this is a story involving deterioration of humanities, friends turned against each other, and brutal acts of violence.
this is the story of the 42 students and their 72 hours of death and terror. this is the story, of the battle royale.
============================ zero hour - game start 42 contestants remaining ============================
"what the fuck is going on?" jordan windard slowly thought to himself as he slowly opened his eyes. he remembered being on the bus, then falling asleep. now he was looking up at a bare ceiling, it's dull white still relatively new. uttely bewildered, jordan lifted his head up and looked around. the room was very dark, and he struggled to see anything at all. after a few moments, his eyesight started to adjust, and he could see around him. jordan saw that he was in a large, almost empty room. the walls were made of of breeze blocks that had been painted white not too long ago, as the smell of paint was still in the air. there was no windows, and only one large metal door to the right. at the head of the room was a whiteboard, one of the moveable ones with the wheels. jordan also noticed that the room was bitterly cold. he could see what looked like sleeping bags on the floor, but couldn't make out quite what they were, untill one moved and rubbed it's head. jordan slowly sat up. he began to hear groans and movement as more people began to wake. and all this time one question was ringing through his head. what the fuck is going on?
within a few moments, all of the group was awake. some remained on the tables or chairs where they woke up, and most of the people that were on the ground were standing to avoid the bitter chill of the concrete floor. people begain to quietly whisper to each other. then, a gasp went out, as laura everard's hand clipped against the metal band around her neck. then others started to discover and notice the room quickly desended into hysteria. people were clasping around their necks, trying to find a buckle or a clasp or something to undo the collars, but there was nothing but smooth metal. the room was loud with panicked questions.
"where are we?"
"whats going on?"
"this isn't scotland"
"help!"
"what the fuck is this around my neck?"
"what's happening!"
suddenly, the lights above them flickered into life, causing the group to colectively cover their eyes. then, without warning, the large metal door to the right of the room slammed open, and five soliders equipped in full camo gear and gas masks stormed in, aiming their weapons at the students as they did so. still pointing their short, stubby machine guns at the group, they stood guard at the door and at each side of the whiteboard. there was a wave of panic that spread through the group. then during the tense silence, there was the sound of footsteps coming closer. but they weren't deep, booted steps, they were the click-clack of business shoes. then the group's headmistress walked in. miss kingdon. she moved quickly to the middle of the room and then stopped. she stood there, a slight smile on face, her long thick blonde hair falling down past her was total silence in the room, and only scared breathing and the sound of the lights overhead could be heard.
"hello. well, i am sure you all know who i am, so we can skip the introduction" she spoke quickly and confidently, and there was a flicker of a grin as she finished the sentence.
"what are we doing here? whats going on?" henry cullen blurted out. she looked at him for a moment, and then turned around to face the white board. pulling a black marker pen out of her pocket, she wrote a single sentence. it went. "education reform act. a.k.a. the battle royale program" she turned around to face the group. the class looked more confused than ever.
"you probably are not aware of this law. i don't expect you to be, it was passed very recently and it was all a bit under the table. this law, this act, has just one very simple goal, and one way of reaching that goal-"
"what's that then?" matt cridland blurted out. matt was scared and jumpy. he wanted to go home, he didn't want to hear about some bullshit law.
"the goal is to stop society crumbling around us. you see, you teenagers, your getting worse and worse. pregnancy's, truancy, knife chrimes, gun crimes, underage drinking, assaults, theft. all these things are down to your generations reckless ways. once someone has started down the wrong path during their teenage years, it's almost impossible to reform them, and they will carry on down the wrong path for the rest of their lives. your here to stop people choosing the wrong path." she looked out at the sea of confused faces.
"but how are you going to do that?" a voice came out of the group.
"well it's simple really. there is only one thing we can do. detentions, fines, asbo's, even prison sentences don t scare you kids" she paused "but, the way we are going to use is fear"
"fear?" nick hawkins snorted. "what you going to scare us with?"
"simple. nick. something everyone is afraid of. death." she nodded to the solider to her left. the soldier raised his gun, and shot nick in the head. the round hit nick square in the head. blood sprayed in a thin layer, covering several students, and the wall behind, which was covered in almost a fine mist. the force pushed his head back as he crumpled to the floor, his eyes staring up at the roof, a sneering grin still on his face. the room fell into pandamonium. everyone started screaming, several people started r running towards the open door. the soldiers by the door raised their guns and fired several shots into the ceiling, scaring the group into silence. slowly, everyone turned and looked at miss kindon, wanting to know what the hell was going on. she looked at the class.
"you seem shocked. i can understand that. the media and the general public believe that you lot..." she pointed a immacuately clean finger at the group "have been desensitised to violence. i warn you now, however that its going to get much, much worse." the tiniest hint of a sneer crossed her face.
"you have been chosen, you are the first class to take part in a british battle royale!" simon chigey pushed his way to the front of the group.
"wait, what? battle royale? like the wrestling matches?" he asked, rather timidly. she let out an exasperated sigh.
"battle royale. adopted by japan after their teenage crime rate soared. then america started using the programme as well, but they turned it into a joke, made it into a game show. far too gung-ho us. now we, the u.k, have adopted the program. so, what you have to do is....." she paused, looking around the room. "...kill each other off. until there is only one left."
"bullshit!" a unseen voice exclamed.
what? how is this allowed? katie jo walker stood up. how can they let you do this? how can this be allowed. miss kingdon leaned back against the blackboard.
"oh i could go into some monologue about how the goverment did it, but really it doesn't matter. what is important is that you all understand that this is very real, and is happening......oh, and mr knowles was against the idea of you doing this....so he was killed. a quiet gasp was heard from a few. miss kingdon noticed that at the back of the group, james shaun was playing with his collar, tugging at the metal at the bag, trying to get it off.
"oh, james." he looked at her.
"don't mess with the collars, you'll find out why soon enough" james looked at her, and his hands slowly lowered from around his neck. again, miss kingdon turned around, and grabbed the marker pen from her pocket. she then proceeded to draw a shape on the board. once she was finished, she turned, and pointed at it.
"you are on a island that looks like this. it is about ten miles up and down, five or six across." she put her hand in her suit jacket pocket, and pulled out a collar, the same as the once currently around every students neck. "now, this is the collar you are wearing. as you can see, there is no way to get it off. it is 100% waterproof, shockproof and quitepermanent. quite impressive, isn't it.?" she turned back to the blackboard, and put a crude grid over the island.
"what's that? what's the grid for?" a voice spoke from the crowd. she turned to face the group.
"every six hours, i will broadcast a list of squares, along with the names of the dead. now, when i call out these names, they will be with a time. at that time, the square will become activated. anyone that enters the zone....well, you won't have long left." miss kingdon lifted up the collar again. she showed the inside of it. there was black padding.
"behind this black padding, is a little bit of c4. that's high explosive to you. if you enter a danger zone, do something we don't like, or try to take the collar off, it blows up. it's quite simple really." the few people that had been idly touching and grasping the collars immediately dropped their arms.
"and remember, these things were designed by the best scientists the government has. there is simply no way to cheat them." she looked at her watch. "time for a demonstration, i think. so, matt cridland, would you like to come up here please?"
"why? i...i don't want to." matt looked around at the others. "pick someone else."
"oh i am afraid it's too late for that. you see, your collar is set to go off...." she looked at her watch. "....now."
there was a click, and then a high pitched, single note. he looked down, trying to see the collar. bam. it exploded. matt's neck was blown apart, a spray of red mist covering the people that were in front of him, his hands went up to clutch his neck, and he slumped backwards onto the floor, a rapidly growing pool of blood already on the floor beneath him. the room was deadly silent, and then a burst of noise erupted, screams, retching, crying. a single gunshot from one of the soliders silenced the room.
"now do you all understand not to mess with the collars. " she looked at matt, who's dead eyes where fixed staring at the ceiling. "a gruesome lesson, but an important one." she paused, to let the message sink in. "now, your packs" the door to the right of the room slid open wider, and several more soldiers pulled in three big racks full of light brown canvas packs. the three racks were placed next to the wall next to the side door, and when the rest of the soliders that had pushed them in, the last two soliders stood next to the racks.
"these are your packs, and for the next three days they will be one of the most important parts of your life. they contain some water, food, a map, a compass, a torch....and most importantly, a weapon. there are many types of weapons, blades, blunt objects, guns, and a few joke ones as well." she saw the terrified look on their faces as she ranted on. "oh, don't worry, we have included a handy manual for most of the weapons, so you should all be able to at least try and defend yourself." miss kindon seemed to have a more serious mood now.
"oh, almost forgot, there is a three-day time limit. if there is more that one collar active when the 72 hours run up, they all explode, and no-body wins. got that? now before you leave, any questions?" james counsell slowly put his hand up. "yes james?"
"where is elliot? he was on the bus, he should be here!" miss kindon nodded.
"unfortunately, the game only requires 42 students. 21 boys, 21 girls. nick hawkins and matt cridland were kept in this room for demonstrative purposes only. frankly we were always going to kill them. our psych profiles showed that they would have taken their own lifes shortly after the game started. elliot was meant to be here as well, but, he woke up slightly earlier than the rest of you. he objected to the whole thing, and put up a bit of a fight, and....so we killed him" james counsell muttered under his breath. miss kingdon ignored his obvious glaring. james hill put his hand up."yes james?"
"surely there are only a few bad people! why us? why not the rest of the year? why not just pick the people that are always in trouble?"
"well, james, you just hit the main reason for the game. peer pressure. if your a smart, clever well behaved kid, and you have one stupid person who just messes around, you all have to stop them. this way, bad kids will be stopped by their friends. remember, nothing is more powerful than peer pressure. you kids, you think you re so smart, well your not so smart now, are you? you always tried to push us too far, and now, we have responded. we told you, year after year, get your act together...but you never did. your at the end of year eleven, and your still being immature, purile, children!" she paused for a second, to allow herself to calm down.
"now, i will call out your name in the order we have given you. when your name is called, you take a pack and proceed down the corridor to the exit. when you leave, you will have twenty seconds before the next person leaves. as soon as you leave the bunker, anything is fair game. but, five minutes after everyone is out of the bunker, it and the area immediately surrounding it will become a danger zone. you all know what happened to matt. so the last few of you out might want to hit the ground running."
"ok, boy#1 matt white" matt got up and ran, grabbing the pack as he left. he went through the door, and sprinted. matt was small, with little muscle, and a large curly hairdo. a slightly stuck up, pompous kid, matt realised he was going to find out who was his real friends, and who stuck with him just because of the stuff he owned.
"girl#1 becky holmes" becky ran towards the door, and caught the pack thrown at her. becky was scared, she knew she wasn t going to get out of this by just showing some flesh, and she was going to have to do something for herself. knowing who her friends were, and hoping they thought the same, she sprinted down the corridor and out onto the island.
"boy#2 kyle andrews" kyle jogged, grabbed the bag and ran out the door. kyle was a nerd, and he knew that his extra weight would not help him. his best bet would to be to team up with the people he could trust. at least, the people he thought he could trust.
"girl#2 heather macintyre" heather kissed chris makie, and ran, grabbing the bag in one movement. heather was worried. she didn't know when chris was going to be out, and she knew that the majority of the students saw her as weird, and frankly wouldn't see her as much of a threat. she wouldn't be, unless she got her act together.
"boy#3 jason kennelly" jason searched for his backpack, and after finding it, ran, speeding up as soon as he got his pack. he was not going to fight, he was going to hide. jason knew that he was not the strongest in the year, neither was he that brave, so jason was just going to go find somewhere safe to hide, and stay there. it was the most logical thing to do.
"girl#3 michelle stone" grabbed her bag and nervously moved out of the door. michelle darted for the bushes as soon as she got out of the bunker. a loud girl, she was aware that the only thing that was going to save her now was being with her friends. she just hoped that the people that she trusted came out soon.
"boy#4 simon chigey" simon strode over and grabbed his bag from the soldier, and stormed out. loud, obnoxious and annoying, simon knew he was in trouble. he was a wannabe troublemaker, and now he was in a situation he did not like at all. he was very protective of his friends, and now he was going to be forced to kill them? no way. simon wasn t going to play ball, not this time.
"girl#4 jess owen" jess slowly picked up her bag, and wandered over to the rack. as soon as she had it, she ran. jess knew she had to team up, and when michelle called to her after she left the bunker, she knew it was right to join her. she had dealt with a lot of shit over that last year or two, but this was a whole different league. she had to think of a way out of this situation, fast. she didn't have a long term plan yet, but for now, she was going to work, and make sure it paid off.
"boy#5 chris chapman" chris pulled apart his tie as he walked across the room, and grabbed the pack as it was thrown. chris was almost sick with worry. killing classmates? he knew no body would kill, most of the people on the bus liked each other. now he just hoped he friends still liked him. well, even in his group of friends there was always arguments, fights. how would these same people be able to stick to gether in a situation like this?
"girl#5 shawn terry" said goodbye to her friends, and left, pack in hand. shawn cursed as she left the bunker. she was only on this bus because of siobhan cockram and sam boucher, and now she had been thrown into this? well, shawn wasn t going to go quiet, she had one idea on her mind, and that was the same as many others, hide. after that? she had no idea.
"boy#6 adam self" adam grabbed his backpack, quickly collected his pack and sprinted for the exit. a slightly weird guy, adam knew he would have trouble getting those who didn't know him to trust him. hell, could anyone be trusted in this mess? he wasn't really interested in finding out. adam knew one thing for certain. he needed to get away from the bunker, fast.
"girl#6 charlotte gaines" quickly ran, grabbing the pack and carried on running. she only hoped that her friends would team up with her, and maybe they could find a way out of this problem. charlotte ran over to jess owen and michelle stone when they called her, after all, she knew she wasn t the most intelligent of the class, she'd need all the help she could get surviving.
"boy#7 lee da silva" slowly walked towards the door, caught his pack, and carried on out. lee was a rebel. even though it was a stereotype, there was no other way to describe him. he wasn t going to play this game, he was just going to make sure he got a good hiding place, and made the most of the three days left. lee was only thankful that his girlfriend had been ill, and missed the trip.
"girl#7 siobhan cockram" grabbed her blazer and her bag, ran, caught the pack and sprinted out of there. she was going to play the game. always a winner, siobhan had realised a long time ago that the only way to get noticed, was to win. she wasn t going to go over the top, which could get her killed. no, she was going to hide, and let the rest of the idiots in the class do the hard work, then, she would be able to just mop up the rest.
"boy#8 jess cook" he did up his blazer, grabbed his pack, took the pack and ran. jess had adhd, and everybody could tell. he never sat, stopped or thought for more than five seconds. but this was different. he was going to find a nice place to hide, and then try and think, just think about he entire situation. jess's mind was a blur as he ran forward into the dark.
"girl#8 kirsty walker" slowly moved over to the soldier, took the pack and left, in tears. she was shocked, how could this happen? normally, she was very quiet, but now she just could not believe the shitty situation she had been landed in. two people were dead already, and how many more? she had to get together with the people she knew. but could she trust them? how could she trust anyone?
"boy#9 tom lawrence" simply grabbed his bag, took the pack and left. tom knew he did not have the heart to kill anyone, so he had decided on a plan. he was going to steal people s packs, and collect weapons. this suited tom perfectly, because he wasn t one to see a fight out till the end. as he emerged from the bunkers entrance, tom saw the sobbing kirsty, and he saw his chance. running, tom grabbed her pack and pushed her over, not slowing down at all. he looked behind him, and saw that kirsty was still on the ground. he didn t care what happened to her.
"girl#9 laura everard" looked around the room and left, pack in hand. laura was angry, how could the government do this? she was determined to find away ether off this island, or away of fucking the sick bastards in the bunker, especially miss kindon. she saw a brief flurry of movement from the side of her vision when she exited the bunker. as she stepped forward, jess called over to her from a bush. laura realised she wasn't the only one who felt this way about this "program"
"boy#10 chris makie" chris walked to the door, caught the pack that was thrown at him, and jogged out. chris was scared, but that didn t change his mind. he was going to find heather macintyre, and stay with her. he loved her. he would kill for her.
"girl#10 laura aish" took her pack and left, still walking. she was also a lesbian, and she knew many of the girls in the year would be scared of her because of that. the boys would see her as a target. she just hoped she could find someone to team up with, after all, a lot of people in the class would not mind knocking her off.
"boy#11 george salter" he jumped up from his crouched position, grabbed the pack and sprinted out. george was strong, he knew that girls loved him and he was a jock, so that made three good things up for him. he also knew that a lot of people were going to be attacking, and he muscles don t mean shit if he isn t going to use them. at least he hoped we would not have to use them
"girl#11 sam boucher " stared at miss kindon as she left, grabbed the pack, and ran out. sam was loved and hated equally by the year. sam knew that she better find someone that liked her, and stay the hell away from her enemies. a small playground dispute could flare into something nasty here.
"boy#12 ben collins" ran, grabbing his pack. ben, weak and feeble, was scared. most of the time, the bigger kids of his group stood up for him. now, nobody was there. fearing the worst, ben could only hope for the best, nothing more.
"girl#12 katie jo walker" ran for her pack, before running the best she could down the corridor. most of the boys hated her, and only a few girls really liked her. it was kind of her own fault. but there was the few people she could really rely on. she had to find them soon. now, all that mattered to her was living, and nothing else.
"boy#13 adam walters walked over to the rack, hands in pockets. he quickly caught the pack, and ran. adam just wanted this to all be a dream, but that was not so. because he hung around with the nerds, adam realised that he had to team up with the others. the nerds were smart, they would know what to do. they had to know what to do.
"girl#13 lucy philpot" ran, grabbed the pack but dropped it. she quickly grabbed it again and disappeared. lucy, a quiet, not so clever girl, hoped that the rest of her group was waiting for her, but sadly, they were not. not knowing what to do, she took off into the night.
"boy#14 sam rymer" slowly, calmly grabbed the pack and walked out. sam was going to win, whatever the cost. he had been quiet at school, only talking to a few people. sam didn t relish the idea of killing. killing is ok is extreme circumstances, and this may be one of them. he just hoped no-one was going to get in his way.
"girl#14 jess woodgate" grabbed her pack, and ran quickly out. jess always a fighter, realised she was in too deep. now, no matter how much fighting she did, jess knew she was going to lose. she just hoped someone would side with her, give her some help. after all, there was bound to be away off this island.
"boy#15 francis lynn" grabbed his skateboard with one hand, and caught the pack with the other. francis was glad he brought his skateboard, after all, it was his pride and joy. most of his friends were inside the bunker still, so francis hid in a nearby bush, waiting for his mates.
"girl#15 naomi gibbs" grabbed the pack, slung it over one shoulder, and ran. naomi was never one to give up straight away. there was bound to be some boy that likes her, someone that could protect her. she ran straight into the dark, not knowing that the one boy that could of helped her, james counsell, was next out.
"boy#16 james counsell", grabbed the pack and ran for his life. smart, intellectual, and rich, james was unsure of why he was here. he had only moved to this school a while ago, and before that, he was in a rich school, with other people of his calibre. now, he was thrust into hell, and he needed to get out, fast. he didn't want to have to rely on anyone else.
"girl#16 ashley marks" grabbed the pack off the soldier, and ran out. ashley, headstrong and loud, was a natural leader. as soon as the girls in the hedge called her, she took charge. she wasn t the smartest, but she made up for it in willpower and strength.
"boy#17 james shaun" whispered to james hill to "meet me outside" grabbed his pack and ran. james shaun was, as he put it himself, fucked in the ass. he didn t know guns, the nearest thing to a gunfight was the time he went paintballing. now, he hoped his charm could help him, but that wasn t likely.
"girl#17 keighley markem" brushed the tears from her face, took her pack and ran out. a small, fragile girl, she was perhaps one of the only real friends of katie jo walker. keighley realized, friends stick together, and so she figured the best thing to do was to find katie.
"boy#18 james hill" grabbed the pack and jogged out. james was completely blown away by what was going on. his mind was a muddle. he could hardly think as he started to sprint. the second he came out, he knew he had to escape. but how?
"girl#18 lucy hather" took the pack she was given and ran. a vegetarian, lucy hated the idea of killing animals, let alone human beings, the ones she had grown to like and love. lucy just wanted to run and hide, and pretend that none of this was happening.
"boy#19 jordan windard" ran, grabbed the pack, looked around, and left. jordan, the one member of his group of friends who wasn t a good sport player, was confused. he wasn t sure this was real or not, was it a hidden camera show? he was half expecting someone to shout cut, but it didn t happen.
"girl#19 katie farmer" grabbed her bag, scowled at miss kindon, and left. katie was not the sharpest tool in the shed, but even she understood the situtation. now she was stuck in this hideous game, and with no way out. just her luck. all she wanted to do was curl up and cry.
"boy#20 elliott jones" he brushed his hair up as he hurried forward, grabbed the pack and split. elliott, simply looked for a good side to the deal, but found none. a lively, outgoing person, he wished that everybody would refuse to fight, but that won t happen.
"girl#20 deanne lucy" grabbed her pack and left, shaking it to see what was in it. deanne, another of the quiet girls that hung around with the likes of katie jo walker. hoping her friends had managed to team up, she ran off, listening and looking for them.
"boy#21 henry cullen" smiled at cara, when he only got a scowl back, he took his pack and ran. a outgoing, fun kinda person, henry was shocked at the speed of the whole thing. the last boy out, he was also aware that more than a few people may be waiting for him. as soon as the bunker door opened, he ran straight into the darkness of the woods.
"girl#21 cara walsh" took the last pack and left, hanging the pack over her shoulder. cara had only sat on this bus because of miss kingdon, and now she had been put here. well, that was fine. she didn t really care about anybody on the bus, it was just kill or be killed. keeping this in her mind, cara was ready.
like that, the game had begun. the forty-two students, or contestants as some would call them, had been released for a battle royale. now it was just a matter of time before the first one fell.
======================== zero hour 42 contestants remaining ====================