AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've revised Chapters 1 and 2 so I suggest you go read them again if you've only read the unrevised versions.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 3: Swallowed

Fearing for her life, Yuriko Kuriyama (Girl #21) ran as fast as she could. Cold sweat seeped through her pores and dribbled down her face and body. Ever since leaving the school grounds less than five minutes ago, Yuriko had been running. Though her body was tired and shaky, her mind would not allow her to stop. All she could think about was surviving. There were too many things left for her to do, she just couldn't die here. She still had to get a boyfriend, a first kiss, and lots of other stuff. The thought of never having those things saddened Yuriko now more than ever.

As she continued to run, she could hear others moving in the shadows. Images of her classmates lunging at her from out of nowhere and ripping her body into pieces rushed into her head. For as long as she could remember, Yuriko had been made fun of by nearly everyone at school. Sure she wasn't as pretty or as fit as the other girls, but didn't she too have the right to live a good life without being teased about her looks? Though she always pretended to ignore them, on the inside she was crumbling into pieces. There were nights where she'd just come home from cram school and cry her eyes out all alone on her bed. Other nights she simply cursed at herself for being so ugly and cut her wrists once in a while. Her parents knew she was cutting herself, but they did nothing.

Hmm, her parents… This was the first time she thought about her parents in a long time. Moving past the arms of trees and heaps of bushes, Yuriko envisioned her parents standing before her the whole time. They appeared to be smiling like usual. Though they seemed nice to everyone, Yuriko knew what they were really like. Both her parents were cruel people who cared about nothing but themselves. Sometimes, Yuriko even wondered why they bothered to have children. Other than Yuriko, they had a boy who was turning five in two weeks. Thinking about her little brother made Yuriko even sadder. Her brother, Shino, was the only person Yuriko really cared about. He was also the only person who didn't make fun of Yuriko. In fact, he thought of her as his hero, his role model. At times when she was down, he'd get her back up by telling her he wanted to be just like her and get good grades in school. Though this was the most inappropriate of times, she felt like smiling.

Smiling – that wasn't one of the many things Yuriko did very often. How odd was it that the worst day in her life was the day she smiled the most? First, she smiled when Hiro told her 'good luck' and now she was smiling at the thought of her little brother. It was weird, but hey, might as well go out all smiles, right?

Ando Akabane (Boy #17) was running; he'd been running for nearly three or four minutes now. Luckily for him, he was pretty athletic and running didn't bother him at all. The only thing that bothered him at the moment was the weapon he was assigned. When he opened his survival pack, he hoped to find a shotgun or a knife or something he could kill someone with easily, but no, all he found was a roll of dental floss. Out of all the students in Class A, Ando was probably one of the only people who were willing to participate in the killing. He enjoyed fighting anyways so this was nothing different, right?

A creepy smile appeared on Ando's face as he eyed the girl he was chasing. Though he'd been running after her for about four minutes now, she had no clue he was even near. Ando found her four minutes ago when he was checking his survival pack. He heard footsteps running in his direction and decided to follow them. The moon was shining down on the island, but the heavy branches of trees forbade any shred of light to come into the forest. All Ando could see when the girl passed by was her blue skirt and black pigtails. Thinking for a moment before rushing off after her, Ando remembered Yuriko was the only girl in class who wore pigtails. Grinning sadistically, Ando zipped up his duffel bag, which he had filled with the contents of his own backpack, and slung it around his shoulder before taking off after Yuriko.

As he ran, Ando held the roll of dental floss in his right hand. At first the dental floss seemed useless, but after some thinking Ando found a way to use it. He decided he'd use it to suffocate whoever crossed his path. It was perfect; all Ando would have to do is sneak behind his enemy and wrap the floss around their necks. With a strong and successful pull, Ando could kill a person within a minute. Smiling at the thought of victory, Ando listened to his feet moving rapidly along the ground.

Elsewhere on the island, Tetsuo stood panting at the top of a flight of stairs. Droplets of sweat soaked the collar of his light blue button-up shirt. Though it was a cool night, Tetsuo felt like his body was burning and felt like ripping off the blue jeans he wore. He just finished running away from someone. To think someone was actually playing this fucking game. Bent over with his hands on his knees, Tetsuo tried his best to see what lay at the bottom of the stairs. The absence of light anywhere around him constricted his vision, though. Fortunately, he remembered that the survival pack that damn soldier had thrown at him was equipped with a flashlight. Quickly, he unzipped the pack and searched through it. There were more things in the pack now than there was when he first received it. To make things easier, Tetsuo decided to empty the contents of the backpack he packed for the trip and stuff them in the survival pack. Now, along with the other supplies in the survival pack were a few folded clothes, an MP3 player, and two magazines. Tetsuo found the flashlight and turned it on. The beam of light emitted by the head of the flashlight illuminated the darkness beneath the stairs. Looking down, Tetsuo could tell it led to a tunnel.

Though Tetsuo had a bad feeling about going into the unknown, he decided to defy that feeling and went down the staircase. He was frightened, but he knew that if he wanted to survive, he'd have to find a good hiding place. The tunnel he was entering seemed to be the perfect spot to hide at the moment considering you couldn't even see anything from the top of the stairs. If someone went down into the tunnel, though, Tetsuo knew he'd be dead. Even though he was safe for the time being, the class clown ran through the tunnel faster than he ever did before in his life.

From the looks of it, the tunnel was actually an old, abandoned subway. The stairs led down to the platform, which had a tiled floor that was stained with various kinds of substances. There were a few columns still standing in the platform and the tracks still seemed to be intact. Slowing his pace, Tetsuo flashed his light at the tracks and hopped down from the platform.

"Hope no trains come this way," Tetsuo joked to himself.

As he walked through the dark subway station, Tetsuo wondered where all his friends were. He figured Hideaki was probably trying to find everyone to gather so they can attack the school. A strong fighter, defender of the weak, and a smart kid – Hideaki was everything a parent could ask for. Thinking about all his friends, Tetsuo thought the only person who could actually survive this "game" was Uryuu.

A part of Tetsuo hoped Uryuu would find him and rescue him considering he did that a lot anyways. Tetsuo was kind of an annoyance to the older kids; he joked around a lot and took nothing seriously. Uryuu had to back him up quite a lot since he annoyed so many people. Tetsuo chuckled at himself and continued walking down the tunnel.

"Where the hell does this damn subway lead to?" he wondered, flashing his flashlight at different places in the subway tunnel.

Walking at a steady pace now, Tetsuo pulled out a bottle of water and drank a fairly large amount. Hey if I'm gonna die soon anyways, might as well die with my thirst quenched, right? As he twisted the bottle cap back on the water bottle, he heard something strange coming from up ahead. It sounded like pieces of gravel grinding against something. Unsure about what made the sound, Tetsuo turned off his flashlight and stayed still. The darkness of the subway tunnel swallowed everything around him. A chilling feeling crept up Tetsuo's spine as he heard the sound one more time. Afraid that someone was up ahead, Tetsuo stuck his hand into his survival pack and pulled out his weapon: a Smith & Wesson 686 revolver. Apparently, his pack was lucky.

Moving forward slowly and steadily, Tetsuo extended his left arm forward and pointed the revolver. Keeping his finger poised on the trigger, Tetsuo cocked the gun and inched closer to the direction of the sound. Suddenly, the sound came again, but this time it was louder and longer. It sounded like hundreds of rocks fell to the ground and grinded against one another. Tetsuo's body shook and he nearly dropped the revolver, but he caught it with his left hand and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the ground, causing dirt and dust to fly up into the air. With the flashlight in his right hand, Tetsuo pointed the beam of light forward. In less than a second, Tetsuo was knocked to the ground by something hard, a fist. With his body on the train tracks and his only weapon at his feet, Tetsuo felt like a sitting duck. Fearfully, he closed his eyes and gulped, hoping that whoever killed him did it quick and fast. After seconds of lying still, he opened one eye and saw a body standing over him.

"Oh Lord, please don't kill me! Please!" he pleaded.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna kill you," a feminine voice responded.

Confused, Tetsuo's brows furrowed and he picked the flashlight up from the ground. He shone the light on the body before him and saw Hyori Shibasaki (Girl #7) waving her arms around her face, trying to block the light from her eyes. Great, I just begged a harmless girl not to kill me. How lower am I gonna get? Slightly laughing, Tetsuo stood up and moved the light away from his female classmate. As he stood, he patted the dirt away from his pants and flashed the light on Hyori's body, away from her face. She was wearing a short, khaki skirt and a pink tanktop with white lining. Over the tanktop, she wore a hooded jacket colored a darker shade of pink.

"Done checkin me out?" Hyori asked sarcastically, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Oh, no, that's not it," Tetsuo hesitantly said. Hyori smiled and giggled. Tetsuo tried to smile, but he felt more embarrassed than funny. Trying to get away from the subject, he asked, "Are you alright?"

"I should be asking you that. It looked like you were gonna die of a heart attack," Hyori remarked.

Tetsuo displayed a crooked smile and said, "So you're really not playing?"

"I said I'm not gonna kill you, didn't I?"

"Okay…"

"If someone attacks me, though, I won't hesitate. That's why I punched you," Hyori told Tetsuo. "Speaking of that, sorry, I didn't know whether or not you were playing."

"Oh, it's alright. It didn't hurt that much," Tetsuo lied. In truth, it actually did hurt. Hyori looked like the nice girl who lived next door, but she punched like a street brawler. It really surprised Tetsuo.

"So, should we get goin?" Hyori suggested. Tetsuo nodded. Together, the two classmates headed down the dark subway tunnel, uncertain about what lay ahead.

The sound of a zipper opening emanated from within a porta-potty near the school grounds. Sitting atop the dirty toilet with the cover closed over the seat was Yutaka Akanishi (Boy #18). Yutaka was wearing his lucky baseball cap and a dark blue jacket over a gray t-shirt and blue jeans. Withdrawing his hand from the large duffel bag on his lap, the shred of moonlight shining through the cracks of the old porta-potty gleamed against something in his hand. The object was thin and long, it was about three-feet long. Using the dim light of the moon, Yutaka moved the object around his hand to figure out what it was. The part he was holding was cold and felt like metal, but as he moved his hand upwards, he felt something even colder. At the end of the three-foot long shaft was a sharp, pointed head, probably only six-inches long. After a few seconds, Yutaka could finally tell what the weapon was. In his hands, Yutaka Akanishi held a pickaxe. Though it wasn't as deadly as a gun, it was more precise. That's what Yutaka needed. Normally a good guy, Yutaka's fear had taken over him and drained his sanity. His hands were shaking and his lips contorted into a wicked smirk as he held the pickaxe in his hand. Letting out a primal roar, the skeletal Yutaka leaped out of the porta-potty and dashed into the forest.

"Did you hear that?" Hikari Satomi (Girl #9) asked Megumi Matsuda (Girl #13).

Luckily for them, the two girls found each other almost immediately as the game started. Hikari was hiding behind some bushes near the entrance of the school when Megumi came running by. As she made her way down the school hallway, Megumi figured she'd be the first to die, but instead she might actually be able to survive. There was strength in numbers, wasn't there? Hers and Hikari's weapons weren't that bad either. Megumi had received the SPAS-12 shotgun while Hikari got a sickle, the kind used for harvesting. The sickle was about two feet long with a sharp, curved blade that reflected Hikari's face. The two girls were hiding out in the forest where bushes surrounded them. No one had passed by yet so it was obviously a good choice for a hiding spot.

"Yeah, what do you think it was?" Megumi replied. "You think someone just died?"

"I hope not," Hikari wished. "I hope no one plays this fucking game."

"That's some wishful thinking, Hikari, but that's all it is," Megumi replied. It sounded like such a mean thing to say to her best friend, but Megumi couldn't help it. This was no time to be nice. With pondering eyes, Megumi giggled at herself. She thought it funny how her eyes were swelling up in tears earlier, and now she was playing all strong and hard.

"I know but still…" Hikari muttered.

"Don't worry, Hikari," Megumi comforted her. She moved in closer to Hikari and hugged her with one arm. "I'll protect you."

"Thanks Megumi," Hikari replied with a fake smile. "You're –"

Before Megumi could finish, the sound of a wild roar came from behind. Megumi and Hikari turned their heads to see a hulking figure rush towards them. Clothed in an unzipped, black track jacket, a white tanktop, and black jeans, Kyosuke Yasutora (Boy #6) charged at his two classmates, swinging his weapon – a machete. Both Hikari and Megumi shrieked as they watched the young man attack them. They jumped backwards as Kyosuke swung his machete down at them. Megumi managed to pull her duffel bag away, but Hikari's duffel bag was torn open by the machete. A horrified look appeared on Hikari's face as Kyosuke turned to her. Her face became even more horrified when she saw the look in Kyosuke's eyes. It was the look of a monster, a monster ready to kill its prey. Kyosuke's eyes appeared bloodshot as he gritted his teeth at Hikari.

How could he be the one to kill me? Kyosuke was a nice boy, even though he was a jackass sometimes. He was really handsome too and had a charm no other boy in Class A possessed. Hikari had a crush on him ever since they met in fifth grade. Fuck all those people who say you can't find love at first sight. Hikari knew better; she knew she really did love Kyosuke the first time she saw him. He was wearing a track jacket like the one he wore today, but it was much smaller considering he was only about 5'4" back then and now he was almost 6'. He wore a cute hat that had Kanji writing over it. Hikari was waiting for her mother to come pick her up after softball tryouts while Kyosuke was riding his bicycle around in the parking lot with some of the other jocks. She had to wait for nearly thirty minutes, but it didn't bother her. Kyosuke was a sight to see even then; he had such a handsome, charming smile. But now… all that charm, all that allure – it was gone. He became a monster.

Kyosuke swung his machete to his left, towards Hikari, but he was startled by the sound of shotgun pellets hitting the ground near his feet. The basketball and football star spun around and leaped at Megumi. Megumi gulped as she pumped the SPAS-12 once more. Before she could fire off another slug, though, Kyosuke stabbed his machete forward. Using her volleyball skills, Megumi luckily dodged to the left and ran around Kyosuke. With her survival pack in one arm, she picked Hikari up with her other arm and dragged her away from Kyosuke. Looking back mournfully at the boy she had a crush on for four years, Hikari tried to force her tears back.

His machete stuck in the large tree, Kyosuke put his left leg up on the tree and pushed off to get the blade out. Growling like a madman, he stuck the machete back on the leather sheath on his belt. He then caught sight of Hikari's torn survival pack and pillaged it. At the bottom of the pack was Hikari's sickle. Kyosuke smiled at the weapon as he eyed it. Though he hoped for a long-range weapon, this would do. Sticking the shaft of the sickle between his belt and his waist, Kyosuke stood still, staring in the direction Megumi and Hikari ran towards.

Speeding through the maze of trees and bushes, Hikari and Megumi didn't dare look back. Though they didn't hear any footsteps coming after them, they feared Kyosuke would show up any minute. Wiping the small drops of tears from her cheeks, Hikari continued running. Megumi looked at her friend, wondering why she was crying. Then it hit her. She remembered Hikari liked Kyosuke. She never talked about it, but Megumi knew. By the way Hikari always looked at him and smiled whenever they talked it was obvious she liked him. Whether or not he reciprocated those feelings was anyone's guess though. Feeling sad for her best friend, Megumi almost began to cry as well.

"Megumi, can we slow down?" Hikari asked, exhaustion showing through her breath. "I don't know if I can go any longer."

Megumi nodded and stopped running. She touched Hikari's shoulder and pointed to a strange shack covered by moss and vines. The shack almost blended into the forest; it was dark brown like the trees and it had green plants covering it. With the shotgun ready, Megumi ordered Hikari to open the door. Slowly, Hikari turned the knob and flung the wooden door open. A loud creak escaped the hinges of the door, but no one was inside. Breathing a sigh of relief, Megumi lowered her weapon and followed Hikari into the shack.

The shack wasn't very big, but it would do. It only had one door – the one up front – and three windows, one of which was cracked, making it look like a spider's web. Megumi set her survival pack on a wooden crate near the wall and sat on an old stool. Hikari flopped herself on the floor and sat cross-legged. Taking out a white handkerchief from her back pocket, Hikari wiped the sweat from her forehead and neck. She sighed and stuffed the handkerchief back into her pocket.

"Why do you think he did it?" Hikari asked. "Why do you think Kyosuke decided to play the game?"

"I don't know, but did you really expect no one to play?" Megumi wondered. "Not to sound offensive or anything, but people do play this game one way or another. You've seen the reports, you know as much as I do that dementia takes over people and causes them to go crazy. It's happened to almost every kid that goes into Battle Royale. That's probably why Kyosuke attacked us."

A look of sadness appeared on Hikari's face and she lowered her head. She began to fiddle with her fingers and stared down at them.

"I know you liked him, but that's not him any more, Hikari," Megumi said. She got off the stool she was sitting on and sat next to her friend. "Are you willing to kill him if he attacks us again?"

"I… I don't know," Hikari murmured. "I just don't know."

"Well, just in case he attacks us again, I'll kill him if you can't."

For the first time in her life, Hikari looked up at her best friend in fear. She never thought she'd hear Megumi say those words, but in fact, right now, right here, she just did. Even more, she said it about the boy Hikari had fallen in love with. Thinking back to the beginning of this game, Hikari recalled Mr. Yamamoto's cold words. Could you kill your own best friend? Hikari thought about it and decided no, she couldn't. But when she looked over at Megumi, she thought different. If Megumi could say she'd kill Kyosuke just like that, could she kill Hikari as well? No, you're just going crazy. Of course she wouldn't kill you; she is your best friend after all.

Faking a smile, Hikari looked her best friend in the eyes and said, "That's why we're best friends."

"That's right," Megumi smiled back.

Though for now the two girls were safe, it would probably be the safest they'd ever be for the rest of the game. All throughout the island people were running from other people. Luckily, no one had died yet, but surely that would soon change. After all, the moon was still high up in the star-speckled black sky. No doubt someone would die before dawn.

40 Students Remaining