Chapter 15 - End of the second challenge
The sun was already high, and Chris walked toward the last six competitors with a cup of coffee in hand, his expression clearly annoyed.
"I can't believe you're still here. Seriously, you guys are a pest!" Chris said.
The last six standing were:
- Cody
- Gwen
- Duncan
- Trent
- Eva
- Heather
Chris decided to use his heaviest weapon.
"Well... they've reached the point where nothing can stop them. Then, it's time for the ultimate strategy," Chris said.
Chris opened a huge book and with a mischievous smile, began to read:
"Welcome to the complete history of Canada, from colonization to the modern economy…" said Chris
The campers let out a groan of suffering.
The terror was instantaneous.
"Eva fell asleep first, without any resistance.
" Heather tried to hold on, but her body slowly gave way until she fell into Cody's arms.
"Trent tried to resist, but his head drooped and his eyes slowly closed."
Heather fell fast asleep in Cody's arms, who looked at her for a moment before effortlessly picking her up.
Without hesitation, he took her to Lindsay and Beth, who welcomed her and carried her to their bed.
Only three campers were still standing.
Cody, Gwen y Duncan.
Duncan shook himself, pulling out a bottle of water and pouring it in his face.
"I won't fall! This is a matter of pride!" said Duncan
Gwen kept her gaze steady, but her energy was at its limit.
Cody turned to her, approaching with his cheerful tone.
"How are you doing, my vampire princess? You're still going strong, but I can see you're more serious than before," Cody said.
But Gwen wasn't as happy as Cody.
Something in her expression had changed.
Gwen turned to look at Cody, her expression hardening for a second before she let out a scathing retort.
"Oh, right. Since Heather's gone, you're definitely coming for me now," Gwen said.
Her tone had an obvious edge, almost as if she were unwittingly challenging him.
Cody couldn't help but let out a laugh, his expression filled with amusement.
"God, Gwen, are you jealous? And here I thought you'd already traded me for your romantic pop musician," Cody said.
Gwen snorted, crossing her arms firmly.
"I'm not jealous. I'm just observing the obvious," Gwen said.
Cody smirked, leaning slightly toward her.
"Well, if you looked too hard, you could have looked for me too, right?" Cody said.
Gwen shook her head, not responding immediately.
Gwen's Confessional
Gwen exhaled softly, her gaze shifting for a second before settling on the camera.
"I'm not jealous," Gwen said.
Silence.
"I mean… why would I be?" Gwen said.
Another silence, more uncomfortable this time.
Gwen gave a small, humorless laugh before shaking her head.
"Maybe it bothered me a little seeing him with Heather. But it's not like it really affected me," Gwen said.
Gwen looked away before returning her gaze to the camera, her expression a mixture of frustration and resignation.
"The worst part is that he noticed. And of course, he had to make fun of it. I hate that he has that way of trapping me in his game," Gwen said.
Gwen shook her head again.
"Whatever. It's not important." Gwen said.
After the tense moment, the conversation flowed again, but with a different tone.
Cody exhaled softly before changing his tone.
"If it bothered you, then I'm sorry," Cody said.
Gwen looked at him with a softer expression, although still with some reserve.
"Are you serious?" said Gwen.
Cody nodded.
"Yeah. Also for leaving you alone. I didn't mean to," Cody said.
Gwen sighed before nodding her head.
"It's okay. It wasn't an unforgivable crime," Gwen said.
Cody smiled.
"Wow, was that as close to an 'I forgive you' as I'm going to get?" Cody said.
Gwen rolled her eyes, but this time, with a small smile hidden in her expression.
Cody made himself more comfortable next to Gwen, stretching his arms and letting out a long sigh.
"Well... we've been here so many hours that we've officially crossed the line between competition and forced coexistence," Cody said.
Gwen smiled faintly, her posture relaxing.
"Yeah. I think we're past the threshold of exhaustion and on autopilot," Gwen said.
Cody turned to her curiously.
"Okay, random but necessary question. What was the last fun thing you did before you went to camp?" Cody said.
Gwen thought for a moment before answering.
"I spent a whole day watching horror movies with my brother and we bet who could last without covering their eyes. Obviously, I won," Gwen said.
Cody whistled in approval.
"Awesome. Which ones were the best?" Cody said.
Gwen leaned on her knee, remembering.
"Classics. The Shining, Psycho, and we close with Midsommar, although I think that was a mistake because my brother couldn't sleep afterward." Gwen said.
Cody let out a soft laugh.
"Good selection. Although Midsommar does have a strange effect on the mind," Cody said.
Gwen nodded.
"Definitely." Gwen said.
"If you're into that genre, don't you have like a top five movies you can always watch without getting bored?" Cody said.
Gwen smiled a little.
"Sure. But do you have one too?" Gwen said.
Cody nodded immediately.
"Of course! But mine is a mix of action, animation, and silly stuff." Cody said.
Gwen tilted her head curiously.
"Let's see, surprise me." Gwen said.
Cody raised his fingers, starting his list.
Cody:
"1. The Dark Knight, because it's a masterpiece.
"2. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, because the visual style always draws me in."
"3. The Big Lebowski, because some days you just need The Dude in your life."
"4. Spirited Away, because Studio Ghibli is always a great choice."
"5. Mad Max: Fury Road, because it's absolutely chaos, visually stunning."
Gwen nodded slowly.
"Okay, I respect that list," Gwen said.
Cody leaned on his knee.
"Now your turn?" said Cody
Gwen thought for a moment before listing.
Gwen:
"1. The Shining, because it's a perfect psychological horror."
"2. Blade Runner 2049, because it's incredibly atmospheric."
"3. Coraline, because I like things that are eerie yet visually beautiful."
"4. Kill Bill, because it's brutal and stylish action."
"5. Interview with the Vampire, because sometimes old movies still have an impact."
Cody smiled approvingly.
"Good selection. Each one has their own style, I respect that," Cody said.
Gwen looked at the horizon for a second before making a more relaxed comment.
"That's weird. I didn't think I'd end up talking about movies in the middle of an endurance challenge," Gwen said.
Cody let out a small laugh.
"Welcome to the part where everything gets absurd," Cody said.
The challenge had reached its limit, and only three remained standing: Duncan, Gwen, and Cody.
Chris came back looking bored, taking another sip of coffee before looking at them in disbelief.
"Seriously... are you still here? Don't you even want to go to the bathroom?" Chris said.
Duncan blinked, his brain barely functioning before nodding.
"Yes. Yes, I need to go." Duncan said.
Chris nodded in approval.
"Fine, follow the path of honor. But if you fall asleep, it's your fault," Chris said.
Duncan staggered away while Cody and Gwen were left alone again.
Cody turned to Gwen with a mischievous smile, taking in her tired expression.
"Wow, now you really have the perfect queen of the night look with those dark circles," Cody said.
Gwen snorted, rolling her eyes.
"I don't know if that's a compliment or if you just insulted me," Gwen said.
Cody faked a dramatic gesture.
"Of course that's a compliment! Mysterious, charming, with an air of a psychological warfare survivor," Cody said.
Gwen gave a small laugh, shaking her head.
"You know how to save a sentence," Gwen said.
"I learned from the best," Cody said.
Gwen tilted her head.
"The best ones?" Gwen asked.
Cody leaned in a little, amused.
"Obviously I'm referring to myself," Cody said.
Gwen shook her head, but her smile didn't disappear.
Just as the conversation continued, an intern came running up to Chris.
"Duncan fell asleep!" said an intern.
Chris looked at the scene with absolute satisfaction before making the announcement.
"The TOOOOOPOS are the winners!" ad Chris
Cody and Gwen let out a groan, their energy collapsing immediately.
After more than 36 hours awake, they finally fell.
Fatigue dragged them to surrender, but not without one last twist of fate.
Gwen collapsed on top of Cody, her body falling right on top of him.
They both opened their eyes for the last time, looking at each other without saying anything.
Cody blinked slowly before muttering:
"Good night," Cody said.
And before Gwen could react, Cody leaned in and kissed her on the lips.
The gesture completely paralyzed her, her mind processing the moment without being able to do anything else.
But before he could think too much, Cody was knocked out, his energy finally defeating him.
Gwen stood still, her brain still in shock.
But then…
Without saying anything, a small smile appeared on her lips as she settled onto his chest.
And finally, she closed her eyes, falling asleep too.
Gwen's Confessional
Gwen looked at the camera, her expression calm, though with a flicker of something else in her eyes—a mix of exhaustion and deep thought.
"I don't know if it was because of tiredness, or because after so many hours awake my brain stopped filtering things as it normally would... but that kiss caught me completely off guard," Gwen said.
Gwen exhaled softly, crossing her arms as she remembered the moment.
"Cody always has this relaxed air, as if everything in the world were a game to him. And somehow, he makes it seem effortless. The last thing I expected was for him to close the challenge with that," Gwen said.
Short pause.
Gwen shook her head, but with a smile she couldn't hide.
"I mean... could that have been more cliché? I fall on his chest, he looks at me, says goodnight, and then kisses me before he falls down." Gwen said.
Gwen leaned on her knee, looking thoughtfully at the camera.
"The worst part is, it didn't bother me. I mean, I should have been more surprised, right? I should be saying something sarcastic about how sudden it was," Gwen said.
Gwen paused before letting out a small laugh.
"But instead... I just went with the flow. I smiled, settled down, and fell asleep," Gwen said.
Gwen glanced sideways, her expression softening a little more.
"I don't know what that means. And I don't have the energy to think about it too much right now," Gwen said.
Silence.
"I'll think about it later," Gwen said.
Gwen stretched, letting out one last breath before the camera cut off.
While Cody and Gwen slept in their respective beds, peace did not exist in the Bass cabin.
Eva was furious, tearing the room apart in search of her MP3 player, which she couldn't find.
The other campers watched her from outside, clearly annoyed by the chaos she was causing.
Courtney tried to intervene, trying to calm the situation.
"Eva, calm down. Maybe you just left it somewhere else..." Courtney said.
But Eve was in no condition to listen to reason, continuing her fury.
At that moment, Heather appeared with a calm and confident expression.
Holding the MP3, he raised it in mock surprise.
"Oh, Eva... looks like you dropped this during the wake-up call." Heather said.
Eva stopped her rage instantly, taking the device and sighing with relief.
"Good. At least someone was helpful," Eva said.
But the other Catfish only looked at her with more irritation.
Heather's Confessional
Heather settled into the confessional with a sly smile.
"Turning the other team's members against each other is the easiest and oldest play in the book," Heather said.
Heather crossed her legs, relaxed.
"You don't have to make big moves... just let the chaos happen," Heather said.
Heather smirked before the camera cut off.
Chris stood at the front, with his classic smile of cruel amusement.
"Welcome to another elimination night! As you know, everyone voted. And whoever doesn't get a marshmallow will have to leave... never to return." Chris said.
Chris grabbed a handful of marshmallows and started naming the contestants one by one.
Every time he named a camper, he would throw a marshmallow toward him.
The stares remained tense until the last marshmallow remained.
The finalists were Harold and Eva.
Chris took a moment to dramatize, observing their expressions before making his final decision.
Finally… he threw the marshmallow to Harold.
"Eva... the dock of shame awaits you," Chris said.
Eva stood up angrily, crossing her arms in contempt.
"I don't need this program," Eva said.
And before leaving, he stepped on Chris's foot as he passed by him, without looking at him.
Chris snorted, rubbing his foot before turning back to the camera.
"Wow. And to think that's her goodbye. We won't cry for her, right?" Chris said.
Courtney's Confessional
"Look... Eva is strong, but she's also a mess. No one wants to live in a cabin with someone who destroys everything because of a lost MP3 player," Courtney said.
---
Sadie's Confessional
"It was terrifying! Every time he screamed, I felt like he was going to knock the walls down. We couldn't go on like this," Sadie said.
Harold's Confessional
"Okay... I'm aware that I was the other one in danger. But honestly, I think we all understood that we couldn't continue with someone so violent," Harold said.