Ami Utsumi banged her head against the iron bars of her cell. She knew exactly what happened. But, how could it happen here, in the Free Peoples of America? Her parents had fled from the Republic of Greater East Asia in 1997, the year her older cousin, Yukie, disappeared as a result of something she only knew as 'The Program.'
In 1947, after Japan turned its attack on southern Russian when it's attack on the United States when sour, World War II ended with the Nazi regime taking over all of Europe, and all of the Americas uniting together to make the region now known as the Free Peoples of America (FPoA). The FPoA decided NOT to interfere in the war after Japan withdrew, allowing Japan and China to take over North and South Korea, and the Eastern half of Russia, claiming it as their own and making the Republic of Greater East Asia.
To cope with their ever growing populace, 50 9th year classes were taken from their families a year, forced to go through the rigors of 'The Program.' A horrible game where they were forced to kill each other until there was one survivor. 50 out of 80,000 schools was a small number, giving you the odds of dying in a car accident being higher than losing 'The Program.'
In 1997 the students class 3B of the Shiroiwa Junior High were chosen to take part in this 'game.' Supposedly there was one survivor of that game. His name was Shogo Kawada. Supposedly he died from his wounds that he received that day. His name lived on as the only person to 'win' two games. His name was placed in the history books as a hero. Yukie wasn't a survivor.
Ami slumped against the bars and looked to the sky and asked a simple question. "Why?"
Later it was found that Shuya Nanahara, a member of Yukie's class had also survived. Ami, then only six years old, remembered his name from when Yukie used to babysit her. She would talk for hours about how he was the greatest basketball player in her class, or how he was the cutest. She showed Ami pictures of the cute boy in the class. Ami remembered the face well.
Christmas 2003, a day that will be remembered forever. A terrorist group, only calling themselves "The Wild Seven," destroyed the Osaka World Trade Center in an act of war against the adults, claiming that they were made up of the survivors of 'The Program' and that they were against further use of the act.
They created a new program called the BR2 Act, sending in students, playing the same game, to defeat the Wild Seven. The Republic used the game against the people trying to stop the game from happening. It was revealed that the terrorist group was lead by Shuya Nanahara, the fugitive survivor of that fateful tournament in 1997.
The BR2 Act was considered a failure, as Shuya was not believed to be killed, and 6 of the students that year had vanished.
In 2004, more terrorist acts took place, and in a plea for help, the Republic asked the FPoA for help, but were declined. They claimed that their refusal to help was stating that the children were right to fight their government, and that they supported anarchy. The comment had severely offended the FPoA's government, and they claimed that they were taking their own actions so that their youth would not follow the route of the Republic's.
In 2007, terrorism hit the city of San Francisco, the western import capital of the FPoA. Immediately, the FPoA contacted the Republic, blaming them for not taking care of their problem soon enough. But video proof had shown Shuya Nanahara in the Republic's custody, meaning that the terrorism was from somewhere else. Themselves.
The President of the FPoA laid down the gauntlet, swearing that their children would NOT side with Shuya's group. He brought the problem to the doorstep of congress. And just three weeks ago passed a bill.
The bill was called the BR Act. Ami's mother cried.
A tear rolled from her eyes as she looked across the hall at Ryan Wells, the president of the Pressview High class of 2008. A private school on the shoreline of New Jersey, Pressview was considered one of the more prestigious. But now, as the first school to be put into this situation, Ami was beginning to think Pressview was the worst school ever. Her class was 42 students large, just like her cousin's, but it just so happened that this day Ami's friend Renee had stayed home sick.
Boy was SHE lucky.
She thought to the night before, she had gone with Renee to the Britton twins' house and had watched wrestling. Her favorite Randy Orton had been lasting long in the Royal Rumble that year, but he had lost to someone who she had guessed wanted the belt more… and when Triple H threw Orton over the ropes she frowned.
How that match represented the position she was in now hit hard. She had wished she had taken Renee's advice the night before saying to just sleep in. Pay-Per-Views ran long, and she could have just stayed at the Brittons' to watch the replay. Her mother wouldn't have minded. After all, it was the beginning of the second semester, and missing a day of school…
Ami just wanted to go home. She shook her head and wondered why the FPoA actually passed this bill. Killing their own people to stop a war? This nation had one of the three best armies in the world, and instead of fighting they resorted to this.
Ami turned her view across the way to where Ryan was coming to. He shook his head off, and looked around. He didn't know where he was, and the tears in Ami's eyes told him that wherever he was, it wasn't good. Ryan saw Ami crying and immediately became concerned.
"Where are we?" Ryan whispered loudly, as he noted the other members of his class sleeping in separate cells. "Did you get hurt?"
Ami lowered her head and just replied. "Battle Royale."
The look on Ryan's face went from confusion to terror. He had only heard of the horrors of this program from friends that had escaped the Republic. He knew they were considered fugitives in their home country now, and he frowned. He couldn't understand how this was happening in the US, considering the FPoA's belief in pure freedom. He stood up, but stumbled a bit, still lightheaded from whatever type of gas they used on them to knock them out.
"They… they kidnapped us?" Ryan looked back at Ami, wondering what else she may know, but she just turned her head away and began to cry softly again. Ryan grabbed the bars, praying it was just a game, but as the door at the end of the hall opened and Mr. Hustle, their class teacher, was shoved through the door with a gun to his back... he knew it was no game.
Ami turned to Ryan and looked at him with sad eyes. She lifter she head up and tapped a silver band that was linked sight around her neck. She pointed at him as well, stating the words, "Your neck."
He touched the collar, which felt cold to his fingers. The shock went through his system as he backed away from the bars. He looked at Ami in horror. She didn't know what else to say, but the call gates opening would have drowned out her whisper anyway. Down the hall Ryan's friend Xander Yeats stepped out of his cell with a horrified look on his face, he wasn't in the best of shape to begin with, dealing with asthma and an injury that wouldn't allow him to walk well. But Ryan knew there was no possible way he'd survive this.
"This isn't fair," he stated under his breath.
The other students were coming to, each touching their necks and noting the collars around them. Some looked like they knew what was going on, others looked like scared out of their minds. And they had every right to be.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am Mr. Black." A man dressed in an all-black suit with a red tie stepped through the door as a stream of United States Marines rushed in and stepped into formation at the far end of the hall. "As most of you have figured out by now, this is NOT your school trip you're on. In fact, most to all of you shouldn't be even going home."
Some of the boys shot to their feet on this, while others slumped to the floor with fear and sadness. Two boys, Rafe Williams and Haden Geiger, crossed their arms. Both were internet freaks, watching foreign films and reading up on illegal subjects like the lifestyles of the Republic of Greater East Asia. They weren't bullies, but they were the type many didn't hang around because of their nature.
Ryan looked over to his friends at the front of the long hall. Aston Haddon and the Brittons, Peter and Paul. All three were on their football team. They looked at Ryan with the same question in their expression that he had when he had looked at Ami ealier.
They all looked back at the tall man in the black suit. No emotion came to his face as they suddenly all turned to their teacher. A tear came from his eye, and he turned his head away. Mr. Black cleared his throat.
"AHEM!" He slowly pulled his sunglasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "For you weekend trip, you all are going to kill each other."
41 Students Remaining.