Chapter 13 – Wake Up - An Alliance without me?
Hours had passed since the challenge began, and the campers' mental resilience continued to be tested.
Cody stretched after four hours of talking with Gwen, exhaling calmly as he let his muscles relax.
Trent, seeing the opportunity, took the moment to approach Gwen.
"What's up, Trent?" Gwen said, looking at Trent neutrally.
Trent smiled calmly, but his gaze showed clear interest in her.
"Nothing in particular. I just thought after talking to Cody for so long, you might want to change companies." Trent
Gwen raised an eyebrow, but didn't dismiss the conversation.
Cody, from a distance, watched the scene and simply smiled to himself.
"I don't force anyone to be with me. If Trent wants to try, let him," Cody said.
Without much further thought, Cody looked away and looked at the other campers, especially Heather, Lindsay, and Beth.
I knew an alliance would be formed today.
---
Lindsay decided to try an unusual technique to stay awake.
Without warning, she flipped onto her head, claiming the blood flowing to her brain would help her be more alert.
But… in the process, her shirt slipped off, and her breasts were dangerously exposed.
Cody instinctively looked away, but the disaster was evident.
"Uh... Lindsay, you might want to be careful with that." Cody said, coughing softly before speaking.
Lindsay quickly sat back up, not immediately noticing the problem, but then smiled excitedly in understanding.
"Thanks, Cole! Always so thoughtful!" Lindsay said.
Cody exhaled in relief, only to hear Heather's voice beside him, with a mocking tone.
"Wow, I didn't expect you to be such a gentleman," Heather said.
Cody looked at Heather nonchalantly, smiling with amusement.
"It's not the same when someone shows it by their own choice. Besides, I respect Lindsay. I don't want her image to be tarnished on the show," Cody said.
Lindsay, moved by the comment, without thinking much about it, enthusiastically threw herself into another hug.
"Aww, Cole! You're the best." Lindsay said.
Heather snorted softly, but there was a flicker of interest in her expression.
---
Lindsay's Confessional
Lindsay smiled broadly in the confessional, her energy still vibrant.
"Cole is always looking out for everyone. He's so kind!" Lindsay said.
Lindsay thought for a second before tilting her head slightly.
"Sometimes I feel like I should get him a gift or something. Do boys like gifts?" Lindsay said.
Lindsay blinked before laughing a little.
"Maybe I'll buy her a nice sweater. Yes, that would be perfect!" Lindsay said.
Cody settled behind Lindsay, hiding her figure as he watched with interest what was happening a few meters away.
Heather had taken Lindsay and Beth aside, her gaze calculating as she laid out her strategy.
Heather led Lindsay and Beth to a more secluded area, making sure no one was listening.
Heather raised an eyebrow in satisfaction, crossing her arms.
"Okay, girls. It's time to organize an alliance, look, I decided to help two campers to get to the final three," Heather said.
Lindsay nodded excitedly, but immediately raised a hand.
"First of all! Does our alliance need a cool name?" Lindsay said.
Heather sighed, rubbing her temple.
"All we need is a strategy, not a catchy name, Lindsay," Heather said.
Beth looked between the two, intervening curiously.
"Well, I do think it would be nice to have one… How about something loud?" Beth said.
Heather shook her head, ignoring the comment and focusing on her plan.
Just as he was preparing to give his speech on how they should play, something fell from the top of a tree, landing with perfect posture.
¡BOOM!
Heather, Lindsay, and Beth jumped back in surprise, their eyes wide at the figure that had just appeared in front of them.
It was Cody, dusting himself off with a smirk.
"Ahh, fresh air and night conspiracies! I love it!" said Cody
Heather frowned, her gaze sharp.
"How the hell did you get here?" Heather said.
Cody shrugged, looking unconcerned.
"One of my many talents. But we're not here to talk about me... we're here to talk about our alliance, right?" Cody said.
Heather crossed her arms, her eyebrow arching in irritation.
"You can't be here. This isn't your alliance," Heather said.
"Why not? I have good skills. I could help you, as long as you secure the alliance for me and that you focus your attention on the other team, not ours." Cody said, laughing softly.
Beth looked between Cody and Heather, intrigued by the situation.
Lindsay was already excited, waving her arms vigorously.
"Cole always shows up at the best time!" said Lindsay.
Heather exhaled in irritation.
"What about your girls?" Heather said.
Heather gestured toward Courtney and Bridgette, hoping Cody had some conflict of interest.
Cody laughed, his expression relaxed.
"This is a game, and I came to play. Besides… they're not my girls. I don't have a partner yet," Cody said.
Without him noticing, Lindsay smiled broadly, and Heather made a small gesture with her eyes, as if she were considering something beyond the wedding ring.
Heather exhaled and finally agreed.
"Okay. But if you do anything to harm me, I won't hesitate to throw you out," Heather said.
Cody nodded calmly.
"Perfect." Cody said.
Before Heather could regain her authority in the conversation, Lindsay and Beth began to scream with excitement.
"We have a bigger team! THIS IS GOING TO BE EPIC!" Lindsay said, jumping energetically.
Beth began to spin in circles, while Lindsay waved her arms excitedly.
Heather closed her eyes for a second, exhaling with a resigned air.
"God, what a mess," Heather said.
Cody blinked, feeling his excitement grow to unexpected levels.
"Wow, looks like I got into the screaming and jumping part of the contract," Cody said.
Lindsay threw herself at him again, her excitement impossible to contain.
"Welcome, Cole! We'll be unstoppable!" said Lindsay.
Cody laughed softly, reciprocating the hug with amusement.
Heather looked at the scene, sighing wearily.
"If this is the energy of the group, at least let it be useful," Heather said.
Beth was still jumping up and down with excitement, making sure the celebration was complete.
Lindsay's Confessional
Lindsay beamed in the confessional, clearly enjoying the situation.
"Cole is great! He always shows up at the perfect time, and now he's in the alliance. We're going to have so much fun!" said Lindsay.
Lindsay thought for a second before tilting her head thoughtfully.
"Although… he's also very striking. It's hard not to notice when he's around," Lindsay said.
Beth's Confessional
Beth settled into her seat with excitement.
"I'm happy to be in a strong alliance. Although I don't know if I can completely trust Heather…" Beth said.
Beth thought for a second, then smiled.
"But Cody does seem like someone we could win with. He's smart, and that helps us," Beth said.
Heather's Confessional
Heather crossed her arms, her expression calculating as she spoke.
"It wasn't in my plans to add him. But if he can help move the strategy in our favor, I'll use him," Heather said.
Heather was silent for a second, then looked away briefly.
"Although I must admit… Cody isn't the type of person who goes unnoticed," Heather said.
Heather shook her head, as if she wanted to dismiss that thought.
After Cody left, the girls stayed talking among themselves.
Lindsay, always looking for friendships, decided to play a light subject.
"Let's talk about the boys at camp! Who do you like?" said Lindsay.
Beth blushed a little before answering.
"Well... Justin is very attractive. I can't help but look at him sometimes," Beth said.
Heather snorted, crossing her arms firmly.
"I didn't come here for love," Heather said.
But just after saying that, he briefly glanced at Cody's back as he walked away.
Lindsay noticed the gesture, but instead of insisting, she just smiled.
"Aww, but Cole seems the most striking." Lindsay said.
Heather frowned immediately.
"Relationships within the alliance are forbidden," Heather said in a mean tone.
Lindsay laughed softly, but said nothing else.
Heather looked back at the campfire, her mind still processing what she had just said.
Gwen crossed her legs, watching Trent curiously as the conversation flowed naturally.
Trent smiled reassuringly, settling in better.
"I didn't think I'd get the chance to talk to you at this competition. You've been... pretty busy," Trent said.
Gwen exhaled with a slight smile.
"Yeah, well… I don't always plan on being surrounded by chaos, but it seems to follow me around." Gwen said.
Trent laughed softly.
"Well, I'm glad we can at least have a normal chat," Trent said.
Gwen looked at him, her mind wandering for a moment.
[Trent is calm, relaxed, easy to talk to… but he doesn't have the same unpredictable energy as Cody.] Gwen thought.
Unintentionally, his comparison formed itself.
"Are you enjoying the competition so far?" Trent said.
Gwen nodded, but not immediately.
"Yes... although some things have been more unexpected than I thought." Gwen said.
Trent raised an eyebrow, interested.
"Like what?" Trent said.
Gwen thought for a second before answering, her gaze briefly shifting to where Cody was.
"Like some people I didn't think were that interesting," Gwen said.
Trent noticed the gesture, but didn't comment on it.
"Well, in this place... everyone ends up surprising you," Trent said.
Gwen laughed softly.
At another point in the camp, Eva hurried past and her MP3 player fell to the ground without her noticing.
Cody saw it immediately, but so did Heather.
Heather turned her head slightly, looking at Cody with a calculating look before giving him a quick nod.
Cody said nothing, just gave a thumbs up in response.
Heather smiled in amusement before moving on.
---
Cody's Confessional
Cody settled into the confessional, his expression nonchalant.
"Well... in the end, this is a competition. And if you think about it, I did the Bass campers a favor," Cody said.
Cody let out a small laugh before shaking his head.
"Sorry, Eva. But in this game, everything counts," Cody said.