Chapter Text
“Gavin, I want to get the bad stuff out of the way first.”
“Okay,” Gavin said when Joel Heyman seemed to expect some kind of answer.
Joel leaned in. “A two? Really?”
Gavin laughed uncomfortably. “Yeah, that was something.” He rubbed his neck.
“Tell us what happened, because honestly, I don’t believe it. You look like a strong, young man.”
That’s not true, Gavin thought. But why deny it? There are millions of people watching him right now. “Well, let’s just say I am clumsy and the judges didn’t appreciate it.”
The crowd laughed. Gavin wasn’t sure if that was positive or negative.
“Aha! So, it was an accident, yes? Well, people, I think Gavin’s actions in the Arena won’t be as unfortunate, what do you think?” The crowd cheered. When they quieted down, Joel spoke again. “Now something else, Gavin. We are all wondering the same thing. Why did you Volunteer as tribute? You didn’t know Andrew Pierce, the original male tribute for District 4, for as far as we know. You know the other Volunteer, right? Everyone is dying to know,” Joel Heyman smiled, his teeth white as clouds could be.
“Well, um,” Gavin felt shy, having such an audience. He realised everyone in whole Panem was watching him right now, including Dan and his family. “Dan was the other Volunteer. He is my best friend. I couldn’t see him end up here, so I volunteered for him.”
“Mm,” Joel looked at Gavin, inspecting his face. “Best friend, you say?”
This conversation was making him more and more uncomfortable. “Yes?” he said, unsure of what Joel was getting at.
“Are you sure, this very handsome Dan fellow, isn’t something more than just a,” he paused, “‘best friend’?”
“What are you on about?” Gavin frowning, trying to remain ignorant but knowing he’s failing miserably. Blushing is a dead give-away. “Dan is not more than a friend.”
“You said best friend last time.” Gavin sputtered, he did not know what to say to something like that. “Is there, Gavin Free, anything you aren’t saying to us?” When he remained quiet, Joel stood up, walking towards the audience-end of the stage. “We would like to know, don’t we, folks?” The audience cheered loudly. It was overwhelming. Joel laughed and silenced the audience by a single gesture. “Okay, okay, okay,” he sat back down in the purple chair, looking expectantly at Gavin.
It wasn’t fair, Gavin thought. This was a lot of pressure. But he gave in. He was dead in a few days, anyways. Maybe this could be his saving grace, because he desperately needed one. The two he got was a massive hit to his self-esteem. So he sighed, and mumbled, barely audible, “Yes.”
“What’s that? I don’t think the audience could hear you.”
“Yes,” Gavin said, louder this time. “There is something I haven’t told you. I am in love with Dan.”
The crowd was cheering as well as sending Gavin some cat calls.
“And, Gavin,” Joel said softly, almost intimate, “does he feel the same about you?”
“I don’t know. He doesn’t know I feel this way about him.”
Everyone was silent. As silent as the moment after Dan Volunteered. “Well, then. That gives you another reason to win these Games, and I’m sure he wouldn’t be able to turn you down, now you admitted your feelings.”
Gavin put on a fake smile. “You’re right, Joel.”
“The time is almost over, but I wanted to ask you one last thing. Is it true that you sprained your ankle on your first day of training?”
“Yes, that is true.”
“Are you still able to compete in the Arena?” Joel seemed worried, but Gavin knew it was all an act. Joel just wanted some drama for his show.
“Yes, I am, Joel,” Gavin put on a fake smile. “Geoff Ramsey patched me up. I’m perfect, now.”
“That’s great to hear,” Joel said, flashing his too white teeth at him. The buzzer sounded. “The time is up! It was great to talk to you, Gavin. Good luck!”
The applause was bigger than he’d expected. Gavin had scored a 2, but that didn’t really seem to matter to the audience. He had the impression they liked him, but he was not sure.
Walking towards his seat, he felt like he was being watched. Sure enough, he looked up the stairs to see Michael looking at him. He sat like a king on his royal throne, letting his civilian feel under scrutiny. Gavin decided to ignore him. It was not easy.
The rest of the evening passed by quickly enough for Gavin not to be bored. It was interesting to see Jack’s and Geoff’s interview. Geoff had used his sarcastic humour often, which made the evening more entertaining.
When the Tributes for District 12 got interviewed, Gavin couldn’t help but feel intimidated and… afraid. He was already afraid of them. Both the girl and the guy felt dangerous. It was another kind of feeling than he had with Michael. The girl, Flynt Coal, and guy, Mark Nutt, talked about the Arena as if they had an agenda. Gavin didn’t like it.
When the evening was over, they walked towards their apartment. Gavin wanted to go to his room as soon as possible, so he walked ahead of the others. Gus and Barbara probably had stuff to talk about anyways, and he wasn’t feeling like talking. He’s already confessed way too much tonight. No need to talk any more. He wanted some peace.
He didn’t get any.
Barbara entered the elevator swiftly as the doors were closing. Apparently she had kept up with him. When the doors were closed, she started speaking.
“I guess now I know why you’ve volunteered for Dan.”
“Hm?” He wanted to act as nonchalant as possible. This subject had had enough attention for the night.
“The whole liking Dan thing? That’s huge. I didn’t know that. Does Dan really not know?”
Gavin held up a hand and stopped her from talking any further. “It wasn’t real. It was all an act.”
She looked at him for a second and then sighed. “Gavin, I’m tired of your shit. I’m not gonna judge you if it’s true. Look me in the eyes and tell me.”
The elevator stopped at their floor, making Barbara lose her balance and curse out loud. She was not used to the elevator yet, but Gavin was. He used his extra time to walk ahead of Barb, and run to his room.
“Gavin, stop!” He heard behind him. Something was thrown at his back. When he stopped and looked back, he saw Barbara grab her other heel and throw it towards Gavin. He laughed, not believing the madness he was in. Barb laughed as well and said softly, “Gav. You can’t keep running away from your problems.”
“You think it’s true?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“You really think so? You think I’m in love with Dan?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not. Here’s my proof.” He walked over to Barbara, grabbed her face and kissed her.
She pushed him away. “Stop!”
Gavin didn’t know why he’d done that. He got caught up in the moment, he figured. ‘Sorry.”
“Do you know why I think the story is true?” Barbara’s voice trembled a bit. Gavin just looked at her. “You’re afraid. Of everything. Of the Arena, of the interview, of me, Gus, Michael, and yourself. You’re afraid of the truth, because it is horrible. And I don’t blame you. These things are scary. Hell, Gus’ moustache looks like a black worm.” They laughed at that, it lightened the mood. “Let’s go to your room, before we get interrupted by the big black worm.”
They did. Barb sat on his bed, just like last time they talked in his room. Gavin wanted something to do, so he walked over to his cabinet and searched for something invisible and non-existing.
“Tell me the truth, Gavin. Share your secrets with me.” When Gavin didn’t stop looking into his drawer, Barbara stood up and grabbed his hand, stopping him from searching. “What are you looking for? Pictures of Dan? Admit it, you’re gay, dude.”
It was silent for a second before Gavin burst out laughing. Barbara smiled. “Barb… Okay, yeah. It’s true.”
“So, you don’t know if he likes you back. Why did you Volunteer then, Gavino?” she whispered the question, almost pondering to herself. Gavin wondered if this subject was something she’s thought about before, or only started wondering about this tonight.
“I… I don’t know.” He walked towards his bed and sat down on it. Barbara sat beside him. “Looking back, I still don’t really know.”
“Does he know?”
Gavin was surprised she changed the subject. Apparently, she just wanted to talk, and not interrogate him. “No. Well, now I guess he does. But you know Dan, he might still not believe it.”
“You’re right, he’s not the brightest fish in the sea.”
They laughed together. It sounded sad.
~~~~~
When the platform reached its destination, all Gavin could see was their surroundings. It was… odd. They were stood upon a large, circle-shaped plateau of rocks. At the end, the rocks formed a hill. It was not very large, but high enough to make looking over it impossible. He had no idea what kind of landscape the Arena would be.
Then Gavin focused on the area. Michael stood on his left, Arryn on the right. They weren’t really his enemies outside in the Arena, but were they inside? Gavin didn’t know, and he didn’t want to. His intention was to get out of here, as soon as possible, because blood would practically rain here in a few minutes.
His eye fell on a small, hand-sized bag. There wouldn’t be much in there, but it would be better than nothing, Gavin supposed. And there, to the right of the bag, bow and arrows! But if he were to grab that, he’d pass Flynt Coal, and he wasn’t so sure about her.
The Game Makers had given her a nine. And for a tribute from District 12, that’s unbelievably high. Nobody was sure what she did on her test. Besides her high score, the story she told Joel and the whole of Panem revealed her true intentions. It still gave Gavin chills. Her goal was to win, she was very clear on that. She was furious that her District was poor and so full of hunger, when in the Capitol, eating was just an annoying necessity, a small part of their day. She was so full of anger, yet she managed to be loved by the people of the Capitol. As did her fellow Tribute, Mark Nutt. He’d seen his skills with a bow, and man, did Gavin want to stay out of his line of range.
Michael had scored a seven, Lindsay an eight. Ray, as expected, had the highest score of all: a ten. Ryan scored a six, and Geoff and Jack both a five. Barbara had done better than expected and Gus had been proud of her: an eight. As for his score, he didn't want to think about it.
Gavin looked at the time. He had twenty seconds left. He still had to decide where he would go. He wanted to get the bag, but if he stayed near this area, he would almost certainly die. This was no time for mistakes. Gavin watched Flynt, trying to find out where she was headed. She seemed to lean more to the left than to the right, which was away from Gavin. He couldn’t be sure though, it was just a hunch. But again, better a hunch than nothing.
Ten seconds left. Gavin’s heart seemed to race, as if it already was running. He wanted to run already, get away from here, but if he set one foot off this platform, landmines would kill him. For what it’s worth, he’d like to live as long as possible.
Five. Gavin had decided, he’s going to go for the bag, bow, and arrows. He leaned forward, put his left leg behind his right, bended his knees and put his arms into the running position. He was ready.
One.
No, he was not ready.
He couldn’t wait. It was time to run. Gavin ran as quickly as he could, but he knew it wasn’t fast enough. He saw people running to the middle, where the most dangerous and useful weapons and other supplies were. He had to run around them to get to his things. Fuck. He had only thought about Flynt, and not Michael and the other two tributes between them.
He chose to keep running towards his things. The other tributes paid him no mind, as they have no weapon yet, and more importantly: Flynt didn't pay him attention. He had been able to get his bag pretty easily, but the bow and arrow was a different story.
When he grabbed the bow, he felt resistance. Just when he saw a boy with sleek, black hair, holding the other side of the bow, he felt a hard blow on the side of his ribs. He was lying on the ground, his hand holding the bow still/ He was about to kick the boy in his groin when a sword hit Sleeky Hair. Blood came gushing out of the guy’s stomach, but he was still alive and willing to fight for his life. Sleeky Hair attacked Gavin’s defender, but he was quickly defeated. A blow on the head knocked him out.
“Fucking run, Gavin!” Michael screamed at him, as he put a sword through Sleeky Hair’s throat. Gavin didn’t need to hear that twice. He grabbed the bow and arrows and took a run for it.
Cannons were heard behind him. He desperately wanted to look behind him, to see how Michael was doing, but he knew he couldn’t. It would cost him his life.
The grey, rocky area turned into a beautiful green jungle. Every inch of ground was covered by plants or trees; there was enough shelter. After a long amount of time running, he knew water wouldn’t be a problem too. When the day turned into night, Gavin was sitting inside of a large bush, the leaves providing safety. At least, he hoped it would.
Before he went to sleep, he looked inside his bag. There was a small piece of flint and steel, and a small black flask which seemed to have some kind of liquid in it.. He opened the black bottle and smelled the inside. He didn’t smell anything weird, so he took a small sip. Recognizing the liquid as water, Gavin drank a bit, before putting it back in his bag. Content with his loot, he fell asleep.
~~~~~
Gavin awoke to the sound of an explosion. It had sounded too close by than he’d have liked. A cannon was heard after that. He listened, wanting to know if there were any enemies nearby, but it was safe, he thought. He grabbed his stuff, had a bow with an arrow drawn in his hand, and walked out of the bush.
He was expecting someone to jump out of a tree and kill him, but when he scanned the area, it was surprisingly peaceful. It was strange, this entire forest… There are a lot people out here, somewhere in this forest, waiting to kill him. He knew he wasn’t safe - far from it, in fact - but he still wanted to fight for his life.
Gavin stopped walking when he saw the massive hole in the ground. It was difficult to see clearly, since it was still dark, but the hole was just one dark spot in the middle of the forest. Fear washed over him. This had been a landmine, and it was a massive one. Gavin figured it had been hidden well, between the trees and bushes, considering there was nothing else in this area. The fact that he could step on a landmine at any moment, brought him a great amount of fear.
He had to get away from here. It was not safe.
~~~~~
Gavin had been watching the sun rise and slowly climbing up the sky as he walked. It was the only thing that was consistent. The Arena wasn’t just one big forest. He saw mountains far away, as well as swamps with a greenish fog hanging above it. Seeing that made him glad he had his flask, because he didn’t trust the water from the swamp. He didn’t trust anything.
He stopped walking when he heard a girl laughing. Looking where the noise came from, he saw blonde hair. Then, a boy spoke.
“So she had no idea you were there?” the boy spoke soft and groggily.
“No!” Blonde Hair giggled. “But she saw you,” she teased.
The boy cried out suddenly. “Hold still, Mark, I can’t bandage you when you’re being twitchy.” She paused. “But yeah, her fiery red hair is now extra red because of the blood.”
Hearing the name caused Gavin to recognize them. He was Mark Nutt, and she was Flynt Coal. Gavin wondered if they were alone or not. In both cases, he should walk away quickly.
He listened to his instinct. His steps stopped when he tripped over something. Gavin had managed to stay upright, but the movement had made a lot of noise. He looked over to the people, and looked Flynt dead in the eye.
She yelled something Gavin couldn’t understand, and ran towards him. That was Gavin’s cue to run as well. It was hard to run fast with the soggy ground clinging onto his feet.
After a few seconds of running, he realised Mark was shooting at him. The trees made it impossible to hit Gavin. He was lucky.
Gavin’s ankle was almost healed, but the trip had caused a return of the pain. Adrenalin didn’t help his pain enough. He got dizzy, and tripped and fell and landed in a hole.
Silent and barely breathing, he looked into the forest. He could barely hear someone walking. The sound continued on for a good ten minutes, but then they were gone.
He then realized, his bow was missing. He still had his arrows, but without a bow, they were almost useless. Still, they could serve as a small knife.
Now, there was another problem. He seemed to be in a dark hole which had no escape whatsoever. Only one option left: go further into the darkness.
~~~~~
The hole turned into a small cave. When Gavin walked out of it, he looked back. He knew he hadn’t been alone in there, because someone shot a few times at him, but no one came after him. He dismissed it; he came out alive after all.
The scenery was different. He stood on a small hill, swamps nowhere to be found. In the distance, he could see more bigger hills. He figured that was the edge of the Arena, because he couldn’t see anything behind it.
He walked towards the trees and decided to sleep here. He made some animal traps, like Jack had taught him to. Gavin wondered how Jack and the others were. He would love to talk to them again, but he didn’t know if they were friends inside the Arena.
The day turned into a beautiful evening. The sky was orange, pink and dark blue mixed together. A rabbit was caught in his animal traps, which made for some great food. The only downside was, he needed to make some fire. A large light in the dark made you an easy target. And with his bow gone, he didn’t think it was a great idea.
Gavin’s hunger decided for him. His plan was to make a small fire, not allowing it to have lots of flames. He skinned the rabbit with the point of an arrow before he started the fire. He gagged when he saw and smelled the inside of the rabbit. He cut off the front legs and put the rest of the meat in the pocket of his pants. Back home, he’d learned the techniques of skinning an animal, but he never was a fan of doing it. Therefore, he became a fisherman, not a butcher.
When it became too dark out for the fire, he decided to eat the food. After all, someone probably knew his location by now. He picked up the food and put out the fire. The rabbit was not done yet, but he had no choice. He brushed off the dirt and took a bite. It was delicious. Yes, it could use some spices and the meat was dry, but damn, it was good to have something in his stomach.
The fire was still smoldering when he finished his food. The sun was set and the birds were asleep. He drank from his water bottle. It was almost empty. He needed to find drinkable water soon.
He searched for a good place to sleep. There was a spot on the ground consisting only of moss, which provided a comfortable night, but not much cover. He looked for branches, leaves, anything that he could cover himself up with during the night, when he heard footsteps nearby.
Gavin froze, concentrating on the sound, but it disappeared. He shrugged, he probably imagined the sound. He picked up a large piece of grass and put it on the branches. .
The result was great, Gavin thought. If he stayed still, he had a good cover.
Suddenly, he heard someone landing on the ground. He hadn’t imagined this. Gavin stayed still, hoping he wouldn’t get seen. But the footsteps came closer. Gavin’s hand grabbed an arrow, preparing to fight someone. The footsteps stopped behind a tree. Then, Gavin saw a shoe. He looked up, and under the moonlight, he could see the person’s face. The person laughed.
“Hey, Gavin,” Ray’s voice sounded odd in the stillness of the night. There was no threat heard in his voice, but Gavin was not sure if he was a danger to him or not.
Knowing that Ray was a great fighter, he stood up and got on equal ground. If Ray wanted to kill him, he was prepared to fight for his life.
“Ray,” Gavin acknowledged him. He hadn’t meant to, but his voice sounded icy.
“Dude, I’m not here to fight you,” Ray said, holding his hands up. “Should I drop my knives? Does that make you feel better?” Gavin didn’t answer. Ray grabbed his two knives and dropped them on the ground. “See? Friendly. I’m your friend.”
“Okay, you’re friendly,” Gavin replied, less to Ray and more to himself. He smiled and put his arrow back in the quiver. “Good to see you survived.”
“Same.” Ray smiled back. After a beat, his smile gained something Gavin didn’t trust.
Suddenly, Gavin was pulled back into someone. The person’s arm held Gavin across his breast, and another held something sharp to his throat. Gavin grabbed the arm that was threatening to end his life, pulling hard. “Stop!”
The threat was gone and another laugh sounded. Gavin turned around, and saw Michael laughing.
“‘Stop’? Is that all you have?” He and Ray laughed at Gavin. When Michael finally stopped laughing, he took a heavy breath. “Man, we have to work on your fighting techniques.”
He put an arm around Gavin’s shoulders. “Surprised you’re not dead yet.”
Gavin took offense to that. “Why, am I not good enough?”
“Considering you said ‘stop’ when your life was in danger, and I already have saved your life once, I don’t think you can defend yourself, no.”
“What about you, Ray?”
“Hey man, I’m not getting in the middle of this, but seeing the cover you wanted to use…”
“What?! What’s wrong with my cover?”
They all turned to the spot where Gavin wanted to sleep tonight. It was just a lump of grass, moss, branches and ground.
“Yeah, because no one is suspicious of that lump of dirt. Also, your feet were sticking out.”
Michael laughed at that. “Come, Gavin. Follow your saviors.” Ray and Michael started walking, into the woods. Gavin, however, stayed where he was.
“How do I know I can trust you?” They both stopped and turned around. Michael looked perplexed, and Ray looked like Gavin made a stupid joke.
“Are you fucking serious right now?” Michael asked angrily, walking towards Gavin, who took some steps back. Michael could be really scary sometimes, even though he was smaller than Gavin. “After all I did for you, you don’t trust us?”
“Well, I’m not asking for your help, am I?!”
Michael pushed Gavin, until he was cornered in against the tree. “Gavin. You were the one who fell down and injured yourself. You were the one who only sat at the fishing station, a skill you have already perfected, for fuck’s sake! You were the one who was helpless. You were the one who was getting killed, but I stopped it. I did. I did not need your help. I helped you. A Career helped someone who got the fucking ass score of a two. But hey, if you’re not asking for my help, I suppose I should just get going, then, shouldn’t I?”
“Well, no, wait-”
“I’m not going to kill you now, but the next time I see you, you’re fucking dead.” Michael had to give Gavin another shove before turning away. Gavin had to admit, he was a bit scared. He hadn’t meant to offend Michael.
The Careers just disappeared into the darkness between the trees, when he suddenly heard yelling coming from their direction. Immediately turning into defense-mode, Gavin grabbed an arrow. Then he saw the knives Ray dropped on the ground earlier, and ran towards them. He grabbed them on the exact moment he saw his own attacker. It was a huge, bearded dude, holding a sword. Despite him having a beard, Gavin did not recognize him as Jack. He had not noticed someone else in the training area had a beard too, though.
Because Gavin was still low on the ground, he could grab the knives easily, but the dude swung his sword at him. The swing had so much force that it made Gavin doubt if he was going to survive this, but he managed to evade it. Beard Guy was obviously a lot stronger than him, but Gavin was faster. Maybe he could tire his opponent out. Gavin didn’t have the moves Ray had, though, with his fancy Career-ish somersaults.
When Beard Guy struck, Gavin evade it. That was his ideal plan: evade and wait. But Beard Guy was shoving Gavin in an area he didn’t know. Gavin cursed at himself for not searching the area before setting up camp.
Suddenly, Beard Guy looked behind Gavin, and grinned. Gavin had no time to look behind him, yet he still stepped backwards. He didn’t feel his foot standing on the ground. Instead, he didn’t feel anything, and fell.
His back hit something what felt like concrete, and suddenly he couldn’t breathe. Too late he realised he had landed in water, and in panic he tried to get a hold of something. He didn’t know what he grabbed, but it was not something he could hold on to. After one or two seconds, he remembered he should open his eyes. At first, he was confused if he was looking up or down, but then he saw moonlight.
Already close to the surface, it only took a bit of swimming before he could feel the cold air on his face. He coughed heavily, trying to get rid of the water he had breathed into his lungs. When breathing got easier, he tried to swim ashore. When he lied down on the ground, relieved he had survived that, he remembered Beard Guy.
With watery eyes, he saw a huge person walking over to him. Having let go of his knives in the water, he had nothing to attack Beard Guy with. But then realised he was still holding the thing he grabbed in the water, he looked at what it was he was holding. When he saw the black dots on the green skin, he cursed loudly, and threw it towards Beard Guy.
When the creeperfish exploded, Gavin tried to search for his knives. Thankfully, he saw one of them lying on shallow ground in the water. He grabbed it as fast as he could, before Beard Guy was up again.
“You’re fucking dead!” Beard Guy yelled, and then charged towards Gavin.