A Battle Royale Fanfic written by The Wax Factory that chronicles the eponymous Program, in which 42 students from Spanish Rivers High School are kidnapped by the fascist U.S. government and sent to a remote island of the coast of Florida called Cuna Cielo. Here, they are each assigned a weapon and must fight to the death within 3 days, until only one remains.
As in the original book, they are fitted with explosive collars and must avoid preset Danger Zones.
The story is notable for taking established character archetypes (the Alpha Bitch, the Jerk Jock, the nerd, etc.) and gradually developing them into well-rounded, believable characters.This Fan Fic is sadly defunct as of September 2010.
As of April 2013, the Author has officially announced its death, but also thankfully posted a summary of what the second half of the story would have entailed had it continued.
It can be read here
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Tropes present in this work:
- Abusive Parents: Lea's aunt holds Lea's arm under scalding water after she questions the existence of heaven. Chris's dad also emotionally abuses and belittles him.
- Alpha Bitch: Subverted by Amber, Shyla, Erin, and Victoria, who turn out to be sympathetic characters. Played straight by Adrienne, who also happens to be a psychotic murderer.
- Author Appeal: Classic Rock bands and songs (especially The Beatles) are frequently mentioned.
- Berserk Button: Even so much as hint at threatening David or someone he cares about and he will tear you limb from limb. This ends up getting him killed.
- Blind Without 'Em: Demi, after her glasses are destroyed in a fight with Lea.
- Character Development: Most prominently, Erin, who goes from a personality-less follower of Adrienne to a main viewpoint character.
- Chekhov's Gun: Chris's weapon (a medical kit) which Preston later kills him with.
- Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Subverted by Terry. Other characters initially think of her as this, but she's much more down to earth than expected, if a bit of an idealist.
- The Dog Bites Back: Preston snaps after years of abuse and brutally kills Jerk Jock Chris.
- Gentle Giant: Winston, who refuses to lay a hand on anyone, despite his imposing stature.
- Groin Attack: Lea castrates Meyerhold with a pair of bolt cutters.
- Heroic BSoD: Peter has a mental breakdown and abandons his friends after Roxy is killed. Logan helps him through it just in time for him to be killed by Adam.
- A House Divided: Zane and his friends (J.C., Jesse, Skylar, and Rory) quickly turn on each other.
- I Just Shot Marvin in the Face: Mitch accidentally shoots Risa with her own gun after disarming her.
- Karma Houdini: Mare never gets comuppence (as far as we know) for her part in Winston's death and is made a sympathetic character shortly afterwards.
- Made of Iron: Lea. She is crushed by a bookshelf and shot several times by Prudence Mercedes, but just keeps coming back.
- Made of Plasticine: Lea apparently hits Enrique so hard in the back with a golf club that it tears off enough flesh to
expose his spine. - Manipulative Bastard: Jude, who is adept at exploiting other peoples' weaknesses and orchestrates the deaths of several classmates by tricking them into killing each other or themselves. Adrienne also qualifies, but is less successful, as she attempts to turn Amber's Girl Posse against her.
- Mercy Kill: Adrienne uses this as her justification for killing Victoria, whose injury (a brick to the head) was probably survivable.
- Mistaken for Murderer: J.C. thinks that Zane murdered Jesse and Skylar, because she finds him standing over their bodies after they had been arguing with him.
- Only Sane Man: Jesse is the most reasonable of Zane's group of friends.
- Psychopathic Manchild: Darren, who because of his Down's Syndrome is basically a five-year old in a fifteen-year old's body. He also wants to "die" people.
- Rouge Angles of Satin: Becomes noticeable after awhile.
- Sacrificial Lamb: Mae and Enrique pretty much exist to be killed by Jude and Lea, respectively, establishing the latter two as villains.
- The Stoner: Rory North is an extreme example, as he is barely coherent throughout most of the story and is not Played for Laughs.
- Stuff Blowing Up: The tram station where Miguel, David, and Erin are taking refuge, due to stupidity on Miguel's part.
- Together in Death: Jesse and Skylar, who commit suicide with Rory's "weapon" (sleeping pills).
- Who's Laughing Now?: Subverted by Meyerhold, who sets out to get back at his classmates for bullying him, but loses his nerve after wounding Logan with a hand saw.
- Your Head Asplode: Risa and Mae die in this manner. Risa is shot in the head and Mae is tricked into a Danger Zone by Jude.
