Nikolai Resnov's Story

Nikolai was sprawled out on the cold floor, unlike a lot of people he knew there was no drool dripping down his face from sleeping. His hair was all messed up, but he did not care. Just like he did back in the alley, before he built that hut from scrap wood he found, he jumped up and looked around for a mirror to check if there were any graphic penis' drawn on his face. That's when he saw other people awake. "Is there any thing on my face?" He asked, noticing the people on the ground. His eyes widened, but closed almost. That is only one sign. That was when he felt the collar around his neck. He poked it once, and put his arms to his side. He did not want to show weakness, his looks told every body he knew that he was a scary brute, and he wanted to keep it that way. He did not care about any one around him. He even purposely kicked one of the people sleeping around him. He noticed a girl saying not to touch their collars and knew she had gone through what he did. He walked over to her, stepping on kids backs on purpose. He put his left arm around her and laughed. "We won once, odds are we might as well die this time."

Marcela glared at the boy who was also a previous winner. He was ruthless and cruel, which clearly demonstrated why he had won and that he was just as determined as her to win again. He came to stand beside her, wrapping an arm around her. She flinched and jerked away from him, not wanting to be touched. She wasn't quite sure what he was saying but she knew already that she didn't like him. "Go away," she muttered, before looking at the rest of the confused students. Poor kids.

Caleb Davenport stood there, white as a sheet, eyes widened, at what his ninth grade teacher had just said. We had to kill each other? And here he was, expecting to have a good time with friends on the class trip. Now, he was thrown head-long into a deathmatch where only one would survive. And he still didn't know why he had a collar around his neck. He had tried to pull it off before, but then a girl sitting in the back of the room said "Don't". For reasons unknown, he decided to obey. Maybe it was because she had that tone in her voice that told him she had done this before.

What also scared him was that Mr. Gamba had told them that they were a part of the 3000th Battle Royale. Something special was going to happen here that hadn't happened in any other games before. He could feel it in the marrow of his bones.

Glancing around the room, he knew just about everyone in the classroom, except for two people. One was the girl that had warned him not to try and take off the collar. The other was a different boy he had never seen before. Something cold, sinister, and unmerciful lay within him and he didn't like. Suddenly his attention was drawn back to the front.

"Any questions before we watch the video?

What video? Was it going to explain this bullcrap that he was a part of. If it weren't for the soldiers, he would've thought of this as a giant prank. He raised his hand. "I have a question." he called out to him. He didn't want to anger him, like Maryanne had. He'd barely known Maryanne other than for her to be disruptive in class for blurting the most random stuff that made him laugh quite a bit. Right now, he didn't want to follow in her footsteps.

"What is with these collars? Are they meant to track us or som..." Caleb said. Mr. Gamba's malicious smile grew as he saw that the boy had lost his courage.
"Good question, boy. It'll be answered in the video." Mr. Gamba's smile turned into a stern face again.
"Now everyone pay attention!! It is extremely important that you all listen to this information. It could determine life or death for you."
Mr. Gamba grabbed a remote from his desk and pushed a button. A projection screen slided over the chalkboard, and the symbol for Battle Royale showed on the screen. The symbol then cut to a middle aged lady who was dressed in some sort of military uniform. Although she had piercing blue eyes and pointed sharp teeth, she looked peppy and energetic.
"Welcome to Battle Royale!" she shouted, "9nth grade students of Christo Academy, you have been selected to participate in the annual game of Battle Royale, a test of strength, survival, and character!" a map of an island appeared next to the lady. "You are currently located on Kristiph Island. It is about 12 kilometers wide. We have evacuated everyone, so it is empty. The island is divided into many zones. Every six hours, your teacher will broadcast updates about which zones are becoming danger zones."
"This will answer your question Mr. Davenport." Mr. Gamba projected, his eyes focused on the video.
"I will explain what a danger zone is later, right after i explain the necklaces you are wearing." the lady continued, "They measure your pulse and location on the island. They are 100% shockproof, waterproof, and they are permanent. If you try to rip them off, cause trouble, or linger in a danger zone for two long, we will send radio waves to your necklace, and it will explode!"
The lady seemed to say 'explode' in such a cheerful way, that it was extremely frightening, and almost confusing.
"Also, there is a time limit on this game. If nobody wins in 3 days, all the necklaces will explode, and there is no winner. Fight your best, okay?"
The lady gave another smile again, showing her pointy teeth. Charity wished that she would keep her mouth closed.
The men dressed in military uniforms walked in with racks filled with large black bags. There was a white number printed on each of the bags.
"Before you leave, you will all receive a kit with food, water, a compass and map, a flashlight, and a random weapon." the lady said, "The random weapons are used to eliminate natural advantages! You might get lucky and receive a great weapon! Check that out later. AND ONE LAST THING!!!!
This is the 3000th game of Battle Royale, a very special game. I'm not allowed to give out anything about this special game, but the only advice I can give you is to keep your head up, and remember that wits can help you just as much as strength."
"Good luck students." Mr. Gamba called out. He gave another grin drenched in anger.
"Now, I will call out your names in no particular order." An army man spoke out. There was a list in his hands. "Please come foward and receive your pack as soon as you are called. After you receive your pack, exit out the door over to my left, enter down the hallway and exit the building."

Everyone looked around. This was it. Some students looked frightened to death, while others had a determined look on their face.

"Kayla Seals."

Charity looked at her best friend in horror as she stepped up to the front of the classroom to receive her pack. The blonde-haired girls pack had a giant number 1 printed on the front. Charity could see her trembling as she ran out of the room with the huge black bag over her shoulders. It was like watching her friend march to the grave.

"Charity Sheldon"

Charity was too shocked to step forward.

"Chartiy Sheldon?" the man called out again.
"Charity, don't be shy." Mr. Gamba called out. Her legs felt stiff as she walked to the front of the room. The man threw the pack at her so hard that it fell out of her hands. She picked it up, slung it over her shoulder, and looked back at the class behind her. Like Kayla, she was trembling as well.
Charity knew that the faster she got out of the building, the more time she had to run away from the other students. She had to catch up to Kayla as well.

Once Charity got out of the building, she looked around her. The area was very tropic like, something very new to Charity. There were two trails in front of
her. The first trail led into a dense jungle, and the other led down a hill, towards the ocean. Charity didn't have time to think, she would be dead if she didn't start running. She entered the jungle, following the uphill path.

It seemed like forever, but Charity finally made it to some abandoned shack. She hid behind the shack, and opened her bag. she took out the flashlight first, looking around her to see if there were any dangers. She realized that the number on her bag was 2. this was a coincedence, since 2 was Charity's lucky number. Next, she looked at her weapon. She reached in, and felt something metal, long and thin. Hoping it was some sort of sword, spear, or gun, Charity reached in to find a blowgun. She also found a plastic bag, containing multicolored darts. She quickly realized some of the darts could be fitted on to a compartment on the blowgun. She quickly did so, and then with the blowgun in hand, ran into the deep forest, finding bushes and shrubs for concealment. She hoped Kayla was nearby.

Meanwhile...

"Nikolai Resnov and Caleb Davenport. You two are next." The military man called out. Mr. Gamba gave some sort of devious smile when Nikolai's name was called out, almost as if he knew something that the other children didn't.

Caleb, eyes glued to the monitor, was shaking in fear. Had he heard her right? He couldn't tell. She sounded WAY to cheerful. But it sounded like they had to kill each other in three days or else everyone died. He also saw that there was more to this game, including danger zones that change and some other things that were special that came along with the 3000th Battle Royal they didn't specifically tell them. That only made Caleb fret more.

There was, at least, a little good news going into this...they weren't going without equipment. Each person got food and water, so there was no chance of dehydrating to death, a flashlight for the dark, a compass and a map of the island so he could track his location and keep out of danger zones, and a random weapon. An army man stepped forward, calling out names and handing out packs. He was nearly shaking out of his seat. This was it, there was no way out of this. Everyone was tense in the room as they knew only one of them would walk out of here or none of them.

Kayla and Charity were called on first as they, fearfully took their packs and left the building, entering the survival arena. He didn't know if he was ever going to see them again. Then, the next two names were called. "Nikolai Resnov and Caleb Davenport. You two are next. Caleb, shakily, stood up. Looking around the room, he spotted one of the two people who weren't in the class, the boy to be exact, standing up. Like before, something cold, evil, and sinister layed behind Nikolai and it was something he didn't want to find out.

He ran up there first, nearly falling over from the pack that was thrusted at him, then ran outside into the tropic air. There were two paths, one leading down to the ocean, the other went into the jungle on an incline. He knew cover was a valuable thing, so he ran into the forest, climbing up the train for the first hundred feet, then making a sharp right, leaving the trail and entering the jungle. He ran right for a few hundred more feet into pure dark before looking back, turning on the flashlight to see if he could see the trail. He couldn't. Sighing in relief, he sat down and opened his pack. There was the food and water and the compass and map. He had already found the flashlight, so what was his weapon? He felt his hand into the bag until something cold brushed past his fingers. He picked it up and pulled it out. There, in his hands, lay a hatchet, a relatively simple weapon. It was okay, he figured as he got up on his feet, tossing the hatchet into his bag. There was a clang of metal and he froze. Was there something else there? He Searched through the bag and found another hatchet. He had two? he wondered. He decided not to question it further, pulling them out as he gave a few practice swings. He felt a little better, a little more secure. But what he wanted to make him feel invincible was a bow with multiple arrows. It was the only weapon that would feel comfort entering his hand. He hoped that one of the packs contained such an item. He looked at his axes and realized that they had a couple more uses besides hacking and slashing his classmates.

He walkeed up to a nearby tree and brought one of the axes forward, hearing a thunk as it buried itself into the tree trunk. He then aimed his other axe a little higher up the tree, the same sound resulting. With great effort, he pulled out the other axe, now hanging from the second one, and buried the sharp edge into the tree, a little higher than the second one. He could climb with these! Smiling at his success, he repeated the process, over and over again, until he was at the top of the tree. He climbed up the branches and reached the point where he could see over the trees. He looked out at the scenery around him.

It was an island, as the perky lady had said. He could see the moon glistening off of the water in the distance. He saw that the edge of the island was surrounded by cliffs. It was a death wish to jump off and try to land in the water. But some people will probably try it anyway, not necesarily to escape, but to commit suicide. All of this was a little too much to take in.

Around the island, he saw the school building, the jungle trees around him, and the field to the right of him. He made a mental note to not go into the field unless he wanted to die. Looking at the top of the hill, he saw a cabin that appeared to be abandoned. He also chose not to go there, for a lot of people might be heading there. He also saw a lighthouse and a warehouse and another normal farm house as he gazed across the island, all of them were mentally marked as no-nos. He took his axes and began to climb down.

He had reached the bottom and he heard guns in a certain direction. There were guns in the packs? He looked at his axes, less confidently. He needed a bow and arrow soon, or at least some long range weapon. Suddenly, a rustling sound emerged to the right of him. He thought of Nikolai as he dove behind a tree.

"Wait!" a girl spoke. Caleb peeked around the corner to find Kayla, standing there, her pack slung around her back. "Caleb?" she spoke again, softly, fearfully.

"Hold your hands in the air," Caleb finally found his voice, speaking quietly. He wanted to make sure this girl wasn't trying to kill him by luring his in. Kayla gave him a questionable look before raising her hands. Caleb came from behind the tree, his axes poised, as he backed off a few more feet before speaking again. "What do you want?" he whispered. He studied her body, making sure she had no weapon of any kind within her reach. "I-I just want to find Charity," she replied. Caleb relaxed a bit, but just a bit. Everyone knew Kayla and Charity were best friends, so it would make sense that they would team up for now. "Well, I haven't seen her," Caleb whispered back,"Have you tried the cabin at the top of the hill? She might be there."

Kayla nodded, muttering a "Thank you," before rushing off in that direction. Caleb sighed as she left, slumping behind a tree and taking a sip of water. He was tired, his muscles sore from climbing the tree. He climbed a smaller tree, one that had branches, and climbed as far as the leaves, but stopped just under them. Sighing, he curled on a wide branch and went to sleep. The last thing he heard before entering the dream state was another gun. The sound of death right before going to sleep is so reassuring, he thought, still surprised that he was thrusted into this. Tomorrow, he was going to find a bow and arrows...