Chapter Two
"Satō-sensei?!" a boy shouted.
Yemon Satō gave them all a wide grin. Everyone took a step backwards, except for one. Erisa stood up and stared at him. No emotion was displayed upon her face.
He remembered her. He remembered everyone. Half the time, they were terrible to him. They called him names, not just behind his back but also to his face. He received death threats. They made it rather clear that they hated him. Well, most of them. Maybe that is why he enjoyed this so much.
He took a seat. "Hello, everyone. How have you all been? Good?" Some students nodded. Others just stared. None of them spoke. "Well, that's fantastic. Any of you guys miss me?" he asked in what seemed to be a joking manor.
"Enough! Why are we here?!" a girl screeched at the top of her lungs. Her hand was firmly grasping the collar around her neck.
"I wouldn't pull on that, if I were you. It might explode." Anyone whose hand happened to be fiddling with it stopped immediately. He smiled again. This was going to be a fun three days.
. ~ .
Tadashi Sasaki knew what was happening. He actually paid attention to politics, unlike everyone else in his class. He knew what the hottest debate was for the past two years. He loved politics, you see. He hoped to make that his career one day. He knew that as he stood there any chance for a future, never mind a highly successful one, was dim. He didn't want to die, but he couldn't kill.
He heard all the people around him talking. They were terrified.
"Where are we?"
"I don't know, I fell asleep and now we're here."
He knew that it was going to happen to someone. He was even thinking about watching it on television. For the experience. For science. For . . . damn, he couldn't even think of a good reason. He planned upon watching it out of sheer curiosity. He never planned he'd have to live it.
"I don't understand."
"I want to go home."
It would be someone else's class. He wouldn't have to do it. It would be someone far away with absolutely no connection to him. "Aw, I guess that's too bad," he'd say. He would know about it, but it wouldn't really do any harm to him. He never guessed that he would be the one to kill. Who knows? Maybe somewhere in the world at that exact same time, someone had heard of the selection of Fukuoka Junior High School's Third Year Class C, and was shaking their head and saying "Wow. That's too bad, isn't it?" Maybe they would feel remorse. Maybe they would feel pity.
Still, they all had it easy. They wouldn't have to feel the fear.
. ~ .
"The BR Program. Ever hear of it?" Satō asked the students. "It was arranged to keep teenagers like you under control. It is a reminder of who is at the top. Adults. Please remember that you've all brought this upon yourselves. Every single one of you in this country. You teenagers are all to blame."
"Us? B-But we didn't do anything!" a girl shouted. She was crying. Tears were continuously streaming down her cheeks.
"Shut up, girl! Don't speak when an adult is talking to you!" Satō snapped. He recalled this girl as one who had a very hard time listening.
"Why are we here?! We didn't do anything! Let us go home!" the same girl, Utayo Gotō screamed.
Satō stood up and reached into his pocket. He took a step closer to the students. He was literally right next to Erisa. In one swift, silent motion he threw an item at the young girl. It hit her with a "thwap". Someone screamed. Erisa didn't look. She didn't need to. She kept her eyes on the chalkboard at the front of the room. There was no writing on it.
. ~ .
Utayo Gotō fell to the floor. Her best friend Yuka screamed first. Other people started to as well.
"Utayo! No!" Yuka was the only one who could manage to make her thoughts into words.
Utayo's breathing came in rapid, sharp patterns. Her eyes were fixated upon nothing. "Y-Yuka?" her voice came out as something less than a scratchy whisper. It was so close to inaudible. Only one person heard it. Yuka Matsuda watched her best friend die right in front of her with a knife embedded in her head. No more words were said.
"Is it. . . Is it really possible . . . for the adults to hate us so much?"
Girl #21, Utayo Gotō – Dead
41 Students Remaining
. ~ .
A heavy silence filled the room. It lasted for a total of 2.35 seconds before nearly everyone started screaming and running around, looking for any way out. Some tried for the windows. Some tried to get to the door. A total of eight refused to move at all. Erisa Sakamoto was one of them.
After a few minutes of pure panic, the guards stepped in. They shot at the ceiling, at the floor. Eventually, every student was scared into suppression.
Finally, someone spoke up. His name was Haru Ishikawa and he had tears in his eyes. He looked from the lifeless body of Utayo to Yemon. "I'll kill you, you bastard! Why?! Why Utayo?!"
With that, he ran forward and tried to tackle Yemon. A guard stood in front of the teacher and pointed his gun at the boy's chest.
Yemon Sotō remained completely calm. "Ishikawa, Haru. Man, you were a pain in my ass. You always complained. The only one you'd actually listen to was Gotō, wasn't it?" Haru didn't answer; he was staring into the eyes of the soldier in front of him. Silently, he begged the man to move. "You know, you might have had a chance in this game. It's a shame, actually. Such promising entertainment is wasted."
Yemon took out what looked like a simple laser pointer and aimed it at Haru's collar. It started beeping. "You've got exactly one minute before that thing around your neck explodes."
Haru did what most people would do. He panicked. He ran all around the room, only to be pushed away by those who weren't yet ready to die. He screamed and cried. He thought that these people were his friends. Why were they ignoring his desperate cries for help? What did he want them to do?
He stood in front of Sotō, right next to Erisa. He looked the teacher in the eye and said "I'll see you in hell." Yemon only smirked.
3. . . 2. . 1.
Boom.
"Utayo . . . I should have told you how I felt about you, it might have changed this . . . still, you were worth it."
Boy #4, Haru Ishikawa – Dead
40 Students Remaining
. ~ .
Erisa still stood strong, her eyes still locked upon the chalkboard. She did not move. She did not look away. Her hands balled into fists. She bit her lip. Yemon looked at her as if she was going to act out and end up like Haru or Utayo. "No," she decided silently. "No, I won't."
She looked away from Yemon and down to what was on the floor to her left. Blood had sprayed from Haru on to her. She did her best to ignore it. Still, she glared at him. His stupidity could have gotten them all killed.
She looked back to their teacher as he said, "Now everyone sit down and shut up." Everyone did so, except Erisa.
Maybe it was an act of defiance. Maybe it was an act of hatred. Maybe it was just Erisa being Erisa. She remained standing.
"Erisa!" Ruriko called. "Please, sit!"
Erisa ignored her. Soon, other people were calling to her, too. She couldn't hear them. Yemon stepped towards her. "Problem, Sakamoto?" he asked.
Erisa felt a hand lightly place itself on her shoulder. She looked to the person it belonged to. "Erisa, please. Sit down with me," Kiyoshi said. There was something in his eyes. It was something that made her sit right next to him.
"Now, let me explain the rules," Yemon sat on the desk at the front of the room. "You are all going to kill each other. That's it. Kill any way you like. You will be receiving a backpack with food, water and a random weapon. Some weapons will be powerful while others," he chuckled. "Well, you'll see. Plus, you can take the backpack you brought for the trip."
The students were all too shocked to say anything. They heard the words but they did not truly sink in.
The teacher continued anyway. "You have a total of three days. One person is to be left standing. If there is more than one person left alive, you will all explode. I will be making announcements four times a day telling you which of your classmates have died and where the danger zones are. If you go in a danger zone once it is activated, your pretty little necklace will submit a signal and you'll end up like Ishikawa here.
"The winner goes home and lives a normal life. Plus, you'll get a really nifty little picture signed by the Dictator! Isn't that cool?" He sounded as if he was so happy and filled with great energy. No one answered.
"Tough crowd, eh? You all want to get down to business!? Good, that's good. We'll pick a random student number and one by one you'll take your bags and leave. Before we start, are there any questions?"
A boy stood up. His name was Akira Nakano. He spoke clearly as he asked "How were we chosen for this?"
The teacher shrugged. "Random selection. Aren't you guys lucky?"
Akira looked as if he was going to sit down. Instead he said "One more?"
The teacher nodded. "Certainly, Nakano."
"What about our parents? What did you . . . ? " he trailed off, somewhat afraid to continue.
"They've been notified. They know you're here, don't you worry about them. There are more important things to fear. You think your classmates won't kill you? Every person in this room is capable of murder. The only question is: who will become victorious through it?" Everyone glanced at each other. Whatever form of trust there might have been had been destroyed with a few simple words.
"Now, let's begin." He grabbed a piece of paper from the desk and proudly announced, "The first of you to leave will be. . . Boy #18 - Kondō, Naoko."
The boy got up, grabbed his bag and ran without looking back. He was crying and he did not want to appear weak.
"We will now continue from there. Girl #18 – Sakamoto, Erisa." She stood up, grabbed her backpack and was handed the bag with a weapon. She paused before leaving and looked at all of them one last time.
"E-Erisa," Ruriko called. As much as she hated to do so, Erisa ignored her.
She spoke to all of them at once as she said, "Best of luck to you all."
Erisa walked down the hallway towards the darkness outside. She heard Yemon saying "All right! Did you see her? She looked a little enthusiastic! I'd watch out for that one. Next is Boy #19 - Fujiwara, Akako."
She stood outside. It was obvious by her surroundings that she was on an island. It was either really late at night or really early in the morning.
Then, she did the one thing that was expected. Erisa Sakamoto ran.
AN: Sorry if this chapter isn't that great .I just felt like I had to explain the rules. It will get better as it goes, don't worry.