The Seventh Trigger
A century ago, the Six Triggers stormed the Earth, leaving almost nothing in their path.
The first Trigger was famine. Almost in an instant, the entire world's crops died, and almost two-thirds of the population perished of starvation alone.
Then came poverty. The social pyramid fell. Money held no value compared to food and medicine. People stayed hidden away with dwindling supplies, anger, and sorrow. Many committed suicide, and even more became criminals.
Next came the social unrest; the dreaded Third Trigger. Anarchy broke out and the government fell. With no leadership, humanity struggled to survive when the Fourth Trigger struck.
Natural disasters shook the world and killed millions. It left no civilization in its wake, and only one of the seven continents remained. The majority of North America and its inhabitants survived; while the rest sank into the growing abyss of the oceans.
The next disaster was disease. Viruses spread like wildfire, bacteria ran rampant in the warm and moist air, and lead to the final Trigger.
Mortality.
The first sovereign rose up out of the ashes and created the five Dynasties and the Regime, declaring that each would work to create differing essential items. This time, humankind would work solely to survive, not expand. But from some projections, the Sovereign realized that she needed to limit the numbers of births while still maintaining the original population and order.
So the Sixth Trigger was made. A brutal survival game that launched all sixteen year olds onto deserted islands littered with genetically engineered animals and traps from before the Triggers for thirty days. Split into groups of five, teenagers are forced to survive with nothing but two daggers, three matches, and each other.
Tomorrow is Collection Day, and for Elara Lovejoy, her only thought is survival. But surviving the Sixth Trigger and beating the Sixth Trigger are two very different things.
