Chapter 18

Starkas

"Not again, not again, not again! Not the acid poison again, Dad please don't!" Starkas said, crying.

"It's a demonstration to the capitol, it must be done, to make them feel the pain they did us tributes in the hunger games, you will understand when you grow up." Tom said trying to comfort his son.

Starkas is 12 years old, living with his father, Tom, in the castle, ruling the capitol. His mother, Emma died when she gave birth to him. His father always blamed him for his mother's death, he was the reason, although his mother didn't die giving him birth, she vanished after his birth and then said to be dead. Starkas never knew what having a mother was like, he always lived with his father, Tom, drunk ever since his wife Emma died.

All Starkas wanted was peace, a normal and happy life, a family. Starkas loves roaming around the castle exploring it, curious about what he will find, all the builders who built this were mute avoxes, they couldn't say anything about the secret rooms. It is said there is many secret rooms, Starkas always sneaks out at night to find one. Thus far he only found one secret room; hidden under his mother's bed chambers, a room dark by day and night so tom had to get a torch everytime he entered, it has control panels and another bed in that secret room. 'Does father know about this? If I tell him will he keep the room or destroy it? It's my only hiding spot that no one knows of, I can't tell him about it' Starkas thought. He never dared touch any of the buttons on the control panel but he got tempted once and stopped at the last second.

Starkas went to that room, crying. He never wanted this, he never wanted his father to torture the capitol with poison rain, he didn't like his father being drunk all the time. Starkas noticed hair on the bed in the secret room. It was pure black, dark. Starkas put his torch near him to see the hair, he touched it and examined it. 'It's warm?' A shiver started creeping up on him, Starkas started panicking, looking around him suddenly, scared.

"Hello, child!" A voice so thick and old came out from behind him, Starkas turned back fast and dropped the torch at the sight of him, he was shaped like a human, but didn't look like one, he looked like something that has lived here for years, his dark hair. 'The one I found on the bed? Could he be...' His face looked dark blue, eyes wide with a stripe of black as his pupil, hair covered him top to bottom, he was old, his nails were so long it could make a sword, his clothes were torn up and messy, old and dirty.

"No need to be afraid child," The man said in a calm voice. "I'm here to help you."

Starkas did not replay, he was too scared to speak, the words got stuck in his throat, they could not leave.

"I know your mother."

"Y-Y-You do? H-How? Isn't she d-dead?"

"Oh is that what you think? Do you think she's dead? Oh no, you're wrong, you're so wrong."