Grumpy Bears: Nikki, Snake, Sasha, Max, Erin, Petrol, Hwan, Nurf, Preston and Brian.
Dizzy Deer: Harrison, Scotty, Space Kid, Dang, Vera, Tabii, Pikeman, Dolph, Nerris and Neil.
"Last time on Total Drama Camp, the campers had to work really hard digging and building to win the challenge...oh no, no, it's not child labor...just call it a friendly competition to win one hundred thousand dollars. Besides, it was a good deed as they had to build birdhouses around the forest so our feathered little friends could find a place to nest their eggs. Getting the tools and construction material was a nightmare since Quartermaster was awaiting them at his store, but it was worse than a nightmare for a cool girl named Meredith...oh sorry, Ered. Actually, she didn't look bad in that kind of hairstyle but for her it was horrendous. Although her distress caused the Bears to lose, Nikki took advantage of this and finally got to spend time with her, really cute if you ask me. In the end, both teams misunderstood the purpose of the challenge as they thought I told them to gather the majority of flags they could instead of birds. So, unintentionally, it was the Deer who won and the Bears who sent Ered home. Poor Nikki! Stay tuned to learn who will be next voted out here on Total...Drama...Camp!"
Why don't you take five?
As the morning went by, the campers from both teams were having breakfast at the mess hall. Some of them looked half-asleep resting their heads on the table and still in their pajamas. A few of them stood in line while Quartermaster handed over the trays. Everything seemed normal, nothing different from a regular day at Camp Campbell.
"We shouldn't be eating this shit, I did not agree to this!" Sasha cried.
"Can we just, like, go back to our camp and have breakfast there?" Erin asked to David who was passing by.
"No, no ladies." He stopped and grinned. "Ms. Priss told me to not let you return unless one of you win the money."
Both girls sighed in annoyance and turned to their plates. The counselor resumed his way to the kitchen where Gwen was preparing coffee.
"Hey, my dear co-counselor, how is everything going in this lovely day?" His face expression irradiated tons of enthusiasm and happiness.
"All good, what about you?" She poured hot water on a mug. "Today is challenge day again, isn't it?"
"I'm fine too, thanks! And yes, it's a surprise you actually remembered!"
"I hate being a hypocrite but I'm actually liking this competition so far. I mean, the tension between the kids when they're doing a challenge, the hesitation when they have to vote someone out, oh and the dramatic ceremony when you announce the eliminated camper...you HAVE to let me do that someday!" The girl's eyes widened in excitement. "Why did I never hear of this? How is the show called? I need to see it!"
"Whoa there, little enthusiast." He giggled and patted her head. "Take one step at a time, you should think of a challenge first." This made his colleague smiled lightly and thought about it. "Since I already decided what today's challenge will be, why don't you try to come up with an idea for the next one?"
"Hey, that sounds good." Gwen agreed. David then winked and waved off before leaving with his #1 counselor mug on his hand. "Really good."
Cameron Campbell, who was still in the attic, overheard the conversation and immediately thought. "So, he forgot I was supposed to do next challenge. I could use that to blackmail him into..." A knock from the floor interrupted him.
"Get down to work you old useless scum!" Quartermaster was hitting the ceiling with a broom from below. "The redhead wants you to set up all the stuff for today's challenge."
The former owner of the camp descended in a detachable ladder and stood in front of the groundskeeper. "I hate all of you." He mumbled.
"What was that?" The old man prompted.
"Uh, nothing Quartermaster, it'd be nice if you help me organize whatever the man wants to do-" But he realized he was left alone and growled. "You'll pay for this David, even if it's the last thing I do."
Meanwhile, some members of the Bears were hanging out in the campsite, talking or playing with a ball as Max watched them sitting alone beside a tree.
"Hey Max, why don't you come play with us?" Nikki waved him while throwing the ball to Preston. "I know this isn't as fun as going through the woods and fighting some wild animals but it's better than lying there doing nothing."
The Indian boy sighed and stood up. "I'm not in the mood." He started to head out to the confessional.
...
"For fuck's sake, it's only been a few days and only two of us got eliminated. I don't think I'm gonna survive until this finishes." Max says with folded arms. "Yeah, you may be wondering what's the difference between this and a regular day at camp, well, the challenges don't help at all, they get dumber and dumber each time; having to spend time with the rest of the campers here is one thing I can tolerate, but putting up with those military assholes, the wannabe bitches constantly looking for attention and those untrustworthy foreign exchange kids...ugh, all of them get on my nerves. I'll put the blame on David, of course, since he's in charge of this fucking competition."
...
Max came out of the store and bumped into Nikki. "What the-"
"If you mean everything you've said there, why are you still on the game?"
"Have you been listening to me?!"
"No, I'm not that kind of person, I think..." She thought about it twice. "I was just looking for the ball, it flew away and landed somewhere around here."
"Well, to answer your question, I'm still here because I'm supposed to, right? Until the summer is over...and also because even if I had the chance to convince David to be out of here, my parents wouldn't even be bothered to come pick me up."
"Oh, so...if you happen to get eliminated...where will you go?"
That question took Max completely off guard. He hadn't even thought about it, what would he do? "Well...I guess David would let me stay here until the competition is over." His expression looked a bit sad not knowing what would happen in reality.
David's voice echoed around the camp announcing the next challenge would be explained at the campfire. "I hope none of you have applied insect repellent on you because that could be a downturn for your own team." He laughed.
...
"Last challenge I didn't play a major role. I needed to be away for a while because if I keep incriminating people for my actions, soon they will notice; and not everyone is as dumb as that fat guy." The clown kid smirks devilishly. "I wonder if Pikeman care about finding the real culprit for our loss. In the meantime, I'm going to play someone else...anyone stupid enough who can fall for my pranks."
...
Scotty sat on the stump next to Space Kid, where everyone else was waiting for David. "Hey, honorable astronaut, what's up?"
"Oh, hey Scotty, excited for the new challenge, and you?"
"I sure am too! It'd be wonderful if it's something related to space." The kid with the big red nose gave him a smile patting his back.
"Okay campers, in today's challenge both teams have to collect bugs from different species, sizes and colors." David sang in a happy tone.
"Excuse me? That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard of." Pikeman yelled. "You only make us do nice things for nature, animals and all that crap, when are we gonna have actual challenges like weapon handling, obstacule courses, strength endurance activities...?!"
"Calm down Edward, you're too young to do those activities." He shoved him back.
"But we always do those in our camp!" He spat furiously.
The red-haired counselor stepped back. "I...give me a moment please." He walked off and disappeared behind a bush. Everyone looked at him confused until he reappeared again smiling widely. "Alright, kiddos, there's no time to lose so let's get moving!"
...
"Huh, that was weird." The Wood Scout leader scratches his head. "I always knew he had some kind of mental disorder but not THAT one. Although I don't even know what kind of disease is that." He shrugs
...
"So, as I was saying, your challenge is to-"
"David, I've thought of a better challenge!" Gwen's voice was heard in the background.
"But Gwen, I've been planning this for weeks-"
"Hey, I agree with the kids this time, that challenge is boring as hell, also you said you would let me take charge of one challenge at least."
"I did? Oh, I mean, yeah I did but-"
"Then back off and let me do this." She stood in front of the children. "Campers, today's challenge consists of five tasks you have to complete in pairs. Since you're even in number, you'll be paired up with someone from your team, meaning there has to be five groups of two people each in both teams, there will be a draw to designate the duos."
"Wait, you made this up just today?" David asked surprised.
"Yes." She looked him in the eye and turned to the kids again. "Before continuing, who offers to pick the names from these bags?" She held two paper bags, one for the Bears and one for the Deer.
"Dude, it's your time to shine." Scotty encouraged Space Kid to raise his hand, which the latter did enthusiastically.
"Okay, Space Kid, come here and pick the first pair." The astronaut hopped happily to the Deer's paper bag and pulled out two pieces of paper. "Our first couple is Tabii and Neil!" Both kids looked at each other blankly.
...
"Yay, the more I ignore him, the more time I get to spend with him." Tabii squeals.
...
"Good selection Space Kid." Gwen giggled. "Now for the first duo of the Bears-"
"Wait a minute, if someone is doing the picking for our team it must be someone from OUR team, capiche?" Sasha complained.
"Alright, do it yourself." The counselor invited her with her hand.
"No, I won't be the one doing it, what if I choose myself and someone I hate." She crossed her arms.
"Oh me, me, I'll do it!" Nikki jumped joyfully. Gwen gestured her to come and pick up the names.
"Haha, it seems it's your lucky day Sasha...you will be sharing the next hours with Nikki!"
"WHAT?! OHH FUCK, WHY DON'T YOU JUST KILL ME!"
"Come on Space Kid, pick the second duo." The boy did so and... "Dang and Nerris, you never even talked to one another, did you?" They only shrugged. "Well, that makes it less entertaining, NEXT." As Space Kid and Nikki pulled out the names of their teammates, Gwen wrote them in a chart on a board.
"That's all kids, these are the duels:
Grumpy Bears vs. Dizzy Deer
Nikki - Sasha vs. Tabii - Neil
Erin - Brian vs. Dang - Nerris
Snake - Max vs. Harrison - Pikeman
Petrol - Hwan vs. Vera - Dolph
Nurf - Preston vs. Scotty - Space Kid"
"Would you look at that!" Scotty muttered in an evil tone. "Luck is always by my side, I see."
...
"Out of all my teammates it had to be HIM." Snake grumbles. "We'll have to work as...a team, fuck."
...
"I hate you right now Nikki." Max gives the middle finger to the camera.
...
"Fighting against Snake...it won't be easy, I still remember that punch he gave me in the last challenge." Pikeman rubs his cheek. "And it still hurts."
...
"Zis is my time to show off my skills to Vera, then she vill realize I'm suited to be part of her team of spies." Dolph cheers up.
...
"I hope I don't screw up this challenge or Nurf will abuse me again." Preston starts to cry but rapidly turns to see the camera again. "Physical abuse, you naughty jerks."
...
"The pair who beat their opponents get a point for their team." Gwen continued explaining.
"Okay, but what do we have to do?" Harrison prompted.
"Each encounter will have to perform a task of one of the camps your parents signed you up for. Aaand to prove none of this is rigged, we'll have Quartermaster to pick the challenges from you." The counselor pointed to him with a smile.
"If you're involving me into this at least let me choose from the challenges I prepared." The old man said blankly, taking out another paper bag with a skull drawn on it.
"Uhh, what kind of challenges are there?" She hesitated.
"Come one Gwen, it wouldn't be a surprise if I tell you what they are." His monotone voice made everyone feel uncomfortable.
Gwen giggled nervously and turned to David. "Why don't you do it instead?"
"So, you're turning down my offer." Unexpectedly, his eyes watered. "I just wanted to lend a hook."
"You guys are okay I pick the challenges?" David asked to the group.
"Nope." Max said blandly.
"Aw, okay." The man stepped away disappointed.
"Let's end this now, please!" Preston shouted. "The waiting is killing me!"
"Yeah, fuck you all, I'm gonna do it myself." Gwen pulled out all five in one attempt. "So, we have Extreme Sports, Magic, Art, Space and Science. You'll do them in that order, so the first duel you see here in the chart will have to do the Extreme Sports challenge, the second one will do the Magic challenge and so on, got it?"
EXTREME SPORTS: Nikki - Sasha vs. Tabii - Neil
MAGIC: Erin - Brian vs. Dang - Nerris
ART: Snake - Max vs. Harrison - Pikeman
SPACE: Petrol - Hwan vs. Vera - Dolph
SCIENCE: Nurf - Preston vs. Scotty - Space Kid
"Oh, extreme sports for us? I'm so gonna nail that challenge!" Nikki cheered up happily. "After all I learned from my girl I'm an expert at that."
"You better be." The Flower Scout leader scowled at her.
"Magic challenge?! I'll have to do one of Harrison's stupid magic tricks?!" Nerris complained.
"Haha, at least you'll get to learn actual magic and not the fictional shit you do." The illusionist laughed loudly.
"Oh come on, I expected something better, something more challenging...not that girly stuff." Pikeman grumbled.
"Take that back, scumbag!" The German painter yelled.
"Shut your yaps, we're starting off right now with our first battle: Nikki and Sasha against Tabii and Neil!" Gwen spoke up through a megaphone. "For the Extreme Sports challenge you have to complete an obstacle course, both teams got one skateboard to ride on, the first ones to complete five laps win."
Both pairs got on their skateboards and went up to the starting point on a high ramp. The track was circular and it included, from start to finish, a thirty feet skateboard ramp, a line of traffic cones to zigzag, a handrail to skid on, mines under the ground to avoid and a tennis ball launcher throwing deadly balls to dodge.
"That looks...really dangerous." Neil stuttered.
"I could lead the way if you want." Tabii offered, to what the science kid nodded; then placed himself behind her, resting his hands on her waist tightly. She instantly blushed.
"You stay on the front, if we crash or get hit you'll soften the pain." Sasha told her companion.
"'Kay." Nikki simply muttered.
"On your marks, get set, GO!" Gwen blew an air horn and the race began.
Both teams slid down the ramp as soon as they heard the loud noise. The descent wasn't too bad since it could be handled without any problem by both duos; after that, the traffic cones awaited them, this was a harder part to pass through indeed, while Nikki managed to zigzag them hitting only two cones, Tabbi ran over almost all of them and she and her companion fell off the board and landed on a mud puddle.
"My uniform!" The girl shrieked wiping all the dirt off her attire.
Neil took her hand and pulled her back onto the board. "Stop whining, they're way far ahead of us." As the Deer got back on track, Nikki and Sasha were already on the mine field.
"Hold tight, I'm gonna speed up." The turquoise-haired girl warned with a smirk.
"Wait, but how will you avoid the mines if you-" The adventurer propelled the board with her foot and went straight on when an explosion launched them up in the sky. The ginger let out a scream while her companion roared with laughter. Thanks to that, they ended up landing on the finish line, not even going through the last part. The Bears had completed the first lap, whereas the Deer were just finishing to slide on the handrail with noticeable difficulty.
"The mine field." Neil said thinking how they could avoid them. "I've got it, Tabii, hand me your badges."
The Flower scout hesitated. "W-why?" She covered them reluctant to do so.
"I need them to figure out where the mines are." He prompted extending his arm to grab them, but she shoved his hand.
"No, use yours!"
"I don't have any."
...
"Now that I think of it, this camp doesn't award you by giving one crappy patch at the very least?" Neil wonders.
...
The blonde looked at her four badges and then at the science kid. "Fine, but you owe me one." She handed them over. Sasha's groans could be heard from behind while Neil threw the badges. "Quick, they're approaching."
"Already? Fuck, we're a lap behind." Four explosions indicated them the right way to continue, although it also helped their opponents.
Both teams stared at each other. "Hi, Neil!" Nikki waved smiling and accelerated, leaving the kids coughing in a cloud of dust.
"It seems the Bears are going to win this challenge!" Gwen announced in a happy tone.
...
"I'm glad to know I mastered the heck out of that race, my girl would be so proud." Nikki sniffles while wiping a tear.
...
"Ugh, I lost my badges for nothing! Those aren't just there for decoration, they actually allow you to have access to some places on our camp." The blonde hisses. "Say goodbye to the R-rated movies Tabii."
...
"And the winners are the Grumpy Bears!" Nikki and a scruffy-looking Sasha crossed the finish line for the fifth time. The ginger collapsed onto the ground while Gwen wrote down a point for them on the board. "Now, for the next part: Erin and Brian against Dang and Nerris, you guys have to perform a classic magic trick you'll watch here on this clip."
Quartermaster pulled a laptop on a desk which played a magic trick by the famous Masked Magician. It was the one about the coin traveling through the glass from one hand to the other.
...
"Oh, come on, you couldn't show them anything easier than that? That's the simplest trick of all time!" Harrison grumbles. "If they can't figure that out I'd gladly do the chainsaw trick on them. If you didn't get that that's one I never did before so I'd probably do it wrong." He explains smiling.
...
"Harrison's magic, I know! I never thought I would end up doing his stupid magic or whatever he calls it!" Nerris shouts in anger.
...
"Is that all? Pff, piece of cake." Brian shook his hand in the air. His partner didn't look too convinced, though.
The groundskeeper handed them over the coins and a glass table to start the trick. "You only have FIVE attempts to do it successfully." Gwen remarked. "So let's get moving."
"Shouldn't you have shown us how it is done? I mean, what was the point of having THE Masked Magician do it if you are not going to show the whole thing?" The sorceress asked impatiently.
Her teammate pulled her arm. "Just do it, don't complain."
She groaned in anger. "Fine, how is it done?" She put a finger on her chin thoughtfully. "I'm trying to recall the times Harrison showed me that trick..."
"You two always argue about the same thing and you can't remember well? Jeez..."
"Well it's because his tricks are dumb and he never revealed one to me." The girl folded her arms.
"Yeah, because that is a really convincing explanation..." The Thai kid responded sarcastically. "Why don't you just admit you like him..."
"WHAT?! Fucking no! Blegh..." She mimicked almost vomiting. "Let's just do this."
"Whatever you say." The boy smirked in response.
"Get those wands to work kids! This is a magical challenge!" David added as the campers glared at him.
"There are no magic wands here David, it's only an illusion." A deadpan Gwen explained.
The Bears did their first attempt. Brian positioned the coin on the center of the table and put his hand over to cover it. Then, he slid his other arm under the glass and placed his hand in the same position the other one was, as if he was pressing the coin. "Erin, count to three." The blue-haired girl nodded and did so and, when she finished, Brian took his hands off the table to show his magic. Everyone looked expectantly at his last movement just until they realized nothing had happened.
"Aw man, it didn't work."
"Such amateurs." Harrison face palmed.
"Okay, that was your first try, let's see how the Deer handle it." Gwen gestured the other team to start.
Dang grabbed the coin and grinned smugly. "Let's do this." He tried to imitate what his opponent had done and, just as it had occurred minutes ago, he failed as well.
"Come on guys, think over what you saw in the clip and you might get the hang of it." The co-counselor encouraged.
It was the Bears again who tried, but this time was Erin's turn. "Um...maybe if I apply more pressure to it then the coin will teleport?"
...
"Okay, I sounded so dumb when I said that." The blue-haired Flower Scout face palms.
...
Her efforts were in vain as nothing different from the last two attempts happened. "Ugh." She muttered walking away. Nerris was shoved to the table and given the coin; she wore a blank look as everyone waited for her performance.
"Second chance to do the trick for the Deer, NOW!" Gwen shouted.
"Alright then, doing this trick is against my beliefs," She spoke up. "as it is just an idiotic illusion whoever with a small brain can do."
"Then do it." Her magical opponent dared her. She just repeated the process the three other campers had done and, incredibly, the coin magically appeared on her lower hand. Everyone went 'woah', even Harrison. "She actually did it!"
"Told ya." She flipped the coin in the air and walked away.
...
"As I said, it's not magic, you only need two coins and a good handling of your hands movements to do the illusion, TA...DA." The LARPer explains mockingly with a deadpan expression.
...
"That's a point for the Deer!" Gwen announced. She then handed four pieces of fabric to the next participants. "Snake, Max, Harrison, Pikeman, you're up." The boys took them wondering what they would be for. "For the Art challenge, in teams, you have to paint the Mona Lisa on this canvas blindfolded. Five minutes will do it.
Snake and Max stared at each other scornfully, while the magician and the leader scout had already put on the blindfolds. "How do we have to do it? Like, one does the first half and the other the second?" Harrison addressed to Space Kid.
"I'm right here." Gwen turned him to her. "Well, it's up to you," She shrugged. "you can do it that way or the two at the same time." They nodded.
"I'm doing the top and you the bottom." The Indian kid ordered aggressively to his companion.
"No, I'm doing the left part and you the right!" The Wood Scout retorted.
"That's dumb, that way it'll be even harder!"
Quartermaster took the cover off of a big old painting which revealed a copy of the Mona Lisa. "Here's a sample so you can remember it. Thirty seconds to look at it and your challenge starts."
...
"I have to admit this is a really interesting challenge to see so far. David's bug hunting? HA, so boring." Dolph laughs.
...
"Had Gwen picked a Theater challenge, I would've been the STAR!" Preston traces a line in the air with his hand proudly.
...
"Time's up and...GO!" Gwen started the chronometer.
Both duos struggled to do the painting the better they could. Since Snake and Max couldn't decide who will do each part or how they will work on it, their canvas was starting to get messy with paint of different colors all over it; meanwhile, the Deer were doing a better job, not specifically a good painting but at least they tried to cooperate.
"I think we have the face finished, now the body." Harrison said to his partner.
"Don't use that color, it'll make it look bad." Snake yelled at Max.
"How the fuck do you even know what color I'm using asshole?! Step off!"
Their teammates only face palmed at seeing the mess they were causing.
...
"Ugh, those losers act like babies. I'm literally gonna murder them if they keep behaving like that." Sasha frowns.
...
Petrol just rolls his eyes as in thinking the same as the Flower Scout.
...
"I don't get why no one liked the painting of our team. They did a wonderful job!" Hwan expresses his happiness by agitating his arms in the air. "I could buy it to give it as a gift to the Great Leader." He pulls out a roll of dollar bills and starts counting. "How much is it?"
...
We see Snake and Max's painting looking kind of like the North Korean flag while the one from the Deer is at least a human being. "And, by a huge difference, the Deer win again!" Harrison and Pikeman high-fived. "Two to one, but there are two more challenges to complete."
"Come on guys, you have to get this point or we'll lose!" Sasha called out. Petrol and Hwan turned to see her blankly. "Or else you will be fucking voted off!" They flinched.
"Guys, you will be facing Vera and Dolph in a quiz about space facts." The co-counselor announced. "Two round of five questions each."
"YAY!" Space Kid cheered. "Prepare to get wrecked by the master!" He pointed himself.
"You're not involved in this one Space Kid." Harrison said flatly.
David stepped forward and took out a book. "Alright kids, here's the first question for the Bears. How many planets are there in our solar system?" He read as his finger swiped along the lines gently.
Petrol and Hwan looked at each other puzzled. "Um, as far as I know we have the Earth, the Sun and the Moon." The officer acknowledged, counting with his fingers. "And I doubt you expect us to count every star on the sky, do you?"
"Petrol, any guess?" Gwen directed to the big guy. The Wood Scout frowned thinking pensively when he snapped his fingers and was about to answer.
"Four!" The Korean kid shouted out.
"Oh, I'm sorry Bears but that's not the correct answer."
"Damn."
...
"I thought all the stars counted as one." Hwan explains his response.
...
"Seriously, how come you reached to that conclusion?!" The astronaut yelled furiously.
"Calm down nerd, they're not from our team." Dang glared at him.
David interrupted by asking the first question for the Deer. "Vera, Dolph, what is the largest planet in our solar system?"
The Russian girl took a step forward and replied. "Fortunately, I know that one, the largest planet in our solar system is-"
"Oh, oh, I know that one too! Let me answer please!" The German kid begged with puppy eyes.
...
"I didn't want to disappoint her, that was MY moment." Dolph stresses.
...
"Okay Dolph, this is YOUR moment." David seemed to be prompting him which made him feel nervous, but it was just his mind tricking him.
"Oh, um...the largest planet in our solar system is..." He looked around, the creepy gazes of his fellow campers landing on him freaked him out. Then he turned to see Vera, much taller than him, who just raised a brow in confusion. He shuddered, teeth chattering and body sweating, but stood up firmly and tried to recall the time he was asked to paint a solar system picture for one of his school projects. Of course it didn't need to be a perfect painting, after all they all were still kids, but he couldn't help but do his best and recreate a wonderful handmade acrylic painting of it. He remembered asking his dad how many planets there were, and what their names were. "They were: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter..." He didn't need to keep naming them, something inside him told him that was the one. "...Jupiter."
"Aaand the Deer take one point." Gwen announced. "Now, to make things more interesting and challenging, remember I said there are two rounds of five questions each?" She took the silence as a yes. "Well, since Hwan and Dolph were the first ones of their respective teams to answer, the first round of this quiz will be completed by them, meaning that the second round belongs to Petrol and Vera."
"That's not fair, the guy doesn't even talk." Brian complained.
"That's your problem for picking him." The co-counselor raised her hand up as a 'stop' sign.
"We did not pick him!" He spat furiously.
The counselors ignored him as David stepped forward again and read aloud the second question for Hwan. "What is the smallest planet in our solar system?"
The officer hesitated before replying. "Planet Destroyer." Everyone chorused a 'What?'. "That's the smallest atomic bomb made by my country, hehe..." He giggled.
...
"How was I supposed to know that? I don't give a shit about planets, why care about them if we can destroy all of them whenever we want..." He folds his arms. "They should make a quiz in knowledge about bombs and weapons, that's my stuff."
...
"Sorry Hwan, you still have no points." David turned to Dolph. "Now, for your second question, how many moons does the Earth have?"
This time the kid didn't think twice and responded quickly. "One."
"That's right!"
...
"I can't believe I answered all of them correctly!" The painter cheers up smiling. "I'm gaining respect from my team."
...
"Cool, I got one point." Hwan says proudly. "All I had to do was say Jupiter for all the questions left until I got right the one about which planet has the most moons."
...
"First round is over, the Deer are winning five to one. Take five and come back for the second one." Gwen announced.
Every team member returned with their companions; meanwhile, the clown kid dragged Space Kid behind a bush and whispered. "I need you to do something for a poor camper here."
The astronaut gasped. "Oh, what's wrong?" His teammate reached his ear and talked about it in a calm inaudible voice, making him gasp and cover his mouth with both hands.
...
"I'm really shocked, I never thought Petrol was keen on space too!" The naive astronaut reveals what Scotty had told him. "It appears that he lost his voice in a space trip, I didn't know going there could be so dangerous you could lose your voice." He sighs. "I just hope that doesn't happen to me." He rubs his throat. "So, just for the sake of another spaceman, I will help him answer all the questions!" He shouts determinedly.
...
"Hahaha, what a dork!" Scotty bangs the wall laughing.
...
"We are back for the next round of this exciting quiz!" This time David was the one who spoke up. "Five to one in favor of the Deer, now Petrol and Vera face each other to earn a point for their team. Are you ready kids?" He lifted the book. "First question to the Bears: What has a gravitational pull so strong that even light cannot escape it?"
The Wood Scout's face expression dropped at that question, nothing came to his mind. Suddenly, a low-pitched voice responded "a black hole". It sounded like Space Kid's voice but edited. Everyone looked around, even Petrol, the voice came out from a little speaker attached to his uniform. He grabbed it to inspect what it was when he heard a psst from one of his opponents. He looked up to see Space Kid waving at him with a smile; the astronaut gave him a thumbs-up and mouthed not to say a word. The big guy raised a brow, not understanding why he would help him, but kept it a secret.
"So, that's how your voice sound?" Nikki snorted. "Funny."
Vera squinted suspiciously until David called her attention by asking her the next question. "How long was the shortest space flight?"
"The shortest? Ha, must be not even one second from all the fake American flights."
"Um, no, that's not the correct answer. It's actually 15 minutes." David returned to Petrol. "Which NASA space flight was the last manned mission to the moon?"
Petrol feigned thinking when he saw Space Kid signal him to open his mouth. "Apollo 17."
"Correct!"
"Hey, how the fuck does he know all of that?" Vera inquired sharply, then fixed her eyes on Pikeman.
"Don't look at me, I'm not helping him...and I didn't even know he knew about space!" He put his hands in front of him scared.
"Quiet kids, second question to Vera: Who was the person spending the longest continuous time in space?"
"Valeri Polyakov." She uttered in an angry loud voice.
"Correct!"
"Yes!" She cheered up for the first time.
[To speed things up a bit, now it will play a montage of the next questions]
"Petrol: What is the closest star to the Sun?"
"Proxima Centauri."
"Vera: What's the diameter of the Earth's moon?"
"Um...1,500?"
"Wrong, 2,159!"
"Petrol: What's the largest crater on Earth's moon?"
"The South Pole-Aitken basin."
"That's a point for the Bears!"
"Vera: What flavor ice cream did Baskin-Robbins release in 1969 to commemorate America's landing on the moon?"
"How the fuck would I know that?!"
"Alright, last question for Petrol: What is the most common type of star found in the Milky Way?"
"Red dwarf stars."
"And that's another point for the Bears!"
"Vera, your last question is: Which constellation is located the hottest place in the universe in?"
"You're kidding, right?"
"Well, the second round ends in five to one as well but in favor of the Bears; that means you are even in 6. To break the tie, I will ask you one last question; the first one to answer correctly, out of either the four of you, earn the last and winning point for their team." Everyone listened carefully. "Pay close attention to this one because you must love space in order to have this specific piece of information." Space Kid felt challenged at this one, so he closed his eyes to gain more concentration. "Who is the great-grandson of the American astronaut Neil Alden Armstrong?" Space Kid opened his eyes widely, that cannot be serious. Him on a book about trivia about space? He jumped elated to answer that question.
"IT'S ME, IT'S ME, NEIL ARMSTRONG JR." Bad move. His voice sounded through the device he gave to Petrol, disclosing his betrayal.
Even though David and Gwen understood what was going on, they gave the Bears the last point, making them win the Space challenge. Vera scowled at the astronaut, feeling the desire of killing him right there. "What the fuck have you DONE?!" She leaned in to intimidate him. "If we lose the last challenge you are going down." The kid gulped and looked over behind her where all his teammates stared at him nodding to the Russian girl's words. Only one was with a different expression, and it was Scotty, who was laughing madly, though the poor boy didn't notice.
"Settle down campers, you can continue that fight in the elimination ceremony." Gwen chuckled, enjoying the drama among the kids. "That if you lose obviously."
...
"I saw that chuckle, is she trying to make us lose?" Neil wonders.
...
Quartermaster brought a trash bag filled with old stuff from the camp and tossed it to the ground; then he opened a box revealing a set of different chemicals and placed it on a table. "Alright, for the last challenge, the Science challenge, you kids have to create a bomb to destroy one of these old cabins right here." The co-counselor pointed to two cabins falling apart themselves.
"WAIT, A BOMB?!" David asked preoccupied. "Aren't you taking this a little too far?" His eyes were wide open.
"Well, we actually did something similar in the last Camporee, remember?"
[Flashback plays on David's mind reminding us of Neil's round on it]
"Guess you're right." He shrugged and let her continue with a hand gesture.
"You can use any object you want from all this junk." She pointed to the piled up garbage on the ground. "The bomb that makes the most damage wins...and hey, you only have five minutes to do so! Ready? GO!"
Scotty and Space Kid ran to pick anything that could help. They were scattering junk all over the place when Nurf pushed them violently. "Fuck off!" Then he took a bunch of trash and left it on their worktable. Preston, meanwhile, grabbed some bottles from the chemicals box and joined the bully.
A few seconds had passed when Scotty recovered from the hit and saw Space Kid lying on the ground a bit dizzy.
...
"The first part of my plan was already completed, Space Kid was the main target to get eliminated and we only needed to lose, but I couldn't take the risk of making it too obvious." Scotty explains.
...
"Three minutes left!" Gwen announced.
"Come on dude, get up!" He shook his companion a bit as the latter moaned in agony. The clown glanced over the other team already working on their bomb, then returned his gaze to Space Kid who seemed unconscious. "Damn, I'll have to do it myself, otherwise I might get booted out instead of him." He said under his breath. Scotty ran and took random objects and chemicals to create his bomb.
"What are we making Nurf?" The theater kid inquired disoriented.
"Gimme that bottle of gasoline." He ordered. "Now this cloth in its mouth and...DONE!" It was a Molotov cocktail.
"Just one minute guys." Scotty began sweating while working faster. Actually, he didn't know anything about making bombs but he tried to mix different chemicals in a test tube, with no explosion afterwards, luckily for him. He figured the impact of it colliding into the cabin would create at least a minor explosion. He wished it happened. "Ten, nine, eight, seven..."
Preston got alarmed by the countdown, took the bottle and threw it at the cabin. "WAIT, WE DIDN'T LIGHT IT." Nurf's voice came from the background, but it was too late since it had already crashed into the ground, a few inches from the door, which meant zero damage.
Scotty threw his bomb and was able to crash just one window. "Uhh, okay...that was rather ridiculous." Gwen scratched her head. "But since Scotty made at least a little damage...he and Space Kid get the last point, thus making the Dizzy Deer the winners of today's challenge!" She announced cheerfully.
Words of happiness sounded around the place. The Grumpy Bears would go to elimination again.
...
"Goddammit, just when I thought I could make Space Kid leave, this had to happen." Scotty pinches his nose. "Next time he's leaving for good, I don't care if I have to expose myself to do so." He stops abruptly. "Okay, that wasn't right, I'm just a bit tired, that's all." His eyelids drop and then he leaves the confessional.
...
Vera, Dang and Dolph were hanging around the camp when Space Kid passed by after fully recovering from the pain.
"You were lucky to win last challenge." Dang faced him. "Don't think we'll forget what you did easily."
Vera moved forward to confront him too. "Actually, he didn't do anything, the clown managed to win alone, so if you don't make up for it in the next challenge, consider yourself out of the game."
The astronaut looked at them with a worry expression on his face. What could he do to repair his mistake? Dolph only listened to his new friends telling him off. Even though he thought it wasn't cool of them to threaten the poor kid, he remained silent.
...
"I'm in trouble, I don't know what to do!" Space Kid shivers. "I should get someone's help, an alliance is my only option to get out of this."
...
Preston face palms while talking. "My performance today was embarrassing, I know. I need a challenge I could handle to show everyone I can do better."
...
"Yeah, that Preston isn't useful at all." Sasha ponders. "Max and Snake didn't do well either, I'm sure they'll never get along if both of them remain on the team." She continues analyzing. "It's hard to choose."
...
Max approached Snake behind the trailer cautiously, assuring himself no one noticed him. "Okay, you and I clearly worked as badly as fuck today, so most people are probably voting us off."
"What do you suggest we do?" The Wood Scout inquired.
"We have four more people who lost too, but Erin and Brian at least tried, and so did Nurf."
Snake thought about it a bit. "Got it." They shook hands.
...
Snake sighs. "I had no choice, as much as I wanted to vote Max off, he was right. This is still the beginning and the weaker competitors must go first."
...
The light coming from the campfire illuminated the lake. There was full moon, and the howling from wolves could be heard in this tense elimination night. The Grumpy Bears were already sat on the stumps, eagerly expecting to get saved by the white candy on David's tray. "So, second time being here at the bonfire in a row." The counselor smiled. "Although a little dangerous at times, today was quite an exciting challenge, and really well-prepared." He glanced at his co-counselor who smiled back in response. "As you know, the camper who doesn't get a marshmallow must immediately go to the Path of Shame and take the Bus of Losers, and forget about coming back...for a while." Some children looked attentively and some others seemed nervous.
"The first marshmallow of the evening goes to..." Gwen spoke up this time, taking one candy on her hand. "Nikki."
"Yippee!" She jumped off her seat.
"The following camper is..." She eyed the group back and forth. "Sasha." The ginger smirked satisfied. "Nurf, Petrol, come claim your marshmallows because you two are safe." With a grin, both of them went to receive their prize to stay at the game. Six campers remained, of which all but Hwan had failed in their challenges. The gap between each call was getting into their nerves.
"Come on Gwen, I thought you wouldn't do that damn long pause!" Nurf yelled with his mouth full.
"You are safe Nurf so why would you care?" The woman frowned. "Hwan."
"Yeah, I live to see another day!" The Korean officer exclaimed.
"The next two to receive their marshmallows are Brian and Erin." The kids simply smiled. "That leaves us with the three of you." Snake, Max and Preston were the ones left. "Snake and Max, your poor team work made your performance be a total failure." Hwan secretly held their painting behind his back. "Preston, you better improve your physical skills for the future." The theater kid gave her a cold stare while folding his arms. "The next marshmallow goes to Max." Snake opened his mouth in surprise while watching the Indian kid getting his prize. Tension increased among the two remaining campers. The Wood Scout clenched his fists, prepared to punch anyone if he was the one leaving. "The last marshmallow of the evening goes to..."
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
"Snake."
"Noooo!" The theater boy shrieked. "The acting, the drama, my love for stage plays...ended by a stupid game, HOW COULD I FAIL?!"
"Okay, that's enough." Nurf punched him in the face sending him right into the bus.
David and Gwen stood in front of the camera and faced us. "Wow, that was a really dramatic elimination, wasn't it?" The man commented.
"I think it was. I'm glad I could add my presence to this episode." Added Gwen.
Her companion stopped himself after realizing something. "Wait, didn't you say we're not on TV?" The girl nodded. "Then why are you talking as if there was a camera right there." He pointed to us.
"Oh, I'm just playing along with you." She giggled.
The main counselor smiled at her. "I love the new Gwen, so happy and lively!"
"God that feels so out of place, don't you think?" Max scratched his head, directing the question to his friend.
Nikki studied the scene. "Hmm, and backwards too, you noticed David is acting carelessly lately?"
"Yep, but to be honest I prefer him like that." He started to head out to the trailer. "See you Nikki." He waved goodbye.
"See ya Max!"
Unexpectedly for you, I finished this chapter quicker than any other time. As you may notice, I shortened the number of words (that's one reason why it is out already) and I'll tell you why: I think there is no need to reach a higher number to develop a story like this, I mean, in the last two chapters I included too many details of background, movements, expressions, all the stuff one could make out easily by just watching the show on TV. What I'm trying to do now is going straight to the point so as to not make the reading heavy and tedious, even for me whenever revising the chapters. Hope this change doesn't affect your following to this story. I don't know how many people actually do but I'll continue doing this as I'm really enjoying it :)
Anyway, hope you enjoy this one, please review if you like it, thanks for following and see you in the next update!