The Reaping

In the year 2054, there was an outbreak of an illness that hit so quickly that no one had a chance to prepare for it. Billions of people died within weeks. To this day no one is sure what caused the illness, where it came from, and if it is truly gone. Countries fell and chaos ensued.
Over the next fifty years, some groups slowly became powerful and took over the fallen countries. North America was taken over by the group named The Chosen. The Chosen was a group of people who were immune to the illness who used that to their advantage. They used it to take complete control of the continent. Everything from what was Canada to the tip of what was Mexico was theirs.
Throughout the years many more would die from starvation as well as the lawlessness that was rampant until the Chosen took over. Towns and even cities were reduced to mere villages where survivors of the illness would try to group in hopes of surviving the chaos that was the world.
Over the years of control, the Chosen learned that there were more males than females left in the territory that they were in control of. The leaders began to come up with a plan to make sure that the strongest male lines and those that were worthy of it, we're able to have a mate to continue the population with. The old laws of marriage were no longer of any use, thus the annual reaping would take place.