A Tale of Two Islands

Chris is arrested and taken off to prison following the events of Pahkitew Island, leaving Total Drama on hiatus for a few years. Now his former co-host has stepped up to the plate, and the question on everyone's minds is, can he deliver? Set up with a new location, a new crew of familiar faces, and a brand new cast full of wild and wacky personalities, will Hatchet be able to pull it all off? Or maybe Total Drama is doomed to fail without McLean at the helm? Find out on Total Drama Islands!

Characters

Staff

Hatchet - Host

Cameron - Assistant

Brick - Boy's Counselor

Jo - Girl's Counselor

DJ - Chef

Contestants

Alicia - The Fashionista

Delilah - The Wallflower

Eddy - The Loudmouth

Frank - The Short-Fused Handyman

Gloria - The Matchmaker

Ishmael - The Navy Brat

Kay - The Cocky Tomboy

Lucky - The Daredevil

Marco - The Gentleman

Naomi - The Jockette

Odin - The Lazy Powerhouse

Paschal - The Scatterbrained Artist

Roscoe - The Ball of Energy

Skylar - The Bombshell

Talia - The Techno-Geek

Wally - The Pokenerd

Vanessa - The Know-it-All

Xander - The Leader

Chapters

Chapter 1: Let the Games Begin (Part 1)

From the air the sight wasn’t anything too special, just a couple of similar looking islands connected by a bridge, the bridge having a third branching route leading down to a wooden dock. However, to the man standing in the middle of it all, this was his dream come true. Hatchet, the man who had served as chef for so many years, stood upon the large stone bridge with a wicked grin across his face. He couldn’t believe he was actually there, that he was actually hosting. It seemed like such a weird thing, after playing second banana to Chris for so many years. This was his show, and he was going to host it how he wanted to. Still, he couldn’t help but think back to a couple of months ago. That fateful day changed a lot in his life.

Two Months Prior

“... And that’s the idea,” concluded Hatchet.

The board of directors sitting before him all exchanged glances for a few seconds. The man at the end of the table, the chairman of the company, was the first to speak. “So… you’re sure you can pull this off? I’ve seen you handle the kids on the show before, and I know you can be a capable host. However, what you’re asking is larger than anything we’ve done in the past. I mean… two islands, the funding for challenges, and just the sheer number of people it’ll take to make this work. I’m not sure I feel comfortable with all of-”

The chairman wasn’t done; however, Hatchet knew this was his only chance to play his ace in the hole. “Sir, ladies and gentleman, I understand that you all think this is a risky venture. But five years ago Chris McLean came to you all with a similar proposal, and look at where you are now. The Total Drama series has been the biggest hit this network has ever seen. Now I know I’m not Chris McLean, but that may not be a bad thing. Chris was an even riskier venture than I am. He had more expensive taste, less regard for the contestants, and his ego forbade him from doing certain things. I’m not like that, and all of you know it. Look, I’m asking for one chance to show you all I can do this. I swear that if you give me this opportunity, this’ll be the most successful season the show has ever seen.” Hatchet closed his statement with finality in his voice.

The board buzzed with chatter. Hatchet couldn’t make out all of it… but he could tell there was a lot of positive talk amongst the group. The chairman knocked his fist into the table, obviously a sign for his colleagues to come to order. The chairman then asked, “Can you leave us for a moment? We need to discuss this in private before passing our judgment.”

Hatchet nodded and left the room, shutting the large double doors behind him. The muscular man quietly paced in the hallway outside the boardroom. The doors were thick, and he couldn’t hear a single peep through them. That speech at the end was his last ditch effort… and he was praying that it had garnered enough support.

Suddenly one of the doors re-opened, and a security guard Hatchet hadn’t even noticed motioned to him. “The board has made their decision.”

Hatchet re-entered the room and stood rigidly where he had been before. He was nervous, but he held his poker face firm.

“There is a lot of risk to this venture,” began the chairman. “However there is also a great reward to be had if we succeed. My colleagues and I have decided… to give you a chance. Congratulations Hatchet, you have your show.”

Hatchet gave a wide smile as the chairman delivered the news. He thought that final speech must’ve been the deciding factor.

Yet the chairman wasn’t done yet. “I do have a few changes I’d like to implement though.”

Hatchet’s smile faded a bit, but he didn’t let it go entirely. “Those changes would be…?”

The chairman threw eighteen manila folders down on the table, each of them containing a substantial amount of paper. “Instead of you hand-picking your cast, we took the liberty to pick a cast we think will be… great together. These were supposed to be for the next season anyways, so it isn’t a problem asking you to take them… is it?”

Hatchet shook his head, “No, not at all.”

The chairman gave Hatchet a friendly, yet oddly menacing grin. “Good, good. Best of luck to you Hatchet, for your sake and ours.”

Hatchet picked up the folders and began glancing through them on his way out. As he skimmed them he didn’t note anything special about most of the kids. They were all from the US or Canada, they all had certain stereotypes attached to them… not at all different from any previous season. Then Hatchet looked over the final dossier, and shock crossed his face. “What the hell? Y-You gotta be kidding me?”

Back to the Present

“Sir... Hatchet!”

The voice snapped the former chef back to reality, and he looked down to see his assistant standing next to him. The young man had been hand picked by Hatchet, despite the two of them being a bit of an odd pairing. He was short, scrawny, and was adorned in a thick-rimmed set of glasses. However, Hatchet knew this kid had one thing he may have lacked a bit of: overwhelming intelligence. The kid was a whiz, especially in the realm of technology. Plus, Hatchet couldn’t help but admire his work ethic.

Hatchet asked, “What, Cameron?”

Cameron handed his superior a clipboard. “Just thought you may need to go over the names one more time. The campers will be arriving any minute now.”

Hatchet gave a small grin, “Thanks kid.” He flipped through the names one final time, and gave the clipboard back to Cameron. “These guys may just be rowdier than the first bunch we got back on Island.”

“Gosh, you really think so? I thought they may just be the most docile cast this show’s ever seen.” Cameron cleaned the lenses on his glasses as he spoke.

Hatchet handed the clipboard back to Cameron, and mumbled, “We’ll see.”

Just then Hatchet noticed a group of small rowboats in the distance. “Show time,” the large man enthusiastically whispered. He strolled down to the wooden dock, and awaited the arrival of the first contestant.

The first rowboat to reach the dock contained a girl with raven black hair, deep green eyes, and a fair complexion. She was adorned in a plain white tank-top, jeans, and black sneakers. She thanked the intern who’d been rowing for her, and climbed up onto the dock. She looked at Hatchet and flashed him a small smile.

“You must be Delilah.” Hatchet smiled back and extended a hand.

Delilah shook it hesitantly and nodded. “That’d be me. Nice to meet you Mr. Hatchet.” She then took up a spot near the end of the dock as another boat pulled up.

The camper in said boat was a short, scrawny, angry-looking young man. He wore a yellow t-shirt, khaki shorts, and sunglasses. He struggled to get onto the dock, so the intern who rowed him there pushed him up onto it. The loudmouth yelled, “This already sucks! Stupid dock!”

Hatchet raised an eyebrow at the young man and gave a small chuckle. “I’m guessing you’re Eddy?”

The short teen got to his feet and brushed himself off. “Yeah, that’s my name. You want a damn medal or something?”

Hatchet growled lowly at the young man. “Just get your butt to the end of the dock.”

Eddy didn’t need any more convincing, and he hauled it to the end of the dock.

The next contestant to arrive sported long hair, a short beard, and deeply tan skin. He wore cargo pants, a white t-shirt adorned with an anchor, and a cross necklace. The young man patted his rower on the shoulder and said, “Excellent form. All you have to work on is your speed.” He then climbed up onto the dock and extended a hand to Hatchet. “Good to meet ya Hatchet, name’s Ishmael.”

Hatchet shook the outstretched hand, and took note of his very firm grip. “Good to meet the son of a fellow officer.”

Ishmael nodded, pride filling his eyes. “Yeah my pa was a Rear Admiral by the time he retired. I’m hoping I can be just as great.”

Hatchet nodded to him, and Ishmael proudly marched his way to the end of the dock.

Eddy looked at his fellow camper with indifference. “So… what’s so special about being a Rear Admiral? I mean… even the title sounds a bit fruity.”

Ishmael looked down at the short teen with disgust. “Rear Admiral is among one of the highest titles a naval officer can attain! It’s an honored rank that many a great man has carried! Don’t you dare try to sully it with your stupid perversion!”

“Okay, whatever you say Ahab.” Eddy went back to playing with one of the boards in the dock, but Ishmael continued to glare at him.

CONF ISHMAEL: “I will not let that disrespectful little punk get away with this. That heathen better be prepared… because now it’s my goal to send him to Davy Jones's Locker!”

Another boat pulled up to the dock carrying a girl in very trendy clothing. She was tall, with tan skin and flowing brunette hair. The intern who’d rowed her over lifted her up onto the dock. She turned back to him and winked, “Thanks big guy.” As the intern rowed away, she turned to Hatchet and rolled her eyes. “What a dope, can’t even tell when he’s being played.”

The host shook his head, “Alicia I assume?”

“You assume right hostman. Nobody can rock a name as fabulous as mine”— taking a beat she flipped her hair dramatically— “but me!”

Eddy mumbled, “You and the hundreds of other people who probably have that name.”

Alicia’s ears perked up as she turned to face the loudmouth. “Excuse me, do you wanna repeat that last comment? I’d love to hear what you have to say, before I smack you into next week!”

Hatchet put a hand on Alicia’s shoulder, one she promptly pulled off. “As much as I’d love to watch that happen, we still have fourteen more people to get through. I can’t have a medvac before everyone even steps foot on this dock.”

Alicia shot Eddy a pointed glare. “You’re safe for now, you twerp.” The fashionista strutted to the end of the dock, avoiding being anywhere near him.

The next boat to arrive carried a massive individual. He was built like a tank with gigantic arms and a barrel chest. However none of his muscles were very well defined. The mountain of a teen wore a black t-shirt, white basketball shorts, and flip-flops. He yawned, and lazily rolled up onto the dock. Laying face up, he seemed rather content.

Hatchet looked down at the hulking mass and said, “You gotta be Odin.”

The youth glanced towards Hatchet without moving a muscle. “Yup.”

Hatchet gestured towards the end of the dock. “Can ya go join the others?”

Odin turned his head to see the other four at the end of the dock. Rolling his eyes, he rolled end over end to join them. When he reached the others, Odin closed his eyes and put his hands behind his head.

The next boat to reach the dock had only the intern rowing in it. Hatchet looked down at him and asked, “Where the heck is your camper?”

The intern replied by pointing out a bit further offshore. Hatchet looked and saw a white-haired, sunburnt girl swimming towards them. When she reached the dock she was breathing heavily. The girl struggled up onto it, and collapsed panting. “Note… to self… don’t try to… surf on…. the back… of a boat… ever again.”

Hatchet hovered over the girl, noticing she wore a purple tank-top and yoga pants. “I’m gonna take a shot in the dark and say you’re Lucky.”

The exhausted girl looked up at him and nodded. “Bingo.”

Hatchet waved for one of the interns to come over. The intern lifted Lucky to her feet, and half carried her to the end of the dock.

At that moment another boat arrived, this one actually carrying a camper. The girl in the boat was, by all accounts, absolutely stunning. She had light blonde hair, soft blue eyes, and perfect white teeth. However she was dressed modestly in a loose fitting brown t-shirt and baggy jeans. She gracefully lifted herself up onto the dock, and took a quick glance around. When she noticed her fellow campers all staring at her, she immediately turned her eyes towards the ground. Her right arm grabbed the elbow of her left, and she remained silent.

Hatchet approached the young lady with a friendly expression. “Hi there, I’m Hatchet. I’m guessing you’re probably Skylar?”

The girl simply nodded her head slightly. She still kept her eyes to the ground as she made her way towards the others. Skylar stopped a bit ahead of everyone else though, and remained silent as the others mumbled behind her.

Alicia approached the quiet girl and looked her over. “Girl, where is your sense of style? I mean come on, it looks like your dad dressed you.”

Skylar didn’t respond, and Alicia instantly became bored with her. The well-dressed teen made her way back to the others just as the next boat pulled up. Sitting in this boat was a burly, gruff-looking guy. He was dressed in work boots, a blue sleeveless shirt, and faded jeans. The most noticeable thing about him was the thick hair that covered his arms, legs, and chest. He easily climbed up onto the dock, and immediately shook Hatchet’s hand. “Nice to meet you sir, I’m Frank.”

Hatchet noticed this burly youngster had an even firmer handshake than Ishmael. He also took note that the teen looked more like he was thirty. Hatchet apparently wasn’t the only one to notice this, as Eddy piped up once again. “Holy crap… I guess we finally found proof that bigfoot exists.”

Frank released Hatchet’s hand, and slowly turned towards the source of the last jab. “You wanna repeat that, shorty?”

Eddy smirked and said, “Gladly. I said-”

“It doesn’t matter what you said,” Frank yelled. “You’re an insignificant little worm with only hollow words as your weapons!” The hairy teen then flexed his muscular arms. “Now these, these are real weapons! So remember this when you feel like speaking again, pipsqueak, because one wrong word and I will end you! Are we clear!?”

Eddy backed down immediately, surprised by Frank’s sudden and violent reaction. However Frank kept staring daggers through him. “I asked a question, are we clear!? You either answer it or I go over there and-”

“Yes! We’re clear, dammit!”

Frank nodded his head in satisfaction and calmed down. “Good, now that that’s settled…” Frank strolled over to the end of the dock, and stood right next to Eddy. The burly young man chuckled and put an arm around him, “I can already tell we’re gonna get along real well.”

Yet another boat arrived at the dock, this time carrying a plump, happy looking girl. She wore a pink t-shirt, white pants, and large rimmed glasses. The girl pulled herself up onto the dock, albeit with a bit of a struggle. Once she regained her footing, she immediately began scanning the crowd of people who’d already arrived.

Hatchet looked over her, “You must be Gloria.”

Gloria nodded curtly to him. “That is right. Now I require silence, I am working.” The large girl joined the others standing on the end of the dock, still scanning the group.

The next boat pulled up carrying a skinny guy with spiked up orange and blue hair. He wore a plaid button-down shirt, white dress pants, and circular glasses. The thin camper pulled himself up onto the dock with relative ease. He had a wild smile on his face as he surveyed the area, mumbling a few incoherent things to himself. The young man was so focused on his surroundings, he failed to even notice Hatchet’s attempt to shake his hand.

“Uh kid,” Hatchet began, “You kinda just blew me off.”

The wild grin faded a bit from the odd boy’s face, and he turned back to Hatchet. “Oh, terribly sorry, that was awful rude of me.” The teen shook Hatchet’s hand apologetically, “I’m Paschal.”

Hatchet chuckled a bit. “Trust me kid, I could tell.”

Paschal moved towards the end of the dock, receiving a horrified look from Alicia. The well-dressed girl wasn’t paying attention to him much on his arrival, but now that she saw what he was wearing…

CONF ALICIA: (With a look of utter shock and revulsion) “WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!? I mean… just… who in their right mind…? This kid has got to have some big time issues, no sane person dresses like that.”

Although Alicia was visibly gawking at him, Paschal either didn’t notice or didn’t care. The odd teen returned to surveying his surroundings with amusement.

The following boat carried a dark-skinned, smug-looking girl. She was wearing torn, faded jeans with a maroon t-shirt, and a blue ballcap which she had turned backwards. She jumped up onto the dock with a cocky grin and surveyed the competition. “Better just go home now boys and girls, I came to win.”

At the other end of the dock Frank scoffed. “You win, please. If anyone’s walking out of here a million bucks richer, it’s gonna be me.”

Hatchet cut in by extending his hand out to the girl. The dusky teen shook it, “Sup Hatchet, name’s Kay.”

Hatchet replied, “I already know that young lady, now could you please go stand with the others?”

Kay turned to her fellow competitors and chuckled a bit. “Sure big guy, whatever you want I guess.” The confident girl joined the others with a large grin on her face.

The next boat arrived carrying a pale skinned, brown eyed girl. Her hair was long, curly, and brunette to match her eyes. She was dressed in a black polo short-sleeved shirt with black dress pants. She pulled herself up onto the dock, and then immediately brushed herself off. Looking to the end of the dock she saw the other campers, and gave them a polite smile. She then turned to the host and shook his hand. “Pleasure to meet you Hatchet, I’m Vanessa.” Then Vanessa began walking to the end of the dock before Hatchet, or anyone for that matter, could say a word.

When she joined the others, however, Paschal attempted to strike up a conversation. “If I may say, your hair is quite interesting.”

Vanessa turned to the oddly attired boy and smiled. “Why thank you very much.” She looked up at his hair with a bit of amusement. “The same could be said for that spiky mess you have there.”

Paschal looked a bit embarrassed and rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, I get that a lot. Not exactly the most ‘fashionable’ of choices.”

Vanessa chuckled a bit. “It’s not a bad thing. I honestly think it suits you.”

“Well thanks, nobody ever really sees it that way.” He smiled, and continued talking with Vanessa in the background.

The following boat carried a deeply tanned boy of about average height and weight. He had short black hair and brown eyes. He wore a black t-shirt with a ham design on it, cargo shorts, and radical running shoes. His eyes were darting back and forth as he jumped up and down excitedly. He leaped up onto the dock and still didn’t stand still. The boy just kept moving, even if it was in a very minor way.

Hatchet offered his hand, and the young man shook it as quickly as he could. “You have got to be Roscoe. Can you just stand still?”

The kid stopped bouncing around. However, his left foot still tapped against the dock rather quickly. “Yeah, I’m Roscoe. My mom just calls me headache though.” Roscoe gave a swift chuckle as he waited for a response.

Hatchet merely shook his head exasperatedly. “Just get to the end of the dock already.”

CONF ROSCOE: “Really she calls me a headache and a nuisance… and a bunch of other stuff, but details shmetails!  I’m here to have some fun and win some cold hard cash baby!” (He jumps up onto the stall’s seat and pounds his fists into the walls). “Wanna see how much noise I can make before somebody gets worried?”

The ball of energy obliged as he quickly made his way over to the others.

Another boat pulled up hauling a fit-looking young woman with short, dirty blonde hair. She wore a purple varsity jacket with the number thirteen and the name ‘Naomi’ proudly displayed. Underneath the jacket she had a grey tank top on, matched by grey sweatpants. She easily climbed up onto the dock and beamed a smile at everyone.

Hatchet shook her hand and remarked, “And you’re obviously Naomi.”

Naomi nodded her head in response. “Yup, you got it! Although the jacket makes it kinda obvious.” Hatchet gestured for her to join the others, and she obliged.

Hatchet looked down at the water to see the next boat to arrive; however its passenger wasn’t in too much of a rush to get out. The teen Hatchet looked down at was handsome, with chocolate brown eyes and wild black hair. He wore an Italian themed Futbol jersey, white shorts, and green sneakers. The reason the young man was in no hurry was because he was giving the female intern who’d rowed him over a shoulder massage. “All that rowing isn’t good for these two. Just relax and allow me to work my magic.”

Hatchet gave a decisively sharp whistle, and the pair turned their attention to him. “I’d bet ten bucks that you’re Marco.”

The intern blushed from embarrassment, and her passenger nodded. “Uh-huh, my name is Marco.”

Hatchet pulled the handsome Futbol enthusiast up out of the boat, and dropped him onto the dock. “I knew we should’ve given you one of the guys.”

Marco chuckled a bit. “You believe that would’ve changed the outcome? The rower truly needed a massage, so I gave her one. The gender of said rower has no bearing on this.”

Naomi let out a low whistle, while Alicia leaned over and whispered to her, Delilah, and Kay. “What I wouldn’t give for a man like that to be rubbing me down.”

Delilah’s face lit up with a furious blush, while Kay just laughed. “Girl, that ain’t no man. He’s an Italian six-inch meatball with extra cheese. A real man would be the whole dang steak.”

Just then the next boat to arrived, carrying a small, very scrawny dude with red hair. He had freckles all over his face, a stereotypical ‘ginger’. The small teen was dressed in jeans, black shoes, and a white shirt with a Pokéball design on it. He was unable to lift himself up onto the dock, but before the intern could help Marco came over and pulled the frail boy up.

CONF WALLY: “Well… so much for first impressions. I guess I’m already going to be labeled as the Cameron of this season.”

“Are you alright there small one?” The kind boy held his weak counterpart up to keep him from collapsing.

“Yeah, I guess. Sheesh, that was about as pathetic as pre level fifteen Magikarp.” The small boy chuckled a bit, and heard a female voice chuckle as well.

Marco chuckled with the small nerd in confusion. “If this ‘Magikarp’ is more pathetic than an own goal, then I agree with you.”

Hatchet strolled over to the frail boy and asked, “You’re Wally, aren’t you?”

The teen gave a small smile and said, “Yup, all five feet of me.”

Marco assisted Wally to the end of the dock, and allowed him to stand on his own once he got there.

The second to last boat to arrive carried a very… peculiar looking girl. She had long purple hair, grey eyes, and wore a purple bandana across the rest of her face. She was wearing a black and purple t-shirt, grey and purple pants, and black and purple sneakers. She gave a thumbs up to her rower, and timidly pulled herself up onto the dock. She noticed everyone staring at her, so she gave them a little wave of greetings.

“Since you’re my last girl, you have to be Talia.” Hatchet seemed a bit thrown off by the girl, but nonetheless he tried to remain friendly.

Talia nodded her head and gave Hatchet a thumbs up. As the girl shuffled her feet to go join the others, one of her shoes became caught on one of the more rickety boards in the dock. “Oh for the love of… c’mon,” she mumbled.

She attempted to pull her foot free, but had no success. So she grabbed her leg and began to yank on it. This time she was successful; however, she had lost her balance in the process. Talia accidentally flung herself off the end of the dock. She closed her eyes and waited to hit the water… but she didn’t. Instead she was... The nervous girl slowly opened her eyes, to find that she had been caught by a guy. He was maybe around average height, with fairly well toned muscles and lightly tanned skin. His hair was dark brown sitting at about medium length, and he sported a thin goatee. He wore a green and white football jersey, faded jeans, thin rimmed glasses, and worn-out sneakers. He smiled down at Talia and asked, “You okay?”

Talia couldn’t get a word out. The best she could manage was a bunch of incoherent nonsense. Eventually, she settled on just nodding.

CONF TALIA: “I uh… he uh… is it getting a bit hot in here?”

The guy carrying her gave an even bigger smile. “Well that’s good to hear.” He climbed up onto the dock, Talia still in his arms, and nodded towards Hatchet. “So you’re the infamous Hatchet I’ve seen and heard so much about. I’m Xander, it’s nice to meet ya!”

Hatchet nodded back at the young man. “I’d offer to shake one of your hands, but it looks like they’re full right now.”

Xander realized he was still holding the purple-clad girl. “Oh dang sorry, I should put ya down now, hehe.”

Talia didn’t respond, she just allowed Xander to get her back on her feet. “Thank you,” she said rather quietly. Then she joined the others at the end of the dock. Not that any of them could tell, but she was blushing profusely from the whole ordeal.

“Wow… not even a day here and we already have our first sappy couple.”

Talia and Xander both spun around to see the source of the heckle. Their eyes were met by a smug smile. Kay just stood there, chuckling to herself. “I mean come on, we’ve seen this type of crap a million times before. Awkward girl falls for some guy just cause he was nice to her, or saved her, or whatever. It’s like the set up for a bad rom-com.”

Talia’s blush grew even deeper and larger under her bandana. She ducked behind Naomi, the largest person who was close to her, and tried to hide. Naomi turned to her, and patted Talia on the back. “Ignore her, girl’s probably got a bigger bark than her bite.”

Xander just shook his head and wore a grin on his face. “Wow, somebody likes to jump to conclusions don’t they? Huh, little miss ‘let’s try and act all tough with my clothes and attitude’. I’ve seen your type before, and trust me when I say you can’t phase me. So why don’t you just give up now, while I’m in a fairly good mood.”

CONF GLORIA: “Y’know, she may have been a royal pain about it, but Kay’s right. I can already tell Xander and Talia would make a great couple. However, there are so many different possibilities, so many combinations to explore!

Kay’s jaw nearly dropped open.

CONF KAY: “W-what the hell was that? I mean I expected him to light up like a christmas tree! It got to her… so why the hell didn’t it phase him! He totally turned it around and owned ME!” (She punches the wall of the confessional stall, and hurts her hand in the process. She quickly recoils and stomps her foot hard.) “AAAH, this means war, dammit!

The cocky teen remained quiet, but her eyes were pools of pure rage.

“Well now that you’re all here we can get down to business.” Hatchet snapped his fingers, and Cameron came down with two large, rolled up banners. He handed them to Hatchet, and the large man patted him on the head. “You all probably know Cameron, he’s my assistant.”

Cameron waved awkwardly and meekly said, “Hi.”

Hatchet gave the small nerd an approving smile. “Good job Cameron, now get back to where you’re supposed to be.”

Cameron saluted Hatchet and yelled, “Aye, aye sir!” Then, just like that, he bolted back up the bridge.

Hatchet sighed a bit. “Good kid, good kid. Now in my hand you'll notice I have two banners. Obviously these are for two teams, and if you didn’t immediately catch on to that then you’re an idiot!”

Naomi ducked her head a bit, then awkwardly scratched the back of it.

“So guys get on one side of the dock, and girls get on the other.”

The campers did so, Odin rolling over to his side with a sigh at the effort it required.

Kay chuckled a bit. “Well at least we won’t have to put up with any stupid dudes over here, right girls?”

Xander joined her chuckling and added, “I get the dude part, but you sure they’re not gonna have to put up with at least one idiot?.”

Kay looked like she’d explode, but she calmed down when she saw Hatchet give her a disapproving glare.

Then Hatchet tossed an orange banner at the girls. It hit Lucky straight in the face, and the white-haired girl tumbled off the end of the dock. However before the banner could fall as well, Gloria caught it. As Naomi helped the walking disaster back up onto the dock, the banner unrolled to reveal a cougar on it.

“From now on, you ladies are the Courageous Cougars!” Hatchet then tossed the other banner he had, a green one, at the guys. It fell on Odin, who didn’t even flinch as it unrolled over his face. It had a Dingo in the middle of it. “You guys will be the Daring Dingos!”

“Heh, double d,” Eddy mumbled.

Hatchet then began walking back up onto the bridge. When he reached the top he pointed to the left, “Boys to the left island,” then to the right, “and girls on the right one. Oh and don’t forget to be polite to your new ‘counselors’.” Hatchet laughed menacingly, and he reached his arm out over the bridge. None of the campers had a clue what he was doing… until a large boat came sailing out of nowhere. Hatchet grabbed a ladder on the side, and rode away on it. Everyone just gawked as he called out, “Your first challenge is tomorrow!”

“Well then… I suppose we should be getting to our islands,” muttered Vanessa.

“Yeah… that was what he said I guess.” Paschal was still trying to process what he’d just watched.

The girls and guys made their way through their new islands. Both were nearly identical in layout and size. Each had a bathhouse, a forested area, a small mess hall, a medical tent, and a cabin set up in the middle. Both groups arrived at their cabins without incident, and swung the door open. Each cabin contained a shadowy figure standing within.

“At ease, cadets!”

“Welcome to Hell, maggots!”