CHAPTER 9


After hours of trudging through the forest, Gale and I reach a quiet river which curves westwards, its end obscured by the dense forest. In the distance, I can see a rocky cliff face and an inconspicuous naturally formed cavity in the cliff face that Gale points to with a shaky finger. "That's it" Gale says after taking long draught of water from his canteen. "We should make it before nightfall." I'm sweating from the extra effort of assisting Gale with walking and with our goal in sight I grit my teeth as we walk along with the river bank.

As we reach the small cave, I carefully help Gale lower himself to the dirt floor. He looks pale and his skin feels ice cold. I drop our backpacks and sit next to Gale to inspect his wound. Gale doesn't protest as I unzip his jacket and survey my patchwork of hastily placed bandages. The bandages are already soaked and I reach for the first aid kit in my backpack for another wad of bandages.

"It's pretty bad, huh?" Gale says wincing at my ministrations.

"I've seen worse." I place fresh bandages on Gale's wound and use tape to hold them in place. The gash isn't deep, but out here it could quickly get infected.

"If I remember correctly, you're the first one to run out when someone sick comes to see your mum." Gale says jokingly.

"It's hard to avoid seeing the horrific injuries." I say as I zip up Gale's jacket.

"You're doing a really good job now, Catnip."

I sit cross-legged across from Gale and for the first time the events of today come flooding back. The events replay in my mind's eye in chronological order and I feel uncontrollable tears roll down my face as I remember Rue's death. A choke back a sob as the face of the tribute I killed flashes before my eyes. My face is in my hands and I feel Gale shuffle forward and pull me into an embrace. I muffle something into his jacket and he asks me to repeat what I said.

"Rue's dead and I killed a tribute." I choke out between sobs.

Gale knows words are futile, so he pulls me closer, tightens his embrace and strokes my hair while I cry out the guilt and despair I've been holding in. We sit for minutes on end like this as the sun falls pass the horizon and the sounds of the forest change with the time. Finally my tears subside and I pull back from our embrace and give Gale a watery smile.

"Thanks."

"Anytime" replies Gale as he tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

Suddenly, I hear a faint beeping outside and give Gale a puzzled look. He shrugs his shoulders and reaches for his sword as he struggles to his knees. I take my bow and arrow and poke my head outside. A parcel attached to a parachute is precariously perched on a rock a foot from our cave and after a few seconds of surveying I dash outside to retrieve it. I bring it back to the cave and place the parcel between Gale and me.

"What is it?" Gale inquires.

I open the parcel and there sits two loaves of bread. The smell of freshly baked bread makes my mouth salivate and my stomach grumble. I hear Gale's stomach grumble and I know he is reacting in exactly the same way.

"Who would send you this?" Gale asks as he takes a deep breath, letting the smell of bread fill his lungs.

I carefully take one of the loaves out for a closer inspection. The crescent-shaped loaf is dotted with seeds and I wrack my brain, trying to remember the unique bread for each district. "It's certainly not District 12 bread." I say as I turn the warm loaf in my hands. "I think it might be from District 11." I break the loaf in half and hand one half to Gale.

"How do you know?" Gale accepts the bread and takes a small bite.

"Rue told me that her district does agriculture and I think these seeds represent that."

Gale nods and raises his bread. "To Rue"

I mimic his action and raise my own bread. "To Rue" I echo.


I wake up and stretch the fatigue from my limbs. My movement makes Gale stir who is laying on his back on my right side. I re-braid my hair and take the other District 11 loaf from its tin and break it in half. I start eating my half and wait for Gale to fully wake up.

"Morning" Gale mumbles and uses his right arm to prop himself against the cave wall.

"Morning" I reply and hand him the bread, which he starts eating immediately. "How do you feel?"

"I've been better." Gale draws his jacket closer to him and I can see his hands shake. I place my palm on Gale's forehead and am surprised at how hot he feels. I remember to take out some paracetamol tablets to try to assuage Gale's growing temperature. I swallow the last piece of my bread before I look at Gale's wound. The bandages are not as bloody as before, but when I remove them I physically recoil at the puss and rawness of Gale's wound. I move to the mouth of the cave for some fresh air allowing my stomach to settle before I attempt to clean his wound.

"From your reaction I'm guessing it's not good." Gale lifts his jacket to look at his wound.

"Nothing an Everdeen can't fix." I say with a grin, but the fading hope in my eyes betrays the cheeriness I try to project. Gale remains silent as I use the last of my first aid kit supplies to clean and re-bandage his wound. With nothing left to do, I feel the hopelessness creeping in and decide that staying active is the only way I can keep my wits.

"I think I'll try to hunt today. We desperately need food." I collect my bow and arrows and slip my pocket knife into my belt.

"OK, I'm coming." Gale starts to stand, but I place a firm hand on his chest.

"Gale, you can barely walk. How will you hunt?"

"I don't want to us to be separated again. Remember what happened last time?"

"I promise to stay nearby." I smile reassuringly.

Gale stands on weak legs and grabs my hand. "Be safe" Gale says and places a tender kiss on my forehead. He looks at me expectantly and I get the feeling he wants me to follow his lead. I stand on the tips of my toes and gently kiss him on the cheek. A faint blush rises in my cheeks at the new and affectionate routine in our interaction. "I'll be back soon" I say as I quickly walk to the cave entrance and out into the beaming sun.

Unsure about the motivations behind Gale's sudden romantic gestures, I get my answer in the form of another parcel drifting towards me. The parcel lands at my feet and I pick it up. A note sits atop of a steaming bowl of soup, which I carefully open with one hand.

You call that a kiss?

Haymitch is up to his usual tricks and I can't help, but feel a little hurt at the possible disingenuous motives behind Gale's actions. I walk back into the cave and hand Gale the note and soup before disappearing into the forest for a few hours.


The rabbit I caught earlier today sits on top of a small fire, which flicks shadows on the cave walls. Gale sits against the cave wall in a fitful sleep. Beads of sweat build up on his brow, but he shivers despite being fully clothed and blanketed by a sleeping bag. I put the cooked rabbit to the side and stamp out the fire before going to Gale's side.

"Hey," I gently touch Gale's cheek to get his attention. "You should eat something." I take a piece of rabbit and waft the smell near his nose. Gale opens his eyes and takes a small bite from the rabbit leg. I offer Gale a full water canteen and he drains its contents. He rests against the wall again and speaks with a coarse voice, "I'm not getting better, am I?"

"You just need a good feed and plenty of water." I offer Gale more rabbit and he forces himself to take another bite. Gale knows I'm lying and it's hard to keep my spirits up in such a dire situation. I feel the weight of responsibility for Gale's well-being resting on my shoulders and it becomes almost unbearable with the knowledge that both of our families are watching us feeling more helpless than I do.

I need to help Gale. I know I need something more than the first aid kit and I have practically used all the supplies. The forest offers the hope of a solution to Gale's infected wound. This forest with its vegetation is unfamiliar to me, but it's the best short-term solution. However, there is one option I have yet to consider – the Cornucopia. There is a possibility that there is survival gear and better first aid kits hidden in the belly of the Cornucopia undiscovered by the career tributes, but I risk my life to save Gale's if I dare venture there. Oh how the Capitol audience would love such a maudlin display of self-sacrifice!

Gale is propped up against the cave wall with his eyes closed and one hand protectively resting on his sword. I wipe away the sweat building up on his brow and tenderly kiss him on the cheek. As I sit on my heels watching him something compels me to kiss him one more time. As I lean in Gale turns his head to face me and instead of kissing his cheeks I'm kissing his lips. I quickly pull back surprised by the contact. Gale is looking at me, his grey eyes dark and his lips slightly parted. I only manage a surprised "what..." before Gale draws me closer with a hand behind my neck and kisses me. At first our kiss is slow and tender like butterflies landing on a flower. Tendrils from a warm feeling that has been residing inside me, untapped and undiscovered until now, spread to the tips of my fingers and toes. The kiss begins to build in intensity and something stirs deep within me. We break from the kiss at the same time gasping for air. Gale's face is flushed and I unconsciously raise a hand to touch my own flushed cheeks. I've just kissed my best friend. I've just had my first kiss and it was with my best friend. I'm by no means an expert on kissing, but that was one breath-taking, awe-inspiring, make-my-toes-curl-in-delight kind of kiss. Gale motions to say something, but stops himself as we hear a faint beeping from outside the cave. I jump up and retrieve the latest parcel, bringing it back to the cave. I pass the parcel to Gale and read the note clutched in my hand.

Now that's a kiss.

"What does it say?" Gale inquires as he places a hand on my knee. I look at him and sheepishly hand over the note that is obviously from Haymitch. Gale reads it before balling it up and tossing it to the back of the cave. "I'm done playing games" says Gale and he grabs my arm to bring me closer to him. His lips brush my ear and my breath catches in my throat. He whispers softly, so no one, not Haymitch, the sponsors, the Capitol or Panem, can see or hear what he says, "that kiss was real and I've been waiting a long time to do it." Gale pulls back to see my response.

I look at my oldest and dearest friend and think about how much things have changed between us. I don't know if the Games changed our dynamic or if we were always going in this direction and the Games catalysed the change. It doesn't matter though. I've always loved Gale as a friend and I couldn't imagine life without him. The feelings that he released in me with that one kiss is enough for me to realise how I love him in a way I didn't think was possible.

I smile; a genuine, only-for-Gale kind of smile as I lean in for another kiss.


Thanks for reading! I hoped you enjoyed this chapter :)