Chapter Text
An adult west african lion with a nice dark mane jumped up from the bottom of the screen facing the camera. He wore a blue collared shirt with a white long sleeved shirt underneath, with green cargos and had a necklace which carried a small bag or sack of some sort.
“Yo!” He said with a smile and pointed at the camera with both index fingers. Any viewer would’ve thought his claws would pierce them through the screen. “We’re coming at you live from Camp Wawanakwa!” The camera zoomed out a little to reveal that the handsome feline was on a dock toward an open view of water.
“Somewhere in Muskoka, Ontario.” He put back on a smile and showed his pearly white lion fangs again.
“I’m your host, Chris McLean. And I’m dropping season one of the hottest new reality show on television right now!” He grinned once more and puffed out his chest with pride. Typical lion behavior.
“Here’s the deal,” He continued and walked down the dock with the camera following him down as his tail swished. “Twenty-two campers have signed up to spend eight weeks right here in this dirty ol’ summer camp.” He then stopped in his place.
“They’ll compete in challenges against each other, then have to face the judgement of their fellow campers.” The camera zoomed closer toward his face.
“Every three days, one team will either win a reward, or… watch one of their team members walk down the Dock of Shame,” the camera zoomed out once more to see him put his paw out as a gesture toward the dock, “...take a ride on the Boat of Losers, and leave Total Drama Island, for good!”
The camera cuts to a bonfire surrounded by logs, where Chris pops out again with a feline grin. “Their fate will be decided here,” He puts both of his paws out, bearing his claws in a dramatic, yet typical show host pose. “...at the dramatic campfire ceremonies.”
“Where each week, all but one camper will receive a marshmallow. I know what you’re thinking. Don’t worry, they're made to be safely eaten by all species!” Chris took a marshmallow on a stick and popped it into his mouth before he threw the stick behind him.
“In the end, only one beast will be left standing and will be rewarded with a small fortune.” He held a case and opened it revealing a hundred-thousand dollars, winking. “Which, let’s face it. They’ll prolly blow it in a week.”
“To survive, they’ll have to battle annoying bugs, nasty rotten camp food, maybe some drugged carnivore interns, and each other.”
“Every moment will be caught on one of the hundreds of cameras located all over the camp.” He lets out a giant purr.
“Who will crumble under the pressure? Who’s gonna get devoured or attacked first? Find out right here, on Total…” He raised his paws after each word. “..Drama.. Island!” The screen then fades to black.
(Theme Song)
The screen fades into the lion host again.
“Welcome back to Total Drama Island.” Chris said, hands on his hips. “Alrighty, it’s time to meet our contestants. He unexpectedly smirked. “We told them they'd be staying in a five star resort,” He snickered. “So if they seem a little ticked off, that’s probably why.”
A boat arrived at the dock and a small water deer with glasses and big protruding fang-like tusks stepped onto the dock with a grin. She wore an outfit with rather terrible color coordination with a green-blue shirt topped with a yellow-green vest with some pins, and some hot pink pants. She wasn’t the most, well, attractive herbivore.
“Beth!” Chris greets her. The water deer scrambled up to the lion, giving him an embrace, while he looked a little uncomfy with the herbivore embracing his bottom half.
“Hi, Chris! It’s so nice to meet you!” Her short tail wagged a little before she loosened her grip. She then looked up. And down. “Huh. For a lion, you look shorter in person.” She openly commented, then waved at the camera eagerly. Chris frowned, offended. “Uhh.. thanks. I’m a west african lion.” One of the smaller lion species, but he clearly wasn’t very proud of that.
Another boat arrives, and surprisingly, another deer, a large red deer, stepped onto the dock with a gentle face despite his intimidating muscles. He wore a green shirt with a white collar, with an orange ‘D’ on the center of the shirt. Hm, wonder what letter his name starts with. He also had on some grey shorts and sandals.
“DJ!” Chris greets. The deer sets down his bag to give him a high-five.
“Yo, Chris, how’s it going?” DJ looks around, slightly confused. “Uhm, you sure you got the right place here? Where’s the hotel?” Chris couldn’t help but smirk.
“Yo, this is it, Camp Wawanakwa!” DJ’s expression visibly changed to a frown, picked his bag up and walked past him. The deer couldn’t help but think to himself that it sure did look a lot more different on the application form.
A moment later, a black furred feline was on the dock. She had some features of a panther, but was not quite the size of one. In fact she was a little shorter, and her muzzle was a tad bit smaller than a panther’s. She had a nice, cool teal color dyed onto her eye lids and underneath, and hints of the color on the fur of her cheeks and the top of her head. Her tail was covered in teal jaguar markings that were obviously dyed or tattooed on. She looked somewhat, goth.
“Hey, Gwen.” Chris simply greets her. She looked around, then back at him, with an unfriendly glare.
“You mean we’re staying here…?” She hissed, disappointed.
“Nah uh kitty, you guys are staying here!” Chris booped her on the nose with his finger and she growled as she covered it with her paw. “My crib has a hot tub, A.C. aaand, more!” Chris purred. Gwen stormed up to the proud looking lion as her tail lashed.
“I did not sign up for this.” She growled under gritted teeth. The lion just purred again, like he was dealing with some cub. Which, for the most part, was kind of true. He then took out some papers from Rex knows where.
“Actually, you did.” He showed her the papers she signed earlier with a grin. Gwen snatched the papers from him, tore them with her bare claws, and threw them into the water below the dock. Chris actually did seem startled for a little, then smiled again. “The great thing about lawyers is, they make lots of copies!” He took out more papers and waved them near her face.
“I’m out of here.” She growled.
“Well, I hope you can swim all the way back, because your ride just left!” The feline looked back to see that the boat she was just on was already leaving towards the open water.
“(beep.)” She hissed. The word has been censored by the filming crew, and they will continue to do so whenever a camper decides to speak with profanity.
Another boat arrived, and a happy golden retriever with a green-greyish hat threw his bag onto the dock before he jumped out and his tail wagged. Another noticeable detail was that his bare, furry chest was showing underneath a pink jacket, and he was wearing some jean shorts.
“Chris!” The canine walked up to the lion and fist bumped him. “How’s it going, man? It’s an honor to meet you man!” The dog smiled.
“The Geoff-ster! Welcome to the island, man!” Chris greeted.
“Thanks, man!”
“If he says ‘man’ one more time, I’m gonna vomit.” Gwen scoffed, ears pinned. Beth giggled in response.
“Everyone, this is Lindsay!” Chris gestures his hand towards a figure. A beautiful yellow-golden furred cocker spaniel is shown and the camera looked her down from head to toe. She had a cool blue bandana on her head that matched her sweet eyes, a brown-orange ish top with a red tube top underneath, a nice, short orange pencil skirt, and boots.
“Hi!” The female canine greeted the lion with a cute, gentle voice. “Hey, you look kind of familiar.” Lindsay said, her head tilted while studying him.
“I’m Chris Mclean, the west african lion…?” He responded, as he hid his confusion with a smile. Lindsay isn’t quite proven. “The host of the show…?” He added on with a slight frown.
“Ohh, that’s where I know you from!” She walked to the other side dock, and joined the other campers. Weren’t canines supposed to be smart? Chris rolled his eyes.
Suddenly, the sound of a heel stepping onto the dock was heard. A tall, slim, female grey fox. Silence. Her shades reflected the nervous or confused looks of the other campers. She took them off, revealing her eyes. She looked around with a sassy ‘I own this place’ look. She wore a maroon halter top with green shorts. Her choice of clothing revealed much of her grey and white pelt, and a fierce rusty orange that split the two colors.
“Heather.” Chris simply greeted her. She didn’t even bother to acknowledge him. She walked past him without making eye contact. Rude. However, Beth didn’t seem to have gotten the message by now.
“Hi!” The water deer ran up to the fox. “Maybe we’ll be friends for the next eight weeks!” The fox recoiled at the herbivore, disgusted by her lisp and backed up with a dirty look as if she were some deadly disease.
“Get off of me!” She hissed.
Unexpectedly, 'Enter Sandman' suddenly blasted in a boombox in the distance, which caused everyone to look to reveal another boat arriving toward the dock. On it was a black furred grey wolf, with piercings on his face, and a notable neon green on the fur of his head. He wore a black shirt with a canine skull printed on it, a long sleeved cream colored shirt underneath, jean shorts, red converse, and the most eye-catching, the spiked dog collar on his neck that he adjusted before he threw his bag onto the dock and jumped down. The wolf growled, letting the campers know that he was the last person they’d want to mess with.
“Duncan! Dude.” Chris acknowledges, slightly starlted by the sudden growl.
“I dont like…” The canine put his paw up, clenching his clawed fingers into a fist. “…surpises.” It was probably a good thing the place wasn’t full of herbivores, otherwise he probably would’ve been followed by five officers. Those damn herbivores were way too paranoid.
“Uh, yeah. Your parole officer warned me about that, dude. He also told me to give him a holler any time and have you returned to juvie.” The wolf sniffed and rolled his eyes.
“Okay then.” He walked to the other side of the dock, passing Heather. Well well, that body sure was nice to stare at.
“Meet you by the campfire, gorgeous.” He winked.
“Drop dead, you wolf!” The vixen snarled. The wolf joined the campers, and they seemed a little nervous to be around him. “I’m calling my parents. You can not make me stay here.” Heather complained. Chris once again held out some papers, smiling.
Another boat arrived, with a hyena in a red tracksuit and a sweat headband.
“Ladies and gentleman, Tyler!” As the boat neared the dock, he decided to make a jump for it, only to clumsily stumble upon his landing and make a ‘laughing’ noise that hyenas usually made under stress or frustration. A gasp was heard from Lindsay, and other campers winced as if they felt the pain he just went through. Tyler just got up, looking fine as ever with the wag of his tail.
Chris couldn’t help but chuckle, but he got interrupted when he heard a loud sigh. When he looked toward the source, the sound came from a male impala. He wore a blue shirt with salmon pink and green sleeves underneath, green jeans, sneakers, and a pair of glasses. When did he get here? Chris frowned, but smiled again.
“Welcome to camp, Harold.”
“Nice camp. It’s much more favorable to my skills.” The impala said as he walked past him. Chris shivered.
“Contestant number nine is Trent!” Chris said as a bengal tiger, wearing a green shirt with a black paw print, camo sleeves underneath, black jeans and green sneakers walked up the dock. For a tiger, he had such a gentle, relaxed face. Honestly, he was actually the tenth contestant, but Chris was told that this feline had some crazy obsession with the number nine.
“Hey, good to meet you, man! I saw you on that figure skating show, nice work.” The tiger said upon meeting him, and Chris smiled with pride.
“Hey thanks man, I knew I rocked that show!” They fist bumped, then Trent looked around.
“So, uh, this is it?” He looked at the crappy condition of the camp, way different than promised. He was greeted with awkward silence. “…Alrighty..” He said, a little uneasy. He walked to an open space between Harold and Gwen. He stared at the cute feline for a brief moment before he warmly smiled at her, while she tried to ignore him. Once he looked away, her face flushed and she couldn’t help but smile. He seemed nice.
Another boat arrived, and on it was a female fishing cat, wearing a sky blue sweater and loose jorts. She held a red surfboard on her right. She stepped down onto the dock and walked up to Chris.
“Hey, what’s up?” She said as she set down her surfboard.
“Alright, our surfer girl Bridgette is here!” Chris announces. Duncan scoffed and flattened his ears.
“Nice board. This ain’t Malibu, honey.” He said.
“I.. thought we were gonna be on a beach.” She frowned. The lion only smirked.
“We are!” He pointed toward a dirty, littered beach in the distance. Bridgette flattened her ears, disappointed.
“Great.” She sighed and bent down to pick back up her bag.
“Alright, that makes—“
bonk!
Chris’s head was hit with her large surfboard as Bridgette bent down. “Ow! Darn it, that hurt!” He hissed as he rubbed the spot on his head. The fishing cat just walked to the other side of the dock, not noticing what her surfboard did.
“Hey guys.” She greeted Trent, Harold, Geoff and Duncan who were standing next to each other.
“Hey! I’m Geoff!” He walked up to go behind the feline with his tail wagging. She looked stunning. Her black spangled spots shone under the sun and her gaze rested on his. Man, she was like, totally hot.
“What’s up?” She turned to face him, and her surfboard dangerously turns, almost hitting the boys behind her. They dodge just in time.
“Jeez! Watch the board.” Harold warned.
“Hey! I’m Beth!” The short water deer greeted her from behind. Bridgette turned again, along with the surfboard while the boys had to dodge again.
“Okay, we’ve all met surfer kitty. Can we get on with the show, please?” Heather growled impatiently.
“Someone missed their daily fried tofu this morning.” Duncan teased the fox with a smirk.
“Get bit.” She scowled. Okay, she did like tofu, but it was becoming an obnoxious stereotype for her species. Mostly, but not all foxes liked tofu!
Another boat arrived, and a skinny lynx was revealed to be on the dock. He wore a teal shirt with a white and red shirt underneath, with some green-grey-ish shorts and thick sneakers. He had a serious face put on.
“Our… uh, next camper is Noah!” Chris announced.
“You got my list of my instinct triggers?” He first asked.
“I’m sure someone did!”
“Good. Is this where we’re staying…?” He looked at the camp with judgement.
“No, it’s your mother’s house, and we’re throwing a party.” Duncan put his fist in the other paw, and grinned mischievously with his wolf fangs. The lynx looked ticked off.
“Great, nice piercings doggy, do them yourself?” He said sarcastically.
“Yeah. Ya want one?” He fiercely grabbed his tufted ear and took out a needle, holding it dangerously close to it.
“Uh, no thank you, can I have my ear back, please?” The lynx asked, unfazed. The wolf let him go and pushed him back as he did.
“Thanks.”
The camera cut to a big female leopard on the arriving boat. She wore a yellow shirt with four small apples on it, and blue skinny jeans that showed her curvy hips.
“What’s up, yall? Leshawna’s in the house!” She waved to everyone on the dock from the boat.
“Yo, baby! Hey how ya doing?” She high-fived Chris as she walked past him. “Feel free to quit now, save yourselves some trouble, cause, I came to win!” The leopard proudly grinned. Harold walked up to her, staring at her lovely and loud rosettes.
“I’ve never seen a leopard like you in real life before.” The impala said in awe without knowing he slightly offended her.
“Excuse me?” She raised a brow.
“You’re really big.. and loud. Leopards aren’t usually built like this, and most leopards prefer to be quiet.” He emphasized with gestures that may have made the situation worse.
“What did you say to me?!” She snarled, with the lash of her tail. The campers seemed scared for the scrawny herbivore as the leopard stormed over to him. “No you didn’t! You have not seen anything yet!” She bared her teeth. “I’ll show you big, baby!” She hissed, about to jump on him, but DJ and Bridgette held her back. The big deer’s unexpected strength was surprisingly enough.
“Never bare your fangs at an herbivore..!” Bridgette whispered to her, but Leshawna was still very pissed.
“You want some of this? Come on, then!” She growled.
“Attacking me, or even devouring me will only result in a predation offense for you.” Harold remarked, but it clearly wasn’t the right moment for it.
“Alright campers, alright! Settle down.” Chris roared as a warning. Leshawna did as told, but gave Harold a warning glare. The impala just smiled. She doesn’t back down, which is quite interesting to him.
Another boat arrived, with one slim black and one plump white poodle now standing on the dock. They had identical clothing, both wearing black and white tube tops, hot pink jean shorts, pink sandals, and cute pink accessories on their heads.
“Laides! Sadie,” Chris acknowledged the white poodle, “and Katie!” he said to the black poodle. The black poodle put both paws on her cheeks and excitedly talked to her friend with her tail wagging.
“Ohmigosh Sadie, look! It’s a summer camp!” She pointed toward the cabins.
“I’ve always wanted to go to a summer camp!” Sadie happily barked in response. They squealed together, picking up their identical bags and ran to the other side of the dock. Chris looked a little confused.
Another boat arrived, dropping off a small prairie dog. He wore a blue beanie with a green sweater, and some jeans. He looked a little chill. Way too chill.
“Ezekiel! What’s up, man?” Chris greeted. The prairie dog literally looks up and points.
“I think I see some clouds!” He said. Was he being serious? Chris frowned before kneeling down to the herbivore’s level and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Okay, look dude. I know you don't get out much, being home-schooled your entire life, just try keeping your mouth shut, and you’ll be safe. Ya get me?”
“Yes sir.” Ezekiel grinned and walked past him.
“That’s just… wow.” Gwen commented in disbelief. A home schooled herbivore? He definetly wasn’t gonna leave with all his limbs in tact.
Another boat arrived, and a small fennec fox hopped out. He wore a yellow shirt with two stripes across it. One red and one green. There was a second lighter long sleeved shirt underneath, and he wore dark jeans. His big ears perked before Chirs noticed him.
“Cody! Code-ster. The Code-miester!” The lion bent down to his level, and the small fox jumped up and high-fived him.
“Dude, psyched to be here, man!” He strutted down the dock proudly. “I see the ladies have already arrived!” Cody smirked to Leshawna, Lindsay, and Bridgette. Even though he was much smaller than them all, that didn’t stop him from flirting with some nice looking ladies. He was about to say something to the leopard, but she raises a finger.
“Save it, short stuff.” She smiled. Cody nodded and walked off, standing next to Noah. He looked up at him and gave a freindly smile. The lynx only nodded before avoiding eye contact.
A stomp is heard on the dock, and the camera showed a strong female cheetah. Most cheetahs were slim, but this one had some extra muscle on her biceps. She wore an indigo top with matching shorts and sneakers. Gym wear. She had an angry, determined look on her face.
“Eva.” Chris nodded to her, leading to no reaction.
“Nice.. glad you could make it.” Still no acknowledgement from her. Cody raised his hand to her for a high-five, but she didn't even look down. She almost dropped her heavy bag onto the fox, but he jumped out of the way just in time, letting out a startled squeak.
“What’s in there, dumbells?!” Eva finally looked down and raised a brow.
“Yes.”
Another boat arrived, dropping of a golden-furred large plump bear. He wore a white shirt with a blue maple leaf on it, green shorts, and sneakers. He had the most excited face on.
“Woohoo! Chris, what’s happening?! This is awesome! Woohoo!” Chris immediately matched his energy.
“Owen! Welcome!” He pointed both his fingers at the bear. Owen then picked the lion up, almost breaking his ribs.
“Awesome to be here! Yeah, this is just so…”
“Awesome…?” Gwen asked with a flick of her ear.
“Yes! Awesome! Woohoo! Are you gonna be on my team?” He asked the feline.
“Oh, I sure hope so.” She rolled her eyes. The bear continued to whoop with pure excitement, all while still carrying the poor lion host.
“You about finished?” Chris asked, now annoyed. He is finally set down.
“Sorry bro, I’m just excited!” Owen smiled.
“Cool. And here comes Courtney!” Chris pointed toward a boat that was approaching the dock. On it was a small sumatran striped rabbit. An endangered species? She must be up for the risk. She wore a white buttoned up shirt with a grey shirt on top of it, and some green-khaki pants. She waved to the campers below with a sweet smile, and Chris held out his paw to help the rabbit down onto the dock.
“Thank you.” She politely acknowledged him. She noticed the other campers standing on the other side of the dock. Duncan stared down at her, slightly interested. Her attire made her look… adorable. He then noticed that she was staring back at him. They shared eye contact for a brief moment, until she gently smiled up at him. He smiled back. A little. Only for it to dim upon remembering the presence of the others.
“Hi, you must be the other contestants. It’s really nice to meet you all!” Some nod at her. Owen suddenly ran up to the small rabbit. She squeaked, a little startled.
“How’s it going? I’m Owen!” He smiled with his no pun intended, bare teeth. Those carnivore teeth. She forced her instincts away and stood in place.
“It’s nice to meet you, Ow..” The sound of an approaching boat interrupted her, and the boat carried the most handsome, muscular gazelle. “…wow.”
Every camper's attention was on him now, and most of them were looking at him in awe. He wore loose clothing, a dark-green shirt and blue pants. The girls seemed to be already fawning over him. Duncan scoffed, annoyed and unimpressed. Another ‘charming eye candy’ herbivore that attracted all the females. How original.
“Everyone, this is Justin. Welcome to Total Drama Island.” Chris fist bumped him.
“Thanks Chris, this is great.”
“Just so you know, we chose you entirely based on your looks.”
“I get that.” The gazelle kept his smile. He walked to the other side of the dock, and noticed the striped rabbit that still hadn't moved from where she was during his arrival.
“My, your stripes are lovely. You must be a unique species.” He said to Courtney in a gentle voice, already at it. That was all that was needed for the rabbit to blush.
“Wow.. uhm.. thank you! I’m a Sumatran striped rabbit..” She responded, all flustered. She finally backed up to join the other campers.
“Everyone, this is Izzy!” Chris pointed towards a boat that carried a red fox. She wore a shoulderless green top with a hole above her chest, a lime sarong, and green flat slippers.
“Hi, Chris! Hi, hi, hi!” She ran and jumped off the boat, only to do so too soon, and hit her chin at the edge of the dock with a yelp of pain, falling into the water below.
“Oooh, yikes.” Tyler couldn’t help but be a little amused. Courtney gasped and rushed over to where she fell.
“Guys, she could be seriously hurt!” She reached for Izzy’s paw and tried pulling with her surprising strength, and it was enough to help the fox get her other paw onto the dock and bring herself back up. She shook bits of water off her pelt, and the rabbit recoiled as some of it got on her.
“That felt… so… good!” Izzy jumped, energetic as ever. “Execpt for hitting my chin. Ow. Thanks, cute little bunny! Is this summer camp? That is so cool! Are we doing paper maches? Are we having lunch soon? Are we? Huh?” The fox asked at an overwhelming speed, with her tail wagging playfully.
“Now that’s a good call!” Owen grinned. Izzy scanned the other contestants, until she spotted Justin. Her tail stopped wagging, and she bared her fangs.
“Wait a minute! It’s you, you liar! You’re the one who reported me for attempting to eat your hand! I mean, I was gonna but I didn’t, but you’re still a liar! I’m gonna kill you now!” She charged towards him until Chris held her back from behind. “Grr! Let go of me! He’s gonna pay!” She squirmed under his grip.
“I don’t know that crazy fox.” Justin frowned.
“Nah uh! Let’s save the drama for later.” Chris was still holding her back, and she let out another growl. “First things first, we need a group photo for the promos. Everyone on the other end of the dock!” He beckoned the other campers with his free arm, and Izzy broke free, but instead of attacking Justin like she was going to, she casually followed his orders.
“Okay!”
The campers all get into their positions, all ready for the photo to be taken. The lion leapt onto the boat with his camera.
“Okay. One.. two..” As he was about to take the picture, he noticed something wrong. “Oh wait a minute, the lens was still on.” He took it out, preparing for the next attempt.
“Alright! One.. two.. Oh, wait. Card’s full.”
“Come on man, my face is starting to freeze!” Leshawna complained impatiently.
“Alright, got it! Okay all, everyone say: Wawanakwa!” He held up the camera.
“Wawanakwa!” The campers all said in unison. Right after Chris took the picture, the dock started to break under all their combined weight, and everyone screamed in fear as they fell into the water. The lion couldn’t help but start laughing, and took a few more pictures of them struggling in the water.
“Okay, everyone dry up and meet by the campfire pit in ten.” Chris said with a smirk. The screen faded to black.
The screen faded in to see Chris, and the campers, all dry now, around the unlit bonfire.
“This is Camp Wawanakwa, and your home for the next eight weeks. The campers sitting around you are your cabin mates. Your competition, and maybe even your friends.” The campers gave each other awkward glances. Harold gingerly grinned at Duncan, but he gave a warning growl, causing the impala to step back.
“The camper who manages to stay on Total Drama Island the longest without getting eliminated will win one-hundred thousand dollars!” The lion said with a grin.
“Excuse me,” Duncan asked. “What will the sleeping arrangements be? Because I’d like to request a bunk under her.” He pointed towards Heather, and she had an offended look on her face. Pervert, much?
“They’re not co-ed, are they?” She asked, weirded out by the punk wolf.
“No.” Chris responded. “Females get one side of the cabin, and males get the other.”
“Excuse me, Kyle?” Lindsay raised her hand. “Can I have a cabin with the lake view since im the prettiest?” The spaniel asked with an innocent smile as she played with one of her floppy ears.
“Okay— well— I— you— okay, no. that’s not really how it works here. And, its Chris.” He frowned.
“Excuse me, one more thing, Chris.” Courtney raised her hand.
“Fine. One more question.” Chris sighed with impatience.
“Will the carnivores and herbivores get different cabins?” She asked with concern. The campers around her glared at her.
“Nope!” The lion smiled, unbothered. The rabbit’s eyes widened.
“Don’t you think that’s a little unsafe, considering I'm a—“
“An endangered species. Sumatran striped rabbit. I know. But you chose to sign up for this, when I specifically warned that herbivores who did could gain severe injuries, or possibly death. It’s the rules!” He concluded. Courtney gingerly nodded. Fair enough. She was starting to question why she signed up for this. No, she signed up to prove a point. There wasn't any going back!
“This can not be happening.” Gwen pinned her ears.
“Awh, come on, everyone! It’ll be fun! Think of it as a big sleepover!” Owen grabbed her with one arm, with Tyler in the other.
“At least you don’t have to sleep next to him.” The hyena whispered to her, while gesturing towards Duncan, who was grabbing a poor deer intern by the shirt and held his pocket knife threateningly close to him for putting the camera too close to his face.
“Here’s the deal!” Chris held out a list. “We’re gonna split ya into two teams. So if I call your name, go stand over there.” He pointed towards the side of the bonfire.
“Gwen.” Panther. “Trent.” Bengal tiger. “Heather.” Grey fox. “Cody.” Fennec fox. “Lindsay.” Cocker spaniel. “Beth.” Chinese water deer. “Katie.” Poodle. “Owen.” Brown bear. “Leshawna.” Leopard. “Justin.” Gazelle. “and Noah.” Canadian lynx.
“From this moment on, you all are officialy known as…” He grabbed a rolled up green poster and tossed it to Owen.
“…The Screaming Gophers!”
The bear stared at the poster in awe.
“Cool! I’m a gopher!” He grinned.
“Wait! What about Sadie?” Katie looked at her best freind, with small dog whines coming out of her. Silence.
“The rest of you over here,” Chris said to the remaining campers.
“Geoff.” Golden retriever. “Bridgette.” Fishing cat. “DJ.” Red deer. “Tyler.” Spotted hyena. “Sadie.” Poodle. “Izzy.” Red fox. “Courtney.” Sumatran striped rabbit. “Ezekiel.” Prarie dog. “Duncan.” Grey wolf. “Eva.” Cheetah. “and Harold!” Impala.
“Move, move, move!” Chris suddenly urged.
“But Katie’s a Gopher! I have to be a Gopher!” Sadie wailed with a dog whimper.
“Sadie, is it?” Courtney walked up to her and placed her small hand in hers. Sadie looked down at her with sad puppy eyes, but the rabbit only gave her a sweet smile. “Come on, it’ll be okay.” She led her by the hand to take her to the others.
“This is so unfair! I miss you already!” Sadie whined to Katie, while she allowed the rabbit to take her hand and lead her.
Chris held a red rolled up poster. “From this moment on, you are all officially known as…” He tossed the poster to Harold, and it rolled down to reveal their team mascot.
“…The Killer Bass!”
“It’s awesome.” The impala said, lost for words. “It’s like… amazing!”
“Alright campers.” Chris clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. “You and your team will be on camera in all public areas during this competition.” The screen turned static, and it cut to the lion in a bathroom stall.
“You’ll also be able to share your thoughts on tape with video diaries anytime you want. Let the audience at home know what you’re really thinking.” He winked. “Or, just get something off your tail.”
Confessional: Gwen
“Uh, okay. So far this sucks.”
(End of confession)
Confessional: Lindsay
“I don't get it.” Her back side is facing the camera, with her tail practically covering the camera. “Where’s the camera guy?”
(End of confession)
“Alright, any questions? Cool. Let’s find your cabins.” Chris walked until he was a specific distance from two cabins, each with two doors, indicating there were two rooms for each one.
“Gophers on the east, Bass on the west.” The camera cut to Heather who opened the door to the girl’s side of her cabin. Clearly, the looks of it were unkept and dirty.
“Bunk beds..?” She scoffed. “Isn’t this a little summer camp?”
“No (beep)ing way, That’s the idea.” Gwen shoved her out the way to get inside.”
“Ugh, shut it, weird goth cat.” She scowled. “What even are you? A cat or a panther?”
“I’m both. Ever heard of hybrids, genius?” Gwen rolled her eyes, and the fox just growled at her in annoyance.
“I wouldn’t be so proud of that.” Heather scoffed. The feline just growled in annoyance. She was still a feline, there wasn’t anything wrong with that! Okay, she wasn’t pure-blooded, but she was nothing like those crazy carni-herbi hybrids that grew insanely large or something. It’s not like she had a problem with those types of beasts, but it was already quite hard to pass as a cat or panther back home. They’d call her an ‘Artificial panther’. It was seriously ridiculous.
“You’re so smart.” Gwen was startled by a sudden male voice, then looked down. It’s… Cody..? “I feel that.” The fennec fox smiled at her. Gwen’s ear twitched.
“Shouldn’t you be on the boy’s side of the cabin?” She raised a brow, already in a bad mood to deal with this, but Cody just grinned awkwardly. The camera cut to the outside of the cabin, with Leshawna about to enter, but she takes a step back as Cody is thrown out the room, tumbled down the stairs, and landed face first into the grass. Leshawna watched, slightly disturbed.
“Where are the outlets? I need to plug in my fur curler.” Lindsay asked as she played with one of her floppy ears.
“There are some in the communal bathrooms just across the way.” Chris pointed towards it with his tail.
“Communal bathrooms? What’s that?” Lindsay tilted her head.
“It means we shower together, idiot.” Gwen hissed. Weren’t dogs supposed to be smart? Lindsay’s sad puppy eyes began to show.
“Awhh, come on!” She whimpered. The goth feline flattened her ears to the annoying sound.
“I’m glad we’re in our own cabins with just guys, know what I mean?” Owen peeked out the door as he smirked, but Trent and Noah gave him looks full of judgement.
“Wait, no, I didn’t mean it like that!” He blurted with realization on what he just said. The two felines were already walking back inside. “I like girls! I just don't like sleeping with them! No! Wait! Agh, why’d I say that?” The bear put a palm to his face.
Noah sat down on a bottom bunk and took out a book from his bag.
“Hey, what’s up my man?” The lynx sighed and tried to ignore Cody who was looking up at him, but he couldn't help but stare at the state of him. Ruffled fur, and slight scratches on his left ear.
“…What happened to you?” He asked, slightly worried.
“Accidentally walked into the female’s cabin… got thrown out by that hot panther, it was awesome.” The fennec fox grinned. Noah sighed. Idiot. He watched as Cody placed his small bag on the bottom bunk across from him, and struggled to get up on the bed. There was no way he was gonna make it alive here.
The camera cut to the girls side of the Bass cabin, and Bridgette looked around, disappointed.
“This is it? The beds don’t even look that comfortable.” She placed her surfboard on the side of the bed, and put her bags down on a bottom bunk, claiming it.
“Hi, you’re Bridgette, right?” Courtney greeted her from behind. The fishing cat looked back, and smiled.
“Yeah! The fishing cat. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Is it okay if I claim the bed on top of yours?” The rabbit asked. Maybe if she took a top bunk, it’d be safer from carnivores who may have their instincts kicking in the middle of the night.
“Of course! Do you need help getting up? It doesn't seem very… easy for you.” Bridgette offered, looking around for a ladder, but there wasn't any. Courtney frowned, but kept her smile almost immediately.
“It’s fine, I got it!” Courtney threw her bag up onto the top bunk, used the bottom as a stepping stool, and hopped up from there.
“Cool! Is it comfortable up there?”
“This bed is pretty huge for me, I think I’ll be okay!” She looked down at Bridgette from the bed. Seriously. This bed was like six times bigger than her bed at home.
“Hey, I don’t mean this to be rude, but what type of rabbit are you?” Bridgette asked while staring at the dark stripes on the rabbit’s face.
“Sumatran striped rabbit. We’re endangered, so we must take more caution to stay alive. But I decided to sign up for this show anyway.” Courtney talked with a hint of pride in talking about her species, and the fishing cat below just nodded, before they were both interrupted by the rest of the girls coming inside. Izzy rushed inside, throwing her bag onto an open top bed before pouncing on top of it.
“My bed! It’s mine! Wow! So cool! Wait, don’t foxes like the ground more? That’s whatever, I already claimed it!” Rex, her crazy energy was a pawful.
Sadie walked in quietly before she placed her bag on a bottom bunk, and hid under the covers, with only her tail showing. Bridgette looked at her with pity.
“Sadie, you don’t need to be upset about not being with Katie right now. I’m sure you can see her during the challenges!” She assured her.
“But I need to be with Katie all the time! Besides the bathroom, I’ve never been apart from her, ever!” The dog whimpered.
“I’m sure you’ll be with her again, Sadie. Plus, we can be your friends as well!”
“Really?” Her tail raised a little.
“Yeah!”
Suddenly, they were interrupted again when Eva thrust the door open, without saying a word. She silently placed her bag on another bottom bunk. Izzy hung herself upside-down to look at her.
“Oh, hi, Eva! You’re claiming the bed under mine! That’s also cool! How many spots do you have? I’m gonna count! One-two-three-four—”
“Two-thousand three-hundred forty three.” Eva bluntly said, possibly to shut the vixen up. The cheetah then threw her shoes off, laid down and faced the wall, signaling that she did not want to talk with anyone. Felines.
The camera cut again to the boy's side of the Bass cabin, and Duncan was the first to walk in. He looked around, scoffing at the condition of the room. Great. He placed his bag on a top bunk.
“Hey! How’s it going, dude?” Duncan snapped his head around to look at who greeted him, but saw it was Geoff. Another canine, another person to possibly relate to. Fine, maybe he’d try making a friend just this once again.
“Sup.” He put his hand in a fist out for him to bump, which he gladly did.
“Can I claim the bed under yours, dude?”
“Sure man, whatever. It’s cool.”
“Nice!” The dog placed his bag below his bed, and signaled with his tail an ‘I’ll be right back’ while rushing out the door. The tail signals were something only canines would be able to understand.
“Excuse me, Chris?” Geoff asked the lion in the distance from the cabin porch. “Is there a… chaperone of any kind here?” The dog tilted his head.
“You’re all sixteen years old, as old as a counselor in training at a regular summer camp…! So, other than myself, you’re all unsupervised.” Chris shrugged. Was that even a good idea? “You’ve got half an hour to unpack and meet me back at the main lodge, starting… now!” The lion walked away.
“Nice!” Geoff wagged his tail. It wasn’t like a devouring incident would happen so early.
All of a sudden, a loud puppy-like wail or scream of some sort is heard by everyone from the girl’s side of the Gopher cabin. A few campers come to check the commotion.
“Oh, damn that puppy can scream!” Leshawna commented while looking through the doorway. Lindsay stood on a stool with a single leg, and fearfully looked down at a cockroach on the groud, whimpering.
“What is it?! Kill it, kill it!” She yelped. Everyone started to panic, either running out the door or jumping on high surfaces to avoid it, until Duncan reappeard with an axe, and chopped the bug in half. Insects had way different perspectives on the world than land animals, so it wasn’t quite a ‘murder.’
“Well, that’s one way to kill a bug.” Gwen commented, impressed. The wolf winked upon hearing her, with the axe over his shoulder. Hot. Tyler rushed up to Lindsay, who was on the ground.
“If you ever see one of those again, just let me know, okay?” He reached his hand out for her to take and get up. “Cause you know, I can do that too.” Tyler smiled at her, and Lindsay giggled and blushed, with her tail slowly starting to wag. Duncan scoffed.
“They always go for the jocks.” He rolled his eyes in amusement.
The camera cut to the mess hall, and a new voice roared to the campers.
“Listen up!” Another lion, a barbary lion, growled. He was much more big and menacing than Chris was. Chris looked weak and small if you compared the two side by side. “I serve it three times a day, and you’ll eat it three times a day! So grab your trays, get your food, and sit your tails down, now!” He roared.
“Excuse me, will we be getting all the major food groups for both herbivores and carnivores?” Beth asked. Chef didn’t answer her. His eyes twitched when Harold, who was next to her, commented.
“Yeah, cause I get hypoglycemic real bad if I don’t get enough sugar.” The lion just growled.
“You’ll get, sit your tail down!” He loudly roared, scaring the herbivore off.
“Woah, have a cow…!” Owen whispered to Noah, who smirked at the bear’s comment.
“What was that?!” Chef beckoned him. “Come closer, fat guy. I didn’t hear you.” He growled threateningly.
“Uh, I didn’t really say anything important.” The bear shivered, fidgeting with his thumbs.
“I’m sure you didn’t” He raised a brow with suspicion as he filled his tray, and allowed him to walk off. Leshawna was waiting in line when she noticed she was standing next to Eva. Another feline. Why not say hello?
“Hey, what’s up, girl?” The leopard expected at least a ‘hey’ back, but the cheetah just glared at her without a word, then walked away with her tray. Leshawna’s eyes widened to see someone of the same taxonomic family so rude towards her. “Oh, so it’s gonna be like that, is it?” She hissed.
“Next!” She gets startled as Chef roared from behind her.
“Excuse me, my nutritionist said I shouldn’t eat any white sugar, white flour, or like, dairy.” Lindsay stated. The lion just stared at her dead in the eye without saying a word, but the message was clear.
“I don’t think that’s gonna be a problem.” Gwen muttered. The spaniel just shrugged and walked away.
“Welcome to the main lodge!” Chris entered through the doorway, with his hands on his hips.
“Yo, my man, can we order a pizza?” Geoff asked. A roar is heard from the back of the mess hall, and a thrown knife barely missed him as it slightly brushed his fur, either on purpose or not, and it hit the wall, staying lodged in. He looked back in absolute shock to see Chef who bared his teeth. He let out a yelp of fear. “Woah! It’s cool, it’s cool!” Geoff held his hands up and chuckled nervously. “Brown slop is cool, hah, right guys?” The campers all nodded, clearly intimidated.
“Your first challenge begins in one hour.” Chris announced before walking out the door.
“What do you think they’ll make us do?” Katie asked DJ nervously.
“It’s our first challenge, how hard can it be?” The deer assured her, and she smiled.
An hour later, all the contestants were in their swimsuits, on top of a tall, steep cliff over water. They all seemed tense and nervous. DJ took back what he said earlier.
“Oh… (beep.)”