"Harrison, Colin!" Ms. Gold calls out. Hearing your name, you walk up, calm and
collected. Other kids are whispering to each other, but you know what's going on and
don't see the need for words. She hand you an AK-47 and a gray pill. You're not one to
trust, so you ask,"What will this turn me into?". At first, she seems annoyed, but your hard
stare and your serious attitude must have made her see that you weren't just an over-
eager kid. "That's technically confidential," she says,"But a lone wolf like you shouldn't
have any trouble figuring out what it is". Walking back to your seat, a big, burly jock you
knew from school stands up in front of you. "Look at you, all calm and quiet. I'll bet you
think you're going to be the one who survives". He was bigger than you and all muscle.
You weren't scared, though. You weren't exactly muscle bound, but you definitly aren't a
wimp. If it came to a fist fight, you'd be hard to beat. As it was, you had a loaded AK-47,
he didn't. You doubted he'd start anything other than words with you. "Well," you answer
him,"I sure as Hell don't plan on dying". And you walk back to your seat. You start to plan
what you'll need to do. You also watch to see what everyone else gets. You won't know
their animal, but you can see their weapon. A lot of them obviously don't know how to use
their weapon. But a few do. You make a mental note of who they are. You know them all
and think of how they will use their weapon based on their character. You especially
watch Ean, the jock who confronted you earlier. He gets an orange pill and a machette.
Interesting, hand-to-hand combat. After you all have your weapons and pills, Ms. Gold
speaks to everyone again. "Okay, now I'm sure you all have questions and concerns. Is
this real? The answer is, kind of. In hand combat, a winner will be decided before anyone
dies. In firearms combat, you will not shot at your opponent, but rather a target they will
try to defend while both of you are wearing bullet-proof vests. If you kill anyone,
accidental or not, you will immediately face equal reprocussions. In other words, you will
be killed, too. Next, do I have to use this weapon? The answer is, no. There will be
sheets going around to fill out with what weapons you would like. However, you must use
your assigned weapon in at least five fights, if you have not been eliminated by then. Will
I remain as an animal? After the tournament; not unless you want to. But during the
tournament you must remain an animal. Finally, can we team up? Yes, you may team up,
but remember, in the end there can be only one victor. So don't get too friendly. If you
have any other questions, please consult this handbook which you can get a copy of on
the front desk. Finally, before you go, fill out the weapons form, notify me of any
partnering, take your pill with a cup of water before you go to sleep, rest up tonight, and
good luck tomorrow. Outside, you sit underneath a dead tree to consult the handbook.
You have to know what's legal and what isn't. You want to go as far as you can and be
able to call your opponent on any penalty. There will be an observer for each fight. You
may call a timeout any time you wish. The first one is free, after that, you may only call a
timeout to request a penalty. If you are right, you get either a free shot at their target, or
an extra weapon to fight with. If you are wrong, however, they get the same choice of
benefits. After reading the rule book, you get up to go to your bunker room. Before you
make it 50 feet, though, a foreign-exchange student from Germany calls you over. He is
carrying a two-handed sword and a yellow pill is visible in his hand. He is Hitler's perfect
German, blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin. He speaks in a heavily accented English.
"Guten Tag, Herr Harrison, I saw dat speaking you had vith der big kid vith der square
jaw. I very much admire your strong vill and vould like to join you in das fighting."
"I usually work alone," you answer. Then again, he was faster, and better with a sword.
You weren't very good with swordsmanship and he would be nice to have at your back.
"On second thought," you answer,"I would like to team up with you. But if it comes down
to fighting each other, I won't hesitate".
"Nor vill I," he replys,"I vill tell Frau Gold of our alliance. Tschüss!"
You return to your barracks. Locking the door, you walk into the bathroom. Best clean off
your sweat, you'll have more than enough gathered on you after tomorrow. Stripping off
your clothes, you look at your 15-year-old body in the mirror while you wait for the water
to warm up. Knowing it would soon be an animal's body, you take a mental picture so
that you can see the changes. You have brown hair, green eyes, and are fairly tan. You're
lithe and muscular, but not amazingly so. Your inability to grow any hair other than that
on your head may seem funny to others, but you really couldn't give two shits less about
other peoples' opinions. Your tan line stops where your swim trunks ended above your
knees. Your cock is rather well-developed and uncut. Your legs are fairly long and your
feet are kind of big. You step in the shower and wash off with the provided soap. Yours
smells kind of like a dog, but a little more musky and with some pine scent added in. You
put on your shorts and t-shirt you use as pajamas and take your pill. Then you turn out
the lights and go to sleep.