June 9, 2017: Denton, New Jersey
Summer was fast approaching for P.J. Hobbs Senior High, and many of the students were eager to be free of school to enjoy their holidays. There were still tests to do and projects to finish, but at least for a day that had all been put on hold. Today was a trip day. More specifically, the seniors were all going to the aquarium. It had become a summer tradition for the school to take the seniors somewhere interesting but still educational for a day before finals; doing so helped the students relieve some of the stress of the tough summer period but also still ostensibly promoted learning.
The last bus in the convoy was having a bad time, however. They were apparently having some sort of engine troubles, and so had been left behind by the other buses, in theory to catch up later. Everyone had been instructed to stay on the bus. That started to become an issue as the temperature rose. The rising heat was made even worse as windows on the bus were all jammed shut and the air conditioning was broken. Despite the students' protests, they were unable to disembark the vehicle because they were pulled over on the highway and as such it was a "health and safety risk."
Mr. Gary Dolph was left to sit and occasionally question the driver as to how much longer they would have to wait. The man had promised it wouldn't be too long before walking outside to make a call, but when he returned he was tutting and shaking his head.
"We're going to have to go and get this sorted out. Just a trip to the depot, and once we get there we can switch buses."
"Can't you just call a replacement to here?" Mr. Dolph asked, trying and failing to mask his displeasure.
The bus driver shook his head as he returned to his seat and snapped the belt buckle shut. "No can do. We've got a guy on holiday and our backup driver called in sick, and everyone else is already on a job. It'll be fine though. It'll be get to the warehouse, unload, onto the new bus, and go. Ten minutes max. Fifteen if anyone needs the toilet."
Mr. Dolph rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Fine. I guess we have no choice."
He stood from his seat and delivered the news to the children, who mostly reacted with groans, annoyance, and complaints. Cries about the windows and air-conditioning situation were also thrown around. Truthfully, Mr. Dolph could hardly blame them. This was supposed to be a fun, relaxed day out to the aquarium, and now they were going to be late, not to mention the hassle of an exchange at the bus depot.
Rubbing the bridge of his nose again, Mr. Dolph he sat down as the bus pulled away. He hoped the temperature wouldn't rise anymore than it already had. The on-board conditions of the bus wouldn't do anything to help them, and it was set up perfectly to become a sweat box. Being crammed in an unintentional sauna full of stinky teens was the last thing he needed.
He tried to think happier thoughts. He had a long holiday planned over the summer. He and his fiancée were going on a tour of Southeast Asia (paid by her salary, of course—a public school teacher could make enough to spend a weekend in Albany). He was counting down to the final bell right along with the students. They weren't going straight to the airport, of course, but after the week allotted to ensure all his end of year paperwork was in order it was off to Seoul.
As Mr. Dolph drowned out the grumbles of the students by day-dreaming about his eventual holiday, the bus turned off the highway and down a narrow and seemingly-abandoned street, ending up outside a dingy, graffiti riddled warehouse. He frowned as he turned to face the driver who merely gave a half-shrug.
"Kids like tagging it or something, I dunno. It's not the main depot, but it serves this district. Otherwise we'd have to go an hour the other direction."
A gate at the front of the warehouse slid open and as they drove through they were waved further inside by a pair of severe-looking men with assault rifles, wearing what looked like helmets or gasmasks. It was then Mr. Dolph started to realize exactly what was happening. Much as he tried to deny it, he felt his heart rate increase and sweat form on his brow. But no, surely he was being paranoid. It was a bad part of town. They needed security, right? And what could he do anyways?
Seconds later, when they were fully inside the warehouse, the bus stopped. Mr. Dolph heard the gate rumble closed behind them. The children had gone silent. The front doors opened, but the driver didn't get up; instead he pushed the seat back, raised his feet, and rested them on the wheel, whistling softly to himself.
The pair of armed men came around and climbed aboard the bus, followed by a larger, upbeat looking man in a suit. Despite his hefty appearance, he moved with a practiced ease and had a glint behind his eyes that put Mr. Dolph even more on edge then he already was. Bringing up the rear was what Mr. Dolph assumed was a woman, but he found it hard to tell as she was wearing bulky body amour and what was definitely a gasmask. Unlike his three masked companions, the more rotund man appeared to be unarmed. Mr. Dolph hurriedly glanced out the window, and caught movement on the edges of the warehouse—there were more people out there, but he couldn't discern much detail. He thought they were also armed, though.
"What's going on here?" Mr. Dolph said, working his way to his feet, fighting the shakiness that had suddenly overtaken him. He wasn't a fighter, but the hair on his neck was tingling and he was starting to wonder just how far he could get if he made a break for it.
The portly man chuckled. "Nothing to worry about, sir. Just a quick little detour. We're the DEA"—he flashed a badge so quickly Mr. Dolph couldn't see anything besides that it was shiny and brass—"and we've just got to carry out an inspection on buses in this area. Drug trafficking. There's a recent epidemic, you see. If you'd like to step outside, one of my team here will explain the situation to you."
One of the masked men in stepped out of the bus, and Mr. Dolph moved to follow him, but then stopped himself. There was no more masking the thought that had been rumbling uneasily in his mind since first he caught sight of the weapons. That incident, five years ago, an entire busload of students forced to fight to the death. It'd been posted online in some sick broadcast. He shook his head.
"No, I don't think I'll be going outside just yet. I'll be staying here with my students. Can I see that badge ag—"
Mr. Dolph never got to finish his question, as a bullet pierced his temple, sending bits of brain and skull splattering into the front side window of the bus. His body crumpled to the floor, blood continuing to leak out of the wound. The students, who had been watching and conversing among themselves in a mixture of confusion and trepidation, now began to scream and panic, but the masked figures quieted them by leveling their rifles.
The rotund man pulled a face and looked over at the bus driver, who was holding a pistol.
"That wasn't very dramatic, Shamino." He looked back down at the body of Mr. Dolph. "Then again, I can't say I'd rate his abilities as a teacher. He was clinging so desperately to his ignorance. 'See my badge again?' Really? This was probably for the best."
The driver, apparently called Shamino, just shrugged and pulled a gas mask on over his head.
The portly man closed his eyes briefly before resuming his smile and clapping his hands together.
"Regardless, I'd like your attention, children. I hope you won't make my associates enforce it." He gestured at his armed companions, who had already done a pretty good job of clarifying his wishes via body language. "My name is Victor Danya, and as you can probably gather from the state of your former caretaker, I'm the new custodian of your little field trip. But don't worry. I intend to keep things much more lively around here than my predecessor."
The bus remained silent. Danya grinned and gave a small shrug.
"Not my best opening, I'll admit."
He brushed down his suit jacket and cleared his throat before continuing.
"Unfortunately, I have to announce a change in the itinerary for your trip today. I'm sorry to inform you that you won't be going to the aquarium. Oh, but don't worry: you'll still learn plenty of valuable lessons about the natural order—y'know, the food web, predator-prey relationships, so on. You see, your new destination is an island we have set up specifically for you. Upon arrival, you will be outfitted with weapons. You will have collars fitted around your necks, and you will kill each other. Once only one of you remains, they will be returned home. Really, doesn't this all just sound much more exciting than watching some fish swim around an over-sized bowl?"
The bus remained silent.
"That's what I expected," Danya said with a sigh and a small shake of his head. "No one ever appreciates it until they experience it themselves."
He stepped forward, over the body of Mr. Dolph, as he continued to speak.
"As you can tell"—and here he gestured to the slowly expanding pool of blood coming from remained of Mr. Dolph's skull—"we're not joking about this. We expect you to do as we say. No resistance—not that you have much choice or chance, since we have all the guns on this bus."
Despite Danya's upbeat demeanor, the atmosphere on the bus was tense. It was clear that at moment more brutal violence could be unleashed, should that be what his whim dictated. The armed figures kept their weapons pointed. Outside, the others had stepped closer, and they too were armed and masked. The many different threats rested in the stale air almost suffocating the students.
"Let me give you a little more detail, just so as we're all clear on what is expected of everyone here," Danya said. "You'll each receive supplies and a randomly drawn weapon. You will also be fitted with one of our very trendy and fashionable collars. They contain explosives, however, so if you try to remove them, go somewhere we've told you not to go, or just generally make a nuisance of yourself, we can push a button and pop, there you go."
Danya made the gesture of an explosion with his right hand.
"I'm sure I don't have to explain how messy that can be.
"Now, I know that you are probably thinking that you'll never stoop so low as to kill one of your classmates. I know you're already fantasizing about how if you all join together you can take us down and escape. Before you put your eggs into that little basket, though, please keep in mind our rules: at most, only one person will survive. Furthermore, if ever twenty-four hours pass without a death, we'll just detonate all the collars, and nobody gets to go home. So, the question I have for you is, why not you?
"Look at the person you're sitting next to. They may be thinking right now that they'll be the special one. And hey, maybe they're right. But maybe they're not. Maybe you've got what it takes. I believe that every one of you has the potential—that's what makes the whole thing interesting.
"There are also cameras set up all around our island so that we can keep track of you. We take monitoring your activities seriously, and in case you were wondering, messing with the cameras is absolutely making a nuisance of yourself and will probably lead to us blowing your head off.
"Hmm, what else? What else? Ah, yes! Every day, roughly around nine in the morning, I'll make an announcement telling you who's died and who's been killing. I'll also tell you some areas where you can't go, which we call 'Danger Zones.' It's an easy enough concept to remember. Danger Zones fall into the category of 'places we've told you not to go.' I'm sure you have a good idea what happens if you go in a Danger Zone, yes? That's right, you explode. Congratulations.
"Once our little game has concluded, I'll have a meeting with the winner, and then pretty soon they'll be able to go home." Danya paused and appeared to think for a moment, before snapping his fingers. "Oh, right, of course. They get to go home, just as long as they've killed at least one person. Silly me." He shook his head and chuckled lightly. "If they haven't managed to notch their belt but somehow survive anyways, well, I'll just throw them into our next game and hopefully they'll have learned their lesson.
"As for waiting for help from above or abroad: nobody's coming to save you. And, hey, if I'm wrong and the marines turn up, I'll just detonate all your collars, so you'd better hope nobody gets cute. In fact, I strongly advise you get this whole thing sorted out as quickly as possible. It'd be a shame if it all turned out to be a waste of time because somebody messes with us just as you're about to win.
"Well, thanks for listening. Ta ta for now."
With that, Danya turned and strolled off the bus. Two seconds later, he hopped back up the steps.
"Sorry, I forgot to ask if anyone had any questions."
No one on the bus moved, and Danya grinned, the glint behind his eyes clear for all to see.
"Didn't think there would be. Rice, do it."
As Danya turned on his heel and hopped off the bus once more, one of the masked men pushed a button near the steering wheel and the air conditioning unit shuddered to life. A light hissing sound started as a gas began to fill the bus. The students quickly began slumping over or slouching down in their seats as they fell prey to the effects of the gas and were rendered unconscious.
By the time they awoke, they would be on the island and the game would be in progress.
GAME START: Day One (Saturday, June 10, 2017) 09:00
Weather: It's a breezy but temperate day, largely free of clouds. The sun shines brightly down on the island, but it is not hot; indeed, as evening approaches things become slightly brisk. Tonight is the last night of the full moon. The First Announcement will arrive at 09:00 on Sunday, June 11.
Weather: It's a breezy but temperate day, largely free of clouds. The sun shines brightly down on the island, but it is not hot; indeed, as evening approaches things become slightly brisk. Tonight is the last night of the full moon. The First Announcement will arrive at 09:00 on Sunday, June 11.