Despite the pain that was throbbing in his leg, Gabe continued to half-run, half-hobble deeper into the woods. His leg was broken in at least two places. Each step sent a shot of pain and agony. He wanted to do nothing more than to cry out in pain, but knew that it would be the worst thing at this point. Thankfully he spent some time at the first aid tent and figured out how to make a crude splint. It took away some of the pain, to which Gabe was thankful. It also provided some addition support so that he didn’t wipe out while trying to get away.
Gabe ducked behind a cluster of trees to catch his breath. If someone told him that he would be running from some girl from District 3, he probably would have laughed and shrugged it off. In fact, if anyone told him that he would be down to the last two in the Hunger Games, he would have given the same reaction. When his name was pulled for the reaping and training began, Gabe made a vow to try his hardest to do District 7 proud. Sure, he would love to win, since it meant that he wouldn’t die. But then things took a drastic turn. The Careers were all wiped out when a sudden earthquake caused a fissure to open in the ground right below their camp. Gabe started to get optimistic about his chances. He was strong and athletic from spending so much time outdoors and working in the lumber yard. Plus the sponsors seemed to like him, giving him things he needed, including some weird paste that alleviated the sunburn he got halfway through the games. Now there was only one person standing between him and victory.
The District 3 girl never seemed like a threat until the feast came along. By that time there were four people left; Gabe, a boy from District 10, and the two District 3 tributes. The District 10 boy was going to be no threat. He had been mortally wounded two days before by a sword to the leg. He would die soon; they just had to wait it out. But the District 3 tributes were trouble since they could team up. That was until the girl suddenly snapped and slit her fellow tribute’s throat. She sprinted off from there, no doubt to take care of the wounded tribute. Now she was actively pursuing Gabe, and getting close. Gabe heard the branches snapping as she got closer. He picked up a large rock, intent on striking her with it. Yet when he turned, there was no District 3 girl. Instead it was a large beast with 6 inch fangs and pincers on its arms. It let out an unearthly scream and lunged at him.
Gabe woke up with a start, his heart pounding and his breathing heavy. Dreams of the Hunger Games haunted him ever since he won, but now they were getting more frequent as the reaping drew closer. He fell back down onto his pillow and shut his eyes. He knew from experience that there was no falling back asleep from those dreams. Thankfully it was a moot point anyway. After a slight knock Theo walked into the room. “G-Gabe, there’s someone from the C-Capitol here. He says you n-need to get ready for the reaping.”
A short shower later, Gabe was walking out the door of his home in the Victor’s Village wearing the clothes picked out for him. Being a Victor from a past game required Gabe’s attendance at the reaping. Not only that, he was currently the only living male Victor in the district. He would be one of the mentors responsible for training the new tributes in the finer points of being a tribute to the Hunger Games. Gabe half-listened as the escort in the car with him was chattering on about the latest fashion at the Capitol and the procedure for how things were going today. Gabe knew that he should probably pay closer attention to the whole thing since this was his first year involved with the mentor process. The other mentor in the car was giving him side glances, no doubt wondering how he would do. But Gabe was too tired to care. He figured he’d feel more awake if he hadn’t been jarred by the nightmare. As long as he looked fine and perky once the actual reaping happened, no one could really say anything about it.
Gabe sat awkwardly on the stage as he watched all the boys and girls from the district slowly file into the town square, each nervous that they would be the one picked to fight to the death. He craned his neck to try to spy Theo or any of his other siblings. Last year Theo was standing right by Gabe’s side when his name was called out. Gabe wished he could be down there for Theo now, if for no other reason than moral support. When the past Victors were announced, Gabe stood up to a rather thunderous applause, even more than the previous ones. It had been many years since District 7 produced a Victor, so his success was widely celebrated. Gabe gave a wide smile and a slight wave, but wasn’t really feeling it. He sat back down and kept a smile while he listened to the escort talk on and on about the whole process and how much of an honor it was to be chosen as a tribute. Gabe repressed a groan when he made the classic ‘ladies first’ joke. How someone could be so light-hearted about the fact that he was about to sentence a child to die, Gabe wouldn’t understand. He politely clapped when some girl Gabe never heard of was reaped, though it was mainly out of obligation. He watched with some interest as the escort rooted around in the boys’ names and pull out a slip of paper. Gabe was wondering what boy he would have to help train to be a fighter.
“Theodore Madison!”
The name hung in the air. There was no sound from anyone. The silence was pierced by an anguished scream. Even if Gabe wasn’t able to immediately figure out the owner, it would be clear that it was his mother. Having Gabe in the games was difficult enough, but to have another son, his twin brother in the same thing? Gabe watched as Theo peeled away from the crowd and slowly made his way towards the stage. Theo was trembling slightly, which was what most tributes did on their walk to the stage. But Gabe was able to notice the other tells that informed him that Theo was terrified. And frankly, Gabe was too.
The next minutes passed by in a blur. Only a few moments stood out in Gabe’s mind, mainly his mother weeping as she clung to both of them and had to be practically carried out by the Peacekeepers. Soon he, Theo, the girl tribute, the other mentor, and the escort were all on the train on their trek to the Capitol. Theo locked himself up in his car practically as soon as they got there. The girl lingered a bit longer before she too retreated to her car. Gabe listened as the escort filled him in on what his actual procedure would be in the coming weeks since he was brand new to this whole thing. It was an unspoken agreement that Gabe would be the one to train Theo. He would be the best to help since he knew Theo the best and would be able to guide him the right way.
When the debriefing was over, Gabe stopped momentarily in his car to change out of his reaping attire and into something a lot more comfortable. He went to Theo’s door tried to open it. Unsurprisingly it was locked tight. Gabe knocked on the door. “Theo, it’s me.” He waited a few moments before pounding on the door. “If you think I’m not going to break down the door, you’re wrong. Open up.” He gave it another moment before grabbing tightly on the door and yanking it. He was shocked to feel it open. Maybe he was stronger than he thought he was. He stepped into the room and looked around, noticing it was strangely empty. Hearing the shower running, Gabe walked into the bathroom. He found Theo sitting on the shower floor, the water falling on his head. “Are you trying to drown yourself or something?”
Theo jumped at the noise. “G-G-Gabe! I’m naked!”
Gabe rolled his eyes. “It’s not anything I haven’t seen before. We’re identical, remember?”
“N-not completely.” Theo covered himself up and stared at Gabe.
“Whatever. You have exactly one minute to get out of the shower, dry off, get dressed, and meet me out in your room.” Before Theo could protest, Gabe walked out and sat by the window.
The sound of the bed creaking caused him to look over and see Theo completely dressed and sitting on the edge of the bed, his head hung low. Gabe walked over and began pacing in front of Theo. “Alright, you’re strong, that’s good. Not the best with a weapon, but brute strength is a good thing, it’ll be handy. The stutter might be an issue. Just really focus when you’re doing the interviews. Stuttering is a sign of weakness and might get you pinned as an easy target. Now I know you’re quiet and not the must uninhibited person, but you really need to try during training. Alliances can save your life, so make friends.”
“Gabe? What are you doing?”
Gabe stopped walking and looked at his brother. “Strategizing. Now I hate to do this, but it’ll be best to play up the sympathy card to our advantage. When we watch the reels later we’ll be able to see how the Capitol reacts to a Victor’s twin brother being reaped the year after he won. I’ll definitely be able to use it to get us some sponsors. Hopefully I can get to the people who sponsored me last year and tug at their heartstrings. But we don’t really want to make that the focal point of your spiel for the interview. It’ll no doubt be touched upon because the audience will eat it up. Try to get them to see you’re more than just the brother of Gabe Madison.”
Gabe’s train of thought was interrupted by a sigh from Theo. “Gabe? Can we not talk about this now? I’m a little busy freaking out about this whole thing.”
Gabe nodded and sat down on the bed next to Theo. His mind was still buzzing with strategy, but he kept them all to himself. What Theo needed now was some support. Theo’s arms wrapped around Gabe’s body as he moved closer to his twin. There was a slight pause before Gabe tightly hugged Theo back, bringing him as tight to him as possible. “I’m not going to let you die.”
