Revenge of the Island

Episode 12: I'm a Winner

The group arrives at the cabins, led by Axel, who had hoped to find... something—or someone. When she had last come to the cabins, she had found Nichelle's skeleton outside, half-inside a bush. Yet she never ventured inside the cabin. Now, Chef steps forward, his large frame barely fitting through the doorframe, pushing it open with a loud, groaning creak. He steps inside cautiously, scanning the room, before gesturing for the rest of the group to follow him in.

One by one, they file in: Axel, Damien, Julia, Bowie, and Wayne. Caleb? Where's Caleb?

No one seems to notice the sudden absence of the big, quiet guy. He’s hard to miss, but perhaps his quiet nature allowed him to slip away unnoticed.

Inside the cabin, the group stands still for a moment, unsure of what they were expecting to find. Maybe, in some small corner of their minds, they thought they’d find Raj, alive and well, somehow having escaped both MK and Scary Girl and making his way back here. The thought seemed impossible, but still—it was something to hold onto.

For Bowie, though, the cabin reminds him of his frequent nightmares. He stares at the empty beds and cold walls, the silence deafening. In his nightmares, he always sees Raj arriving at an abandoned, silent cabin. He's panting from running, he'd escaped, and he couldn't wait to tell everyone he was safe. But when he opens the cabin door—no one is there to greet him. Everyone had left, without a second thought, and left Raj to die. Raj assumed they all would have returned back to the cabin, he assumed they wouldn't just... leave without him. Bowie shakes those invasive thoughts from his head, trying to focus on the present, but it silently gnaws at him.

His gaze shifts from the empty cabin to the people around him, these familiar faces—people he’s known for years. Contestants, teammates, friends. It dawns on him that they keep finding themselves back here. Back on this godforsaken island. The first time, it was for the game, for the competition and the chance to just maybe win big. Now, they’re here for something far more somber: searching for the ones they’ve lost.

Bowie scans the room again, his eyes lingering on everyone present, he always wonders to himself if they all feel the same way he feels. He was never the same after the.. incident. He has frequent survivers guilt, he sometimes finds himself wishing it were him to die. It all happened so fast, he came back to this island because he wanted to win this third season. After coming so close the first season, he came into the third season with confidence, in his head—he was going to win, he knew it. Upon scanning across everyone, he suddenly realizes something’s off. “Where’s Caleb?” he whispers to himself before repeating louder, “Guys, where’s Caleb?”

All heads turn toward him. The room, once tense with unspoken worries, now erupts into panic.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Damien exclaims, spinning around as if Caleb might magically reappear.

Without hesitation, Chef bolts for the door, his fear kicking in. “Caleb!” Chef shouts into the surrounding woods, his deep voice echoing. Everyone follows him outside, the sudden panic pulling them from the eerie stillness of the cabin.

The group fans out into the clearing. They know it’s dangerous to shout—but no one dares to tell Chef to stop. Instead, they join in.
Julia steps forward, pushing ahead of Chef, her voice trembling but strong. “Caleb, where are you?!” she yells into the dark forest, her voice carrying through the trees. All their calls for Caleb filling the empty woods as their hearts begin to pound with fear.