Battle Royale: Game 117
Prologue
Harris Burdock and Mike Ballard stood by the entrance of the abandoned Car Factory in the outskirts of Chicago. The factory hadn't been touched in 20 plus years and the red brick walls were cracked and faded. Both teenagers wore battered jeans and wrinkled T-shirts.
"So, you up for it?" asked Harris as he ground his used cigarette into the pavement with the sole of his left tennis shoe.
"Hell yeah I am, but you can't blame me for being shaky. It was short notice."
"That's how it always is. If you think about it two hours isn't bad at all."
Mike laughed. "You know so much about this. You've died before?"
Harris smiled, pulling back his chapped lips to reveal straight white teeth. "You could say that."
"Meaning what?"
"This is my second try. I chickened a year ago."
"Really? No lie? But you seem so…" Mike paused to regard Harris's unnerving smile, "ready."
Harris laughed coldly. "I guess that's because I chickened. I left my brothers, betrayed them really, and ended up alone with no one. Little Harris all alone in the big, big world or some shit."
"Yeah, I guess," said Mike who was becoming less and less comfortable.
"Don't listen to me anyway. My mind's made up. This is about you now. Are you going to follow me in there?"
Mike swallowed. Harris's sarcastic words all alone in the big, big world rang through his head. Harris was starting to scare him, but he was also his friend. Maybe even his only friend. Without him Mike would be truly all alone.
"Yeah. I'm coming."
8-30-95
Official Textbook of Domestic Laws
38 teens ages 15-19 were found dead in an abandoned Chicago car factory on August 30th 1995. The group had gassed themselves to death in an air-tight storage garage. This event marks the largest suicide pact on USA soil. The individuals met on the web and under the guidance of Harris Burdock (17) successfully planed the mass suicide for 14 months. While little is known about Burdock, he had a mild criminal record (including breaking and entering and drug possession.) Journal entries and email of the suicide victims show that he approached them with the offer of the pact. Physiatrists analyzing his instant messenger conversations, emails, and poems written in a spiral bound notebook believe him to have been clinically insane. Because of his leadership role in the mass suicide he has been nicknamed "Cut-Throat Burdock" by the media and public. The event as a whole is named "The Chicago Suicide."
The US government had lost faith in the American youth. They were criminal, unappreciative, jaded, and as shown by The Chicago Suicide without the will to live. To re-instill positive qualities In the American youth, the US adopted the Battle Royale Act from The Republic of Greater East Asia.
New York Senator John Billman publicly described the act as "a positive step toward reeducating our nation's youth and thus preparing our nation for the future" during a press conference.
Simply put, Battle Royale is the mandatory fight to the death of at least one class each year. Only one student survives after the self-inflicted massacre that is Battle Royale