The sun was beating down on the island as Chris McLean stood by a massive rock wall. "Welcome to the ultimate test of trust! If you don't trust your partner, you're going to get hurt. Or at least... very embarrassed. Today, you don't get to choose your partners. I've hand-picked the pairings to ensure maximum... discomfort. Let's begin the 'Trust' challenges!"
1. Challenge: Rock Climbing (Gwen's Triumph)
Chris pointed at the massive cliff. "Gwen, you're climbing. And since I love a good soap opera, Heather, you're holding her rope. On the Bass, DJ climbs, and Duncan holds."
"Don't worry, Gwenthy. Your life is in my hands," Heather smirked.
"Just do your job, Heather," Gwen snapped, starting her ascent.
On the other side, DJ was climbing for the Bass, with Duncan holding his rope. DJ was paralyzed by fear, sobbing as he reached for every grip.
Gwen, however, was a natural. She scaled the jagged rock with focus and speed. She was nearly at the top when Heather's eyes glinted with pure malice. Heather looked at the group below, then at Gwen's back. With a sudden, violent jerk of the rope, Heather let it snag.
With a loud RRRIP, Gwen's skirt was torn clean off her body, fluttering down to the ground like a fallen flag.
The camp fell into a stunned silence. Gwen was left hanging against the grey rock in her purple panties, the cool skull graphic on the left side visible to everyone below.
"Oh my god!" Lindsay giggled. "Nice underwear, Gwen!"
Ezekiel's face went scarlet. He immediately looked away, shielding his eyes. "Heather! That's low! You're a snake, eh!"
Gwen froze for a second, her face burning with a rage so intense it felt like ice. But instead of crying or letting go, she did something no one expected. She gripped the rock tighter.
"You think this stops me, Heather?!" Gwen screamed down, her voice echoing off the cliff.
With a surge of adrenaline and pure spite, Gwen ignored the cold air on her legs and the laughing Chris McLean. She began to climb with superhuman speed.
She reached the top of the cliff before DJ could even move another inch. She slammed her hand on the buzzer, securing the point for the Gophers.
When she finally came down (after wrapping a towel around her waist provided by a surprisingly sympathetic Leshawna), she walked straight up to Heather.
"That was for the skirt," Gwen hissed. "Next time, I'm the one holding the rope."
2. Challenge: The Poison Fugu (The Medical Disaster)
Chris led them to the cooking station. "Lindsay, you're the chef. Cody, you're the taste tester. For the Bass, Bridgette cooks, and Tyler eats."
Bridgette was a professional, carefully preparing the blowfish. Tyler ate it and was perfectly fine. On the Gopher side, it was a horror show. Lindsay hacked at the fish with zero knowledge of where the poison was. She served a jagged, suspicious-looking piece to a terrified Cody.
"Wish me luck, Gwen... Zeke..." Cody whispered.
He took one bite and his world turned upside down. Within seconds, Cody was completely paralyzed, his body stiff as a board.
"Medic!" Chris yelled. The Bass took the point, and the Gophers were left one teammate down.
As Chef Hatchet lifted Cody's stiff body onto a gurney, Lindsay's face crumbled. The guilt hit her instantly. "Oh no! Cody! I'm so, so sorry!" she wailed, her eyes filling with tears. She didn't stay for the rest of the challenge; she ran alongside the gurney, clutching Cody's paralyzed hand and apologizing over and over as they disappeared into the medical tent.
3. Challenge: Blind William Tell
With Cody in the infirmary, the mood was heavy, but Chris McLean had no intention of slowing down. He brought out two heavy-duty crossbows and several blindfolds.
"Alright, people! Time to see if you can hit the broad side of a barn... while blindfolded!" Chris announced. "Leshawna, you're firing for the Gophers, and Owen, you're the human target. For the Bass, we have Izzy behind the bow and Harold as the lucky apple-bearer."
Owen's knees were knocking together so loudly they sounded like drums. "Leshawna, baby, please! I'm a big guy, but I'm not that big! Aim for the sky and let gravity do the rest!"
Leshawna snapped the blindfold on. "Hush up, Owen! I got this." She raised the crossbow, felt the weight, and pulled the trigger. The bolt hissed through the air and thwack! It pinned the apple directly to the tree trunk behind Owen. The Gophers erupted in cheers, and Ezekiel let out a sigh of relief so loud he almost fell over.
But then, it was Izzy's turn.
The atmosphere shifted. Izzy didn't just put on the blindfold; she tied it with a manic grin. Harold stood perfectly still, his "lucky" nindzsa-meditation pose trembling slightly.
"Oh, I love this game!" Izzy giggled. "I used to do this in the jungle with coconuts and poison darts! Except the coconuts were monkeys! And they weren't coconuts!"
Izzy didn't just fire once. She moved with a frightening, fluid grace that suggested she didn't even need eyes to see. She raised the crossbow and fired. Whiz-SPLAT! The apple on Harold's head exploded into a thousand pieces.
But she wasn't done. While the interns were still reeling, Izzy reloaded with lightning speed. She fired two more bolts. One sliced through the air and pinned Harold's sleeve to the post behind him, and the other grazed the top of his red hair, nearly giving him a permanent mohawk.
"Bullseye! And bullseye! And... oh look, a bird!" Izzy cheered, ripping off the blindfold and pointing at a stray feather she had accidentally shot out of the sky.
Ezekiel didn't look terrified; he looked absolutely mesmerized. He stepped forward, clapping his hands with genuine enthusiasm.
"Whoa! Did you see that aim, eh?!" Zeke shouted, his eyes wide with admiration. "I've seen the best hunters back home, people who could hit a rabbit's eye from fifty yards, but I've never seen anyone handle a bow like that—especially blindfolded! That was pure talent, Izzy! You're a real-deal marksman, for sure!"
Izzy ripped off her blindfold and gave Zeke a wild, toothy grin. "Thanks, Prairie Boy! Want to see me hit a dragonfly next?"
"Maybe later, eh!" Zeke laughed, though he remained deeply impressed. Even as a rival, he couldn't help but respect the raw, outdoorsman skill Izzy possessed.
Meanwhile, Harold was pale as a ghost, unable to move as he was literally pinned to the scenery. The point went to the Bass for Izzy's terrifyingly perfect performance, keeping the overall score in a dead heat.
4. The Finale: Blind Tobogganing (The Ultimate Trust)
The score was tied. Chris brought out the sleds and the thick black blindfolds.
"Final round! Gwen and Duncan, put on your blindfolds. You're driving. Ezekiel and Izzy, you're the navigators. If the drivers peek, you're disqualified!"
Gwen sat in the front of the sled, her eyes tightly covered by the cloth. She was still wrapped in a towel. "Zeke, I can't see a thing. If we hit a tree, I'm holding you responsible."
"Don't worry, Gwen. Just listen to me. I've navigated through blizzards back home, eh!" Zeke gripped the back of the sled, his eyes locked on the treacherous path ahead.
"GO!"
The sleds plummeted down the steep hill. Duncan was driving blind, with Izzy screaming chaotic directions like "Duck for the pixie!" and "Turn toward the shiny rock!"
Ezekiel stayed focused. "Gwen, lean right! NOW! Hold it... okay, straight! STRAIGHT!"
A massive fallen log appeared in their path.
"JUMP! Pull back now, eh!"
Gwen yanked the steering mechanism blindly. The sled soared into the air, clearing the log by inches. They slammed back onto the ice.
"The finish line is right there! Everything to the middle, Gwen! GO!"
They shot past Duncan and Izzy—who had veered off into a snowbank—and crossed the finish line first! The Screaming Gophers won the challenge!
The Campfire Ceremony (The Great Escape)
The mood at the campfire was suffocating. The Killer Bass were divided. Harold had spent the last hour on his knees, begging Bridgette to vote with him.
"Please, Bridgette! Duncan is a bully! If we don't take him out now, he'll run this whole island with his 'bass-brother' alliance!"
Bridgette looked torn, but eventually, she nodded.
The Votes:
Duncan, DJ, and Tyler ➡️ Izzy (The chaos was too much for them).
Harold, Bridgette, and Izzy ➡️ Duncan (The rebellion).
"It's a tie!" Chris announced, his eyes lighting up with sadistic joy. "Duncan versus Izzy! The challenge: A race to the end of the Dock of Shame and back. Last one standing is out!"
The race started, and Izzy was like a blur. She moved with the speed of a jungle cat, leaving Duncan coughing in the dust. She reached the end of the dock and was about to claim victory when the sky suddenly roared.
Four black military helicopters descended from the clouds, their spotlights blinding the campers. A voice boomed over a megaphone from the lead chopper:
"IZZY! WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED! SURRENDER PEACEFULLY AND RETURN THE STOLEN PROPERTY!"
The entire Killer Bass team, the Gophers watching from the bushes, and even Chris McLean stood frozen in shock.
"What the—?!" Duncan gasped, stopping dead in his tracks.
Izzy didn't look scared. She looked... bored.
"Ugh, these guys again? So clingy!" she yelled. She reached into her hair, pulled out a small silver sphere, and slammed it onto the dock. BOOM! A massive cloud of thick, purple smoke engulfed the entire beach.
By the time the smoke cleared, the helicopters were hovering over an empty dock. Izzy was gone. No boat, no luggage, just a faint, manic cackle echoing from deep within the forest.
Chris blinked, adjusting his hair. "Uh... okay. Since Izzy has apparently fled the authorities... Duncan, you're safe by default!"
Duncan let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, while Harold looked like he wanted to cry. The Bass walked back to their cabins in stunned silence, wondering who—or what—Izzy actually was.