Chapter Ten: Hungry Campers, Part One

Author's Notice: The Story Behind the Break: My computer broke, but while I was saving up money for a new one, I managed to write the entire story down on paper. This means that a chapter will be coming out every weekend from now on, without fail!

This chapter will be a little bit more violent than usual, as will the next two. This violence is still not, in my opinion, graphic enough to deserve an M rating.

I do not own Total Drama, Total Drama Characters, or anything Total Drama related. I also do not own The Hunger Games.

"Last time on Total Drama Island," Chris began the recap as usual, "the campers had to actually be campers in an amazing camping challenge! As the Bass began to lose members, the night turned worse. Then Ezekiel burned down the tent, along with his toque. Meanwhile, Izzy dressed up as a bear to play a prank on her team. This backfired when a real bear appeared, forcing the Gophers to spend the night in a tree. In the end, the final marshmallow was set to either go to Geoff or Heather, but Izzy ran off after a random helicopter incident. Why did Izzy run off? Will Noah ever return his late library books? And will Owen ever stop eating all of our food? Stay tuned to find out the puzzling answers to these puzzling questions on this episode of Total... Drama... Island!"

"Why?!" Owen mumbled as he blew into a handkerchief. "Why did Izzy have to run away like that?"

"Beats me," Noah shrugged his shoulders. They were the only two in the cabin. "All I know is that helicopter was not from a library."

"How?"

"Have you ever seen a library send a helicopter filled with people to a person who owed a fine on a few books?"

"No, but..."

"Come on. We need to get a move on or we'll be late for breakfast. I'll figure why she ran away later."

Meanwhile, most of the campers were already in the main hall, getting their "breakfast" from Chef Hatchet.

"Today's special is ham eggs with toast and orange juice!" the cook announced as Tyler reached the front of the line.

"The ham is green," he rolled his eyes as he spoke.

"It's organic."

"The toast is burnt and the orange juice has several dead flies floating around in it."

"This ain't a five star restaurant, soldier! Now sit your butt down!" Grumbling, Tyler walked over to where Lindsay and Beth were sitting.

"Hey Taylor! What's up?" Lindsay asked as he slid onto the bench next to her.

"Nothing much. What's up with you?" he asked, looking in Beth's direction. She was still fuming about Cody's denial.

"He'll pay," she muttered, smashing her hand down on the table. "Oh yes, he'll pay!"

"Jeez," Tyler shuttered as he scooted away from Beth, "and I thought that I was angry at Ezekiel."

Meanwhile, Duncan was walking towards the coffee table, his tray in his hands. When he reached his destination and was sure that no one was looking, he swiped a mug from the shelf.

"I saw that," Courtney spoke smugly as she approached him. "Why are you stealing? It's below you. In fact, it's below everybody."

"'Cuz it's cool and I don't have one," Duncan rolled his eyes as he stuffed the mug underneath his shirt.

"Don't do it."

"Finally standing up for yourself, huh, Princess?"

"I've told you like a million times to not call me that."

"I'll do what I want. Does freedom of speech ring a bell?"

"You can do what you want, like stealing a mug, but you also have to face the consequences. Like this. CHEF, DUNCAN IS STEALING A MUG!"

"You taking ma property, delinquent?"

"Yes."

"Look, smart ass. You may think that you rule the world, but even the supreme leader of the galaxy can't just steal people's property!"

"I'm pretty sure that the supreme leader of the galaxy can do whatever he wants."

"If you take that mug, then we won't have enough for everyone to have coffee, even if it is made out of my toenails!"

"Count me out of drinking it ever again," Gwen grumbled as DJ fist palmed.

"Make me stop. I dare you, Chefy."

"DON'T CALL ME THAT, DELINQUENT!" Chef pulled out a butcher knife from his back pocket and waved it threateningly at Duncan.

"OK, calm down please," Duncan looked fearful at the knife as he spoke.

At the same time, Chris was reclining in a leather armchair, sipping from a fruity drink contained in a brown mug similar to the one Duncan had stolen. His location was his expensive trailer near the edge of the forest. He was flipping through the security camera feeds from the previous three days, the two off days and the previous challenge's events.

Confession Cam - Chris

So far we've had five campers searching for the hidden immunity idol. None of them have come even close to its location. Heather has been searching, of course. So has Leshawna. Those are the obvious ones. Cody tried his hand at it. He must have thought that Beth has more influence over the eliminations then she really does... Tyler tried to climb several trees as part of his search, failing miserably. Duncan also tried to find the idol.

"Hmm..." Chris spoke, scratching his chin as he paused one feed in a close up view of the helicopter that had broken into the elimination ceremony two days previously. "That's strange. This "library" helicopter had guns. I can see them through a window... They must really hate overdue books."

"Chris!" Georgia shouted as the interns hustled into the trailer.

"What do you idiots want?" the host scowled, standing up from the chair and brushing lots of crumbs off of his shirt. "I was busy attempting to see if Chef has killed Duncan yet!"

"We have some really urgent news," Rose gasped.

"Well? Out with it!"

"You see..." Joseph spoke, clutching at a stitch in his side. "You know that commercial we like to play? The one for Failmart?"

"Yes."

"Apparently they had a sweepstakes contest for a vacation for four, but the resort was accidentally blown up. They want the winners to come here for the challenge after this one!"

"What?! They can't do that!"

"Apparently it's blackmail. They say they'll explain to everyone how they've been giving you rotten food for Chef to use for the contestant's meals."

"We must not let that happen!" Chris roared, flailing his arms around hopelessly in the air. "The show will be cancelled. We need to clean up everything today during the challenge, or we're doomed!"

"I'm gonna ask you one last time," Chef was speaking through gritted teeth as this was happening. "Put the mug down or I swear that I will punch you in the face!"

"No," Duncan taunted, holding the mug above his head, only to feel it fly out of his grip a few seconds later.

"Missing something?" Courtney asked casually, twirling the mug around her finger.

"You go girl!" Leshawna shouted, causing Heather to scowl.

"I'd go to war with you any day, soldier!" Chef Hatchet bowed in Courtney's direction before retiring to the kitchen.

Confession Cam - Duncan

Courtney thinks that she's the greatest person in the world or something. She's not afraid to admit it, either. Thinking about it, that's actually kinda hot (grins sheepishly).

"Everyone, listen up!" Chris yelled as he waltzed into the mess hall, followed slowly by the interns. "It's time for... your next challenge! But before that, I have some very important news."

"More important than the revelation that the coffee is made out of toenails?" DJ asked.

"Yep."

"We're in big trouble, eh," Ezekiel sighed worriedly.

"Can it, home schooled," Tyler glared at the other camper.

Confession Cam - Tyler

People are probably wondering why I'm so angry about Ezekiel burning down the tent. It's because my favorite headband was in the tent, and it was burned into ashes!

Confession Cam - Ezekiel

I miss my toque, eh (sighs miserably).

"Anyway..." Chris rolled his eyes, angry at having the camera being pointed at someone else for so long. "Failmart has kin-"

"Eee! I, like, totally love that store!" Katie shouted before being shushed by Harold.

"As I was saying, Failmart has kindly provided the opportunity for a family of four to visit Wawanakwa Island, so they will be arriving to view the challenge after this one!"

"Great," Gwen moaned. "They'll absolutely love this complete gaggle of freaks, certifiably insane weirdos, and socially disabled lunatics."

"Speak for yourself," Heather scowled.

"Shut up, bi-" Leshawna began to speak, but was interrupted by Chris.

"On a brighter note, this challenge is, er, based off of a popular series of young adult novels that most of you have probably read. It's about a bunch of young people killing each other."

"The Hunger Games?" Noah asked, groaning. "Prepare to be sued, producers!"

"I've never heard of it, eh," Ezekiel spoke, furrowing his brow. "Was it written by Charles Dickens? Mark Twain?"

Ignoring him, Chris continued, "Rose, budding genius that she is, has created a special moldable body armor that prevents you from actually feeling any pain. If you do sustain an injury, your armor will become heavier based on the severity of your wound. Once a wound that would normally kill you has been sustained, the armor will become so heavy that you will not be able to remain standing. An intern will then remove you from the game."

"I don't understand, Chris," Trent spoke up. "If our goal is to win immunity, then won't we avoid killing our teammates?"

"Good question, Trent," Chris replied. "Luckily, we already thought of that. The final competitor standing will choose only four others on their team besides themself to receive immunity."

"This challenge is more like it," Eva cackled.

"I still don't understand, eh!" Ezekiel threw up his hands in exasperation, accidentally hitting Owen on the nose. "What do we do?"

"You do what you would in a war, soldier!" Chef Hatchet screeched at the camper. "You kill the others, while trying to remain alive the longest."

"Why does everything have to be so violent," DJ asked angrily. "I tried to read those books, but I gave up after only five pages!"

"Shut up, ya big baby!" Hatchet roared. "Everyone, a helicopter will be arriving in five minutes to take you to a neighboring island where the challenge will take place, so prepare yourselves."

"Once there," Chris continued the instructions, "you will be split into six groups, receiving special training from an intern or Chef Hatchet for five minutes. After that, the game will begin! Each intern will be able to send three items of value throughout the game, so play hard and you may just receive an advantage. Got it?"

Confession Cam - Eva

Everybody better prepare themselves, because I intend to win, and when we do a physical challenge, I always do!

"Excited?" Owen asked Noah, temporarily forgetting about Izzy's predicament in his excitement.

"Overjoyed," Noah groaned out a reply. "I've read all of the books and watched the movies, but this reenactment will not only result in the cancellation of the show, but it's also so physical! If we had to play a video game version, maybe then it would be different."

"Yesss," Harold was rasping towards Katie. "Finally a challenge where I can express my mad skills!"

"I can't wait to see."

"It'll be like a LARP," Cody made the hang loose sign as he pretended to shoot a confused Trent and an unimpressed Gwen.

"If only Cody's suit could malfunction," Beth smashed her fist in her palm, glaring at the guy in question.

"Maybe you should stop being so angry," Lindsay remarked softly. "After all, you can't expect everybody who you ask out to say yes."

"He led me on!"

"Not really... I mean, even I can see that he adores Gwendolyn."

"If you don't want to support me, you can just leave!" Beth shouted at Lindsay, who looked sad for a moment before tears began to well up in her cute eyes. "I'm sorry, Linds! I didn't mean it. Please don't leave..."

"What is your problem?" Tyler muttered as he led a crying Lindsay away. "Geoff only focuses on one thing too, but at least his obsession doesn't hurt people like yours does!"

Confession Cam - Beth

Now Cody had gone and lost me my best friend (glares forcefully at the camera). He must pay!

"Bridgette!" Geoff wailed, still in denial.

"I know you feel bad, dude," DJ squeezed his friend's shoulder lightly, "and normally that would be OK. It's just... I have a feeling that if you don't stop whining soon, you'll be going home."

"Maybe that would be better," Geoff sniffled, rubbing his nose profusely. "Then I can be with Bridgette and not worry about messing up this way cool experience for all of you bros."

"Never mind," DJ sighed as he walked off. "Just go back to your moaning, Geoff."

"You ready for this?" Trent asked Gwen as the helicopter came in sight. "Ever read the books?"

"I'm a goth, Trent," she sighed before noticing his confused expression. "Of course I have."

"Everyone, wait until the ladder comes down before boarding the chopper!" Chris had to shout to be heard over the sound of the approaching helicopter as the wind picked up.

"Move it, home schooled!" Heather yelled as she pushed the boy onto the ground. He scowled up at her as she climbed up the rope ladder, in front of course.

"Don't listen to that thing," Leshawna rolled her eyes as she helped Ezekiel up. He brushed himself off before staring at the girl before him.

"Why are you so hard on her, eh?"

"You know what she did."

"Yeah, but haven't you heard that you're supposed to treat others like you want to be treated, eh?"

"Tell that ta her!"

"Whatever," Ezekiel frowned as he walked away towards the helicopter.

Confession Cam - Chef Hatchet

Not that this challenge ain't great or anything, 'cuz it is. I'm just afraid that Chris has gone too far this time. I can't hear anything else in ma head right now 'cept 'show cancelled due to copyright issues'.

"Alright!" Chris announced as the last passenger, Eva, boarded the helicopter. "Are you all comfortable?"

"No!" everyone else shouted, glancing around the inside of the chopper. The chairs were infested with rats and spiders, the glass on the windows was cracked, and due to the small size of the aircraft, everyone felt very scrunched.

"Great!" Chris chuckled before turning towards Hatchet. "You do know how to fly this, don't you?"

"I may be a DJ, a recipient of an award of amazingness, and an all-around boss," Chef Hatchet scowled, "but one of the few things I can't do is fly a helicopter, pretty boy."

"What!?" Owen gasped. "No one said anything about flying in this metal monstrosity! We're going to die!"

"Calm down, big guy," Noah scowled, his face turning green as he spoke. "At least you don't get airsickness every time you leave the ground."

"Don't push me!" Heather shrieked, scooting towards DJ to make room for Leshawna.

"It ain't ma fault that ma booty is getting in your way."

"Excuse me?"

"Don't be all 'excuse me' when you know perfectly well that I can sit here if I want to!"

"Well don't be so ru-"

"God, I am so sick of you two arguing!" Eva rolled her eyes. "Some of us realize that winning is more important than petty arguments."

"Shut up, Jocket-" Heather tried to speak, but was soon shrinking down as Eva stared into her soul. "Meep!"

"Can I talk to you, DJ?" Duncan asked the other boy.

"Sure."

"OK," Duncan whispered into DJ's ear. "We boys have been doing well so far. Three girls are out of the game, and only one guy. Let's keep it that way. I've gotten Tyler and Ezekiel into a guy's alliance, and I want you to join."

"What's in it for me?"

"We've agreed that if any of us get immunity today, we'll give it to the others as well."

"I'm in."

Confession Cam- DJ

I really don't like alliances, and I didn't plan on being in any when I got here, but have you seen Duncan? If I didn't want to be done like dinner, then I had to say yes!

"Attention passengers!" Chris announced over the intercom. "We thank you for choosing us when flying to a deserted island in the middle of nowhere. If you look to your left, you will see our destination." All of the remaining contestants glanced out the window to see a breathtaking paradise. On the south side of the island was a dense jungle, while on the north side was a large, sloping volcano. To the west of the island was a huge lake surrounded by grassy meadows, and the east end of the island was a rocky mountain pass, containing gaping holes and large boulders.

"This island isn't even physically possible," Noah groaned.

"Do you want me to use the ejection button?" Chef Hatchet shouted at the frightened boy.

"I'll pass."

"Well, I'm gonna use it anyway, 'cuz I feel like it!" With that, Chef pressed a large red button, which dropped the floor out from underneath the campers, sending them screaming into the water below.

"That," Chris chuckled, "was awesome! I think that I like you flying the chopper, Chef."

"Well, I don't," Alvin grumbled. "What's next? Forcing them to sing?"

"That's not a bad idea, dude," Chris pondered the suggestion, scratching his chin.

Meanwhile, all of the campers has splashed into the freezing cold water, and were frantically swimming towards shore.

"Nice going, dorkahontas!" Harold choked out an insult as he collapsed onto the smooth sand of the beach.

"Blame me as much as you want," Noah replied as he pulled a crab off of his foot. "Ouch, that stings!"

"I hope that you all had a pleasant landing," Chris smiled as he, Chef, and the interns strolled towards the campers.

"Let me at him!" Eva roared, held back by only Duncan, Trent, and Leshawna.

"That's enough," Hatchet yelled, but everyone continued talking loudly. "I SAID THAT'S ENOUGH!"

"Nice job blowing out our eardrums, Chefy," Duncan groaned as everybody's ears began ringing.

"I've asked you before to not call me that," Chef Hatchet whispered through gritted teeth.

"Can we just split up into the training groups already?" Chris asked impatiently, tapping his foot as he glanced at his watch. "It's a thirty minute show..."

Remembering that Chris had said those exact words after Bridgette's elimination, Geoff began wailing as he wandered away, ending up next to a sign depicting Rose's face.

"Look over there," Chris spoke, pointing at Geoff. "He's got it, so everyone, follow Geoff's example!"

Without any more words, everyone moved towards the wooden signs, until three teenagers were at each of the six sign.

"Listen to your instructors, people." Chris shouted. "In five minutes, the challenge will commence, so get to it!"

Bernard's Group - Eva, Leshawna, and Cody

"We...well I don't pr...pretend to kno...know everything abo...about fighting, bu-" Bernard began before being interrupted by Eva.

"This idiot doesn't know anything!" she snarled.

"And you do?" Leshawna asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I happen to be a black-belt," Eva smirked matter-of-factly.

"Wo..would you gu...guys like a ni...nice refreshment?" Bernard asked timidly.

"Maybe it will clear the headache I get from just listening to her," Eva rolled her eyes as she pointed at Leshawna before taking a sip. Seconds later, she was passed out on the ground.

"Nice going, dude," Cody chuckled, high fiving Bernard.

"I tr...try."

"Time's up!" Chris shouted from the other side of the beach.

"Great!" Leshawna growled. "I didn't learn anything!"

"You learned how to put an angry Eva to sleep," Cody chuckled. "Use tranquilizers."

Rose's Group - Geoff, Ezekiel, and Heather

"Get to it, lady," Heather rolled her eyes as she filed her nails while sitting on a tree stump. "How do I get people to follow my every order for this challenge?"

"You don't," Rose frowned quizzically at the other girl. "Now, for the people who actually want to win, don't go for the cornucopia."

"What is that, eh?" Ezekiel asked, raising one of his bushy eyebrows.

"In the middle of the arena, at the beginning of the game, is a cornucopia shaped container holding tons of useful items," Rose explained. "If you try to go into it, you will die. If you want to win the challenge, just start running."

"Why?"

"As I just said, you don-"

"Bridgette?"

"It's just a hallucination, Geoff."

"I can't believe that I actually have to work for this challenge!" Heather groaned.

"Time's up!" Chris shouted from the bench he was sitting on.

Chef Hatchet's Group - Duncan, Courtney, and Tyler

"Can't you just tell us something?" Tyler asked. "Please?"

"The way that you survive is by surviving," Hatchet shrugged his shoulders. Growling, Duncan raised one of his shirt sleeves.

"I can appreciate that you don't want to talk, dude," he spoke as he cracked his knuckles menacingly, "but I kinda wanna win the challenge, so talk!"

"Not after you called me Chefy."

"Do it or I swear that I'll find out why you hate that nickname and tell everybody!"

"Maybe he isn't being clear enough," Courtney tried to soothe Duncan by slowly pulling him back. "Chef isn't in the mood to tell us things, so let him be."

"But that's his job right now," Tyler protested.

"Yeah, Chefy."

"Call me that one more time and-"

"Chefy."

"One night. Solitary confinement. After the challenge. In. The. Boathouse."

Georgia's Group - Gwen, Trent, and Harold

"So what do ya guys wanna know?" Georgia asked.

"How is it possible to not feel pain in some extreme deaths, like beheading?" Gwen suggested causally.

"I don't know the specifics, because that's between Chris, Rose, and the producers," replied Georgia, "but take the fact that you'll be blown up if you step off of your starting plate before sixty seconds, for example. You'd be thrown forward so that you would crash into something else instead of exploding. That would be the thing that caused your suit to get heavy.

"That makes sense," Trent murmured.

"I just can't wait to show off my mad skills," Harold remarked, doing karate and smashing his hand into a tree stump. "Ouch..."

"This is going to be too easy," Gwen smirked as Harold hopped around screaming, clutching his hand.

"Time's up!" Chris announced at that moment.

Alvin's Group - Beth, Lindsay, and Owen

"He'll pay," Beth had been whispering constantly.

"OK..." Alvin spoke as he scooted away, distrustful of the creepy girl. "Who has a question?"

"Ooo, I've got one," Lindsay muttered happily. "Call on me!"

"Yes, Lindsay?"

"Where's Tony?" Lindsay asked, confused.

"You like West Side Story too?!" Owen asked excitedly. "It's my favorite. Tony is just sooo hot... Do'h!"

"His name is Tyler," Beth muttered underneath her breath. "Idiot." Lindsay had not heard the insult, but Owen had.

"That's so mean," he cried. "I hate meanies!"

"People! We're supposed to be talking about the challenge, not Tyler..." Alvin began to speak, but drifted off when he saw that Owen was sitting on a tree stump, still crying, while Lindsay patted his shoulder.

Joseph's Group - Katie, Noah, and DJ

"Are we all in agreement that this challenge sucks?" Noah asked. He knew that while he hated it because it involved exercise, DJ and Katie hated it because it was violent.

"Yes," DJ responded while glancing in the direction of the volcano.

"You may all hate it," Joseph spoke up, "but that doesn't mean you get out of doing it. My job is to prepare you for it, but five minutes is really not enough time, so I'll talk about one thing."

"Can you tell us what the strategy is for feasts?" Noah asked.

"I've not read any of the books, so..." Katie blushed while scratching her head.

"A feast is when all remaining players, usually towards the end of the game, are invited to a particular area, where they will be given an item that they need," Joseph recited while closing his eyes. "You can obviously see why this is dangerous. My advice is to just not go to it unless it has an item that you will die without."

The Main Group

"OK, campers!" Chris shouted as soon as everyone had gathered around him. "It's time for the biggest, best, more lawsuit-inducing challenge yet!" Everyone groaned at this.

"I just wanted to let you know that breakfast this morning contained a controlled type of tranquilizer, also created by Rose," he continued gleefully. "When I press the button I have in my hand, you'll all have a nice little nap. Goodnight!" With that he pressed the button, sending all of camper into a drug-induced sleep.

Confession Cam – Noah

That tranquilizer that Chris mentioned defies the laws of physics, but who am I to question Chris Maclean?

"What the?" Harold rasped as his eyes snapped open. He was wearing a tight-fitting suit of armor that covered his entire body from head to toe, and he was in some kind of elevator. Unknown to him, all of the campers were experiencing the same situation.

Suddenly, the roof of the elevator parted to reveal a grassy meadow. Harold glanced around to see similar pods in the ground splitting in half as the seventeen other campers rose out of the ground.

In the middle of the meadow was a large, solid wooden tower. The only way to climb to the top of this tower was several large white ropes, two on each of the four sides of the tower. On the top of this contraption was a large silver cornucopia, glinting in the sunlight. The container was stuffed with all sorts of weapons, medical kits, and food.

"Welcome, campers, to the very first Wawanakwa games!" Chris shouted, his voice projected all over the island. "In approximately sixty seconds, all eighteen of you will begin the game of a life time. I've wasted enough of your day already, so prepare yourself. Maclean out!"

Sixty...

Cody began counting down from sixty in his head. He couldn't afford to be a second late if he was going to get to the cornucopia.

Fifty...

Heather was visibly trembling for what many people assumed was the first time in her life. Without anyone to do her bidding and with a target on her back, Heather would have to rely on herself for the first time on the show.

Forty...

Beth narrowed her eyes at Cody, knowing that she would be the one to kill him. She would have to be, after what he had done to her. It was time for revenge.

Thirty...

Geoff was thinking as he continued to sob about Bridgette. DJ was right. He really needed to get his act together if he wanted to stay on the show. He would allow himself twenty-four more seconds to be miserable, and then he would focus on the challenge.

Twenty...

Noah was mentally preparing himself by reciting the fact that he could exercise and run if he wanted to, the problem was that he did not.

Ten...

Duncan thought about his new alliance and grinned. With three of the other guys in the palm of his hand, he was pretty sure that he would not have to worry about going home for a while. Now all he had to think about was his punishment from Chef Hatchet.

Zero...

At that moment, the bombs below the plates turned off and half of the campers ran for the cornucopia, while the other half ran out of the meadow in different directions, hoping to get far enough away before the people in the meadow grabbed weapons.

Eva, Trent, Gwen, Katie, Tyler, Cody, Courtney, Duncan, and Harold charged for the cornucopia, while Ezekiel, Heather, Leshawna, Lindsay, Beth, DJ, Owen, Geoff and Noah bolted for the edges of the meadow.

"Asta la vista, suckers!" Courtney shouted as she reached the ropes first. The girl tied one of them around herself and began to pull herself up the wooden wall, which was shaped like a snail shell, as a multitude of small grooves caused it to appear like a spiral if viewed from above.

"I don't think so, Princess!" Duncan called as he hustled over to the opposite side of the tower, which was the side closest to his starting platform. "I'm the only one from this side that had the balls to go for this, so..."

"Whatever," Harold scoffed as he reached the tower at the same time as Gwen, "you'll all fall to my awesome skills." Suddenly he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around, directly into Gwen's fist.

"That's more like it," she cackled, looping both ropes through each other and then tying Harold up so that he would not be able to scale the wall when he regained consciousness.

"You're going down!" Tyler shouted, as he reached one of the wooden walls, out of breath. Both of the ropes on this particular wall were already being scaled by Katie and Trent, and so Tyler knotted Trent's rope around himself and began climbing. Unfortunately, he had knotted the coarse rope wrong, and soon he found himself being attached to it by only his foot, and thus being dragged upside down by Trent.

"What are you doing, idiot?!" Trent shrieked. He knew that by the time he reached the top of the wooden wall, he would not only be extremely tired from carrying the other boy up it, but everyone else would already by armed and waiting for him. Knowing he had no other choice, Trent reached the next groove in the wall before untying himself and let go of the rope.

"Oops," he muttered sarcastically as he watched Tyler fall down the tower, smashing into the dense wood repeatedly.

"Crap..." Tyler muttered as he crashed into the wood for the twelfth time.

Meanwhile, Eva was almost to the top of the tower. She pushed herself over the edge and scrambled towards the large silver structure. Scooping up a backpack, Eva also grabbed a case of what she assumed was daggers.

"Hey, Eva," a voice gasped from behind her. Whirling around, she saw Cody panting, a small baton in his hands.

Confession Cam - Cody

I kinda thought taking Eva out early would be a good idea... I guess that I was wrong.

"You're going down, geek!" she snarled, flinging open the case in her right hand to reveal three sharp daggers engraved with skulls.

"That's what you think," Cody shrugged, pressing a small red button on the baton. It instantly sprang open to reveal that it was a large bronze shield.

"Ugn!" Courtney groaned as she plunged a rapier in Eva's shoulder.

"Crap!" Eva shouted, turning around the other way to see Duncan dash into the cornucopia. Cody and Courtney surrounded her, with Gwen advancing towards the group. Nobody else was at the top yet.

Pulling the rapier out of her skin, Eva swung it at Cody, but he dodged it. She next grabbed all three of her daggers and threw them at Courtney. The first one plunged into the other girl's thigh, but the other two missed.

At the same time, Duncan was filling a large brown sack with all of the supplies that he had found in the cornucopia. So far he had three medical kits, a package of jerky, a utility belt, and several sheaths of arrows.

"Jackpot," he whispered as he crouched down, picking up a large bow. Looking out across the meadow, he noticed that Owen had still not gotten out of sight yet.

"What a slow little guy," he grinned, pulling back the bow and notching an arrow. The missile hit the largest campers in the middle of his back.

"You may be a good shot when your target is far away from you," a voice whispered from behind him, "but do you really want to go up against me?" Duncan whirled around to see Gwen aiming a crossbow at his skull.

"Hey, listen, uh, Gwen," Duncan gulped as he spoke, trying to fast talk his way out of elimination. "We toughies have to, er, stick together. I've got supplies that you need and uh..."

While this was going on in the depths of the cornucopia, Trent reached the top of the platform and noticed the fight going on between Eva, Cody, and Courtney. Eva had a dagger sticking out of her arm, Courtney had the other two daggers sticking out of her legs, and Cody had his shield and the rapier, but no wounds.

"Trent!" Cody grinned as he shield butted Eva away. "It's great to see you, man!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever," Trent muttered. He avoided everybody else, grabbed up two backpacks, a random carton of eggs, and a baseball bat, tied himself up with the very same rope that he had been using before, and then descended back down the wall again.

"Fast dude," Cody muttered before turning back to the matter at hand. He was not shocked by what he saw. Eva had Courtney in a head lock and was shaking her around violently, unaware that she was already out of the challenge.

"HELP ME!" Duncan shouted. He was running out of the cornucopia as fast as he could, with Gwen right behind him. In his rush to escape from the goth, Duncan had dropped all of his supplies. Cody noticed this, rushed inside, grabbed everything Duncan had dropped, and then rushed towards one of the ropes. Eva noticed this and quickly followed him down.

Meanwhile, Katie had finally reached the top of the platform. She watched in awe as Duncan ran around, screaming, with Gwen right behind him. Harold was still unconscious.

"Please, Gwen…" Duncan was visibly trembling as he reached the edge of the platform. "I can help you with supplies and stuff…" Those words were the last that Duncan spoke in the challenge. Gwen fired the crossbow straight into his head before pushing his motionless body off of the side of the tower.

Cody reached the bottom of the tower, with Eva hot on his tail. Harold's eyes slowly opened behind his glasses. He saw a tan blur being chased by a blue blur. The tan blur sprinted into a green smudge, and the blue blur turned around, cursing. Harold's vision finally returned to its full potential just as Eva began to ascend to the cornucopia once more. The nerd attempted to stand, but the ropes that Gwen had tied around him prevented that from occurring.

Back on the top of the cornucopia, Gwen was battling Katie. The goth still had her crossbow and was now wielding a battle axe, while Katie had taken up the position of the scared child, running around just as much as Duncan had.

"I'm almost to the top of the tower, and you two better not be there when I arrive!" a voice shouted from below them.

Gwen and Katie glanced at each other.

"Can we team up to take out Eva?"

"Sure!" Katie replied, wiping her sweaty brow. The B.F.F. grabbed a mace that was entirely too big for her. The girls approached the edge of the platform just as an extremely low-pitched scream resounded throughout the island, causing a few birds to scurry away.

A little ways below them, Tyler was clinging on Eva's leg, pulling her down. The jock was barely in the game, with all of the slamming damage that he had received.

"Let go of me, Joke Jock!" she roared, shaking him off. Gwen quickly aimed the crossbow at Eva, but missed. The arrow severed the jockette's rope instead, sending her down into the Earth. As the heaviness in her suit began to set in, Eva limped away. She would regain her strength and then return to finish them off…

Tyler pulled himself up to the top of the wall, sweat dripping down his face. His suit felt like it weighed about a thousand pounds, but he was still able to move.

"Alliance?" he asked the other two weakly before collapsing from the effort.

Confession Cam – Eva

I'll win in the end. Just you wait and see… (Collapses onto the floor, cursing along the way)

Confession Cam – Gwen

Don't think that I'm stupid. The other two people in my alliance are on the other team, and so they'll try to backstab me the first chance they get… So I'll just have to kill them first!

The interns were sent out to retrieve Owen, Courtney, and Duncan. Duncan and Owen were only a little bit upset about losing the challenge, but Courtney was furious. She kept swearing and talking about how stupid the challenge was.

"Calm down, Courtney," Owen spoke in his scraggly voice.

"CALM DOWN!? CALM DOWN!?" she shouted in the boy's face. Then she ran off, crying.

"Maybe she needs a hug?" Owen asked quietly. Duncan shot the other boy a nasty look and then went off to find Courtney, leaving Owen by himself. Shrugging, the big lug wandered off to see if Chef Hatchet had prepared lunch yet.

He had not. Chris and Hatchet were rushing around. Chris was shouting orders at Chef Hatchet, who was wearing a maid's costume and brandishing a feather duster.

"We need to clean up the kitchen, mow the grass around the campfire pit, and fire some random cameramen!"

"I slave over a hot stove, cooking rat intestines all day, and this is my thanks…" Chef grumbled unhappily.

"Do I need to remind you," Chris snapped out as he pushed his extremely gelled hair back from his brow, "that if this family is not happy while they are here, Failmart will reveal our, er, unpleasant secret, and we can't have that!"

Meanwhile, three cannon shots sounded on the other island. Noah stopped his hurried stroll to look up at the sky. That meant that three people had been eliminated from the challenge, and that the fight at the cornucopia was over. The real game was beginning now. Noah had run in the first direction that he had noticed, which happened to be into the jungle.

Birds chirped around him, and then suddenly, from somewhere close by, came a gasping noise. Without even thinking about it, the bookworm dived into the nearby foliage. A few seconds later, Ezekiel came into view. His hair, still without a toque on top of it, was waving in the breeze.

Noticing that Ezekiel seemed to have no supplies, Noah cautiously emerged from the plant he had been hiding behind and raised his hands up in a gesture of surrender.

"Hello there, Ezekiel, is it?" he asked the other boy, who jumped when he heard Noah talking.

"Yeah, that's my name…"

"Look, neither of us is all that, well, athletic. You know what? I'm going to jump straight to the point here. I want to be in alliance with you."

"That'd be great, eh," Ezekiel replied as Noah walked towards him, smiling hopefully, "if I didn't already have one."

At that moment, DJ and Geoff came into view. It took Noah a second to notice what was happening, but then he got it. Ezekiel grabbed for him but missed. Noah ran around DJ, who had his hands clamped over his eyes so that he would not have to see the bloodshed. Geoff put out a hand halfheartedly, but Noah dodged that as well and sprinted away. Ezekiel chased after him, screaming, and Geoff stumbled after them sadly. DJ remained behind, with his eyes still clamped shut.

While this was going on, Beth was taking a break by the lake and thinking about her revenge on Cody. Was she overreacting? She had never asked out a boy before, and then he had just crushed her dreams, like a puny ant beneath his shoe. For a goth, no less. Beth had been bullied, made fun of, and hurt many times due to her nerdy appearance, her braces, and her farm girl innocence. It was time to put her foot down! Lindsay had left her due to this, but she was not going to take it anymore!

Beth's thoughts were interrupted as a reflection appeared in the lake. It was Heather. A sharp rock was lobbed at the farm girl, and just missed. Beth turned around to glare at Heather, who had thrown the rock and was now backing up towards the cornucopia.

"You really are pitiful. You realize that, don't you?" Beth grinned so very wickedly as she spoke that Heather actually became extremely scared. "Lindsay and I refused to be manipulated by you. Your alliance with the boys is falling apart. Noah is gaining power, and soon he'll be unstoppable. You need me."

Heather swallowed. It was better than nothing. She'd be voted out next at this rate. "What do you want?"

"I'll save your sorry ass if you help me. We're going to make Cody's life hell. Everyone who has ever been mean or rude to me in any way is going to pay!"

Confession Cam – Heather

Beth may think that she is in charge, but her blind anger will be her downfall. It will be nice to have the target off my back for once...

Confession Cam – Beth

If everything goes my way, which it will, the elimination order for the Gophers will be Cody, Gwen, Trent, Leshawna, Lindsay, Noah, Heather, and then Owen.

It was getting hotter for Trent, who had chosen to run towards the volcano after he had gathered up his supplies from the cornucopia. Assuming that he was far enough away now to check out his loot, the musician bent down onto one knee and opened up the first of the two backpacks that he had snagged from the cornucopia. It contained a package of three energy bars and a bottle of water. The other backpack contained nothing.

"Well, at least I won't be eliminated due to a lack of nutrition," Trent joked to himself. He stood up and continued moving. The heat continued to grow.

In one of the few solitary trees on that side of the island, Lindsay sat staring down at Trent. She was confused by what was going on. Beth had been rude to her and Tyler was nowhere to be found. What could all that mean? Suddenly, something bit her on the leg. Looking down, she saw that it was an ant, but the bite seemed to be larger than normal.

"Mutant ants!" Lindsay shouted and jumped out of the tree as her suit began to grow slightly heavier. She charged in the direction of the cornucopia, followed by a swarming herd of mutated fire ants. They were the size of inflated balloons, and they were also super angry.

Confession Cam – Chris

Ah, the mutant fire ants. Also designed by Rose, these creatures are extremely carnivorous! They are attracted to human flesh, so this should be very interesting…

The interns were slacking off in their cabin. Chef Hatchet had ordered them to clean the kitchen, but they had decided to take a break after they had encountered a large lime green stain in the sink that appeared to be moving. Now the interns were watching the progress of the campers on their television and just lounging about.

"Any idea who you're sending your three items to yet?" Georgia asked her fellow interns.

"I was thinking about Noah," Rose answered quickly. "He could sure use some help right about now…"

"Same thing with Lindsay," Alvin drawled before talking another puff of the hookah pipe that he was smoking.

Bernard was not joining in with the rest of the interns. Instead, he was wringing his hands rather obsessively and putting his arms into his pockets frequently.

"What's up, dude?" Joseph asked the fretful man.

"My p…hone is s…still miss…ing…" he sighed. "Ch…ris will g…et so m…mad if a cam…camper stole it."

"Don't worry," Alvin smiled as he spoke. "Just be peaceful, bra…"

"Easy for you to say," Georgia snorted. "You're high!"

At that moment, the wooden door to the cabin banged open and Chef Hatchet entered. "I thought that I told you soldiers to clean the kitchen! I don't pay you to sit around, doing nothing!"

The interns were about to reply that they were not doing nothing, but were watching the progression of the challenge, when a series of loud bangs and explosions occurred just outside of the room.

Back inside of the arena, Noah was still being chased by Ezekiel and an unenthusiastic Geoff. He turned back to check and see how close they were to him, and tripped over a jutting, sharp rock. Ezekiel stood over him, panting, and Noah felt his chances of winning the challenge draining away.

"I like this challenge, eh!" the homeschooled contestant shouted. That thought suddenly blossomed into a memory inside of his brain.

Ezekiel had lived on a small farm all of his life, and had never experienced the outside world at all. His field of knowledge extended only to the classical novels that his mother made him read.

One day, Ezekiel saw his chance. He had shot his mother with a bow and arrow while performing an audition for a reality show. She was bedridden, and so that night he left the house and walked to the nearest town.

The bright neon lights hurt Ezekiel's eyes, but he pressed onwards. Eventually he came to an Italian restaurant and slipped inside of it. The lights were dimmer in here, and they added to the overall ambiance.

"What would you like to eat, kid?" the bubblegum chewing waitress asked Ezekiel.

"I'll have the, um, feta…fetachini al…"

"Fettuccini Alfredo?"

"Yes, please," Ezekiel replied, scratching his head. This place was so strange. Maybe his mother was right when she had told him that the world was too dangerous and that he should never leave the property ever.

The food arrived and Ezekiel began to eat, but it was too rich for the boy that had never eaten anything except for kale salads and vegetable fries. He began to choke and eventually passed out. The waitress was too busy talking on her cell phone to notice this. Ezekiel's wallet was stolen while he was unconscious.

"You didn't listen to me, son…" Ezekiel's mother told him the next day after he had returned from his adventure. "The world is dangerous place, and one where you don't belong."

The next week Ezekiel discovered that he had a Vitamin D deficit and being selected for Total Drama Island became very important. Luckily, he made it onto the show.

Shaking his head to clear the thought that he did not belong exactly where he was, Ezekiel looked down to see that Noah had scampered off while he had been daydreaming. Overhead, lightning and thunder crackled as it began to storm.

Back at the cornucopia, Lindsay was running as fast as she could towards the tower, with the swarm of ants still chasing her.

"Help me…" Harold rasped as the blonde waddled past him, out of earshot. The crimson army marched forward, and the nerd was about to give up hope when a small cream colored package drifted down and right into his lap. Bernard's name was scrawled sloppily on the tan card attached to the gift. Without even the slightest hint of hesitation, Harold ripped open the present to reveal a large machete. He grasped the blade and used it to saw through the rope that was keeping him from escaping the squadron of destroyer insects.

Confession Cam – Harold

You could say that my mad ninja skills helped Bernard choose me to save. I'm just that awesome (karate chops the air)!

"Taper! Are you up there!?" Lindsay asked as she attempted to climb up the tower. Tyler, whose suit was still too heavy to stand up in, gave a start when he heard Lindsay's voice.

"Gwen? Can you see if that's Lindsay?" the jock whispered to the goth in a strained, gritty voice.

"Sure," Gwen replied, peering over the edge of the tower. Lindsay was about halfway up the cornucopia by then. "It's Cody." She picked up the discarded rapier, aimed it, and then threw it. Another cannon sounded as the projectile met its intended target.

"That's for Cody," Gwen lied. Tyler nodded and lay back down. The ants continued to slowly come spilling out into the clearing. The grassy ground was completely covered now, and yet the pile continued to rise anyway.

"Can anyone hear me up there?" Harold asked in a yell. "Can anyone help me?" As Katie was checking out the screech, the storm clouds broke and rain began to beat down heavily as afternoon turned into evening twilight.

Noah, who had continued to move for fear of Ezekiel and Geoff following him, breached the edge of the jungle at this point. He took one look at the ants and decided that the Bass boys were a lot less terrifying.

"Oh, the joys and betrayals of being a sixteen year old in a simulated battle to the death!" Chris announced to no one in particular as he sat in the camera crew trailer with his feet propped up and a large Diet Coke in his hand. "It looks like it's almost time for the montage of campers that have been eliminated from the challenge!"

"I'd better go out and get Lindsay," Chef Hatchet grumbled. "Then it's off to bed for me. I've got to get lots of sleep if I want to listen to that new Veggie Tales soundtrack while I clip my toenails in the bathtub in the morning." Even the crickets were silent outside after this comment.

"Oh no you don't!' Chris wagged his finger back and forth as he replied to Chef's speech. "You've got the honor of cleaning up the intern cabin after that firecracker incident!" The cracks and bangs from earlier had turned out to be a prank from Duncan, which had caused a small fire and injured a family of hedgehogs.

Grumbling to himself about the unfairness of it all, Chef left the trailer and began to walk away from it.

Inside of the Killer Bass cabin, Duncan was comforting Courtney, whose mood swings still had yet to end.

"It's not fair! I should have won! Now I'll be eliminated for sure!" she sobbed into Duncan's shoulder.

Confession Cam – Duncan

It was strange to see Courtney so vulnerable. I was wondering if something was wrong.

Suddenly, Chef Hatchet burst into the cabin, causing the wooden door to fly off its hinges. "It's time for your punishment, punk!" he roared.

"Wait just a second, dude. I thought that you told me that I wouldn't have to go to the boathouse until after the challenge!?"

"That was before you set off that firecracker! I'm not letting you out of the boathouse until after the challenge now!"

"You can't just do whatever you want to me, Chefy! You told me…" Duncan's voice drained away as he looked fearfully up at the large man. A humungous vain was throbbing in his head. Without even saying a word, Chef Hatchet picked up Duncan, slung him over his shoulder, and then walked out of the cabin quickly. Courtney looked after them, quite confused as to what had just happened.

Back at the lake, Beth and Heather were watching fearfully as the swarm of ants came spilling out of the cornucopia area towards them.

"We need to find a place to hide!" Heather shouted. Both of the girls ran for the far end of the lake. When they had made it there, they saw that the only feature beyond the lake was what appeared to be a bottomless pit.

"What do we do!?" Beth shrieked out to Heather as the ants continued their tireless advance towards the girls. At that very moment, another intern package came drifting down to them. It was from Rose, and it contained a lever.

"How is this gonna help us?" Heather shouted up at the sky, but Beth had already figured it out. The farm girl turned psychopath had noticed a metal chain coming out of the water, with the other side of it attached to a small mechanism missing a lever.

Beth jammed the lever in place and pulled it down just as the first of the ants began to reach them. The rusty chain retracted from the water and revealed a medium sized boat waiting for them.

"Ah! Get off of me!" Heather shouted as the fire ants began to crawl up and bite her legs. The pair of girls jumped into the boat and began to frantically paddle towards the small rocky island in the middle of the lake.

"That was a close one," Beth gasped out, but Heather did not reply. The queen bee had fainted from the poison in the ant bites, which were also turning her legs a dark shade of purple.

"That's curious," Chris remarked as he looked at the numerous cameras revealing what was happening on the challenge island. "The cameras all lost track of Leshawna a few hours ago, and I haven't seen any trace of her since then…"

Suddenly, an idea of how to flush her out of hiding struck the host. He grinned, gave a short evil laugh, and pushed a large red button.

Cody had been hiking through the forest, trudging persistently towards the mountainous region of the island, when a sudden, vision impairing fog had descend over him.

"What the?" he gasped as he stumbled into somebody else in the fog a few minutes later.

"Is that you, Cody?" a familiar voice whispered. It was Leshawna.

"Yeah. You wanna team up? I've got quite a bit of supplies…"

"Sure," the big sister replied. "I was just planning to hide in a tree until the end of the challenge, but then this fog made that too dangerous."

"What's our plan?" Cody asked Leshawna.

"We could try to make it to the mountains. Do you have any light source at all?"

"I have a small lighter as a part of my utility belt, but it doesn't work very well…" Cody replied, flicking the lighter a few times. A small light appeared and he could see Leshawna's face illuminated in the light of the moon, which had just risen. Twilight was ending.

"It's a good thing you found me, honey," Leshawna remarked a couple minutes later as she munched on some of Cody's beef jerky that he had picked up at the cornucopia. The torrent of rain had turned into only a drizzle. The fog had lifted just enough for them to see each other at all times. "I might not have made it otherwise…"
"I just hope that we find something good when we reach those mountains," her companion grumbled to himself quietly.

Confession Cam – Leshawna

I'm glad that I partnered with Cody. That skinny geek will be the easiest person to betray out of anybody on this island. Plus, he has a virtual ton of supplies!

At that exact moment, the foliage fluttered and someone very familiar made themselves known.

"YOUR ASS IS MINE, CODY!" Eva roared as she leapt out at the duo.

"You didn't tell me that Eva was thirsting for your blood!" Leshawna shrieked angrily to her partner.

"I thought that Gwen and Katie had taken care of her!"

Ezekiel and Geoff had reconnected with DJ, and after reassuring him that he was not in any immediate danger, they had set off for the cornucopia, hoping to scavenge some much needed supplies.

"I've decided," Geoff spoke up suddenly, stopping at the same time, "that I'm finally over Bridgette! So, dudes, who's ready to ROCK THIS CHALLENGE!?"

"I appreciate that, Geoff," DJ replied irritably, "but could you have told us that any louder?"

"Sorry," the party dude apologized sheepishly. "I know that I've grieved for too long. I just… this may come as a surprise, but I haven't actually had that many girlfriends before. A lot of them have refused me because they thought that I was just a stupid clown."

"I don't understand what's so great about dating, eh," Ezekiel commented while scratching his head in thought. "You only kissed Bridgette once before her early elimination, Geoff. How do you know that it wasn't a fluke?"

Geoff glared at his friend slightly, causing him to shut up. They kept walking in silence for a few minutes before reaching the cornucopia. The mass of fire ants had finally stopped spilling into the clearing, but the gigantic pile still reached almost halfway up the tower.

"Wow," DJ whispered slowly.

Chef Hatchet had locked Duncan into the boathouse after carrying him off, and Courtney, as much as she hated to admit it, was worried about him. She stole a bowl of oatmeal from the kitchen and strolled over to the boathouse. The lock was rusty, and after a few kicks it gave way.

"If you're Chris or Hatchet just leave me the hell alone," Duncan snarled. "I'm not doing anything wrong…"

"I'm not Chef," Courtney whispered, causing the punk to jump in surprise. "I just came to check on you."

"I don't need checking up on," he sneered.

"You shouldn't have provoked him like that. Here, I brought you some oatmeal."

"I think that I'll stick to the fish bait," Duncan announced, wrinkling his noise in disgust at the oatmeal, which had dead maggots covering its surface.

"You know, I realize that you want to seem all tough, but you need to understand that some people care about you for who you really are… like me…"

Duncan looked at the C.I.T. in shock. The wind whistled through the boathouse as he spoke, "Ya know, you're kinda cool when you don't have that pole stuck up your butt, but I still gotta seem tough if I really want to stand a chance in this game. Hey, do you wanna do something fun with me tonight?"

Confession Cam – Duncan

So I guess Courtney and I are an official couple now… I still can't shake the feeling that something is wrong. She was always so closed off before, but she opened so quickly in the boathouse… It's probably nothing…

Gwen had agreed to pull up Harold after Katie and Tyler insisted that she do so, but secretly she was planning to kill all three of them when their backs were turned.

"Gosh! Those fire ants are so cool. One time when I was at Insect Steve's Insect Camp…" Harold droned on and on, but none of the other competitors on the cornucopia were paying attention. The Total Drama theme song was playing, and a giant screen in the sky was projecting images of the campers who had been eliminated from the challenge during the first day. Owen, Courtney, Duncan, and then Lindsay were shown. Gwen grimaced as the last image looked down at her. Perhaps they had not noticed it….

Turning around slowly, Gwen saw Katie and Harold, with grim faces, aiming weapons from the cornucopia directly at her. Tyler was at long last climbing to his feet behind them, and was glaring at her.

"You really shouldn't have killed Lindsay," he announced coldly.

Chef Hatchet was whistling to himself as he finished cleaning up the intern cabin. Something shiny was glowing at the top of Rose's bag. He reached down and picked up the object. Seconds later, Chef Hatchet gasped in shock, his eye widening until they were doubled in size.

Author's Notice: The challenge will continue next week, along with Courtney and Duncan's exploits, and Chef Hatchet's shocking discovery!