Battle Royal:
Hamilton High School: Freshman Class
Chapter one
Everyone, well almost everyone, was excited about this class trip. While not everyone was in the same exact class, everyone here knew everyone else. Great thing about Hamilton, big enough school to take what classes you wanted, small enough that class sizes weren't huge. Of course, there were forty-two students on this bus going today. It was all of the classes of one science teacher, and they were going on some science trip. Lance wasn't never paid attention enough to all of the details to remember exactly what they were going to do. They were getting a nice hotel and at least part of their time would be on the beach. "How much longer until we get there?" he complained, leaning back in his seat.
Sitting next to him was his best friend, Alexander. "Come on, we knew it would be a long trip so what's the problem? Besides, it should be great when we get there." Alexander was smiling brightly as he spoke. Lance knew his friend had been looking forward to getting away from school and everything for a little while.
"Oh, is Lance already complaining?" Leo asked, leaning forward from the seat between them. "We've only been traveling for two hours. We have several more to do."
"What? I hate long car rides, and right now I have to do put up with all of you," Lance said, laughing.
"Oh, we're not that bad, are we?" Emily asked, sitting in the seat next to Leo. Lance never understood why Emily was their friend and always hung out with them, well besides that she had grown up next store to Leo. She was a cheerleader, and normally got B's in most of her classes, so smarter than all of them but Leo, who got straight A's and really had no life. Lance never understood why the girl was dating Frederic. Frederic, what he always had to be called if you called him Fred he would kill you, wasn't even sitting with them right now, or even near Emily. He was in the back of the bus with some of his own friends, Drake, Luke, Tobin, and James. Lance didn't like any of them.
"Well, you're not. I'm sure about the rest of them," Lance said, still smiling. Everyone was in talking with their friends, well except for Logan Marshal but no one really liked him so it didn't matter.
As time dragged on, Lance suddenly found himself feeling rather tired. It was odd, as normally he didn't fall asleep while traveling. It was part of the reason he hated it so much. Everyone around him was fast asleep, and as creepy as it sounded Emily looked so cute sleeping, slumped against Leo. Wait… was everyone asleep? He looked around a moment, fighting to keep his eyes open. No one else was awake, even Leah, who he knew was on so many drugs she went weeks without sleeping, was out cold. This was wrong. He tried to get out of his seat, trying to crawl over Alex, but only ending up falling onto the ground. Damn it. He looked up as he noticed someone walk over to him with a gas mask on. A gas mask? What was going on? He-
When Lance woke up, his head was pounding. He was in some classroom, with the rest of the students waking up about the same time. The next thing he realized was there was some kind of collar around his throat, feeling it Lance tried to pull it off. This wasn't happening. He'd like to say he didn't know what this meant, that this was just some sick joke. He had never paid much attention when Japan's Battle Royal Program had come to the United States to help with population control, part of him hoping it was just some sick joke, even as it started happening. It wasn't happening to him, and this would be the last year he could be apart of if, so then he would never have to worry about it again. This was such a new program, and Lance still remembered all of the debates on it, mostly on what age it was okay to pull students from. Lance hadn't cared, hadn't been in the protests against this as his older brother had. He was wishing he had now.
Lance quickly made his way over to his friends. Lance could tell that not everyone knew what was going on, but they would soon enough. Leo knew what was going on, Lance was sure of it. He had done a research project on this program, showing all of the flaws and problems with. Leo was part of the groups that still protested this program. He was holding Emily, who was crying. "Leo, is this what I think it is?" Lance asked, keeping his voice down.
"I won't do it. I'm not going to be a part of this stupid thing. I'll just refuse. If we all refuse then they'll-"
"Then they'll just kill us all," Alex pointed out, cutting Leo off. "There's no choice. If you refuse to do it than wait until we get outside and give me your weapon and then I'll kill you."
"Alex! Don't say things like that!" Emily cried. "W-we have to try and make sure we all live a-and we can't just.. We can't just give up."
That was part of the reason Lance loved Emily so much. She was always so positive, but that wasn't going to help in this game. "If we stick together, we might have a chance." A chance for what though? A chance to make it to the point where they had to kill each other? Lance looked over to where Frederic was. Why wasn't he over with Emily? Why was Leo the one who had to do it? It angered him. Frederic was talking with his friends, probably plotting things. As Lance looked around the room, he could see all of the white faces. All of the people who didn't know what was going when they all woke up, had been told by others by now and everyone knew what was going on. It was only a matter of time before someone walked into the room and explained what was going on, even if everyone already knew. Lance was still pissed off at Frederic, but there was nothing that could be done.
Lance looked over at the door as someone walked into the room, followed by several armed soldiers. Lance figured they were army. Alex's father was in the army and he had seen man in uniform enough to know what that looked like. Lance's eyes were on the man who looked to be in charge. Everyone's eyes seemed to be doing the same thing. Lance knew he had to keep his mouth shut now. Any talking now could get them killed, and while he doubted his whole class would stay quiet, he was going too.
"Welcome," the older man said. He was a bit more casually dressed than Lance thought it was appropriate. He was dressed in dark jeans and a black Tee shirt. "To Battle Royal! You're class has been chosen to be part of this wonderful government program. Now I think it's time for the video now." The man seemed so cheerful that it made him sick. Everyone was so scared that no one said anything, and part of Lance was hoping someone started screaming and got killed right now. That would get rid of some of people right now, and Lance would be okay with that. He wanted as many dead as soon as possible. It would make things easier for him to make sure... Make sure what? Make sure he lived to the end? But he'd have to kill all of his friends, and he wasn't sure if he could do that. But, maybe if he could make sure one of his friends would be the last one who won he would be okay with that. Well, if he was dead he wouldn't really care he guessed. He'd just… he'd like to live as long as he could.
The movie started, and Lance could hear a few of the girls crying. Crying wasn't going to change anything, and he'd call them all stupid if Emily wasn't one of them. His eyes were soon on the video as it started.
A women appeared on the screen, some model or something probably with how small she was, dressed in some an orange shirt, cameo pants and hat and was standing behind a grey screen with some web address on it. The women had light skin and blond hair. "Hello, everyone! You are the lucky class chosen for this year's Battle Royal! Congratulations! Now, I'm going to explain the rules for you. Listen well to fight right and with gusto." Fight well? Was it even possible to fight 'well' for something like this. "You are on a deserted island that looks like this!" Lance tried to pay close attention to what the island looked like. Wait, they drug them to an island while they were asleep? Well, he guessed they couldn't do something like that in the states themselves, someone could get away or they could get outside help. "It's about 10 kilometers around, but we evacuated everyone, so it's empty! The island's divided into many zones. Every six hours, they will broadcast updates about which zones are becoming danger zones. Now, the school you are in right now will become a danger zone as soon as the game starts. If you're in those zones, you should leave quickly… because the danger is… Okay, about the necklaces you're wearing. They're 100% waterproof and shockproof… and permanent. It monitors your pulse, informing us of your location and movements. So if you linger in a danger zone, or cause trouble, we can identify you and transmit radio waves that trigger an alarm and boom! If you try to rip it off, it explodes too, so promise not to do that, okay? There is a time limit on the game, if a person isn't killed every twenty-four hours, everyone dies! You'll leave the room one by one, but first you get a kit. Inside is food and water, a map and a compass, a flashlight and a weapon. So check it out later, okay? The girls might need personal items so you can take them. Each weapon is different. Not just guns and knives either. It's random, so many you get lucky, maybe not. It eliminates natural advantages." She pulled out an ax out of the bag she had in front of her now, it sat next to some bottles of water and a loaf of bread. The model gasped. "This one's super lucky!" Lance had seen a leaked version of this video from Japan. It was basically the same, almost word for word. Wait, the girls were able to take personal items? He knew the things in Emily's bag, even if they went through it and took out anything that could be used as a weapon, he might have a plan.
The teacher turned to look back at the class. "Well, I'll start calling you off one by one and you can all grab a bag and leave. You will be leaving one student every two minuets."
Lance leaned in closer to his friends. "Do you remember that map? I saw cliffs near where we are. We can meet up there. I think we should stick together as long as possible, we'll have a chance then."
"Alright, we'll get there as fast as we can," Alex said. He looked to Emily and Leo, and they both nodded. Lance could see that Emily was looking over at Frederic. Lance decided that if he had to kill someone, he would kill Frederic. He'd even call him Fred before he did it.
"Let's get starting. Girl 1, Morgana Luis." Morgana Luis was a bigger girl with dark hair and a face covered in pimples. She trudged over and a bag was thrown at her. She had been one of the girls crying, but it didn't matter now. After a moment she was gone.
Two Minuets. "Boy 1, Drake Pullman." Drake had dark brownish/red hair, and was of average build. He ran up, got his bag and left.
Two Minuets. "Girl 2, Sammi Blaine." Sammi was a tiny girl, at least as far as Lance was concerned. She couldn't have been more then 5 foot or so. She was also very small waisted. She had longer black hair and light skin. She got up, looked at a group of her friends she had been sitting with, before getting her bag and leaving.
Two minuets. "Boy 2, Phillip Hermes." Herpes, at least that was what most of the class called him. Emily had always said it was mean, but it didn't matter now he guessed. Phil had dark blond hair that was shorter, and light skin. He walked over, took his bag and left.
Two minuets. It was odd to Lance that no one was talking. Maybe not. Everyone was tense now that there were people out there, possibly already killing each other. "Girl 3, Ella Seaban." Lance felt horrible for Ella. Her twin brother was in the class as well. Probably would be called as boy three. Ella had long blond hair in a braid, and almost pale skin. Her blue eyes always stood out to him. Ella walked over to get her bag. "I love you Evan!" Evan was her twin brother.
Two minuets. "Boy 3, Evan Seaban." Evan looked almost identical to his sister. Lance understood how twins worked, and they were not really identical, but they could still pass as each other. Evan got up. He had the same blond hair, long and kept back in a pony tail, same pale skin, and same blue eyes. He got his bag and left.
Two minuets. "Girl 4, Holly Seffner." Holly had short brown hair and light skin. Lance wouldn't call her pretty, he found her rather dull himself. She always seemed to just be staring off into space as well. She got her bag and left.
Two minuet. "Boy 4, Teven Bandera." Lance wondered if Teven even understood what was going on. The black haired male was always a bit slow, and Lance thought it was cruel that he was even here. Not that it wasn't cruel for all of them… Teven got up, having this look of confusion and shock as he slowly got his bag and left the room.
Two minuets. "Girl 5, Quin Astraga." Quin was on the volleyball ball team. The red haired girl had the body for it. Her freckles, Lance used to think were cute. Quin got up and left, not looking at anyone.
Two minuets. "Boy 5, Mark Flind" Mark was a big stupid football player, and that was what Lance sure would probably lead to his death in this game. Him being stupid. The brown haired male got up, grabbed a bag and left.
Two minuets. "Girl 6, Donnica Pax." Donnica was a tall, lanky girl who was rather popular in class. The black haired female had rather big breasts, and Lance was sure that was the only reason she was popular. When she walked over, she looked back at Tobin Lan for a moment, her boyfriend, before leaving the room.
Two minuets. "Boy 6, Damien Walker." Damien had brown hair just longer than being called short, light skin and green eyes. He was one of Alex's friends that Lance didn't know all that well. Damien got up and left the room.
Two minuets. "Girl 7,Temperance Wells." Temperance was a small African girl with her hair in a small afro. She didn't move until someone pushed her to go. Temperance got up and left the room.
Two minuets. "Boy 7, Samuel Godsayd." Samuel was in that group of people Lance thought were all rather odd. Along with Sammi, Hannah, and Phil. Samuel had dark red hair, light skin. He left Hannah, the last one left in their little group, and left the room.
Two minuets. "Girl 8, Nina Shultz." Nina got up. She was a Jewish girl, Lance forgot what country she was from but she was an immigrant from somewhere. She had darker skin than a lot of the class, and curly black hair. Lance wondered if she understood what was going on, her English wasn't all that great. She stood up and left the room. Maybe she was just following along what she saw everyone else doing.
Two minuets. "Boy 8, Dorian Malloy." Dorian had longer reddish/purplish hair, the guy died it a different color every few weeks. Dorian always stood out in class, as he had been in some kind of accident that left him with a horrible scar over his left eye, causing him to be blind in that eye. Dorian got up and got his bag. Before he left the room, he turned back to everyone else. "Good luck." He then rushed off.
Two minuets. "Girl 9, Emily Dashallson." Emily tensed and didn't move. Emily had long brown hair that Leo and pulled into a pony tail for her, light skin, and a thin frame. She clung tighter to Leo. "Emily, you need to go. Just do what we talked about," he told her softly. Emily nodded after a moment and got up slowly. She made her way to front of the class. She was given a bag, before disappearing. Lance could only hope she could make it on her own long enough to meet back up with them. If anyone dissevered to live past this, it was her.
Two minuets. "Boy 9, Mic Flanders." Mic was a nerdy boy, greasy, black hair, a lot of ache, and was one the smartest people in their class, if not the smartest. He was also small. When the bag was thrown at him as he left, it almost sent him falling to the floor.
Two minuets. "Girl 10, Hannah Hill." Hannah was a blond girl who was one of the few girls that were in good shape. She was the last of her friends to leave, and she looked a bit shaken up. She walked over and got her bag, before leaving the room.
Two minuets. "Boy 10, James Myhre." James turned to look at Frederic, who simply nodded, before getting up and leaving the room. James had dark hair and had a spots tan. He was, as most of Frederic's friends, on the school's track team. He got up, got his bag, and left the room.
Two minuets. "Girl 11, Mossette Lawry." Mossette was a girl that Lance always thought was too skinny. The black haired girl looked like she was all skin and bones. She got up, got her bag and left.
Two minuets. "Boy 11, Dustin Valentine." Dustin was a taller male, who Lance thought was a bit nerdy. Though, a lot of students in this class seemed to be that way to Lance. Lance watched as the blond got up and left the room.
Two minuets. "Girl 12, Linex Dahl." Linex, the overachiever. Class president, straight A student, probably the only one in the class that had a chance of getting smarter than Mic, she was in several sports, all of the high level classes, but this one but hey now wasn't the time to worry about that. She even had a good body, besides the fact she had rather small breasts. Her hair was very long, going down to her butt, and her body he'd give a 9. Lance did have a crush on her, but most of the guys did. She always said she didn't have time for a boyfriend though.
Two Minuets. "Boy 12, Logan Marshall." Logan, the loner. Lance always thought of Logan as one of those rebel types, who never wanted to play by the rules, or at least wanted to act like that. Logan wasn't really that much of a rebel though, and the brown haired male only ended up pushing everyone away. He got up, grabbed onto his bag and left. The more time that went by, the more time Emily was out there on her own, possibly already dead… No, he shouldn't think about that now.
Two minuets. "Girl 13, Kristina Marx." The girl screamed and didn't move. She was a year younger than most of the class, having skipped a grade. She had shorter blond hair and green eyes. Her face was covered in tears, and she was shaking. When she kept refusing to move, one the armed guards grabbed her and pulled her up and to the front of the class. A bag was give to her, and she was shoved out of the door.
Two minuets. "Boy 13, Leo De Saurs." Leo got up, looking over at Lance and Alex. "I'll try and find Emily." He said softly, before going up to the front to grab his bag. Leo came from a very well off family, and as such always prim and proper in appearance. His dirty blond hair was tucked back, everything it's perfect place, and his light skin never seemed to have any ache on it. He got up, and left. Lance hoped he could find Emily, and make it to their meeting place.
Two minuets. "Girl 14, Monique Dell." Monique was an African American girl who was bigger, and normally always in a good mood. Lance felt it odd to see her so shaken up and with tears in her eyes. She got up. "This whole thing is stupid! I don't understand how you can think we'd just go along with this!" she yelled. She walked up and got her bag, glaring at the armed men and the man calling their names, before leaving the room.
Two minuets. "Boy 14, Ian Cameron." One of Dustin's friends. Lance never really talked with the blond, but he always seemed to talk about something odd. The boy had glasses and a hearing aid. Lance didn't think he'd live long out there. He got up, got his bag, and left. Lance wondered if there was any order what they were being called, and it didn't seem like it. Maybe it was just random how they do this.
Two minuets. "Girl Du Lac." Claire was the oldest girl in the classroom. She had been sick almost all last year, and ended up having to repeat the school year. The blond was still sickly skinny, and her skin was a more pasty white than anything else. She got up, got her bag, and left.
Two minuets. "Boy 15, Alexander David." Alex stood up. He didn't even look back at Lance as he went and grabbed his bag. Alex had bright blond hair, blue eyes, and the girls would always joke that he had the looks of an angel. Alex hated that, but Lance thought it was funny. Alex soon had his bag and was gone.
Two minuets. "Girl 16, Amani Venn." Amani was a young Asian girl. She was small, with blond black hair and always had up some odd way. She had it up in a pony tail right now, what was much more simple than it normally was. She got her bag and was gone.
Two minuets. The room was starting to thin, and Lance hated that he was still in the room. "Dominick Nelson." Dominick walked over, taking as long as he could. He was an African American boy, and one of the school's football players. Smartest football player Lance knew, though that wasn't saying much. He got the bag and left.
Two minuets. The man calling the names looked bored by this point, and Lance hated him for it. What was this to him? They were all going to die and this guy was first fall to positive and now it was boring him. "Girl 17, Saffron Simones." Another African American girl. Lance always thought she was a bit bitchy, but she wouldn't be the only one in the classroom that was.
Two minuets. "Boy 17, Luke Armborn." Luke walked away from Frederic and Tobin. He nodded to Frederic first though. So, they had planned something, it wasn't surprising to him. It once again angered Lance that Frederic would plan things with them and nothing for Emily. Luke had black hair, and a sports tan. He was on the track team as well.
Two minuets. "Girl 18, Leah Highland." Leah, the class druggie. Her eyes were always red or blood shot. She had messy red hair that looked like it hadn't been washed in a long time. She got up and grabbed onto the bag and left.
Two minuets. "Boy 18, Antonio Rodregas." Antonio, the class Mexican. The only one in this class, and he loved to make jokes about it. Lance thought he was an okay guy over all. Antonio had good looks, but he didn't have a girl friend as far as Lance knew. He got up, grabbed the bag and left.
Two minuets. "Girl 19, Dana Ridler." Dana was a shy girl who didn't talk all that much in class. Lance thought she was mute for a while when they first met. She had long black hair, that was rather thick, and light skin. Her mascara was running down her face, and made it all the more clear she had been crying. She got her bag and left.
Two minuets. "Boy 19, Frederic Mars." Lance watched as Frederic got up and made his way to the front of the room. Frederic had dark brown hair, a sports tan, was on the track team and, according to Emily, was very attractive. Frederic grabbed his bag and looked over to Lance. "Watch yourself." He then left the room. Watch himself? What the hell was Frederic talking about? If Frederic wanted to play, then Lance would play. He'd just kill him first.
Two minuets. "Girl 20, Zoë Wentz." Zoë got put and talked to the front of the class. The girl had bright red hair, all put up in a lot of small braids. She had pasty skin, and it looked like she had been biting her lip so hard that it was bleeding. She got her bag and left.
Two minuets. "Boy 20, Tobin Lan." Lance was going to be the last one to leave the room. It had been so long since the first person had left. He was going to be a horrible disadvantage. Tobin was on the track team, and had a sports tan as well. He had bright blond hair. He looked at Lance, before leaving the room.
Two minuets. "Girl 21, Liz Brecker." The last girl in the room. She got up and made her way to the front of the class. She had light brown hair, and pale skin. She got her bag and quickly ran out of the room.
Lance waited the two minuets for them to call his name. "Boy 21, Lance McCallister." Lance got up and grabbed his bag. He'd have to try and his friends as soon as he went outside, and try to stay alive long enough to do that. He could do this, he had to do this.