The Hunger Games: Mashup

Chapter Eight

The sun peaked over the bountiful tops of the forest surrounding District 7. By now, the children would be out of bed and getting ready for school. The housewives were either making breakfast or cleaning it up. The single women would be preparing, just like the men, for the grueling work of hauling log after log through the forest.

“Morning, Shan,” called a voice. Darren turned and saw his best friend, Steve Leonard right behind him. Darren had jet black hair that was so messy it could kill a barber just by looking at it. His eyes were green and his personality was cheerful. Steve was a white haired teenager with major attitude and a rebellious streak. Although they would change to red later, Steve had green eyes and his pale skin had a slightly purple tone to it. Their secret—they both drank blood to live.

“Hey, Steve. How are you?” asked Darren. Steve cracked his shoulder as he stretched towards the sun. He gave him a look with black circles under his eyes.

“Not well at all. Aside from the fact that my mother locked me out of the house last night, I didn't get a wink of sleep,” he said to him.

“Really? What kept you up?” asked Darren. Steve snorted.

“Well, ignoring the obvious fact that I slept on my balcony after I climbed up there” he said jokingly, his voice dropped suddenly, “—I couldn't stop thinking about the Hunger Games,” said Steve quietly. Daren paled. He and Steve both may have been well qualified to be in the Hunger Games, but that didn't mean they wanted to be. Even more than that, their mayor had made it certain that the two had an even higher chance of being in the Hunger Games. Steve and Darren had never once put their names in for tessarae, yet both of their names were in the jar at least three times more than the average person. Why? Because they were creatures of the night. The mayor didn't dislike vampires or vampaneze, he just liked to cause trouble. Since he had a particularly special interest in the two boys, he made sure to cause them lost of angst and pain. It made him happy, and they couldn't do anything about it since he was just a pawn for the Capitol. He made it so if the vampires looked the part, then they would play the game. Darren, the vampire, had been 12 years old for twenty seven years, fifteen years old for thirty, and 18 years old for thirty one. Steve, although having been a vampaneze for a shorter period of time than Darren was a vampire, was 14 years old for twenty five years, 16 years old for thirty eight, and eighteen years old for twenty one.

“That's true. With our votes combined, it would be practically impossible for them not to pick one of us to fight in the games,” said Darren. Steve pouted, his eyes looking evil in the faded light. He gave Darren a cold look, and Darren gave him a smile anyways.

“I know, Steve. I know exactly what you're thinking, and I wish it as well,” he told him. Steve looked away from him in guilt this time.

“Our father gave birth to both of us without us knowing it. He chose me to be the successor to his position as mayor, and I know you wanted his love over all of that. But he disowned you...and then he tried to get me to replace him and kill you.” Darren turned back to Steve sadly. “You know why I declined his offer, right?” Darren asked.

“Because you hate our father and you would never want to have anything to do with him,” said Steve in a low voice, filled with self-pity.

“Well, there's that,” admitted Darren. “But there's also the fact that I would never want to betray you, Steve.” Steve looked up at him with a small smile, and Darren grinned at him. “You're my best friend! I would never want to hurt you like that! I'd rather die tomorrow than make you sad. I don't care if I declined taking the highest position in our village—it would be wrong,” said Darren. Steve shrugged in guilt.

“Even after all the times I tried to kill you for that very position my father denied me, you've still always been there for me,” said Steve. He looked back at Darren, smiling. “You're the best person I know, Darren. That's why I don't want you to be in the Games.”