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.

15. That Which Tears Us Apart

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

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Author's Notes:

Triage: This chapter is going to be a roller coaster. Brace yourself, reader.

Zevoros: Warning for gore this chapter.

Special thanks to Evie Rose! Additional thanks to CragmiteBlaster.

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Penelope's Web

Chapter 15

That Which Tears Us Apart

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The first thing Gadget felt was how cold the weather was. She tiredly pried her eyes open to see where she was. Then her memories came back, and she thought she was still the prisoner of the Careers.

"AH!" She shot up into a sitting position.

Corduroy, near her, leaped to his feet, and then he reached out to pat her shoulder assuringly.

"Sor…I'm sorry…" Gadget rasped, clearing the phlegm from her throat, "I could ha-have given us away…"

"But you did not," Corduroy replied.

Gadget looked around and frowned. She had no idea where they were. It seemed, the boys had carried her to wherever they made camp, and Peeta had built his upside-down fire again. She was grateful for the warmth it provided. As much as it was a welcome change from the uncomfortable heat of several days of consistent afternoons, the evening weather was closer to cold rather than cool, and the sudden change was rather jarring.

"You dropped a…hnh!" Corduroy noticed one of the tools that Gadget had so haphazardly stuffed into her pockets when she fled the Cornucopia, and looked amused.

"Wha-t is it?" Gadget asked.

"It is just so like you," Corduroy replied, "to pick tools as a priority."

After a moment, Gadget smiled, running a bandaged hand through her hair.

Bandaged.

Pulling her hand back, she studied the handiwork. Most likely, it was Corduroy's doing. She could scarcely believe it, that she really escaped. She had been so certain she was going to die there, but once again, she had…survived. Did the Gamemakers intervene? Seneca Crane or…or Burgundy? To what end she didn't know, but as they got closer to the last few tributes remaining, Gadget became more and more nervous as to what this could all be leading up to.

Do they want Corduroy and Peeta to fight? Gadget still did not consider herself in the situation.

"You're up!" Peeta announced himself as he arrived with a flat slab of wood and what looked like half of a sponsorship canister turned into a bowl for food.

Gadget's stomach had no qualms about announcing its hunger by growling like a fearsome animal.

"Sorry…" Gadget said, flushing.

"I have no doubt you were not exactly living like a king at the Cornucopia," Corduroy said, "so please, there is no need to apologize."

"Right," Peeta agreed, and he held out the bowl and slab to her, "it's chicken, some tesserae bread, and berry soup."

All of this was for her? Gadget stared in shock.

"B-but, what about…y-you two?" she asked.

"Well, I had something to eat," Peeta said easily, though he refused to look her in the eyes when he did.

"Quite," Corduroy agreed. "As did I."

Gadget frowned, squinting long enough at the two to make them squirm a little.

"When...did you l-last eat?"

"Uh…" Peeta said eloquently.

Rolling her eyes, Gadget accepted the proffered platter and bowl, barely refraining from jerking her left hand when she realized the bowl was borderline hot, then placed them on the floor in front of her and looked around until she found her backpack. They clearly hadn't tried going through it, so they had no idea what she had picked from the Cornucopia. Peeta gasped, and Corduroy exhaled hard through his nostrils when she flipped the pack open, revealing it was filled to the brim with food, fruits and drinks.

"J-join me?" Gadget asked.

Soon, the three of them had taken an inventory of everything that was in the pack, which Gadget was even more glad she'd taken than ever, and they were now slowly enjoying a filling meal, the first they've had in over a week. As hungry as they all were, they were savoring every bite, and relishing the flavors of everything. They'd offered her a flask of water, and Gadget greedily swallowed it down, uncaring of the water that spilled down her front. It was the first drink she'd had in a day.

"H-how long was I…uhm…out?" Gadget eventually asked.

"About maybe twelve hours...give or take," Peeta said. "Surprised it wasn't longer...I saw the way they were treating you, Gadget…" Peeta's face was pale. "I wish, man, I wish I could do something to get you away from them right then."

"No!" Gadget protested, "If you'd...done that…you'd have died."

"Yeah...I figured...Corduroy said more or less the same thing."

Gadget shot Corduroy a weak, appreciative smile. That confirmed it to her. They'd been watching, waiting for an opportunity to save her. Gadget was so glad they hadn't. She didn't want to lose them if something went wrong. And at the Cornucopia…something would have definitely gone wrong.

"This came with the sponsor," Corduroy told her suddenly, and he pulled a folded-up note out of his pocket.

Gadget blinked in surprise. The sponsor had…come for her? Why? She'd assumed it was for Peeta or Corduroy. But she held out her hand and took the note into her bandaged hand.

Delicately, she held it as if it would crumple from the wind or from holding it just a little too tightly. But she slowly opened it to read what her mentor had to say. She didn't know if she should expect the worst, in spite of the meal that was sent down. But her heart thundered in her chest so heavily she could have sworn Corduroy and Peeta would have heard it.

'Keep fighting, Gadget. Don't give up. You're so much stronger than you know.' Signed by…Beetee.

Gadget's lower lip wobbled. They believed in her. In spite of everything that they had seen from her, they still believed in her. For reasons beyond her understanding, they still believed in her.

Despite how worthless she was, they cared about her.

Gadget couldn't hold back. She ducked her head and clutched the note close to her chest and sobbed. Tears rolled down her face, over the healing, rough skin that Clove had cut open just the other day. She curled her legs up to her chest and cried and cried.

She didn't deserve their kindness. She didn't deserve Corduroy or Peeta's kindness. But here they were, helping her, and caring about her.

"Gadget?" Corduroy said, looking mildly concerned.

Gadget shook her head as she continued to let out all the emotions she'd been unable to express for the last few days. All the self-loathing, the doubts, the stubborn manic depression, the fear. But most of all...the pain.

Peeta looked just shy of alarmed, and he looked like he wanted to reach out to her.

She turned her head skyward and asked, "Wh-why?"

She expected no answers, but it had to be asked. Lowering her gaze to the fire in front of her, she considered what she wanted to say to Corduroy and Peeta. She knew she must have looked like glitching software. Peeta shifted from his position across from her and sat down next to her.

"You wanna talk about it?" he asked.

"No…" Gadget shook her head, and she idly realized a few strands of hair had come loose from the ponytail she tied, "...but I…I-I will."

She looked down at the half-eaten meal Peeta prepared for her. She didn't deserve a single bite of it, but her stomach begged for more. She'd barely eaten enough even for her.

Her shoulders slumped as she struggled to tell them, "I…I k-k-killed Thresh…"

Peeta blinked and stared in amazement, Corduroy's eyes widened, but he made no further expression.

"They were to-to-torturing him," she said, "h-he was going to die."

"So…it was mercy?" Peeta asked.

She nodded. "It was supposed to be."

"What do you mean?" Peeta inquired, and then looked like he'd regretted asking.

Gadget closed her eyes. "I tr-tried…uhm...to pierce his heart...make it…make it quick."

But it had been anything but. She could still feel it, like an echo. The feel of that knife sinking into his chest. Splitting the skin away as the blade slotted itself into place. It was horrible. It was so, so horrible.

She sighed and shook her head. "Th-that wasn't what happened. He...he was so strong, b-but he was still…d-dying…I couldn't get it right…!"

His eyes. She could still envision them. How they stared at her. Accusing. And she couldn't shake it away. Couldn't shake it out of her head. Couldn't stop seeing his accusing eyes in her mind.

She sobbed again, burying her face in her arms. "I c-c-can't do anything right!"

As she continued to cry and struggled to bring herself back under control, she flinched and raised her head in surprise when she felt a strong arm light upon her shoulders. Dead green eyes met the blue of Peeta's, who'd moved closer and now had his arm around her. His lips were pursed as he seemed to struggle with what he wanted to say, and Gadget stared listlessly, awaiting his summary judgment.

"It's not your fault, Gadget," Peeta said.

A breath of air escaped through Gadget's lips and she almost laughed in incredulity. "How?" she asked in a broken tone. "I-I k-k-killed him!"

"Did Thresh have any chance of surviving?" Peeta asked gently. His hand drifted up and down in a comforting pattern along her back.

No, Gadget realized. Clove had him hamstrung. Pinned. Clove knew which parts to cut to leave him alive but in enough pain to stop him from moving, or even attempt to move. She knew which parts to cut and leave him in pain, but alive.

"Clove…she had hi-m hamstrung," Gadget stammered weakly. She didn't look at either Corduroy or Peeta. She feared what she would find there. "Sh-she was going to torture him."

"So," Peeta started gently once more, "your efforts stemmed from wanting to stop Clove from doing that. You stopped her from torturing him for hours."

Gadget clenched and unclenched her hands. How could Peeta be so kind to her after this? Didn't he understand the pain she had caused? And not just to him, but…but his family at home.

"I…I wanted it to be qu-quick but…" Gadget trailed off and she sniffled pathetically. "I just…I just…"

"Listen, Gadget," Peeta said with more forcefulness than was typical for him, and Gadget flicked her gaze to him. She hadn't even realized she had looked away. "Maybe you didn't do it how you intended, but you ended his suffering in under a minute, right?"

And what a painful minute it was.

"No one should have to ask what you did," Corduroy said, and Gadget looked at him, too. He wasn't looking at her like she was a mutt. Even after what she had told them, they…they still saw…what? What did they possibly see in her?

Why hadn't they cut her loose yet?

Gadget sniffed and wiped her eyes with her shoulders. She didn't understand what she had done to earn their loyalty. Why did they seem to care so much for her? She wished she had enough brevity to ask, but she didn't. So she kept the thoughts close to her chest.

Peeta's hand rose from the small of her back, up and up to the base of her neck. His hand hovered there for a moment, and before Gadget could voice her confusion, his hand left her neck and rose to her forehead, and held it there for a few longer moments.

"What're you doing?" Gadget meekly asked.

"You're running a light fever," Peeta revealed.

Fear spiked in Gadget's heart. Did one of her wounds get infected? She glanced at her bandaged hands, but she felt nothing more painful than usual. Then, nervously, she ran a hand over the dried blood on the side of her face, but she felt nothing but the bumps of healing skin.

"Oh…" Gadget whispered. Her heart eased. It didn't seem like it was from an infection. She stared at Peeta, and her eyes fell to his shoulder. Binary had hit him there with an arrow, a few days ago now. "How's your sh-shoulder?" she asked softly.

Peeta raised and lowered his shoulder experimentally. He sent Gadget a sideways smile. "It's alright," he told her.

Gadget smiled back, only a bit. Guilt gnawed at the insides of her stomach. If she had been more careful, she was certain Peeta would have gotten out of there unscathed. Maybe if she hadn't been so stupid to get cut by Monkshood's knife.

Whatever the case…none of it mattered anymore. It felt like a lifetime ago that that had happened. And now…now Gadget's mind was in a whirl. She couldn't forget Thresh's accusing eyes. She'd murdered two people.

Peeta and Corduroy…they could try to comfort her as much as they wanted, but she knew the truth. She had made Thresh's last moments full of pain. It was her fault that that was what happened. She could've shouted a warning to him. Maybe Clove would have had her killed, but…

"Gadget," Peeta said seriously and she looked away. "It wasn't your fault."

How could she believe that? She wanted to believe that. But it wasn't true. Gadget was certain that it wasn't true. She ran a hand through her hair, for the sake of doing something. "I w-wish I f-felt like that."

"You took out Cato, did you not?" Corduroy asked.

Gadget's face took on a stricken look as she gazed at him. Her expression was confirmation enough.

"I did not ask to make you feel worse," he said, "you survived, and that is what matters."

"B-but I'm…" useless, she wanted to say.

"...a survivor." Corduroy finished firmly.

"That's right," Peeta agreed, "and we're all the better for it."

Gadget turned a concerned look to Peeta. "But wh-what…happens…if w-we're the last…?"

She didn't need to finish that question. The implication was enough. What if that was Seneca Crane's endgame? When it was down to the last two or three, the mutts and disasters would vanish to limit itself to containing the survivors into mortal combat, leaving only one survivor.

I could kill myself, thought Gadget morosely. Her mentors would understand, and besides, that wasn't factoring Binary into all this, and he had the suit that she designed. He was nigh unstoppable.

"We will climb that rope when we get to that point," Corduroy said, "until then, we have plenty of things to consider or deal with.

He turned his gaze up to the dim evening sky. It was evening earlier, but now it looked more like late evening, just shy of night time.

"No kidding," Peeta replied, "in fact, when you fell into the waters? We tried to track you, once we were certain we'd lost the other Careers."

"Y-you came l-looking for m-m-me?" Gadget was touched, but also despondent. They weren't supposed to.

"Yeah, what else did you think we'd do?" Peeta asked.

Leave me behind and forget about me. "I-I don't know…"

"Well, we had quite the adventure ourselves," Corduroy explained, "we followed the trail of the river by the banks."

Gadget dropped her head slightly and she nibbled on the bread that Peeta had given her. They had tried to come for her. "What happened?" she asked.

"A mutt," Peeta said simply. "It came out of the water and separated us from the river."

Gadget tapped her knuckles together. That didn't surprise her. Seneca Crane probably tired of them being together. No doubt he thought that separating them would…would make things more interesting for the Capitol.

The thought made Gadget's stomach churn. The Capitol didn't see them as people. Only characters to watch as they slaughtered each other.

"After that we decided to go back to the cave," Peeta told her. "We thought maybe you were gonna go there after you fell."

If only I did.

"I-I should've," Gadget whispered. She glimpsed at Corduroy through her lashes. How much did she want to tell them right now? After what Monkshood said…she didn't know. She'd thrown her mind into a spiral of doubts. "Binary got m-me first."

"That is how you ended up with the Careers," Corduroy observed.

"Yes," Gadget said meekly. "Is…is that h-how you found me?" she asked. "When th-they took me to the cave?"

Peeta nodded. "Yeah. We had to hide and they almost found us, but…"

But they didn't. Gadget didn't care how they'd avoided their detection. What mattered was that they did. She let out a breath she wasn't aware she was holding. She didn't need to ask after that point. They'd followed them from a distance. And Corduroy had let her know when he'd shown himself at the Cornucopia.

"Did…did anyone else die?" Gadget asked suddenly. She nibbled on her bread again as the thought plagued her mind. She didn't know what happened at the Cornucopia after she'd fled. Only that two cannons had fired.

"Only the Four and One girls," Corduroy replied. "That is two Careers down."

Gadget jolted in surprise. Only Glimmer and Marina? How did Clove and Marvel survive? Gadget supposed they must have run, because there was no way Binary would form an alliance with them. Not after all that happened. How did she not guess his true reasoning for joining the Careers? That he had an ulterior motive? He would've known that joining them would have been a death sentence. Maybe not right away…but it would've been, eventually.

"Gadget," Corduroy said and she stared at him, "what did they do?"

Gadget stiffened. It didn't surprise her that they wanted to know. It shouldn't have. Corduroy had enough of a reason to want to know Clove's actions. She was the one to…to kill Lace.

"They tortured me," Gadget said weakly, and the words started to spill out, "they…they made me b-build my weapon. M-my plan." She pulled her knees up to her chest, her food forgotten. Her stomach was satisfied, anyway. "Binary told them and…and they wanted it."

Peeta moved closer and she felt his arm wrap around her shoulder comfortingly. But she felt anything but comfort. Her dead eyes stared down at her boots, burning into them.

"And wh-when they couldn't tor-torture me…they tortured Kernel," Gadget told them. If either of them were surprised by the mention of him, neither of them said so. "And…and he was stuck th-there because of me…I couldn't…I couldn't…"

Gadget held back her sobs, her hands curling. What kind of district partner did this? They were supposed to help each other. They were supposed to…to…be like what Lace was to Corduroy.

"What were you building?" Corduroy asked softly. Gadget didn't look at him. She buried her hands into her jacket and squeezed down on the fabric so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

"A suit," Gadget told them, timidly. "I-I wanted to make it to p-protect me." But that doesn't matter. None of it matters anymore. "But Binary…he told Clove, and th-then she wanted it."

Peeta blanched, and Gadget felt his arm stiffen or tense. She could feel some kind of worried energy flowing through him. "What...can this suit do?" he asked.

Gadget closed her eyes, then answered, "It...it's a power suit…"

She pushed aside her half-eaten meal and began to draw patterns on the ground, starting with the steam powered battery unit. Corduroy leaned closer, and Peeta just leaned forward. The low illumination of his upside-down fire gave very little light, but in the dim, nearly-night conditions of the arena, every little bit helped.

"It has…a power su-supply, this one, here, and that, that is the shockstaff...I-I based it on a tribute from my district...she made s-something similar to this."

"I suppose that much plating meant the wearer is quite impervious to most conventional weapons," Corduroy observed the designs she depicted on the ground, "ingenious."

"If you had that now," Peeta said, his arm tensing around Gadget's shoulders again, "you'd almost be unstoppable."

He looked at her with a wistful smile, but Gadget was staring wide-eyed at him for another reason.

"M-me? Wear it?" Gadget stammered. But I meant for you or Corduroy to wear it.

"Yeah, who else would use it?" he retorted, but as she continued to stare, he blinked. "Me? Corduroy?"

"Or we would share it, perhaps. But no one has it now…" Corduroy looked at her. "...Did you have a chance to sabotage it?"

Gadget shook her head ruefully. Binary played them all masterfully.

"Binary…" Gadget surprised herself with the bite her tone carried for his name, "...tricked everyone...h-he wanted the mines...under th-the…uhm…pedestals. And the suit. He h-has them all now."

Corduroy stroked his chin thoughtfully, and Gadget idly noticed that he was growing facial hair. Peeta too. Not like anyone had a convenient razor lying around for a shave.

"How dangerous do you think he'll be?" Peeta asked.

Corduroy answered for Gadget though, "Between the mines, an armored suit and an electrical staff, our best chance would be to run from him."

Run. That made Gadget look at Corduroy's leg, and she mentally kicked herself for failing to even notice he wasn't wearing the leg brace anymore. Instead it was resting nearby. "Y-you're leg's…better?"

Corduroy blinked, then looked down at the brace next to him, and he gave her a small smile. "Indeed. It saved me another time too."

Gadget paled when she saw the clear bite marks around the bottom of the brace. "Wh-what happened!?"

"The mutt," Peeta said, "jumped out of the water and tried to bite his leg, but the brace got in the way. I managed to stab one of its eyes with this."

He pointed at the spear Gadget fashioned for him, and she heaved a sigh of relief. "D-did you manage to…uhm…kill it?" she asked, referring to the mutt.

Peeta shook his head. "Hurt it, but it was fast, and that tail on it…"

"It was very tough, even with one eye pierced, it did not appear to be in pain," Corduroy said.

"Yeah, but look, what matters is you're away from there," Peeta said, "and back with us. Look, you should try and finish that, I'm going to refill the flasks."

He pointed at the meal, and though she felt fairly satisfied, realized he had a point. After all, who knew if this could well be the last time she ate this well again? Peeta grabbed a long branch and stuck it into the fire. When he withdrew it, it was burning and gave him some illumination, and he got to his feet, carrying the two flasks with him as he wandered some distance away.

When he left, Gadget picked up the platter and began to eat again. It was still warm. Corduroy stared quietly at the fire, the soft crackle and pops the only noise they heard for a while. Since it was set to late evening, the mockingjays were either removed or had fallen completely silent. It did mean it'd be harder for anyone or anything to sneak up on them. Their surroundings were strewn with fallen leaves and branches. Even Peeta, when he was walking away, made a rustling noise with every step.

In the calm quiet, Gadget's mind began to work, even as she was beginning to feel tired once more, but now that she was in relative safety, around people who weren't immediately thinking of murdering her, she remembered the conversation she had with a certain treacherous girl.

"C-Corduroy…?"

"Yes?" Corduroy looked over at her immediately.

Gadget drew her dead eyes down towards her lap. Her fingers fidgeted with the edges of her jacket, pulling at them slightly as she tried to figure out what she wanted to say. She wasn't sure. Monkshood had told her things that made her mind spin, and she wasn't sure how to confront them.

"Before Binary," Gadget said softly, "I…Monkshood found m-me fir-first." She glanced at Corduroy, but nothing in his expression gave anything away. Only the concern he seemed to show for her.

Corduroy didn't respond, but he waited patiently for Gadget to continue. He watched her as she squirmed, uncertain of how to continue. But this was important. She needed to understand.

"W-we agreed to a tr-truce," Gadget stammered. "B-but when Binary came, sh-she threw me to them."

Corduroy stood up and Gadget stopped fidgeting with her jacket. He stepped around slowly and Gadget could see how his leg had seemed to heal. He had no problems with moving around.

"B-but she t-told me something, Corduroy," Gadget stammered out before she could convince herself otherwise. She watched as he went over to their packs of supplies and closed the first aid kit. "That…that y-you made an alliance with her."

There it was. Out in the open between them.

Corduroy glanced at her, but he still didn't look at all upset. If he saw this as an…accusation, then he was taking it remarkably well. But Gadget hadn't intended for it to be that. She just wanted to know. She needed to know.

"Your stutter is disappearing," Corduroy observed and Gadget blushed. Truthfully, Gadget hadn't noticed it. She supposed that it made sense Corduroy would. It had been a few days since they had last seen each other.

But she didn't want the answer to her question to be avoided. This was the Hunger Games and…and it was too important to her to know.

"Pl-please tell me, Corduroy," she whispered.

Corduroy turned around and planted his back against the tree at his back. He looked at Gadget and she looked back. She couldn't make out the expression on his face.

Finally, he said, "That is true, yes. We had an alliance. Only after we encountered each other following the Bloodbath."

So…at least part of what Monkshood said was true, then. Doubts broke into Gadget's mind and she slouched back. "Oh…" she said.

This…this didn't change anything! It meant nothing! Monkshood's poisonous words had only meant to make her doubt her friend. If he wasn't really her friend, then…then…would he have risked showing himself to the Careers at the Cornucopia?

He wasn't the one to save you, a sinister voice reminded her.

Gadget wanted to scream. "Wh-why didn't you t-tell me?" she asked, hurt. Why did I have to hear it from Monkshood? Why didn't he volunteer the information earlier?

Corduroy looked past Gadget, at an invisible point over her head. She wondered what he was thinking. What was he going to tell her? Did his mentor advise him not to say anything, maybe?

"Five. The number five," Corduroy said abruptly, and Gadget blinked in confusion and surprise. "The number of curiosity, change…and freedom." His eyes slid back to Gadget's and she swallowed.

She suddenly felt like she was on familiar footing. Familiar ground. Territory so very different from the one she had been trying to navigate just a moment ago. But it did nothing to ebb her worries. She hoped that she hadn't overstepped. But…she was desperate to know. Monkshood's words clawed into her mind, and they weren't going to let go.

"Which is ironic for the five families that advocated for the opposite of change," Corduroy continued. It was a non-sequitur that threw Gadget for a loop. But she said nothing, and only listened to what he had to say. "Almost a century ago, now."

Gadget frowned. The conversation was being steered away from her initial question so incredibly rapidly.

"They fought a battle they had already lost," Corduroy told her, moving around slightly so that he was leaning against the tree.

"Wh-what…happened?" Gadget asked, despite herself.

"The first family was Denial," Corduroy said, "they could not, would not accept the outcome of what had transpired. They were stubborn, proud, and more than a little foolhardy. Their refusal to accept the change that had come upon them reached the point of implausible deniability."

Gadget simply looked at Corduroy. This was rather like back about a week before, when they'd been recovering just after rescuing Corduroy and Gadget's recovering from the jacker-laced envenomed knife used by Monkshood. At the thought of that girl, Gadget's teeth ground together a little. She felt irritated at Monkshood, but she would wait for Corduroy to get to the point. He would not be telling this tale without a reason, after all.

"Up until then," he continued while he peeled off a large slab of bark from the tree behind him, "they were admired, but people were quick to distance themselves from the household of Denial, once the horsemen came."

He began to drum a finger on the bark, making a tapping noise, but in a specific rhythm. How could something so simple sound so ominous? Gadget was mildly impressed at his ability for sound effects.

"'Trust your own kind. Only your own kind.'" The words sent a shiver down Gadget's spine. "That is what they all said. And that is what they took to heart."

Gadget swallowed nervously, entranced by the story. She hung onto Corduroy's every word, trying to remember each detail and what they meant.

"The horsemen overran Denial," Corduroy said quietly, "when the dust settled…Denial was gone. Not a trace remained to mark their existence."

He also had rather depressing and unhappy tales to tell, Gadget noted tiredly.

"Anger was the next family," Corduroy drew circles with his nail on the plank, making a scraping noise, "they were far less than Denial in words, and a lot more in action, but they were violent, lashing out all the time, screaming in impotent rage."

Gadget dug her fingers into her knees, and she pulled her knees closer, ever closer to her chest. Her mind worked to try to figure out what Corduroy was telling her, and what the implications were. But she held back any of her questions.

She wanted to know more.

"They attacked anyone they decided were not on their side," Corduroy said. "Anger believed everyone to be against them. But soon the horsemen would come knocking."

Corduroy added a second finger to his drumming on the bark. One. Two. One. Two. Repeated at a quick and repeating rhythm. One. Two.

"Even as the horsemen tormented them in the streets, and played with them to show them just how inconsequential they were, they did not stop. They were the least respected out of the five for their acts of rage and violence." Corduroy dropped his voice to an almost silent degree, and Gadget held her breath as the all-consuming silence of the forest stretched onwards. The only sound she could hear was the tapping of his fingers that seemed to grow in volume with every passing second. "The horsemen already won, and they came for the rest of Anger."

"What…what did they do?" Gadget asked with trepidation. The soles of her feet dug into the dirt to ground herself. To remind herself that she was still here.

"The same thing the horsemen did to Denial," Corduroy told her simply. "The only trace left of them was what they told the others. 'Trust your own kind. Only your own kind.'"

"How…m-miserable…" Gadget said sullenly.

Corduroy merely raised an eyebrow at that, but gave no other response. Instead, he proceeded. "Depression was another family," he said, "and very aptly named. They witnessed all that transpired with Denial and Anger…and utter melancholy took them over. They wept, cried, screamed, and told all who approached them that it was hopeless, and over. They saw no point in fighting, in resisting, in trying to go on."

His fingers, three now, drummed a steady beat of what Gadget realized sounded like horse hooves on the bark, galloping towards their prey. Gadget watched in rapt horror, and hoped against hope that there might be a change in the tale…somehow.

"They were very well the first people to ever choose death by simply lying down and not breathing. To the last family member, the horsemen still claimed them, nonetheless."

Gadget didn't know why she bothered to hope. Idly she wondered if she could do that. Just stop breathing...

"They came, and they went, saying once more, 'Trust your own kind. Only your own kind.'"

"I…I really don't like this…" Gadget said, looking miserably at Corduroy, "...please…there can't b-be more…?"

Corduroy held her in a steady gaze, never shifting from that blank, stony expression of his, but he pressed on instead, "All tales carry answers, wisdom, explanations. The threads of individuals may seem ineffectual…"

Gadget's eyes widened, remembering Burgundy for a moment.

"...but when they are joined, they make the very fabric of life itself. Do you think it would be sensible to leave the threads for the fabric unfinished or partway done?"

Gadget shook her head. She knew nothing about clothes-making, but she could guess his question posed the answer in itself.

Corduroy added a fourth finger to his drumming on the bark, and now Gadget could hear it so clearly. Galloping horses. Their hooves thump against the ground again and again. It echoed through the quiet forest, through her ears loud enough to drown out anything she thought.

"Acceptance was next. And Acceptance were the ones to accept their fate," Corduroy told her, his fingers drifting over the bark so expertly. It thundered in her ears, and Gadget stared at his fingers as they rapt and rapt. "The horsemen came, galloping as they were met with no resistance."

Gadget swallowed, and she realized amidst the sounds of galloping in her ears that she wasn't breathing. Breath lodged in her throat, stuck. And she couldn't say anything. Nothing but listen as Corduroy explained the demise of another family.

Were these families real? Or were they just metaphors for the point Corduroy was trying to make? She didn't understand. Or was it like the Nylon House? But if it was, Gadget couldn't make the connection.

"Acceptance did every little thing the horsemen asked. And when the horsemen realized that they had this power over them," Corduroy said slowly, "they used it to make Acceptance accept the worst kinds of aspects."

The galloping became more intense. Corduroy's fingers became faster. And the echoing went louder. It swarmed Gadget's thoughts and she breathed deeply as fear wrapped around her heart, making it pound sp desperately against her ribcage.

"But in the end, nothing remained of Acceptance. The horsemen spared them no mercy," Corduroy told her with a steely expression. "Nothing except what Acceptance last said. 'Trust your own kind. Only your own kind.'"

Gadget opened her dry mouth, and managed to stammer out, "Wh-what did they do?" In spite of her fear, she wanted to know.

Corduroy didn't respond. As quickly as he had started, his hands stilled completely, and the sound of horse hooves faded into the dark forest. Silence stretched over them like a blanket and Gadget squeezed her hands uncomfortably. She released a shaky breath. Calm down, she told herself.

"The fifth and final family," Corduroy began slowly, pushing himself off the tree and stepping just a little bit closer to Gadget, "was Bargaining."

Bargaining? What on Earth were they going to do? Gadget wondered.

"They learned, by watching the outcome, the fate of each family. And they thought they had the ultimate solution. One that none of the other families thought of." Corduroy's hand hovered ominously over the slab of bark.

"Wh-what did they th-th-think about?" Gadget asked, and she had a horrible feeling of dread in her belly. Something about his story was niggling in the back of her mind.

Corduroy had apparently been waiting for that very question, as he began to softly drum his fingers on the bark. "They, as they were so aptly named, bargained, for their lives. They gave their first child as an offering to the horsemen."

Gadget felt her heart pounding in her chest. This was getting more and more familiar. That niggling in the back of her mind was becoming all but a shout.

"There was a knowing smile as the horsemen accepted the offering," he said, "but the gift was found…insufficient. The murmuring arose amongst the others around Bargaining…"

"No…" Gadget whispered. She began to understand something vital now.

"Yes," Corduroy countered, "the horsemen returned," the sound of the galloping horses resumed, louder. "They were not satisfied, and Bargaining, already committed to their course of action, honored the deal once more, and gave their next child...and the next...until there were no more children left to them...then the horsemen claimed them entirely."

Gadget lowered her head. She knew what Corduroy had just taught her, revealed to her.

"All that was left...was their message…"

"Trust y-your own kind…o-only your own kind," Gadget finished.

"Quite." The hoofbeats grew fainter as Corduroy lightened his finger drumming on the bark, indicating that like the tale, the horsemen had left, sated.

For now.

This was the tale of how the Hunger Games began, and the district that was inevitably responsible for giving the Capitol the idea in the first place. The way Corduroy had worded 'offering' was in place of the word that came to be used for the children chosen for the Capitol to be slaughtered: tributes.

Even now, she could just imagine the faces of many people throughout Panem, watching this, and remembering. Bargaining had tried to escape punishment and torture by sacrificing their children to the Capitol, in vain hopes that their children would be spared of the horrors, but instead, they had been subjected to even worse. When they died in the first Hunger Games, the rest of the district was furious, and insisted Bargaining sacrificed their child again, and again, until they were all killed, then that entire district turned on the family, because now, all the children of every district in Panem were doomed.

And Corduroy's district was about to be hated once more, now that he had reminded everybody of this.

Meanwhile the Capitol, and President Snow, and Seneca Crane, were laughing. This was what they wanted. To constantly remind the districts of their mistakes, and the price of their treachery. Gadget was just the latest price for District Three, though who was betting on her anyway? Zeno was still losing because he'd bet on her to die early. But she was almost amongst the last few survivors.

"Why…wh-what are you trying to say, Corduroy?" Gadget asked and she looked him straight in the eyes, even though she very much wanted to look away, something gave her the strength to keep her gaze steady. "Why d-did you rem-remind everybody…about this?"

Corduroy held her gaze too, though unlike her, he gave away no thought, no emotion, no expression, as he answered, "We make the best choices we can, under the circumstances and as the situation evolves around us."

"O…okay…?" Gadget's tone pressed for more answers, she knew he was now directly addressing what she desired to know.

"I was alone, with a bad leg, and I had no equipment or weapon on my person," Corduroy said, "Monkshood had every advantage, and an ally following her around, one whom we have seen was quite capable of eliminating tributes before the Games even began…"

Gadget remembered Jason, and her face fell even more.

"We do what we have to, to survive…"

She flinched. That remark was a little too close to Monkshood herself, and she wondered just how much influence that girl had on Corduroy, and why it bothered Gadget so much.

"Gadget, remember what I said just now…"

"Tru-trust your o-own kind…" she whispered sullenly.

Who were her own kind?

"No," Corduroy said softly, yet firmly. "That this is not how you win."

Gadget opened her mouth and then closed it, all words dying in her throat. She didn't know what to say. Confusion mixed with some form of relief rattled her brain.

"Feels like it's getting colder," Peeta said, announcing his return, "I lost all feeling in my hands just filling the water."

He dropped one flask on the ground beside him, but offered one more to Gadget, before holding his palms out towards the fire to warm them. The flask felt icy indeed, and Gadget pressed it against her warm forehead, reminding everyone she was still running a slight fever, stemming from exhaustion and extreme stress.

"Right, you two should probably get some rest first." Peeta said, "I'll take the first watch."

If he noticed the quiet between Gadget and Corduroy, Peeta was tactful enough not to comment on it.

"Th-thank you…Peeta," Gadget said, "I d-don't feel tired, though."

"Just try lying down a little while," Peeta suggested knowingly, "and if you really can't, we'll swap."

"O-okay."

She'd finished her food, but she hadn't even noticed when. Corduroy's tale went around in her head, and his metaphorical answer to her initial question. Was he always going to be like that? But she also felt like he wasn't the kind prone to whims. In some ways he was a bit remindful of Binary. There was always some…plan? No, something…behind his choice or actions. He was an enigma. One she wasn't going to solve today, not with a burgeoning headache and exhaustion.

After drinking some of the cold water from the flask, she lay down wearily once more, and was surprised as she felt sleep taking over her so quickly. Peeta was right. Despite her long rest, apparently her body was more than willing to have more. Her last thought as she drifted off was the sound of galloping horses.

---

Gadget jerked awake at the touch of a hand on her arm, and she blushed when she saw it was Corduroy. He gave her a somewhat unreadable expression, but as her eyes earnestly searched his face, he quirked his lips upwards ever so slightly, making her immediately return with a small smile of her own. Why did that make her feel so relieved and glad all at once?

He said nothing, and just pointed to his designated sleeping spot, and he promptly lay down. Using his backpack as a pillow and lying down on his back, folding his arms over his midsection. She knew he'd fallen asleep when she saw the muscles on his face ease and relax a little.

So this is what he looks like when he's not facing death and danger, Gadget thought idly. With a jolt, she realized that this was the first time she had seen him fall asleep. Until now, it had always been the other way around.

She watched for a moment as he slept. He looked so peaceful and at ease. Gadget wondered if most people looked that way as they slept. Finally, she turned away and stood up, going over to her supplies, releasing an uncertain breath as she did so.

Gadget wasn't entirely sure of what she had grabbed. She'd been in a rush and grabbed onto the things that were closest to her and simultaneously useful. Food and tools, and whatever else in-between.

There was the fuel that Marvel had been sponsored. Gadget reached into a pocket in the backpack and pulled out the canister. She'd only used a small fraction of it in her escape plan. She still had plenty left. But what could she use it for? Why had Marvel even been sponsored it in the first place?

She shook her head. Whatever the case, it wasn't important. What was important was that she had it. And…and it was a tool that she could use.

Her mind flashed back towards that vile place. The Cornucopia. Each Career and their endless cruelty. All of them with their own aims. They'd all wanted the suit she had built, had she been too stupid to put the pieces together sooner?

Gadget sighed, rolling the canister around in her hand unsurely. Even after everything that happened, she still had sponsors backing her. Why? Because they knew for sure that she could build things that would make things interesting?

Binary was the strongest tribute in the arena left. And it was all because of her. She had given him a machine that was going to make him unstoppable. What chance did she have?

She released a second, more shaky sigh. And then Binary blew Glimmer and Marina apart. Gadget could still envision it in her head so clearly. How the mine blew their limbs off. Their endless screams of pain…

Gadget couldn't imagine their pain in their last moments. She couldn't get rid of the screams. And then there was Thresh and Cato…she had killed them both. Peeta had tried to reassure her that Thresh's death wasn't her fault, but…it was. She was the one with the knife. And she was the one who slammed it into his chest over and over again.

It was a sensation she would never forget. The sinking of a blade through flesh. An action repeated. His accusing eyes as they stared at her. Forever frozen. A kill she had perpetuated.

Gadget gripped the canister harder, holding it like a lifeline. To ground herself. To feel something.

The fuel is highly flammable, and Binary is covered in metal…metal that is vulnerable to high heat, was the thought that suddenly came to her.

Gadget blinked, and looked down at the fuel, the semblance of an idea forming in her head. She looked towards the dim sky, and began to make obvious movements with her hands, then she drew specific patterns in the ground with her fingers. While she could barely see even with the little illumination provided by Peeta's upside-down fire, she knew the screens would amplify the ambient light so the audiences can see everything with ease.

The design came easy to her. She drew into the ground each key component she needed. And before she knew it, she had gotten into the flow so easily. Everything came together perfectly in spite of the adjustments she had to make as her realizations made things clearer and clearer.

"You've seen what I c-can do," Gadget said into the darkness. She didn't know where the cameras were, but she knew that Seneca Crane had one on her. With a pointed look, she glanced at the fire beside her.

That was all they needed. Beetee and Wiress would know what she was planning, at least. For that, she was sure. That was all that mattered.

She waited for a moment, hoping that Seneca Crane took every shot he could of her drawing on the ground for the Capitol. Then, she swiftly drew her foot over the drawing, swiping it all away and sending dirt particles into the air.

Gadget rubbed her arm nervously. She hoped this worked. The Capitol saw what she could do. They saw her build a suit. One that…one that her own district partner stole. She remembered ever so clearly what Grid and Beetee and Qwerty and Wiress instilled in her. Intrigue. Do something that nobody else has done before. It was her best chance.

She grabbed a stick off the ground and poked at the fire, shifting the leaves and sticks within over to burn better. The evening air hugged her form, and it made her shiver. With a glance at Corduroy and Peeta's sleeping bodies, she twisted the stick once, then twice to reignite any dying flames.

When she was done she went over to her backpack and opened it. There was no better time than now to check on her new supplies now that she had a moment to breathe.

To breathe.

Honestly, since the time she'd been in the Games, when did she really have a time to just sit, breathe? And think? Even the last time she'd been with Corduroy and Peeta, though there was a respite to eat from dwindling supplies, the Gamemakers had forced them to get moving after a while. This was the first time she was truly given time to process. And the reason for that was apparent to her now.

They were coming close to the end. Of the Careers, only Marvel and Clove remained. Out of herself and the two boys with her, there was only Monkshood, Finch…and him.

Binary. With bitter amusement, Gadget wondered how the four victors of District Three felt about both their tributes still being alive. Septimius was probably happy. Because it seemed despite the hell she'd been through, she was obeying his request. She still doubted she'd win, though. So why did they profess so much faith in her? Why invest so much into her? How were they persuading so many sponsors to keep providing her with things?

Because you are entertaining, was the dismayed thought.

Yes, at the end of the day, if she was so entertaining. It could keep the sponsors, and reduced the likelihood of the Gamemakers throwing in an instant-kill situation. This made her idly wonder what in the hertz Finch did that was so interesting for the audiences to let her keep going about unhindered. Granted, the audacity of sneaking into the Cornucopia repeatedly, including once right when there were so many people all around her, and then escaping yet again, probably amused the Capitol no end.

Personally, she wanted to thank the redhead. Her distraction made it possible for her to engineer her and Kernel's escape...and indirectly assisted Binary's goals, not to mention slaughtered the remainder of the Career Pack. What was left were two rabid animals that while still dangerous, were infinitely less of an issue now that they were alone. There was even a chance for the three of them if they came across either Career now, so long as they kept their wits and worked together.

She blinked at the thought. She was considering ways to fight and kill the Careers?

Because they wouldn't give us a choice in the matter.

But…she had Peeta and Corduroy beside her now. And that thought made a smile cross Gadget's lips. She wasn't alone anymore. However, she wasn't safe. Though she was far away from the Cornucopia and Binary…and she had no idea where Clove or Marvel were…she was far from safe. In the Hunger Games, safety just didn't ever seem to be a thing that existed.

Mentally shaking her head, she decided to try her best to stop ruminating on the inherent dangers and hazards of the Hunger Games. That was a known factor, all but hard-wired into the core programming. What was more concerning was what to do if it were down to just herself and the boys. Yes, she still counted herself apart from them both because they were infinitely more valuable in every way. Was Seneca Crane aiming for a twist in the friendship between the three of them? Meaning he'd put the odds in their favor to the end just to make them kill each other.

Would they be that cruel? That twisted?

Yes.

If Zeno could turn on his own daughter, if the family of Bargaining could sacrifice their own children to save their own skin, what was making three fast friends turn on each other for the sick entertainment of a people who saw them as little more than characters for their visual enjoyment? In the near three quarters of the century of the Hunger Games, there has been very little that the Gamemakers would balk at committing for the sake of accruing interest, in topping the last Game.

Gadget's jaw pressed together until her teeth were audibly grinding. She wasn't going to give them the satisfaction. She felt happy now, but she knew, no matter how new a sensation this emotion was, that it would be fleeting. So she already set in her heart one of the few things she could do if it came to it. And one of them included ending her own life. She could take the choice out of everybody's hands. And while it was the alternative, she tried her best not to think about it. That one of the boys, or both…would die before she did.

And what if that is what happens? she asked herself, What then?

Gadget scowled, and if anyone was watching her have this silent conversation with herself, they'd have a good laugh, or think her insane. Or both.

Then I'll do my very hardcasing best to ensure it will not be the glitches, Binary, Marvel, or Clove that wins.

Nodding to herself, she silently rose, picked up Peeta's double-sided spear, and roamed about the perimeter. She marveled at how quiet she managed to be, when she adjusted her steps in a deliberate manner. This would be very useful if ever they needed to ambush anyone. But for now, she kept her head upright and stayed alert, looking out towards the surroundings. The dim light of the arena meant she couldn't see very far before it got too dark between the trees for her to see, but she could see well enough. One thing Binary would not be is sneaky, not with his armor, and certainly not with those mines of his.

Yes, he would be hard to defeat, but if the sponsors came through, she would have a fighting edge once more. All it took would be a little time and a lot of luck. Well, the odds, which were decided by the Gamemakers and President Snow. And to an extent, the sponsors.

She didn't need a large device for what she had in mind. She had seen many techs and specialists use these for their work in the factories. And she knew how to do the tiny modifications even with the most rudimentary supplies and tools. She looked down at her bandaged hands. So long as she didn't do anything strenuous with them for another day or so, she would be ready to build something that would make Binary regret wearing all that metal and being so close to a steam-powered engine.

Idly, she realized now that though she could no longer hear birds singing, she could hear crickets and certain insect life near and far. With a frown, this made her also realize that this can mask certain sounds of approach as well.

She increased her scrutiny of the distance, ever watchful. She kept this up for another two hours before she saw Peeta stirring, and moments later, Corduroy was awakening too. Silently, Gadget returned to them, and handed the spear back to Peeta, who took it with a look of mild confusion. She wasn't sure why he'd feel that way. It was his, after all.

"There was n-nothing…out there," Gadget said, "but th-there are…uhm…insects around…maybe night birds too."

"Huh," Peeta said, "that's weird."

"Quite," Corduroy agreed, "given that it had been devoid of all sound for about a full day. Something has changed."

"Yeah," Peeta replied, "we probably don't want to hang around here much longer. Better warm up all we can."

He put his hands near the fire, an action mimicked by Gadget and Corduroy moments later. While they warmed up, the boys began to do some simple stretching, and after a moment's thought, Gadget mimicked them.

"Should we eat a little before we go?" Peeta asked.

After a thought, both Gadget and Corduroy nodded. "It would be wise."

They each took a protein bar from Gadget's backpack and a few slices of an apple. They ate in a hurry, and Gadget found herself staring at a proffered knife from Peeta.

"I can't use it while I'm using this," Peeta said with a shrug and a look at his spear, "and you can't go around unarmed."

Quietly Gadget showed him the small but heavy wrench from amongst the tools she had managed to gather. Peeta merely smiled at that, and just wrapped her fingers around the knife.

"Just hang on to it for me, then, yeah?"

She returned the smile and nodded. With that settled, each of them slung their own backpacks on after they'd evenly distributed whatever supplies were left to them. It was a calculated risk, but nothing was absolute in the Games, so it was a matter of mitigating high risks and hoping for the best.

The route away from the camp was chosen at random by Corduroy, and Gadget followed behind him, with Peeta bringing up the rear. Corduroy had slung his leg brace over his shoulder, using some small vines to bind it and hung it under his backpack. Nothing went to waste in the arena after all. If nothing else, it made for a decent weapon to bash things with.

And that was when she heard it. A low croaking sound that echoed through the forest around them. Gadget stiffened and her eyes darted around for the owner of the sound. Were the Gamemakers already going to try to attack them? Hadn't she suffered enough torture by the hands of the Careers?

She was never going to get an answer to that question. And before she could do anything, Peeta seemed to have seen it first and rushed ahead of Gadget and Corduroy to stand ahead of them, readying his weapon with a mix of worry and determination on his face.

"Wh-what was that?" Gadget asked cautiously. Peeta stepped forward, and Corduroy followed. Nervously, Gadget stepped after them. Keep moving, she told herself. That was what they were doing. They needed to get away from…from whatever this was.

Then, before Gadget could fully form a thought, they emerged out of the shadows with wings extended. Six ravens burst from the darkness with tremendous speed for the birds. And Gadget only barely caught sight of the nearly gleaming long claw on each of the ravens' legs, and how hawk-like their beaks were. They weren't extremely dangerous compared to tracker jackers or the Malware Stalker, but nonetheless, they could do some damage to unprotected skin.

The avians cawed as they shot forward, the one in front diving right down at them.

Right for her.

Gadget squeaked and thrust her new knife out instinctively, and squeezed her eyes shut in her panic. She wasn't ready for this. This had been wholly unexpected. This was-

The raven couldn't pull up in time to stop its descent, and Gadget felt as it pierced itself onto her knife. She opened her eyes in surprise and terror as it flapped against the blade, its wings scratching against her bandaged hand.

And then it stilled, dead.

The birds squawked and Gadget looked up just in time to see as Peeta thrust the spear into one of them. He had to leap back in surprise as the raven not only dodged his attack, but two others flew at him, their sword-claws kicking out.

"Watch out!" Peeta said unnecessarily. "They're fast!"

Gadget shrieked as three of them circled about to go after her and Corduroy. Forced back-to-back with Corduroy, the two warily eyed the birds. Gadget reminded herself that these were artificial constructs, even if edible, and as ridiculous as they initially seemed, they were presenting a bit of trouble with their agility and above-average animal intelligence. More than likely, a Gamemaker was coordinating or controlling their actions, presenting a challenge.

The problem was they were short. No taller than Gadget's shins, but they were fast and they dove this way and that, circling them like prey. Whenever she or Corduroy stabbed or swung their knives, they leapt away, and one of them latched onto her leg, stabbing its sharp beak into her leg with enough force to break the skin. With a desperate swipe with her palm knocked it away, and grunted in pain and gasped in surprise.

Their wings were sharp. Razor sharp. She gazed at her hand and felt the sting of blood dribble down her palm, intertwining with the white bandages, staining them a deep crimson.

Corduroy made a noise, and Gadget flicked her gaze to him, and watched him sheath his knife, and he unslung his leg brace. Making a false kick, the raven in front of him dove up and he swung hard, hitting the bird and breaking its wing.

"Their feathers!" Gadget shouted in warning. "They're sharp!"

"Gadget, do not hold back, just kill them any way you can," Corduroy advised, "you do not wish to be the tribute that died to carrion eaters."

That seemed sufficient motivation. Embarrassing didn't begin to cover it. Especially after she'd fought and survived Cato, even Monkshood, and even the Malware Stalker!

So, for the first time in her life, when she saw one raven dive low at her, she surged forward and kicked as if she were booting down a door. By a stroke of luck, she had the bird underfoot as her leg bent and she stomped down, crushing bone and ending the raven's life.

Three more to go.

"Nice, Gadget! Whoa!" Peeta ducked to the side as two ravens attacked him at the same time. And then he shouted in pain as the third flew forth and sliced into his leg with its razor-sharp feathers.

"Damn!" Peeta swept his spear and the shaft caught the offending bird, flinging it to the side, and sweeping the surprised animal into a nearby tree. It crashed into the trunk and fell to the ground, where it did not get back up.

Gadget shook the dead raven on her knife off just as Corduroy caught another raven by the wing with his own knife, and tossed it to the ground. Swiftly, he crushed its head underneath his heel before it could get back up to try again.

There was only one left. It swept this way and dove towards them again and again, feigning attacks to the left and the right as it tried to cut into them with its feathers. But this time, Peeta was faster, and he finally managed to impale the last raven straight through the back.

Silence returned to the forest, except for the evening critters. Gadget heaved a deep breath, wiping away sweat from her brow that had formed there so quickly in such a short space of time.

"Is everyone okay?" Peeta asked.

Gadget nodded as she wiped her blade clean on the corpse of the nearest raven. Similarly, Peeta put his foot on the raven he'd impaled, and pushed it off his spear.

Peeta looked over at Gadget and she could see his brow furrow in concern. He touched a hand to his leg, briefly, before he walked over to her. "Is your hand okay?" he asked.

Gadget winced and held back the urge to hide it. "Ill-I'll be okay," she stammered. Compared to the electrocution, and everything else the Careers forced upon her, this was nothing.

Peeta didn't look convinced but he didn't press.

The sound of something tearing reached their ears, and both of them looked at Corduroy to see as he pried the end of one of the ravens' wings off. They saw him grimace, but otherwise do nothing else as he held the pointed feathers in his hands, handling them carefully.

"Wh-what're you doing?" Gadget asked incredulously.

Corduroy turned and gestured to the feathers. "I had hoped that these would be useful," he admitted. He swung his backpack around and carefully slid the feathers into one of the pockets.

"Oh," Gadget said simply.

Corduroy met her eyes and she wondered what he was thinking. Everything could be useful in the arena, but…

The sound of barking and growling announced that the dangers were not over.

"I think I'll take a few more birds," Peeta said as they all turned, weapons ready, "over whatever's coming."

"They are still some distance away," Corduroy said after looking around them, "perhaps we should move to some place with a little more room."

Indeed Gadget noted how the trees were forcing them to bunch too close together, with very little room. The ravens they could handle with minimum trouble since they were small, they weren't too durable, and there weren't many of them. But if what came next were dogs, or worse, wolves, they needed more space.

They moved in the opposite direction from where they heard the barks and growling at a hurried pace.

They needed to-

Boom!

Gadget stopped and frantically looked at Corduroy and Peeta with wide, afraid eyes. The echo of the cannon surrounded the forest as it disappeared into the empty air. Both Corduroy and Peeta looked back at her, looking just as alarmed as Gadget was sure that she did.

"Do not stop!" Corduroy said quickly, and the words knocked Gadget back into herself. She turned and broke into a sprint, her long and gangly limbs giving her an advantage over Peeta and Corduroy.

They were down to the final eight. Gadget couldn't believe she had gotten this far. This…this meant that it was time for the family interviews. The thought made Gadget's stomach drop. Zeno was going to be interviewed about her.

She swallowed her fear back. Now was not the time to worry about him. She doubted she would ever have that kind of time.

Growling and barking. It was right behind them! Gadget glanced back over her shoulder and nearly stumbled as she did so. She could see them. The eyes of the wolves, glowing in the dark. They snarled at her and she held back her squeak of terror.

She veered left suddenly, weaving between two trees. Corduroy and Peeta followed her close behind, but she knew it wouldn't be so easy to get rid of those things. Her heart pounded so hard she could feel it in her throat.

"S-s-sorry," she stammered to the boys, breathing heavily. She should've warned them! What if the wolves got them because she didn't tell them!?

"'s okay," Peeta panted. Corduroy didn't say anything, and Gadget didn't need him to. Just as long as he was okay…

The growling came from in front of them this time and Gadget came to a stop, her eyes wide with fear. The wolves emerged from the bushes, gnashing their teeth, and their eyes full of hunger.

"Run!" Gadget rasped, and she twisted to the side, breaking into a sprint through some bushes that barely hindered her movements. She was too high on adrenaline to notice the pain in her hand from the feathers.

"Agh!" Peeta shouted from behind and Gadget whirled around, coming to a stop as she did so. She couldn't stop the hammering in her chest, the flurry of worry that built up in her entire being.

But Peeta swung his spear around just as the wolf charged at him, cutting it right into its face before it could reach him. The wolf collapsed, the momentum from the strike sending it skidding to the ground for a few feet, before it lay still.

"Keep going," Corduroy insisted, grabbing Peeta by the shoulder and forcefully pulling him along. He locked eyes with Gadget and let out a relieved breath. They were okay.

A wolf howled from nearby, and that relief was squashed in an instant. They had to keep going. What was Seneca Crane trying to do here? Was he…was he trying to lure them into a fight, or a trap of some kind like he had done to Thresh? Like he had done to put them in the path of the Careers?

She turned around and hit the ground running. Corduroy and Peeta were right behind her. She could hear them. Just as she could hear the growling and howling from the wolves behind them. Seneca Crane was toying with them. He could have those wolves sprint as fast as he wanted to catch up with them, but he didn't. He was holding them back for something.

Why?

"Ah!" Gadget cried, turning slightly to the right as two wolves appeared between the trees, each with a vicious snarl, baring their fangs. She twisted her feet, feeling as the dirt shifted under her boots. Her eyes darted between the two of them and she wondered if either of them was going to make a move.

Finally, the one on the left did, leaping forward on its hind legs. Gadget yelled and brought her arms up to guard her face, staring between her fingers as it went. Stupid, stupid! she shouted at herself internally.

Corduroy was quick, though, and he slashed his knife through the air, and right across the wolf's face. It fell back with a whimper, and before the second wolf could make its attempt, Gadget ran forward, between the two wolves into the one area they had left unprotected.

Peeta and Corduroy were right behind her. She could hear them on her heels.

Fatigue grasped her so hard she threatened to collapse. Her legs ached. But she would not stop. The loud padding of the wolves hit her ears, and she did all she could to not turn around. Corduroy and Peeta were safe. Right behind her.

"This way!" Gadget bit out, dodging between some trees, nearly stumbling over a root as she went. Someone's hand caught her back and righted her before she could fall, but Gadget could barely breathe out a word of thanks before another wolf appeared in the darkness.

Her dead, frightened eyes scanned for something, anything that could help them escape. A tree that they could climb, despite the dim reminder that she didn't know how. Wolves couldn't climb trees, either! They needed to get to higher ground.

She didn't give the wolf time to attack. Gadget turned on her heel, spinning slightly to the left, and she took off, her feet pounding at the ground. The wolf growled behind them, but she could hear the panting of both Corduroy and Peeta. Desperately, she wanted to stop. Wanted to make sure the boys were okay. But she couldn't. They had to keep going. They had to lose these things.

Then the growling came from all around them, and Gadget stopped suddenly, gazing around quickly for an escape. Where were they? She couldn't see them! But she could hear them…

"Wh-what do we do?" Gadget asked. Corduroy was at her back and Peeta to her side. Weakly, she held her knife in a fist. She glanced back the way they'd come and she could see them. Their eyes practically glowing as they paced slowly, watching them.

"I think we're gonna have to fight," Peeta said nervously. He palmed his spear and Gadget felt a shiver run down her spine. She didn't want to do this. They wouldn't stand a chance against so many wolves at once.

But then the growling stopped, all at once. The ones that had chased them snarled at Gadget again, before they abruptly turned and sprinted off. And as soon as they did, all was quiet again. As soon as they'd been cornered, they'd been let go.

That didn't make any sense. Why would Seneca Crane go through that effort to frighten them so much just to let them go without a fight?

Whatever the reason, Gadget's heart eased. She lowered her knife, just a fraction, and looked around, scanning the perimeter in case this was some kind of trick.

"They were pulled back," Corduroy observed, and he sounded just as confused as Gadget was.

This was too familiar. Too similar to what had happened to Thresh. How those mutts ambushed him and left him to the mercy of the Careers…to the mercy of Gadget. The thought made her pale and for guilt to pool in her stomach.

Distantly, she heard a branch creak somewhere behind her, probably from the cool wind that burst through the arena at any time.

But it didn't matter. Those mutts…they'd led them here, and Gadget knew that something was coming. Maybe Seneca Crane wanted another tribute to finish them off, or he-

Someone groaned weakly, and Gadget's head spun around so fast she heard her neck crack. Her breath fled her lungs and fear took hold of her ever more tightly.

The groan hadn't come from either Peeta or Corduroy. It had come from somewhere behind her, where she wasn't looking. Somewhere in the dark that seemed to blanket the arena like some perverse form of fog.

"Who's there?" Peeta called. He lifted his spear, pointing the sharp end from where the groan came from. Gadget hoped beyond anything she knew that it wasn't Binary or Clove or Marvel.

Her breath whooshed as the person stepped out on weak legs. Kernel barely looked like he could stand. He…he looked so much worse than the last time she had seen him. His skin had turned a sickly pale and she figured it was from his wounds getting an infection

"K-Kernel?" Gadget stammered out.

Another pained groan came from him. He looked like he could barely stand, and his eyes…they looked so much like Thresh's. And Seneca Crane had just forced her and the boys to him. Maybe he wanted to ally? No, more than likely he wanted to settle a score with them? After all, though they'd spared his life, Gadget had assaulted him when he was still allied with Binary, and then Peeta and Corduroy had knocked him out, looting him, then leaving him to his fate. Hardly a mercy in the Games most times.

The branches overhead were creaking oddly, and leaves were shaken loose, but Gadget's attention was fully on Kernel. The Gamemakers were setting the scene already. This was what they wanted. Another fight to keep them so entertained. Maybe their temporary alliance in the Cornucopia would still hold if she made a bargain with him. She was starting to understand Corduroy's story a bit better.

"L-look, Kernel...l-let's not fight, okay? I-if you leave us…alone, we…we'll give you one of our medical kits…?" She made the offer, and Kernel seemed to take a slight shuffle forward.

Those blank eyes were unnerving, but he was still standing, so he wasn't dead. Taking a quick glance behind her, she saw that Peeta and Corduroy were watching Kernel warily, but no one was taking any steps closer towards each other. She realized belatedly that Corduroy had a firm hand on her shoulder, as if not wanting her to approach Kernel. She had no intention of going closer if she could help it.

Or…or maybe Seneca Crane wanted them to kill him before infection did. So that they would give the Capitol a…a show.

But what kind of show would that be? Gadget wondered.

Looking at his condition, he was barely standing. At this point even Gadget, at her most incompetent, could marginally survive anything he might throw at her unscathed. So she thought.

"K-Kernel?" Gadget said again, trying to coax a more coherent response from him.

Kernel grunted softly, placing his hand on the nearest tree.

She arched an eyebrow. Why wasn't he talking? He was looking right at her, so she was certain he was aware of her at the least. But other than that, he gave little other response…actually, when was the last time he blinked?

"Gadget, halt," Corduroy said, his fingers clenching slightly on her shoulder.

Gadget did not consider doing anything otherwise. She stood, rooted to the ground, her dead eyes trained on Kernel. What happened to him? It had been almost a full day since they escaped from the Cornucopia together, she was sure. Time was hard to track when the sky remained the exact same, but she was certain that it had not yet been a full day.

"Do…do you w-want th-the kit?" Gadget stuttered softly. She made no attempt to step forward. No attempt to move. With Corduroy at her back, she felt that she was safe. She didn't know Kernel well enough to know what he would do.

Slowly, Kernel nodded his head, like a rusted door on its hinges. He shuffled forward slightly, wrapping an arm around his stomach. He said absolutely nothing.

"P-Peeta?" she asked, turning her head slightly, but she didn't dare take her eyes off of Kernel.

From the corner of her eyes, Gadget saw as Peeta slipped his backpack around and unzipped it to produce a medical kit. He handed it over to Gadget, but he said nothing as he did so.

"What h-happened to y-you?" Gadget asked. There must've been some reason that Kernel wasn't talking. He didn't look this bad when they'd fled the Cornucopia together.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, Kernel turned, twisting his body around so that he could point into the dark behind him. He gazed at Gadget, unflinchingly, opening his mouth to talk…but nothing came out, and he shut it again.

"Something is not right," Corduroy whispered to Gadget. His hand on her shoulder didn't grip down on her harder than before, but it felt like it was the only thing here that was grounding her.

"He…he helped me," Gadget said. "I-I escaped th-the Careers th-thanks to him," she stuttered.

The branches creaked ominously. The wind picked up a chilling breeze. The Gamemakers were becoming impatient, Gadget figured. They wanted something to happen. They had lured them into this position, and now they wanted something to happen for their efforts.

But she couldn't kill Kernel. Not after he'd helped them escape. Although as she eyed his pale body, and the way it looked as though he could barely hold himself up, she wondered with a bitter thought if it would be merciful to just do as the Gamemakers asked.

"You…you took s-stuff," Gadget stammered. "Wh-where did they go?" She nervously hopped from foot to foot.

Kernel took a step towards Gadget, and this time, she did feel Corduroy's hand dig into her shoulder. But she didn't step back. She watched with wary eyes as Kernel, again, pointed somewhere behind him.

It didn't calm her nerves. Nor did it stop her heart's rapid beats.

Kernel grunted again, taking another weak step forward. His head tilted, his eyes pointing at Corduroy and Peeta, and Gadget wondered what was going through his head. Did…did he want revenge on them? They hurt him. Knocked him out and stole his supplies.

"Here," Gadget said, holding out the medical kit. She could go without it. They still had one other in Corduroy's backpack. And as she did, she felt Corduroy's hold on her shoulder dissipate.

Kernel eyed the medical kit. Throughout this whole thing, he'd kept his eyes wide open. He hadn't blinked once. He stepped forward again, almost dragging his foot along the ground as he did so. And as he did, Gadget heard the branches creak once more.

This was not what the Gamemakers had in mind, she didn't think. She didn't care. This was-

Something flew past her face from behind, so quickly and so light that it didn't make a sound. But Gadget's eyes widened in alarm as it struck Kernel right in the base of the neck, embedding itself firmly, and hard enough for blood to spurt from the wound.

She gasped in horror and whipped her head around to see where it had come from. But as she did, she saw Peeta looking at Corduroy with an expression she couldn't identify, and Corduroy…his arm was still extended.

Alarm spread across Gadget's face. Had Corduroy just…he just…

"Wh-why wou-would-'' Gadget started to say, taking an instinctive step back. Her mind spun and she felt like her world was going to collapse from under her.

Corduroy didn't say anything. His eyes were wide, staring not at Gadget, but past her. Hesitantly, she followed her gaze to where Kernel was still standing, completely unmoved in spite of the razor-sharp wing that stuck through his neck.

And then, suddenly, his limbs shifted awkwardly, and he was pulled into the air, as if by a string.

Giving a loud gasp, Gadget fell backwards, almost knocking Corduroy over. She began to quickly back up, absent-mindedly putting her medical kit back into her backpack. She had high doubts now that Kernel would ever use or need them. She had utterly no doubts, however, that Kernel was no longer with the living and that cannon blast they'd heard earlier was his.

Three pairs of eyes slowly followed the jerking motions as Kernel's body was reeled upwards, and Gadget bit back a shriek. His bones snapped and cracked in just a few short movements, the grotesque sound sounding through the forest like a siren. Gadget felt bile crawl up the back of her throat. She wanted to throw up.

The branches groaned, louder than ever. But Gadget couldn't take her eyes off of Kernel's deformed body. Not as his every limb bent in directions they weren't meant to, and his mouth dropped open, jaw splintering. He crumpled, all at once, and Gadget saw something move.

A loud creak of the branches, and Gadget almost screamed. There, sitting in the treetops, was an abomination that was neither animal nor man. Some unique, brand new mutt, never seen before. It…it barely looked human. It had long black hair that hung loosely over its monstrous face, and whatever it wore, it looked like vines curling all over the body, and something was like the color of wood and earth. Its skin was pale, and its limbs were long, like the Malware Stalker, especially the arms, giving it a somewhat ape-like appearance. But the only thing of its face that Gadget could see was its large, wide mouth, twisted into a sneer that bared its disgusting teeth.

"What is that!?" Peeta called, and dimly, Gadget thought he sounded just as scared as she was.

"Some sort of treetop hunter…a trapper?" Corduroy offered.

But Gadget thought of it as more of a herald of Seneca Crane's Games. His masterpiece.

"It…it's a harbinger," Gadget said. The Harbinger of Seneca Crane.

Scarcely before she could understand what was happening, she felt a solid weight tackle her from the side, knocking breath from her lungs and herself to the ground. A quick glance told her it was Corduroy, and another glance told her why, in the form of the long, slightly curved claw, about a foot long, extending from a mottled purple-and-green sinewy tendril, oozing fluid and gunk. The claw had made a sickening thud into the ground right where Gadget had stood. Had Corduroy not moved her from there, she would likely be dead now. Retracting the claw, the trio could see it being reeled back right into the Harbinger's hand.

"This…harbinger," Corduroy said, "it does not need to come down to get us."

"Guys move!" Peeta said.

As Gadget and Corduroy scrambled to their feet, it shot out the claw in its other hand before the first one had even fully retracted. Peeta desperately swung at it with his spear, and the claw struck right through one end of the weapon. But had he missed, Gadget's head would have been impaled already. Once again, her life had been spared thanks to the boys. She owed them both more than she could ever repay. It forcefully wrenched its claw out of the now-damaged spear, probably trying to wrest the weapon from Peeta's grasp, but the strong boy held tightly. Helped the rest of the way up by Corduroy, he was soon pulling her away from the tree where the Harbinger was. A slim hope held by Gadget was that it couldn't move from there. But she really knew better than to hope for such things in the Games.

As they withdrew, they could see it leaping to the next tree, mitigating the distance they'd just put between themselves and it. And it flung Kernel's corpse right at them, at the same time shooting out both its claws. With a simultaneous outcry, all three scattered away from each other.

"Keep running!" Corduroy yelled.

Obeying, Gadget shot into the woods. There were trees in every direction, plenty of places for the Harbinger to follow them. Seneca Crane would not make it easy for them to escape this thing, and how could they fight it if it wouldn't even come down? Ten yards to her right was Peeta, also running for all he was worth, and to her left, Corduroy was putting his healed leg through its paces now. The Harbinger, now unburdened by Kernel's weight, was leaping from tree to tree, mitigating any distance they gained, and rapidly firing off its claw, each time narrowly missing one of them by mere inches.

All the stress, terror and horror Gadget had put out of her mind came crashing back to the forefront as this new monster kept getting closer and closer to killing them all. It was definitely improving by the second. At least they had plenty of open ground between them, and as much as the Harbinger could leap so quickly, it was limited to trees if it refused to come down. The Gamemakers wanted entertainment, not a no-win scenario, so this meant they were not being executed for being too boring. While not much of an improvement, it was better than nothing!

Gadget briefly entertained a horrible notion, that they were being forced back towards the Cornucopia. It had a large open clearing with no trees. The Harbinger's range was limited, but Binary awaited there.

Still, it was not the only clearing in the arena, so long as the Gamemakers didn't forcefully change the scenery or include other obstacles. It was well within their abilities to do so, and Gadget calculated that the respite she'd had with the boys earlier was likely going to be the last, and this was going to be non-stop battling until only one remained.

They're evening the odds too! Gadget realized.

They were the only alliance left. Everyone else was alone or had burned their alliances.

Would they call off the mutt once the trio split up sufficiently?

The terrain was flat, with the occasional boulder or cluster of trees, but Gadget could see how the land mass stretched out and if she could hear the rushing waters of a river nearby, then there was likely a ford they could cross. Judging by the distance it could leap, Gadget realized that there was a limit to where it could move. Trees that were too far apart hindered its mobility. She was elated to learn this and briefly slowed to yell out to her friends which direction to take, her mind already calculating the most ideal route that will lead them away from their predicament, if nothing else, to at least buy time to consider the next best course of action.

"Guys-AH!" Gadget felt a claw graze the edge of her left hand. Peeta reached her and grasped her right arm, whilst Corduroy caught hold of her left, and together, the three of them ran in the same direction.

"I-it can't jump too far," Gadget panted out, "move t-to the trees farthest f-from it!"

"Right," Peeta said.

He tugged on her arm and she realized he literally meant they should head right, so she tugged her left arm similarly, and all three began running towards the right, where one of the nearest trees in the direction they were going was about ten meters away. Of course, by now, Gadget should have known better than to expect an easy way out of anything in here, not without a hefty price to balance out a clean getaway. After all, that was how they distributed tesserae as well. It was the entire moral of Corduroy's story of the five families.

Gadget, Corduroy and Peeta all cried out when a massive fire erupted from the ground and several trees were ablaze instantaneously, with one tree collapsing right in their path, shaking the ground with its crash. The blaze moved towards them, giving them little time to think but to run back the way they came. Tears of frustration poured down Gadget's face as she understood the choices presented to them. It was death by Harbinger or death by fire. But either way, death is the result. Had it been only her, she would gladly pick either choice, but when she had Corduroy and Peeta with her, she was not going to let the Games claim either of them if she could help it.

The Harbinger was already at the tree nearest to them, but Gadget had no desire to risk its claws, which left one potentially suicidal choice.

"S-screw this!" she said, getting the attention of the other two and she took a quick scan to see the fire wasn't too wide. Backing up as far as she could, she dashed straight for the fire and leapt through.

A moment later, the boys did the same, and they smiled at each other. Having been thwarted by its prey, the Harbinger let out a long deafening roar. It was the loudest and most hair-raising noise she had ever heard in her life.

"C'mon!" Peeta urged, and they began running again.

The Harbinger was on the hunt again. It was leaping from trees, and the Gamemakers were clearly aiding its progress by collapsing trees into its path or even outright shifting the tree's position to make it near enough for the mutt to jump.

They needed to stop running and rest a bit, but to stop now was to court death. She looked around frantically, and saw a massive hollowed out tree log. Big enough for them to crawl into. She knew it was a heavy risk, but if they kept running, they'd be too exhausted soon. A risky hide was better than none at all.

"G-guys, look!" Gadget pointed to the log and they veered towards it.

She didn't even know how she was always in the middle, but Corduroy had gotten ahead and Peeta lagged behind. They crawled through on all fours, there was a layer of mud from rain at some point, and it was freezing, on top of being grossly squishy, plus she couldn't tell if there were worms writhing under her fingers, or it was just her wrecked nerves making her perceive things. Though the freezing mud was a welcome change from the abrupt inferno blazing all around them. No complaints about dim lighting for the time being.

It took a painful minute, but in the panic and rush, she hadn't been certain that they'd evaded the Harbinger's notice. As a minute turned to two, then three, Gadget's breathing finally evened out, as did Corduroy's and Peeta's. Evidently they too had been waiting with bated breath for the Harbinger to make itself known. As relieved as she was to be able to catch her breath, paranoia and the fear of Seneca Crane's all-seeing eyes through the Gamemakers screamed that she could not be complacent. It was probably on Corduroy and Peeta's minds too, but she whispered the warning nonetheless.

"G-get r-r-ready t-t-t-t-to m-move…" Gadget's whole body was shaking and trembling, from the cold, and for once, her stutter was caused by her chattering teeth.

"R-r-r-right," Peeta said, equally affected by the freezing condition.

Any minute, they were expecting the Gamemakers to ambush them.

But those seconds stretched on, seemingly forever. The fire burned all around them and Gadget had a terrible thought. Was the Harbinger going to wait them out? Force the smoke to suffocate them?

Something touched her hand, and Gadget looked at it, right on time to see a spider crawl over the top of her bandages. She swallowed nervously and shook it off with a delicate amount of force. Did the Harbinger know they were here? Or was Seneca Crane allowing it to...to play with its food?

With a look behind her, she saw Peeta's concerned and worried face. His eyes were trained on the top of the log above them, and she had the distinct impression that he was listening for it. There was no way the Harbinger had lost them. But Gadget didn't know if they should try to run. The idea was far from appealing. She wanted to stay right where they were. Pull her legs up to her chest and try to hold back her despair.

And then, so abruptly, a claw cut through the roof of the log just inches from Gadget's nose, and the second claw broke through somewhere behind, and Peeta cried out. It didn't matter that she had been expecting it, it still jolted her heart and frightened the life out of her. Corduroy was already moving, and so was Gadget, but she was trying to look behind her to see how badly Peeta had been hurt, or if he was just shocked by the claws like she was.

The claws struck again, and Gadget felt it just barely missed her as it broke through the surface of the log with tremendous force. It nearly cut into her thigh and Gadget couldn't hold back her cry of alarm. Her hands grabbed onto the mud and other things she couldn't see, and hauled herself forward before the Harbinger could attack again.

And then, she slipped out, pulling herself free from the log and scrambled to her feet. Where was the Harbinger!? With a hurried look, she glanced back at the log.

"It just cut my leg a bit, I'm okay," Peeta assured as he emerged, "move, move!"

With a quick scan, Gadget saw the Harbinger's position in the treetops, and it had just finished retracting its claws fully. For now, she just tried to head in the opposite direction as far as possible from it. Aided by the Gamemakers, its aim would be nothing less than extraordinary. If anything, she was certain they were toying with the three of them, and were in fact capable of killing them anytime they wanted.

If they got boring.

So the Gamemakers and Seneca Crane had allowed them to catch their breath, and by making the conditions so terribly extreme, between freezing cold and a burning inferno, their bodies were being worn down oh-so-perfectly. She knew...she just knew...one of them was going to die. It was the only logical assumption. She had decided already...she would make the sacrifice. She took a few seconds to make peace with it.

The claws were striking again and again, each time barely missing them by mere centimeters now. And if they got too far out of reach, a blaze would shoot up and either force them back towards the Harbinger, or in a direction where the trees were clustered closely together so it could leap within reach with those claws. Often, they had to double back right under the creature, it watched them run. Like it was toying with them rather than going for the kill right away.

Gadget and Corduroy tried cutting its claws off whenever it was close enough, but the flesh and bony material it was made of was seemingly impervious to their blades, and Peeta had struck the sinew and claws whenever he could, for all the good it did. The bladed tendrils snaked back each time it narrowly missed piercing them, it was getting faster with time.

She was faster than both boys, especially if she gave it everything she had, so she had to slow down and give Peeta time to get ahead of her, as it was, that injury was near his right heel. He was not as okay as he'd let on.

"Peeta, g-get in front of m-me!" Gadget said and she started lagging behind.

Corduroy had looked over at her in shock, suspecting what she was probably trying to do. Then, they heard a wet squelching thud, then another, and as Gadget felt nothing going through her, with a quick glance down confirming she hadn't been pierced, she felt a different kind of coldness inside herself as she turned around.

"P-Peeta…?" she said, and gazed, horror-struck, at the blood-red claws protruding from his midsection, the tendrils crossed over one another, forming an 'X' that led back to the Harbinger's arms.

Peeta was looking down at it, his breathing ragged, and blood already dripping down from his mouth, in addition to the gore and ichor oozing out from the wounds, he dropped his staff, and placed a hand over each claw, as if trying to feel them to ascertain they were real.

"N-no…" No no no no no no no no. "PEETA!"

"Hrrgh…RrrrnNNN!" Peeta gurgled, and it sounded like 'run'. His eyes locked with Gadget's, and his eyes…they looked so pained.

The Harbinger stretched its arms as far as it could, whilst retracting the claws at the same time so quickly and violently, that it cleanly cut Peeta in two, separating his upper body from his lower body.

A pained wrenching cry pierced the air, and Gadget barely noticed that it was coming from her. She struggled against the arms pulling her away.

Boom!

"GADGET…" Corduroy cried, "...PLEASE."

His voice pierced through the haze of despair, rage and horror that filled her mind as another friend died before her. Sobbing, screaming, and cursing all at once, Gadget allowed herself to be led, almost heedless of where she was going, and hating herself for being unable to do anything as once again she failed someone. When was it going to end for her?

She came near a tree that somehow resembled a person to her eyes, and with a strangled cry, she struck at the "head" with her knife, cleanly taking it off with one swing.

Corduroy watched her with an unreadable expression, and she screamed at him too, "YOU CAN'T STAY WITH ME! YOU'LL DIE TOO! EVERYONE DIES!"

She collapsed to her knees, burying her face in her palms and sobbed uncontrollably. Let the Harbinger just finish her off. It'll buy Corduroy time.

"GO!" she shrieked without lifting her head up when she felt his palm on her shoulder.

"Not without you," Corduroy replied evenly.

"Not this time!" She looked up through tear-streaked eyes. "I-I'll buy you time. You m-must leave me behind!"

"No."

"DAMMIT CORDUROY, LEAVE!" She leapt to her feet and shoved the boy violently.

She cried out when she saw a ring of fire nearly ten feet wide.

No! Why didn't he just leave when they gave him the chance!? Gadget stared in frustration at the inferno.

There was one path open to them, and just a little distance away, she could see the Harbinger, watching, waiting.

"We're dead e-either way," Gadget said, and turned to look at Corduroy.

Before he could reply, she looked past him, and realized that although the flames were thick and great, the river was just beyond the flames in the opposite direction of the Harbinger, and the river was too wide for the Harbinger to leap across, unless it wanted finally coming down from its treetop perch. She was reasonably certain it would be vulnerable to attack on the ground.

"What are you thinking?" Corduroy asked, and Gadget admired how unflappable he sounded.

"We go through th-the f-flames, and across the r-river." she answered.

Yes, it was ten feet of fire, but they were slick with freezing mud, and even with the heat of the flames battering them from all sides, and they were sweating like crazy, she was reasonably certain the icy waters would put out any flames, and burns were preferable to dismemberment by the Harbinger. Only because Corduroy was so damned stubborn. But she was determined now to take the matter into her own hands once she was certain he was safe. He was the last friend she had alive, and she had no intentions of outliving him too. Especially not him.

"All right," Corduroy said, "together now."

He gripped her hand in his, half-expecting her to stay behind, she surmised.

"Now!" Gadget cried, and they both leapt through the flames.

It was the singularly most terrifying experience racing through ten feet of flames, and she was certain her outer jacket had caught fire, but they were on the riverbank and splashing into the water. It was even colder than she'd expected, and nearly gasped underwater from the shock. Her basic training left her as she began to panic, until a firm hand caught hold of her left wrist and pulled her upwards. Taking a deep lungful of air, she struggled to swim the twelve or so feet across. The water was so cold. She could barely function.

She looked back at where they'd come from, and she saw the Harbinger, up in the trees. It bared its grotesque mouth at them and Gadget pushed back against the water with Corduroy. She kicked her feet roughly in an attempt to launch herself towards the other side of the river.

The Harbinger raised its arm…and Gadget watched as a claw raced towards them at tremendous speed. She yelped and slammed into Corduroy, throwing them both underwater just in time to see the claw pierce through the river, just where she had been a moment ago. They needed to be faster!

The Harbinger of Seneca Crane began to retract its claw and before it could launch its second one, she pushed against Corduroy, breaking the surface of the water. They swam towards the shore, together, but…

Gadget panted as they reached it, and they weakly pulled themselves up onto the bank. Then, they tottered out of the mercilessly cold waters, chilled to the bone, and ironically facing death by hypothermia. Once they were up and well away from the waters, Gadget collapsed to her knees, crying for Peeta, and crying in relief all at the same time.

She glanced back, one last time from where they'd come from, and where she could see the Harbinger up in the trees. It didn't make so much as a sound as it suddenly turned and leapt into the nearest tree and…Gadget saw as it disappeared from sight, utterly vanishing into the abyss.

Although she wanted to give in and pass out right where she was, she knew there was all likelihood she and Corduroy would never wake up from that sleep. So, once again, mustering all the willpower left to her, she forced herself up, and brought Corduroy up with her.

"W-w-w-we've got t-t-t-hnngh…to keep g-g-going…" she urged him.

"Wh-where?" His teeth chattered so hard.

The fires had raged over here too, though for what reason, Gadget had no idea. It had since moved on, and left nothing but smoke and an ever cooling environment. The piercing frustrated roar of the Harbinger spurned the girl to move further, chasing after the retreating fires. It had to be the Gamemakers' doing again. Instead of creating a condition to let the Harbinger continue its pursuit, now they were going to let the weather do it for them. They had beaten the odds, they'd gone through literal fire, they'd escaped the inescapable, and now their reward was death by freezing.

"N-no…!" Gadget gritted her teeth. "...I w-w-won't…"

"Gadget…?" Corduroy looked at her worriedly.

"Must b-b-build…fire…" Gadget said in lieu of answering the boy.

The air was chill, their bodies were on the verge of shutting down, but she could build a makeshift campfire. It wouldn't be as efficient as Peeta's upside-down fires, but time was of the essence. She bundled all the stones she could see into a rough circle, and gathered whatever leaves and smoking twigs and branches she could get her numb hands on. She piled them up, and released a breath when she found a few still burning branches and leaves. Haphazardly placing them inside and on top of the pile, she let out a soft cry of elation as the fire began to burn.

Corduroy and Gadget warmed their hands over the large flames, but their soaking clothes counteracted any benefits the heat gave them, though it at least averted the crisis somewhat, and now they could build a makeshift shelter and...hang up their clothes.

All their clothes.

The thought clearly went through Corduroy at about the same time as it did Gadget, and she noted the small blush he had that was not from the heat of the fire.

"W-we have n-no choice," Gadget said, and turned her back.

She heard some shuffling noises and assumed he had turned as well. Hurriedly, the two began to undress, though at the last minute, she decided maybe she would risk keeping at least her underwear on. She drew out a folded packet-like object from her backpack, which was a thermal blanket. Picking several long branches, she made a clotheshanger with Corduroy's assistance, and they hung all their articles of clothing carelessly over it. This served to shelter them and the fire from sight, and blocked out the winds, which conveniently began to whip up.

"Gadget, come closer," Corduroy instructed, "we need to conserve body heat…"

He picked up the thermal blanket and beckoned her closer, she clumsily approached him and they awkwardly wrapped their arms around each other. Their breaths misted with each exhale, and they moved as close to the fire as they dared to, feeding the fire with branches and leaves, of which there were plenty around them. The wide open clearing meant they would be reasonably alerted to approaching danger, though with all their clothes and backpacks drying up, being aware of danger would be of little assistance to them right then.

As much as she wanted to, or he did, they both did their best to keep one another awake for the next few hours, until they'd stopped sporadically jerking and trembling with the cold. Twice, Corduroy and Gadget had left the comfort of each other's embrace and the blanket to collect more branches, twigs, leaves and other forms of kindling. They'd long since gotten over any embarrassments and awkwardness, especially when Gadget had other things on her mind.

Like what she planned to do once Corduroy was no longer in immediate danger.

Despite their best attempts, both of them eventually fell into fitful sleep after five hours of struggling. Their bodies were spent and the multiple shocks and grief finally overcame them. Only to be roused awake by a loud anthem playing, and Peeta's face filled the arena dome's artificial sky. Heart clenching, Gadget took the opportunity to bid farewell.

"G-goodbye P-P-Peeta...I-I'm so sorry…" she sobbed, "...I'm sorry…"

"Goodbye, my friend." Corduroy said.

Gadget saw that he too had tears in his eyes. And together, they watched his face, and for a moment, she thought he smiled down at them.

I'll be seeing you and Lace again…soon, Gadget thought quietly, as she felt her eyes close.

Only for them to be forced open once more.

The sound of trumpets startled Gadget, and they, like the anthem that occurred just moments ago, blared throughout the entire arena. Was this what she thought it was, Gadget wondered.

"Attention, tributes," Claudius Templesmith's voice boomed throughout the arena, and Gadget's tearful eyes widened in surprise, "each of you need something desperately," he announced, and Gadget's brow furrowed in confusion. She didn't necessarily need anything. Only sponsor materials and…and as she glanced towards Corduroy, she realized that she didn't know if he needed anything.

But she knew what this meant. A feast. Seneca Crane was triggering a feast to happen. But how were they going to get to the Cornucopia? When Binary was in control of it, he could've moved the mines around from their previous positions. It would be a quick death, if she could do it right. Head first, right into a mine, and it would be over. Over before she knew it.

"Each of you will find something that you need in a backpack marked by your district number," Claudius continued, his voice slicked with something that resembled clear superiority. "In twelve to fifteen hours, the wheat field north of the Cornucopia, will be where each of you can find your things."

Gadget released a breath. The Cornucopia wasn't where the feast would be. Was it because of Binary, or some other reason? Gadget didn't know, and she didn't care much. But she knew that she couldn't go. It was too risky. Most of the tributes would be there, she was certain. If not all of them.

"Now hold on," Claudius went on to say, as if he was reading Gadget's mind. "Some of you may already be declining my invitation. But this is no ordinary feast."

Gadget gazed down at the ground. She could feel her heart in her throat. What kind of twist was the Gamemakers going to pull? What were they going to do to bring them all together?

"Sponsors have been limited to the feast only," Claudius explained, and Gadget felt dread pool in her gut. "Whatever gifts each of you may have been sponsored will only be available from your respective backpack in the feast," he revealed.

No…

"For some of you, this will be your last chance," Claudius said. "May the odds be ever in your favor."

And then there was nothing but silence.