Day 4: Early Morning

Gadget & Gizmo McGhee, D3

The hour became earlier as Gadget woke up from a quick nap. Wire decided to keep watch for the alliance, to see when they'd come back. Gadget was excited to hear from Ace. Ever since Wire was under the duty to make sure the twins were okay, Gadget has been dying to know which Careers were killed. Maybe the girl from Two, the girl who has been apart of the victor line was finally put in her place. Or maybe that little girl from One died a horrible death. Either way, the twins looked out the window of the tallest building in Manhattan to find the alliance. Gadget trained his eyes to Central Park, where they were coming from. Ace will tell them what exactly they missed while they sat out due to Mira's complaining. She thought that the conjoined twins would just be a distraction and they'd die right away, since they can't do things separately. That girl needs to be put in her place, if anyone needs to.

Wire looked over to the twins, who were anxiously waiting for the alliance to return. There was something about them that seemed too good for the Games they are in. They didn't deserve to be in the arena. Sure, the money they could win would separate them permanently and change their lives forever. But they seemed... too good for the Games. That's the only thing that Wire could explain it. They were just good. Wire's eyes caught moving figures in the distance. There were only four figures that he could make out, seven less than what they went there with. Two older tributes with two younger tributes. Out of eleven of the alliance members that went to the battle, only four return? If Wire, Gadget and Gizmo all went to the battle, the outcome would have been completely different. It's all Mira's fault that seven of them are dead. Wire looked into the twins eyes. "Hey, they're coming back!"

The twins shot up, trying to reach the window without tripping over each other. When they only saw four figures walking to the Home Base, their hearts dropped together. Is Ace with them? Is Mira still alive? Who all died during the battle? Eleven cannons sounded in the night. Only four of those cannons belonged to the Careers? Gadget expected the number to be higher. Well, not that much higher. Tributes from lower districts have no chance against the Careers. Gadget expected at least five cannons to sound for the fallen Careers, but only four actually did go off. Either way, four Careers are dead and that is four less threats to deal with. When the figures disappear, they know they are on their way up to the top floor.

Something that amazed Gizmo is that the elevator still worked. It was nothing like the elevator back at home, where it was old and it made creaking noises as it road up. This elevator was a smooth runner, where no noise was given off the metal. Maybe the Gamemakers fixed it up so it would give off some hint that people are using the building, giving the Careers a bigger advantage? Either way, Gizmo was still surprised that the elevator was working. The door opened with a ding and the four survivors ran into the room. Prick, Lily, Whitney, and Violet ran in the room, blood covering their jackets and Lily's face. Gadget and Gizmo looked over the survivors one last time. Where's Ace? Ace was supposed to tell them what happened while they were forced to stay behind. Wait, Mira is gone. How did she die? Most of the older tributes died. Maybe they sacrificed themselves to save the younger tributes.

Violet walked over to Wire and gave him a hug, tears coming from her eyes. She breathed heavy as she let out sobs into his jacket. Wire hugged her back, holding onto her shaking body. "They got Dandy. They killed him in front of me. He kept stabbing him... and stabbing him... he was too young!" Her voice echoed all over the room, throwing a wrench into the hearts of the rest of the alliance. No one wanted to get close to one another, in fear of the death being more painful than it should be. But the simple act of Violet hugging Wire out of grief broke that wall. Whitney hugged Violet, comforting her in anyway that she could. After Whitney was finished hugging the oldest tribute, she walked over to the twins.

"Ace asked me to do this before he died." Whitney began, explaining the entire story of the attack that they both missed.

Dylan Sands, D4

The pink from the sunrise over took the darkness, making everyone aware of the new day. Dylan sat in the mouth of the Cornucopia, holding a trident in his hands. It has been five hours since the attack, five hours since the hovercraft picked up the bodies of Amethyst, Lianna, Helios, and Caspian, five hours since Ronan has moved from his spot on the grass. The attack happened all too fast. One moment they were deciding where to go, the next Amethyst lay dead on the ground with blood coming from her neck. Luckily Dylan had no role in the attack; the only reason he is in the alliance is because of where he grew up. The group automatically assumed that he trained and was able to hold his own in any battles. It's a good thing the battle was unplanned and no one knew that a group from the outer districts where going to attack them.

Dylan looked over to Ronan, where he has been laying for five hours. He hasn't slept or eaten the food Isaline gave him. He has just been laying there. Dylan didn't know what it felt like to have your sibling be killed right in front of your face. Maybe Ronan's reaction is the right one. But he has lied on his back for five hours straight, not even going to the bathroom. Dylan stood up, holding the trident in his hands, and moved over to where Ronan is laying down. No one is going to comfort him about Caspian's death. The only person who tried was Octavia, but she only calmed him down from the attack on his brother, not so much comforted him. If anyone was going to comfort him about the death, then it was going to be Dylan. Everyone is too absorbed in their own motives of trying to win the Games so they would even straight up ignore a mourning tribute.

As Dylan approached closer to him, he tried thinking about what to say. He shouldn't mention Caspian. Why would he? That would aggravate him even more and probably send him on a killing spree. When he was looking over Ronan, he realized that his whole face was wet with tears. The tears slid from the corners of his eyes and made his ears wet as well. Dylan leaned over, crouching as he stared Ronan in the eyes. "Hey, Ro. How are you holding up?" Nothing came from Ronan's mouth. He shut everyone out as he is still looks to the sky.

Dylan sat down on the grass beside Ronan and looked at the sky. "I know I shouldn't really share information from my home life, but I don't know what I would do if my mother died right in front of me. She is the only woman I truly love in this country. If anything happened to her, I don't know what I would even do with myself. She's the reason I am in this arena. I am going to win the money for her and I to live in a nice house and we will never have to work the streets ever again. I want her to have the life she deserves." Ronan looked over to Dylan with a sympathetic look in his eyes.

Ronan opened his mouth to speak for the first time in five hours. "I know your mom. She once asked my dad for some pleasures or some shit. My dad punched her in the face. I didn't know she was your mother."

Dylan nodded. "That's okay. My mom has taken plenty of beatings ever since I was born. No one wants to sleep with a whore who has a baby, ya know?" Dylan looked to his feet as Ronan sat up. "I am really sorry about your brother. I expected him and you to be the ones to outlast this alliance. I even saw that little mutt from Six and I didn't say anything."

"It's okay, man." Ronan replied, putting his hand on Dylan's shoulder. "As much as I want to get out of here alive, I hope you make it out. For your mother, you know?" The two boys nodded in an agreement and suddenly went quiet. Maybe they are at an understanding now.

Gator Sewell, D7

Walking the empty streets was probably the only thing that could clear Gator's mind. After all eleven cannons went off earlier, something bugged Gator that the Careers would be after her next. Just being on the streets when everyone was hiding seemed to be peaceful and nothing can hurt her if she was the only one brave enough to walk the streets. She walked around in a place called 'Time Square', something she remembered from History class. Something that always struck her as odd is why Panem would want to teach kids about American history and American cities if America itself doesn't even exist anymore. She thought that Panem would only want to teach Panem history, like the Dark Days, starting the Hunger Games, the Katniss Rebellion, and the reinstatement of the Games. Not teaching about New York and what it used to stand for.

She walked away from Time Square and walked towards Central Park, where the Games began four days ago. The Park didn't scare her. All the cannons that went off were obviously from an attack that the Careers didn't plan for. Some of the cannons belonged to the Careers, meaning that they probably didn't want to fight anymore today. It's a good thing. Maybe they will just see her and think, 'No. Not any more fighting today after losing our friends'. Okay, they wouldn't call them 'friends', but that just made Gator feel a lot better. She walked around the edges of the Park, trying not to be seen. A rustling came behind her. She didn't think anything of it. Before she could even turn around and see anything, a rock hit her on the back of the head. She fell to the ground, eyes closed and barely holding on to her consciousness, and she heard people talking behind her.

"Let's just kill her now!" A girl's voice said as she grabbed Gator's hair. "There is no point in keeping her alive. She's just a little girl. She probably won't even feel a thing. Maybe we could give Ronan the kill so he could feel better." Kill? Was this her last day in the arena? And in Panem?

"No, wait!" A boy's deep voice yelled in retaliation. "What is the stripe of Seven?"

"Green." A different voice replied. "Why?"

"This girl is from Seven." The boy's deep voice answered again. "Maybe she knows where that boy is. The one who scored an eleven. If she can lead us to him, we can kill her later."

The silence was near deafening. The rest of the alliance was thinking about what was just said about Gator helping them find Toni. How the hell was she supposed to know where Toni was? He ran away from the bloodbath, yelling and screaming about Daisy, and ran far away from Central Park. They didn't even talk back in Seven. They lived on different spectrums of the district. The girl took a deep breath before speaking again. "Okay. Someone grab her and tie her up by the Cornucopia. I don't want her getting away!"

President Shepard, President of Panem

The Career alliance took the little girl from Seven back to Central Park and tied her up. President Shepard slammed the desk. Why didn't they take Amy? Amy would have been a better fit than Gator. Amy would have been great to hold over Aria's head about sending those damn notes. Aria is still watching the TV, not being allowed to move due to Shepard's rules. Aria will not be allowed home until Amy dies. And, once Amy does die, Aria must watch her die over and over again until she is completely broken down. President Shepard walked over to Aria, who was falling asleep on the chair. She hit Aria with a baton over her stomach to wake her up. "Listen here, Aria. I can easily send a mutt that is genetically altered to kill your sister. I can do this right now and kill her right now. I need you to tell me all you know about the damn Army. Tell me!" The last two words were strained and she was yelling as loud as she could. Her face turned a bright cherry red color and flames grew in her eyes.

Aria looked at the President, her eye clenched shut due to the beatings she has been given. She took a deep breath and began to pour out all the secrets she was supposed to keep a secret. "I started the Army. I started it because of my dad. I convinced Robert and Alana to join, telling them we can take down the Capitol once and for all. The word quickly spread and Fourteen took all of the credit from me. I tried to get the attention back on me so I could be the..."

"Mockingjay." They said together. Shepard looked at Aria, then turned away. She walked around her office, trying to think of what to say to Aria. She technically told her all of what she wanted to know about the Army. She went back to the traitor, and stared at her in her face. "Thanks for telling me. But, I want more information. I want to know how to stop this. You need to tell me what I can do to stop the Army. If you do, I'll send you and your sister home safely. But, I have no control of those tributes right there. They took Gator because she's from Seven. They could do the same to Amy." She points to the screen, where a few of the Two tributes were tying up Gator. "Listen, Mockingjay. You better listen to what I am telling you and you could live a happy life. But, you know, if you want your youngest sister to die, then don't talk to me."

Shepard held her threat in the air as she walked out of her office. Aria is harder to break than a code.

A/N: Quick update. Read and review. :)

~Ashlee