Don't You Trust Me, Mi Amor

The Final Obstacle

Alejandro was once again on Boney Island for the night. He quickly returned to where he had made camp the night before; a small cave at the edge of the island. While collecting sticks for a fire, he ran the numbers in his head. 'Courtney and Gwen are a pair, Scott is working with Mal and Zoey thinks she's working with Mike. To have the numbers, the best plan would be to sway Courtney and Gwen with Zoey as a backup possibility. But to do that, I need proof and my proof is somewhere in Mal's stuff by now. Or possibly destroyed. I need to see if I can recover the CD. But how would I do that before the challenge?'

He dropped the sticks into a pile of leaves. Picking up two sticks, he began to rub them together to create fire. The fire came quickly after, heating up the chilly air in the cave. Alejandro took a seat on the rocky ground and sighed. 'I wonder what Heather's doing right now. If she'd known about Mal, he'd be eliminated faster than Ezekiel. I miss her.'

He stewed in his feelings all night, sleep plagued by rough winds and animal roars. By the time morning arrived, he was extremely irritated. Not to mention hungry. Before he could decide between hunting or gathering berries, the whurs of helicopter blades above him interrupted his thoughts. Chef landed the helicopter and Alejandro hopped in the passenger seat.

During the ride, Alejandro looked at Chef. "So," he began, "I really missed your cooking while exiled. I could sure use some leftover slop. Perhaps there's some in the loser's cabin?" Chef, smiling due to Alejandro's praise, chuckled and steered the plane towards Wawanakwa Island. "Sure, make it quick." Alejandro nodded. 'I knew laying it on thick would convince him.'

Once they landed on the island, Chef told Alejandro to hurry up while he stalled Chris. Alejandro followed his plan and raced to the loser's cabin. Swinging the door open, he made way for Scott's bed first. He checked under the mattress, the pillow, and the blankets. Coming up empty handed, he searched Mal's bunk. 'Nothing under the pillow or the blankets, what about the mattress?' As he dipped his hands under, he felt the smooth plastic CD. 'Bingo!' A quick jog to the winner's cabin and Alejandro had the CD hidden somewhere nobody could steal it. He placed the CD behind his favorite painting in the bedroom. One he stared at night after night, at least when the cabin was available to him.

"Alejandro! Get your butt in gear!" Chef yelled from afar. Alejandro hung the painting back up on the wall and ran back to Chef's side. Together they walked into the woods where Chris, dressed head to toe in camo, and the rest of the cast stood. "Last one here has to do fifty push ups there." Chris pointed to the ground while Alejandro rolled his eyes. "Of course I'm the last one here! I was exiled!" Chris held a megaphone in Alejandro's face. "You mean I was exiled sir! Now get going." Alejandro held back his frustration and dropped to the ground. Within a minute and a half he had all fifty push ups done. Alejandro stood back up, dusting himself off.

"Listen up worms, Chef's season one boot camp challenge was tough. But this is season five so things are about to get more painful with the obsta-kill-course. To conquer this challenge first you'll go through the fun tires! Then the rope slope. Some ropes are better than others so choose wisely. Next, the snapping bars. Lastly a short run through duck and cover. Come out of that alive and you're in for a real treat!" Chris giggled.

Scott scoffed. "Piece of cake!" Everyone groaned, knowing Scott's stupidity had cost them an easy challenge. "In that case," Chris said, "Everyone has to carry a heavy pack. Ditch the pack and you'll get a penalty." Chef threw a couple of packs towards the teens as everyone split up to talk. Courtney and Gwen were joined by Zoey while Scott pretended not to be listening.

Alejandro was also listening in when Mal approached him. "Better watch your step, Pal. Or should I say Al." He threatened. Alejandro crossed his arms and looked straight down at Mal. "Quite a warning coming from the guy who tampered with the votes." Mal dropped his cocky grin but quickly replaced it. "So what? Who's gonna believe you? Scott? He's with me now. And the girls? You think they'll believe the most manipulative player in Total Drama history?" Alejandro recognized that Mal had a point. 'But what he doesn't know is I have the proof! I'll have to wait to show the girls, but I could still try to place seeds of doubt during the challenge. As for Mal, he shouldn't be hard to toy with in the meantime.'