Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games. They belong to Suzanne Collins.
Note: No sense slowing things down, on with the next Victor! No Careers, Sponsors nor Mutts yet, per say, but time is passing and the Hunger Games meta is starting to take shape little by little. Thus, time to meet our first Volunteer of the many in Panem history. You know what they say, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Let's find out how!
"Was he a Career?" Katniss asked after a pause.
Peeta considered the question.
"I don't know," he admitted, tapping his chin. "Volunteers from Two tend to be, but I think I remember reading in a book they didn't start training kids to kill until after the Fourth Games had ended."
"I'm surprised it took them that long," Katniss remarked, looking down at the face of the first ever volunteer. "Think he was like me, and you? Volunteering for the sake of another?"
Peeta shrugged, having no idea.
"I guess we could ask Enobaria once we're at the party. If anybody still alive would know, she would," Peeta suggested a moment later.
4th Annual Hunger Games
Name: Baron Overwhill
Gender: Male
District: 2
Age: 18
Kills: 8
"Lung infection," the doctor says.
At the same moment Sal commits suicide in the first ever Hunger Games, Baron feels as though his world is falling apart around him. Those two words in that exact order, hearing them used to describe his mother feels almost as painful as the grisly fates of Slate and Rocky the previous day.
Well, almost.
"What can be done?" Mr Overwhill asks, gritting his teeth already as he tries to suppress the pain.
The doctor is sympathetic, but doesn't try to mince words. Mr Overwhill has felt plenty of loss in the Dark Days, even when on the Capitol's side, and what's a little more on top of that in the end?
"Unless you live in the Capitol or are in possession of a fortune then there's nothing to do except wait for the infection to take her away," the doctor says, apologetic. "There's little I can do, aside from slightly lessening her pain."
Mr Overwheill storms off soon after that, taking his rage out on the wall outside and a few passers by. Baron, a quiet fifteen year old lad known to his peers the brainy one in the school, sits himself by the bedside of his mother. She rests quietly for the moment, but the way her face is a little pale and the issues she has with breathing... it all makes too much sense for Baron's liking.
He's there until he is made to leave, being told visiting hours are long over. Throughout the walk home and most of the night the lanky boy tries to think of some scheme, some desperate plan, anything that might gather the fortune needed to cure his mother's ailment. It is well known in Two, after all, that lung infections from work down at the quarries lead to slow, agonising deaths.
He doesn't come any closer to finding an answer.
Listening to his mother's shaky breathes in the hospital the next day, he hardly notices at all when Mizar Aldjoy is crowned as the Victor of the First Annual Hunger Games.
He does, however, notice when Mizar is suddenly reported on the news as the richest boy in all of District Nine. That's when the gears of his mind begin turning and a plan, a desperate and very risky plan at that, begins to form in his mind.
He tries asking his father for help. Alas, his 'scrawny whelp' of a boy has never shown any interest in physical activities before now, being more of an indoors kind of person. Physical education is the one subject he's failed to master, after all.
"I want to be prepared in case it's me next year," Baron says. "It makes sense, Sir. You're a soldier, I'm eligible to be reaped. I need help."
"You'd be dead the instant that you got picked," Mr Overwhill replied, dismissively.
Baron doesn't push it, having never quite gotten along with his father. A high ranking soldier and an academically inclined son don't tend to mix very well. It was Mrs Overwhill who had always bridged the gap between them. A gap that was getting wider with every day she was in the hospital.
Baron goes it alone, waiting until his father is out on a patrol or at the bar with friends before starting his own training. He wants zero questions being asked, especially when Mr Overwhill will only end up refusing to let his son volunteer and embarrass him on TV.
Jogging around their section of the District, lifting rocks up and down, turning down the limited amount of junk food he ever got per month and more besides, Baron starts off small in his goal of readying himself for the the ultimate gamble.
The next year District Two comes close, only to lose once again and this time when they have both tributes in the final five. His classmates all shout and jeer in the cafeteria as Carol gets crushed by a tree, the same fate befalling Titanius several minutes later. They swear viciously as the sleepy, useless girl from Seven goes home a Victor, but Baron alone remains completely silent.
Complaining never does anybody any good, not when that time can be used for learning. From his seat at the edge of the cafeteria Baron makes dozens of notes on all the factors that led to the deaths of Titanius, Carol and all of the other tributes in this second year. He stays up late constantly, forcing himself to memorise all of the notes he made until he can practically recite them in his sleep.
Now aged sixteen Baron has two years left to volunteer. His mother remains alive, but the doctor estimates she had three years left at the most, and that was assuming that things do not go wrong before then.
It all pushes the boy to train harder, his lanky form gradually becoming more toned and muscular as a result of all of this.
Baron is so focused on running laps and power lifting with his self-made barbells that he's almost late to watch the opening moments of the third Hunger Games the following year. A costly error to make, as missing mandatory viewing carries severe punishments unless the culprit is on their death bed, in a coma or in jail... or all three.
"Being late is paramount to treason," his father tells him, angry. "I'll have you for this later, boy."
Baron just nods, not having anything to say to the man calling himself his father. As Mrs Overwhill gradually becomes more distant to the world, so too do Baron and his father to each other.
The opening bloodbath in the tropical island is pure carnage, a grand total of ten tributes sprawled out lifelessly on the formally white, now deep crimson, sand that surrounds the Cornucopia. Howls of grief and pain echo as the family of the male tribute, Marshall, are heard breaking down all across the square of Two.
"If only somebody had volunteered for the kid," says a boy nearby Baron.
"Like anybody would actually do that," replies a girl beside the boy.
Baron keeps silent. They have no idea what is in store for the following year, but they'll see before they know it. While his mother gets a little weaker every day, he only gets stronger and stronger thanks to all of the working out that he is doing constantly. The extra rations from the restaurant he helps out at on the side further help him towards the physical point he needs to reach by his final reaping.
For the first time ever, Baron is able to block each and every single one of his father's punches that night and fight him off. The soldier man has to admit that he is impressed by this, wondering when his son started to grow from a whelp into a man.
"I have something to fight for now, father."
Mr Overwhill doesn't push it, a showing of some mild respect.
The night before the reaping Baron stays beside his mother all night long in the hospital. The doctors estimate she has a month left if something was not done very soon. Baron is an exceptional honour roll student and, given the seeming certainty of his mother's looming death, is granted freedom to stay for the night.
No words are spoken for hours, Baron's only action being to gently hold his mother's hand. He stays this way up until sunrise when his father comes in, barking at him to get back to the house and ready himself for his final reaping.
Baron has no choice but to leave, but makes sure to whisper one thing to his frail mother before he leaves the room.
"Don't worry, I'm gonna save you. I guarantee it, mom."
The ladies have been reaped first, the result of this being a stout and bitter looking young woman named Concordia standing on the stage. The escort soon reaches into the boy's reaping bowl, taking their sweet time to draw out the suspense.
Baron, dressed in his finest suit, takes a deep breath.
"Loki Camelot!"
A boney, freckled boy makes his way out from the fourteen year olds section, walking towards the stage with all the life and energy of a corpse.
"I volunteer as tribute!"
The entire square of District Two freezes into a stunned silence. Neither children nor adults nor even Peacekeepers find themselves able to say anything. The Escort is similarly dumbstruck, shutting up for a record breaking forty seconds.
Baron pays the silence no mind, instead marching his way up towards the stage he's been destined for since he was fifteen. He pats Loki on the shoulder as he passes him, offering a brief friendly nod.
"I'll take it from here," is all Baron says.
Baron mounts the stage just in time for the escort to snap out of her stupor, looking incredibly dazed as she asks for the name of the brave young man in front of her.
"Baron Overwhill," Baron says, putting on his most confident smile. "The Victor of the Fourth Hunger Games."
In the Judgement Building the screams of Mr Overwhill echo across the walls for the entire hour that visitors are allowed. He takes back any respect he'd admitted, he shouts at his son for his idiocy, he rants about Baron's physical short comings, he gets breathless as he lists all of the ways he could be killed. After the most vicious rant he has ever sent his son's way the soldier man finally asks him what the hell he thinks he is doing, sending a punch towards his boy.
The young man catches the punch with ease.
"Keeping my mother, and your wife, alive. I've trained for this for years right under your nose," Baron says, coolly. "Put the kettle on, I'll be wanting a nice mug of tea when I'm back, Sir."
Being the first ever Volunteer in history makes Baron practically the face of the Fourth Hunger Games from the instant the reapings are all finished. Even the siblings from Three, the convicted arsonist from Six and the Mayor's son in Eight do not get the same amount of coverage as the first Volunteer. Even President Orion is enraptured by this mysterious young man.
The Capitol watches with jaws dropped during the parade, staring at the ripped form of the strong young man in a gladiator themed costume.
The Gamemakers constantly stare during the two days of training as he silently goes about his business, going over the sword training station and brushing up on some wilderness survival.
The entire Nation gazes at their screens as Mortimer asks him a few questions on the hovercraft ride over to the arena, the site of the looming murder game.
"I feel confident."
"My plan is to win the Hunger Games and get my mother the treatment she needs."
"It's true, I like playing guitar. I'll give you a solo once I win."
Nobody sees him as he sits in the toilet cubical of his launch room, getting out tears of anxiety and remorse pre-emptively.
Baron covers his eyes with his arm as a blinding light greets him upon being launched into the arena. It's not even ten seconds before a sweat trickles down his face, one from heat rather than fear. The arena this year turned out to be a desert, quite a departure from the three arenas prior and by the looks of things heat was going to be a major killer.
The numerous water bottles placed around the Cornucopia and marked with eye catching red labels only confirm this to Baron.
With nothing in sight besides the almost endless dunes, the cacti scattered sparsely across the scorching arena and the Cornucopia itself several dozen yards before him Baron readies himself to make a desperate charge to the golden horn.
He's the first one there by a solid ten seconds.
He's the first one to make a kill fifteen seconds later when he skewers the girl from Twelve who had only wanted a bottle of water to drink.
He's the first tribute in history to kill two others with the same swing of his weapon, slashing the pair from Nine across across their chests and leaving them to their fate of bleeding out at the same time.
He's the last one at the Cornucopia when the dust finally settles.
He's the last one to say a word once the cannons finish firing.
He's the fifth tribute to let the tears flow since the Games started.
For a while he moves to a nearby dune, sitting patiently as the hovercraft descends to take the fourteen corpses – five of them killed by him and his blood-soaked sword – out of the arena and off to the caskets.
"Nine to go," Baron says as he enters the Cornucopia, intending on taking a rest after the vicious bloodbath.
The nasty shade of red in the sand makes it hard to drift off to a brief sleep, but the interior of the golden horn makes it easy to hide his tears.
Baron knows he is the Capitol favourite of the year, but he isn't the only tribute who makes an impression. The siblings from Three capture some hearts while the boy from Six is sure to cause problems with his fire starting. Meanwhile the Mayor's son from Eight is a professional suck-up, easily gaining a fanbase. Not just that but the bombshell from One certainly knows how to use sex appeal to her advantage, easily stunning the teenaged boys and girls of the Capitol.
Baron can only sigh, knowing it's just his luck that all five of them are among the survivors of the first day and will surely be an issue to track down. The sandstorm that moves around periodically completely wipes out the footprints in the sand, giving Baron more work to do.
While Sponsors are still an idea existing only within the minds of a few Gamemakers, it is something of an unspoken rule that tributes who are liked by the Capitol tend to get treated somewhat better in the arena and receive less traps sent after them. It's for this reason that the small popularity contest had begun in the training centre and why Baron is never particularly bothered by the sandstorm.
It is, however, exactly why the forgettable girl from Eight finds herself suddenly overcome by the sandstorm later that same day, eventually stumbling blindly off of one of the few cliffs in the arena and breaking a leg. She survives the fall, but lays helpless.
It's a close thing, but she's not shown in the sky that night in the desert. However, both the kids from Four, both from Five, the crippled girl from Six, the rich boy from Seven, both from Nine, both from ten, both from eleven and both from Twelve are not so lucky.
Baron ends up forcing himself to keep going through the night and start sleeping through the day, figuring that he can get more work done when moving around in the chilly nights where his opponents are most likely asleep and not moving around the five square mile arena.
He's entirely correct on this assumption, managing to find the boy from One – a sort of self-claimed stage magician – at four in the morning. The boy manages to get away, but Baron knows exactly where he had cut him and moves on to the next target, not bothering to chase down a dying opponent.
The cannon fires right on cue. Also right on cue Baron pukes, guilt ridden.
While Baron is statistically the strongest tribute of the Fourth Annual Hunger Games he's by no means the only one who is able to fight. The Mayor's son from Eight discovered he had a natural talent for throwing knives back in the training centre, and it serves him particularly well when he locates Baron's own District Partner.
The fight is as brutal as it is quick. Screams, snarls, blood on the sand and then silence, besides the boy from Eight panting from the effort of throwing three knives in to the gut of the quarry miner girl. It's much to his relief when he finds five water bottles in her bag
Baron's unease increases that night when he sees Concordia's face in the sky, knowing that the games are in no way as good as won despite his strength.
In his private opinion, he thinks only a fool would assume to have the Hunger Games in the bag.
Days pass, the girl from Eight dying of dehydration and the girl from Seven being slain by Elegance from One. By the start of the seventh day of the Games, six tributes are still alive. Elegance, Baron, siblings Chip and Cookie from Three, arsonist Fumer from Six and increasingly confident Parka from Eight.
All of them feel the same agony of thirst once the Gamemakers put up the temperature just a little bit higher. It becomes a battle both of combat and of willpower to resist the urge to drink all the water they have. The first to run out of water was practically certain to be the first to die.
By sundown the six become five when Fumer gives in to his pyromania and sets the Cornucopia ablaze, the heat of the fire combined with the desert's already terrible heat making him pass out where he stands. He collapses backwards into his own inferno, the flames taking both his life and all the water that had been left in the golden horn.
Like any sport, for however much the Hunger Games counted as one, the 'players' had their own fans. Many of the Capitol citizens demanded to be able to send water into the arena for their favourites to escape death. Sponsors were not yet in place, meaning the tributes were all on their own up until just one remained, much to the annoyance of the spoiled Capitol audience. Notes were made for the next year.
The Games pass as a slow blur over the next two days, almost like heatstroke itself. The tributes are tired, pained and horribly thirsty. The water is running out and soon not a drop will remain for any of them. It's just past three in the afternoon when Cookie and Chip collapse hand in hand, side by side, unable to go another step.
It's an hour longer when Parka, weak from thirst as well, stumbles by and kills them both. Neither sibling feels a thing, passing peacefully.
The same cannot be said when Baron finds Elegance a little past midnight. He's exhausted, but she's barely able to walk and falls to his sword much like the six tributes he has already slain beforehand.
He loses an eye, but it's better than Elegance losing her life.
Baron is far too out of it to even realise the cannon has fired and that he's one of the last two standing.
He's too light headed to feel disgust at himself.
They meet upon a dune as the sun rises the next morning. It's both the least dramatic and most suspenseful finale of the Hunger Games thus far. Neither tribute is able to properly fight or rasp out more than a few tired words, but the fight begins and ends promptly.
Parka tosses throwing knives, unable to do more than send them two or three feet due to his thirst.
Baron lands a nasty slash on Parka with the last of his energy. A second later he collapses from heatstroke right as Parka slumps over, bleeding into the sand.
It's a sort of battle of attrition as the final two boys lay on the ground, a question of who will pass away first.
A cannon booms, and it's not for Baron. Five more minutes, though, and it might have been.
He hardly pays any mind to the post-Games events. To him, it's all a pointless time waster from the main event. That being, of course, his return home.
Cameras broadcast his grand return home across the nation where a cheering crowd and a proud, for once, father await him.
Baron ignores them all, instead making a sprint away from the train station and off towards the hospital as fast as his muscular legs can carry him. Cameras track his desperate journey, not a single thrilling second missed, and he arrives without issue.
One nod confirms to him that his mother is hanging in there.
It's not even a minute before the money is practically forced over and the proper, Capitol standard, of treatment can start. Not even an hour later the weary young man is assured that his mother will survive.
Finally, finally, he lets himself cry it all out and this time he doesn't have to give a damn about who might be watching.
The cameras are watching, all quick to use this footage as propaganda for the wonderful things the Hunger Games can do. "If not for the glorious Games this young man would have lost his mother!"
Life is hard, always was and always will be.
The fact Baron used the Games to get exactly what he most wanted is spread around Two like wildfire, as is the way he worked out and got himself in shape for the arena ahead of time.
It's not long before his father comes up with the perfect solution to the issues Two has with the Games. One approval of the Mayor later and it heads off to the President's desk. Orion is willing to negotiate with one of the loyalists from the Dark Days and reads the small note.
'Let us train up our tributes and we'll put on a hell of a show for you like my boy did'.
After the added demand to have those in Two start training to join the Peacekeeper Army by triple the current number is agreed to, President Orion swiftly allows this. He was impressed with Baron's eight kill streak and wants to see more like it.
As the Career Academy starts to take off, hopeful and often-times greedy boys and girls start signing up to train themselves for the Games, whether as a precaution in case they are reaped or as part of a volunteering plan. Baron can only feel horrified by what he has started. His quest to save a life at such a cost in one arena has led to the loss of life in many other arenas.
It often breaks him down.
His father, meanwhile, has never been prouder of his whelp. Finally, he's adding to the family.
Only a hug from his mother, finally back to full health, can calm him down when the searing guilt gets too much for him to bare. Baron has no idea what he'd do without her.
Not a single evening passes where he doesn't light up eight expensive candles upon his porch – or in the mentor's room during Games season - one for each of the children he took from the world.
The sight of the trained killers, eventually dubbed 'Careers' who volunteer for fame, fortune or simply to hurt people makes him feel sick.
"So, this guy inspired Careers as we knew them?" Katniss asked, a grim look adorning her face.
"It seems like he started an accidental trend," Peeta replied, tense. "He couldn't have known what his choice would lead to."
"Guess it's just like how I never knew that Volunteering for Prim would lead to another rebellion," Katniss said, moving onwards alongside Peeta.
The next face on the sidewalk showed a smug looking boy with thick glasses adorning his face.
"Honorius," Peeta said. "He was the oldest Victor still alive before the rebellion got started."
"Is he still alive?" Katniss asked, looking down at the sidewalk.
"No clue," Peeta replied, shrugging lightly.
There we have it, the first Victor of many from District 2 and one who isn't exactly a Career either. Just an independent tough guy on a mission. A mission with some really dire consequences for the Outliers, eep. At least he managed to accomplish what he had set out to do in the first place, right? Then again, one must wonder if it was truly worth it... maybe?
Stats
District 1: N/A
District 2: Baron Overwhill (4th Games)
District 3: N/A
District 4: Museida Selkirk (3rd Games)
District 5: N/A
District 6: N/A
District 7: Pliny Aransio (2nd Games)
District 8: N/A
District 9: Mizar Aldjoy (1st Games)
District 10: N/A
District 11: N/A
District 12: N/A