9 The Third Challenge, The Hardest One Yet
It was the day after Bridgette had managed to overcome her worries, choosing to join Aoife and Izzy in their rather intensive exercises.
Speaking of which, the three could currently be seen completing those exact intensive exercises.
Aoife was doing pull-ups with an 8-pound rock on his feet, something that could easily be seen to be pushing him to his limits, considering the strain that was visible on his face.
While Aoife was doing that, Izzy was currently working on her movement speed, hopping from tree branch to tree branch, trying to move quickly but quietly.
And then there was Bridgette, who, after getting help from Aoife, decided to start her exercises off by building strength. So, she could currently be seen lifting a 10-pound rock above her head, her arms shaking as if they would collapse any minute.
It was at this time that the loud sound of a siren rang out, grabbing the attention of the three.
Dropping down, Aoife headed over to help Bridgette with her rock, wanting to avoid her accidentally injuring herself. Giving a grateful nod, Bridgette turned to see Izzy was already over with the group, moving so quickly Bridgette hadn't even noticed her without making a sound.
The three headed off toward the campgrounds, understanding the siren meant the beginning of the third challenge was upon them.
Reaching the campground, the three headed toward the large gathering of people, appearing to be the last to appear.
Walking over, the three merged with their group, showing no awkwardness toward the stares they received from the others. Bridgette however, did smile at the members of the Screaming Gophers that waved at her.
"Where do you three run off to everyday?" Heather asked, truly becoming curios about just where they could be going. She had noticed that the three were never around and had even begun specifically looking for them.
She also remembered that Aoife and Izzy had headed off by themselves, choosing to not stay with their group. And from what she could gather from the other teams reaction, they had done something to them during the last competition.
In response to this question, Aoife just gave off a mysterious smile, not even pretending to answer the question.
Heather narrowed her eyes, letting out a huff of annoyance at this blatant dismissal of her question.
"Don't worry, they already requested to be where they are by me and I approved of them moving there." Chris' voice rang out, silencing the not even started argument.
"That's besides the point of why you're here today, today is the start of your third challenge!" Chris' voice rang out, drawing everyone's attention to himself. "The past few challenges have pushed the teams to work together, but has had the unfortunate effect of lowering the morale of the losing team, this has resulted in a repetitive cycle, so." Dramatic pause number one,
"For this next challenge, each person will be placed in a number of challenges that is individually designed to push the person to the limit! These challenges can be anything from physically intensive to mentally taxing. Good luck!"
As soon as his words finished, large vans pulled up and the contestants were blindfolded before being dragged into the vans.
~~
Aoife could feel as the hood over his head was pulled off, his eyes instantly scanning the area around him.
"Hello!" It was at this point that a giant screen appeared before him, with Chris appearing on it. "So, for your challenge, we figured that something a little bit more mentally stimulating would be best considering how hard you've worked on your physical recently. However, we do know that you are a rather smart guy, so!"
Aoife rolled his eyes at the dramatic pauses Chris incorporated even in a pre-recorded message, "Your challenge will be a time-sensitive one, the time-limit for each question you get right getting increasingly smaller as the questions become harder!"
Aoife could feel his face light up as his blood began rapidly pumping, a crazed smile appearing across his face. This sounded like it would be a challenge, something that could push him, which the other challenges had yet to do.
"So, the questions will be starting off relatively easy." After he finished saying this, Chris disappeared from the screen, replaced by a question and a timer in the corner with one-hour on it.
'When given the opportunity and the guarantee that is the right person, would you choose to murder the killer of someone close to you? Or would you turn them into the police?' (There is no right or wrong answer, this is just a personality test to help decide further questions.)
(A/N: Feel free to give your own answers to the questions, some of them will become increasingly more challenging.)
Aoife thought about the question for only around a minute before giving his answer, "I would kill them, but how openly I do it would depend entirely on the justice system of the country I'm in. If I would be given a harsh sentence for the crime, I'd do it in secret, but if not, I'd do it in the open, as a showing for the consequences of their actions."
Aoife's answer was decisive, with no room for doubt, this was the decision he'd come to.
The screen flickered, changing to another question.
'When faced with an unwinnable and unavoidable fight, but it's going to happen long into the future, what will you do?' With this question, the time-limit had decreased to forty-five minutes.
Aoife took a little longer on this question, choosing to thoroughly review it in his mind. After about five minutes, Aoife gave his answer, voice as decisive as it was when he answered the last question.
"I would prepare for the fight, even knowing it to be unwinnable. This is because while it is inevitable, proper preparation may result in the fight being stopped in some other capacity. This answer can be seen differently depending on the type of unwinnable the fight is. For instance, if the fight is unwinnable in that I cannot win it on my own, then I may be able to win with a group of others. However, if it's unwinnable in that the opponent cannot die, then something like trapping them ensures that I still didn't win but have managed to avoid the worst of outcomes."
Aoife's answer was long-winded with a rather detailed explanation for why he answered in the way he did. He truly felt excited, these questions were pushing him in a different way, one that was no less challenging than a physical barrier he'd have to overcome.
The screen flashed, a third question appearing on the board.
'When faced with the death of a loved one caused by yourself in some capacity, this could be the accidental killing of them, to bringing about their death in some other way, like getting involved with a gang that eventually results in their death, how do you react afterward?'
The timer for this question took another large leap, lowering it to twenty minutes.
This question caused Aoife's eyes to widen, as the more he thought about it, the less he thought a perfect solution existed. For this question, he spent nearly ten minutes to formulate a response.
"I think it would depend on how I caused the death of the person, in the case of me actually physically killing them, I would live the rest of my life with that guilt, as well as turn myself in to be tried by the government, which, while not having the perfect justice system, typically has fit punishments for the crime you committed. If the death were indirect, I would resolve whatever directly led to their death before turning myself in, living with that regret for the rest of my life."
The questions continued poring in, the time-limit shrinking with each one, causing Aoife to have to increasingly speed up his thinking speed.
He found himself coming up with solutions he would've never previously thought of, the time constraint truly straining his thought process
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~~Chris POV~~
While Aoife was undergoing these mental challenges, all the other campers were undergoing challenges that pushed them just as hard in one aspect or another.
Still, Chris paid special attention to Aoife, taking into account his answers to each question, trying to create challenges for the future that would truly push him.
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A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! While it was a relatively short one, I think this is the chapter I'm by far the most proud of. Honestly, the more I write this, the more I think I should've just written an original story based on Total Drama, seeing as I'm completely changing it. I hope you all are enjoying the changes I'm making, if not, feel free to write a comment explaining what you dislike and why!
