The Death Games

The President's Message

It had been well over 40 years since the first Hunger Games book came out, and they still hadn’t dropped in popularity. The President of the United States of America slouched at his desk, exhausted and sick of all the drama caused by the series. He sighed, rubbed his balding head, and then rang a little golden bell sitting on the edge of his wooden desk. 

His advisor quietly opened the heavy door, and slipped through, shutting it behind him, blue eyes scanning the room.

“Sir, the public’s thirst for blood hasn’t been satisfied yet, even after we aired those violent programs yesterday.” the President's Advisor said.

"I know, I know…” the President sighed. “We have to do something else… Something more.”

“Well…” his Advisor ventured. “We could always hold a Hunger Games of our own.”

The President righted himself in his chair, and stared his advisor down. “Are you insane? All that I’ve done since I came to office is oppose that ever happening. The last thing we need is to make the public want more.”

“What else can we do?”

“We could always hire another movie director…”

“Sir, even you must know that the last few times we tried that, nothing changed.”

“We do nothing then.”

“With all due respect, you cannot just do nothing. I’ve heard of people planning to forcibly eject you from your position, and I can assure you, that will happen if you refuse to do something now.”

The President looked down at the floor, considering his options. Then he said, and looked back at his advisor. “Very well. We will hold a ‘Hunger Games’. But with a twist.”

“A twist?”

“Yes. I may have relented on this matter, but I have hope that people will see the true horror of these games, and they’ll become unpopular. The twist is that instead of randomly selecting children from various locations, we shall select one school. And hopefully, neighborhood by neighborhood, the public’s thirst for violence shall be quenched.”

The President’s Advisor gazed back at the President, his expression unreadable. After a while, he spoke up. “I shall collect the names of the schools in this country for you.” he paused. “And do clean up a little, we’re going to have to announce this to the country on television.”

- 2 Days Later - 

“Monopoly night!” Leo Caulderwood cheered as he raced down the stairs, his six year old sister, Kia, tottering after him.

Every Friday, his family had a Monopoly night, where they played Monopoly, his father vs him vs his mother and Kia. He usually won. Leo’s family was one of the few families who still owned a board game, as almost everyone else had moved onto more modern methods of entertainment.

Leo led Kia over to her chair, and helped her climb into it. Then he moved to the other side of the table and shot her a smile. A moment later, his father came in, carrying the ancient looking Monopoly box, his mother following.

“Alright! You kids ready to play?” His father exclaimed.

Both Leo and Kia nodded eagerly.

The Monopoly game was placed on the table and set up quickly, everyone grabbing their usual player. They went a few rounds, and then they were interrupted by an incessant beeping from the living room.

“Ah. Mandatory Government viewing.” His mother said through a tight smile. “We’ll be right back.”

His mother and father left the room, and after sitting there for a minute, Leo decided to pour himself a glass of water. Then, out of boredom, he decided to go see what his parents had to watch.

“Kia, stay here.” he whispered, moving out of the room and down the hallway, to where he stood in the doorway of the living room.

Both of his parents sat on the couch, illuminated in the flickering glow from the television screen. The President was on screen, seated in an uncomfortable looking chair, his advisor standing off to one side.

The President was speaking. “…we have decided to listen to your demands, and hold a Hunger Games, but with a twist.”

Leo stood there, frozen, a combination of curiosity and anxiety keeping him immobile. His family had never gotten into the Hunger Games, finding it to be too violent. Leo would go to school every day, and hear whispers about it, even though the series had started to become popular way before he was born. 

Everyone wanted it to be a thing, so they could actually watch people beat each other to death on screen, and sponsor gifts for them. There were even a few insane ones who actually wanted to be in a game, so they could finally kill without fear or punishment.

The President was still talking. “First off, as our version of the games, we’re calling these The Death Games. Second, instead of reaping tributes, we shall select one school from the country, and the students attending shall be reaped. To deal with the mass amount of tributes, we shall have two parts. Preliminaries, where everyone from the school fights, until 24 remain. Then, we shall hold interviews, and move on the actual Death Games. Third, we shall have one female and one male victor. After winning, the winners will be able to ask for one thing, and the government shall purchase the object for them.”

The camera moved to focus on the President’s Advisor. “Now, for the drawing.” he said, producing a wooden box.

He reached in, and rummaged around for a bit. Then, he plucked out a piece of paper. “Chatwell Academy!”

Leo stumbled, as if shot, and his glass of water slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor.

His parents turned around, and looked as if they wanted to say something, but they weren’t sure what. His father rose to his feet, then sat down again.

Leo burst into tears and fled, running up the stairs, and slamming the door to his bedroom. He leaned up against the door, and slowly sank to the floor, only one thought echoing in his head.

I’m going to die.