Chapter 3
In this chapter, The Program begins
While Asuka was wondering all by herself in the immense, strange and surreal Land of the Dreams, she dreamed with her and all of her classmates inside a small room, all of them carrying a pistol. The room was dark and empty, with only one small window, which emitted a fluorescent white light. Suddenly, a voice ordered the girls to shoot each other. Asuka pointed her gun to the back of Misa's head. Kyoko, her best friend, pointed hers to the back of Asuka's head. With the corner of her eyes, Asuka saw all of her classmates during the same, until someone fired her gun. Asuka was shot at the same time she shot Misa, and the impact of a bullet piercing through her brain made her instantly wake up.
"Whoa!"- exclaimed the girl as she came back, still hearing all the "bangs" inside her ears. While dreaming, Asuka imagined she would wake up in her bedroom, where she always slept. But she wasn't there. Looking around, Asuka saw she was now in the middle of a large classroom, a place she had never seen before. All the other girls were around her, some awake, but mostly asleep. They were all back in their red school uniforms. The windows were all barred by large pieces of wood, and there was only one small, tiny door at the corner of the classroom. It did not seem to be a safe, happy place; it was more like a prison.
Kyoko, who was sitting behind her, also awoke, and the pair started talking. They were so confused that both did not know what to say. Around them, all the other girls quickly awoke as well, and they could see their faces of fear and surprise. Gossip and screams from the more hysterical girls broke out, and soon all of them were confused, not knowing what to do or even where they were. Asuka looked at her friend with more attention and saw something that made her blood run cold.
"Kyoko, what is this on your neck?" – asked the frightened Asuka. Kyoko was now wearing a metal collar around her neck that seemed to be made of steel. Asuka looked around. All the girls were using the same same collar. Asuka them raised her own hands to her neck and realized she was using it, as well.
Sato Mizunoe, surprisingly, was the first one to say something important, for the first time:
"I think we are in The Program."
Only one sentence was enough to silence the class for a few seconds. Then chaos broke out. Several girls screamed, many more started crying, and even the calmest ones, like Kumiko, wore frozen looks on their faces. The Program. The annual brutal game that took the lives of dozens of teenagers every year. Asuka's biggest fear. It couldn't be true. No, it was a nightmare. She was still in The Land of the Dreams. Asuka couldn't stop the tears from falling. She would die, no, it wasn't true, but she would die, die, and Kyoko would die too, and also Chitose and Yoriko, and also Misa, and everyone else. They were selected. And now they would die.
The door quickly opened, and Mrs. Suzuki , the school nurse, came in. She wasn't wearing her nurse uniform anymore; instead, she now dressed like a prostitute, with a very short floral skirt, a white shirt displaying a lot of cleavage, and lots of makeup. She was undeniably sexy, but also seemed to irradiate an air of malice and deviousness. Kyoko raised her finger and asked Mrs. Suzuki the thing all the girls wanted to know but no one had the courage to ask:
"Mrs. Suzuki, are we in The Program?"
Mrs. Suzuki smiled the most plastic smile Asuka and Kyoko had ever seen in their lives. And she giggly answered:
"Yes, sweethearts. You were all selected for The Program edition this year. Congratulations! Isn't that absolutely wonderful?"
Kagura, Sato and Mari, the most fragile girls in class, started crying and sobbing uncontrollably. Soon, many others joined in, including Asuka. There was no one calm in the entire class. But Mrs. Suzuki ignored all the pleas and screams, indifferent to them. She them said in a mocking, cruel tone:
"Don't worry, we've warned our parents. As you probably already know, the purpose of The Program is to prepare our youth and nation in case of an attack from our enemies, the United States of America. We cannot be weak or rebellious against our authorities, and therefore it is the government job to prepare the youth."
Sweating and frightened, although not crying, Misa stood up and asked:
"But Mrs. Suzuki isn't the Program supposed to always happen in a mixed class where there is an equal number of boys and girls?" – The reason no one never actually worried about The Program was because they never thought their class would be selected. It was a school only for girls. It could never happen there!
"Yes, darling."- Spat Mrs. Suzuki through her bright red lipstick- "But as you all know, our beloved leader passed away this year, and his wife took the power after him. Because now there's a woman controlling the country, we decided to use a class only of females, to show the men how we can fight for our ideals. See the bright side, sweethearts! Winning will be easier with less contestants and no strong men around!"
This answer did not convince anyone. What was the point of saying it would be easier, if they would kill each other in the end anyway? Mrs. Suzuki continued:
"We are not in an island this time. We are in the middle of a city, filled with houses, streets, alleys and stores. See how easier it got? Everything, except telephones, is available for use. We are in the neighborhood of Saitama, in the outskirts of town. All residents were forced to leave for The Program."
As the girls continued to cry and curse at an entity high above them for their misfortune, Mrs. Suzuki made a sign for the door and two heavily armed men came in, each one with a machine gun. She resumed her insane laughter:
"These men are here to secure that none of you will try to come back to the school. Once gone, there's no way back. If any of them finds you in the proximities of the school, BANG! - Mrs. Suzuki burst into laughter and the girls screamed as one of the guards shot upwards, to the ceiling of the class. "Also, there'll be danger zones, and the school will soon become one after the last student leaves. Every six hours, I'll announce the names of the students who perished and also the new danger zones. If any of you steps on them during the game, BOOM! and then everything will be over."
Asuka couldn't stop thinking about her own death. There was no hope at all. None. They couldn't escape, and the only way they would leave that place alive would be to kill everybody else. Asuka looked back at Kyoko, her best friend for years. She was crying as well. Mrs. Suzuki simply nodded her head. Asuka felt an extreme hatred towards Mrs. Suzuki, more than anything she felt in her life. How could she to that to all the girls? It was so unfair. She deserved to die. After Asuka's survival, she would flay that bitch alive, rip her into small pieces and dump the body into a polluted river. But to do that, she would have to kill her friends first…
"Now, as the most obvious rule – continued Mrs. Suzuki – all of you will wake up with a different weapon. It might be good or bad, it depends on your luck. If you receive a good weapon, congratulations. If you receive a bad one, don't worry. Just kill the girl who has a good weapon and take her weapon for yourself." – Mrs. Suzuki's smile was so sadistic she now seemed like a beast. "You'll all receive a map of the island, fresh water, and a first-aid kit. You don't need to worry about food as there's plenty of it in the several houses at your disposition. Now, let's move to the most important rule of all, shall we?" – Mrs. Suzuki wrote something on the black board as all girls were filled with panic. "Kill or be killed. This is the most important rule."
The two guards walked through the room and gave a small strip of paper to each girl. They both had luscious and evil looks, and it seemed like they were devils themselves. Mrs. Suzuki finally said something: "Now, I want all of you to write I Will Kill on your paper three times and then I'll start calling you leave the school according to your class number order. Show no mercy, my dears! Let's show the men that we might be the weaker sex, but we're not weak at all!"
Furious, burning inside and suffering, not wanting at all to do such a thing, Asuka wrote I Will Kill three times on the paper and then turned to face Kyoko. Both embraced each other and cried together. They would be together the entire time, and nothing would separate them. Around the two best friends for life, all the others were doing the same thing. Chitose and Yoriko promised each other to always walk together, in tears. Shizuko Honda tearfully embraced her friends, who touched her pregnant belly like if it was the last time. The three bitches of the class were surprisingly serious, and although Kumiko was abnormally calm one could see that Tomoko and Tsukiko were crying on each other's arms. Rin's group hugged each other, as well as the cousins Mari and Hisame Shikamoto. All the papers were collected by the men and then the first student was called.
"Girl number #1, Hisame Shikamoto." – announced Mrs. Suzuki.
It was only the beginning of a long, brutal and sad descent of the 3rd year A of the Tsuchihara All-Girls High School into the darkest depths of hell.