Penelope's Web

by Zevoros

In silence, the first tick of the clock rings out. Dawn rises, but the Hunger Games steadily grind onward. The tributes stand in preparation for the journey ahead, and Seneca Crane stretches out his hand. The gears slip forward and Gadget knows that the first hour is here.

14. The Wages of Blood

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~~(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)~~

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Author's Notes:

Triage: Hematite is a very cheap, very fragile type of semi-precious stone. It looks like shiny black lacquered glass and has a smooth texture to it. Very easy to break.

Zevoros: Special thanks to Evie Rose and Team Shadow! Additional thanks to CragmiteBlaster and Cal_the_Wandcrafter.

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Penelope's Web

Chapter 14

The Wages of Blood

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Gadget was actually happy for the sharp stinging pain on her cheek. She didn't bother to wipe away the sweat that rolled into the untreated wound, as it would give her a jolt of awareness. She just couldn't afford to slip off no matter how much she wanted to. For Kernel's sake. She welcomed death, and at this point even if Clove decided to drag it out, she'd accept it. It was what she deserved. But not Kernel. She really owed him nothing, but all the same, she did not want to add his death or suffering to her name. She already had two too many. One more would be more than she could take.

But it's the Hunger Games...that stupid voice reminded her. One that sounded oddly like Clove, Marina, and Glimmer rolled into one.

She sucked in a hiss of pain as she used her bleeding fingers to pry apart two metallic plates. The effort to do so without proper tools was murder on her hands, but she forced herself to do it. It gave her a sort of boost to keep her total exhaustion at bay. She figured she'd rest plenty...and permanently...soon enough. The two pieces came apart with a painful metallic creak and groan. Blood spatter went all over the table. Gadget concluded that this suit was literally going to be colored and doused in her sweat and blood. And if Clove had her way, her life would anoint this suit and the adjoining weapon.

Her heart was beating a mile a minute, and though her legs and arms felt like lead weights, she ignored it all. Forcing her body to keep going despite it screaming at her to stop. She knew there was no point. The Careers watched them like a security program, and there was just no way for Kernel's plan to properly work. As it was, she was watching the ailing Kernel whenever she could. That hand and his shoulder were loosely treated by his own torn-up jacket and overshirt. But the bleeding was still going on. That too, was her fault. The girls knew that hurting her no longer yielded the desired results they liked.

But they now knew hurting Kernel devastated her more.

She could almost hate them the way Kernel did.

"Excellent," Clove said suddenly, and Gadget felt privately glad she was too exhausted to even jump.

At her very mild reaction of just turning to look at the diminutive corrupted file that was Clove, Gadget earned a hateful scowl. Without warning, Clove's knife flashed into her hand and she cut Gadget's other cheek, almost a perfect mirror of the first wound. Gadget only winced and clenched her eyes shut for a moment, but when no further pain was incoming, she opened them again and was shocked to see the near-disappointment in Clove's eyes. It was the closest thing to human she'd seen so far in the Career girl.

"This is the least you deserve!" Clove tried.

"Yes…I kn-know…" Gadget agreed, her voice raspy and hoarse, but otherwise said nothing more.

She was unsettled to watch Clove licking the blood off of the knife. That seemed quite unsanitary and unnecessary. Still, her discomfort finally gave Clove some kind of satisfaction. But clearly, it wasn't sufficient. Now, she turned to look at Kernel.

No!

"Th-the spear is d-done," Gadget stuttered quickly, and Clove looked back at her. She raised an eyebrow, slowly.

Gadget glanced past her at Kernel. He and Binary were digging around the outer edges of the large stack of supplies that the Careers had piled. He didn't look well. His clothes were stained with his blood. Whatever they'd applied to him after…after what happened yesterday…it hadn't been enough.

His only mercy was the bandage wrapped around his forehead to cover Marina's scar. Gadget couldn't imagine his fury. How angry he must have been. His hatred for the Careers, tenfold.

None of them had been given water or food, or even allowed to rest. And despite that, though, Gadget had never felt more awake. She ran an arm through the sweat that had lined her brow. The endless rays of the sun beamed down on her all throughout what should've been night.

It had been Marvel's idea to stack all of the supplies in one place after Finch had stolen something. It was his idea for Binary and Kernel to bury the mines around the supplies, and although Gadget had heard Binary protest, it was out of his hands.

Gadget reached for the completed arm gauntlet for the suit and, with bleeding and torn fingers, she pressed against a button on the side. She heard it in an instant. An electrical hum whirred as volts of electricity thrummed into the spear she'd left at her side.

"It's…" Gadget started, then cleared her throat when she felt something stuck in it, "It's enough to s-s-stop a he-heart on a fu-ll battery."

Clove's hand twitched. Like she wanted to hold one of the knives she'd attached back into her vest. She stared at Gadget with so much coldness that Gadget had to avert her gaze, down, down to the rest of her supplies. It was almost done. Clove had ensured that she'd be almost done. No breaks. Otherwise…

Gadget glanced at Kernel again. He was her only chance to get out of this…this place. And she had no idea how they were going to do it. The Careers were always watching. Even throughout what Gadget suspected was supposed to be the night, one of the Careers was always up and watching. They shifted. One of them was always awake and watching, while the rest of them slept.

Gadget hoped Binary regretted his decision to come here. They treated him only slightly more favorably than her.

Her gaze flew back to Clove when she saw her step forward, a smirk appearing on her lips. "You're trying to distract me," she said, almost boredly.

Gadget froze, her bloodied hands stilling. "W-what?"

"Would you like to see how effective the efforts were?"

Gadget couldn't respond. Her words were lodged in her throat, and before she could even think, Clove snapped forward speedily and grabbed a fistful of her jacket, and hauled her around in a circle, before throwing her forward to the ground. She landed with a thump and a groan. Pain raced up her body from her knees as they hit the ground. She caught herself on her hands and tried to push herself back up to her feet.

But Clove's boot rested against her neck and Gadget stopped. She felt its cold heel press against her, sending shivers up and down her spine. One swift stomp of it, and it could break her neck. It would be easy for Clove, surely. She already despised Gadget. One swift stomp…and it would all be over.

"On your hands and knees, Killer," Clove purred.

Gadget stopped her movements. She lowered her head at Clove's insistence, as it became harder and harder to resist the pressure at the base of her neck. This is the least you deserve, Gadget reminded herself.

"Get Scarface and Three," Clove called, and Gadget glanced up at her as best she could. She could see Clove chuckling silently to herself. Her shoulders shook slightly in mirth.

Gadget hoped Corduroy and Peeta were far, far away. She hoped they saw the hopelessness of her situation and left her for dead. Because that was what she was. A dead girl walking.

Part of her thought to protest or plead for Kernel at least, but she suspected that would only exacerbate the situation.

Clove's boot pushed down on her, forcing her forward awkwardly. "Start moving," she ordered. Gadget whimpered through her teeth and softly padded forward on her hands and knees. Slowly, she went, and slowly Clove's boot lifted from her neck. But still, the diminutive Career urged her onwards. Dropping her eyes to the ground, watching as her injured fingers dug into the soil as she went. The sting of it in her wounds. If the Careers didn't kill her…nature would. And Gadget had no illusions that it would be anything but painful.

She entertained the thought of trying to oppose Clove here, now. Perhaps get the girl instinctively react and kill her on the assumption Gadget had grown a backbone. Or just kill because that's her driven instinct. But as she crawled further with difficulty, she realized that there was too high a chance she'd fail and Clove would just...punish her in other creative ways. Why did it have to be so difficult? She just wanted it all to end. More and more she wished she'd just leapt off the pedestal early. She'd at least have pleased her dad once in her life.

"Stop," Clove ordered, and Gadget felt her hair tugged back harshly, whipping her head back and forcing her to a stop. Hot pain raced up and down her nerves. From the base of her skull down to her toes, and through her palms.

In front of her, Gadget saw as both Binary and Kernel were shoved to the ground by Glimmer and Marvel respectively. Gadget's eyes flickered between the two boys. The fury embedded in Binary's expression. And the absolute hate in Kernel's. Gadget wanted to say something. She wanted to say anything to stop the Careers from hurting them. She hoped Binary regretted this decision so much. She hoped that he knew what it was like to be hurt the same way that he had hurt her.

"What're you thinking, Clove?" Marina asked from somewhere behind Gadget, and finally, Clove released her grip on Gadget's hair.

"How many mines have you dug up, Three?" Clove asked instead of answering. Gadget heard her knife unsheath as she stepped around. But then another foot rested on her back, holding Gadget still. "Scarface?"

Kernel glared up at Clove, but she only smirked at them. Marvel and Glimmer…they looked like they were enjoying this. Glimmer's face twisted into a look of smug superiority, as Marvel leered down at them.

"Forty-eight," Binary bit out. Gadget recognized the way he tried to mask his expression. To hide the fury she could see in his eyes. She wondered what he was thinking. What he was calculating? He was just as much a slave as she and Kernel were to the Careers' whims.

"Sounds like a lot of work," Glimmer commented, throwing her blonde hair over her shoulder. She rested a hand on her hip and stared down at Binary before Gadget found her cruel eyes blinking to her.

"How about a break, then?" Clove asked mockingly. She flipped her knife through the air. Front-flip, Gadget noticed, to the other hand. She gazed up at Clove fearfully.

"Can't have you dying on us," Glimmer sang.

"That wouldn't be marvelous," Marvel said.

Gadget had already known what this was going to be. A round of torturous humiliation. If they couldn't kill…then they were going to alleviate their boredom in other ways…

"What do you think, Marvel?" Clove asked, and Gadget could practically feel Marina's surprise above her. She felt the foot against her back lighten, if only just. "Do you have your flask?"

"Of course," Marvel replied cheerfully.

He unclipped it from his belt and held it up for the Career leader to see. Nothing was going to be easy, that much Gadget could guess. They brought her, Binary, and Kernel together. And something demeaning.

Back-flip, Gadget noticed as Clove tossed her knife into the air, catching it in her unattended hand expertly. What…what are they doing? Gadget thought in despair. Her fingers stung so much against the ground. The soil and dirt against the cuts on her hand. Marina's pressure against her back was merciless.

"But I'm just so thirsty," Marvel bemoaned, opening the flask. Gadget watched with pleading eyes as he lifted it to his lips, and she watched his throat bob as the water inside went down his throat. All that water…and she couldn't have a single drop. Glimmer giggled in amusement, even as the water dribbled down Marvel's front.

Gadget licked her lips. She was so thirsty. Her throat was so hoarse. She needed water so desperately. Gadget ducked her head and grunted softly as pain erupted in the pit of her stomach. So hungry. The Careers hadn't let her eat or drink anything.

"No," Marina hissed, and Gadget felt her hand wrap around her hair, and pull sharply. Gadget could only gasp in pain as her head was forcefully tilted back so she could see what was happening before her. "You look, Longfin."

Just like when she'd killed Thresh…it was happening all over again. Where she was forced to watch the cruelty of the Careers. Gadget wished she could stand and push Marina off her. She wished she could run to the mines that Binary and Kernel reactivated and buried. She wished she could let herself fall on them and…end it all.

"Ahhh." Marvel smacked his lips with a satisfied noise, pulling his flask away. His eyes met Gadget's, for all but a second, before they looked away to Binary and Kernel's.

You deserve this, Gadget reminded herself. Again and again. Images of Cato and Thresh replayed in her head over and over. She'd killed them. She'd ended their lives. She was a murderer.

"Thirsty, outliers?" Marvel asked, and Gadget glanced up at him as he leaned above her, tilting his flask over her head. "Drink up!"

The water dribbled out of the flask, a thin line. Gadget tried to lean back, but Marina's boot on her back was firm. She could only open her mouth, begging for the water to hit her tongue. The Careers laughed, Glimmer loudest of them all, but she didn't care. This was pure humiliation.

It felt so good on her tongue, and it slid down her throat. Sweet relief. The pain in her throat subsided, only just. Gadget craved more of it. She needed it so much.

But Marvel lifted the flask upward and the steady stream of water ended. Gadget looked up at him, despair in her dead eyes. She wanted to cry. She wanted to die. She wanted to die more than anything in her entire life.

All of Panem was going to see the humiliation the Careers put her through. She wondered if District Two and Eleven were begging for her death. Crying out for it. She wondered how much of Panem wanted her to die.

"Put you on a leash and you'd make for a marvelous pet," Marvel said and Gadget flushed.

"Hey, Killer," Clove called the girl's attention.

A familiar packet that had been snatched away from her yesterday was now being waved in front of her. She closed her eyes for a moment, giving herself time to inwardly say, Of course, and then she reopened them, ready for whatever demeaning acts or treatments that were to be imposed on her as punishment for taking this off of Cato. It didn't matter that it was thrown to her by Monkshood. It didn't matter how or what reasons were made. Clove would punish it all. Punish her just for being born. She now wished fervently that she'd never been born. Her dad would have been happy, her mom would still be alive.

What good was she?

She was like the living Pandora's Box. Too bad it didn't extend to affecting the Careers in horrid ways.

Clove began to noisily tear the pack apart and she split the pieces apart, tossing them all over the ground. It seemed a trifle silly on Clove's part. It was one thing to deny her or Binary or Kernel from eating them, but denying herself or the Careers? Even with all the supplies in the Cornucopia, there wasn't enough for them to just waste a single bite, surely. What would spilling and wasting do except earn the ire of the rest?

"Eat it, without hands," Clove ordered.

Oh. That made sense now.

"You heard her, Longfin!" Marina barked and pressed her foot down on Gadget's back, forcing her down and forwards.

Instinctively, Gadget's fingers dug into the ground, sinking more soil and dirt into the open wounds. Any other time, she might have been alarmed about the potential for infection, but she wasn't going to live terribly long, so it amazed her how willing she was to accommodate the pain and inherent dangers. As she moved to obey Clove and Marina, she saw that Glimmer and Marvel were doing the same to Binary and Kernel respectively, forcing them on their hands, and making them lower their heads to the ground to eat the dried fruits.

The combination of her sheer exhaustion, both physical and mental, along with her multiple unattended injuries, meant she was extremely shaky and barely able to hold herself up. So she almost collapsed onto the spot and her mouth fell right on a piece of fruit, along with dirt and grass. But what did she care? It tasted so good, so she ate it even as she tiredly lay there, tilting her head to the side to allow herself to breathe. Her mind was a jumble of thoughts and emotions. She could hear the jeering and laughter of the Careers, for a moment, she lifted her head to see that Binary had his face forced down by Glimmer, and Kernel by Marvel. They were resistant to eating.

What did that say about Gadget? She had given in to simple order.

But if she refused, she'd be getting the treatment that Binary and Kernel were currently subjected to. Any other time she would have protested or spat out the dirt and grass at least, but she was too weak and far too resigned to bother. Resisting was only going to prolong the humiliation. So she just chewed and swallowed. Her eyes rolled in her head as she tilted herself as much as she could under Marina's heel, and she noticed Binary's knife, sheathed in his belt. The one laced with nightlock. It wasn't carelessness on the Careers' part that they let him keep it. It was arrogance combined with supreme confidence that if he chose to draw it to use, he'd die before he had a chance to use it.

If she could move fast enough, draw it out of his belt, she could cut her palm with it. One cut was all it would take. It would probably hurt, but it'd also probably hurt a lot less than whatever Clove would do to her. With her dead, she could possibly help create enough of a disturbance to let Kernel escape, and at least Corduroy and Peeta would be safe since she wouldn't be around to complete the suit for anyone to use.

"Have you had enough? Want some more?" Clove asked.

She broke out a pack of biscuits and scattered them in tiny pieces around the floor, forcing the three of them to eat like dogs, preventing them from using their hands. Gadget wanted to sob and cry. They were treating her like an animal. But she couldn't pay any heed to the laughter and mockery over her, this was the most she was probably going to get for some time, or it could well be her last meal. She'd eaten a fair bit in grass and dirt too. Perhaps enough people in all of Panem wished for her death at the same time, that the law of probability turned the odds in their favor and granted their wish. Gadget didn't blame them. She was a waste of space as it was.

Pain shot through her entire scalp as she was violently hoisted to her feet, as was Binary and Kernel.

"That's enough playing around. And Killer?" Clove said as she walked around her, then abruptly threw her leg out behind her, catchin Kernel squarely in the jaw, knocking the boy out. "Don't think I can't see through you. Ever. Got it?"

"Y-y-yes, C-Clove…" Gadget said, unable to move her head in a nod since Marina still had her in a vice-like grip.

She was roughly led back to the workstation, when she said to Marina, "I need t-t-to get…uhm…th-the pliers."

Marina nodded and called out, "Marvel! Watch Longfin."

Marvel easily sauntered over toward the girls and led Gadget over to the tools table.

Gadget shot a glance over her shoulder as Glimmer pulled Binary up, and pushed him towards his own…designated area of the Cornucopia. Both he and Kernel had both been so quiet through what the Careers put them under. Gadget could only watch as Glimmer and Binary went towards the pyramid of the most important supplies that they and the Careers had gathered. Holes decorated all around the base of the stack. Where the mines would go. With so many to spare.

What had Binary done? They were all going to die here. All three of them. They would finish with whatever the Careers saw their uses for, and then they would die. Gadget palmed her hands, wiping them on her pants. Clove was going to be anything but merciful. She was going to stretch it out for as long as she possibly could. For days, if she could.

And Gadget had no doubt that she could.

Clove would make her beg for death. More than…more than she knew she already craved. If Gadget was fast enough, she could make it to the supplies and step on one of the buried mines. It would be over. Just like that. Just like she should have done in the first place. If she had, then…then Lace would still be alive.

She was thinking in circles. Everything always seemed to circle back to those minutes. A few minutes in time when she could barely stand on her pedestal. Everything that led up to it replayed in her mind over and over again. Mortimer. The countdown. The mines. The Bloodbath.

Gadget spun her head back around, releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding. Marvel walked ahead of her, then stopped and turned to look at her when he reached the table of tools that stood in front of them. With a cautious glance at him, Gadget approached the table, searching quickly for the pliers she needed.

She didn't pay any attention to Marvel as he stepped around to the other side of the table. Her fingers drifted over the many tools the table had. She didn't think the Careers would allow her to take more than one. They wanted her to finish the suit, but it was like they wanted to make it as inconvenient as possible for her.

Gadget supposed it was the least deserved thing to happen to her. She deserved so much worse than the inconvenience. For what she did to Cato and to Thresh…and for failing to save Lace…she deserved death.

Marvel's kukri was placed on the table in front of her, softly, and Gadget froze. Ice seeped into her veins at the sight of it. And slowly, ever so slowly, she looked up at the boy the kukri belonged to.

"What's up with Lover Boy?" Marvel asked, smirking at her.

Gadget could feel the tears in her eyes. She tried to blink them away, but something told her that there was no point. The Careers had already broken her down enough. If they wanted to see her tears…she wouldn't stop them.

"I just ask because I saw you with him before we caught you," Marvel said with a grin, all too casually.

Before Binary brought me here…to you, Gadget's mind supplied. Her fingers found the pliers she was looking for and she wrapped her grip around it.

But before she could pull away, Marvel's hand shot out to wrap around her wrist, pinning her to the table. Her dead, terrified eyes shot to Marvel's face. Ice filled her heart and she swallowed her cry of terror.

"I…I don't kn-know," Gadget meekly replied. She ducked her gaze, staring at the pliers her hand was trapped on top of. She wiggled her fingers uselessly from side to side, painting the pliers she so desperately needed a dull red color from the blood that still leaked from her hands.

"I killed the girl he was in love with, so I just had to ask," Marvel said, and Gadget looked up at him. The tears rolled down her face, and Marvel only grinned at her. "Has he…said anything about me?" he asked in a gossiping tone, leaning his head forward so that he was closer to hers.

Gadget wanted so desperately to pull away. But she already knew before she even tried that there was no point. All of the Careers were so much stronger than her. They cornered her without even trying.

"P-pl-p-please stop," Gadget stammered tearfully.

"Stop?" Marvel asked with a scoff, his lips turning upwards into a larger, smug grin. His hand tightened around Gadget's wrist, pulling her closer to him over the table.

Gadget's eyes scanned in every direction, refusing to look at the boy across from her. Her tears slipped down her cheeks, pooling on the table beside her hand.

Marvel continued slowly, "Stop like I stopped the others from killing you?" he asked and Gadget shot a look at him in confusion that intermingled with her despair. Marvel looked ever so smug. "When you pretended to be dead and I put on a marvelous performance."

"W-what?" Gadget asked, recoiling in shock. She stared at Marvel, her mouth dropping open as tears crawled down her face.

"'W-w-w-what?'" Marvel mocked. His hand tightened around Gadget's, his nails digging into her arm. "You didn't think I could tell you were still alive?" he asked, the smugness in his voice fading away to anger. "Or that I couldn't tell your heart was beating really fuckin' hard against your chest?"

Gadget tried to say something. To say anything. But she managed nothing. What he said…it…it meant that he knew the whole time. It meant he knew that she was alive the entire time she was at the Cornucopia, lying on the ground and pretending to be dead.

He…he knew all along. He knew all along and he could've thrust his spear through her chest at any point he'd desired. He could've given her hope, just to tear it away.

"Why?" Gadget whispered, and Marvel's hand on her wrist only tightened ever harder, making her grimace in pain.

"You weren't fooling me," Marvel said, just as angrily as before. Gadget tried to recoil as he picked up his kukri. "I knew you were alive, I just wanted to make you suffer for trying to trick me," he spat.

Gadget winced as the kukri came down, and started to scrape against the surface of the table, carving slowly into it.

"You're not a person, just a target," Marvel said. "Just a…" he trailed off, bringing his kukri up as he waved it about, thinking, "rabbit for me to hunt down and kill." He pulled her forward harshly, and Gadget heard a crack in her shoulder. "Pure sport. That's all the worth you have. You should be grateful we let you entertain us."

Gadget already knew that. It was her only purpose here in the arena. A number to up someone's kill count. She just wanted it to end. She wanted to beg for it to end.

Marvel's grip suddenly softened, and the anger in his face lessened. "So here I am," he said tersely, and Gadget's eyes darted to the kukri that carved ever harder into the table. "My predicament grew." Gadget looked back to Marvel, and he flashed her a tense smile. "Now I'm stuck with you."

Stuck? That's…oh…

The realization struck Gadget as if she had been zapped full of electricity and went stock-still. She should've put the pieces together faster.

Burgundy.

"Maybe I should take one out of Clove's book," Marvel suggested with a grin. The kukri carved into the table. Back and forth. "You can't hide if we tear your intestines out and hang them on a tree, right?"

Gadget's heart slammed against her chest. She tried to take a step back quickly, but Marvel's hold on her tightened once more and tugged her back over the table again, further than before, and to the point where she was bent over it. Her scared eyes found Marvel's again, and she could only barely see the kukri in his hand as he carved into the table.

"I mean, come on," Marvel said, and the anger disappeared completely, replaced yet again with so much smugness, "I was holding you. No way I wouldn't be able to tell you weren't alive."

Gadget blinked in confusion. It was like he was flip-flopping. Was he…even telling the truth at all? Was he lying? She didn't know, she couldn't tell. But he could be lying to save his reputation to the sponsors and Panem as a whole. It would be humiliating, and…Marvel would know that.

"You know why I'm from District One?" Marvel asked, the smugness giving way to anger. His nails pressed into Gadget's wrist to the point where she feared it would break the skin and make her bleed. Gadget shook her head rapidly and Marvel smirked at her, so cockily. "'Cause I'm number one, and I won't let some outlier try and trick me."

Gadget shivered and, at last, Marvel released his grip on her, letting her practically fly back with the pliers in her hand. Her other hand came up to rub her wrist where Marvel had gripped her, and she stared at the boy across from her as he clipped his kukri back to his belt. He looked back at her silently, like he was plotting something.

"He…" Gadget started, but she didn't dare say the name of the man she was referring to. She raised herself slightly on her feet and tried to manage some bravado that she didn't feel. "You n-need me al-alive f-for support," she said, trying to hold back just how terrified she truly felt.

Marvel ground his teeth, gnashing them together. Gadget could see his jaw clench and unclench repeatedly. This was a bad idea. She shouldn't have said anything.

"Marvel!" Glimmer called from somewhere behind Gadget, and instantly Marvel's demeanor seemed to change from cocky plotting and rage to something that she recognized on him far better.

"Go work on the thing, Three," Marvel said as Glimmer entered Gadget's vision and she circled around the table.

Gadget didn't need to be told twice. She pulled the pliers close to her chest and scampered off as fast as she could, drawing in a tense breath as she went. She shouldn't have said anything. The Careers held grudges. Whether she deserved it or not.

She approached the table they'd set up for her and began to resume her work. Her blood had dried so fast around her fingers, hugging them around the opening wounds. For a moment, she worried about pulling them back open as she restarted her work. It was…going to be inevitable.

"Ohh," Glimmer drew out from where she was beside Marvel. Gadget didn't dare look around at her, but she could picture it vividly in her head. "I miss home," Glimmer complained.

"Hey," Marvel said, almost gently, "you know what I miss most?"

Glimmer chuckled slightly. "Let me guess…the solid gold pool?"

Marvel let out an exaggerated gasp. "How did you know!?"

A solid gold pool? Gadget thought. She tested the pliers between her fingers and reached for some wires between two pieces of nano-titanium, and pulled it out as far as it could go without damaging the suit itself. How does…how does a solid gold pool work? she wondered.

"So, how's your daughter, Misses Belcourt?" Marvel asked, sounding cheeky to Gadget's ears.

Glimmer giggled. "How's Glimmer?" she hummed in thought. "She's good. Better now that you-know-what is done."

Marvel made a sound of agreement and Gadget wondered what life was like in District One. It…it felt like it would be so totally different from her life at home. Not that it would ever matter to her. It never could matter.

"And how's the life of your son, Mister Sanford?" Glimmer asked, giggling ever so slightly.

"Ah, yes, my son," Marvel said, and Gadget thought he sounded distinctly amused. "Marvel's good. He's very certain his dad is gonna make a marvelous victor."

Glimmer snickered. "Careful. I think my daughter is gonna make for a very strong adversary for him."

"May the strongest win," Marvel said, and Gadget could practically see him bow in her mind's eye.

"As always," Glimmer replied.

They both went silent for a moment, and Gadget stared down at the work in front of her. She twisted piece after piece inside. It was all coming together, bit by bit. It was…it was almost done.

"You know what I'm craving?" Marvel asked suddenly, but Gadget didn't pay either him or Glimmer any attention. It wasn't important. Glimmer made a questioning sound and Marvel said, "That candy that kinda pops in your mouth."

"Oh, Panem," Glimmer said, "those are so good!"

"Right!?" Marvel said, sounding excited.

Pieces of metal and tech fell into place so smoothly along the suit. It was as she'd envisioned it. Each part went exactly where they belonged and fit. It was…satisfying…to a point.

As Gadget's nimble fingers glided across the workbench, her gaze was drawn to a collection of patiently waiting gears. Each one had been meticulously chosen for its unique shape and size, holding the literal key to the operation of the backplate. If her design proved successful, the armor's back would smoothly hinge to the side, allowing its user to effortlessly step into the suit. Once finished, a lever would need to be inserted near the hip that would securely lock it in place with a simple twist.

Among the gears, there was one that stood out - a formidable behemoth with teeth resembling the serrated edge of a saw. This gear would serve as the central cog in the intricate machinery of her armor. It would be firmly fastened to the inner backplate, enabling seamless rotation when activated, which would lock the back of the suit in an immovable position, ensuring that once she stepped inside she would become one with the armor.

The smaller gears, though smaller in size, were no less crucial. Each one had a specific role, delicately interlocking with its counterparts to create an impenetrable bond. Some gears had jagged edges, while others boasted smoother curves or interlocking ridges. With meticulous precision, Gadget arranged them, fitting the pieces together like a puzzle that the closer she was to completing, brought her closer to her final fate.

With the backplate of the armor held up, Gadget's hands moved with practiced dexterity. She carefully inserted the central gear into its designated slot, relishing the satisfying click as it settled securely into place. The smaller gears obediently followed suit, aligning flawlessly to form the mechanism. As she tightened the screws, a sense of reassurance washed over her. The network of intricately designed gears was intertwined with a series of cables, ready to transmit the torque that would activate the locking mechanism. It was one more step to her escape.

"Speaking of the strongest surviving," Glimmer said slowly, dropping her voice to a more quiet level, but not quiet enough that Gadget couldn't hear. "We need to do something about Clove."

Gadget stilled. This was it. It was happening. The Pack was imploding. It was going to be split right down the middle. Marvel and Glimmer against Clove and Marina, Gadget was sure of it.

"Clove?" Marvel asked. He, too, lowered his voice a few decibels.

"She's a threat," Glimmer said brattily, yet coldly. "Total bitch, too."

Marvel chuckled slightly. "Of course that's what you're worried about."

"I'm serious, Marvel," Glimmer replied. "That bitch is getting more and more crazy by the minute. You know she cut off that Eleven guy's head yesterday?"

Gadget wanted to throw up. That was all her fault. She single-handedly got him killed. She was the one to kill him. She ended his life. Ended it so, so painfully.

She tried not to think of it. Of the ways his eyes stared at her, empty but accusing. Clove might have been the one to bring him down, but Gadget was the one to kill him. Whatever…whatever punishment Clove decided for her would've been better. She should have taken it. But Thresh was in pain and…and all she did was cause him more of it.

"That's not a sign of strength," Glimmer continued, sounding truly disgusted. "That's a sign of weakness."

"You don't need to convince me," Marvel replied. "Like, I know." Gadget heard him blow out a low breath. "What do you wanna do?"

"Kill her when she isn't looking," Glimmer said blandly. "District Two is always going on and on about honoring their district, aren't they?" Marvel made a noise of agreement. "How humiliating would that be?" Glimmer asked with clear gleefulness.

"Oh, I think they would hate that," Marvel said, sounding just as gleeful.

"They seriously would," Glimmer said, and Gadget heard her move about slightly. She heard her giggle a little bit, and then sigh. "She's so weak, and she doesn't even know it."

Marvel hummed in clear thought and Gadget tried hard to work on the pieces of machinery in front of her. It would be so, so bad if they looked at her and deemed her not to be working hard enough. They could decide arbitrarily to punish her for something she had no control over.

"Marina should go, too," Marvel said at last. "She's not gonna be a problem. No point keeping someone that useless around."

Glimmer scoffed. "She's even weaker. And she and Clove have been getting closer lately." She made a noise of derision. "They must know they don't stand a chance alone."

"Of course not," Marvel bragged. "We're number one, eh?" Gadget did not like this. She didn't like this at all. It would be one thing if she were far, far away from the Cornucopia but…but she was here and…

Gadget suddenly felt a presence near her and didn't even need to turn to know it was Marvel, as she felt his hot breath by her ear, whispering, "And this'll be our secret, right, dear?"

Should she tell them that Clove and Marina had practically the same conversation earlier? No, they already knew. She was stupid, they were smart when it came to matters of the Games. No one knew better than Careers.

Seneca Crane might consider them boring, but to anyone else stuck in the arena with these monsters? Boring was the least of their concerns.

"You won't be telling, will you, Stalagmite?" Glimmer joined Marvel on Gadget's other side whilst she tried in vain to maintain her concentration.

She cast a nervous glance at Glimmer, who batted her eyes at the tall girl. What did they want her to say or do? Would it matter? She was going to die, so who would care about her opinion or response? No, they were just having their fun with a walking corpse.

"She's not really a lot of fun anymore," Marvel grumbled playfully, "seems to be just all work and no play. Typical outlier. No sense of play."

Play? PLAY?!

Marvel and Glimmer backed off a little, amused looks on their faces when Gadget's head shot up to look first at Marvel, then Glimmer, with clear outrage in her expression.

"I...I-I…" Gadget's face was slightly red, from both anger and even shame. Shame that her nerves were failing her so spectacularly, even though that's nothing new at this point.

Glimmer pressed her index finger to Gadget's lips. "Shhhh...that's all you need to do."

With a wink and a laugh, she sauntered away, sashaying her hips as she went, followed by a smirking Marvel.

---

"Uuugh! Are you done yet, Killer?!" Clove demanded for the umpteenth time.

"A-almost!" Gadget replied honestly. There was no point in lying about it.

Clove scowled at Gadget so hard the taller girl could practically feel the hateful stare burning holes into her back. "You've been saying that for ages. You're stalling for time."

"No…no I-I-I'm not," Gadget said with certainty.

Gadget turned to look at the diminutive leader of the Careers, she was standing with her fists pressed to her hips, and behind her, Marvel was seated, running a whetstone against his kukri. He glanced over at her and said aloud, "Y'know, a watched diamond doesn't form before your eyes…" he frowned, then looked away thoughtfully. "...Well, that's how the saying goes, I think."

Clove rolled her eyes. "Shut it, Crafter," she growled out. "Killer here is just taking too long, and I'm bored."

She eyed Binary and Kernel, glanced at Gadget, smiled, and stalked away, clearly looking at Kernel more.

Gadget's eyes widened in alarm. Clove's knives were in her hands already. She was going to kill! She knew that the girl would kill, not torture. For a split second, she considered racing after her and getting in the way of her kill, but that would just delay Kernel's death by a matter of seconds. Though at least Gadget wouldn't be around to worry about it anymore.

For some reason, she remembered Corduroy, when he'd shown himself earlier. Inspired, and more than a little bit desperate, Gadget called out, "H-hey!"

This drew far more attention than she ever cared to have. Now she only hoped the next part worked, or this would be worse…for Kernel. She eyed the left half of the suit, the shoulder and arm were more or less functioning, but it just lacked the armored parts for now. She slipped her arm into the armor and barely repressed a smile of satisfaction when the plates folded over it, and with a flick of her wrist, the tiny shield placed in the forearm expanded, allowing the wearer added protection.

This got Clove's attention all right, as well as Binary's, whose eyes roved over every action Gadget had performed. Clove turned back and stomped toward Gadget. "A shield?!" she demanded. "I hope you have better than that, and real quick, Killer!"

"I d-d-do...it-it will be ready f-for you…soon." Gadget stammered.

She saw how Marvel and Glimmer exchanged a glance, as did Clove and Marina.

What mattered most was that she'd bought Kernel time and spared him from more pain or death.

Clove narrowed her eyes, and finally said after a long moment, "All right. I'll give you just this much more time." She held her thumb and index finger ever so slightly ajar, then walked away towards the edge of the camp.

She let out a sigh of relief, and Gadget saw Marvel shaking his head at her, then saying something to Glimmer, which made the girl laugh.

She turned her attention back to the suit, deactivating the shield and letting the plates fall back onto the table. She was going to rush it. It might make Clove merciful, and she would end her life quickly.

Gadget flicked her head towards the pyramid of supplies, where, at the base, Kernel was digging a hole to plant a mine. Binary's plan was slowly coming to fruition before her eyes, and Gadget could do nothing about it. She didn't know what he was planning, or what the benefits of any of this were supposed to be.

She glanced at the other Careers, and although she could tell that they were watching her, keeping a close eye, she could still approach Kernel under the guise of grabbing a tool off of the pyramid.

Standing on one of the crates that had been pushed into the side of the pyramid was the fuel canister Marvel was sponsored yesterday. If Gadget was smart enough…she could take it. None of the Careers would pay that close attention to it, even if it was a sponsored gift.

Hesitantly, and before she could convince herself otherwise, Gadget stepped forward and started to approach the pyramid, fidgeting uncomfortably with her hands as though she was uncertain what to do with them. Last time she had talked to Kernel, he suggested they come up with a plan to escape from the Careers.

And Gadget had done nothing at all to help further that goal. Kernel had been…tortured so brutally because of her. She wouldn't blame him if he changed his mind about wanting to do anything with her. It was because of her that he was in this position.

She stepped past Kernel, careful to avoid the hole in the ground he'd dug up. She hoped the movement was enough to garner his attention enough. Her hands clenched and unclenched, and swiftly grabbed the fuel canister from off the crate in one quick action, as best as she could manage, taking up a bolt fastener as she went. She needed it to look like it was the true reason she came here.

The fuel canister was a little bit larger than the length of her hand, and Gadget hastily put it into her jacket pocket. She had no doubt that the Careers would punish her for taking it, should they know that she did. The entire thing was a gamble, but it could also provide an opportunity.

And an opportunity was exactly what she needed most.

She started to turn, fastener in hand, when something caught her foot and she lost her balance. With a squeak, she threw her arms out to catch herself before she met the dirt of the ground. Gadget tried to turn over, but she stopped when she saw who it was that tripped her.

Kernel glared down at her, and he looked so…so angry with her. So furious. So hateful. Gadget's heart sank. She should have seen this coming. She should've seen this fury coming.

"You…" Kernel said, and pointed to the bandage wrapped around his forehead. "This is your fault."

Gadget's throat dried up completely. He was right. Utterly. She had no one but to blame but herself for what the Careers had done to him. And Kernel's eyes…they looked so full of hate.

"You are the source of my pain," Kernel spat at her, and he crouched down slowly beside her.

"I-I'm so s-sorry," Gadget stuttered uselessly. Her one ally here was off the table. He hated her just as much as he hated the Careers. And Gadget couldn't blame him for it.

She could hear their snickering. Clove, Marina, Glimmer, and Marvel. They were enjoying this. All of this misery they threw at her. The misery that bled off of her and gathered onto the people around her. She truly was nothing but a virus, wasn't she?

Kernel leaned closer to her and dropped his voice as he spoke next, "I took the detonator cap off," he told her. "It's under the largest bag of supplies," he said without looking away.

Gadget blinked, opening her mouth and closing it again. She glanced past Kernel to the pile of supplies behind him, and at a particular lump of it that indeed held a large amount of the materials and weapons and all the things in between.

"You need to figure out a way to set it off," Kernel said and Gadget looked at him. She could feel her face slowly morph from devastation to understanding. "Don't," Kernel hissed harshly, "or they'll know."

Gadget gave a minute nod. It was an act. Whether Kernel was truly furious at her, she didn't know. What she did know, however, was that their plan was still in action.

"Do…" Gadget tried to say, and she tried so hard to keep the look of despair on her face. "I-I'm sorry," she said again.

Kernel stared at her for a moment. Then he said, "I don't care."

Gadget winced. How much of what he said to her was true? Did it even really matter? It would just add another person to the list of people who despised her and wanted her dead.

"I'll signal…" he began, thumping his hand against his chest, above his heart. "When I'm ready…" he continued with a second thump. "Like this…" A third thump against his chest, and then he stuck his hand out in a thumbs-up.

A signal from his home district, Gadget surmised. She nodded her understanding and Kernel stared down at her for a moment longer before he stood up. He cast a grateful glare at the snickering Careers before he resumed his work on the hole he'd been digging.

Gadget followed his lead but refused to look at the Careers. She clutched her hands together, then reached down to grab the fastener off the ground before walking back to her place at the workbench.

How much of that conversation had been real? It was so incredibly brief, but Gadget felt like so much had been left unsaid. So many important things left to the wind because of the overlooking eyes of the Careers.

She cast a glance at Kernel, but he was already focused back on the work the Careers had forced upon him. She bent down to the fire at her side that had long gone out and restarted it with a carefully timed twist of some branches and twigs. Then, when it was going again, she lifted herself towards the workbench again.

Gadget released a sigh and placed the fastener delicately on the table in front of her. As she began routing the wires through the armor's interior, she delicately maneuvered them through specifically designed channels that, although roughly crafted, served their purpose perfectly. Ensuring that each wire was securely fastened, she painstakingly avoided any potential snags or obstacles that could hinder any movements within the suit. The wires gracefully snaked their way around the complex gears and interlocking mechanisms, seamlessly connecting the various components of the armor's defensive systems.

Gadget's expertise became evident as she flawlessly executed each connection, ensuring the stability and efficiency of the entire system. Time seemed to slow down as she carefully opened a small panel on the forearm, revealing a hidden compartment. With utmost care, she threaded each wire through to its designated contact point, making certain that they were precisely aligned. As if bringing her creation to life, she individually bolted down the wires to the terminals of the homemade fuse breaker, securing their place within the intricate network.

Her relentless laboring continued for the next half hour. Gadget meticulously inspected every single spike crudely fashioned from bolts protruding outwards from various surfaces of the armor. Her trained eyes scrutinized each spike, confirming its stability and functionality. With a steady hand, she meticulously soldered each wire onto the back of a spike, skillfully completing a colossal circuit eagerly awaiting its moment of activation. As she soldered the final wire, a surge of anticipation coursed through her veins.

"AUGH!" Clove cried out in annoyance and Gadget spun around quickly, fearfully looking at the diminutive Career. "This is taking too long, Killer!"

Clove palmed the handles of a knife, and Gadget could vividly imagine the torture she wanted her to endure. It made her palms sweat and she idly wiped on her pants. She didn't think anything she said would ever please Clove.

"I-I'm working as f-fast as I can," Gadget stammered weakly, but Clove only glared balefully at her, and she barely noticed Binary hovering a few paces behind her. "It-"

"Will be done today," Clove interrupted. She pulled her knife free from her vest and Gadget's dead, scared eyes jumped to it. Clove spun it between her fingers by the handle and Gadget felt her nerves growing and growing by each passing second.

"Th-the defense is d-d-done," Gadget offered quickly, before Clove could threaten her or Kernel again. Her heart beat so fast, pounding against her chest as her mind warned her of the dangers she could decide to place upon her.

"Defense?" Clove questioned coolly. Dangerously. Gadget could see the insanity swirling in her eyes, more clearly than ever. But she at least raised an eyebrow. The only sign that could remotely show her intrigue.

"S-some bolts," Gadget said, looking at the machinery in question. It laid on the table, complete. But not as part of a whole. "If s-s-someone to-touches it, it'll, uhm, shock y-you."

Clove stepped up to the workbench beside Gadget, looking down at each piece of tech and machinery that Gadget had piled away. Gadget grimaced as Clove did, and tried to take a step back, and carefully out of the way. But Clove's arm shot out like a sparking wire that wrapped around her forearm.

"Enough to kill?" Clove asked with a sickening grin. She tilted her head at Gadget, and Gadget whimpered as her fingers dug painfully at her skin.

It made Gadget want to throw up. All of it did. This was going to be a machine that was…that was going to kill people. And Gadget was going to be the one responsible for it. It made bile rise in her throat, but she kept it down.

Clove stared at her so cruelly, the knife twisting about in her hand ever so slowly. Gadget wondered if she already knew the answer, but was waiting for her answer for reasons she didn't know. Maybe to punish her for not meeting her expectations with a sharp sting through the stomach.

"No," Gadget said weakly. "It's n-not eno-enough."

Clove's fingers ran along the handle of her knife. She leaned into Gadget's face, her grip digging deeper into her arm, and she tried not to recoil at the cruelty on her face. Gadget could feel her breath on her face, and her eyes blinked down at the knife, before going back up to Clove's eyes again.

"Scared, Killer?" Clove purred. The knife lifted and Gadget squeaked in terror as it waved over her face. "Maybe I'll gut you with this," she whispered, right into Gadget's ear, "and I'll watch you bleed as you work."

Cold terror clutched Gadget's heart tight. Clove had to know she would never get the suit if she did that. Surely. But when she looked at her, there was no sign of mercy in her face. Just the vast insanity that seemed to grow and grow by the second. Glimmer had been right, in that regard.

Clove raised the knife, and Gadget was frozen in place as she scraped the blade down Gadget's lips. "Maybe I'll cut off your lips first," she contemplated. "That way, I won't be able to hear any of your pathetic excuses."

Clove shoved her then. Hard. And with enough force that Gadget almost lost her balance as she was thrown into the workbench and had to catch herself with her arms. Despair twisted her insides, and she tried to stave back the flow of tears that she knew was coming. Don't, Gadget. Please don't…

She needed to hold it back. It would only make the Careers, and Clove especially, even more encouraging in her suffering. None of this was like anything she had ever experienced before. And it was all agony. She was nothing more but a slave at the behest of someone else.

Gadget wished they would just kill her and be done with it.

But if they did that, then Corduroy and Peeta would be left alone. And Kernel would have no hope of escape. He was…he was going to become the Careers' next plaything after her. Gadget looked at Clove, frightened, and saw as her face twisted into a cruel snarl. The knife in her hand slowly flitted back into place in her vest, and Gadget watched as it disappeared with cautious eyes.

"Activate it," Clove ordered coldly, sadism shining in her cruel eyes. Gadget straightened herself against the table, but any words she tried to say died before she could get them out. "I want to see."

Gadget swallowed and her nervousness flared. But what option did she have? She turned to face the table and grabbed one of the arm gauntlets. The one opposite of the spear. "Th-this," Gadget told Clove weakly. Her gaze darted nervously to the spiked pieces of armor. "It'll-"

"Show. Me," Clove demanded impatiently. Gadget didn't need to be told twice. She didn't want to be told twice. She pressed the button, and almost instantaneously, she could hear the low hum of electricity flowing through the suit and up the bolted spikes.

It wasn't enough to crackle noisily like a taser would. Gadget suspected that none of the Careers would have been pleased by that. Something that loud would defeat the point. It would be an alarm. And Gadget wished how she could've implemented something like that, if only to save Corduroy and Peeta.

Gadget glanced at Clove, and she could see as Binary cautiously approached from behind her. He looked at her briefly, dismissively, before he gazed at the suit. The weapon that could change the course of the Hunger Games…in Clove's hands.

She could feel everyone's eyes on her. Each of the Careers. Gadget glanced over her shoulder and indeed, Marvel and Glimmer stood side-by-side, the former with his arms crossed and a cocky smirk, and the latter with her hands on her hip and a raised eyebrow. Marina, however, circled Kernel as he dug into the ground, her gaze shifting repeatedly between the two of them with a fierce glare.

"Prove it," Clove said at last, and Gadget looked at her confusedly. Clove only smirked at her sadistically, and added, "Show me."

Mortification flooded through her body, and Gadget tried to take a step back, but her back hit the workbench the moment she tried. Her tired, scared eyes looked at Clove with so much dread that it consumed her.

"I-I-" Gadget tried to say, but words failed her. She glanced over her shoulder at the bits of the suit that thrummed with electricity. It wouldn't be enough to kill her. Gadget couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing. At least death by electrocution would be more merciful than Clove's torture.

"Do it," Clove ordered sharply. Her smirk dropped, replaced with a look of annoyance, and something Gadget feared resembled boredom. She was…all too familiar with what Clove's boredom threatened.

It'll be okay, Gadget, she tried to comfort herself. She wrapped one arm around her torso as she turned around slowly to face her work. It wouldn't kill her. Gadget knew that it wouldn't kill her. But part of her wished that it would. That it would kill her and end her misery here in this arena, regardless of the consequences that she would leave Corduroy, Peeta, and even Kernel in.

Gadget outstretched a shaking hand, and she pulled her head down towards her chest so that nobody could see her watering eyes. Mortification and dread pooled in her stomach. All of Panem was going to see this. Just as they had seen her every action until then.

And finally, she grabbed the bolt.

"AHHH!" Gadget shrieked in incredible pain. The voltage surged through her arm, frying her nerves with a jolt as the amperage surged through her muscles seizing her in place as the electricity burned away at her hand, blistering her already dirty fingers to a bleeding black and red mess of raw flesh.

She retracted her hand in an instant, and she felt her legs buckle underneath her. She couldn't stand straight, and down she fell, wrapping both arms tight around her torso.

Agony. Pure agony. Long after she had let go, she could swear that the shock ran up and down her body over and over again. It was hellish. Her eyes felt as if bursting in their sockets, and every one of her limbs felt like it was in a vice-like clamp that would never let go.

Gadget shook against the dirt, kicking her feet out uselessly. It was worse than she could have ever imagined. She couldn't think. She couldn't do anything. She could only endure as the ravages of electricity wrapped around her body like a steel coil, and the Careers' laughter echoed in her ears.

Gadget wanted to die.

Her every nerve flared, and Gadget couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. It was like fire that rolled through her insides, coiling around her and making her burn from the inside out.

"AHHHHHH!" Gadget screamed again. Her muscles spasmed with uncontrollable movements as her lithe frame wriggled and jolted against the ground. Her tearful eyes jumped to her hand and stared at horror at the blistering flesh of her dead skin. The smell wafted her nostrils and it made her want to throw up.

Clove cackled somewhere above her, but Gadget couldn't bring herself to even look. She didn't think she could bring herself to move. She'd long stopped caring about the tears that the Careers could see. It didn't matter anymore. None of it mattered.

The diminutive Career said something, but Gadget didn't catch it. What worse humiliation could they force onto her? Gadget had no doubt that they could figure something out. But she couldn't focus. Not as she stared at the burnt skin of her hand. It was worse than anything she had ever felt before in her life.

Her heart raced, thumping against her chest so fast. So fast. She sobbed softly, sniffling weakly as she laid there on the ground where she had fallen. Gadget wished so desperately that she was dead. It would've been better than this.

"How do you know she isn't sabotaging it?" Binary's voice reached her ears, and slowly, ever so slowly, Gadget turned her head against the ground. Until she could see them. And she watched as Clove's sadistic and amused smirk disappeared.

"Do you know something I don't, Three?" Clove questioned, her voice scarily low. Her fingers drifted towards the knives that aligned her vest.

Binary raised his hands in quick surrender. "I'm just asking questions," he said in a tone that Gadget thought was meant to placate Clove. "You can't be unstoppable if the suit fries you once you're inside."

Gadget's heart sank. She hadn't sabotaged the suit. But Clove wouldn't believe her if she tried to claim that she didn't.

"Th-that's not tr-"

"Shut up, Killer," Clove interrupted, shooting Gadget a cold glare that silenced her.

Binary smirked at her, just a little bit. The sight made anger stir in the pit of her stomach. He couldn't kill her himself because of the taboo…but he could get Clove to do it for him. Was…was that what he was trying to do? Make Clove angry enough to kill her and leave the suit unfinished?

"Is that why it isn't done yet?" Clove asked callously. "Are you trying to sabotage it?" She stalked closer, and Gadget turned her head away, down to the ground. Because no matter what she said would matter.

She had no defense. Nothing would please Clove enough to leave her alone. Binary had given her the thought, and it wasn't going to go away.

"I told you to finish it, didn't I?" Clove questioned, and Gadget meekly nodded as best she was able from her awkward position. But then Clove's boot planted itself on the side of her head, forcing her down into the ground. "So. Finish. It."

"Come on, Clove." Glimmer scoffed with a whine from somewhere nearby. "Let's just kill her and be done with it. She's so weak she won't even put up a fight."

"Killing her would be a mercy," Clove returned savagely. Her boot ground into Gadget's head, forcing her to turn it to the side so that her heel was against her cheek. She stared up at Clove with pleading eyes, but she found no mercy in Clove's.

"Don't you wanna keep her around for a good time?" Marvel asked Glimmer. "Killing her now is just a real waste of the marvelous death she's gonna get."

"She's nothing," Clove said flatly. "Aren't you, Killer?" she purred softly, lowering herself so that she could rest her hand on her knee, but not yet putting her full weight on top of Gadget.

"Y-yes…" Gadget replied. "I-I'll finish it…"

She wondered if she could twist her body hard enough to break her own neck whilst Clove held her head down with her foot. If done right it'd be all over in a real hurry. She could do it! She was going to do it. But she needed her limbs to work properly now. Any second and Clove was going to take her foot off and it'd look more like Gadget was trying to retaliate.

She propped her left palm on the ground and began to shift her shoulder. But Clove's foot abruptly lifted off of her.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Clove demanded.

Gadget shifted her eyes to look up, and see Marina had apparently shoved Clove.

"Didn't you see?!" Marina retorted, and she leaned close enough so only Clove and Gadget could hear her. "Longfin just tried to kill herself!"

No!

Clove bent down and grabbed Gadget by the collar and hoisted her close to her own face. Gadget didn't think it was possible for Clove to look more furious, but she did. "You don't get to die until I say so, Killer! Got it?!"

Gadget closed her eyes, and just nodded. "Y-yes…"

She let go abruptly and Gadget fell hard on her back. And with her, all hopes of ending this misery. How disappointed were Beetee, Wiress, and Septimius in her? How much did they regret in even trying to help her get to this point? Did they regret the sponsors that they sent her?

"Only when you finish it will you die," Clove snarled at her, and Gadget looked up at her as she weeped. "And I'll cut you apart. Stab you again and again, just like I did your ally."

Gadget choked on a sob. Lace…she didn't deserve this…I did…

"What was her name?" Clove asked, tearing a knife from its place in her vest with terrible speed. "Lace?"

Gadget's lip wobbled. She missed Lace…so much. And she was the reason she was dead. If she hadn't stolen their supplies, Lace would still be alive. Gadget had no one to blame but herself, no matter what Corduroy and Peeta said.

"She begged for you," Clove said, a dark smirk crossing her lips. "She screamed for mercy. And those screams were music to my ears."

Gadget's tearful eyes morphed into a glare. And before she could lose her nerve, she spat out, "Fuck you, glitch!"

Clove's eyes blazed in sudden fury, and her foot slammed against Gadget's chest. Hard enough to knock the breath out of her, and to fear that something was broken. But it was worth the pain if she could goad Clove into killing her. Right here and now.

"What did you say to me?" Clove asked, her voice cold beyond anything Gadget had ever heard.

Gadget swallowed, but she didn't look away from Clove, no matter how her instincts told her to. She had to do this. For Lace. And for her own sake. And for that, maybe she was a coward. But she didn't care.

"I was there," Gadget said, jutting out her chin in some kind of defiance she didn't feel. "O-on the ledge. An-and you di-didn't notice."

An enraged expression appeared on Clove's face. So angry that her face turned red, and Gadget could see the grip on her knife become so tight that her knuckles went white.

Gadget forced out a chuckle that she didn't mean in the slightest. The only thing she felt was true terror. She couldn't believe that she was doing this. But she had to. She needed to. "Sh-she didn't be-beg for me," Gadget said in the most taunting voice she could manage.

Clove ground her teeth together. She truly looked like she was resisting the urge to plunge her knife into Gadget's chest. Just a little bit longer. Just a little bit longer, and then it would all be over.

"She s-stopped you fr-from finding me when she k-kicked you," Gadget revealed, and she smiled at Clove with a smile she didn't mean. Faked to its largest degree.

"Clove…" Marvel warned from off to the side, but although Gadget glanced at him, she didn't pay him any attention other than that. She needed to say something that would send Clove over the edge. No matter if she meant it or not. No matter how much it would hurt her.

Gadget put on her largest fake smile that she could manage, and said, "If you fo-found me there…Cato would still be alive."

The words felt like poison on her tongue. She'd tried to stomp down the guilt that had rapidly grown in her stomach. She told herself over and over again in her head that…that what she did to Cato…how she…how she killed him…stopped him from hurting anyone else. But it didn't change the facts. Two people were dead because of her. Cato and Thresh were both dead because of her. And the burgeoning of guilt was too much to bear.

Gadget deserved to die.

Clove roared in absolute rage and abhorrence. This was it. This was where Gadget died. She hoped that it wasn't going to be so painful.

Clove swung her knife downwards right towards Gadget, but right before it could sink deep into her, someone caught her hand and hauled her back a few feet, and out of range.

"LET GO OF ME!" Clove shouted and Gadget blinked in dismay at the sight of Marvel pulling Clove backwards. One arm wrapped around her torso while the other held onto the knife.

No…

Clove's free arm elbowed Marvel hard in the stomach, and Marvel released a choked breath. In an instant, Clove spun around and rammed her hand into Marvel's windpipe.

Marvel released her, both his hands flying up to grip his throat. But Clove paid him no mind. She looked absolutely murderous and she turned back toward Gadget, shifting her knife about in her hand.

"Clove, stop!" Glimmer shouted, reaching Marvel's side as he regained his ability to breathe. "We need her!"

Clove growled. "Quiet, Diamondhead," she said.

Gadget crawled back slightly as cold fear enveloped her. Clove was going to make this painful. She'd been interrupted and Gadget knew that it meant Clove was going to reevaluate what to do.

"Three will finish the suit for her," Clove ordered, stomping closer and closer. She spun the knife around in her hand, gripping it by the handle. A promise of pain.

"I can't," Binary cut in before Clove could strike. And right as Clove stopped above her, she froze. Gadget had forgotten how close he was. Only a little bit behind and to the side of Clove. "I don't know how to build it," Binary said, and that fact seemed to make him sound very annoyed. "You can murder her after she's done, right?"

"Remember your place, Three," Clove snapped with a snarl, all without taking her eyes off of Gadget.

A whimper fled through Gadget's throat. Her dead eyes trained on the knife in Clove's hand. A death that was going to be incredibly prolonged. One that would be so incredibly painful. Whatever merciful death Gadget could have gotten had long passed.

"I just mean-" Binary started to say, sounding annoyed, but Clove turned around before he could finish and kicked him in the chest, knocking him over. "Agh!" he grunted as he hit the ground.

Gadget glanced at him, but Clove spun around on her heel in an instant, leaving Binary to look up at her with an expression of anger.

"Stand up, Killer," Clove ordered, and she truly did sound absolutely furious and murderous. Her face was read in pure rage, but what could Gadget do but comply?

She stood on shaky legs, trembling in fear of what Clove had planned for her. There was so much insanity in her eyes. Eyes that promised a painful, torturous death that would only end after days of suffering.

Then, without any sense of warning, Clove swung the back of her hand into Gadget's face, whipping her head to the side and tearing open the broken skin that Clove had cut with her knife. Her feet twisted, and Gadget caught herself on the workbench. Pain hit her every sense. Hot and below the surface that throbbed. A sting that ran through her body, all the way down to her feet, and made her toes curl.

"Maybe I'll rip Nine's insides apart," Clove hissed, her voice dripping with sadistic pleasure. The callousness in her eyes sent chills down Gadget's spine. "If I can't kill you...I'll savor tearing him to shreds. And when I do, I will let him know how his death is your fault."

No!

Gadget's gaze locked with Clove's, her world collapsing under the weight of the monstrous threat. The crimson rivulets trickling down her face from the reopened wound were insignificant compared to the torment unleashed by Clove's sadistic intentions. Her feeble attempt to utter a plea was drowned out by the impending horror.

"W-wait-" Gadget stammered, desperation lacing her voice, but her words were swallowed by the ruthless air.

"FIVE!" Marina's voice exploded, reverberating through the tension-laden atmosphere. Gadget's eyes darted past Clove, drawn to the towering pyramid of supplies nearby. Amidst the chaos, Finch emerged, grabbing something with hurried desperation.

Glimmer's bow snapped up, but Finch had already spun around, her body a blur as she sprinted back into the cruel darkness of the forest. The arrow whizzed through the air, a futile attempt to halt Finch's escape, missing its mark by a hair's breadth.

"Stop her! Kill that bitch!" Clove's command ripped through the air, her voice laced with savage intent. With swift precision, she unsheathed a second knife from her vest, the glinting blade thirsty for blood.

"Let's go," Marina said, her sword ready.

Clove shook her head. "Glimmer this time. And you had better improve your aim in the next few seconds. That piece of gravel isn't getting away again!"

She took off at a quick sprint, not brooking any opportunities for argument. And Gadget surmised they'd need at minimum two people to watch Gadget, Binary and Kernel. But Clove left Marina with Marvel. They'd spend as much time eyeing each other as they would the prisoners. As much as Gadget wanted to just die and be done with it, she thought of Kernel, and she supposed she owed him something. At least a chance to get away from Binary and all the others. She'd forestall her own death until Kernel was safely away.

As she predicted, Marina was exchanging uneasy glances at Marvel, and Marvel met her stare-for-stare, a confident smirk on his face, but the tense grip on his drawn weapon said he was anticipating violence right there and then. She wouldn't be surprised if they did fight right now, Marina and Clove, then Marvel and Glimmer. Clove was insane, but still sharp enough to keep the two parties divided. Clove would have no trouble with Glimmer, and Marvel would have no problem with Marina...which left Clove and Marvel to fight each other, when the time came for it.

"So...you watch the boys, I'll watch Longfin," Marina said.

Gadget blinked. Marina sounded afraid!

"Mhmm…" Marvel replied, smirking. "...Sure."

"Right." Marina stood rooted to the spot.

"Ladies first," Marvel gestured towards Gadget, who was watching with rapt attention.

Kernel had paused to stare at the two wardens, but returned to his work, looking slightly more frantic, but only Gadget saw. Binary too was watching Marvel and Marina, and those two were staring hard at each other.

"Age before beauty," Marina retorted.

"Hematite," Marvel said, still smirking away.

"Swordfish!" Marina replied.

It seemed neither wanted to turn their backs first. This could go on for a while, so Gadget turned to her workbench and then she began to finish up what she could of the suit. There were still the final parts to do, but the arms were more or less completed, and Clove knew the taser worked, quite painfully. It wouldn't kill, but as Gadget could personally attest, the victim would be most incapacitated, leaving them vulnerable to be finished off in any way the wearer of the suit desired. How she wished she could use it, or give it to Peeta or Corduroy…

"Cut it out, Marvel!" Marina had started backing up, and Marvel was following her casually.

"Why? What're you so afraid of?" he asked. "Aren't we on the same side?"

"I'm-I'm serious! Stop it! I'll…"

Gadget turned again, and she saw from her peripherals that Binary and Kernel dropped all pretenses of working and just watched as the two Careers did a strange dance around each other, mostly with Marina retreating and never once turning her back to Marvel.

There was a clash of steel, and Gadget gasped. Had it begun already? Marina stepped under the rearmost dome section of the Cornucopia, all but hidden from view and Marvel ducked to go after her.

"GET OFF ME!" Marina shrieked, "GET OFF, YOU STUPID TUNA!"

"You look like you've got a cut, you hematite," Marvel said, "better let me have a look to make sure it doesn't get infected."

Gadget didn't like to think what Marvel was trying to do to Marina. She didn't like the Careers, but still, it felt wrong what she believed was happening.

Now!

Gadget took out the fuel canister, before she hesitated as she opened it. She bent her head slightly and sniffed, but nothing wafted through her nostrils. It was devoid of any scent. Gadget started walking from the workbench, spilling a thin trail all along the path towards the mine under the largest pile of supplies. Kernel saw her actions, and nodded at her.

Soon.

She stoppered the canister once she reached the mine. It would be enough, and there was no need to use it all up. As she turned to go back to the workbench, she froze.

Binary was staring right at her.

He saw. HE SAW!

She gulped. It was over before it began. She'd be punished even more, or worse yet, Kernel would be punished, and she'd be made to watch. Once he yelled and told the two Careers, they'd be united once again.

That was when the most remarkable thing happened that Gadget had never before seen or experienced.

Binary turned and walked further away, seemingly watching the still shouting and scuffling pair of Careers.

Did that just happen!? Gadget was in disbelief.

Binary...by his silence and ignorance, was indirectly supporting her actions. Was he going to use this against her somehow? Because she'd owe him again?

What was he thinking? What was he planning?

Snap out of it, Gadget!

She shook her head and returned to the workbench. That was something to worry about later. In the woods, the mockingjays sang a discordant tune. They seemed to be imitating the shouts and screams in the distance. Either Clove and Glimmer finally caught and killed Finch, or they'd lost her once again. The lithe redhead was crazy. She came back to steal from the Cornucopia with virtually the entire Career Pack there, as well as Binary and Kernel. She had no way of knowing they weren't working together…well unless she'd watched them and how they were being treated by Clove and the others. Still, the audacity of Finch was remarkable!

Or it was the sign of an unhinged girl.

It was more likely the latter. Mixed in with some measure of blatant disregard for her own well being and desperation and/or hunger. Gadget couldn't help being impressed though. She wished she'd taken the time to get to know her a bit. She might have been a decent ally for Corduroy and Peeta.

A moment later, Clove and Glimmer reemerged from the forest edge. They were audibly quarreling with one another. She cast a glance behind her and saw a very satisfied Marvel walking out, and a disheveled, mildly traumatized Marina trailing behind.

Silently, Gadget slipped the canister back into her pocket and turned away from the Careers. Eyes on the workbench, Gadget, she told herself, reaching a hand out to grab a circuit board.

She tried not to think of the Careers. But she froze, her hand stuck in the air. Everything was slowly coming apart here. An alliance held together by a single strand of code. And once it broke, that would be it. The end.

"You!" Clove snarled and Gadget dropped her hand upon a second circuit board. Her heart thumped in her chest and she closed her eyes in preparation for it. A hit that would knock her down. She was sure that the Careers knew what she'd done. She was sure that they knew she'd taken Marvel's sponsor gift.

She heard Glimmer scoff, but otherwise said nothing. Neither did Marvel, and Marina was extremely quiet. What happened out there? Finch had to still be alive. Gadget hadn't heard a cannon fire, which meant that she was still alive.

"Your mines didn't work," Clove said at last and Gadget's heart skipped a beat. It…it was Binary that she had gone after? Gadget let out a breath of relief. The mines hadn't stopped Finch. Which meant that…Binary was to blame.

"The mines work fine," Binary said, and Gadget could have sworn that he sounded scared. "Five didn't step on any."

"Who's fault is that?" Clove retorted, and Gadget glanced back to see that her face had gone red in rage. She was palming the hilt of her knives repeatedly, spinning them slowly.

"What do you want me to do?" Binary asked, and this time Gadget could hear it clearly. He was fearful. Gadget hoped he regretted all of this. He'd delivered them all to the Careers, for some kind of perverse sense of protection.

"Move the mines closer together," Clove ordered. "Bury all of them." She pointed at a section of crates, of which Binary and Kernel had put together to lay the deactivated landmines on. "If she comes back, she dies."

Gadget turned her head fully to look at the complete scene that was unfolding behind her. None of the Careers made a sound, but they all watched Clove and Binary intently. Gadget could see a whirl of emotions cycle around Marina's face. Glimmer put a hand on her hip and looked so very bored. And Marvel…Gadget shivered. He looked beyond pleased with himself.

From his place on the ground, Kernel stood up slowly. But he didn't appear scared. He gazed at Binary…and smirked.

Binary seemed to stumble over his words. His composure was slowly being whittled away by Clove. "That'll blow up all of the-"

Clove whipped her fist around, striking Binary square in the ear, and Gadget winced. Binary stumbled back slightly, but before he could reorient himself, Clove was practically on top of him. She lunged for him, forcing him onto the ground with a sharp grunt.

Gadget turned back around again, her heart hammering so hard against her chest she worried her ribs would crack. Was…was Clove going to kill Binary? After all the suffering he put her through, Gadget thought she should've been glad if Clove did. But…Binary was the only reason she was still alive. He'd spared her in the Bloodbath, and he spared her just now when he said nothing about the canister she'd stolen from Marvel. Or more importantly, the fact she'd been spilling it.

It wasn't enough. It wasn't nearly enough. He'd only spared her because of the taboo. Gadget was certain of it.

"You wanted my protection," Clove reminded Binary, and Gadget couldn't stop herself from glancing back to see her straddle Binary's waist. She twirled a knife in her hand, and hovered it over Binary's chest. "This is how you're going to earn it," she spat.

Binary didn't say anything, but Gadget could envision his hateful glare in her head. But anything defiant would end in his death, and…and Gadget didn't know what they would do with those mines then.

"Are you going to do it or not, orphan boy?" Marina sneered. Gadget listened as she stepped across her place at the Cornucopia, and then Gadget heard Binary grunt in pain again. "Just let us know now so we can kill you."

"You can't," Binary spoke so quietly that Gadget had to strain to hear. "I'm the only one who knows how to activate them.

"You're expendable," Clove replied. "All outliers are. You're nothing special."

"All you have," Marina joined in, "is a sob story about how your dear old daddy died in the Games. Oh, I'm so sorry! Woe is me!" she mocked.

Binary didn't say anything, but Gadget could feel his anger.

"You have two options, Three," Clove said. "You die here. Now. Or you do what I tell you to."

"Oh, but Clove, it's such a tough question," Marina mocked. It was like she was becoming more and more furious by the second. Gadget shivered in disgust. Just…just what did Marvel do to get her this riled up?

Gadget released a shaky breath. Mortimer appeared so vividly in her mind. His horrible words. That…thing he made her take before the parade. Tore her from her own mind and…and…

He's dead, Gadget, she reassured herself, gripping the circuit board hard. He can't hurt you anymore. He can't hurt anyone anymore. She had seen it happen. Watched as his head was split open by a gunshot. Right in front of her.

"And when I win," Clove purred, "I'm going to mentor my tributes into killing everyone from Three as soon as the gong rings." Gadget wanted to sob. "Do you hear me, Killer!?" Clove called.

Gadget wished she hadn't. She blinked away her watery eyes as she connected the two circuit boards to the suit. Her fingers throbbed in pain, and Gadget tried to focus on it instead of the fate of her district partner.

"Like I said," Marvel commented to Glimmer. "No play."

Glimmer giggled and Gadget gripped the edge of the workbench. She felt like her head was spinning. She could barely stand.

"Fine. I'll do it," Binary said at last. And Gadget knew him well enough to hear the wrath in his tone, bubbling just beneath the surface.

---

Gadget's slender fingers delicately maneuvered the homemade soldering iron, its tip dancing over the scavenged circuit boards. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead as she meticulously scraped off solder, extracting every precious strand. The acrid scent of burnt chemicals hung in the air, the fumes making her brain foggy as it burned her nose. She knew it would be better if she could rivet the sections together, but she had never even seen a blacksmith's forge, let alone used one - and even if she had, there was nothing close to one that she could use besides the smaller campfire next to her. So she persisted on, removing the chemical coating off of each circuit, carefully collecting the shiny soft metal into a bag.

Her surroundings were a chaotic mess. Sheets of salvaged metal, twisted wires, and discarded electronic components littered the makeshift workshop. Sunlight burned down upon her, the oppressive heat seemingly stealing the breath from her lungs, yet all she could do was to continue her work. Determination glinted in her eyes as she focused on the task at hand, her mind calculating every move.

Gadget took a deep breath, steadying her trembling hands, and reached for a metal plate. It was a jagged piece she had scavenged from a sponsorship crate, its edges sharp and uneven. She held it against the main cuirass frame she had assembled, her heart pounding with anticipation. This would be the final piece, the culmination of her tireless efforts.

With practiced precision, Gadget applied the soldering iron to the plate's surface, melting the solder she had so diligently scraped off. The molten metal flowed like liquid, bonding the two pieces together. She pressed the plate firmly against the frame, feeling the heat seep through her blistered and burned fingers. Beads of sweat trickled down her temples, mingling with the grime on her face, sizzling upon contact with the scorching metal.

And just like that, it was done. Her work, and what the Careers had forced upon her was done at last. The suit that was meant to protect her and help her survive was done…and it was never going to be used by her.

Gadget ran a hand over her brow, whipping off the mixture of sweat, grime, and blood from her face. The cut along her cheek stung so badly, but Gadget couldn't find it in herself to care. The heat of the sun hit her with their endless rays. It was so hot here. It made Gadget roll up her sleeves.

She cast a backwards glance at the Careers. None of them were watching her, but she knew that the moment she tried to move, they would be on top of her. Even if she tried to take the suit for herself, they'd ensure that it was a pointless venture.

So, this was it. There had been no opportunity to sabotage the suit. Not after Binary's warning to Clove. She would never be able to try it. Gadget was going to need to be quick and time everything perfectly if she wanted to get out of here. She looked at Kernel and Binary and saw as they both carefully pulled a mine from their separate holes in the ground.

Gadget let out a breath and circled the table, grunting as she grabbed the suit and carefully leaned it against the workbench. Her hand ran down the cold metal of it, the distant thrumming of the spear charging with electricity hitting her ears. Her work, complete. And Gadget didn't know if she felt fulfilled or empty.

"Why have you stopped, Killer?" Clove asked, and Gadget spun with a squeak as the other girl approached. She cocked an eyebrow at her, twirling a knife from hand to hand. Gadget watched as it went, fear taking hold of her heart once more.

"It's done," Gadget managed to say weakly. The words felt like finality on her tongue. And with them, she saw as each of the Careers looked at her, then at the suit. Marvel and Glimmer with something akin to greed, and Marina with what Gadget thought might have been uncertainty.

A demented grin crossed Clove's lips. "Perfect," she purred. "Open it."

Gadget's throat bobbed, and she pressed a button on the inside of one of the gauntlets. And just as soon as she did, the gears came to life, and the Careers, Binary, and Kernel watched with anticipation as the front of the suit opened, and left just enough room for someone to step inside.

It stood proudly before them all. Every part of it. Metal and machinery that stretched from the ankle to the neck. Protecting every bit of flesh except the feet, hands, and head. But on the back of the shoulders, and the back itself of the suit, stood the spiked bolts that would deliver a devastating shock. And the thing that powered it all, attached to its back. The steam generator.

Gadget would've considered it her masterpiece if not for the fact that she knew what it was going to be used for.

She stepped to the side as Clove approached. Gadget carefully maneuvered herself to where the electric spear sat, and quietly grabbed it. The time was fast approaching. And at the thought, Gadget glimpsed Kernel as he stepped away from the hole he'd dug, and seemed to be quickly followed by Binary.

They both knew that it was about to happen.

Her heart beat in anticipation.

Clove chuckled quietly. "The weapon that'll make me unstoppable," she said.

Gadget could see as Marvel and Glimmer glanced at each other, and Marina sized up the two of them. Only then did Clove turn around, apparently deciding to ignore Gadget for the moment.

Marvel and Clove eyed each other as Glimmer and Marina did the same. This was it. The breaking point. Gadget had known it was coming, but nothing prepared her for it. She hadn't known how to.

Marina and Glimmer started to circle each other, almost casually, as if everything was still normal. Gadget suspected they were both waiting for the other to strike first. And Clove and Marvel…Gadget didn't need to look at them to see their intentions.

Instead, she looked at Kernel, and he looked back at her. Then, he hit his chest with his fist once, twice, thrice, before he gave a thumbs-up.

Gadget didn't need to be told a second time. This was their only opportunity. She didn't know if there was ever going to be another one. She took the spear in her hands and drew a deep breath.

And then, without any form of warning, she plunged it into the ground where she'd spilled the fuel. Azure sparks of electricity arced around the tip of the weapon. In mere seconds, the sparks burst, and the flames came to life in an instant, spreading across the grass so, so quickly.

Gadget followed the trail with dead eyes, as the flame expanded and expanded. One of the Careers let out a cry of alarm, but Gadget didn't know or didn't care which of them it was.

It felt like eternity, while in reality it was only a few seconds. And the fire reached its end point and…

Bang!

An explosion rocked Gadget's world, and she ducked her head, protecting herself with her arms even as the heat knocked her onto her back. The pyramid of supplies flew this way and that in the explosion. It wasn't nearly enough to destroy all of the supplies, but that hadn't been the goal.

Glimmer was launched forward, gripping her arm with a soundless scream. Even from her position, Gadget could see her blood dripping through her fingers. She had been far too close to the explosion.

"NOOO!" Clove roared angrily, at least, Gadget imagined the diminutive girl must have been. Gadget looked at her and saw as she stared at the pyramid of supplies. There was no time for Gadget to think. She had to act!

When she stood up, and then stumbled forward and fell, Gadget realized she'd completely forgotten to factor in the after-effects of being caught so close to a blast. For one, her hearing was replaced with a terrible ringing. The sudden loss of full hearing also left her extremely disoriented and barely able to balance on her feet, which left her swaying unsteadily when she tried to get to her feet once again.

When she fell a second time, Gadget decided she was faster crawling on all fours anyway, which was what she did. She looked up at her suit as she passed it, and briefly considered slipping into it, or breaking it, but neither option was possible when she was seeing three of the suit and it was swirling about. Taking a risk, she flipped herself onto her back and gazed upon the carnage she'd unleashed. No one had gotten away unscathed. Marina and Glimmer were both face down in the dirt, their positions indicating they'd been closest to the blast.

Clove was dividing her attentions between glaring at Gadget, and trying to get back to her feet. Behind her was Marvel, whose back was smoking, and he was bleeding out of an eye, ear and nose, but seemed relatively unphased otherwise. Kernel was the furthest from the explosion, but he too was on his back, and Binary was in the midst of picking himself up. Gadget leaned forward in her sitting position, the ringing was getting worse, and she realized the trickle of warmth flowing down from her lips to her chin was her bleeding out the nose.

She never wanted to use explosives ever again.

Get it together, Gadget! she screamed at herself.

Even if she couldn't hear very well, she could still pick up muffled noises and sounds. She was confident her hearing would be back before too long, but she needed to get away. Just get away.

But she couldn't.

She glanced around with frantic, wild eyes. The heat from the explosion still burned at her, and she could only imagine the dirt and grime that coated her appearance.

Kernel had grabbed a heavy pan and struck Binary's hand violently, forcing him to drop the poisoned blade and then he was on top of Binary, pounding his face with his fists. The look of pure rage was almost the same as what Clove had for Gadget. It was terrifying to see on the mostly mild mannered boy.

"KILLER!" Clove shouted, the sound muffled by the ringing in Gadget's ears, but she looked at where Clove was regardless. Cold fear pierced her through the chest as Clove stumbled to her feet uneasily. She shouted something else that Gadget couldn't hear, but she didn't care.

Gadget pulled back on her elbows, scrambling to get away. But she couldn't bring herself to stand. It felt like the world spun underneath her, and she tried to orient herself to futile results

Marvel's hand shot out before Clove could make it even two steps, and his fingers wrapped around Clove's ankle, pulling her back into the ground. And Marvel wasted no time. He pulled himself over her, his kukri in a firm grip.

Clove was forced to turn and she thrust her fist at Marvel's throat, her knee coming up against his groin. Though the full force was blunted by his proximity over her, still, the tall boy wheezed and rolled off of Clove quickly. She produced a knife from her vest, and Marvel brought his kukri up to fend off the blade.

It was over! The Career Pack was done!

High above them in the sky, Gadget barely noticed that the sun was finally setting. A beautiful orange hue took up the horizon. All for Seneca Crane's show, Gadget thought bitterly. A coolness in the weather hugged her tightly, but it didn't matter and she didn't care.

Idly in her mind she registered, We're closing on the finish.

Gadget closed her eyes for a moment, centering herself. She pictured a light, one that burned so bright it would consume everything, and put everything into that light. Her fears, her anxieties, her self-loathing, she cast it all into the light and let it be consumed, and when she reopened her eyes, she saw everything happening around her moving far more slowly. She was in the moment once again.

Clove very much wanted to turn her attentions to Gadget, but Marvel was insistently drawing her focus, and almost scoring cuts on Clove's arms and legs. Normally, he would not have so easily gotten under her defenses, but it appeared Clove no longer could quite fully prioritize anymore and was acting more on her innate desires or rage. Marvel kept casting furtive glances at Gadget too, as if trying to signal something. Gadget simply ignored it for the time being.

Glimmer and Marina were recovering from the mine's explosion, and when they locked eyes with one another, immediately pounced on each other, shrieking and crying out, aiming their weapons for the other's throat.

All for the glory of the Capitol.

Her eyes settled on Kernel. He was turning Binary's face into a bundle of bruises and welts. But Binary's hand was reaching for the nightlock dagger, not too far away. Gadget knew what would happen and what she had to do to obtain the best possible outcome. She also needed to get a few things, as many tools as she could grab from the workbench, and a backpack, preferably one that was loaded. Her eyes settled on a pack conveniently lying near Kernel, and it was spilling out with food.

Binary's hand was almost touching the handle of the poisoned dagger, and Kernel was still heedless of his impending death. Now she really had no time for anything except to act.

Pushing herself up, Gadget darted for the workbench, seized any tool that looked remotely useful to her and stuffed her pockets even as she turned and ran for Kernel, over in the corners of her peripherals, Clove and Marvel clashed, as did Marina and Glimmer, who had resorted to circling each other, waiting for an opening, and then it was Glimmer who attacked first. Gadget reached the boys and with strength provided by pure adrenaline, seized Kernel's upraised fist and pulled hard. This turned out to be his saving grace, as Binary's fingers wrapped around his weapon and he swung wide, missing Kernel's neck by a hair's breadth.

The action finally sobered Kernel to how close he was to death and easily followed Gadget's momentum as she yanked him off Binary and kept pulling, even as she bent to grab the backpack. Kernel also reached up from the pile and grabbed two bags, one of which was still burning. He threw the burning bag at Binary, who'd gotten to his feet.

"COME ON!" Gadget urged, as she broke into a run.

Clove and Marvel were now grappling, each using their left hands to grip the wrist of the other, preventing them from stabbing or cutting, and they went in circles, teeth gritted and grunting with effort. Although Clove was small, time and time again, she demonstrated her brute strength, and it was on par with Marvel's it seemed, though Marvel was dealing with multiple injuries, more than Clove at any rate. Marina and Glimmer were half-dead, but determined to take one another along.

Gadget's blood pumped in her ears, but she kept moving, through the pain in her hands. The ringing in her ears came to a slow end, and finally she could hear again more clearly. The clang of Clove's knives on Marvel's kukri as he expertly deflected one of her thrown knives.

"You vain bitch!" Marina shouted at Glimmer when she leapt just out of reach, twisting herself around with a spin of her sword, before she swung herself back around. "You know how long I've wanted to kill you!?"

"Come on, then!" Glimmer shouted back. "You waste of time!" She pulled an arrow from the quiver on her back, and readied her knife.

Binary had been singed by the burning bag earlier, and even with a badly bruised eye from a solid punch by Kernel, but Gadget had to pause at the edge of the closest part to the woods to watch. What was Binary going to do? She thought he'd have run by now.

He cast a quick glance between the two scuffling pairs of Careers, and coolly bent over, picking up an unburied mine, and sauntered over to the workbench where the open suit stood.

No…

Binary touched a button on the top of the mine, and Gadget could see a light on its surface come to life. Breath caught in her throat and she took a step back in her fear.

And before she realized what was happening, he took aim, and threw the mine hard, in the direction of Marina and Glimmer. It landed smack between the two girls, who finally paused their fight to look down. There was barely any time for their expressions to morph into fear before-

Bang!

The shockwave sent Gadget stumbling backwards, and into Kernel, who as it turned out, had also turned to witness the severe turn of events.

Gadget couldn't think. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, and even from her distance, the heat of the explosion blew across her face and made her cough. When she opened her eyes, she almost threw up.

Marina and Glimmer weren't dead yet, but they soon would be. The explosion had sent them nearly thirty feet from where they'd been in either direction. Both were screaming and bleeding out at an alarming rate.

Marina's left arm and right leg from the knee downwards was just vapourized, and she was shrieking in pure agony. Gadget was certain her mind was gone, and soon, she would die. A cannon would sound, announcing her demise.

Glimmer was wailing loudly, all her limbs reduced to bloodied stumps, and half her face sheared off. Her eye hung loosely from her head. All of the beauty she'd flaunted to the Capitol was gone in less than a second. Gadget suspected Seneca Crane already had the cannon ready.

There was no chance that they were going to survive.

Glimmer screamed something unintelligible. Blood leaked out of her mouth and she sounded like she was in true, utter agony. Gadget shifted her gaze from her to Marina, who stared in disbelief at her missing limbs…and Gadget couldn't stop herself. She doubled over and threw up onto the ground.

She couldn't imagine the pain that they felt. It would be beyond anything she had ever felt in her life.

"Aren't you two so glad you volunteered?" Kernel remarked behind her, rather dismissively.

Marvel and Clove were knocked off their feet, separated from one another. Marvel was gazing at Glimmer, and he truly looked like his brain had broken.

"All that training for nothing!" Binary sneered, and he laughed. "For nothing!" he shouted. Then he stepped backwards into the suit and pressed the button to seal itself shut. He looked quite impressive, moreso after he picked up the shockstaff.

Her work…in the hands of Binary. That was his plan all along. Why hadn't she figured that out? He needed her to finish the suit…because he wanted to take it for himself. And…and every time Gadget explained how it worked to Clove, Binary had been there to listen to it all.

"CLOVE!" Binary yelled at the top of his lungs.

Gadget had never before heard Binary raise his voice like that.

"YOU THIEF!" Clove shouted, and Gadget only noticed then that she had stood up. She flipped a knife into her hand and threw it at Binary.

Binary easily blocked the thrown blade with an armored arm. The weapon bounced harmlessly off of it and fell to the ground before him.

Clove stopped, and her hands hovered at her vest where the handles of her other knives. For the first time, Gadget saw fear in her eyes. For the first time, Gadget could tell that she was scared.

"Did you think I joined you for your protection!?" Binary snarled at her. Gadget idly wondered if he raised his voice for Gadget and Kernel's benefit. "I only joined you for access to the mines. Now that I have it...I don't need you anymore."

Gadget suddenly realized he held another mine in his free hand, and the shockstaff arced ominously.

Any skill Clove had was nullified by Binary's suit, weapon, and explosives. It was truly over. Despair welled in Gadget. What had she done?

"Shit! We should've killed him!" Kernel growled. "See you, Three."

Gadget didn't bother to look back to see him go. She couldn't. The realization that struck her hit her too hard.

"Glimmer?" Marvel voiced in a broken tone, and Gadget gazed at him as he stared at the bloody and broken form of his district partner.

Their cries echoed through the Cornucopia. Marina's screams and Glimmer's wails. The smell of smoke and blood hit her nostrils and Gadget almost retched for a second time. How long was their pain going to go on for?

"You-" Clove started to say, but Binary didn't want to hear it. He grabbed another unburied mine and prepared to throw it.

"Shit!" Marvel shouted just as the mine left Binary's hand, and Gadget watched in horrified trepidation as it arced and fell towards the last two Careers.

Bang!

Clove managed to jump and roll out of the way, using the momentum from the explosion to launch her forward. Marvel barely managed to avoid the blast as it roughly threw him into the ground.

The shockwave knocked Gadget onto her back, and although she was far enough away to be unharmed by the explosion…she clambered back up to her feet and held her new bag of supplies close to her chest. With one last glance at Binary and Clove and Marvel, she escaped into the forest.

Don't stop running, Gadget! she yelled at herself in her mind. Not even after she had gone well past the treeline. Not when she could still hear Marina and Glimmer's screams. She just moved. Where did Kernel go? She guessed he must have decided their alliance only went as far as getting the hell away from the Careers. Now that that had been achieved, he was probably leery of staying near her.

She didn't blame him.

She had just given Binary the keys to victory in the arena. Between the mines and it…he was…he was going to be unstoppable. Just as Clove wanted to be. Just as the rest of the Careers wanted to be.

As soon as she thought of the Careers, her mind returned to the last state she'd seen Marina and Glimmer. Their screams would haunt her forever. She thought she'd felt pain. But even when she'd been made to touch the defense bolts…though it felt like she was being burnt from the inside out...she never screamed like those two were. They were going to die, and they knew it, but Binary, Clove, and Marvel...even if they wanted to do something...what could you do for something that was already more dead than alive?

And Binary...he looked so…cold.

Her feet pounded the ground, her body screamed…begged...for her to stop, but she couldn't run far enough away from the two girls' screams of death. Gadget would not lie and say she liked those two. And they'd inflicted far more cruelties on others. She could almost say she hated…no…at the least, resented them…but that suffering…

As the adrenaline wore off, her double vision was returning, she noticed a tree with an unusually twisted branch…one she'd seen a moment ago…had she been running in a full circle? Panic set in even as sheer exhaustion told her that no matter how hard she now pushed herself, she wasn't going anywhere. If Clove survived Binary...if she came this way…

It doesn't matter, Gadget thought with a despairing laugh. "I-I'm go-going to die…"

Here...now. I'm going to die…can't go on.

She stumbled forward, leaning against every tree with her bloodied palm.

I'm sorry, Septimius...I'm sorry, Beetee, Wiress…I can't…I can't anymore…I…

She shrieked when strong hands caught her around her waist from the side, and she fell limply.

"Easy, easy!"

Gadget forced her eyes open at the sound of a voice she hadn't heard in days...hadn't dared hope she'd hear.

"Gently, now," Corduroy instructed, "set her down, Peeta."

"You're okay, Gadget," Peeta said.

It was them! They were really here!

Gadget laughed, cried and wept all at once, grabbing them both in a hug, reminiscent of the day she'd recovered from the tracker jacker venom.

I don't deserve this...but so help me...I'm going to be selfish…this once.

As exhaustion overtook her, she caught the sound of cannons, it went off twice. Marina and Glimmer were gone now.

Boom!

Boom!

It's almost over…