Chapter 56 – Fifth Challenge (Part 3)
The Screaming Gophers emerged from the forest like a disorganized caravan, guided by the map Gwen held with the seriousness of someone carrying the group's fate on recycled paper. The clearing opened before them, and in the center, a metal box waited—like a prize… or a trap.
Cody stepped forward, with Noah close behind. Both crouched in front of the box, which bore the Total Drama logo like a mocking signature.
"Time to see what Chris left us. A gourmet dinner or a rock with instructions?" Cody muttered as he cautiously opened the box.
Inside was a large backpack, two rolled-up tents, ropes, flashlights, a compass, a multi-tool knife, and a small fire-starting kit. No food.
"Great. Survival level: tutorial," said Noah, spinning the compass between his fingers. "At least we won't die lost. Just hungry," he added with sarcasm.
Izzy dove for the knife like it was an archaeological treasure, while Owen lifted a tent with childlike enthusiasm.
"We can build a fortress! Or a dance floor! Or a raccoon trap!" Owen shouted, hugging the tarp like it was a stuffed animal.
Heather approached with a firm step, arms crossed in front of the group like she was already on a campaign trail.
"Alright. Now that we have supplies, we need leadership. And I propose myself. I have experience, vision, and I don't get distracted by squirrels," she said, glancing sideways at Izzy.
Gwen, who was checking the flashlights, looked up with a raised eyebrow.
"You? After the ant incident? No thanks. I vote for Cody. He knows what he's doing and doesn't have a betrayal record," Gwen said firmly.
Heather scowled.
"Since when is Cody the new hero?" she asked with disdain.
"Since you started losing allies," Gwen replied without blinking.
Lindsay watched the scene like she was watching a soap opera. Beth adjusted her backpack, uncomfortable with the tension. Izzy was already testing the knife on a branch, oblivious to the drama.
Cody remained silent, observing the group. He was thinking about how to keep this from turning into a reality show civil war.
The silence after Heather and Gwen's exchange was thick as mud. Lindsay stared at both like she was watching a season finale. Beth fidgeted with her backpack. Izzy kept whittling her branch, humming.
Cody stood slowly, still holding the backpack. He scanned the group, gauging the atmosphere like it was a bomb about to go off.
"Hey, hey. We're not fighting over this. We've got a challenge to complete, and there's no time for egos," Cody said, firm but conciliatory.
Heather looked at him with suspicion, unsure if she was being challenged or praised.
"And what do you suggest, peacemaker?" Heather asked, arms crossed.
"We divide the work. Heather, you organize the base. Gwen, you coordinate the tents. I'll go find food," Cody said calmly.
Gwen nodded, though she didn't lower her guard.
"Fine. But if Heather starts barking orders like this is her kingdom, I'm off to hunt squirrels with Izzy," Gwen said dryly.
"Revolutionary squirrels!" Izzy shouted, raising her branch like a torch.
Owen raised his hand like he was in class.
"Can I go with you to find food? I've got a nose for berries! And for things that move!" Owen said enthusiastically.
"Sure. You and Noah come with me. The girls stay and set up camp. If we find something edible, we bring it back. If not, we improvise," Cody said, adjusting his backpack straps.
Noah sighed, resigned.
"Great. Forest adventure with enthusiasm and sarcasm. My specialty," said Noah, eyeing Owen like he was already bracing for disaster.
Heather said nothing more but accepted the role without protest. Gwen began unrolling a tent with surgical precision. Lindsay sat on the ground, staring at the tarp like it was a magic carpet.
"Does this go on the ground or over us?" Lindsay asked, confused.
"On the ground. It's a base. Not an invisibility cloak," Gwen said without looking up.
Beth started organizing the flashlights while Izzy tried to start a fire with two rocks and an improvised tribal chant.
Cody turned to the group before heading into the woods.
"If we're not back in an hour, assume Owen made friends with a bear and I'm negotiating with it," Cody said with a smile.
"And I'll be writing my will on tree leaves," said Noah.
The group laughed, and for a moment, the tension lifted. Cody, Owen, and Noah headed into the forest, leaving behind the half-built camp. The girls continued working, each in their own style, while Heather and Gwen maintained a silent truce.
Cody walked with steady steps, occasionally stopping to pick berries with a precision that made it seem like he'd taken an online botany course.
"These are edible. I saw them on National Geographic," he said, showing a handful of purple berries.
"And did they survive?" Noah asked, still scribbling in his notebook.
"Yeah. Though they saw colors that don't exist for three hours."
Owen, meanwhile, had already filled half his backpack with fruit, shiny rocks, and what looked like an abandoned bird's nest.
"This'll be great for attracting fish! Or decorating the fire pit. Or making a tribal hat," he said, placing the nest on his head.
"How about we fish first and decorate later?" Cody suggested, pointing to the lake now visible through the trees.
Meanwhile, back at the Screaming Gophers' base, the atmosphere was… less peaceful.
Izzy was kneeling in front of the campfire, arms raised and an expression of pure ecstasy.
"Oh great spirit of fire! Accept my offering of dry leaves and my dance of spontaneous combustion!"
Heather watched her with a mix of disdain and anthropological curiosity.
"Is it okay to let her do that?" Beth asked, hammering stakes into the ground.
"If the fire consumes her, it'll be divine will," Heather replied, before turning to Trent, who was silently and efficiently setting up a tent.
"Did you know Gwen once let Cody get covered in ants by accident? It was during the swamp challenge. She said it was 'part of the learning process.'"
Trent raised an eyebrow but didn't respond. Heather continued, her voice sweet and venomous.
"And now she acts like she doesn't care about Cody, but she looks at him like he's a lost episode of her favorite show. Isn't that strange?"
Beth frowned, uncomfortable. A few feet away, Gwen pretended not to hear, but her hands trembled slightly as she tightened a rope.
Heather smiled. The poison was working.
But before she could launch another verbal dart, an unexpected voice interrupted her.
"Heather, that's enough!" said Lindsay, in the firmest tone she could muster.
Everyone turned. Even Izzy stopped her dance.
—
Lindsay hammered a stake into the ground with the delicacy of someone planting a flower.
"This goes here, right? Because if not, I've ruined the forest's feng shui," she said with a focused smile.
Gwen approached with arms crossed and a raised eyebrow.
"I didn't know feng shui applied to tents," she said teasingly.
"Of course it does! Everything has energy. Even mosquitoes," Lindsay replied, struggling with a rope that seemed to have a will of its own.
Gwen crouched beside her, pretending to help while observing her chaotic technique.
"Hey, thanks for earlier. With Heather. Not every day someone jumps in to defend me like I'm a princess in danger," she said, half-serious, half-sarcastic.
"Obviously! I'm a warrior princess. No sword, but with stakes. And emotional glitter," Lindsay said, lifting the rope like a trophy.
Gwen snorted.
"Emotional glitter? Is that something you buy or grow?" she asked, amused.
"You grow it. In your heart. And in shampoo commercials," Lindsay said with total conviction.
Gwen looked at her curiously.
"But seriously, why did you do it? Heather was in full soap-opera villain mode and you jumped in like her secret arch-nemesis."
Lindsay sat back on her heels, setting the rope aside.
"I did it because… well, because I like Cody," she said, lowering her voice like she was confessing to stealing a cookie.
Gwen blinked.
"You're serious?" she asked, though she already knew—but hearing Lindsay say it out loud surprised her.
"Yes. I like him. Like… level 'I imagine we have a dog named Sparkles who sleeps in a cloud-shaped bed,'" Lindsay said, eyes sparkling.
Gwen laughed.
"Wow. That's very specific. Does Sparkles have emotional glitter too?"
"Obviously! And a collar with fake diamonds. Because we're humble," Lindsay said proudly.
Gwen tucked her hair behind her ear.
"I already knew you liked Cody. It's obvious every time he breathes near you. But saying it like that… it's sweet," she said with a sincere smile.
"Thanks. It's just that you care about him too. And he cares about you. And I don't want that to turn into a fight. I don't want us to end up on opposite sides. Like in movies where everyone hates each other over a guy and no one wins," Lindsay said, her tone serious for the first time.
Gwen nodded.
"Yeah. I don't want that either. Though… if there's ever a competition for Cody, just know I won't let you win just because we're friends," she said with a mischievous smile.
Lindsay laughed.
"And I won't let you win just because you're cool! But I won't push you off a cliff either. Unless it's part of the challenge."
"Exactly what I wanted to hear," Gwen said, pretending to be relieved.
"But seriously, I like you. You're like an oatmeal cookie that looks boring but has hidden chocolate chips," Lindsay said sweetly.
Gwen looked at her, amused and confused.
"I'm a cookie now?"
"Yes! But a good one. Not like raisin cookies. No one wants to be a raisin cookie," Lindsay said with total certainty.
They both laughed. The tent still wasn't built, but the conversation had constructed something stronger: an unexpected alliance between a warrior princess and a sarcastic cookie.
—
Heather watched from the shadow of a tree, arms crossed and eyes locked on Lindsay, who laughed with Gwen as if nothing had happened.
"So now we're defending the goth girl," Heather muttered venomously, frowning. "How adorable. How… stupid," she said, lips tight.
The scene in front of her was unbearable. Lindsay—her informal ally, her useful pawn—had just broken the unspoken pact.
"I gave her chances. I gave her shade when she burned during the sun challenge. And this is how she repays me," Heather said, turning slowly, as if the air itself gave her space to dramatize.
She walked to her backpack with firm steps, each one heavy with silent indignation.
"A warrior princess. Please. The only thing Lindsay's ever battled is her shoelaces," Heather said, pure sarcasm, as she pulled out her notebook.
She opened it with a sharp snap and wrote forcefully:
"Lindsay: traitor. Gwen: opportunist. Cody: idiot."
Then she underlined "traitor" three times in red marker.
"This isn't over," she said, closing the notebook like sealing a vow.
She sat on a rock, crossed her legs, and bit into an energy bar with contained fury.
"Let them laugh. Let them build their tent like they're best friends in a cheap sitcom. Because in the next challenge, when it's time to choose sides, when trust matters… Lindsay will learn what it costs not to be on my side," Heather said, voice low but dripping with venom.
She looked up at the sky, as if waiting for the gods of drama to send her a sign.
"One chance. That's all she had. And she wasted it on Gwen. On Cody. On a fantasy of matching sweaters and dogs with ridiculous names," she said, adjusting her hair with an elegant but tense gesture.
Heather stood, brushed the dust off her pants, and walked back toward camp with a smile that wasn't kind. It was the other one. The one that only appeared when she was about to do something that would probably be remembered as "too much."
---
"Alright, Lindsay. Enjoy your heroine moment. Because next time you get in my way… no amount of emotional glitter will save you," said Heather, disappearing into the trees like a shadow with an agenda.
The lake stretched out before them like a promise of lunch. Cody, Owen, and Noah arrived with backpacks bursting with berries, some so squashed it looked like they'd fought them. The air smelled of wet earth and absurd possibilities.
Cody crouched next to a fallen log. "Okay, we need spears. And I don't have a knife… officially," he said, with a smile no one could tell was sincere or part of a secret plan. In truth, he had a knife stashed in his backpack, but something in him wanted to see how far they could get without using it. Maybe for fun. Maybe for pride.
"And how are we going to sharpen sticks without tools?" asked Owen, trying to rip a branch off with his teeth.
"With rocks. Like the ancients. Like those who didn't have YouTube tutorials," Cody replied, already rubbing a branch against a flat stone.
After several minutes of scraping, splintering, and a concerning amount of yelling, Cody managed to sharpen three sticks. Then, using his shoelaces and some tape Noah had "just in case," they tied small sharp stones to the tips.
"This looks like a medieval weapon made by a sleep-deprived child," said Noah, examining his spear.
"Perfect. We're going to fish like we're in a low-budget movie," said Cody, already walking toward the shore.
The water was clear, fish swam nearby, and the three lined up like hunters who weren't entirely sure what they were hunting.
Cody threw his spear with surprising precision. The first fish flew out of the water like it had been summoned by prophecy. "One!" he shouted.
Owen threw with force, but his spear bounced off a rock and nearly hit Noah. "Two! For style!" he shouted, even though he hadn't caught anything.
Noah crouched, aimed… and tripped. His spear fell into the water, and when he pulled it out, a small fish was accidentally stuck to it. "One! By accident!" he said proudly.
The fishing turned into glorious chaos. Cody moved like he'd been born in a survival camp. Owen screamed every time he saw movement. Noah developed a technique that involved talking to the fish like they were lost children.
Final count:
Cody: 9 fish (one so big Owen named it "The Boss")
Owen: 4 fish (including one he caught with his hands after losing his spear)
Noah: 2 fish (one caught when he fell into the water and the fish gave up)
"Fifteen fish! That's a record! And no one lost a finger!" said Cody, as they lined the fish on a rock.
"I almost lost my dignity. Does that count?" asked Noah, squeezing berries onto a leaf like a forest restaurant chef.
Cody lit a fire with dry branches and a spark he got from rubbing two stones for ten minutes. The knife remained hidden, like an ace up his sleeve not yet worthy of being played.
"Now this feels like camp. Friends, fish, fire… and zero explosions. For now," he said, placing the fish on an improvised grill made from wire and a rusty pan lid Owen had found.
"What if the raccoon from before comes back?" asked Owen.
"Let him bring spices. And respect," said Cody.
"And not judge my fishing technique. It was emotionally effective," added Noah.
The lake was calm. The boys wrapped the fish in large leaves, tying them with strips of bark like gourmet forest gifts. Owen tried organizing the fish by personality.
"This one's Carl. This one, Fish Number Two. And this one… this one looks like it's judging me," said Owen, while Cody ignored him and kept wrapping his fish efficiently.
Noah was making an improvised bag with interwoven branches. "This will work. Or it'll fall apart and the fish will escape. Both options are poetic," said Noah, adjusting a knot.
Then they heard the scream.
Sharp. Human. Female.
The three froze.
Noah stood up straight. His expression changed. "That was Katie," he said, voice firm.
And without waiting for a response, Noah ran. Not walked. Not jogged. Ran like the forest owed him urgent answers.
"What the hell?! Noah's faster than me!" shouted Cody, watching him disappear into the trees.
"Cartoons are broken! The universe is broken! Noah beat Cody in speed!" shouted Owen, already trying to catch up.
Cody stayed behind for a second, stunned. "This is historic. Sarcasm turned into romantic momentum," said Cody, before following them.
When they arrived, they found Katie sitting by a tree, hugging her knees. She was crying silently, her face buried in her arms. Her backpack lay to the side, open, as if she'd dropped it while running.
Noah approached first, saying nothing. He crouched in front of her, wearing an expression no one had seen before: concern without irony.
"Katie… I'm here," Noah said softly.
She looked up. Her eyes were red, her face streaked with dirt and tears. She didn't respond right away. She just looked at him, as if she hadn't expected to see him there.
Cody arrived behind, with Owen close behind. Cody crouched next to Noah, while Owen stood, restless.
"What happened?" Cody asked seriously.
Katie swallowed. "I… I got lost. I wandered from the group. Then I heard something. I don't know what it was. I ran. I fell. And… I didn't know if anyone would come," Katie said, voice trembling.
Noah sat beside her. "Of course we would. We'll always come. Even if I have to run like the world's falling apart," Noah said, not breaking eye contact.
Katie let out a laugh through her tears. Small. Fragile. But real.
Cody pulled a handful of berries from his backpack. "It's not much, but they taste good. And Owen says they're not poisonous. Which isn't a guarantee, but it's something," Cody said, offering them.
"I tried them! Just got a little itch in my ear. But I already had that before," said Owen, smiling.
Katie took the berries with trembling hands. "Thanks," she said, looking at Noah.
"You scared me," Noah said, lowering his voice. "And I don't like admitting it, but… I care about you more than I thought."
Katie looked at him, surprised. "Really?"
"Yeah. And if you get lost again, I'll run again. Even if I have to beat Cody. Even if the universe breaks," Noah said with a shy smile.
Cody laughed. "Noah, the romantic sprinter. This is officially the weirdest chapter of camp."
Owen sat on the ground. "And if the forest monster shows up, we'll distract it with berries. Or with Noah singing. That always works."
Katie smiled. "Thanks. All three of you."
The forest breathed again. And even though the rules of the universe had broken, something new had formed. Something that didn't need logic. Just connection.
—