". . . Lewis?" I narrowed my eyes at the voice. "What? What could you possibly want from me, now?" I asked, putting down the pen, to the left of my journal. I turned around and looked at my dad, expecting something to be taken from me, again. "I promise - it's nothing bad, it's just that. . . you're not acting like yourself lately. I wanted to know if you were okay."
I furrowed my brows at this. "I'm sorry?" "Huh? I asked if you were okay." He repeated. "I know that, I heard you. It's just. . . just that- NOW you want to know if I'm okay? I dunno, man, it's a pretty horrible time to ask if I'm okay. About, hm. . . two months late? I'm not in the mood." I explained, turning back around. ". . . Okay, sorry." I heard him leave, and sighed.
I don't hate my dad, it's just. . . there were so many other times where he could've asked. The hospital being the main one! And- I KNOW I should be grateful he's asking at all, but I'm really not! He's really gotten on my nerves, and I really should tell him, but then, I'll upset him, and I don't wanna make my dad upset!
I. . . I can't deal with this today. . .
I really need a break.
*
A night out of the trailers was much, much better than I imagined. Well, until it wasn't, with the whole 'are you okay' thing, but. . . yeah.
I walked into the boys' trailers, saw no sign of Duncan, and woke Owen up by accident. "No pillow whipped at my head? No angry threat to 'stick a cork in it'?" He asked, before sitting up with a gasp. "Where's Duncan?!" Duncan walked past me, groaning in exhaustion. I looked at him in concern, before leading him over to, and sitting down on, a bed.
"Where were you all night?" I asked, a motherly tone in my voice. "An alien abduction?!" Owen worriedly followed up. And. . . unnecessarily continued. "It was, wasn't it?! You were subjected to a night of alien probing! OH, THE HUMANITY!" Duncan yawned, and rubbed his eyes. "Chill, Owen. . . I spent the night in Courtney's trailer. . ." "Really? What did you do all night? C'mon, c'mon!" He teased, but neither me nor Duncan were in the mood.
I sent a glare over to Owen, which shut him up. "Calm down, Owen. . . we talked. Y'know, about relationship stuff. It's. . . a little hazy. I'll let you know after I read this." He held up a large stack of papers, and I widened my eyes. "Oh, tell me that isn't. . ." I began. "Thirty two pages of Courtney outlining my faults and how to correct them if we're ever going to have a serious relationship. All of which. . . she expects me to memorize." Duncan finished off, still as tired as ever.
I furrowed my brows at this, and took it from his hand, to look at it myself. "I think I would've preferred a night of alien probing." Duncan said, looking at me skimming it. He then stretched, yawned, and laid down on the bed, shifting so he was behind me, and I wasn't in the way of his napping space. "This is crazy." I muttered.
Unfortunately, Dad wouldn't let Duncan get any rest, for he blew a trumpet directly into his ear, and yelled at him. "Wake up, sleepy heads! Breakfast is served, along with today's movie challenge! You have ten minutes to get down there." He left us three, and walked backwards, out the trailer. Duncan rubbed his head, before lying back down. "Great. Maybe I'll get lucky, and today's genre will be a guy in a coma movie."
Owen put his two index fingers together nervously. "Did you say something? I heard: 'breakfast is served', and then it kinda all gets hazy after that. . .'" I sighed, and stood up, still holding the stack of papers. "Come on, Duncan."
*
I walked into Craft Services with Duncan and Owen, fairly annoyed to see how happy Courtney looked with her life. Beth complimented Chef's food, which was a real shocker. "Wow, Chef, these scrambled eggs actually look pretty good!" He looked to see if she was serious, and when he saw that she was, he burst out laughing at her. "Scrambled eggs!?" He fell back, still laughing at her seriousness, kicking his legs.
/// Beth ///
"I totally heard every word! Well. . . almost every word. I dozed off around page nine, section three, paragraph four. . . then again, on page twenty two, section eleven, paragraph eight. Poor Duncan!"
/// End ///
I huffed, and dropped the stack of papers on the table, before sitting down with everyone else. It made a loud thud as it hit the table, and knocked Courtney out of her thoughts. She looked up from the papers to see me, clearly not very pleased with her. Duncan sighed, and looked up. "Hey, babe. . ." She obviously wasn't happy to hear that.
"Duncan! I believe we agreed that only I would engage in the use of pet names. It's on page three, section five. You promised to memorize that letter verbatim!" I blinked at this. It was getting worse the more I heard. "I- I will, I will. . . I'm just. . . really tired right now. Aren't you?" Owen and Beth looked at each other in worry.
Courtney ignored his question. "Don't worry, I forgive you. Just like I forgave the three hundred and sixteen minor transgressions I outlined in my letter. . . but, I expect you to memorize that letter, so it doesn't happen again!" "Anything for you, bab- Courtney. . ." "You may hold me now." She said, as if it were something to be grateful of.
". . . Anyone else think this is already bad?" I said, whispering at Owen and Beth. Owen, though, was actually gagging. "I know, this is sickening!" Beth said with folded arms. She turned her head to Owen, and we both found he was actually choking. She literally pushed me out of the way to fail the Heimlich manoeuvre, because Owen got it out himself.
He panted for breath, but my attention was brought away when Courtney's phone loudly beeped. "New message? I- I just need to check. . ." Dad put a stop to that, and when I looked up at him, he had a parrot on his shoulder.
Well, I'm guessing this is either an animal-themed movie, or a horrible, human-mutation movie.
"Attention, cast!" The parrot squawked, and Duncan raised a brow. "Dude, what's with the flying rat on your shoulder?" "It's a-" I began, but, of course, Dad cut me off. "It's my new BFFF. Best Flying Friend Forever!" "Never say that again." I said out loud, folding my arms. ". . . That brings us to today's movie genre. . . the animal buddy flick!"
Everyone raised a brow at him. "Well- YOU try coming up with twenty six movie genres! It was either animal movies, or guy in a coma movies, and SOMEBODY wanted the second option!" He argued, a whine in his voice. I rolled my eyes at his childishness. "The hallmark of animal buddy flicks is animal-slash-human bonding. First, the human and the animal start out as enemies, then through many misadventures, animal and human grow to care about each other, and become fast friends."
The parrot, much to my shock, rubbed up against Dad, and, although it looked happy, it bit him anyway. He narrowed his eyes. "You guys, just. . . hang tight for a second, okay?" I immediately knew his intent, and swiftly took it off him. "I thought you said we WERN'T harming animals on set. Keep your promise, jerk." I muttered, walking outside with the poor bird.
I did not like how it nuzzled up against my hand. "No- You gotta. . . we gotta let you go, dude." It stayed in my hand, and refused to leave, despite me literally pulling it off my hand. "Parrot dude, you gotta go. They're gonna cook you, man!" Not a care in the world. In fact, it hopped up to my shoulder, and nuzzled against my face, purring like a CAT.
With a defeated sigh, I put a hand to my head. "Fine. . . another animal to my collection. . . just don't eat my mice, 'kay?" It squawked, seemingly promising me that it wouldn't. I walked back inside, trying to brush off the fact that this exotic bird wasn't enthusiastic to leave me. "Right. The first animal buddy challenge will be to pick an animal, and teach it to be like you. Shouldn't be too hard, since you're all animals!"
Not a singular contestant found his joke funny.
What a surprise. . .
". . . Ahem. The cast member whose animal most resembles them at the end. . . wins the challenge!" He finished off, and Beth was the only one that enthusiastically grinned at that. In fact, Beth was the only one that grinned, period.
/// Beth ///
"I've always shared a bond with nature's creatures. When I was kid, I made friends with rats in our attic! It was just like. . . um. . . Cinderella, oh my gosh, yeah! I'm like Cinderella!"
/// End ///
Courtney was getting a bit touchy with Duncan, while I was trying to think of a name for this bird. "Alright, cast, time to meet your future BFFFFF's, Best Furry, Feathered or Finned Friends Forever!" Chef visibly rolled his eyes at Dad's antics, and I was inclined to do the same. He pulled the sheet off of all the containers, and some of these animals. . . . were questionable to take into captivity.
The bear, can I mention, I KNEW from Camp Wawanakwa, and I also knew the raccoon, the shark was clearly related in some way to the one responsible for my injuries, and the chameleon. . .
Well, the chameleon was just kind of existing. I had no problems with him.
"Pick an animal, and get training. You have three hours." Courtney was strangely possessive over the shark, for some really weird reason. "I got the shark! The shark's mine! YES!" She literally pushed Beth over for it. She hugged the glass tank, and the shark blinked at this for a second, not sure about why some human was so happy.
/// Beth ///
She angrily folded her arms. "Actually, it makes perfect sense. Those two are made for each other! The difference is. . . one would eat you alive, and the other one's a SHARK!" She exclaimed, widening both her eyes and her arms.
/// End ///
I tapped my foot impatiently as I waited for the other three to make their pick of the patch. Courtney had the strength to push the whole shark and the tank away without any help, so I wasn't too concerned about her and the shark. "Hm. I'll take the chameleon, in tribute to my reptilian friend, Scruffy." He practically teared up over the topic.
"Fair choice. I'm sorry about Scruffy, though, man." I said, handing the crate over to him. Owen raised a brow. "Dude, Scruffy was a bug." "Nobody talks about Scruffy like that! NOBODY!" He prodded Owen's chest threateningly with his finger, which worked, because Owen ran away, and hid behind the caged bear.
"I'll take the bear! All they do is eat and sleep, we're practically related!" He reasoned, laughing nervously. The bear was not amused. "That leaves this little guy. . . I have a soft spot for vermin." Beth explained, getting down on the raccoon's level. She held out her hand to it questioningly. "Shake a paw. . .?" It scratched at her hand, and she quickly backed up.
"Please tell me this cute creature has been tested for rabies!" She pleaded both Dad and Chef, practically trembling at their knees. "Natch!" She fell to the ground, groaning in relief. However, it was clear they hadn't. "Did we check for rabies. . . ?"I scoffed quietly, and took the raccoon out of its cage, which it was clearly stressed out in.
Naturally, it calmed down as soon as it was out. Either that, or it liked me. I wouldn't be surprised if it were the second option, because that bear seems to be liking me, too. I grimaced, before walking over to Beth, and just placing the raccoon next to her.
With a sigh, I walked off, making sure to avoid those four animals, because they all did not feel comfortable doing anything with their caretakers yet, and they wanted to be around someone they knew. Which was. . . me. . . unfortunately. I can't catch a break with humans, and I really want one from animals.
Especially this parrot. . .
*
[3rd Person P.O.V.]
*
Duncan's chameleon was shifting colours, to Duncan's order. "No, no, no! I told you! Bright green, like my mohawk!" He pointed to his hair. "Not that wussy moss green! Come on, get it right!" It suddenly changed to a very intense red.
Beth was 'spending time' with her raccoon, and it didn't seem to like her, which was already obvious. "Come on, boy, you can do it!" She held up a dog treat, and it immediately started behaving itself. "Roll over! Play dead!" It began growling again, still not following any instructions. ". . . Anything?"
Courtney had tried the honest approach - probably the worst one. "Okay! Let's not waste each other's time, here. I don't like you, and you don't like me. But, if you help me get to the finals, I'll make you a very rich shark. . ."
Duncan had already drifted off in front of his chameleon, which was currently yellow. Courtney called loudly over to him, which made him panic. "Duncan! Hour's almost up!" "H-Huh!? Hour for what?!" Courtney frowned at this. "Page two, section five, ring any bells? You promised to compliment me every hour."
He quickly took out the stack of papers worriedly. "Oh, yeah, right, uh. . . y-you. . . you have. . . nice teeth." She widened her eyes at the compliment, before furrowing her brows. "Oh, come on! Stop messing around with that lizard." It hissed at her angrily, and turned purple. ". . . And get memorising!" She ordered, before continuing. "What's more important? Winning some stupid challenge, or making me happy?"
Lewis, who was watching this from a distance, growled under his breath, and spoke to the parrot on his shoulder. "God, I hope I'm not the only one who thinks she's abusive. . . you see that in their relationship too, right?" The parrot repeated the word, 'abusive', but was shut up by Lewis. "Shush-! Don't repeat that. Someone'll hear that, and you'll get us BOTH in trouble. Got it?" "Got it!" It responded, and Lewis released a sigh of relief. "Good girl."
/// Duncan ///
"Hey, I like Courtney, I really do! But. . . I also like a million big ones. Best case scenario. . . I win the money AND the girl! But, if it comes down to it, I need money more than I need some high maintenance chick, with a superiority complex." He realized what he had just said. "Don't. . . tell her I said that, okay?"
/// End ///
Owen was enjoying a large lollipop in front of the caged bear, and just when he was about to take another lick of it, the bear snatched it from him. He gasped loudly, and watched as it enjoyed it more than him. Chris snuck over, and whispered something to him, before heading off.
/// Owen ///
"When Chris offered me money to sabotage the other cast members. . . I didn't really handle it well. . . Now, I kind of dig it! Well, as long as I mess with everyone equally. Because, you know. If I mess with everyone equally, then I'm not giving anybody the advantage!"
/// End ///
Duncan was still threatening the chameleon, and it wasn't doing what he wanted. "Last chance, if you know what's good for you, get it right!" Owen came down on a wire, and spray-painted Duncan's hair white.
Unfortunately. . . the chameleon actually listened to the order. "Wrong." Owen then spray-painted it a variety of colours, including brown. . . "Wrong again." . . . and plaid. Like, the pattern. "Not even close! What are you, colour blind!?" It hissed at him, annoyingly. "Stop hissing at me!"
Courtney was trying to get the shark to be a cheerleader, for some reason. . . "Ready? Here we go!" She started cheering, and it was certainly pathetic, to say the least. . . "F. I. S. H. Y! You ain't got no alibi! You fishy! Uh-huh! You fishy! Uh-uh!" The movements made seemed to interest Duncan, some ways more than others. . .
"Come on, get your fins up! Fins up! Come on, get your fins up! GET YOUR FINS UP!" The shark wasn't even touching their set of pom-poms. "Okay, fine! From the top." Owen pricked his finger with a pin, and sent blood into the water. The shark smelt it, and went chaotic.
"F. I. S. H. Y! You ain't got no alibi! You fishy! Uh-uh! You fishy! Uh-huh!" The shark watched this from under the water, seeing Courtney as nothing but a meat sandwich for it to enjoy. "Hey! Bait breath. Are you getting all this, or what?" She asked threateningly. It charged the front of the tank, trying to get to her.
She backed away, startled, but quickly composed herself.
/// Courtney ///
"I've been dealing with a team of top-notch lawyers. I am NOT about to be intimidated by a glorified dolphin."
/// End ///
In an instant, both the shark and Courtney leapt at each other, fighting for control over the situation.
Beth was still trying to get the raccoon to stop growling at her, all by being friendly, and using dog treats. "It's easy! Just watch, and learn." Beth then got down onto her hands and knees, and started panting and using the rope toy on the ground like a dog would.
Surprised, the raccoon took a treat out of the box, and fed it to her, and she was not at all bothered. She even enjoyed the snack. "Mm! Thanks!" Owen came down from behind her, but stopped himself before he did anything. "Clearly. . . I'm not needed here."
"Okay. Let's try this one more time." Lewis muttered, placing both his mice down on the table again. "And, don't attack them, like the first time, please." He requested with a gentle sigh. The Kea parrot tilted their head at the two mice on the table, considering whether or not to just go for the meal, or leave it to make their caretaker happy.
"Right. . . Bismuth. . . this is Mani, and Mabel. You can't eat these two, because they are also my friends, and you can NOT be the only one. Got it?" He asked, showing the parrot a light glare. Somehow, the parrot glared back. It squawked and muttered for a few seconds, before straightening its back, and responding. "Right." ". . . Wait, really? Oh, cool. Thanks."
*
[Lewis' P.O.V.]
*
Well, I think that was a productive training session.
Bismuth, I have found, is a girl, and I have also named her Bismuth.
Y'know, as a Kea. . . it's just the best fit.
"Alright, cast. Time to judge the animal buddies!" Owen had fallen asleep on his bear, Courtney was in crutches and a few casts. . . Beth and Duncan weren't doing so bad, though. . . Beth seemed to think the same. "Courtney! You look terrible." She scoffed, before pointing behind her. "Ha! You should see the other guy." "Beth. . . you, and your raccoon are up."
Beth nervously walked up to all three of us, obviously nervous. "Sorry, guys. . . I was totally unable to teach my raccoon anything!" I raised a brow, and looked closer at what both the raccoon and Beth were doing. "Hm. . ." When Beth adjusted her glasses, the raccoon pretended to adjust the square shapes on its face.
"Oh, no! I lost my retainer!" She said, looking around for it. I blinked ONCE. And, when I opened my eyes, they were both digging through the trash, getting their face full of all that disgusting crap you find in these sort of bins. The raccoon found it, and hit her on the head with it, making her stand up. She happily took it, and put it back in her mouth.
"Well, you were wrong. It was gross, but you were wrong." I spoke, folding my arms. Chef and Dad looked at each other, before both of them gave Beth a ten. They high-fived, and it was Owen's turn to show off the training he had failed to complete.
"Alright, bear, show us your best Owen impression." Dad said. It did give them something, but it wasn't exactly an impression. It was just. . . Owen getting up and yawning, while the bear also did the same. So, he received a six, but Owen didn't get why. "Aw. . . no fair! We haven't even started yet." "Next." He didn't care, and said monotonously
Duncan was up, and I had no clue what he was gonna try. I was surprised to find that all he did was angrily point at his mohawk, and have the chameleon turn the same colour. I was also surprised that Duncan got a sixteen in total - both Chef and Dad gave him an eight for some reason.
It was Courtney's turn, and I could not see a shark, anywhere. "Shoot! I forgot I had a message. . ." She muttered, looking at her P.D.A. "Courtney. . . you seem to be short one animal buddy?" Dad questioningly spoke, looking around for the shark. She worriedly responded, trying to find some good excuse. "It. . . uh. . . it couldn't make it. . . Sashimi, anyone. . . ?" She held up some sushi, and I immediately had a bad, bad feeling.
"Hold on. . . where'd you get fresh fish around here, Courtney?" I tilted my head suspiciously. Chef seemed to pick up on the point I was trying to make, and furrowed his brows at Courtney. "Oh, please! As if I'd be that cruel!" I shared a glance with Chef in doubt, before we both looked back at Courtney.
"I have the shark a nice round house to the belly, and it coughed up its lunch. From his stomach to yours!" She happily said.
I'm not gonna lie - I was so happy in that moment that I had specific dietary requirements because of my disorder.
ONLY in that moment, though. Don't get me wrong, it sucks ass.
Both Dad and Chef gagged, but Chef was the one that went to go throw up, while Dad stayed sitting. I considered leaving to go help Chef, but I remembered he told me once just to let him help himself whenever he feels bad, 'cause he can handle it. I was only nine at the time he told me that, so. . . eh, I'm sure he still means it. . . I'm not usually one to break a promise.
"Points have been tallied. The winner of the first challenge is. . ." He paused to gag again, wiping a tear from his eye. "Beth!" Beth excitedly cheered for herself. "Yeah! I'm the winner!" The raccoon got another treat from God knows where, and threw it up to her. She gladly chewed on it, much to my disgust. "And. . . also. . . the loser." "Be right back!" Dad said, winking at the camera for some reason?
Oh, boy, Sierra's gonna go crazy over that one.
Speaking of Sierra, I haven't seen her in a while. . .
Guess that threat about whoever Josh and Blaineley were got to her.
Not that I'm complaining! I'm not.
It's not like I'm used to her, or anything! Or, uh. . . like the attention, or anything. . . I mean, haha, it's not like my dads are always either out doing a job 24/7, or just outright ignore me! I am NOT craving her attention again! That'd be weird, I am NOT weird.
"Here we are again." I was brought back to reality, and discovered that we were in the middle of the forest near the film lot. "Huh-? How did we. . . ?" I questioned, whispering. "Don't you just love field trips?" Dad questioned, hoping to get something out of me. "Uh. . . yeeeess?" I responded, unsure of what the right answer was. I assume it was, because he went back to his normal self.
"The woods, again?" Everyone got off the bus that I had also noticed was directly next to us. Owen was practically forcing the bear off of the bus. He grunted in effort, while it growled in disobedience. He actually somehow got it stuck in the bus, and couldn't get it through the doors. It took both me and Owen pulling to get it off the bus, and it nearly landed on the two of us.
If it wasn't for Owen's stomach, we'd both probably be dead right now. "Your next challenge is to find your way back to the film lot. A ten mile hike through these woods. . . using only your animal buddies to guide you." Duncan, Beth and Owen looked over at their animals, who shrugged cluelessly back at them. "But. . . be careful. Vicious, life-threatening traps have been set up along the way."
"Oh, no! Who would do such a thing?!" Beth asked, hurt. I furrowed my brows with wide eyes, thinking she was kidding. "Who do you think!?" "Um. . . me?" Dad said with a smirk. "First back wins invincibility. Beth gets thirty minutes shaved off her final time, for winning the first challenge. Everyone ready?" I glanced around, before noticing something. "Wait a sec, where's Courtney?" I asked, scratching my head.
"Oh, haha! She's with her animal." Dad laughed, and I instantly freaked out. "Oh-! You're joking!" I went off to go find her, and. . . in the moment, I thought I knew what I was doing. But, looking back, I had no clue why I did it, just like every other sign of generosity I've shown to Beth and Court after T. D. I. I didn't care! At one point, didn't I literally say I'd be fine if she ended her life!?
No, that's. . . I can't say that.
I suddenly recognized her voice, and came to a stop. I glanced around, before finding out she was in the river, with more than just one singular shark. But, she didn't realize that. "Ha! Back for round two, are you?! Come at me!" The other two sharks swam towards her, as well, and she was unusually confident. "And I see. . . you've brought friends?"
"C-Courtney, wait!" I called out, instinctively. She was just as shocked to see me, as I was shocked to have said that. "LEWIS!? What are YOU doing here?!" "I- I can't explain fully right now, it's a challenge- listen, Courtney, what you're doing could kill you. I get it, you know, you're on a white girl power trip, you've hurt the shark before, but trust me when I say this- you can NOT fight three sharks by yourself!"
"Wha-? Why do you care? Have you decided to actually start helping me instead of me doing something for you?" If I wasn't scared for her - instant turn off. I would've walked away. But, I was scared, and when I'm scared, I do stupid things. Or, rather, say stupid things. "I do care about you? I'm not heartless, Courtney. . ."
*
[3rd Person P.O.V.]
*
"See you all back at the film lot, and good luck!" Chris got back onto the bus, and it drove off, leaving the three pairs by themselves. Duncan and the chameleon walked off in exhaustion, in one way, and Beth followed her raccoon in the other, but Owen and his bear stayed in one place, watching them go.
Once they were completely out of sight, Owen took out something from his pocket. More specifically, a device. "Hello, GPS!" He laughed, and his bear joined in, seeing his plan.
/// Owen ///
"As a reward for messing with the rest of the cast. . ." Owen held up his GPS that he was given. "Chris gave me this to help me get back to the lot, which means a ticket to the final three!"
/// End ///
Beth was talking to her raccoon as she walked beside it. "I have an uncanny sense of direction. I'll have us back to camp in no time!" However, she crashed directly into a tree with a grunt. "Ow. . . Oh, no! The path is gone!" She began to panic in the situation. "The woods are shrinking! We're trapped here forever!" She also began to hyperventilate, while the raccoon watched this, clueless as to why she didn't just walk around the tree.
Duncan was exhausted already, and rested up against a tree. "What a useless animal. . . I wish I'd picked the bear. I could have hitched a ride on its back." He said in annoyance, at how his chameleon didn't have to walk anywhere. It disappeared, much to his shock and fear. "H-Hey! Where'd you go?! Get back here right now!"
He began to run around, and triggered a trip wire, which sent a rock flying directly into his gut. He grunted, and clutched his gut. "Oof-! Right. . . death traps. . ."
*
[Lewis' P.O.V.]
*
Courtney had cleared out all the sharks, and we were both sitting on the floodplain just north of the river. While she was wringing out her hair onto the grass, and boasting to the sharks, I was just busy thinking about stuff. "I took care of your buddies! See?! I can beat you! Come on, it's your turn, now! Bring it!" The shark in the water had her PDA, and was threatening to eat it. She gasped out loud, and watched it.
/// Courtney ///
"That PDA is my only contact with the outside world! Without it, I'd be on level ground with the others! That can NOT happen! This girl plays to win!"
/// End ///
"Okay, look! Give that back, and I'll let you. . . um. . . eat him!" I widened my eyes, and raised my head to see that Courtney was pointing at me. "Wait, what?!" She'd completely ignored me, and went back to her selfish self, like she was before I'd apologised, and we had the. . . conversation.
"I can make it happen, seriously!" It began pressing the buttons with a grin, and Courtney wasn't exactly happy about it. "No long-distance calls! My roaming is already through the roof! Get back here, chum bag!" She jumped back into the river, and began to chase the shark around, much to my concern.
Since I couldn't exactly chase after her, I was sorta by myself now. I'd had no clue where Bismuth and the others were, so. . . I had no way of knowing where to go. Let me say this now - I'd never gone out this far before. I had no technique.
That was, until I saw Owen, strangely confident, and. . . holding a GPS. I quickly stood up, and ran over to him, trying to catch up. "O-Owen! Hold up!" He freaked, 'cause he thought it was, like, one of the three contestants at first, but cooled down when he realized it was just me. "Oh, hey, Lewis. Is there, um. . . a problem?"
I glanced in between him and the bear for a second, before talking. "Yes, there's a problem! Courtney ditched me, I don't have any of my animals, and I have never been out this far before! You clearly have a GPS, so can we partner up?" I asked, signalling to his device. "Oh, yeah, totally!" "Oh, thanks so much- I really owe you one, man!"
*
/// Beth ///
"So scared. . . all alone in the woods. . . I don't wanna die like this. . . NOT LIKE THIS!" She looked down at her raccoon, who pointed to the side, and revealed a fully open path, without any danger. "Oh. . . uh. . . I knew that was there. I was just, ah. . . um. . . testing you!"
/// End ///
Duncan was pacing around the forest cluelessly, having no idea of where to go, or where his animal buddy was at. "Look, I'm sorry! Show yourself so I can get back to the lot and sleep! You're my only hope!"
I raised a brow as I watched Owen put a fake sign on one of the trees. "What are you-" "Shh!
Um. . . will you promise not to get me in trouble if I say?" I narrowed my eyes in suspicion at Owen, nodding silently. "Okay, well. . . Chris is making me sabotage everyone 'cause there's not enough drama. . ." I gasped quietly, and looked at him. "He is not!" "He is! You promised you won't tell, so you can't, 'kay?" "Owen, I- . . . Normally I can't let this kind of stuff slide. But, since you tricked me into promising. . . fine. I won't say anything."
/// Lewis ///
"I only said I wouldn't because it's Owen, and he's just. . . well, I'm gonna be frank with you. He's someone that I can talk to about stuff, he won't and will never judge someone, and he's just sweet in general. I would've definitely spilled if it was someone like Beth."
/// End ///
We both went back to spying on Duncan, and to see how he would react to the sign. "Could this be the way home? So long, sucker! Looks like I don't need you, after all! A-Agh! No more booby traps, huh?!" I widened my eyes, and ran over to the pit where Duncan had just fallen into. He didn't look too hurt, so. . .
I turned on my heel and glared at Owen. "Did you LOOK at where you put the sign?!" I yelled in a hushed voice, but both Owen and his bear just shrugged at me. "No, I wasn't expecting it. . . so. . . two down. . . one to go." It was about then I realized I had no clue where Courtney went. "Hm. . . Courtney went downstream, so. . . she isn't our problem."
"Yeah. Once we deal with Beth, then we can head back to the film lot for dinner." Owen's stomach rumbled, and he groaned in discomfort. "Yeah, I hear that, buddy." I wasn't so pleased when him and the bear got themselves stuck in a trap, and I was still on the ground. I was mainly shaken up from being the one to miss it. "O-OWEN! YOU OKAY!?" "Aw, shoot! How're we gonna get down from here?" He took some blueberries from a nearby tree, and I think he came up with something.
/// Owen ///
"In my experience, there is not a single problem that can't be solved by excessive eating!"
/// End ///
"Quick! We need to eat until our combined weight is enough to break the branch! Hope you're hungry!" The bear took some too, and they both just started eating. "Uh. . . Owen. . . I'm gonna. . . get something to cut you down. Don't kill yourself doing that." I said, walking off to find, like, a sharp stick, or something.
Unfortunately, I wasn't watching where I was going, and fell into the same trap that Duncan did. I also landed right on top of him, but. . . I didn't wanna make a big deal outta that. I quickly stood up, brushed myself off, and looked around. "Oh, crap! Are you joking me?!" "You're stuck, too?! Man, you'd think Chris knows better. . . " He said, putting a hand to his head.
". . . I honestly did think that." I said, feeling my pocket for my phone. It. . . uh. . . wasn't there. I freaked, and began feeling everywhere in my pockets for my phone. "What's up?" Duncan asked, raising a brow at me. "My phone. It's- It's not on me. I don't have my phone to text my dad. . . !"
*
[3rd Person P.O.V.]
*
Beth followed her raccoon to a burrow, but she wasn't sure. "I don't think there's time for a break." The raccoon threw her a treat, and she immediately switched up. "Okay, well, as long as we're quick. . ." They both ventured into the burrow, and Beth was shocked to find a whole advanced raccoon civilisation just living down inside.
They watched movies, cooked food, played ping-pong, read books, drank tea, and overall just lived how a human would. "Wow, I can't believe it! I had no idea you were so civilised. . ." A raccoon gave her a sandwich as she spoke. "It's like you're our equal-" The same raccoon slapped the sandwich out of her hand, offended. "Uh-! I mean you're superior."
Her raccoon was on the ping pong table, holding up a paddle. "Hm. . . well, okay, but after a gourmet dinner and a quick game of ping pong, we really should head back."
Courtney was swimming after to the shark, who still had her PDA in its mouth. It went over a waterfall, but quickly grabbed the edge of the cliff so that it wouldn't fall. It also spat out the PDA, so Courtney went falling over the falls to try and retrieve it. She screamed all the way down.
Duncan had clearly gone mad, and Lewis was still trying to get out of the ditch, despite his plenty of failed attempts. He grunted as he hit the ground again, due to the steep walls of the trap. Duncan was busy rocking back and forward. "So. . . hungry." Lewis narrowed his eyes at what he'd heard, and returned to his attempts of escape silently. "Here, chameleon. . . here boy. Come to Duncan. . . I just want a little taste. . ."
"Duncan, will you stop that? You're really not encouraging anything here." Lewis said, turning around to find that Duncan was eating Courtney's thirty-two page letter. "Not bad. . ." He blinked, before sighing, and sitting up against the wall. He held his knees close to him, and propped his head on top of them. "We're never getting out of here. . . I give up."
Owen had continued to eat the blueberries with the bear, and the trap had eventually broken, sending them both to the ground. "Yes! Free at last!" Both his and the bear's stomach started rumbling, and they weren't very comfortable. "Oh, man."
/// Owen ///
"I learnt a lot today. One: never eat wild berries without knowing if they're poisonous." He counted on his fingers. "Two: explosive diarrhoea is not a recommended outdoor activity. And, three: you're gonna wanna stay out of those woods for a while. . . a LONG while."
/// End ///
Beth and her raccoon were the first ones back. "Beth and her raccoon! Nice one, you are the first team to arrive." Chris said, and Beth decided to go on this whole rant about why they were. "The two of us work so well together because of our friendship, which is based on mutual respect." It fed her another treat, and she continued.
"Now, what was I saying? Oh, yes, mutual respect. The key to any healthy relationship." Chris wasn't so pleased with what he'd just seen. "Riiight. . ." Beth looked around, sort of confused. "Where is everyone?" Chris looked at him watch. "Sure they'll be here any minute. . ."
Two days had passed of them just standing there, and they still weren't back. "Any. . . minute. . . now." Beth was getting increasingly impatient. "Chris, it's been two days! Maybe we should send out a search party." There was no need, since Owen and Courtney approached, both exhausted, but Courtney was shivering. "And, here they come now!" Chris ran off to do something, while Beth approached Courtney.
"Courtney! You're shivering! You must be freezing!" "P-PDA withdrawal. . ." Courtney responded while still shivering. Duncan came swinging down from a vine, loudly yelling as if he were Tarzan. He let go, and dove into a bush, before emerging, and shooting a rock from his slingshot into Beth's face.
"Lord of the flies, much?" Courtney said, suddenly feeling better than before. "Welcome back, cast. Better late than never. Beth and her raccoon buddy easily won the challenge, which means. . . invincibility! Beth gets a free pass into the final three!" Beth excitedly clapped, much to Courtney's shock. "YEAH!"
"The question is, who will join her, and. . . who will be the next to leave? There's only one place to find out, at the most exciting Gilded Chris ceremony ever!" Without a word, Lewis approached the cast, before forcing his way past Chris, still not saying anything.
*
[Lewis' P.O.V.]
*
I can't BELIEVE that dick! Leaving me in the fucking woods for two days?! Is he fucking crazy!? Now, I'd actually put up with him because I wanted things to stay the same, but THAT was the last fucking straw.
I am NOT dealing with his shit anymore. I'm dropping any dedication to the show industry during the finale, because I'm absolutely fed up of his bullshit.
The worst part is if I had been dead. What would've happened after four days? A week? Would he get worried for me at ALL? He certainly didn't show a care when I went missing for two days! That's just pure, unbridled crappy fatherhood in its prime.
/// Owen ///
"I'm glad they found out I'm the producer's mole. Now, I can be myself! Although. . . on the way here, I short-sheeted Beth's bed, cleaned the toilet with Duncan's toothbrush, and filled the salt shaker with onion powder. . . What can I say? It's hard going cold turkey."
/// End ///
I stepped out of the trailer in actual clean clothes, only to find that Owen was behind a coward, hiding behind his bear. He was clearly found guilty by Beth and Courtney, and didn't want to face the consequences. "You underestimate my cowardice. . ."
Beth was the victim to another one of Duncan's attacks. He shot her with a blowdart, and she passed out. I rolled my eyes at Duncan, and let Courtney say whatever she wanted to him. She didn't say anything to him. Instead, she made out with him to get him back to normal. "Oh, that's better. . . thanks!" "Where's my letter? I want to add a few amendments to it."
I narrowed my eyes at Courtney again, fed up. "He lost it in the woods." I said, walking towards her. "Uh. . . y-yeah! Sorry." She was unenthusiastic. "I had my lawyers make several copies. Be right back." I scoffed and moved to the side so she could move. "Duncan, you need to understand that this isn't n-"
Owen interrupted us. "You really bonded with your chameleon! That's so cute!" Duncan raised a brow. "What are you talking about?" Owen happily pointed upwards, and the chameleon changed colour on Duncan's head, which he wasn't happy about. "You mean he's been here all along?!" He fainted, and hit the ground with quite a heavy thud. Owen and the bear kicked him once, shrugging at each other.
With a grunt, I laid him in my knees so he wasn't gonna get too badly hurt if nobody spotted him. "There. . ."
*
"This is a big one, cast. Beth is safe, which means the rest of you are fair game. So, sharpen those claws, and cast your votes. Someone is going home for the last time."
I wish it was me. And I'm not even a contestant. I just wanna pack my shit and leave the house. Move away. They all forgot my fifteenth birthday, so I'm not surprised if they miss the one I have next week. . . It's my 'sweet sixteen' or whatever, too. At least I'll be the legal age to move out.
"Owen betrayed us, but Courtney's the bigger threat." Beth voted for Courtney.
"I like Duncan, but Beth and Courtney eat less, more for me!" Owen voted for Duncan.
"See you never, traitor!" Courtney voted for Owen.
Duncan was snoring, and voted for someone at random.
"The Gilded Chris goes to Beth, and. . . Duncan! Courtney, since Beth and Duncan both voted for you, it's time for your ride home. Owen, I'll deal with you in a moment." Courtney widened her eyes. "WHAT?! Duncan voted for me?! UGH!" She threw her voting device, and it smashed against the base of the stage.
/// Duncan ///
"Court's popularity is in the toilet, I can't her dragging me down. But the real reason? It's the thirty two page letter, and people call ME psycho!"
/// End ///
"How could you do this to me?! After everything! We are SO done!" The door to the lame-ousine slammed in her face, but Owen was slightly confused as Dad walked him to the car.. "Um. . . Chris? I think you forgot to give me my Gilded Chris Award?" "Sorry, Owen. You've been fired." "But. . . why!?"
"What's the point in having a spy who's being spied on!?" He was shoved into the car with a screaming Courtney, and the door slammed again. The lame-ousine drove off, and Dad went back to his 'host' persona. "Duncan, Beth! The final two! One of you will become a millionaire, and the other will not. Tune in to our most controversial episode ever of Total. . . Drama. . . Action!"
". . . I quit."