"Wiress, love." Beetee whispered sleepily as large eyes fluttered open at the sound of her name. Sunlight streamed in from behind the curtains giving the couple some light as they adjusted their tangled sheets and limbs.
"I had a wonderful dream." Wiress whispered peppering Beetee's face and neck with kisses. "You. In your suit from last night – so beautiful."
"You dreamed about our interview?" Beetee asked amused.
"The crowd cheered." Wiress whispered cuddling next to her husband. "Panem's best inventor."
"So, your ceremony then." Beetee chuckled kissing Wiress gently.
"No. Yours. Celebrating the inventor who freed Panem." Chuckling, Beetee pulled his love closer as she rested her head against his chest.
"Where were you, love?" Beetee asked. "I hope you weren't being bashful by my side. Because I wouldn't have done it without you."
"No. I was – above – around – in The Force, Beetee. And right here." She rested her hand on Beetee's heart. "I am always here." Sobbing, Beetee wrapped her in his arms. "Beetee – I know – I feel them, love. I feel my children, Wendy, my parents, my allies, our tributes. They are close now. To me."
"Are you scared?" Beetee asked staring into Wiress' eyes also watering with tears.
"No." She paused. "I only fear that I will not fight hard enough. To protect you. To help you. I want to give my life –"
"For me." Beetee whispered. "And I want to give my life for you, Wiress." Placing a finger over his lips, Wiress shook her head.
"No. You must fight. I will be here." Kissing the spot above Beetee's heart, she smiled and rested her hands against his skin. "Do you feel –"
"I feel your love." Too soon, a bell chimed in their room signaling their time to dress and board the hovercraft to the arena. "Pity, I wish Katniss had incited a riot after all."
"Oh?" Wiress asked as she tugged on some sweats knowing the stylists would place her in the arena uniform later.
"Yes, then maybe they would cancel the Games and we could continue our post-interview activities. For about a week at least." Blushing, Wiress smacked Beetee playfully. Indeed, the Teslas spent the night talking, holding each other close, and exploring their closeness.
"Well, I suppose the Capitol thinks they will buy themselves a week or so with these Games." Beetee shrugged before they walked hand in hand to their hovercraft.
The Teslas slept for much of the flight to the arena having said thorough goodbyes in the Training Center. They woke an hour before they were supposed to land and had a hearty meal. "This way." Horatio, the District Three stylist directed as the hovercraft landed. They followed him to a room twice the size of a typical launch room. He explained their light uniform and both of them appeared to look surprised at the buyant device around their middle, though they knew it was perfectly sensible in a water arena.
"Well, this will hide my love-handles, dear." Beetee quipped as he and Wiress looked each other up and down while facing each other holding hands.
"Beetee –" Wiress giggled. "Perhaps you will not have a need for that or your clothing, and Panem will see all of my handsome –" She joined her husband in laughing at Horatio who was blushing and looking quite uncomfortable.
"Right – on that note, please step onto your launch pads."
"My love." Wiress whispered before kissing Beetee passionately.
"I love you, Wiress." Beetee whispered before they slowly eased apart. Walking with her head high, Wiress entered her launch pad and closed her eyes. She knew she had to focus on being strong and going over the plan in her mind.
Beetee looked over at his wife looking strong and focused. He couldn't tear her eyes away from the woman who had vowed to fight the cruel government that tried over and over to break her. In some ways, she was broken, but each time, she came back stronger in a different way. That was one of the many reasons he loved her. Sixty seconds until launch. He sighed and closed his eyes to review the plan. Meet Finnick at the Cornucopia. See that Finnick gets the Mockingjay and Peeta. Then start eliminating non-ally tributes. He paused. Oh yes, and get my wire. The familiar glass tube encased him before he ascended into bright sunlight.
"Oh." Wiress whispered as she looked around at the cornucopia on an island in the center of the arena. She smiled at Beetee across from her and counted down. At the sound of the gong, she hesitated to observe the others. Sensing no one coming after them, she nodded to Beetee before jumping into the water. Swimming in a swimming pool was quite different from swimming in salty ocean water.
"C'mon, nerds!" Jo called before heaving a flotation device on a rope to them.
"Wire – Wire –" Wiress gasped before taking off toward the mouth of the cornucopia.
"NUTS COME BACK HERE!" Jo yelled. "You don't have weapons or – " She swore and took off running with her two axes in each hand.
Where is it? Wiress asked herself before she saw the spool of Beetee's golden wire poking out behind a crate. Ducking from a spear thrown her way, she rolled behind the crate and some rocks to grab his precious weapon and the key component of the revolution.
"Dropped my glasses on those rocks –" Beetee explained before hurrying to the crate. "Hon – stay here –" As he picked up a knife, he gasped and yelped in pain.
"NO!" Wiress screamed as Johanna flung her axe at Enobria who cackling while waving a bloodied knife in the air. She dodged it before running off to find Brutus who was calling for her.
"Leave Three! The Mockingjay is over here!" Brutus yelled before groaning in pain as Jo threw an axe into his leg.
"Beetee – Beetee – no –" Wiress gasped as blood poured from Beetee's back even as he clung to his wire.
"Wire – take – it –" He pleaded with his wife seeing flashes of fear and worry in her large eyes.
"You won't –" Wiress said furiously before cutting away some vines on a rock. Using the flexible branches, she tied the spool of wire to Beetee's belt. "Up!" She commanded. Though his back screamed in protest, he stood at his wife's insistence. Wiress gratefully nodded to another ally who came to Beetee's aid.
"I got ya, Beetee." Blight said as he and Jo looped Beetee's arms around their necks. "C'mon, Jo. Let's get them outta here." Wiress followed close behind as they ran down one section of rock that was like a ledge leading from the cornucopia. Once they were on the beach, Wiress stopped and turned around to observe more of the arena. Twelve triangular sections of water surrounded the cornucopia. One tree rose above the foliage of the forest that made up the rest of the arena.
"Nuts!" Johanna growled. "MOVE!"
"I'm observing the arena – the mechanism –" Wiress explained before Jo groaned.
"Just let's go!"
Wiress pondered the arena as she, Jo, and Blight made their way into the dense leafy tropical forest. Jo and Blight were taking turns carrying Beetee. "Wait!" Wiress gasped seeing a familiar chink in the forcefield.
"What – who's there?" Jo asked sharply. "Blight, I'll cover!" Blight quickly lay Beetee on the ground before looking around.
"No – No –" Wiress gasped watching him step back toward the forcefield. "NOOOOOOOO!" A branch snapped before Blight fell backward. ZAP!
"Blight!" Jo screamed hurrying to her district partner who lay on the ground staring at nothing.
"No – don't –" Wiress tugged Jo's arm as Jo reached out toward Blight's lifeless form. Slowly Wiress prodded Blight's arm with a stick. "No – oh no –" A cannon fired.
"Yeah. He's gone." Jo replied flatly. "Let's move." She sighed as Wiress knelt by Blight's body. "Nuts, MOVE!" She yelled. Between the two of them, they propped Beetee up so he staggered between them.
Suddenly, a dark red cloud appeared over them. Wiress gasped noticing its wedge-shape as it seemed to be over only part of the arena – the part they were in. "Jo – Run – cloud – run!"
"I'm hurrying, Nuts!" Jo yelled as they staggered toward the beach with Beetee in tow. "We can't outrun a cloud –" Jo gasped as precipitation fell from the sky. The two girls screamed as they realized blood was raining down on them. The drizzle soon became a torrential downpour.
Wiress stood in the rain letting it soak her clothing and her skin. Blood of my sister, my parents, my allies, my tributes. My Terrimax, Estelle, and Noah. Closing her eyes, Wiress ignored Jo calling to her. Beetee was partially covered by a leaf tent she and Jo attempted to construct shortly after the rain began, so she knew he was ok. Exactly an hour after it began, the rain stopped, but Wiress' thoughts continued.
"Tick Tock." Wiress whispered understanding the significance of the rain lasting an hour. An hour. 12 sections of the arena. An hour of rain. Spinning around, Wiress tried to observe any other phenomena that would be going on and lasting about an hour. "Tick Tock –" Something about the timing was important. As Jo dragged Beetee across the beach, Wiress followed, her mind churnining madly for an answer. She had to fight the thoughts of seeing her children's blood, her tributes' blood over and over in the rain. If she stopped trying to solve the arena, those thoughts would overwhelm her mind and heart.
"Nuts! Stay down, will you?" Wiress pulled away from the young victor's grasp. This was important. She must figure it out. Relaxing some as Katniss, Peeta, and Finnick tended to Beetee, she was able to think about it more. Upon Katniss' coaxing, she sat on the beach facing the cornucopia. This is a machine, and the mechanism is near the cornucopia. The spokes look to even – spokes like a wheel. But what does a wheel have to do with time? "Tick Tock." She repeated as her brain whirred. If Beetee had been more conscious, she could discuss her ideas with him, however, she was the only inventor of the group that could reason the design of the arena. Once Beetee was tended to, Wiress allowed Katniss to clean her off. She listened to the group as they talked among themselves.
Fog, monkeys, blood. Only in certain areas. For a certain period of time. "Tick Tock." She whispered. Memories of her own arena, her children's arena, and her tributes' arena continued crowding out her brain. Every so often, she glanced at Beetee wishing she could tend to him, however, his safety depended on her figuring out the arena. Everyone's safety did.
Soon Wiress' brain pulled her into sleep where she dreamed about Beetee and her children in one section of the arena with Wiress attempting to swim to them. "Tick Tock, Mama!" Estelle called. "Tick Tock!" Wiress gasped understanding exactly what was going on. The Gamemakers would keep the tributes running from different mutts and environmental challenges such as fog or blood rain. They could regulate these features by plotting them on a giant clock.
"Tick Tock." Wiress called back to Estelle before twelve booms of thunder allowed her to cross the small rock wall to Estelle and Noah. Estelle smiled standing in her uniform holding Terrimax. Suddenly they were pulled back by monkey mutts that had President Snow's face. "NOOO! NOOOO! ESTELLE! NOAH! TERRIMAX! TICK TOCK!"
"Yes, tick tock, the arena's a clock. It's a clock, Wiress, you were right." Wiress opened her eyes as Katniss stared down at her. Nightmare. I had a nightmare. "You were right." Wiress smiled at Katniss's knowing gaze.
"Midnight." Wiress replied sitting up joining everyone else in waking up on their section of beach.
"It starts at midnight." Katniss thought out loud.
"One thirty." Wiress explained pointing to the blood rain section.
"Two. The fog." Katniss replied.
"Wire! Wire!" Wiress turned at Beetee's voice. She opened her mouth to call to them to bring his wire a second before Jo brought it over to him. Wiress smiled and helped Finnick and Peeta sit him up. Soon they were walking with the rest of the group to the cornucopia at Finnick and Katniss' suggestion. Once they were on the island, Wiress began searching for wepons to protect Beetee while Finnick and Peeta settled him by the cornocupia. "Wiress!" At the sound of Beetee's voice, Wiress hurried over. Relief washed over her face at the sight of her husband smiling. "Clean it will you?" Wiress smiled in response cradling the wire in her arms. It was Beetee's weapon and the key to the whole alliance. Of course she would make sure it was flawless for him. In response, she kissed him on the cheek before hurrying to the shore to begin washing the blood off the wire.
Keeping an eye on the beach, she continued to examine the arena. Suddenly fog rolled out from a section of forest. "Two o'clock!" She announced to the group who was with Beetee.
"Yes, it's two o'clock and the fog has started." Katniss replied. With a smile, Wiress listened to Beetee and the others map out the arena using the clock knowledge. The mouse ran up the clock. Yes, we will use the clock as a tool also, Gamemakers. You shall see.
"You were very smart to figure that out, Wiress." Peeta remarked before Wiress gave him a gentle smile. Peeta. The one who was kind to my son in the arena. Singing and washing the wire kept thoughts of her children at bay. She knew that she would make the wire useable, so Beetee could use it with the other tributes' help. Wiress smiled at her confidence in her husband, the other tributes, and ultimately the plan to break out of the arena. Cleaning the wire was her physical act of assisting Beetee, and she knew she would guide him in The Force if anything should happen beyond that point.
As she finished cleaning the wire, she sensed a figure coming up behind her. "Hey, I found a nerd! They're here!" Gloss called to the career alliance. Don't panic. Wiress told herself. She would be their decoy. Maybe they would be satisfied with only one kill. "Well, if it isn't the singing large-eyed genius." Gloss hissed in her ear.
"Tick tock – the mouse ran up the clock –" Wiress whispered as Gloss wrapped a thick arm around her neck. "Time." She whispered as she felt a sharp pain at her neck. As the arena swam before her eyes, she saw the faces of her children. It's time. Mama's coming home. We will help Daddy in The Force so he can be free. With those thoughts, she let her consciousness slide into blackness as her body slid into the cold water.