Who's there?" he asked.
"It is I, Alyssa!" yelled Luciana, still imitating the voice of her former teammate. While Justin was distracted, Samuel punched him hard in the jaw, while Luciana continued to imitate Alyssa. A panicked Justin couldn't handle the combination of Luciana's scare tactics and Samuel's punches.
Samuel grabbed Justin by the neck and threw him at the door to the trailer. Justin flew right through the door, breaking it down, and went right into a nearby tree, knocking him out cold instantly. Samuel took out Spike's gun from his pocket and pressed it against Justin's head.
"Good bye," said Samuel, and pulled the trigger. A loud "Bang" noise was heard, and when Samuel moved the gun, he saw the metal bullet implanted in Justin's skull. The man was dead.
Richard and Seto came out from behind the tree and hugged Samuel.
"You did it!" yelled Richard, "You actually did it!"
"You rock, dude!" yelled Seto.
"Thanks guys," said Samuel, "Now we're finally free."
Luciana walked over to the three."You did it," she said.
"We did it," said Samuel. "Let's get the money and head to the boat. Noelle and Darla are waiting for us there."
"Great!" said Seto. The four ran over to a metal hut with the door broken down. Samuel carried three bags of money, Luciana carried two, and Richard and Seto each carried one.
"We'll leave the rest here," said Richard. "We'll use the money we have to get us out of here and to get a home."
"And the rest?" asked Luciana.
"The rest will go to charity," said Richard. Luciana smiled.
The four walked over to the far side of the island. It was a beach area, just like the other side. The four, who hadn't seen sunlight in weeks, squinted once they got past the trees.
Samuel walked onto a small speedboat, where Noelle and Darla were waiting for them. Richard, Seto, and Luciana followed. They dropped their bags of cash.
"Can anyone here drive a boat?" asked Seto.
"I can," said Darla, and began driving the speedboat. "To Boney Island," she declared, "To get the others out of here!" the group cheered.
"But when we get there," said Samuel, "What then?"
TO BE CONTINUED
Chapter 15: "Since we're treating this as a reality show, there should be a winner."
There was a deep silence as the speedboat which Samuel, Noelle, Darla, Richard, Seto, and Luciana were on drove to Boney Island. Each of the six there were deep in thought
Samuel was mourning. He was mourning Alyssa, the girl who had died a few months before. Samuel recalled the last time he had seen her. Alyssa was muttering something to herself in the hanging challenge: each person had to hang from a pole. Alyssa eventually let go and fell into the roaring lake below. She was never seen again. Samuel's eyes filled with tears at the thought of her deceased former teammate.
Samuel: I thought to myself, what did she do to deserve to die? Nobody deserves a fate like that.
Samuel also mourned Justin's death. He had died earlier that day, from a bullet in the head courtesy of Samuel. It was vengeance, yes, but that doesn't make what he did okay, or right. Justin sighed. One of his tears fell to the floor of the boat, and a few others followed.
"I killed a man," said Samuel softly, "How can someone justify that?"
Richard put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey big bro, what's wrong?" he asked.
"Bro?" asked Samuel, confused. "Oh yeah, we're family now. What's wrong is what's still there, at The Dark Island."
"But there's nobody—" Richard stopped himself mid-sentence, for he knew that he was wrong.
"Justin's still there," said Seto.
"Alyssa too," said Darla, "She'll always be there."
"She seemed unhappy in life," said Luciana, "And I overheard contemplating suicide with her imaginary friend. She's..." Luciana started to cry as well, "it is better this way."
"Why did this have to happen?" asked Noelle, "Why would one man be so evil as to do this?"
"The world may never know," said Darla, and that was that. Everybody except Seto started silently shedding tears.
"Cheer up," said Seto, smiling, "It's over now. The past is behind us, the future is ahead on the horizon. The future is a beautiful sunset on the horizon. Admire it, instead of looking back into the pitch-blackness of night behind you."
"That's deep," said Noelle, wiping her eyes with a tissue, "Really deep."
"My father told that to me," said Seto, with all the sweetness and innocence of a baby. Richard and Samuel smiled softly.
"Your father is right," said Darla, "The future is always brighter than the past. Problem is, light hurts my eyes."
Noelle laughed. "That's a good one!" she said.
At last, Darla saw an island on the horizon. "This is Boney Island," said Darla, "Don't take anything from it, or else you'll be cursed, so they say."
"I don't believe in curses," said Richard.
"Then what do you call the last few months of your life?" asked Noelle.
"Evil," was Richard's answer. At last, the boat had reached Boney Island.
"Here it comes again," said Steve, "Bringing the next victim."
"Who will it be this time?" pondered Trixie.
"I hope it's not Luciana," said Spike.
"Me neither," said Lee.
"Wait a minute," said Patricia, "The person driving the boat isn't Justin! It's... It's Darla!"
"What?" asked Jeffy, confused, "Darla?! Does that mean..."
"WE'RE FREE!" yelled Darla as she got off the boat. Everyone on Boney Island cheered.
"Wait a minute," said Phil, "What do you mean?"
"Justin is dead," said Samuel, getting off of the boat, "So we all came here."
"That's awesome!" said Xavier. He threw his arms up into the air and cheered. Georgia hugged him and held him close.
"You two hooked up down here?" asked Noelle. At this point, everyone had left the boat, and the six survivors were with the victims. "Yeah," said Xavier "Isn't it wonderful?" Noelle nodded. Jeffy ran up to her and hugged her. They kissed.
"Great to see you again, babe," said Jeffy.
"It's great to see you too," said Noelle.
"Patricia!" yelled Richard. He ran up to Patricia and hugged her tightly.
"Oh Richard," said Patricia softly. He held her in his arms.
"This is great," said Gabriella, "But we need to get out of here!" Becca nodded in agreement.
"And just how are we going to do that?" asked Alexa.
Trixie reached into her shirt pocket and pulled out a cell phone. "I'll call somebody," she said, "Anybody who knows about this place. If that doesn't work we could try a bonfire, or wooden rafts."
"Or," said Lee, "We could try this." He took out a Nintendo DS from his pocket and attempted to connect to wi-fi on it. Lee frowned.
"No luck," he said.
"Nice try though," said Luciana.
"My phone gets zero bars here," said Trixie, "This bites."
"Then we'll be stuck here, unless we think of a way to leave. We're on our own now."
"THAT'S WHAT YOU THINK!" yelled a voice up in the sky. Everyone looked up, and saw a large jet landing. When it finally landed, Timmy got out and hugged Steve and Samuel.
"Timmy!" cried Steve, "You're here!"
"I heard about what was going on," said Timmy, "And I'm here to help! And, I brought along a little friend!"
Everyone gasped as Chris McLean got out of the helicopter.
"I'm so sorry for anything Justin might have done," said Chris, "But I'm taking all of you home! AND, I have some more news!"
"What kind of news?" asked Quentin
"We made a stop at The Dark Island before we got here," said Timmy, "And we found footage of everything that happened! It's like a real reality show! If you want, we can put this on the air, and you'll all be famous! That is, only if you want."
"I think it's a great idea," said Richard, "Just like learning about the holocaust is a good idea. This way, this could never happen again."
"I agree with Richie," said Samuel, "The public has a right to know."
"Any objections?" asked Chris. Nobody spoke up. "Awesome!" he said, "You're all going to be reality show stars! Noelle, could you get me the hidden camera in the speedboat?"
"What?"
"There was one in there, according to Justin's notes." Noelle went to the speedboat, and later returned with a small camera. She gave it to Chris, who put it in his pocket.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" asked Timmy, "Get on!"
"Hold on," said Lee, "I think it's only fitting that, since we're treating this as a reality show, there should be a winner."
"Okay," said Richard, "Let's just say that Luciana won and call it at that."
"Yay!"Luciana cheered.
"Let it be known," began Chris, "That Luciana is the winner of..."
"Of Total Drama Infinity!" finished Steve.
"I won!!" cheered Luciana. She hugged Spike, and they kissed.
"That's done, now let's go!" yelled Chris.
"Just a second," said Seto. He, Richard, and Samuel ran back to the speedboat. They returned with the bags of money they had obtained earlier. Samuel nodded to Timmy and Chris.
The group all got on the jet, somewhat crowded. Chris got in the front seat and flew the jet.
Quentin was sitting next to Darla. "Hey Darla," said Quentin, "There's something I've been wanting to ask you."
"What?" asked Darla.
"Will you go out with me?" asked Quentin. Darla's face beamed.
"Yes!" said Darla. She and Quentin hugged each other tightly.
"I love a good, happy ending," said Steve.
"Me too," said Becca, "Me too."
Fín
Bonus Content
Elimination Chart
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5-6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10-11 | 12 | 13-14-15 | 16 | FINALE | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luciana | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | WIN | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | WINNER | ||||||||
| Samuel | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | RUNNER-UP | ||||||||
| Darla | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | OUT | Returns in Chapter 11 | WIN | WIN | SAFE | RUNNER-UP | ||||||||||
| Richard and Seto | SAFE | WIN | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | RUNNER-UP | ||||||||
| Noelle | SAFE | WIN | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | RUNNER-UP | ||||||||
| Quentin | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | WIN | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | OUT | |||||||||
| Patricia | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | OUT | |||||||||
| Spike | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | WIN | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | OUT | |||||||||
| Alexa | SAFE | WIN | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | OUT | ||||||||||
| Phil | SAFE | WIN | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | OUT | |||||||||||
| Steve | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | WIN | OUT | ||||||||||||
| Timmy | SAFE | WIN | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | OUT | ||||||||||||
| Jeffy | SAFE | WIN | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | OUT | |||||||||||||
| Georgia | SAFE | WIN | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | OUT | ||||||||||||||
| Xavier | SAFE | WIN | WIN | SAFE | OUT | ||||||||||||||||
| Alyssa | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | OUT | ||||||||||||||||
| Gabriella | SAFE | WIN | WIN | OUT | |||||||||||||||||
| Trixie | WIN | SAFE | OUT | ||||||||||||||||||
| Lee | WIN | OUT | |||||||||||||||||||
| Becca | OUT | ||||||||||||||||||||
Key:
- Cyan: Victims of Terror
- Crimson: Wretched Souls
- Maroon: Merged Team
- Won invincibility
- Eliminated
- Safe from elimination
- Winner
- Runner-up