Hour 2: Twin Veils – Denial

There were 46 students in the year, and 23 of them were outside, having entered the Program. A further one was dead in the classroom, in front of those remaining at the back of the class and a group of heavily armed men at the front, led by Head of Year, Mr. Morgan. Among those who had left were pacifists like female #6 Sadie Willis, political head-cases like male #8 Scott Irving, and bad tempered, potentially violent people like male #6 Andrew Cruddas and male # 10 Peter Lucianus. A mix of personalities, but with anything possible in this warped-beyond-belief situation it was hard to tell who, if anyone, you'd actually want to find when you left the class yourself.

These were exactly the thoughts running through the heads of many of those still left, most of whom were by now either trying to formulate plans for what to do to survive, or to forget they were there, or even that they existed at all. There were only two ways for people to feel comfortable right now, to the meagre extent to which that word meant anything anymore – being organised or surrendering completely to escapism.

Among those choosing the latter was Amber Canton, who was about to discover she was female student number twelve. As it happened, though, it wasn't even needed. As Morgan read out her name, he at last revealed what everyone who left before her was hoping he did – that it was all a big joke! Amber hadn't been ordered to kill her friends, she'd been invited to a party! There was even a present for her at the door…camping gear? Well, okay, that was a bit strange, but she could live with it.

Music. Music in her head. Sounded like…R.E.M.

Shiny happy people holding hands

Shiny happy people laughing

Everyone around love them, love them

Put it in your hands…

Amber crept slowly down the corridor, knowing her friends were all going to jump out at her and yell "Surprise!" or something and not wanting to alert them too much to her presence. A few steps down, though, she took the opposite approach and bounded forward, the music still playing around her.

It stopped with the sound of a loud masculine scream as she fell forward at the doorway, skidding slightly on the tarmac. She suddenly felt a rush of blood to the head as she was knocked back into reality, quickly turning around to see what had happened. The sight of the disfigured body of Manuel Noles, formerly known as male #2, caused her to fly backwards a bit, and more so when she noticed bits of his blood and flesh on her shoes and ankles.

Oh, God, what was this? No sounds escaped her lips, save empty pockets of air; Amber couldn't even scream or cry. This was no party…but that meant! The bag, what was really inside? A nail gun…used for DIY, or killing your friends. Her lungs filling with the cold night air, Amber choked, nearly vomiting at what was before her. Her dreams, her bubble of thoughts that protected her from the world. Shattered into a million pieces. Amber seemed to spend so little time outside her own fantasies that the real world seemed strange at times anyway, but with all this? With no choice remaining but to go forth, she held her weapon tightly as she moved who knew where, still expecting her friends to leap out and surprise her – but now for entirely different reasons…

In the classroom, Dave Clark wasn't smiling in the way that Amber had when she left, but he nonetheless felt confident about what was to come when he was announced as male student number thirteen. This was because he, unlike most of his peers, had no need to worry about who to trust. He could see it on their faces; their eyes darted back and forth, trying desperately to gauge reactions, seeing if people were looking at them with intent to kill or whatever.

Dave didn't have that worry. He knew exactly who to trust – his true love, Jade Brown. They'd been going out for five years now, though to look at them together, it might have been five weeks. He'd keep her safe, and she would do likewise for him. Zoey Volta? Random chance killed her, so nothing to worry about; nobody in the year would actually kill anyone! Or so he thought before he got to the end of the corridor.

That eye, for only one remained, seemed to be begging for help. Was Manuel trying to get back inside the school? It didn't matter now, anyway. Clearly someone was prepared to kill. But that didn't change the fact that Dave had someone who would always be with him. Manuel didn't, and that made him more vulnerable. That had to be it.

There was only one question: when would Jade be called to leave? For two hours in the classroom, his thoughts had only been on one thing, and that was being with his beloved. He couldn't think of anything else, and waited not far from the school for her to follow him out, even despite the risks.

Dave's eyes lit up when just a minute later, Jade proved the very next student to leave. He quickly beckoned her over, but she'd expected him to wait anyway. "Oh, I'm so glad it's you so soon!"

"Yeah, me too. We're both number thirteen, lucky for some, eh?" she replied, just as glad as he was that they'd left so close. Relief, though, soon turned to sadness and fear as Jade realised she couldn't put what she'd just seen behind her. "I'm sorry, it's just…back there…" She tightly gripped her boyfriend, who could still see the body just a few metres away. Dave pulled her in close.

"It's okay, it's okay, my love, I'm here now, whoever did this has already gone, it's just us." He wanted to mean what he said, desperately, but he didn't know that he did.

"Is it, though? Look me in the eye and say it." She didn't even want the truth from him. The reality was that it wasn't, how could it be alright? Two people were dead already. What she needed, though, was simply to know that Dave was going to be there for her no matter how bad things got. She pulled back and held his gaze, watching him remain silent a moment.

"Alright, I admit it. I don't know that nothing bad is going to happen to us. I don't have magic powers, I can't make the world a happy place like that," he said, clicking his fingers. "But I do know we've got each other. We're here, right now, with and for each other no matter what, and no one and nothing will ever get in the way of that." His eyes showing resolution and determination, he fumbled around behind him before adding, "And if anyone tries, this will convince them to think again!" With that Dave presented his weapon before Jade – a 12-bore shotgun.

"If you stick by me, I'll, I'll stick by you," she said, stuttering a little. Jade was scared, but Dave now looked defiant.

"I'm with you to and beyond the death, my love." As if to prove his point, Dave put the gun down and kissed her deeply, knowing he might not have many more chances to do that. He felt Jade relax a little in his arms, which made him happy. Everything was going to be okay, not even God could separate these two.

"Hey guys, you might wanna get a room! Would be a lot warmer than it is out here!"

Breaking the kiss, Dave and Jade were caught off-guard by the sudden shout from the next to leave the school, male student number fourteen Olly King. Fortunately, he wasn't a threat to anyone, he was the class joker and everyone in the year could at least put up with him. Revelling in the colourful blushes now adorning the lovebirds' faces, he was gone as quickly as he'd appeared. Dave and Jade just looked at each other, half embarrassed, half relieved it wasn't someone dangerous who caught them.

It was a cold realisation, in a way. What if it had been someone else, what might have happened? No more words were spoken as they left the zone and entered the unknown, arms wrapped tightly around each other as Dave held the shotgun in front of him.

Female student number fourteen, Thera May, and male student number fifteen, Stefano Valutti, stayed little longer than Olly had, both making swift exits. They were soon followed by Kim Magdalene, the fifteenth female student, who reluctantly released herself from the security of her best friend, Mark Johnson. If she couldn't stay with her remaining friends, then she had to find those who were out in the field. Sad as she felt about the deaths of Zoey and Manuel, her tears were for herself, and for Adam Lewis, her other best friend, who already seemed broken by what had happened. She desperately hoped he'd be okay.

While Kim had not time to think on those whom had already died, the sixteenth male student could not avoid doing so. Roy Smiths was among Manuel's best friends. They were outcasts among outcasts together, along with Alyssa Davids and his girlfriend, Emily Green. It was a strange sight for the notoriously morbid Roy. The blood was starting to clot now, making the floor around the body sticky. It was hard to believe that just an hour ago, this cold and lifeless empty shell used to be a human being, a close friend.

The thought that most impacted upon Roy was of what mindset could do such a thing as this; what would it take, could he do it himself? Perhaps, if the chance fell to him to avenge the poor guy. As quickly as the thought came into his head, however, he realised how disturbing it was. Looking around him with a sense of fear, and imagining a weapon in his own hands, he took off. He was conflicted between wanting to wait for his friends, so he could protect them, and needing to secure his own position against the likes of those who struck Manuel. "God damn you, pragmatism!"

The next three students all left in short order. Female number sixteen, Rahne Southers, was tearful as she said goodbye to her best friend, Holly Morgan, sooner than she would have liked. Male number seventeen, Charlie O'Keefe, also struggled for composure as he bade a fond farewell to Zoey, secretly swearing that she would be avenged somehow. Neither stayed long, both determined to find their friends as soon as possible. Female number seventeen, Leah Faith, simply ran out the door as quick as she could, nearly falling over Manuel as she did so. The sight of him made her feel sick, but there was no time to think about it.

It was with some relief that Morgan read out the next name, as he could see he was getting near the end of his list. "Could male student number eighteen, Ian Doherty, please step forward?" He did so with something of a sulk.

Anything but popular, Ian didn't rate his chances too highly. He figured a lot of people in the year would enjoy killing him; he was an obvious target. As if any further proof were needed that easy targets would die early, Manuel provided just that. As if he could even hurt a fly! Yet he'd been brutally murdered right at the door. Poor guy. It did, however, give Ian an idea.

He hurried outside to check his bag, and desperately hoped for something good. God owed him one by now, time to call in the favour, he decided. "Hallelujah," he thought. An Uzi 9mm submachine-gun. Of all the people who could have had a gun as good as that, he did. Quickly finding ammunition and loading it, he realised that while whoever had killed Manuel had done so from close range, he didn't need to risk that. No, he could stand from a distance! Aim and fire at the next person out - that was all he had to do and he had a free weapon and one less person to worry about killing him. He took his place.

Just metres away from the school, Ian looked on with delight as female student number eighteen turned out to be Silent Shimizu. She had really hurt his feelings early in the afternoon; some of the things she said were so hurtful! How was he "creepy," exactly? No matter. He just had to squeeze the trigger and she'd be gone. "Just…squeeze it. Now. Right now. There."

Nothing happened.

"What…why won't it…it should be!" Ian's hands were frozen on the gun. He tried, but couldn't move them. Was it just fear taking over, or was the gun broken in some way? As soon as Silent left, he could move again, suggesting the former. Exasperated, Ian sat there, sulking once again.

Keeping his hands moving, sliding them up and down the length of his gun to make sure he wouldn't freeze again, Ian saw male student number nineteen, Rem Remnant, scan the area. He was either looking for his friends or seeing if there was anyone dangerous in the area. Oh, how little he knew. Now!

From nowhere, Ian flew out of the bushes with a loud scream that knocked Rem off balance. He pulled the trigger on his Uzi as hard and fast as he could, just waiting to see his foe disappear from the mortal plane. Rem had seen the gun and knew what was about to happen to him. Again, though, nothing did. Ian was definitely not frozen this time, but for some reason the trigger wasn't working; it just kept clicking every time. Rem stood there, dumbfounded. Why wasn't he dead?

Ian was thinking exactly the same thing. Quickly he removed the magazine and put it in again. Click, click, click. Still that sound, that failing sound, what was going on here? Rem now realised something was wrong with the gun and wasn't about to stick around and wait for him to fix it. He didn't know what weapon he had, but checking would only waste time, especially if it turned out to be useless. So instead he used the bag itself as a makeshift club, swinging it at Ian's head as he desperately scanned the gun. The bag was big and bulky, but not heavy, so he couldn't actually hurt Ian with it, but he could certainly knock him off his feet. Now lying on the floor, the gun still clenched in his hands, Ian saw Rem's boot moving swiftly towards his skull. A flash of pain rocked his head, and another his torso, and again. And with that, Rem took off, flying away from the school as quickly as he could.

Slightly bloodied and certainly dazed, Ian could barely recognise the next student to leave the classroom, who would be female number nineteen. From what he could make it, she was a muscled black girl. Must have been Shanae Preston. The figure stood still a moment for some reason, and he tried firing again. Yet again, nothing was happening, and the figure stood where it was, disappearing mere moments after it appeared. Once again, Ian was left all alone outside.

Why had the gun failed again? One student escaped him because of fear, now two more because he'd been given a broken weapon. It was at that moment that Ian saw what had caused the problem. The switch marked "safety" on the left side of the gun's receiver was set to "on." He felt his heart sink. Was he that much of a failure that he couldn't even pull the trigger on a gun and kill a couple of unarmed girls? This sucked. Even though Ian now had the gun working, he needed time to compose himself, so he slunk off into the darkness with the same sulk he had when he left the classroom.

There was no sign of the struggle when male student number twenty, Kenji Kamin, left the school. He did so quickly, his mind wandering, followed swiftly by female number twenty, Anna Wilson. Morgan had sounded somewhat tired when announcing their names, the burden of forced stoicism perhaps affecting him more than he'd have liked.

That was one of the few problems not faced by the twenty-first male, Alexander Vasselin, who felt a bit overwhelmed by what was going on and hurried out of the classroom. As he did so, he little realised that one of his peers had left just minutes earlier thinking of him. Had he known this, the next phase of his life may have been considerably more comfortable. On the other hand, however, his position was not unique; knowledge, or lack thereof, was more dangerous than any weapon, as many of Alexander's peers were soon to discover…

As her name was announced a minute or so after Alexander, Emily Green, female student number twenty-one, had only one concern – finding Roy. He would protect her; he would keep her safe. She was almost trance-like as she left the classroom, hoping to see him right outside the door. What she found instead was beyond even thinking about.

The next few seconds seemed to last hours; it was as though time itself had stopped as Emily knelt down in front of a horrific sight now passed by so many times. There were even footprints in the blood. Did people just walk right past him? How could they ignore this? She couldn't even cry. There was just…nothing. It shouldn't have been real, he should have been alive and on holiday with her. Instead, he was gone. Where once there existed hope, dreams, and humanity now was only an empty void. Ignoring the mess, Emily hugged her fallen friend tightly one last time, holding him in her arms.

"Emily? What are you still doing here? Th-the soldiers, they won't let you stay in the corridor!" Mark Johnson, twenty-second and final male student, cast a nervous glance up towards the two armed men standing just inside the doorway. They were deliberately looking anywhere except the floor, drawing Mark's attention to something spread out beneath Emily. She shot to her feet, startled.

Her lips moved, but she seemed unable to speak. Come to think of it, she could barely breathe. Taking a moment to regain her composure, she looked hesitantly at Mark, seeing only confusion in his eyes. Making sure not to fall over, she edged backwards, her mind going a mile a minute. He won't hurt you he's Mark he's nice he couldn't have done this oh God don't look back whatever you do just run go now move oh God this is real!

Seconds later, she was gone, making clear to Mark what she'd seen. A soldier looked at him, seeming slightly sympathetic. Without thinking, Mark blurted out, "Is this what our Legacy's all about, then? Stopping this? Causing this? You gotta be okay, buddy, this can't be the end, we're STRONGER THAN THIS!" Shouting at the guy with the big gun wasn't the best of ideas, but he didn't seem to care. Dejected, the last of the Anti-Clique passed into the Program, into an unknown future.

As taken from A Legacy Imploded by Harrison Graham, Chapter 6 – Destiny Unleashed, pp.36-37

All tales must have a beginning, and it is with fourteen simple words that the destiny of many was altered forever. … Many questions have been raised about the Legacy of the Anti-Clique, by far the most common being precisely what Adam Lewis was thinking at the moment he made the declaration and to what extent the others knew of his plans, either in advance or by intuition. … Beyond these matters, there is the ultimate unanswerable – precisely how many deaths may and should be directly attributed to the sealing of the Legacy and those acting to do so. … To what extent should deaths resulting from tangential causes to those pursued by the Anti-Clique, considered by the current author to include … be considered a part of the Legacy? That question may never be answered, though interesting insight has been offered by …

"Only two of you left, we're almost there. Female student number twenty-two…Holly Morgan." There was a very different atmosphere in the room now, compared to a couple of hours prior. No longer was there a throng of students threatening to overwhelm a small force of soldiers. Just two harmless, unfailingly nice young women and their teacher. For Holly, however, there wasn't even that – it was just her, and the dad who had just told her to go out to almost certain death.

"Guess you can't avoid me now. I'm sorry if that's hard for you." Holly could see the unease in her father's eyes, and was torn between upset and disgust. His response surprised her, though.

"It doesn't matter how it is for me. It's hard for you, and that's my concern."

"Your concern?" She was flabbergasted, but Morgan raised a hand to stop her continuing.

"Please listen, Holly,"

"But I –"

"Just listen. For a moment. I can tell you I'm not the one responsible for this, which I'm not, but I know that's irrelevant. I've failed you as a father and as a teacher, just as I've failed you, Aly, and everyone else. And ultimately I'm standing here telling you to go out and either kill, die, or both." He looked down with sad eyes. Behind him, Stevenson wasn't entirely happy at the delay, but wasn't prepared to intervene. "Look, there's more to this than you realise, more than I can say right now without getting my own neck blown up."

"You can't martyr yourself after what you've done, what you're doing, so don't even try. Just embarrassing." Holly spoke the words disdainfully, but despite the duplicity, and the realisation that this explained what had been going on for months, she couldn't bring herself to hate her father any more than she could hate her friends, even though they were apparently about to try and kill her. None of it made sense.

"Can't you tell me anything? We're alone, Aly can keep a secret, what's been going on, why is this not what it looks like?" She hadn't expected an answer to the question. Least of all the one she received. Morgan abruptly stiffened and looked her dead in the eyes. Beside Holly, Aly looked almost as nervous as she did, while Stevenson simply sighed and turned away.

"Holly, Jamie's dead. I told your mother about your selection from the Program a week ago, turned out your brother had come around for a surprise visit. He went to the Council to object….I don't know exactly what happened, but they killed him…said if I said or did anything to interfere with you being in all this, then they'd start killing the rest of the family, then me."

Forcing himself to remain fixed on Holly's gaze, he could do little more than mouth the words, "I'm so sorry, I'm so, so sorry. Please forgive me for…it's not my fault. Not my fault, not my..." He cut himself off, unable to continue. He'd turned around and was looking now at Stevenson, whose piercing stare cut through him like a laser. Beyond that, he didn't move.

On the floor a few feet away, Holly had nearly fainted, and was now being held by Aly. Confusion swept through her spinning head, she couldn't even begin to understand any of it. Unable to cope any longer with being in this room, Holly picked herself up, thanked Aly, and fled as fast as she could from the classroom, her eyes not fixated on her father until the classroom door closed behind her.

With Morgan left now to reflect on whether he would ever see his daughter alive again, Stevenson coughed loudly as though to remind him that his work was not yet done. Gathering himself together as fast as he could, he noted that pulling the final name from the hat felt satisfying, relieving, yet also empty. This was the last of his students, most or all of whom were going to die in the next three days. At least he might get some time alone after this, though that was scant comfort after what had happened in the last few hours.

"Last, but by no means least, female student number 23, Alyssa Davids. Your turn at last, Aly."

It felt strange to her, being the last student left in the room. There were so many guns, and all of them were pointed at her and her alone. In front of them, her teacher, nice and kind all these years, but now a murderer. It didn't seem like it was all his own doing, though. It was all so complicated; losing your son when he tried to protect your daughter must have been horrible for him.

Aly had her own concerns, though. Like wondering where her friends were, if they were even okay. Some of them had been outside two hours now. Hopefully they weren't too far away. After saying goodbye to her teacher, hopefully not for the last time, she found the first of her friends and immediately felt like fainting, just as Holly nearly did. No…no, no, not Manuel, anyone but him! With the soldiers moving to close the door in front of him, she was denied the chance to stay long in the corridor. All she could do was close his eyes in respect, say farewell and leave. Where Emily and Roy were by now she couldn't say, but with few other options, she had to try and find them. Hopefully she would before whoever killed Manuel did. They deserved better than that, after all.

As the door shut behind Aly, Stevenson hurried his soldiers away. He said something to Morgan, but Morgan wasn't paying attention, so he didn't catch it. With Stevenson gone from the room as well, he was all alone. Collapsing against the wall, he saw the now cold and empty eyes of Zoey Volta stare up towards the ceiling. He also knew that Manuel Noles had died before he'd left the school. Two down, 44 to go. He thought of his former students across the island, and what they might be thinking right now. Whatever it was, one thing was clear - the twin veils of ignorance and denial had fallen. Battle Royale Caledonia had truly begun.