Beetee watched Wiress cry herself to sleep curled against Max and Lock. He wiped his eyes and scrolled through her sponsor money. Most of her sponsors were from the Department of Technology and Communications as they had seen her ingenuity in making traps during the games. He wrote down what she would likely need when she emerged from the cave.

Rope

Small electronics kit

Food

He paused as he watched the remaining Quantum Crew members sleep. Many mentors had gone to sleep as there was a lull in the action. Beetee scanned the map of the arena. The Careers were near the cornucopia also recovering from the fog. Unlike the Quantum Crew and a tribute from Nine and from Eleven, the Careers were lying comfortably in large warm sleeping bags. Beetee sighed. He knew the Capitol was anxious for a Career victory this year as non-Career victors won the two previous Games.

Beetee woke up to his tablet buzzing to indicate the sun rising in the arena. "Get up, Wiress, get up, sweetie." He whispered watching the Careers wake up before zooming in on the Quantum Crew's cave.

"Wiress?" Max asked opening his eyes. Lock and Wiress were still sound asleep. Wiress has a light wheeze as she breathed. "Lock?" He was answered by a small sniffle. Lock opened her eyes and felt the empty ground to her left as Wiress was pressed against her right side. "Hey, how are you doing?" Max asked Lock quietly.

"Ok." She whispered as a tear leaked out of her eye. "I still miss Taylor. We went to school together."

"My little brother and Wiress went to school last year." Max said before sighing. "He was in the arena last year."

"I thought your name seemed familiar." Lock said quietly. "Are you trying to win for your brother?"

"No." Max said dropping his voice to barely above a whisper. "I want her to win for all of us." Lock nodded and looked at Wiress' sleeping form as Wiress began to stir. "Get up, squirt." Max chuckled gently shaking his small district partner.

"Ugh." Wiress groaned before coughing. She sat up and blew her nose on a piece of fabric. "I feel like I have a cold." Lock put a hand on Wiress' forehead.

"You don't feel warm."

"Well, we all did just run through noxious smog." Wiress reasoned before coughing. She caught a glint of silver on the ground near the mouth of the cave. She eagerly opened the small flap of fabric and pulled a parachute into the cave. Lock and Max began a fire with some sticks and a match that was in Taylor's backpack. "Look!" She said excitedly. "One for each of us."

"Throat lozenges?" Max asked. "Maybe we should only use half a package each. Save some for later."

"Ok." Lock and Wiress agreed. After an hour, Wiress felt well enough to emerge from the cave with Max and gather supplies for traps. She found some rocks, long sticks, and more vines on trees.

"So maybe we can make a catapult of some sort, or probably just a trap triggered by body weight." Wiress reasoned aloud.

"Well, why don't we take all this to the cave to see what Lock thinks." Max suggested. Suddenly a bloodcurdling scream made the two freeze in their tracks. Max wrapped his arms protectively around Wiress who was scanning the area. Lock came out of the cave and joined them in a terrified huddle.

"Over that hill." Wiress whispered pointing to their right. The scream came again.

"I missed you -" Athena cackled before the other tribute screamed again. "But now I can give everyone a good show!" The tribute who sounded like a boy around fourteen or fifteen screamed again and pleaded with Athena for mercy. Wiress quickly wound a vine around a V shaped branch.

"Give me a stone! Hurry!" Wiress urged Max.

"Wiress - what are you doing?" Lock gasped. Wiress grabbed a rock and climbed up a tree. She saw the tribute from Nine tied to a stake in the ground. To her horror Athena was slowly cutting off his left leg at the knee.

"NO! NO! PLEASE!" He wailed before Athena cackled and sliced her knife deeper into his knee. Wiress aimed at his head and let the stone fly. It hit the side of his head snapping it at an unnatural angle to the right. Wiress let out her breath she was holding as his cannon fired. Athena stomped around screaming in rage trying to figure out who took her kill.

"Wiress! Why do you always do this?" Lock asked in between gasps as she, Wiress, and Max ran from the scene.

"Take away the Capitol's fun." Wiress reasoned. She paused in a clearing with her hands on her knees gasping for breath. "Why haven't the Gamemakers intervened much? Because Athena is making everyone suffer. And the Capitol likes it." She gasped when a large hand clapped over her mouth.

"You want them to kill you now?" Max growled in her ear. Wiress' eyes widened and she shook her head. "Keep talking like that and they will!" Wiress broke free from his grasp.

"Well, it has to be said." Wiress said stomping her foot in rage. "For the tributes th at suffered. So their families know." Suddenly they heard a hissing sound. Wiress pulled a knife out of the holster on her belt.

"Don't move!" Lock whimpered. "Wiress -" Wiress' large eyes widened as she saw a golden snake slithering toward her. Wiress threw her knife at it. The blade impaled itself into the inch thick diameter of the animal, but to Wiress' horror, it jumped up and latched onto her arm.

"NO!" Max screamed as Wiress fell to the ground in pain. She used another knife to attempt to pry the fangs out of her arm.

Max brought a rock down on the middle of its body, smashing it until it moved no more.

"Don't move, Wiress! Don't move!" Lock gasped frantically. Wiress's eyes were becoming unfocused.

"Wendy - Terrin -" She whispered as her breath became irregular. Max wound a piece of rope around Wiress' arm and tied it tight.

"What are you doing?" Lock gasped.

"We need to get the venom out." Max said. He knelt by his small district partner's side and made a long cut in her arm through the snake-bite. "Wiress, keep your eyes open!"

"Max," Wiress whispered. "You and Lock - go -"

"No. The Quantum Crew stays together, Wiress." Lock said firmly. "Wiress - look at me."

"I -" Wiress choked out. "Beetee - Mom - Dad - I - I love you." She closed her eyes as Max continued squeezing the blood out of her arm.

"Ok." Max said fighting back sickness as he stared at the puddle of blood on the ground. "I either got it or I didn't. She'll die of blood loss if I keep going." He and Lock bound Wiress' arm before Max picked her up. "Beetee," Max said to the sky. "If you have anything - please -" He pleaded before he and Lock began looking for a place to make camp.