Taking place in an alternate 21st century, Blood Trails centers around a totalitarian country referred to as the Greater Republic. Formed after a failed rebellion half a century ago, the police and military carry out the orders of the head of state.
The year is now 2030. Life continues on like usual for many, but the pressures of being surveilled and crack downs on things like counterculture media, subversive books, and immoral behavior make things hard for anyone who isn't seen as conforming to martial law—with those who are considered a threat being captured and detained.
Shortly after the government came into power, it established a military program referred to as the Battle Readiness and Survival Program (BRSP or BRS), where fifty classes of high school students are randomly selected and kidnapped; each class is dropped off at a remote location and forced to kill one another until only one student remains. The names of the affected school classes and the faces of the winners are typically broadcasted on TV after the fact, though they are forgotten about soon after due to the annual nature of these death games.
Formed in response to “outbreaks of lawlessness and mob action” (the government’s words for protests and an attempted rebellion) in 1980, the Greater Republic’s government effectively controls everything and is free to ban or deny the right to anything that doesn’t promote or glorify it, or threatens the peace. The head of state is referred to by the public simply as the Commander or Director. There are regulations in place to prevent unlawful assembly, association, procession, petition, or strikes, as well as measures to regulate television shows, movies, newspapers, magazines, the internet, and book publications. One such edict is a nation-wide curfew that lasts from midnight to 4 a.m., implemented under the pretext of protecting public safety and lowering crime rates.
Propaganda pieces are regularly created in the arts and run by newspapers, which are sometimes subjected to last-minute editorial changes before publication or distribution to suit the government. Many of the newspapers and news stations are owned by the government body. There are lists of books and media pieces that are banned and have been either confiscated, burned, or removed from publication. Rock and roll music as a whole is banned because of its “immorality.” As with all things prohibited, there are still some who engage with it at risk of being caught.
The Greater Republic arrests anyone that voices criticism of government policy, as well as those who are perceived as a threat or reported for suspicious behavior. Those caught engaging in illegal activity are also arrested, but depending on the offense they may only serve jail time. It’s not uncommon for someone to disappear and for people to find out only later that they were detained or arrested.
All characters are part of Class D of Bellmare Girls Academy’s senior student body. A well known school in good standing located in the city of Port Maria, Bellmare Girls Academy has rigorous math, science, literature, sports, and arts programs with extracurriculars and opportunities for students to bolster their academic resumes. It also offers merit-based scholarships to those who maintain excellent grades.
Seniors are divided into different homerooms, and have been part of the same homeroom class of students for all four years of high school (if they attended the school for their entire high school career). Your homeroom teacher has been with you each year as well.
Students remain in the same classroom for each class and different teachers come in to teach each subject; the only exceptions to this are classes like art, physical education, and home economics. Homeroom is the first period of class everyday and used for delivering announcements and taking attendance.
Port Maria is one of the more bustling cities of the Greater Republic, and serves as a hub for trade both inside and outside of the city. Contrary to the Greater Republic’s reputation for being self-reliant and isolationist, it still does trade with a select few countries to gain essential goods—thus, people enjoy living in Port Maria for its easy access to goods. Some prefer it because they can try and learn unfiltered information of the outside world, but the growing military presence near the docks and trading hubs in recent years makes it hard to do so.
It’s not uncommon for the average civilian to see military officers or government workers in Port Maria. Still, most people go about their day without commenting on it. Citizens typically start clearing out of the streets by 10 PM, and many establishments close before 11:30 PM. Neighborhood patrollers look out for anyone on the street when curfew begins at midnight, and those caught receive a fine or are taken into police detention. Curfew ends at 4 AM so that those working early mornings can begin their commute.
A program created by the military where 50 classes of high school students across the country are forced to participate in free-for-all death matches. The program is conducted until only one student remains in a class, though there have been rare instances where no one remained at the end. The government claims that the program helps the military research survival skills and battle readiness. This year marks the 48th year of the BRSP being run.