Narrative for Round 4 Spring '06

Sleep had eluded him for days. Maybe it was the nagging guilt of having directed the Battle Royale Program for so many years. Habitually, Professor Dayton had grown from a pack of cigarettes a week to a pack a day. He took a long drag of his lit friend and then extinguished it on the pavement below. He observed as the soldiers traditionally carried the unconcious students from the bus and onto the island-bound ferry. He caught a glimpse of one of the soldiers transporting a fairly overweight male student. The student's trousers had managed to stray away from his waist and exposed half of his ass to the cool moonlit night. The professor snickered and muttered under his breath, "there's a winner." The last of the students were loaded on the ferry and the soldiers called the professor out to join the voyage. He looked down at the crushed cigarette and let out a deep breath. He picked up his briefcase and walked forward. The boat was just beginning to lurch away when he hopped from the dock onto the loading platform. Military vehicles were strewn about the ferry with soldiers quickly finding places to lay low for a short R&R. Traditionally, Professor Dayton would seek out the boat captain and converse for the trip, but he was not in the mood. He was tired, mentally and physically. His mind was nagging him with thoughts of frusteration. This Battle Royale Round was going to be different and he wasnt pleased. The government had appointed a second official to oversee the competition. The second person was to be with Professor Dayton at all times and study how the event rolls along. The soldiers were already referring to the second offical as the "substitute teacher". The secondary offical was added in response to an unfortunate circumstance in a Battle Royale event in the United Kingdom recently. Five remaining students had managed to capture the teacher as he was outside the compound for unknown reasons. They swiftly killed the man and skillfully took out the rest of the soldiers as well. The soldiers had grown incompetent without a primary leadership and the attack was so quick they did not have time to receive directives from landside authorities. Four of those students survived and are at large. It was decided that future Battle Royale Programs appoint a secondary person as a backup in the event of unfortunate circumstance. Professor Dayton felt intruded upon with this new rule. He did not need a backup, he was resourceful enough to keep himself alive. There were times in the past where his judgement almost got him killed, but he was still alive to tell the story now. He walked toward a nearby military van and sighed in disgust. An object caught his eye near the van and he approached. A simple softback book lay on the ground near the van. He walked over and picked it up. He recognized it to be a manga. The students were always reading them. Good students were even expelled from school for not controlling their compulsive desire to read manga during class. He picked it up and turned it over to observe the cover. It read "Warriors of Tao" by Shinya Kuwahara. He thumbed through the pages and smiled at the various drawings linked to a storyline. He looked around to see if it belonged to a nearby soldier, but the area was pretty vacant. He imagined that it was dropped from one of the students during the transfer to the ferry. He carefully put the book in his oversized pocket and sat on the ground next to the van. He pressed his back against the large rear wheel and tried to get comfortable. It wasnt like his sofa back home, but it would do for now. He drew his lighter from his pocket and lit a smoke. Blowing smoke into the night air, he relaxed and listened to the waves crash against the boat.

The several-hour voyage dragged on like molasses. The Professor was ready to rethink his desire to visit the boat captain when a soldier approched him from the front of the van. The soldier saluted the Professor and asked, "Sir. Permission to speak freely. Sir."

"At ease soldier. Permission granted." Dayton replied.

The soldier rested his rifle against the van and sat next to the professor. He whipped out a cigarette and spoke. "You got a light? I used up my last match while back."

"Yeah." The Professor drew out his lighter and handed it to the soldier. The soldier used it and quickly handed it back.

"Why do we do this?" The soldier asked.

"Pardon?"

"Why do we subject these kids to this? I mean... I got, like, two kids of my own. I'd be damned if they had to go through this." He spoke softly.

"The Battle Royale Program keeps kids in order. If we didnt have the program, your kids would probably grow unruly and kill you instead."

"What makes you say that?"

"Nothing makes me say that. It's been proven over the years that order is established with the fear that Battle Royale induces."

"What about parents?"

"What about them?"
"A good parent is far more effective than fear."

"And good parents have been unappreciated time and time again by their kin."

"... not if the kin loves their parents."

The professor stared at the soldier long and hard. He noticed a degree of pain in the soldier's eyes that spoke deeper than words could explain. He looked out into the night sky and stared at the clouds reflecting the moonlight.

"Order must be kept." He spoke sternly into the open.

"Understood. Sir." The soldier pulled himself up and began to walk away.

"What's your name soldier?" Dayton asked.

"Sir. Riggs. Sir. Ben Riggs." He spoke back.

Dayton dug into his pocket and pulled out the lighter and tossed it to the soldier. Riggs pulled his hand up and caught it.

"You probably need it more than myself... I should cut back."

"Thanks sir."

Hours passed slowly as Professor Dayton pondered the conversation that he and the soldier had. His head rattled around the importance of the program and if it meant anything to him anymore. The sky began to light up with an orange hue as the sun pulled up in the distance. Professor Dayton looked at his watch and noted the time to be 5:35 a.m. He pulled his tired body up to a stand and looked to the front of the ferry. Off in the distance he could see the island behind the morning fog. They would be there soon. Shaking his head to stir awareness, he walked to the side of the boat and put down his briefcase. He unlatched the case and dug through the contents. He pulled out a bottle of Mint Listerine and twisted off the cap. He filled his mouth with the liquid and retained it for a short while. The germ-killing fluid stung at his gums for a short bit and then he spat it out into the sea. He ran his hand along his face and felt the stubble that had formed from 2 days away from a blade. He was going to be away from a good shower and facilities for a while. Usually he didnt shave during the program. The only operational shower that could be used during the event was makeshift on the first floor of the compound. A crafty soldier from a previous year passed time by running plumbing to a water source that collected on the roof of the building. He designed a cruded filtration system and simply drilled a hole in the floor for drainage. It wasnt much, but it was better than nothing at all. He replaced the mouthwash and snapped his case shut.

About 10 minutes passed before the ferry docked with the island. He walked quickly over to a nearby jeep and hopped into the back seat. Soldiers scurried aound the boat and into their respective vehicles. They all started in unison and began to drive onto the island when the docking platform finished it's decent. It was a short drive before they arrived at the School. The vehicles arrived at the school and came to a halt. The Professor jumped from the jeep and walked into the school. The whole process always felt the same every year, nothing changed... until now.

"Professor!" A voice called from the end of the dark hallway.

Dayton tried to recognize the voice, but had no such luck.

"Professor!" The voice called again. "Let's meet at the observation room first." He instructed.

He approached the voice and quickly followed the person to the observation room. In the well-lit room he put a face with the voice.

"Sir. I'm General Grainger. I will be with you for this Battle Royale event." He held out his hand for a handshake.

Still silent, Professor Dayton shook the mans hand and stared at him grimly. The General was clean shaven and suited up in a clean suit and tie. He even smelled clean. The Generals front pocket contained a PDA phone that peeked just over the top and he wore his government badge clipped to the edge of the pocket.

"We're pressed for time. Let's go." Dayton commanded.

The two men walked quickly to the classroom where the last of the students were being placed around by the soldiers. Professor Dayton put his briefcase down at the front of the classroom and observed. All of the students were still unconcious from the knockout gas administered to them before the trip. The effects of the gas should be wearing thin and it would not take much to stir them awake. The professor drew his gun from back of his waistline and held it up. He turned to the General and spoke, "Now, we have to wake them up."

He held the pistol up and fired a round into the ceiling. The bullet disappeared within the aged tiles and left merely a hole. Some of the students stirred and began to wake up. Tristan Summers stood up quickly and looked around. He noticed Professor Dayton with the gun and he sprinted to the back of the room and ducked behind a overturned table.

"I'm not going to shoot you with my alarm clock chap!" Dayton called out to the student. Tristan peeked over the table and watched Dayton and the soldiers like a hawk at its nest. Other students began to wake and stir. Some of them turned to their friends and woke them up, others looked around the old classroom in awe. Paul Bates shook his head and looked around.

"What is going on?!" He shouted. He turned to Alicia and noticed she was still out cold on the floor. He shook her shoulders and told her to wake up. She stirred and moaned for a moment and then pulled herself up quickly with a shriek. Felicity put her hand on Alicia's back and tried to calm her down. All three of the students sat on the floor quietly and watched the other students.

Several students were still quietly unconcious on the floor as Dayton prepared the pistol for another shot. He aimed at the ceiling again as several of the students cried out in terror. He pulled the trigger and fired. The shot did not make the same sound as before, a loud clang followed the sound of the gunshot as the bullet managed to ricochet off a metal pipe in the ceiling. It bounced back down at an angle and hit a nearby television monitor that was set up a few feet away from the professor. The monitor crackled and smoked from the impact of the bullet. Professor Dayton groaned under his breath. The General shot a concerned glance at the teacher and then back at the students. Dayton put the pistol back in his rear waistline and watched the rest of the students wake up. After a few moments, all but one student had awaken. Professor Dayton walked over to the limp body of Kenji Nakata. He kicked the student in the leg with conservative force.

"Kenji Nakata!" He called.

The student's eyes opened and he pulled himself up and shuffled away from Dayton, stunned.

"Ok, welcome to the Battle Royale Program. Your class has been selected for this current round. You have all be taught about the Battle Royale Program in School and I will not go into further detail. You are to go out onto the island and kill your classmates until only one student remains. You will receive a pack with a weapon, a map, and some other items used for survival. I would show you the instructional video, but our television is out of comission." Dayton pointed at the smoking television in disgust. "I will call your name. You will come up front and retrieve your bag and then exit the door and be out of my sight."

Several of the students talked with their nearby friends and some of them wept at the dire news. McGuire stood up in the middle of the classroom and raised his hand.

"Yes, McGuire. Make it quick... my patience is running thin." Dayton shouted.

"Can I make a call to secure sponsorship for this round?" He asked.

"No. Any other questions?" Dayton shouted at the class. He pointed his finger at McGuire and pointed down to get the student to take a seat. McGuire quickly sat down and pondered with his thoughts.

"Ok, judging by McGuire's question, you are all well aware of what is involved with the battle royale program. I expect you to go out there and fight to win. If you do not fight, I will find a way to persuade you to fight. Dont test my patience. When your name is called, please approach the front of the room and receive your survival kit." He instructed.

He pulled a list from his pocket, unfolded it and read out the list of students...

written by Djdayton

The sound of gunshot awoke Ulbrecht from his dreamless slumber. Still dazed, he slowly took notice of his surroundings; his classmates, the room, professor Dayton with a gun... "wait, a gun?.... Soldiers? What was going on?"
As if he was reading his mind, Professor Dayton came with the explanation: “Ok, welcome to the Battle Royale Program. Your class has been selected for this current round.” His other words were lost by the sudden shock when Ulbrecht realized what was actually happening...

Ulbrecht desperately tried to organize his thoughts. Allthough not easily rattled, he had never expected this to happen to him. He always thought that the Battle Royale program was more of an urban myth, or a thing only happening to students that were out of control. Part of him wanted to believe that it was all a joke, all a bad dream, but a another, grimmer, part kept saying that it was not, that it was deadly serious.

What to do? What would happen? In the background he heard the Professor calling out a familiar name, and noticed everyone was looking at him. "Ulbrecht Altmann!", Dayton repeated with a glance in his direction. It was his name that had been called. "Tut mir.. Ehh, I mean I am sorry." Ulbrecht replied, as he hurredly stood up and moved to the front of the classroom. As he picked up his field pack and walked out of the room, Ulbrecht looked back at his classmates. Most had a befuddled and shocked expression, most likely the same expression as the one he propably had just seconds ago, some were crying, and some had expressions Ulbrecht could not really place,were some actually...smiling?

As he walked through the hallway to the exit, it dawned on him. He had to accept the reality of Battle Royale and adjust, or he would end up dead. It was as simple as that.
"Pff Killing classmates, ending up dead in the end", he thought. All that trouble, and for what? Perhaps he should just give up. Death would mean a sweet release from the pain he always carried inside. Walking into a deathzone, or just attacking a soldier, there were many ways.

"Give up" Ulbrecht repeated. But that would be just what students like Matthew Sutter would expect of that "geek", that "loser", he thought to himself and his expression hardened. And what about his friends? His friends needed him. "Those strange expressions on some classmates, several bullies in the class...they will have no hesitation killing my friends to get ahead in the game", Ulbrecht thought. He could not allow that to happen. He was always very loyal to the few friends he had. And his friends were good people, he was a good person. If anything, they deserved to survive Battle Royale more then those other classmates.It became clear, he was gonna aid his friends.

"Man, that bag is pretty heavy", he thought. He quickly reached in the bag, (perhaps it was a machinegun of some sort?), and retrieved a short mace. Not the ideal weapon, but it would do some serious damage if he could land a hit with it.

As some of the earlier called students could have already laid an ambush, Ulbrecht rushed for cover into dense bushes after exiting the school. He crouched on the ground, hidden, and kept silent, while listening for sounds of students following or chasing him. Ulbrecht held his mace tightly and readied himself for a fight.
But no noise came...He was safe.

His friends were still in the school waiting to be called, or just left and probably still closeby. The best action was to meet up with them as soon as possible, and Ulbrecht silently made his way to a better position where he could oversee the school and its surroundings. "It is all starting", he wispered. And for the first time he felt purpose in his life. As his heart was pounding and his senses felt heightened, Ulbrecht suddenly thought: "Hey I have never felt so alive". And despite the troubling circumstances, Ulbrecht could not resist a smile.

written by ZeGerman

Bang. Clink. Crack. The second shot had somehow managed to hit the television, Seamus cocked an eyebrow and almost laughed at the odd path the bullet had taken. Seamus had been one of the first to wake up, right after the first shot was fired into the ceiling. Sitting at a desk, Seamus tried to clear his mind, he had heard all about the Battle Royale program, but now he was in one and had to think of what he would do once he got outside. Plan after plan ran through his mind, but he stopped his thoughts, knowning that a plan could only formulate after he knew what his assainged weapon was going to be.

All around him, students were a mix of emotions, some sobbing, some looking angry, some in what appeared to be states of shock; and a few matched Seamus, appearing calm and collected. Although he appeared calm if one looked at him from the front, the desk hid the fact that his nervus twitch in his right leg was going off like a jackhammer. Closing his eyes, Seamus tried to stop the shaking, focusing on stillness, on calm, on purpose. There was no way he could die out there. No way he would let someone end his life while he had a chance to fight back.

Lost in his own thoughts, Seamus hardly realized that the Professor had explained a few things and was now starting to call out names. The second student left the room, seeing who it was, Seamus knew he was next on the list. Third out wasn't bad, not bad at all, give some time to make a plan.

"Seamus McGregor." Dayton called out.

Getting up from his desk, Seamus stummbled a bit from the nerves still firing off in his leg. Staightening up, embarrased by such a stupid blunder. But why? He thought, why be embarresed if those who laugh, who have laughed can be made to pay? Those who were friendly, he didn't want to run into, but those who made him feel different for being himself...they would pay. He wished his best friends were in his class, they'd help him, though they would have to play too...

Comming around again, Seamus had his pack in hand and was staring at the door out.

"Come on, move out boy." General Grainger said.

Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Seamus started to make the longest journey he had ever been on. Unsure if he would seek aid, or hide, or run, or kill. So many options, Seamus was overwhelmed.

Once outside, he quickly crouched down and opened the pack. A gun? Yes! A gun, and fully automatic it seemed, now Seamus' options seemed a little more obvious. He guessed. It wasn't the right time of day, but the tune worked for him, he jogged away with a favorite song of his playing in his head, 'Decision at Midnight.'

written by valleofthedamned

Bang. Bang. That was the sound Yomi heard. Yomi looked around the room "Where am I?" He Looked at Dayton thinking "Fool this will never work some people will always remain the same." Andou Yomi! He looked up It's time for you to leave he got up looking at everyone some people were actually crying "Hm easy kill right there" He thought

While he picked up his survival kit he walked slowly to see what Dayton or a soldier would do.

"Yomi hurry up before you end up like your teacher!" Dayton shouted at his face

He wondered what he meant he then looked in the way back to see a dead teacher.

He walked out normally he stood in the middle of a bush and opened his bag to see a knife.

"Hm how wonderful"

written by Soul_Eater

``Oh dear where is my medication? Naigu thought to himself.`` Don`t tell me those bullies replaced it with pepper again.

Naigu took moment to look around to see the students knocked out asleep on the bus. This strange gas was irritating his delicate nose. Suddenly a soldier noticies that the sniffling student is still conscious.

`` Hey we got a live one here`` the soldier replied. `What should I do with him? ``

ACHOOO

Suddenly flim covered the mask of the soldier who in natural recation backhands poor Naigu upside the head with a PR baton. Almost instantly Naigu falls into a state of involunatry slumber.

``Nevermind`` the soldier silently chucked to himself. ``He fell asleep.``

Naigu then awakes and examines himself and his surroundings. He finds that there is a collar on his neck and that there are several students waking up to this same setting.

``What`s going on?`` a student asked.

``I don`t know``

``Silence you!`` A gurgling voice howled through the classroom. ``I ask the questions!``

Before the student could ask the same question a knife is flicked at the student`s head and blood is sprayed everywhere. Gory is a word that goes beyond description of the blood that is scene here. Naigu licks the blood off his hand and then realizes that he happens to think that it has a succulent taste to it.

``Listen up you little %&('))s . Welcome to Battle Royale or what I would like to call my own little private piece of hell. I will have six days to start killing each other off. If you don`t do so...``

He presses the collar on the slain girl. Suddenly more blood flies everywhere.

``You will end up like her. Oh by the way I special ordered some medication especially for you``

Naigu starts to look at the bottle placed on the desk that he is sitting in. He opens it to see that it is three days worth of nasel medication.

``But this isn`t ``

``Silence you little !"#$! He then recieves a broken nose for his complaints.``

``Well look on the bright side at least you won`t need your medi...``

A student rushes up to hit a guard but he fires start up to prove his point. That student then proceeds to sit down with a wet trail going down his leg.

``This is what happens when you little !"#$% take things for granted.You get killed. Welcome to battle royale I am your host.``

Out from behind the shadows of his desk appears a man with a pair of mirror shades and the symbol of death incribed on his forehead.

``Dayton``

That last word sent shivers up peoples spines. He doesn`t look like a principal rather a twisted image of what is known as someone who is barely known as a man. As soon as the very name rolled out half of the students pissed their pants. The all the students just looked at each other. Some will laugh and play together. Some will kill each other and then it came down to bag time. Out came the Jerico.

``All the most favored weapon used for the Isreali peace rallies. The perfect weapon for protesting such an event: with more violence.``

Naigu grabbed the blood off of his nose and smeared it on the walls. He then used the kit to wipe the blood off of his body with a tissue. Dropping the tissue he walked outside to see that there were various shifting shadows awaiting his every move.

written by Sinigami

Anya paced down the hall with real drive. She knew all about the Battle Royale programme - she was an avid viewer of the reality show as it always gave her and her friends something to gossip about! She could barely believe she was going to be part of this world. it had all seemed so distant when it was on the TV, but now here she was living and breathing it, or at least about ot be. She knew what would be waiting for her when she arrived at the door; there was always a student who came back to ambush the late leavers.

She would have to run - but where to? Who would she stay with? Who could she trust? Her friends of late were hardly the most reliable lot and several of them seemed slightly unhinged. She knew there was something in Alicia's past that wasn't quite right; the same with Jenna. It suddenly dawned on Anya that she knew very little about her supposed friends, or indeed about anyone in the class. Years of attending school with the people and she knew nothing about them. That thought saddened her more than her past of having to live with her scars, or indeed more than the thought of dying in this awful game.

She reached the door and was preparing to make the dash when she heard someone calling out behind her. It was Felicity - Flick! They had been friends together when Anya played in the school band; before she changed. Felicity was a genuine person, Anya could trust her! Thank god she had found someone to be with.

written by StevieMC

As a child Abram knew schooling wasn't for him. At a young age he was able to sneak into the army, only to be found as a young man soon after. Being that there was a war, the military superiors let him battle as a potential human shield for a better soldier. But, he survived the war, and impressed his superiors along the way. They knew he was bound to be a great weapon for the military, but his trust had to be tested. He would have to do something to convince the doubters of his character. If he were to follow his next order, he would have to do something that someone at his age would not normally do.

As he awoke from sleep, he saw where he was and knew what was going on immediately. Looking at the soldiers, he knew what was to come next. It's not everyday you are discharged from the military, but his reason was different. He had always been against the BR program, but he never thought he would have to be in the place of one of the guards in the room. Once he was told he would be in the game with students he didn't know, he immediately filed for a discharge. It would have been the ultimate test for a potential "splinter cell" who was a military prodigy. In this particular military, a "quiter" can leave with the mark of 25 lashings from a bull whip to the back. As he felt for the scabbed cuts on his back, he knew for certain that this wasn't a terrible dream. But why was he put with this group of students? As he looked at the faces he immediatily recognized many of his surrounding peers as they were in the same class before he left to fight in the war.

How could he be expected to watch the death of his former classmates as a soldier guarding Prof. Dayton? He knew he was slightly brainwashed from being in the war, but not to the extent to watch those he knew die before his eyes. Before the professor walks in, he knows exactly what he has to do. Abram will do the same thing that the military wanted him to do, but now he knows he will not leave alive even if he does win. No, he'd make sure to kill himself, or have someone else do it for him before he ever has to kill anyone else after this game. With his mind made up, he was mad at himself because he would not let anyone kill him. He felt like a coward knowing he didn't want to die, even though he would one way or another.

written by xurchin72

He did everything right.

As he was lying in a pool of his own blood and watching the scarlet sunset wash over the abandoned island, Fez used all the strength he could muster to concentrate and try to analyze all that's happened to him since the beginning of this cursed game.

...as most of his classmates, he woke up after the first shot was fired by the tired-looking man who appeared to be in charge. His face had that tired look that people get after doing the same thing over and over, until they get so used to their task that they aren't really paying attention anymore. Fez smiled as he saw the proof of his little theory: the man shot his gun again, and this time the bullet ricocheted wildly across the room and ended up destroying a perfectly fine TV monitor just a few feet away from him. Was it just bad luck or did things like this happen all the time? If so, the game wouldn't be too hard to beat..

He was never a loner. Nor a party animal. Nor an ordinary-looking person with no personality. If anything, Fez stood out because of his strikingly Middle-Eastern appearance: dark skin, raven-black hair, and somewhat large liquid-black eyes definitely made him stand out in a crowd. True, he wasn't much of a people person, but he had a few loyal childhood friends, some of his classmates among them.

Eventually, the rules were explained, the backpacks were given out, and he finally left the school building. He looked at his new weapon - a set of seven throwing stars. Every little boy's dream. They looked fairly easy to use, and he was positive he could kill somebody with them. The main question was - would he? As he sat in the bushes next to the school's exit, he watched people leave and run for their lives: bullies, cheerleaders, geeks, and everybody else, all made equal by this strange game. Finally, he saw the person he was looking for. Silently leaving his hiding spot, Fez Omar Gefiib followed his classmate. The game has begun.

written by zombie_giraffe

Elvis sat stunned by the news that had just been revealed to his classmates and himself. How was he supposed to take information like this in? Half his classmates had already left when his name was called out and he reluctantly took his bag and left the room; his head swimming with all kinds of thoughts.

He could trust the girls cause they had always been nice to him, but what about the guys? There was always Ulbrecht, he was about the only real decent guy in the class; people picked on him too. Had Ulbrecht left already? Or was he still inside. There was no point in waiting if he was gone, but what if he was still in the classroom, then surely Elvis should wait for him. Why couldn't he remember Ulbrecht's class number?

'I'm so useless!' He thought to himself, 'no wonder people pick on me!'

There was movement around the exit of the school so Elvis broke into what for him was quite a fast run and kept going until his little legs could carry him no further. He wished he was fitter. There were two girls a few years back who tried to get everyone in the class to stop fighting. That's the right tactic isn't it! But what happened to them again? He remembered that they'd shouted from some sort of platform with a loudspeaker, but did it work? he couldn't remember that either!

written by Kevlar4000

Nathan broke out in a sprint down the hall and through the door of the school. He ran until he reached a safe dark place where he could sit and check out his weapon. As he sat under the dark tree he opened his bag and reached in. When his hand came out he was gripping a leather whip. "hell yes!" he saids. It was not a great weapen but it was better then somthing like a pan lid ofr binnaculars. He tucked it back in the bag and suddenly became quiet. His fears where that some one was near him. He heard the footsteps as they moved closer to him. He ciovered his mouth and stopped breathing until the footsteps became far enough away that they couldent hear him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a picture of his girlfriend. A tear rolled down his eyeasm he looked at them together at nagisha spa land theme park. he put it back in his pocket and ran until he reached a safer spot where he could work out his plan

written by KillBill2000

Blam! Mitch Derevko sat up from his place on the floor, Surrounded by his fellow students. Where were they? Many of the people around him were expressionless because of the shock, while others were crying or had a plain look of panic on them. Smoke drifted out of a pistol Professor Dayton held. Was he behind this? Suddenly, He announced they were in a Battle Royale. Mitch had heard of these, but never thought they would happen to him. He hoped this was all a bad dream, and wondered when he'd wake up. Professor Dayton began calling names to leave the room. He tried to pay attention, but couldn't because of his questions.

"Mitch Derevko!"

Mitch snapped back, and looked around to see many of the students had left, although it felt like only a few seconds. He grabbed his bag and sprinted out, trying to get ahead or at least away from everyone else. After he was too tired to continue sprinting, He ducked behind a nearby tree to look at his weapon.

"Grenades?" Mitch said quietly. Although they wouldn't be his weapon of choice, he figured it was better than nothing. He doubted he could kill anyone though. That is, unless they attacked him first. Mitch knew he wouldn't survive alone, So he set out to find his friends. Deep down however, He felt he couldn't trust anyone.

written by Hersh307

Out in the shadows Naigu couldn`t see his own hand infront of him.

``Dammit the medicine Principal Dayton subcribe me is weak.`` Naigu thought to himself. ``Well that`s Japanese medicine for ya``

Naigu took three steps and his nose started to feel irritated.

``Aw crap I@m allegic to one of the chemicals in the medicine.``Naigu said out loud.

Unfortunately someone happened to hear this and wrapped a sharp knife round the leg of Naigu.

``Oww I`m bleeding from my leg!`` Naigu screamed ``Someone help me!``

``Oh I`ll help you,, a voice from the shadows called out. ``Here take this it will make the pain in your leg and nose disappear.,, a unknown person snickered. Naigu couldn`t see much do to his blurred vision from his sinueses. He then wanted all the pain to end. He knew at that very moment that he was going to day but he might as well take someone with him. The mysterious person then slipped Naigu a green vial. Even though he knew not to trust anybody in Battle Royale the pain in his nose and leg was so unbarable that he immediate snapped the vial and inhaled it through his nose. Unbeknownst to him his would be assialent was already dead. After that just he thought the pain was over that everything was going to end...

Big mistake! The pain in his nose turn to a seering burning feeling. Which was actually to the calm before the storm. In reaction Naigu returned fire his on his mysterious ``helper,, and shot her. Then came the storm. Ahh Ahhh

``Oh !"#$,, someone cried out and shot Naigu.

But it was too late...

CHOooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! The mixed effects of Dayton`s medication and the mixture of the BR flesh eating virus caused a sneezing pendemic. Then the storm came. A mixture of mucus and blood flew everywhere and covered the other would be contestants with flesh eating flim. Naigu might have died but he knew by accident he was partially the cause of a new BR epidemic. Naigu looking at the aftermath of his work and came to the conclusion that he will part this world with a sh!t eating grin. He looked on as the virus spread and consumed his would be ``friends,,. And he kept that sh!t eating grin until everything went black.

Written by Sinigami

Nathan slowed down when he could see th coast.m Hen began to pant when suddenly he felt a blunt object come down on his head. His face smashed into the ground. He felt the truck base swinging at his skull. He turned over to see Anya the girl who sat behind him in class thrusting a skateboard into his chest now. Nathan got up in time sacving his ribs. While anya had the skateboard over her head natahan kicked her ankles knocking her off balance. He began to run down the coast when suddenly he felt a hot sting in his lower thigh. "God damn it" he said as he reached down and pulled the saw blade out of his thigh. "Get back here fatty!" came the mad yell as nathan made his way up the beach and up a tree. "even in this situation felicity would make fun of me" he said in a whisper.
When he was sure she was gone he jumped into a crouching position. Whrn he made it to that posistion he hear the crack of wood he stood up and looked at the axe embedded into the tree. "Holy *beep* he said as he saw moonbeam running towards him he stuck out his foot at the last minute and tripped her. He began to run as fast as he could. He needed to get somewhere safe where he could care to his wounds

written by KillBillfan2000

Anya and Flick ran and ran. Anya had no clue how far they had travelled from the school or how long they had been running for, but she knew she had to stop, her bag was becoming too heavy. She opened it for the first time and found her supposed 'weapon' - a skateboard. Anya had never been a skater chick in the real world and she certainly wasn't going to start now. She looked over at Felicity who was drinking some water and checking out her own weapon. At least Flick had faired a little better, a saw blade might be able to defend them.

Anya heard some movement in the woods next to them and the two broke out into a run again. They pushed their way through some ferns and came across a clearing, sadly it wasn't uninhabited. Anya looked at the people stood on the hex she now identified as I2 and eyed them up. Elvis was that funny kid, overweight but nice enough and Rogue and Kerry were stood directly opposite her, she knew very little about either of them, save the fact that Kerry had had a crush on every guy in the class at some point.

Moonbeam suddenly burst through the hedges as if being pursued, which she may well have been as Ivanna followed soon after. No-one moved, they just stared at each other, each with their hand hovering around their weapons. Could Anya trust these people? She so desperately wanted to, she longed to be with a group in this terrible situation, but what if they attacked? She didn't want herself or Flick to die.

She turned to Felicity and the two turned as if to run, when someone pushed past them, knocking the two of them over. It was RaBit, the new kid. Anya decided there and then that it was time to run, she knew nothing about this guy; there was no way he could be trusted.

Flick was helping her to her feet when she saw someone move in the bushes straight ahead. It was Nathan Armstrong - hiding like he always was. there was no way she was letting him sneak up on her like he was so good at. She ran toward him with her skateboard raised high and smacked it over the back of his head. He hit the ground and as he rolled over she went in for another jab, but he knocked her off balance. He got up and made toward Flick with his whip, who panicked and sliced at him with her blade. He screamed something back about not calling him fat, but no-one had said anything. Moonbeam launched her axe toward the sounds, but it got caught in a tree nearby.

The three girls looked at each other. Moonbeam could be trusted, she had tried to protect the two of them. A smile almost broke out across their faces, when they heard screams behind them. Rogue and Kerry were hacking at Ulag with their prospective weapons when he suddenly burst into flames. RaBit recoiled from throwing his Molotov cocktail and everyone froze as Ulag's agonosing cries could be heard.

'Stop it!!!', screamed Felicity and Elvis stepped forward to issue the final attack. A bullet in Ulag's head stopped his writhing corpse. The smell was disgusting and Anya vomitted in the corner. She looked up and everyone was staring at each other. Were they now a group? How far could she trust these people? How much did she really know about them? And was Ivanna licking her lips?

written by StevieMC

Ulbrecht made it to the spot where he could oversee the school. He would wait till his friends Elvis and Mitch would exit the school and meet up with them. Then he would search for Fez, who had left before him. A bunch of great guys, the others just refused to acknowledge that, "like they refused to know me", Ulbrecht thought with pain in his heart. Dark thoughts crept forward but Ulbrecht pushed those back. He was just a friendly guy, he refused tot think like that. Allthough as time went by, those thoughts appeared more often even though he had become good in hiding his pain and pretending to be happy.

He heard sounds of footsteps. His heart jumped and he turned to the sound. "Ulbrecht!, Ulbrecht!, its me Fez!". Ulbrecht sighed with relief. Looks like he didn’t have to look for his friend Fez after all. He had known Fez for quite some time. Fez was smart but not picked on, but also did not really belong to the popular crowd. As some former so-called "friends" had snubbed Ulbrecht to suck up to the populars and bullies in the past, Fez had always remained loyal. They were an unlikely pair of friends, but friends none the less.

As time passed, they met up with Mitch and some others on Fez’s advice. But Elvis never appeared, "he could have left while I was moving to a better spot", Ulbrecht realised. It also became increasingly dangerous in the school vicinity. Fights could break out at any time. They couldn’t afford to get caught up in that. So they left. Ulbrecht could only hope Elvis would make it. He could rationalize the decision to leave, but it felt like abandoning none the less.

They made their way through the forest. The mace proved quite cumbersome, especially in this heat. He would have to find another weapon if they were to keep mobile.
"Shhh, stop moving!", whispered Mitch all of a sudden. As they stood still, they heard sounds of other classmates making their way through the forest. They kept quiet and saw Baino, followed on some distance by Kenji.

They looked at eachother, were they gonna start playing the game so soon? Would they be able to kill another person? They had to fight at some point anyway. The sword Baino carried was a good weapon to have. Besides Ulbrecht had no connection with the both of them. Hardly ever talked. Just some unfriendly arrogant people. Baino and Kenji stopped in their tracks as if they sensed they were not alone. "Let me talk to them, you stay back", said Fez, "I can make them trust us so we wont get hurt, then we can always decide to play the game or not". Fez stood up and walked towards Baino. A dangerous move, but Fez was always good when it came to words. Ulbrecht nervously watched as Fez talked to Baino, then to Kenji as Kenji came closer. He couldnt hear what they were saying.

Suddenly Baino drew his sword and attacked Fez, who stumbled backward as if hit and started to fight back. Kenji also aimed his blowgun at Fez and shot. It was difficult to see from the distance, but the cry of pain from Fez, made sure he had been hit. This ended Ulbrechts normal thought process. Filled with rage, Ulbrecht jumped forward and covered the distance seperating him from Fez and his attackers in what seemed like seconds.

Ulbrecht swung his Mace with full force at Baino, while screaming like some barbarian of old. Baino turned away from Fez towards Ulbrecht, his eyes widening. He tried lifting his sword to deflect the mace, but it was too late as its weight proved to have its advantages. The force of the hit broke through Baino’s guard and collided with Baino’s face with a loud "thud", Ulbrecht could hear bones crack and snap as Baino’s cheekbone and nose were crushed. Baino fell down backwards, but then somehow regained his footing and looked up to Ulbrecht. "Whu..what.." he stumbled, his words accompanied by some spat out teeth and blood dripping out of his mouth. What used to be Baino’s face was now one bloodied mess.

Kenji looked with a shocked expression, then turned tail and ran, as the rest of Fez’s group closed the gap and were upon Baino already, Mitch even attacking with his bare hands. Ulbrecht never thought Mitch could summon that kind of courage, he had been wrong.

Heavily wounded and disoriented, Baino desperately swung his sword around, Mitch easily dodging by stepping back. A loud bang blew Baino of his feet as Brandon shot him in his chest. Baino’s arms and legs started twitching and moving uncontrollably as he lay dying on the ground. They left Baino to die and looked after Fez who sat slumped against a tree, bleeding heavily, and seemingly dead.

"This is not happening, this is not happening", Ulbrecht said to himself, as he reached Fez and saw the terrible wounds from the attacks of Baino and Kenji. "Verdammten Hunde", he whispered to himself. Kenji would pay in blood for this. "But some friend he turned out to be, first he had abandoned Elvis, and now he had let Fez die", he thought and Ulbrecht could feel tears run down his cheeks, where they mixed with specks of Baino's blood, splattered across his face...

written by ZeGerman

Seamus finally stoped running, he put his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath, which had been lost on the run away from the school. Screams. Rushing to get low and under some bushes, Seamus looked franticly around. "What the hell is happening!?" He thought. The noise was loud, screams, thuds, a smash of glass, the type writter like sound which Seamus guesed to be a machine gun, more screams, all very close to him. Seamus whiped the sweat from his brow and got back to his feet, the fighting wasn't with him, not yet at least. So the game is on, eh? With a renewed fire and reason to move, Seamus took off and ran again, maybe this time he'd see someone to test his aim on?

written by ValleyOfTheDamned

Kavita Rao had arose in the classroom with the cold knot of fear in her stomach. Her first reaction of fear was to the unfamiliar surroundings. She Looked around trying to find her bearings and gain some sense of what was going on. The second, more crushing, wave of fear came with the realization that she was thrust into "the Program."

It wasn't fair. Fatima was a normal girl. She wasn't a bully. She wasn't a psychopathic killer. She didn't deserve to be here. Fatima wasn't extraordinary in any way, form or fashion. True, she was the only Indian student in the class, but nothing else singled her out from the class. Fatima was decent at English and she wrote poetry. That was it.

Fatima almost jumped out of her skin when Professor Dayton called her name. She was nearly the last one called out of the classroom. She looked over her shoulder as she meekly walked to the front of the room. There were only two other students in the room.

Two gunshots were heard and she bowed her head and prayed that none of her friends were killed. "Sounds like the game is underway," Dayton said with a smile.

Fatima took her bag and hesitated at the doorway. "Lets move along precious," Dayton urged.

Fatima steeled herself and walked down the corridor to the exit. She reached within the duffle bag and pulled out her designated weapon. It was a nail gun. She had seen them on the television on those home improvement shows. The grim images of skulls riddled with nails flashed in her mind. She tried to shake the picture from her mind.

She emerged from the door to find that the fight was already underway. The girl, Lady, was near her being attacked by several other students. Out of pure shock, Fatima pulled the trigger on her nail gun. The nail launched and punctured Lady's back.

Lady screamed and stumbled. She had a test tube in her hand. She put the cork to her teeth and pulled it free. She slung the liquid contents at the people attacking her. Lady fell to the ground with a gunshot to her shoulder.

Fatima was then grabbed by Matthew Sutter. He was in her Algebra class. Fatima almost pressed the nail gun to his shoulder and injected him with nails but the look on his face indicated that he didn't mean her harm.

Fatima ran with Matthew until she had to stop and catch her breath. "You saved me," Fatima wheezed.

"We had to get out of there. It was going to be a blood bath," Matthew explained.

"I can't believe this. What are we going to do?" she asked.

"I've made plans with some of my friends. We're going to band together. We'll fight for our survival," he stated.

"You do know there is only one way out?" Fatima asked.

Matthew noddedly gravely. Fatima imagined what horrors she would face in the near future. Now, she wondered if it would have been better if she remained at the school to meet her fate.

written by i_am_daemon

Ulbrecht made his way through the forest. They stopped for a moment to get some rest and eat and drink a little. He sat down and opened his pack, while he organised his thoughts.

Fez didnt die afterall, though it came close. Luckily they managed to stop the bleeding with some bandages made out of torn shirts, mainly Baino's. But Fez could hardly move and had refused to go along with them. He would slow the group down, and he wanted to die on his own terms. Ulbrecht and the others tried to change his mind but Fez didnt listen. It was hard to deny someone their last wish and they finally let him be. Maybe it was a Middle-Eastern thing, Ulbrecht thought. Anyway, he just hoped Fez would survive and come to his senses.

Ulbrecht looked at his new sword. It was an improvement compared to his old weapon, it slowly grew on him after he had washed Fez's blood off. Lightweight and able to cause terrible cutting damage. With all the samurai films he had watched he had always wanted to own one someday. Now he did. Just buying one would have been a little easier though, he thought.

They had tried to follow Kenji's trail but he had escaped. They had not seen any classmates since. Everything seemed to have calmed down since those first hours. Ulbrecht was suprised when he heard the number of names of classmates who had died. That and the sound of gunfire and screaming made sure that many had started to play the game, and soon too. Next to Baino, also Ulag, Lady, McGuire and Nishun had died. he hardly knew them and they werent his friends so he didnt really care. Ulbrecht did feel a bit sorry for Nishun though, he had always been bullied.

What to do now? with Fez gone, another classmate to join the group could be handy to keep their group strong, but who could be trusted? He decided to stop worrying and enjoy the meal with his comrades while everything seemed peaceful, because he had a feeling that that peace was going to end sooner then he wished.

written by - ZeGerman (Wed May 31 2006 07:11:11 )

When Sylver shouted that Brandon had dissapeared, Ulbrecht stopped dead in his tracks "What?!".

Brandon had been the last in their little colonne and had taken that opportunity to stay behind and leave.

"It just showed that you couldnt trust people. Only my friends are loyal", Ulbrecht thought.

Brandon was someone outside the school who seemed alright at first. He was added to the program cause of something with the game "Pong".

Had he left because he was up to something? On Brandons defense, he did seem to have had problems after killing Baino. Maybe he had decided he did not want to play the game, maybe he couldn't cope with the killing.

Well at least he wouldn't have to worry about a knife in his back, Ulbrecht thought, and they decided to continue heading to the school. With all the fighting that had happened there, there was a good chance some good weapons and supplies would lie scattered around.

They slowly searched around the school, on their guard for other students.

Then Ulbrecht saw somebody lying on the ground. The bodies had not yet began to fully rot, but the smell was beginning to turn for the worse. It was clear that whoever lay there was dead.

Ulbrecht pushed aside a few branches to get a better view and wished he had never done that. A cloud of big dark flies and a terrible smell greeted him.

"Mein Gott", he stumbled and Ulbrecht didnt know how fast to get some distance between him and that.."thing". Cause what he had seen wasnt just a dead student. He couldnt even identify the student anymore, hell he couldnt even tell if it was a male or female if it wasnt for the clothes. Sure he saw some normal wounds but large parts of the body, of its flesh, were missing.., gone... The edges of the still remaining flesh were covered by a sort of bloody, liquid goo and a puddle of blood and digested flesh had formed around the corpse, Ulbrecht had almost stepped in it.

"What the..?" Mitch said and moved closer while Ulbrecht tried his best to hold his lunch in. "Stay back!" Sylver shouted, "I've heard about that, they were adding a new weapon..some sort of virus to make the Program more enjoyable. I saw it on T.V. back...home". Mitch quickly stepped back. "Lets get out of here!", Mitch shouted, "This whole area can be contaminated by that thing!" and they ran off as fast as they could.

Panicking, they made their way through dense shrubs and met Mac.

Mitch had bumped into Mac and was clinging to Mac's weapon. Both were completely suprised, but suddenly found themselves wrestling to gain control of it to defend themselves. Mitch started hitting Mac's face but Mac shook loose and pulled the weapon out of Mitch's hands. "Stand back!" Ulbrecht shouted to Mitch and quickly started hacking at Mac. But Mac used his weapon and its chain to deflect Ulbrechts blows, then quickly retreated.

"Dont let him escape!", Ulbrecht shouted and he started to pursue Mac. Suddenly he noticed Sylver had stayed behind and looked back to see Sylver shivering, frozen to the ground.

He remembered that Sylver had done that too when they fought Baino and Kenji, Sylver had been too afraid or perhaps just to kind to attack and kill his fellow students.

Whatever it was they couldnt use that now; "Sylver, snap out of it Damnit!. He's getting away, Move it!" Sylver blinked and started to follow Mitch and Ulbrecht in the pursuit. "I..I'm sorry, I dont know what happened" Sylver stumbled, and together they were closing in on Mac.

written by - ZeGerman (Tue Jun 6 2006 10:37:18 )

They stood staring at each other. Seamus' finger twitched on the tigger of his machine pistol. He recognized the student in front of him as Paul from his class, not a friend of his. Paul made a move to raise AK-47 in his hands.

"Stop!" Seamus shouted, not wanting to fight.

Paul looked at Seamus confused. Seamus realized he had his chance now, so just spit it out.

"Look, we've both got some pretty good weapons here, if we kill each other, no one wins. Why not ally? Combine our fire power? We could be a great team." Seamus said quickly.

"Hmm," Paul said, unsure of the proposition. "Well, I get what you mean. We're both screwed if we shoot it out; but I work alone here. We'll just walk away."

"Right." Seamus smiled, good, he wouldn't get shot now...he hoped. The two students turned away from each other, about to head off in different directions.

Wait! What if he turns on me? What if it's a trick? Dammit! I can't let him do it, he'll kill me!

In the tense situation, panic took control. Letting loose a scream, Seamus pulled the trigger as he turned around. The bullets spat from the gun just as Paul turned in surprise. They tore into his stomach as he howelled in pain.

"YOU *beep* JERK!" Paul screamed.

Completely shaken at what he'd just done, Seamus turned and ran into the bush, hopeing that he could get away from paul if he ran fast enough. As he ran, tears started to form at his eyes,

"What did I do?" He asked aloud to no one.

written by - vallyofthedamned (Tue Jun 6 2006 12:31:38 )

Seamus started to calm down. His heart rate slowly returning to normal. Why run? I could...I could kill him! I could survive if I kill! Go home! Seamus thought, despreate for escape. He turned back around and headed in the direction he came from. He arrived back at the spot where he shot Paul, Paul was just leaving, he obviously had stopped to patch up the gunshot wound. Staying low, staying hidden and silent, Seamus started to track him.

Seamus had been following for a while, it seemed Paul was heading in the direction of the lighthouse. Seeing the raised platform Seamus thought to himself that it would make one hell of a hideout if he had a sniper rifle. Paul had reached the door of the lighthouse, he paused before entering, and Seamus saw his chance. Before Seamus could open fire, his classmate Ashley moved out from her hiding spot near the rocks, shooting what appeared to be a pellet gun at Paul. The pellet went wide and lodged itself into the wooden door of the lighthouse. Spinning around, Paul saw his classmate standing with the pellet gun in her hands, but gathering more of his attention was Seamus at the treeline, machine pistol raised. Taking aim over Ashley's shoulder, Paul pulled the trigger. His aim was off and a bullet hit Seamus' theigh. Falling forewards in his advance, Seamus squeezed his trigger, sending bullets flying at Paul in an fury of lead. One lucky shot entered Paul's forehead, exploding the back of his skull. Rushing over to the corpse, Seamus raided his pack for usefull things, like food and water. As he was stuffing the cheap bread into his pack, Seamus' hands shook. He'd done it, he'd killed. It wasn't so hard it after all.

written by - vallyofthedamned (Mon Jun 12 2006 20:10:48 )

How much time had passed since Elvis had left the school? It couldn't have been that long ago, but it seemed like weeks. So much had changed in the few hours that had passed; Elvis was in a group, a quarter of the class was dead and the way Elvis viewed the game (and himself) had changed too. He had started out so niave, wanting everyone to get along and no-one to fight, but now he himself had killed someone.

Ulag had attacked first hadn't he? That idea was all Elvis had to cling to. He had replayed the scenario over and over in his head and every time he closed his eyes he saw the scene and smelt the smell. Burning flesh. Elvis had put Ulag out of his misery - that was it. Ulag was dying anyway, he was on fire and had been hacked to pieces, he was sceaming in agony so Elvis had done the right thing. He had ended his suffering, it was an act of kindness - like stamping on a wasp that has lost its legs. The only thing bothering him was that Ulag hadn't really fired at anyone in particular; he had just fired his gun into the area. He had panicked and now he was dead because of it. He tried to shake this thought from his mind.

He looked around at the people nearby. He had mainly aligned himself with girls - no surprises there. Felicity, Anya, Rogue, Kerry and previously Moonbeam and Ivanna, though they had become separated. Ivanna had been on the list earlier. In the short time they had been apart someone had killed her. Then there was RaBit, the new guy, he was with them too. Elvis wasn't sure how he felt about this unknown, but so far he had been OK. RaBit too had become separated from the others, around the same time as Ivanna, but he had found his way back by retracing their steps.

For now Elvis felt safe. He would just close his eyes for a few minutes and let the others keep watch. As he drifted off to sleep he heard Ulag's screams, and smelt that smell.

written by - Kevlar4000 (Thu Jun 15 2006 07:21:33 )

Anya had been thinking about life a lot since the game started. The thought about the friends she had had before her scars healed, the friends she had now and the people she was sit with right this second. Most of the people in her group were complete outsiders to her. RaBit was new to the school in general, but even the students she had been in class with for years were complete strangers to her.

Flick was her only real friend here, but with the pressure of the game pushing them together Anya felt quite close to all those around her. They may not have talked much in school, or gone to the cinema together, or played sports on the same team - but they had killed together and that made them a unit. Kerry had fought beside Anya when Sakura had attacked them and Moonbeam had tried to help her and Felicity when Nathan tried to sneak up on them. They could be trusted for sure.

Talking of Moonbeam, Anya suddenly realised she was missing. She must have gotten lost when they made their way through the undegrowth. Anya hoped she was alright; they had become separated from Ivanna a while ago and her name was just on the list. Anya hadn't been particularly upset by it - Ivanna had seemed odd, but Moonbeam had defended her so the idea of her dying prematurely struck a chord. Alicia was on the list too. She was the first of Anya's current 'friends' to die and Anya was surpirsed at how little this thought bothered her. It was almost as if it wasn't real. She hadn't seen Alicia since the game had started so when her name was called Anya didn't associate it with her. She was sure that when she returned home Alicia would be waiting to go shopping with her or chat about how much the boys liked them. It would be just like old times... when she got home.

written by - StevieMc (Fri Jun 16 2006 07:43:18 )

Ulbrecht was breathing heavily. Sweat dripped of his face while he, Mitch, and Fez stood there, facing Mac.

Mac proved hard to kill. By running and solid defending he had managed to survive, but now it was almost over. Slowed down by his earlier wounds dealt by Ulbrecht and Mitch, Mac had been unable to escape and in the last struggle, Ulbrecht had managed to stab Mac in the stomach. Ripping open the flesh and tearing it into a gaping wound.

He looked at Mac, who was barely able to stand. His clothes soaked in blood, his hands pressed against his stomach trying to keep his intestines from pouring out. His face was ridden with pain and desperation. "W..why are you doing this? I...I’m not playing the game...", Mac gasped

"I’m sorry Mac, I’ll make it fast", Ulbrecht replied. He felt terrible, Mac had refused to fight back, but they couldnt let him live. They needed to play the game.

"Man he's a mess". Ulbrecht thought. He was disgusted by what he had done and the gruesome state Mac was in and part of him wanted to just walk away. But he had to finish it.

Suddenly another student entered the scene. It was Takuya who had been running but who stopped dead in his tracks seeing the other students.

"Don’t try anything!" Fez shouted, and they readied their weapons. Takuya was clearly wounded himself and was clutching a skateboard. Then Ulbrecht started to hear a strange humming noise, becoming louder.

Takuya jerked his head towards the direction of the sound and quickly looked back and forth at Ulbrecht, Fez, and Mitch and the defenseless Mac, who had become pale of bloodloss, on the brink of passing out.

Takuya made his choice and quickly ran towards Mac and smashed him across the face with his skateboard. Mac went down. He couldnt hold back his intestines anymore and probably died on the spot but it wasnt over yet.

Takuya moved into the forest as the noise had become the roar of a powerful engine. A truck came crashing through the brushes. Ulbrecht saw a girl with red hair behind the wheels, probably Aeris, but he wasnt gonna wait to find out and get overrun by that thing. They all scattered except Mac, and the truck drove over him, crushing his ribcage and finally granting Mac the sweet release of death.....

written by - ZeGerman (Tue Jun 27 2006 00:39:35 )

He'd hit him allready, Seamus had to finish the job. Pierco was wounded, but he could still fight back. Seamus needed the kill, needed to feel that rush again. Ejecting the half full clip, Seamus pushed in a full clip of rounds into the AK-47, he wanted to make sure he got the job done right. Bursting out of the cover of a large tree, Seamus screamed an unholy warcry as he squeezed the trigger on the fully-automatic. Pierco turned just in time, catching a barrage of lead in his stomach. As he stumbled backwards, Seamus continued to hold down the trigger, sending bullets into Pierco's torso, riddling it with bloody holes. As Pierco fell to the ground, dead, Seamus ran over to his body and stood looking at the mess of a body. His clip still had weight in it. Taking aim at his classmates skull, Seamus sent hot lead screaming into his skull, sending skull fragments flying, along with a copious amount of blood and a grey substance Seamus guessed was the brain.

His gun shot no more as the last bullet logged itself into the ground, through Pierco's neck. Ejecting the clip, Seamus stared at the corpse, the corpse he had created. He felt like a god. He felt like he now knew lives were for taking. He heard a noise, spinning around as he fumbled for a new clip, he saw Mitch and Ulbrecht staring at the carnage.

written by - vallyofthedamned (Thu Jul 6 2006 08:33:00 )

Ulbrecht had been talking and thinking about the better times they had in their old schoollife, which now seemed ages ago.

That time they had been playing videogames all through the night and barely made it to school in time. Fighting sleep the whole day.

Or the time they won a game of football with the loser team against those jocks. Even though Ulbrecht and the others were beaten afterwards for having the nerve to make them look bad, it didnt take away their moment of triumph.

Or the time when they were younger and stood up to some upperclass bullies when they had tripped and pushed around Elvis. Ulbrecht had yelled them to pick on someone their own size. Which they did by kicking Ulbrecht around. "Those rats always come in packs", Ulbrecht had thought as he hit the ground bleeding. But Mitch had stepped up and told that they would have to need to beat him up too if they didnt back off. As they were doing just that, Elvis had gotten up again to stand by their side, trying to look big and intimidating, which would have been comical under different circumstances.

Then some of the girls started to yell to leave Elvis alone. And with his two black eyes Ulbrecht thought he could see Saemus and Fez making their way to the scene.

Those ogres did walk away that day. And they had looked to eachother afterward, scared, beaten up, but all smiling from ear to ear.

He was smashed out of memory lane with the loudspeakers yelling another set of dead classmates. Each name triggering memories and emotions. He thought about all who had recently died. Some he hardly knew, like James and Haruhi. He heard that Dan Bertrand and Sakura had died too, their popularity and bullying hadn’t saved them when it counted. Paul Bates, the kid telling those strange jokes. And Alicia...They were still killing the girls?? How could a guy bring himself to do that?? She was so beautiful. Had starred in many of Ulbrechts daydreaming. Killed just like the rest....Nathan, he remembered how they used to play basketball together on the school team, allthough Nathan wasnt really fit or good in it.

Death took away the sharp edges of someone’s character. Now he remembered the whole class all happy and excited about the school trip. Not knowing it was the school trip to Hell ofcourse.

He hated the Program, hated what it had made him do. Made them all do. There had to be some loophole, some way to beat the game. But he couldnt think of one. He saw Daytons face before him...the soldiers. "Somehow i will make them pay", he thought, "Somehow".

But the Game stopped for no one, and they moved on. They were playing the game. What else could they have done?

written by - ZeGerman (Sat Jul 8 2006 12:52:41 )

As if the terrors of what had happened and the constant sounds of fighting werent enough, he would now have to deal with the guilt. Fez had been his friend right? He should have trusted him right? But a tiny voice fueled by doubt and paranoia had kept talking:

"See? Fez isnt your friend, he has just been using you to get further, all the time laughing behind your back". "He has BETRAYED you planning and plotting like that, but you saw right through his facade, didnt you?". "Does he think he can get away with that??". "You cant trust him!"

and, slowly, Ulbrecht had listened

Fez had been his friend but he had been acting increasingly strange and selfish. Keeping suprisingly quiet about some things that puzzled Ulbrecht. Slowly, Ulbrecht had started to question Fez's motives. At first he hated himself for thinking that but the seed of distrust was already planted. Doubts about the present and the past. Had Fez ever been a true friend? Or had he just lied all that time like so many had done before him?

Ulbrecht became more and more certain Fez was planning to betray them.

"Isnt that awfully convenient to soothe your conscience for what comes next?" He didnt like that thought and pushed it back. He was sure he was doing the right thing. He needed to believe that.

They had arrived soon enough to see Pierco meeting his unfortunate and bloody end. They could have killed Saemus then and there. It was what Fez wanted them to do, but it was not gonna happen. Saemus had been one of the few classmates Ulbrecht trusted. One of his friends, next to Mitch, Elvis and Fez. But Saemus and Fez had tried to kill eachother and it had forced Ulbrecht to take sides. He and Mitch had chosen the friend they trusted more, Saemus.

But Fez was too dangerous to leave as an opponent. He was a survivor, a contender to win this all, as Nathan had found out. It was better to finish up loose ends. They had to play the game, and besides, they werent betraying anybody. It was more of a..a pre-emptive strike..self defense. Yeah he was sure of it.

"Well I’m off, wish me luck", Mitch said as he stood up and prepared himself to follow the path Fez and Takuya took. They all knew what had to be done. "Good luck" Saemus replied, "Good hunting", "And dont die, I dont have many friends and all", Ulbrecht said smiling, hitting him against the shoulder. They tapped their fists and Mitch moved off.

Ulbrecht sat on the ground again.Looked at Pierco’s shredded body, splattered around like some sick modern painting. Thought about Mac, about the class, about Fez.

He felt an urge to laugh but he was afraid he wouldnt be able to stop.

That it would take little to lose it in these conditions. Lose yourself in the blood and paranoia of the Program.

Just let go, no more guilt, no more fear. Only blood.

The moment faded and seemed far away. He could think clearly again. "What am I thinking?" "There is nothing wrong with me, just some daydreaming, a little rest and I’ll be ok", Ulbrecht whispered to himself.

As they made their way back to the school to meet up with Sylver, Ulbecht kept his ears open. Awaiting the blast of a grenade. Waiting for Mitch to make his move.

written by - ZeGerman (Tue Jul 11 2006 11:56:01 )

Elvis dropped to the ground and felt for his gun. He was alone now and couldn't work out how it had happened. Just a few hours ago he had been safe and sound with Anya, Kerry and people, but now he was sat by himself in a hex he didn't recognise, surrounded by danger zones.

He wondered what Ulbreacht was doing. His name hadn't been on any of the announcements so far so he knew he wasn't dead, but what state he was in was another matter. Elvis couldn't decide if this 'game' was all a dream and that he would wake up to his life back home, or if his life previous to this was the fake and the BR programme was all there was.

Home was a notion he hadn't considered in a long time and thinking about his family made him start to cry. His father would have tried to keep a stiff upper lip against the situation, but his mother would have protested with all her mite. They killed BR protestors didn't they?!? If his mother was dead, how long would it be until they were united again?

by - Kevlar4000 (Sat Jul 15 2006 06:52:26 )

Pain.

The sword wound Fez got a while ago got worse.. Or maybe it was because he was attacked with a sword and a blowgun simultaneosly and his body went numb? Either way, he was regaining consciousness - both physical and mental. The events of the past few hours (days? weeks?) were a blur. He remembered he had a fever. He remembered being on the verge of dying and being left in a ditch by his so-called friends. He remembered lying there with his weapon, ready to take his own life when he saw a wounded classmate... His memories ended there, but judging by the amount of blood on his standard-issue school uniform, he probably killed at least one person.

Try to get up. Agonizing pain piercing every cell of his half-dead body. Crawl. What else? What the hell happened? He had a dream aobut a Mexican standoff with his classmates. There was a boy with a gun, a girl behind the wheel of a battered truck, and a few others. He dreamed that for some reason they all murdered the kid who appeared to be sleeping. Too bizarre to be true, but what if?..

Suddenly, he recalled something - something so important that he couldn't forget. He had met another wounded classmate - Kawasaki Takuya. He had a gun. They decided to join forces, at least until they could find someplace safe. Night... it happened during the night. Fez had awaken because of some noise.. You can never be too safe, his grandpa always told him. He had gone to investigate. There was a sound of explosion and a wave of heat and metal shards that surely would have killed him had he stayed where he was. Who could do such a thing? Holding his clumsy weapon, he crawled to what was left of their shelter. It wasn't hard to notice the person standing right next to what was left of his friend. Fez ran toward him and tried to hit him as hard as he could. There was this weird sound of breaking bones. His former attacker fell to the ground, holding another grenade in his hand. One flick of a finger, and it would explode. Yet at the same time, just one move of Fez's kusarigama would slit his throat. It would've made a bloody nice PR picture for those jack-#%%es running the show.

"What did you do that for?"

"Don't you remember, Fez?"

"Remember what?"

"You really don't, do you? How you helped us all get together and convinced everyone to kill Mac during the standoff?"

"I.. didn't. You're lying! If I were so great, why would you try to kill me when I was asleep?"

"It was sorta everyone's plan..You abandoned the group, went off on your own. We did it now because you had barely any health left. Gotta hand it to you though, you've got wild, crazy luck, haha."

"Wait a second.. Your name is Mitch, right? And then there was Ulbrecht and Seamus and..."

"Glad to see you're catching up. And to be fair to Ulbrecht, he was the most hesitant about this. It was mostly Seamus and me."

"So what now? Do we kill each other or walk away in a gentlemanly fashion?"

"I vote for walking away. Sorry it had to happen this way, but we would've had to fight eventually, granted everyone lived to that point."

"You people are monsters.. You know what - just go. Walk away real slow, and pray to whatever deity you believe in that you and I never meet again."

Fez took Takuya's pistol in one hand and had it aimed at Mitch until he disappeared in the shadows.

Things were bad. He still didn't have all of his memory back, but he knew that there were at least three people trying to kill him. He couldn't possibly face all of them - he was outnumbered and too weak to fight. He would have to run...

written by - zombie_giraffe (Sat Jul 15 2006 12:03:39 )

Ulbrecht closed his eyes as the cool nights wind swept over him.

They could finally relax within the relative safety of their camp. He would take first watch while the others tried to get some sleep.

Mitch cursed between his teeth. Probably by a sting of pain from moving his left shoulder too much. It had taken a serious blow in the failed attack on Fez and while Mitch was recovering he still had to avoid straining it too much.

There had been hardly any casualties broadcasted lately. What was going on? The map was riddled with danger zones which left little space. Maybe others had also decided to go with safety in numbers? Then against how many would they have to fight? Would it turn out to become some gang war?

A small glimmer of hope suddenly came through: "maybe everyone decided to stop playing?". He smiled because of the naive thought. Of course not. Then the Program would just start exploding collars. There was no way out. No loophole

Too bad though, he had hoped that the high rate of deaths would continue. That they could sit out the worst fighting. Keep their hands as clean as possible. He still saw Macs pleading, pale face when he closed his eyes. He could do without adding more faces to the list. Maybe the first kills were the hardest and it would get easier with time?

" Why are you whining like this, it wasnt hard to kill" . He tried to ignore that thought. But still felt mixed emotions. Cause thinking back, yes he had felt disgusted after the killing, but another part of him had not. Had felt good, had a rush of feeling superior, feeling powerful. He survived while the other did not. Pure survival of the fittest.

Nobody would have given a loser like him much chance right? Heh deep down he had not believed to have a chance himself. And now half of the class lay dead already and he was still breathing. That counted for something right?

"Yeah, it is good to no longer feel like a nobody", Ulbrecht concluded, not noticing he had grabbed the hilt of his samurai sword. "And it wasnt that hard at all".

written by - ZeGerman (Fri Jul 28 2006 09:04:18 )

Things were set in motion again. The moment of peace could not last, not in the show that was Battle Royale.

Dayton had made that very clear with his last broadcast. He had been "dissapointed by the class", calling it a "shameful development". threathened to "take steps", basically it boiled down to: play...or die.

Well they never intended to just sit everything out like a coward. They had made preperations. The only difference was that they had to act sooner then intended.

They made their way to the place where Saemus had killed Pierco. Treading cautiously. There were still people lurking around the school based on the tracks they had found earlier.

It was Mitch who saw him first. With hand gestures he alarmed Ulbrecht and Saemus. It was no other then their "friend" Fez. Looking around the area as if in search of something. Ulbrecht had an idea what it was. "You've become to predictable Fez", he whispered. Ulbrecht pointed to different spots and they were off, slowly moving in and encircling Fez. They would not allow him to get away anymore.

When Fez noticed, it was already to late to escape. His eyes shot back and forth as they stepped from the shadows. Ulbrecht drew his sword. It was time to end it. Fez quickly realised the situation he was in. He smiled: "Heh, How about an old fashioned one-on-one, Ulbrecht? Care to call the rest of your "crew" off and have a gentlemanly duel?".

Did he hope for mercy because of old times? That may have worked earlier, but by now Ulbrecht was convinced that Fez had indeed tried to use them all. That he never was a true friend and had betrayed their friendship. Ulbrecht had no more second thoughts, no more hesitations. "Its play to win now Fez", he said.

But the arrival of two classmates complicated the situation. James Johnson and a girl who had been added to their class, her name started something with an A..Ash.. Ashley, yeah that was right. It gave Fez some shortlived hope. He decided to try one last desperate resort. "Defend yourself Ulbrecht, I'll fight you!" and with one last glance for support to the new arrivals, he ran towards Ulbrecht.

Ulbrecht looked at James and Ashley. Saw his own doubt mirrored in their eyes. Saw something darker.

"You cant trust them!" " Quick tell Mitch to use the grenade, kill them before they attack you!"

He hesitated, should he...? James had always been friendly towards Ulbrecht. Not that he considered James Johnson a friend of his. Too different interests and characters for that. What also did not help was the fact that James Johnson was gay. And not in the "happy" term of the word. Or perhaps part of Ulbrechts Christian upbringing was fault depending on which angle you looked at.

Then he suddenly remembered a short interaction in the schoolroom when the class was gathered before Dayton. Saw it as clear as if he was reliving the moment. Ulbrechts name had been called and he was walking away to the front of the class. He passed James desk, who had looked worried, looking around for support. Ulbrecht had felt sorry for him so when James looked up he had smiled and gave a short thumbs up. To say that they were ok. That they would not kill eachother on sight. James had smiled back and calmed down.

So did Ulbrecht at this time. He could see it in their eyes now, no doubt, no dark intentions at all, they would not back Fez, they would back him.

"It would also make no sense for them to attack me", Ulbrecht thought, for Mitch and Saemus would react and avenge him.

He had nothing to fear and focused his attention back on Fez, slightly suprised that he had moved so little before he realized his life or death decision had only took an instant.

Thoughts faded as he concentrated on Fez. the world around him became blurred, he saw Fez breathing heavily, saw his many wounds, slowing his movements. Fez attacked with his strange weapon. "Too slow", Ulbrecht thought, and while sidestepping to dodge the weighted chain thrown at him, Ulbrecht parried the following attack of the Kusarigamas blade with his sword.

Ulbrecht saw the weight fall back hitting Fez his leg. He quickly slashed with his sword in a counterattack while Fez was out of balance. Ulbrecht saw his sword cut through the muscles and bone that made up Fez's left arm. Saw a gush of blood erupting and the arm moving into another direction then the rest of Fez's body as if it had a will of its own. Moving through the air before falling on the ground with a dry "thud". He heard Fez scream, felt blood sprayed against him. And he felt powerful again.

written by - ZeGerman (Tue Aug 8 2006 13:39:44 )

Felicity was poking idly at the embers of the fire, Anya could see her in the distance. Flick was her only true friend in this game - she couldn't even trust the people she was with. The seven of them had been in the same space for weeks now, or at least it seemed like weeks, and something was definitely brewing.

Sounds of gunfire and explosions and slicing and screaming had been floating into their makeshift camp for what seemed like forever and the madness of the game was beginning to set in. Anya surveyed her 'allies' as she had done so often in the last few days and passed judgement.

Flick could be trusted, she was sure of that - and Elvis seemed reliable too. Then there was Moonbeam who had come to her aid so long ago. Anya felt a bond with her and something in her head said she was OK. Kerry was eating some of her stale bread and smiled at Anya. There was a complex one - no, complex was definitely the wrong word cause Anya was sure there was nothing going on in that head of hers. Quiet was more like it, quiet and dull.

'Harmless', thought Anya to herself, 'Though she did fight with me and we both have Sakura on our conscience'.

Kerry passed for now, but only just. Anya now came to the other two - Rogue and RaBit. Rogue was a complete unknown and something about her made Anya nervous. She was always in her own head and she definitely had a mind of her own, which meant she could decide to strike at any moment. Anya would have to keep an eye on her, but that was becoming increasingly difficult with the lack of sleep or any real food. RaBit was an entirely different matter and nothing about him made Anya feel comfortable. He was new to the school, was covered in scars, had very little recollection of his past (or so he said) and his general manner was very unnerving. The very thought of him made Anya clutch her gun closer and raise her finger to the trigger. Yes, if something was going to happen in the group, it would be RaBit who would start it... unless Anya started it herself.

written StevieMc (Mon Aug 14 2006 16:44:54 )

There was no time to rest. After the showdown with Fez, Ulbrecht had left the group and had moved at high pace through the forest.

Some of what happened still lay in the back of his mind. They had all attacked Fez like a pack of wild dogs. He was a bit saddened, but that sadness felt thin. Like it was just on the surface and he could easily brush it off. Revealing..what exactly? Cold indifference? Enjoyment in the killing?

Heh that wasnt like him. That wasnt the kind, friendly Ulbrecht from school. But frankly, that old image of himself felt thin too.

His headache had returned. Made it hard to see things clearly.

It was best to just focus on what lay ahead, Ulbrecht decided.

He had finally found the camp. "Good", he thought and looked at the canisters on his belt. He would feel much better with his sword. But with Sylver going missing he had no choice but to take the canister.

"Harmless Sylver", he thought. Sylver would never betray them, but proved highly unreliable. He would have a talk with Sylver if they met up again that was certain.

On his guard for any suprises, he moved in only to find the camp deserted. Tracks indicating they had moved off into different directions. His rising anger made him careless as he moved around the camp looking for more signs.

He heard twigs crack to his right and with deadly certainty knew he wasnt alone after all. He turned and saw Jenna. He didnt know alot about her, but knew she should not be underestimated. She was tough for a girl. He also saw the machinegun she was carrying. "Great going letting her sneak up on you like that Ulbrecht", he thought.

"Hey, Jenna, its me Ulbrecht! I'm not playing the game, so dont do anything rash ok!", He said with a fake smile, while grabbing a canister. Atleast those things were good to get you out of trouble. "Dont make me use this, Jenna". But Jennas face grew grim and she aimed her machinegun.

As the machinegun started rattling out bullets, Ulbrecht ran sideways and threw his gass canister. This close to them both it would hit him with a dose as well, but he was out of options.

The canister fell to the ground. A sissing sound, some puffs of smoke and it lay still. "A dud? A *beep* dud?!" He thought as bullets came sizzling past him. He ran faster and threw himself into some dense bushes. But another volley of bullets was sent right after him. He felt like his left leg exploded and screamed out in pain. Dragging his leg Ulbrecht kept running, crawling through the undergrowth to escape. Leaving a blood trail behind him.

written by - ZeGerman (Tue Aug 15 2006 01:42:44 )

Standing with bated breath, gun raised, and two new commers, Seamus looked to Mitch. Mitch knew the question that Seamus was going to ask before it happened and shrugged. Did they back Ulbrecht up with killing fez? Did they deal with these two new people who seemed to have a gun as well?

He heard a scream as Ulbrecht sliced Fez's arm off, Seamus had only seen something like that when he mangled Pierco with a relentless stream of bullets. I'll write this rounds later.

Still unsure as to who to take aim on, Seamus found his answer given in the form of James taking aim and firing into Fez's back. Seamus could see Fez's eyes grow wide with pain. Seamus saw Ulbrecht jump with the shock of seeing Ashley charge by him and stab the allready wounded Fez. Pulling the knife out, James called out to her to come back to him, "They probably trust us just as much as we trust them." Seamus thought.

Fez fell to his knees, Ulbrecht put his hand to his forehead- "Must be having another headache." Seamus thought. Ulbrecht turned around, and stumbled a bit toward his two allies, as he hid Fez rose from his feet and made a move towards Ulbrecht. Being the loyal friend, or just the smart friend, Mitch rushed ahead, pushing Ulbrecht aside and punching Fez in the jaw, screaming "STAY THE HELL DEAD YOU JACKASS!" Not wanting to leave his friends out there, being the inactive one, Seamus had followed up behind Mitch. Seamus brought the stock of his AK-47 up into Fez's stomach, turning the gun then to point the barrel at his chest, Seamus sqeezed the trigger and riddled the allready defeated boy with holes. Releasing his finger, Seamus watched Fez collapse for the last time.

"Think he needed all of those shots?" Mitch said.

"No, not really. But after that jerk hit me with a god-damn mace, I don't really give a damn what he did and didn't need." Seamus said coldly, glad it was over.

written by - vallyofthedamned (Tue Aug 15 2006 09:24:02 )

His leg felt heavy. Ulbrecht could feel a throbbing pain following the beat of his pulse. He had escaped from Jenna. Running, falling down, crawling, limping, whatever made him put distance between him and that machinegun, he did it.

Now he lay exhausted on his back. Biting through the pain. He shouldnt have used the leg so much but he didnt have a choice. "That little bitch shot me", he thought. Shot him without saying a word. Without hesitation.

Heh, "why should she hesitate?". She obviously didnt care for Ulbrecht the nerd. "Were you thinking I would just be an easy kill Jenna?", he talked to himself. Ulbrechts face hardened. Well he would prove her wrong, make her pay.

But first things first, he got up and inspected his wounds.Two bullets had pierced his leg. But they had missed bones and major arteries. Well that was good news. He was worried about infection though. It also didnt helped he had crawled through mud and whatnot. Ulbrecht broke off a branch to use as a walking stick and he moved again. To the safety of his camp.

Sylver helped clean the wound with water and some found alcohol. Applying better bandages then what Ulbrecht had improvised. Ulbrecht used the opportunity to talk to Sylver, convince him to start playing the game. Sylver probably was the last surviving student still with clean hands, but they needed him for the fight that lay ahead. Ulbrecht looked at Sylver

"That coward, We're fighting and dying and he plays the saint? He's useless...just kill him."

"Whats wrong?", Sylver asked, seeing Ulbrechts strange expression. "Nothing, just having another headache", Ulbrecht replied.

Sylver was a kind person. Even if he was not able to kill, Ulbrecht would help him. Ulbrecht would help his friends, that was what he did. That was a big part of him right?

He looked at the gass canisters. That was why he was taking this risk. He would risk his life for his friends. Give them the opportunity to get further in this horrible game. Cause that was what he did. What he was.

An image of Fez's corpse shot through his mind. He noticed he missed his sword. Missed wielding a real weapon. He closed his eyes. Why had everything become so complicated?

Ulbrecht looked at the group of people throughout a makeshift camp. He had found them. Finally found them. He had to get closer to use the canister. prayed that this time the canister would go off. Or else someone should really sue the company making these things, Ulbrecht thought.

He set fire to his collected pile of branches and leaves, and moved to the group as the fire grew, sending dark clouds of smoke up in the air.

He saw Jenna turn and noticing the smoke, a suprised look on her face.

Ulbrecht smiled, payback time had arrived. He had done everything he could. "It all lies in the hands of God now", he mumbled and with that he drew the pin out of the canister and threw it in the middle of the group of people.

written by - ZeGerman (Tue Aug 15 2006 01:42:44 )

"S*** i can't see where I'm going!" erghhhhhhhhh was the sound the truck made Yomi had crashed into a tree *cough cough* Yomi fell out of the truck.

"That ulbrecht....when I see him he's dead"

Yomi opened his eyes and was shocked to see him being surrounded by three students Ra bit,Ulbrecht, and Kerry

"Is this the end?"

written by - Soul_eater (Sat Sep 2 2006 14:12:50 )

Fatima coughed and hacked as she made her way through the smoke. She was very disoriented. She lost track of Matthew, Jenna and the others. They had tried to attack Ulbrecht but in the smoke they couldn't find him. She heard the others call out. They would never survive without each other. They needed the team to stay together.

The smoke made her eyes well up with tears. She rubbed her eyes furiously. She heard Yomi call out after a loud crashing sound. He must have wrecked the truck. Her eyes cleared up and she saw three students standing before her. Anya, Felicity and Elvis. Anya and Elvis were holding machine guns.

Fatima wanted to cry out but her voice couldn't find the words.

written by - i_am_daemon (Sat Sep 2 2006 15:29:23 )

He'd once heard that the battle was the easy part, the simple part, it was the wait that was murder. Seamus found this to be the utter truth while he waited alongside his companions, Ulbrecht had been gone for a while, they'd received no signal. Seamus had been perched up on the same rock almost since Ulbrecht parted ways. They'd relocated, but since then the wait had been gnawing on Seamus' nerves. Looking down from the rock he saw Kenji and Alex, talking together, about what he didn't know but he doubted it was of much importance. Unless, unless of course they were planning something? They could be planning to take him out right now! No. No, he couldn't think like that, failure to trust would mean death, but putting to much trust in anyone would be just as deadly. This game really did have you walking on eggshells.

Looking around, he didn't see Sylver or Mitch, where the hell did they go?

"Hey guys," Seamus called out to Kenji and Alex, "Where's Mitch and Sylver?"

Kenji just shrugged, Alex thought about it for a second then replied, "I think they said they were gonna go look for a stream or something, water bottles were empty I think."

"Oh, ok." Seamus said. Why would they go off like that when they could get the signal from Ulbrecht at any moment?

Turning his view back out to the rest of the island, the killing ground, but otherwise rather nice place, Seamus finally saw what they'd been waiting for. Smoke rising to the south, the loud calls of students, calling out blindly in the fog could be heard faintly from where he was.

"That's it!" Seamus exclaimed, "The signal! We gotta go!"

"Right, where the hell are the other two?!" Kenji shouted back up.

"God Dammit!" Seamus said as he jumped from the rock, turning to the face the forest, he yelled out "Mitch! Sylver! The signal! The signal! We gotta go!"

The three of them waited around, no reply of any sort coming from the bush.

"We can't wait, it'll be too late!" Seamus decided, "Let's go, they can catch up hopefully."

With quick nods from his teammates, the three bolted off to the where the designated location, it was time. Their plan was in motion and now was the time for fortune to favour the bold.

written by - vallyofthedamned (Sun Sep 3 2006 08:53:22 )

"Cough" "Cough", blinded and half choking, Ulbrecht tried to move away from most of Fatima's team. The gass burned his eyes. Had an nauseating taste as well. He never thought it would be this bad. Even affecting him this much. He could hear the screams of confusion and panick as people desperately tried to stay together. "He had done it", Ulbrecht thought.

The sound of a truck crashing against a tree gave him some orientation. It was one of them. One of the "enemy". Funny how quickly he had changed into thinking about his former classmates in that way.

As the fog cleared, He saw who it was, Yomi. Addition to the class. Some foster kid. Well they would send him to a meeting with his parents soon enough, Ulbrecht thought. For he was not alone. He saw Kerry and Ra Bit too.

It had became clear that there had been 2 big alliances other then Ulbrechts rag tag team. One containing Elvis and several of his friends. They would be drawn to the smoke signal. And help them. Well according to Ulbrechts plan.

"This is a chance to bring their whole team down, attack him!", Ulbrecht shouted to Kerry and Ra Bit but was met with blank stares. As Yomi got in the truck again and tried running over Ra Bit, Ulbrecht couldn't understand why they didn't attack, didn't kill. He had to do something and with lack of anything better he picked up a rock and hurled it at Yomi's truck. Saw it splintering a window.

Welcome to the stone age, Ulbrecht thought. Yeah he sure missed having a real weapon.

written by - ZeGerman (Mon Sep 4 2006 23:22:03 )

The two rising pillars of smoke were what Anya had been waiting for. She had been on watch for the last 15 minutes while her friends got some sleep. Elvis had explained the importance on the two pillars - how it would be Ulbrecht with a message and they must move to them. Anya didn't really know Ulbrecht. He was a quiet kid, German she thought, and though she had picked on him a few times she had nothing much against him.

The idea of bullying someone seemed obsolete now, with death around every corner, but Anya still felt remorse for how she had behaved at school. People hadn't been able to understand the change in her - but they hadn't lived through years of debilitating scars; being forced to hide at every opportunity. There are some things you have to experience before you can fully understand - the BR programme was one of those too.

She woke the others and they headed toward the signal. Kerry and RaBit had been separated from the rest a while before and if Anya was honest with herself she was quite glad they were gone. The group was stronger with higher numbers, but they had always seemed shifty. Anya saw Flick throw one last stone into the ocean before catching up with the rest - she moved as if it were the last time she would see the sea. It probably would be.

Moonbeam and Rogue split off from Anya, Elvis and Flick and moved round the back of the pillars, while the three stayed at the front. Anya wasn't sure what was to happen next, but her answer came soon enough as a smoke bomb exploded nearby and students came running out in all directions. The three stood poised and ready, with their weapons pointed foward.

A girl staggered out of the smoke, coughing and rubbing her eyes. None of them had attacked a girl before and for some reason all three hesistated. It was Fatima, an extremely non-descript girl, save for being the only Indian girl in the class. She did not hesistate, though who could blame her - she fired her weapon in an almost machinegun fashion and while Anya dived out of the way, several of the nails connected with Elvis, cutting a line from his crotch up to his left shoulder. Almost in unison the two fired their guns and Fatima fell to the ground, but it was Felicity who delivered the final blow. Anya watched her walk over to Fatima and slide her saw blade across her throat. Flick stood back up and wiped a single tear from off her face.

Fatima was no longer their concern; it was Elvis who needed their help now and as the two girls began pulling nails from his torso, Anya thought about the absurdity of their situation, and began to laugh.

written by - StevieMc (Tue Sep 5 2006 06:14:26 )

Elvis stood just 100m from where the two smoke signals blew in the wind and he positioned himself ready for battle. Battle Royale was the perfect name for this 'experiment' because it was indeed a battle. Today he was a soldier fighting for his life.. no, fighting for more than that - fighting for good. That was it, he was the good guy in the class. He always tried hard, stood by his friends, was there to help out when people needed him and yet he had been mocked and bullied. Now it was time for the worm to turn. The good guy would prevail after all!

Elvis felt invincible! He had survived a few attacks now without so much as a scar and as he clutched the cold metal of the MAC10 (he hadn't even known what one was before this 'game') he felt a surge of power run through him. He was carrying out a plan - OK it wasn't his plan, it was Ulbrecht's, but it was a plan none the less! He had organised his 'friends' into two teams and they had split up to cover more ground; he had worked out a system to keep watch; he had organised classmates and they were about to execute a well planned mission. They were about to execute whoever came running out of the smoke.

Elvis stopped. It was those words running through his head that brought him back to reality. He wasn't an army general on one of his computer games and he wasn't playing RISK with Ulbrecht and the others. He was in real life and was about to kill one of his classmates, possibly one of his friends.

When Fatima did eventually come staggering out of the smoke, coughing her guts up, it caught him by surprise. It was indeed one of his friends, one of the girls he had hung around with and she still felt like an older sister to him. She was clearly disorientated and alost blind from the stinging smoke, as she ran straight out into the middle of Anya, Felicity and himself. Elvis went to walk forward, to see if he could help Fatima who was clearly in distress, but as he took a step a tearing pain went straight through his body. He automatically pulled the trigger on the MAC10 and dropped to the floor, not even taking notice of where his shots had landed.

The pain was unbearable. He felt like he had been stabbed 10 times from his leg to his shoulder and as he looked down, he realised he had been. A dozen or so nails were bedded to various depths in his chest and stomach and he threw up from the agony. Fatima had attacked - that bitch! Anya came rushing over and a short time after so did Felicity. Elvis began to feel faint and was barely aware of the two girls pulling the nails from his body. He began to think back to his time at school and how he had had almost nothing to do with the two girls trying to save his life.

Felicity was a nice girl, quite beautiful and amazing in the school wind band. Her red hair blazed in the sun and looking at it made Elvis smile. Anya was a complicated one. She had once been lovely, if a little shy. Elvis had hear rumours about scarring she had suffered as a child, or something to that effect, but it wasn't something you asked about directly. He had assumed it to be lies though, because when Anya changed she started wearing very revealing clothes and Elvis could see no evidence of scars. She had also started bullying people, Elvis included and he had assumed she had lost the caring nature she had once had. But her she was.. pulling nails from his chest and he could see that once again she cared.

written by - Kevlar4000 (Wed Sep 6 2006 05:47:11 )

He stared down at what he did, he knew he had to do it, it was to save

Alex, he needed Jame's help. They had been dating for awhile, that

was probably the reason they were in this *beep* up game because they

were homosexual, but James stared down at the body of Mark Dayton, the

virus haveing done minmal damage most of the wounds were from being

shot by James. He smiled enjoying the power of the kill, of all the

kills hed done to get where he was, it was all to save Alex, plus

himself, but you never know who your really fighting for in this game.

He looked in a puddle noticing his hair was no longer gelled or

looking how it should, hell the dye was even begining to wash off and

down his face. He felt lucky to be with his friends true some of them

wernt the best of friends but they never hurt him.

written by - Bornforeverfree (Wed Sep 6 2006 14:09:28 )

Standing at the ready, Seamus was ready for who ever would come out of the smoke just ahead. Damn that smoke grenade let out a lot. Seamus found himself worrying about Ulbrecht, while not the best of friends, this programe had turned their mere acquaintance into a greater bond, Seamus now though of the other boy as a good friend. Ulbrecht had trusted him since they first met, right after Seamus had gotten his hands on the Ak...

But now was the time, Ulbrecht had planned this out, and Seamus was gonna do his part, he couldn't fail now. Standing at the sides of his two new allies, he wished Mitch hadn't walked off, another friend who'd become more like a brother than a classmate. Alex and Kenji were just as ready as Seamus, he trusted them, they'd joined up after him...he sensed a bit of unease between Kenji and Mitch and Ulbrecht. No one had told him directly, but Seamus figured they'd done something to him or his friends before he joined up.

No forewarning in the hectic noise of his classmates caughing and calling out blindly in the fog, Jenna and Harry, caughing and holding onto eachother's arms to stay together, came out of the smoke and stood in front of the trio. Seamus took aim and squeezed the trigger. As lead flew at highspeeds into Harry, Jenna's eyes widened as a dart flew into her shoulder. Just after Seamus and Kenji had opened fire, Alex fired his own gun, clipping Jenna. The two wounded, but neither dead, now shot in conjunction with their caughing fits, could do little to fight back. Seamus knew that this attack was supposed to be quick, in and out.

"Remember what Ulbrecht told us! Back out! Quick, we hit um, let's go!"

Getting two general affermatives from his teammates, they three rushed away from the slowly dwindling smoke-infested area.

written by - vallyofthedamned (Thu Sep 7 2006 17:29:13 )

War is hell. That's how the quote goes. That's what it was like to tell the truth. There can be no hope for the loser or for the winner. Especially in the Battle Royale program. The winners in some ways were in a worse mess than the losers. At least the losers didn't have to deal with the scars and a weight of the game. Some battles are evenly matched, others are not. This had not been one of those. Fatima was all alone with three of her classmates.

She knew she was going to die. She hadn't expected to remain throughout the whole game.

This is going to be my last stand. I will not live to rejoin my friends. If I can stop one of these students, maybe one of my friends will survive.

Fatima raised her nail gun and pulled the trigger. She didn't know how many times she hit Elvis. She was suddenly struck with bullets from their guns. Her body jerked wildly and she fell onto the ground. The nail gun slid from her hand and Fatima quietly slipped from this realm. She had escaped the hellish game in her own way.

written by - i_am_daemon (Fri Sep 8 2006 07:22:43 )

She was thrown into the game alone and by herself. She hated the Internet after being tricked into the game. That was all in the past now, all that matter is staying alive. She was lucky to hook up with Alex and James, She was kind of freaked out by their relationship at first, two guys shouldn't date, but it wasn't as weird as it could have been they kept off of each other. She was amazed at the amount of love they shared, Alex going with the virus to try to infect some people, and James staying on track to hunt down Mark to try to help out Alex. She was amazed, she couldn't believe her luck, if she hadn't had hooked up with the two of them she would have been dead awhile back.

Up till this point she had been in a daze just following James to where he decided they wanted to go, and attacking who he told her to. He could be trusted, at least she hoped he could, but that wasn't important now all that was important was staying alive and making it to the next day. Part of her wanted the game to end, she knew she couldn't give up but it would be so much easier, at least she didn't grow up with the students that would have gotten her but she was a transfer so she didn't know anyone and even though it still hurt to kill she knew she had to and didn't think about it that hard when she did it. What was done was done and she did what she had to do.

written by - dazedandconfused-3 3 days ago (Tue Sep 12 2006 14:35:03

Professor Dayton brought his hand to his chin rubbed at the stubble that had formed since the game had begun. He let out a long sigh and gazed out the window. Island trees swayed gently in the wind as the ocean breeze caressed the landscape. He looked down at his other hand and studied his palm. He wondered which detail was known as his "life line". He remembered hearing that fortune tellers would study a hand for hints of the future. One of the hints could tell you how long your lifetime would be. He began to wonder if Mark's lifeline was truely short, or if his demise was premature. His one and only nephew was now deceased and it did not sway him from pressing for completion of the game. He held no ill will toward Alex and James. They were playing the game, fighting to survive. Mark, unfortunately, could not catch a break since the round started. Infected, not once but twice, Mark was forced to inhabit the wilderness alone or face being killed by his own allies in fear of being further infected. It brought a solid rock to the Professor's stomach that Mark had to endure such a horrid solo survival for so long. He turned to the monitor wall and directed the soldier at the controls. "Give me Survivor James on screen 2."

"Sir. Yes. Sir." The solider dutifully replied.

Screen two was the second largest screen of the wall. The Largest screen being the map, screen 2 was good for monitoring action and specific students as they navigated the island. The screen flashed for several seconds before the camera displayed current events.

"Location?" The professor asked.

"Sir. Sector H5. Sir." The same soldier answered.

The scene shown before him on the screen was hard to make out. The Professor could see 5 students in the area, but the camera's distance did not yield details of any of the student's faces.

"Who else is there?" He muttered.

"Sir. Students, Ashley, Mitch, Ulbrecht, Harry. Sir."

"Who is the student that is on his knees?"

The soldier typed at his keyboard and tried to ID the gps signal from that student.

"Sir. Harry Myers. Sir."

"He must have mentally lost it.." Dayton commented. He watched the monitor closely. Harry was on his knees staring to the ground. He held his sniper rifle lazily to his side. The professor could see the student's mouth moving. Harry was talking, but nobody was nearby to hear. The Professor's attention was drawn to the top of the screen. Off in the distance he could see two students breaking free from the trees into the open. He recognized James right away and noticed that Ashley was following close behind. James had his pistol drawn and ready. He cautiously walked forward ready to fire in any direction. Ashley walked calmly behind him, dagger in hand. They took notice to Harry and stopped. He could see that James was screaming in Harry's direction, but it did not seem to distract the student from his grieving.

"Sir." One of the soliders called out.

Professor Dayton turned to the soldier and gave him full attention.

"Sir. There is a large group gathering at Sector F3. Sir."

"Send several soldiers to the West side of the roof. If that group tries anything on the compound. Shoot to Kill. I'm not taking any chances on a group that big." The Professor commanded.

"Sir. Yes. Sir." The solider grabbed his nearby radio and communicated the command to the soldiers on the roof of the school.

The professor directed his attention to the controlboard soldier again.

"Screen 2. Alex."

The soldier quickly typed away and changed the screen to view from the camera on sector C4. This camera was stationed much closer to the ground and showed everything with more detail. There were bodies littering the ground from earlier attacks. Kenji, Alex and Seamus could all be seen within the camera's view. The map indicated that Sylver was on this hex, but he was nowhere to be seen. The professor took a few steps closer to the screen and tapped his finger on the blue dot that indicated Sylver's postion on the map.

"Friggin Camper." a nearby Solider muttered.

Professor Dayton smirked and tapped the blue dot a few more times, like stirring the attention of a goldfish in a tank.

"Soldier, I want this hex a danger zone soon." He stated.

The soldier took some quick notes and returned his attention to the controls.

Professor Dayton turned away from the monitors and slowly walked to his jacket. He picked the jacket up from the chair and picked through the pockets. He found his old cellphone and walked for the door.

"I'll be back in a few. Stay alert." He called out.

The hallways were growing musty and old with age. Most of the lights didnt even work in the old building, including the ones that were installed when the island was selected for the Battle Royale competition. The walls and floor swelled with absorbed water that seeped in from the years of rain. Occassionally, a plant of fungus could be spotted growing from a crack in the floor or wall. It began to remind him of an ancient temple. A ruin that was being forgotten in one way, and remembered in another. He strolled through the hallways and made way for the rear exit of the school. He stepped outside and gazed up to the evening sky. He turned his phone on and dialed a number. Holding the phone to his ear, he silently waited as the phone connected and began to ring the other line.

"Hello?" The other end answered.

"Sarah?" He asked.

"Yes... -Oh god! it's you...."

"I'm sorry... I would have called sooner..."

"The game's not over yet is it?" She asked

"No. I'm afraid not."

His statement was followed by a painful silence. He could hear Sarah weeping silently on the other end. She had endured the loss of her husband, Professor Dayton's brother, earlier this year. Now, she had to revisit grief with the loss of her own son. He patiently held the phone to his ear but did not know how to comfort her. She composed herself and spoke softly into the phone.

"Did Mark die quickly without pain?" She asked.

"No... He was brave and I dont think anything about this game is painless. I am sorry."

"... Did he... Kill?" She asked hesitantly.

"He did not kill anyone... It just didnt work out."

"Bring his body home please..."

"We will."

Before he could speak another word, she hung up the phone and introduced the Professor to dead silence. He turned the phone off and slid it into his pocket. Dayton had always acknowledged the he was essentially the ringleader of a deadly circus. Until now, his family was never in the act.

written by - djdayton

For a moment it was like a warzone. Gunshots and screams coming from all sides. He heard the engine of Yomi's truck rattle and stop. Heard Yomi trying to start it up again. There was nothing he could do without a weapon and he moved away.
To bad Kerry and Rabit lost it, Ulbrecht thought. He was relying on all the groups he had contacted to pull through. Otherwise they would be vulnerable to a counterattack.

Ulbrecht stopped in his tracks and pressed himself against a tree when he saw movement. His face lit up when he recognized Saemus, Mitch, Kenji and Alex. They had made it out! "Man I'm glad to see you guys!", Ulbrecht said, still staying in cover. Everyone would be on edge and he did not want to have any friendly fire casualties. "Ulbrecht! You made it!", Saemus replied while lowering his Ak-47. And they all looked at eachother, exhausted, wounded, but all smiling from ear to ear.
Just like that day at school, Ulbrecht thought.

They had little time to talk though, Ulbrecht was told they had hit Jenna and Harry and left them wounded. Saemus, Kenji and Alex were rushing to clear the danger zone before their collars would detonate. Mitch had just arrived before him. "I took a wrong path in the forest and got lost", he said with a sad, guilty expression. Ulbrecht noticed someone missing.

"Where's Sylver? He promised to help...he didn't die right?"
"No, he dissapeared", Saemus replied. "I shouted his name but he did not reply", Mitch added. Alex sighed,"That coward, we are all fighting and he crawls away to hide"

Ulbrecht felt his anger rising. Sylver promised! He lied to him! It was clear now though and he spoke calmly "Sylver had his last chance. This will be the end of the game for him... Atleast his supplies will be of some use" They looked at eachother. Knew what had to be done.

Ulbrecht and Mitch split off while the others moved north. They still had time before their collars would detonate. Some of their allies still had time. Time to go in and finish off the wounded or prevent them to clear the zone. Get better weapons, supplies for the wounded. They ran toward the meeting point. To guide Ahsley and James to Jenna and Harry's location.

Ulbrecht followed James and Ashley. He would be of no use in a fight. Ah well, he would get his hands on a weapon soon. He would take Jenna's weapon after watching her meet her end. He smiled. He still had a score to settle with her and was glad how things worked out. "You shouldnt have shot that "geek" Ulbrecht, Jenna, its dangerous for you health"

But Jenna was gone. Despite her wounds she had managed to dissapear, leaving a wounded Harry behind. Harry was rocking from side to side on his knees, Babbling something. Seemingly unaware of their arrival. "He must be close to death, has not moved an inch from where he was gunned down even though his collar is about to go off", Ulbrecht said.
"Looks like he lost it", James called out to him but he was not responding.
"You take his supplies Mitch, you need it more then me", and while the others moved towards Harry, Ulbrecht stayed back and looked for tracks from Jenna.

They were all suprised by the shot. A bullet came whistling past Ulbrechts head and he stumbled backwards. Ulbrecht looked at Harry and saw eyes filled with hate focussed on him, while he reloaded his rifle for a second shot. But it would be to late as Ulbrechts allies were already upon him, and while Harry was killed Ulbrecht kept looking at him.
"You cant kill me", Ulbrecht whispered. And he smiled again.

written by ZeGerman

Elvis came to and looked around his new surroundings. He had obviously passed out from the pain of the nailgun and the two girls had dragged him from their last location to here. He could still feel his lungs full of the smoke from the previous attack and started coughing and spluttering. The pain was unbelievable.

Anya and Felicity spun round with a start and stood looking at him for almost a minute before Flick came running over, tears in her eyes. He supposed the two had thought him dead, but he was surprised at how much Flick seemed to care. She stood over him crying and laughing and she had never looked more beautiful.

Anya turned back to her map and called Elvis and Felicity over. There had been a couple more danger zones added since Elvis had passed out and he realised they were definitely standing in one. Anya had marked a trail on the map to the nearest free hex and they were obviously trying to head there before ther collars exploded. Elvis dragged himself upright, ignoring the searing pain and the three began walking, albeit slowly, toward safety.

As they rounded a corner Elvis came face to face with RaBit, their old 'friend'. He had obviously been camping out on this hex with Kerry and Elvis assumed the two had gotten into a scrape as Kerry was slightly injured. He looked further and Moonbeam and Rogue were pushing their way past some ferns and entering the clearing too; they had been very lucky being able to rejoin. The groups hugged and informed each other of their 'sucesses' in the last round. It felt wrong to call it that, but indeed it was sucess because they were one step further toward ending this terrible ordeal.

RaBit announced that Ulbrecht had been here and Elvis cursed himself for arriving to late to see his friend. At least he was alive, that was a small consellation. It was only when Moonbeam enquired about the truck that appeared to be slammed into a tree that RaBit told them about Yomi.

'What the *beep* screamed Rogue. 'There's another person on this hex and you didn't think to mention it till now?! What if they had attacked?!?'

RaBit and Kerry both looked blankly. It didn't seem to have occurred to them that Yomi's presence was a danger. Elvis supposed they were in a catatonic type state; they definitely seemed out of it at least.

Elvis and Anya, being the only two with guns, approached the damaged truck door and cautiously prized it open. Yomi fell out with a start and almost subconsciously Elvis fired his MAC10. The bullet lodged in Yomi's chest as the one from Anya's gun wizzed past his head. Elvis stumbled back as Moonbeam, Rogue and Felicity ran toward the enemy and began hacking.

Yomi was barely reconisable once they were finished and Flick, disgusted with herself, ran to Elvis for comfort. He held her in his arms and could feel her flesh beating with the rhythm of her heart. Her hair was filthy and her face covered in blood, but Elvis had never seen anyone so beautiful. He gently brushed her lips with his; his first kiss. He had never felt closer to another person in his life.

written by Kevlar4000

Ulbrecht felt a bit more like his old self again. Risking his life with the canister to help his friends. Giving Mitch the supplies to take care of his wounds. Looking out for his friends, That was what he did and would continue to do. This terrible game would not take that from him.

Suddenly the loudspeakers came alive. Daytons voice was heard. Though not with his usual sarcastic, amused tone. He seemed tired. Maybe his conscience is catching up?, Ulbrecht thought. Heh that was a good one, like those people even had a conscience.

"Some productive hours class" Ulbrecht ignored most words and concentrated to the list of names that were called. He couldnt believe it. They had not lost a single ally while only Jenna survived the onslaught dealt to her team. They had put Sylver out of his misery too.
This was even better then he had expected, more then he had hoped even. He felt good, proud. His plan, all the work. It payed off. Not bad for that sad boring geek huh? Yes he had proven them wrong alright. You always knew what your potential was, always knew you were better then those bullies and mindless sheep"

But slowly the consequences of this early victory dawned on him. "What are we gonna do now?" Alex asked. "Jenna, will probably die of her wounds somewhere. Even if she doesnt she is hardly a threath anymore", Saemus replied. Ulbrechts mind was working overtime. What could he do? What alliances could be made? What would give him and his friends the best shot of getting further in this game? He did not like the answers. His headache returned while he tried to think a way past this. While slowly the terrible truth of the situation became clear.

He had three true friends left. Saemus, Mitch and Elvis. But Elvis had his own team. Ulbrecht had no connection with those students. Some of the girls had even made fun of him. But they were Elvis his friends for the most part. Elvis would never betray them.
On the other side, Elvis and his group had no connection to Ulbrechts band of students. And Ulbrecht could not betray Saemus and Mitch. He thought of his other allies.

Kenji, man had he been wrong about him. He was not arrogant at all. Ulbrecht regretted ever attacking him and his friend Baino. But that had been because of Fez. Later they had joined forces with a common goal, to kill Fez. Kenji said he held no grudge against Ulbrecht and Mitch anymore, but was that true? Had Kenji really forgiven them?
And how well did he knew Alex, his friend James and that transfer Ashley? How well did he trust them?
But by fighting together. Helping eachother out, forming a team, he had grown closer to them. Felt a connection with them. He could not betray them.

The game did not stop. He had to think about endgame now. Give himself and his friends the best chance, even though that mean sacrificing one of those friends. It was simple math really, one friend did not equal two friends and four good allies. It didnt. Simple logic, he tried to tell himself but that did not make it easier.

Ulbrecht picked up the gass canister again. He looked at it. It had to be done, he thought with a face expressing pain and despair. "I...I'm sorry Elvis", he whispered.

He had been wrong, the Program was not done taking.
Not by a long shot.

written by ZeGerman

Having lingered outside for more than an hour, Professor Dayton slowly walked back into the school. The voice of Mark's mother echoed in his ears long after their phone conversation ended. Her sorrow ate at him as he casually tried to leave it behind. The mud clumped to his shoes grinded beneath him as he walked through the rustic hallways. His quiet entrance into the controlroom was met with excitement from the solidiers inside.
"They're converging. Sir." One of them shouted.
"What?!" He shot back.
"All sides Sir... They are all over the place."
"Just great..." Dayton hurried over to the window and looked. He was met by General Grainger at the window as well.
"Where the hell were you?" He sternly asked.
"It's none of your concern Grainger." Dayton answered back. The General was beginning to get on his nerves. He was surprised that it had taken this long. He figured that Grainger would have been on his case from the first minute, but the General was quiet in the background for most of the event.
"Professor Dayton. Would you please use my title in front of the soldiers." He whispered.
Dayton didnt even respond. He continued to look outside, ignoring the request. General Grainger shifted uncomfortably for a moment and looked outside as well.
"Hey. I spot one." The general noted.
"Where?"
"That rusted coupe, over there. The blue one." Grainger pulled his hand up and pointed in the direction he was looking.
Professor Dayton scanned the area carefully. Finally he noticed the coupe that Grainger spoke of. It looked to be a late 70's four banger. Something small from the homeland Japan. It was covered in vines and plants. All of the windows were absent and it looked like all the wheels went on vacation as well. He noticed a figure pressed against the side of the car facing away from the school. He stared and wondered which student it was.
"Sir. The student is Mitch. Sir." The soldier from the controls called out.
"Good work. You read my mind." Dayton quipped back.
"That's not good." Grainger muttered.
"What?" Dayton turned his attention quickly to the General.
"Not good. I say. Mitch. He's got the Grenades. I know this. He's been fist hammering everyone since the game started. He's saving those 'nade for us!" The General stammered.
"What are you talking about? You think he would have waited this long to toss a few grenades at us?" Dayton asked the bewildered General.
"He's saving those grenades for us I tell you!" The General shouted and stepped closer to the Professor. He quickly pressed his hands against the Professor's shoulders and shoved him forcefully away. Stumbling back, Dayton's foot caught the leg of a nearby table and it sent him crashing down to the floor. The impact broke off the aged wooden leg and the table tipped sloppily to the floor. Professor Dayton brought his hand to his left ribs and held them as they ached from hitting the floor under the rest of his weight. He let out a groan, followed by a sigh of relief when he realized none of the ribs were broken. The sound of broken glass stirred his attention back to the General.
"No way in hell he's gonna get us. No way." The General spoke as he cleared away a pane of glass with the barrel of his handgun. Quickly, without remorse, he pointed the gun and took aim.
"What? No!" Professor Dayton shouted. Nobody in the room heard him say "No". At that precise moment, not a single noise could overpower the gunshot from the General's firearm. The pain in his side immediately faded away and all he could feel was his own heart beat. It felt as if the world was stalled to half speed and only he could move like lightning. The General continued to aim and steady the gun on the lower part of the frame that once held the small pane of glass. He turned his neck in a unnatural motion to untense it for the next shot. His eyes narrowed and he fired again. The second shot echoed through the room. Professor Dayton pulled himself to his feet and drew the wooden table leg with him. Swiftly, he darted to the General and brought the leg crashing to the side of Grainger's head. The leg splintered, but did not fully break. Grainger's body fell lifelessly to the floor. The pistol jarred from his hand and slid across the floor a few feet away. He placed the table leg on the windowsill and walked over to pick up the gun. He drew the pistol from the floor and noticed that there was a trace amount of smoke still coming from the barrel. He looked up to the soldiers that stood stunned near the control wall.
"Soldier. Put a bandage on Grainger and handcuff him to that vertical pipe on the wall over there... with a chair. Put a gag nearby as well, in case he decides to get mouthy." He ordered.
The soldiers exchanged glances with each other and looked back at the Professor. None of them spoke a word and began to carry out his orders. One soldier grabbed the first aid kit as the others gathered a sturdy chair and the General himself.
Professor Dayton turned back to the window. He looked outside and located the blue coupe again. He could not see Mitch anywhere. His imagination overpowered him as he pictured Mitch laying deceased on the other side of the car, gunshot wound drawing his lifeblood out. He tapped his finger nervously on the windowsill. He knew that this would not bid well for the program. It was not intended for him or anyone of the government to eliminate any of the students unless they were a direct threat to them. Grainger's outburst was not something he could control. But, the Government would see otherwise... and the media would report it to death. His career would be adversely affected by the ordeal. He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. When his eyes opened he looked at the blue coupe again. Mitch finally came into view. He cautiously raised his head over the trunklid of the car to get a view of the school. Professor Dayton stared at the student for a moment and cut a thin smile. He pocketed the pistol and raised his empty hands up and put them into view through the windows. Mitch stared for a brief moment and then took off into a full sprint away from the car. He hurdled over a few rocks and cut into the safety of the trees nearby and disappeared. After a few moments... three other students came out of hiding from a huge boulder off in the distance. Together, they ran to the same area as Mitch and disappeared along the same path. He wondered if they were stalking the student. He walked over to the control wall and looked at the map. The three markers that followed Mitch on the map belonged to James, Ashley, and Seamus. It also appeared that Kenji was heading in the same direction from the East side, probably drawn from the sound of the gunshots. The professor rubbed his left side again and grabbed a pack of cigarettes from a desk nearby. Not caring about who owned the cigs, he lit one up and took a long drag from it. It relaxed him.

written by DJdayton

James knew the end was near, hell they all knew it, it was down to them vs elvis and his team. He didn't really speak to them that much, never really spoke to them he didnt want to have to fight them but if it came down to it could he kill again? He hadn't seen Alex in what seemed like forever and thankfully he hadn't heard his name on the bulletains pasted by Professor Dayton. How could a teacher do that to students? It was his job, if you could call this twisted event a job, hell they've even tried to call it a game. Theres no way this is a game this is a sick battle thought up by adults. James looked over at the school so close, he looked at an eluminated window as someone he didnt recognize stepped infront of it and began firing. He ducked behind a rock trying not to be hit. Watching carfully he say the shooter get hit over the head with something and fall to the floor only to be replaced by Dayton. He looked at his gun, it would be so easy just to shoot him right there kill Dayton take Mitch's Gernades and just blow the hell out of the building. He knew he couldnt do that, that he should save his energy and bullets for when the time came. He looked down at himself, the blood stains no longer shocking him, he looked down and realized that this was normal. "Normal what the hell is normal anyways?" He wasnt talking to anyone just out to air. At what point did killing your classmates become normal. He'd grown up with these kids, how could they be killing each other. James pulled out his wallet, and took out a picture, it was of him and Alex on their first date, he smiled as he remembered how they went to see a movie, the entire thing being an accident, it was orginally suppose to be a group of his friends and Alex but for some reason they all called and cancled on him so it was just Alex and James. It didnt seem like that long ago, only once he really thought of it he realized that its been over a year. Nothing would break them apart nothing! He would contiue to fight to save Alex and if the time came down to the two of them he knew what he would do....

written by Bornforeverfree