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.

18. The Monster Under the Bed

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

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Author's Notes:

Triage: Don't you just love conclusions? It's marvelous!

Zevoros: Gore warning!

Special thanks to Evie Rose! Additional thanks to CragmiteBlaster.

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Penelope's Web

Chapter 18

The Monster Under the Bed

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As Gadget's eyes fluttered open, the first thing that came to mind was she didn't even remember going to sleep. Though she shouldn't have been surprised that she would have fallen asleep. Given all that happened several hours ago…by a rough guess, seeing as it was perpetually night now, she was amazed she hadn't passed out sooner. She did remember building another upside-down fire with Corduroy. Though they used her flamethrower to speed up the process, since it was freezing cold.

The fire was still burning and the heat was comforting. The stars and the moon gave her enough illumination combined with the dim orange glow of the fire to tell her…that she was all alone with the campfire.

Corduroy wasn't here!

"C-Corduroy?" Gadget sat up quickly, "Corduroy!?"

Her expression became one of alarm and worry as the silence wore on. She decided to risk it.

"CORDUROY!"

Only the night insects and birds were all that she heard.

Gadget's heart spiked and she felt it in her throat. She gazed around frantically, hoping beyond anything that she would see him in the lighting that the flames provided. But she saw nothing. There was nobody.

Her legs almost gave out from under her as despair welled through her being. Corduroy was gone. Her one friend…gone. He…he couldn't be dead. She would've heard his cannon. Would've woken up to the sound of it booming across the sky.

She was alone now. Completely.

"Corduroy…" she said one last time, softly speaking his name in a whisper. But he was gone, and she had no idea where he was.

Gadget gazed around the campfire and she realized that Corduroy's belongings were also missing. His backpack and other supplies were gone. And all that remained was the things that belonged to Gadget. She glanced to the side at where she had been sleeping to find that her flamethrower was still right where she had left it.

Which meant that Corduroy had only taken what belonged to him. Her heart squeezed and she went over to her makeshift bed. As if it could be called that.

Corduroy was gone. She had to find him! It was too close to the end for this to happen now!

But…there was no way for her to know which way he had gone. Gadget picked up her flamethrower and readed it in her arms. There was no telling if Seneca Crane would send something out at her.

She looked around for a moment longer, unsure of where she would even begin to search for him. Then, however, as she turned her head, she spotted something in the dirt, right by where they'd made the campfire.

Hope lurched in her chest, and Gadget walked over as quick as she could. Maybe Corduroy just left to…to…get some more wood for the fire! Or grab some more berries! Or…or…to scare Monkshood away after she had come too close!

Gadget tried to grasp onto any reasoning she could think of. Any reasoning that wasn't that Corduroy decided to leave her alone. Any reasoning that wasn't that Corduroy decided to go his separate way.

Something was scrawled into the dirt, and Gadget's eyes danced over it. "May the threads of your life weave well," she read aloud.

And her worst reality had come true. Corduroy had left. The number of tributes had become too low to reasonably continue their alliance. The final four tributes. Gadget had no idea how she had managed to make it so far. As she sat down, staring with dead eyes at the words in the dirt, she wondered how this could have possibly happened.

She should have died in the Bloodbath. It felt like a lifetime ago that it had happened. Where so many people died and Gadget should have been one of them. But instead she pretended. She'd lain there and pretended to be dead.

Gadget put her hand over the top of the scrawled words and she couldn't stop the onslaught of tears that erupted from her. She sobbed into the darkness, curling her head downwards so that all she could see were the words in front of her.

Why!?

Gadget knew the answer to that question. But she didn't want to acknowledge it. She didn't want this to be how things really were. She didn't want to be alone.

Every time she closed her eyes she could see them all. Lace. Cato. Thresh. Clove. Each person she was responsible for the deaths of.

What would Clove and Cato have been like if they weren't Careers? Would they have been happy together? What could have been if things were just a little bit different?

If the Hunger Games just never existed?

Why couldn't things have just been different?

How scared must each of them have been in their final moments?

Four tributes left. Herself, Binary, Corduroy, and Monkshood. Binary must be at the Cornucopia, or at least close to it. As far as Gadget knew, she figured that he had made himself…comfortable there, now that the Careers were all…gone. Corduroy, though, could be anywhere. Gadget glanced around with tearful eyes to find his footprints. Maybe he hadn't gone far and she could find him again! But she saw nothing. Corduroy had clearly been careful in leaving.

As for Monkshood…Gadget figured that she, too, could be anywhere. Her words still rang in her head still. Her claim that Gadget had killed her. And no matter what way Gadget tried to frame it in her mind, there was no mistaking that she had done exactly that. She had taken all of Monkshood's supplies and left her with nothing but her backpack.

Gadget blew out a breath. Something Monkshood once said slipped into her mind and made her tremble. What if…what if Corduroy split up from her to take his chances with Monkshood? She was clearly stronger, in spite of both her missing finger and supplies. Were Corduroy and Monkshood really in it together from the beginning? And Corduroy was simply using her?

No, that didn't make any sense. Monkshood wouldn't have tried to make her turn on Corduroy yesterday if that was the case. And he wouldn't have helped her fight back against Monkshood, either. Nothing added up if they really were working together even now.

Gadget wiped her eyes with the back of her palm. The sky was darker than it had ever been during her time in the arena. It didn't take a genius to figure out what that meant. Seneca Crane was preparing the scene for the Games' grand finale.

Clove was dead. Gadget wasn't necessarily the one to end her life, but she was involved heavily in what happened to her. Corduroy…he avenged Lace. A part of her wondered if that was why he stuck around so long for her, and why he separated now. Because Clove killed Lace, and Clove hated Gadget. It wasn't hard to put the pieces together.

Did Corduroy use her to get to Clove?

Unease stirred in her gut, and Gadget laid her flamethrower across her lap, staring despondently at it. Did her usefulness run out for Corduroy? Maybe she left some kind of impression on him. It would explain why he didn't kill her. He…he was…he seemed…

Gadget swallowed. Corduroy had killed Marvel with relative ease. Did guilt crush him as badly as it crushed her? Gadget didn't know. If he did, he'd hidden it well.

Her hand dropped, plucking a blade of grass out of the ground.

Yet, her guilt about what happened to Clove wasn't as crushing as it was for what she had done to Cato. Maybe that was because she didn't get to know Cato's cruelty as intimately as she had come to know Clove's.

But now they were both dead.

Did that make her a terrible person? Her muted sense of guilt for what she had done to help lead to Clove's death? She hadn't been the one to do it, but she might as well have.

She all but ensured the girl would die that day/night.

It didn't matter. What mattered was ner next course of action. But what was she to do? Seneca Crane could flip the Games on its head at any second. Trigger whatever finale he had in store for them all.

Gadget put her flamethrower down at her side and ran her fingers along the bandages that adorned her hands and arm. Delicately, she touched the one that had been wrapped around her shoulder. Her foot hadn't erupted into bouts of pain for a long time now. The disinfectant that she and Corduroy used to dress their wounds had muted her pain immensely.

But that didn't change the fact that they were still wounded, and Gadget worked hard to be conscious of that fact. Too sharp a movement, or bending one of her limbs the wrong way would reopen an injury that they had tried dressing.

Time was not on her side.

She wouldn't be able to find Corduroy. He could be anywhere now, and there was no point in searching for him because the finale was hours, if not minutes away. But if Seneca Crane led her somewhere…because all finales, as far as Gadget knew, took the tributes somewhere where everyone would be forced into another confrontation…

Then Corduroy would be there. And she would help him get out of this place. He deserved to live far more than she did. Not after the things she had done. What would she even do if she survived? Gadget knew the answer to that. Zeno would never let her live a moment in peace. He'd take the victor's mansion for himself and let her remain in the junkyard.

Nothing would change.

She wasn't ready to die. Gadget didn't want to die. She wanted to live!

Gadget let out a quiet whimper as she hunched over. She clasped her hands around her torso in a hug in some pathetic attempt to comfort herself.

A shaky breath passed through her lips and she climbed up to her feet.

A loud growl emanating from her stomach told her she had something vital to take care of.

The simple facet of hunger, a basic human necessity to just function, even in the most cruel and heartless culture that humanity has likely ever known, made something snap in Gadget, because she began to laugh. She laughed so much, and so hard, she had to sit back down, and eventually wiped away the tears that began pouring down.

She was alone, she was probably going to die in a few more hours. There were no more lucky saves, no one to save her or sacrifice themselves for her sake. But her body needed food first and foremost. Given that she had once again thrown out whatever she'd eaten the night before after witnessing Clove's brutal-yet-fitting execution, it should not have been surprising that she'd need sustenance once more.

There was absolutely no doubt in her mind that there were no more days left. Tonight, or today, only one person was walking out of the arena alive. She held the flickers of a dim hope she might. But if not, she hoped to do enough damage and that Corduroy was still alive by then to claim the victory. If it was all she could do by then, she hoped it would count.

So, since there was no real point to saving it anymore, the Gamemakers would not allow escape or the ability to drag things out, and usually by then, the surviving tributes would also be at their wits end, Gadget decided to give herself a feast, the equivalent of last meal…metaphorically…or perhaps literally.

When she opened her bag and pulled out everything there was to eat, she frowned.

Corduroy may have tampered with her supplies after all. But not to take away stuff. Instead, he gave stuff.

She had two sausages, an orange, a pack of preserved fruit snacks, and another pack of preserved vegetables. It was a full meal with all the nutrition she needed. She was fairly certain she didn't have some of these edibles.

"Thanks, Corduroy," Gadget said quietly.

She found a stick to pierce the sausages and held them over the still burning campfire. Might as well enjoy the last meal as a warm one. The air seemed colder than ever. Almost wintry.

Tugging her outer jacket close, she also drew closer to the fire, trying to ward off the cold. Idly she thought it was the best way to go if it came to it. She'd take death by frost over burning alive any day. Which was ironic given her unpleasant plans for Binary. Despite all he had done to her over the years, she couldn't dredge up feelings of hate. Not the kind Clove had for her. Perhaps not even true anger. Sure, she was no fan of his, but she just didn't have it in her to hate.

What she did have was a cold determination now. To not let him have his way, regardless of his own plans, ambitions and thoughts. He'd been taking advantage of her every step of the way, stealing her works and accomplishments.

The sausages looked well cooked and she pulled it back, giving it a moment to cool. The winter-like air meant she didn't need to wait long.

She took an experimental bite. It felt like rapture and pure joy for an instant. For just a moment, she could forget all her troubles and misery, her fears and anxieties. In that moment, she understood how much it could mean to have a good and proper meal.

That came crashing down a short while later as she realized again this could well be her final meal. Not by much, but it still sobered her up.

She went through the rest of her meal, half-savoring every bite, and half-speeding through it in case the Gamemakers and Seneca Crane got impatient.

She was done.

No more meals in the arena, Gadget half-thought, half-despaired.

It was one more step towards her fate.

She would be a fool to deny she was beyond terrified of what lay ahead. But sitting here and huddling by the fire wasn't going to work. She could just imagine the Capitolites getting impatient, which would make the Gamemakers impatient. The tributes were just characters in a violent show for their entertainment.

What or how they felt didn't matter.

So get going before they make you!

Sighing, Gadget stood up, took stock of whatever she had left, drank a swig of ever freezing water, and started heading towards the Cornucopia. Historically, that was most often the site of the final battle. Nine times out of ten, the battle ended at or near it. It was fitting in a way. The story ends where it began. Three bloodbaths. One victor.

There was a kind of symbolism to it.

She had just taken a few steps when Claudius Templesmith's voice rang through the air of the entire arena.

"Attention tributes! Congratulations on making it this far. You make your districts and yourselves proud."

Somehow, the short man always managed to make the Hunger Games sound so noble and joyous. Like it was a fun, wonderful thing not only for the Capitolites, but for the districts and the tributes too.

Dead eyes turned upwards to the artificial starry sky to listen to the rest of what he had to say.

"Within the next hour, one of you will be crowned the victor," Claudius revealed, and Gadget felt her heart speed up. That was…way too soon. She wasn't ready! She wasn't sure if she ever would be! "In the next ten minutes, each of you will make your way to the Cornucopia."

Ten minutes!? Gadget grimaced and glanced around at her surroundings. Ten minutes to get back to the Cornucopia? How? How was she supposed to…

"If a tribute fails to make it to the Cornucopia in time, the consequences will be…disastrous."

"No!" Gadget cried out. "I'm not ready!" she begged. She knew the rough area of where the Cornucopia was, but ten minutes!? That was not nearly enough time!

"Good luck. And may the odds be ever in your favor," Claudius finished, and his booming voice slowly dwindled into nothing until not even an echo remained.

Gadget heaved, dropping forward on her hands on her knees. Her flamethrower clattered to the ground and she looked skyward, gazing and hoping for something to happen. For Claudius to come back and take away his last statement.

Instead, the Capitol seal appeared, unaccompanied by the theme that usually joined it in revealing the dead. Gadget watched fearfully as it disappeared and was replaced by the number ten.

"Oh…oh no," Gadget whimpered. She ducked down to grab her flamethrower and, after a moment's hesitation, she slipped her backpack off and let it fall to the ground, and she picked up her short sword. Time was ticking away, and Gadget was very aware of that fact.

Sheathing the double-edged blade into her belt, Gadget took off into a sprint. Those supplies she had been holding onto only added weight she couldn't afford to keep.

Her flask of water bounced in her jacket pocket, hitting against her ribs with every large step she took. Her feet pounded the ground, crushing the dirt and sticks beneath her heels as she sprinted.

How far out from the Cornucopia was she? A mile? Two? Stopping was not a luxury that she could afford, she had to keep going no matter what! If Claudius said that not reaching the Cornucopia in time would lead to disastrous consequences…she wasn't sure she wanted to know what Seneca Crane would do to her.

She threw herself past branches that whipped across her face as she ran. The cuts they left behind wouldn't bring enough of a need for her to stop. Don't stop, Gadget! she reminded herself.

It was so cold. Almost freezing. It touched along her fingers, wrapping them around in the cool frost of the air. And the dark…it made it so hard to see clearly. Gadget couldn't see more than a yard or two in front of her. Trees shielded everything, any possible clearings that she might have been able to skip right through.

The Cornucopia was this way. Of that, Gadget was certain. She and Corduroy had fled right past it during their escape from the wheat field yesterday. Too easy was it to lose track of where she was, but remembering where the Cornucopia was was one of the few things that she could recall about it all.

"Nine minutes!" Claudius boomed.

Gadget squeaked and glanced up into the sky. The number ten had shifted into the number nine.

Now she regretted moving so far away from the Cornucopia, especially when they were down to the last few tributes. The Gamemakers were squeezing all the drama and entertainment they possibly could from the survivors and they were killing them all. And truthfully, she wasn't sure if she would be free even if she was a victor. It would never end. For as long she lived.

The Hunger Games was only the beginning.

She distracted herself with her thoughts, anything to push out the depressive possibilities of winning. Besides, that was counting her terabytes before they were filled.

She was shivering from both fear and the cold. It felt much like winter, and she had a hard one just this year, when Zeno had evicted her from the home after she'd gotten them some tesserae. A bitter feeling entered her and she grit her teeth against it and the freezing that entered her bones, slowing her down ever more.

A sneeze interrupted her thoughts, followed by a cough as the acrid smell of something burning filled her senses.

A moment later she realized she was smelling trees, leaves and other things burning. The forest was on fire again!

The last time this happened…the rest of Gadget's thought on the matter was interrupted by the near-miss of a bone claw on an extended chain just whistling by her right ear from behind and struck into the tree near her.

The closeness of death, and the sudden reappearance of the Harbinger froze Gadget to the spot, then she whirled around to see the claw violently yanked out of the tree, taking bark and splinters with it as it retracted into those impossibly long arms and hands.

It's on the ground!

The Harbinger of Seneca Crane had foregone its primary advantage of the trees to confront her on the ground. But this meant she could close with it and kill it. She had a flamethrower, and her sword. She could avenge Peeta if nothing else.

It would also take whatever time you have left, and do you honestly think this is the disaster the Gamemakers have in mind? GO!

The voice in her head sounded disturbingly like Corduroy.

Deciding to heed the voice, she turned and began running, ducking as she heard the telltale sound of its claws flying out again. Once more it narrowly missed her head and torso, but struck hard into the nearby trees, showering her with splinters, ash, and embers as the trees were spontaneously bursting into flames.

So she was once more being led, guided toward a specific path.

"Eight minutes!"

She only spared quick glances behind her to see the Harbinger awkwardly hopping on the ground. Its shape was far better suited for leaping between trees, having a decidedly primate appearance, but devoid of fur, and its face was far too human-like. It let out a metallic shriek of fury as it locked eyes with her. As if looking at it was a deep offense.

Maybe it was. This thing was unnatural and probably had anomalous characteristics even Gamemakers couldn't account for, regardless of whether they controlled it.

Gadget also couldn't help but notice how it kept missing. Not by much, but Gadget didn't duck and weave nearly as often enough as she ought to, and it kept missing her by at least centimeters. It wasn't meant to kill her. Though if she made one wrong turn, she'd still impale herself or slam into a tree. She was panting as she ran for so long. She'd crossed at least two hundred meters or more. She was drawing closer to the Cornucopia.

But she did not want to get there winded and unable to act, which was what the Gamemakers and Seneca Crane seemingly wanted.

Up the drama and challenge probably.

Gadget hated them. Yes, she probably had enough in her to hate them all.

Fuck the Capitol.

A belated thought had her drawing out the sword. She had a flamethrower in her left hand, and the sword in her right. If she saw a means to take the Harbinger out, she was going to take it. She yelped as the claws narrowly missed her head and soared on towards her left, and she veered away from it.

She was also breathing much harder, as she found herself climbing upwards now.

When did this hill appear?

Maybe it was here all along, or maybe the Gamemakers just wanted to make her miserable, but whatever the case, she had to scale it, keep track of the stupid beast, avoid its claws, and keep surging ahead to the Cornucopia to deal with Binary.

For Corduroy.

"Seven minutes!"

She almost wished he took her flamethrower. She meant it for him. But something made him decide not to, and she wasn't sure why, or whether this was a good thing. Did he want her to win? Just like she wanted him to win?

"ARGH!" Gadget was irritated by the umpteenth near miss of the accursed claws, and she swung wildly with her sword, to her surprise she hacked off one of the claws.

Or rather, the extended limb attached to it.

The Harbinger screamed, it sounded almost like a human, but not quite. There was a distinct double flang in its voice. Very strange. Blood flowed freely from the wound as it hastily retracted all the claws and glared murderously at her.

Backing up hastily, but keeping her eyes on the deadly mutt, she only cast a backward glance to ensure she wasn't backing up into a burning tree, or any tree for that matter.

It ambled forward, a menacing demeanor to its steps, now favoring one arm as blood dripped down from it. With its other hand, it shot off the claws once more and Gadget dropped and rolled forward, going downhill, she regained control of her roll, barely, getting close enough to ignite her flamethrower, aiming directly at its face.

Blinded by the fire it shrieked and raised both arms while retracting its claws and reared up, making it nearly seven feet tall.

Oh no.

She ran back uphill as fast as she could, putting a great deal of distance between herself and the Harbinger. It was now shrieking and screaming, the sound bouncing off the trees.

Echolocation?

"Six minutes!"

She hurriedly ducked behind a tree and looked toward where the Harbinger last was. It ran mostly in a straight line, but it definitely weaved between trees after each cry. It was also blindly firing its claws.

The last one was just a few meters from where she hid, but when the claw struck the ground ahead, there was an explosion.

It took her a moment to realize it sounded like a cannon, and it was in the distance, but it was probably one of Binary's mines. The battle had started!

A low growl nearly had Gadget scream in panic. The Harbinger was almost at her location. She tried to control her breathing. She needed to respite after such a long run. But she was at least two-thirds of the way to the Cornucopia thanks to this stupid mutt. She probably had no choice but to face it head on. If it was injured badly enough, she might have a chance.

Might.

It appeared just ten feet away from her, its burnt face was nothing compared to the blackened eye sockets as it sniffed the air and let out a piercing long shriek, trying to locate Gadget.

The moment it turned its head in her direction, Gadget decided on action rather than waiting.

She triggered her flamethrower again, then dashed towards it, before faking and leaping away from a claw launch, going to its back and slicing open the backs of its knees.

It let out an agonized cry as it fell, and Gadget took off, running uphill, leaping away from trees that suddenly burst aflame, and heading towards her final destination. Her final moments.

As long as Binary was incapacitated.

She began to plan out how she was going to take away every advantage he had stolen from her to use against the tributes. How to eliminate the mines, the power of his armor and that lightning staff.

A pained cry made Gadget whip around to see the Harbinger was awkwardly stumbling after her, still using its echolocation and its one good arm to pull itself towards her.

This thing needs to die!

She easily dodged the clumsy claws fired from the good hand, and it missed high, striking the ground in a particularly steep climb behind her.

Bang!

The ground erupted in an explosion at the same time that Claudius announced, "Five minutes!"

Binary apparently planted a mine here, because Gadget was suddenly swept off her feet as trees, rocks and soil all gave way and began taking her back downhill.

Screaming, she tried to reach out for something, anything, all without releasing her own weapons in either hand. The Harbinger was also shrieking as it got swept in the torrent of the landslide.

Suddenly Gadget fell into a curved alcove that escaped the rest of the landslide as the ground rumbled and rolled downhill, the cries of the Harbinger fading with the distance. It took a whole minute before the rumbling and sound diminished. Time she could not afford to lose.

"Four minutes!"

When she climbed out, the burning forest provided enough illumination for her to see the arm of the Harbinger sticking out of the soil, but it did not move. She hesitated, sticking her foot out to take a step. If the Harbinger was still alive, it could lead to the end of her. But she didn't have time to wait, either.

Gadget was all too aware of the ticking clock above her head.

After almost a full minute of watching, and not seeing a single twitch, Gadget surmised it was dead, suffocated by the weight of the gravel and rocks.

"That…was for P-Peeta," Gadget panted, and her heart squeezed in sorrow. The Harbinger might be dead, but it didn't change the fact that Peeta wasn't coming back.

"Three minutes!"

Unable to waste more time, Gadget took off into a sprint for the Cornucopia. She gathered a small pile of rocks, throwing them at the ground ahead of her, in case Binary left more mines around here.

The fires kept bursting or erupting around her, forcing her along a single path. For what purpose, Gadget didn't know. She had no intention of leaving the path she was on to get to the Cornucopia. Her legs ached from her running, but there was no time for rest.

There were no more mutts. But that fact didn't mean anything. Whatever purpose Seneca Crane had for the Harbinger…he couldn't use it now. Even though it was gone, Gadget didn't dare slow down. The promise of whatever consequences rang around in her head. There was no time to catch her breath. Her feet skid across the ground as she pushed herself as fast as she could go.

Hurry! she screamed internally at herself. This was the end! How had she made it this far? Gadget couldn't believe it. In the distance, she could see fire burst from the ground, creating a narrow pathway to push her down.

The final stretch to the Cornucopia. And as she came closer and closer, and she refused to stop when she was so close, the details of what she was looking at slotted into place.

She could see a ring of fire with openings here and there. There were more than four openings, so she could not tell where the various tributes would be coming from.

The Cornucopia itself remained intact, but the large pile of supplies that the Careers had stacked up before was now completely missing!

She saw telltale evidence of it being there a moment ago. Where it used to be was now a crater.

That was the explosion in the distance she'd heard earlier! The supplies had all been blown up entirely.

No real loss. This was the end.

"Two minutes!"

Reminding herself not to get hasty at this point, she cautiously approached, following the path left open to her by the flames. The fires at least warded away the cold, but the wall of fire also made it impossible to see an ambush from around the corners.

Hopefully everyone else was as handicapped as she was by the fire.

"NO! NO PLEASE!" came a desperate plea nearby.

Others had arrived, but also, it sounded like Monkshood.

She'd been hurt?

"PLEASE DON'T! I BEG YOU! PLEEEEASE!"

She was dying…

Gadget, against her better judgment, darted forward. Getting around the walls of fire to get a clear view of whatever was happening. She could hear Binary's voice as she got closer. She reached part of the open clearing around the Cornucopia in time to see Monkshood, her clothes were shredded to almost nothing, but her body was a horrific mess of burnt and torn flesh, muscle, sinew and bone. The fact she was even able to move despite this spoke volumes of her durability, but at this point, it was more a cruelty than mercy to her.

Gadget knew, the girl was dying, and she was crawling uselessly on her back, facing the approaching Binary.

Time was ticking away. Her hand found her flask and she pulled it open, and greedily lapped up the contents it contained. When it was empty, she let it drop to the ground, and jumped through the small opening in front of her into the clearing where it all began.

"You must be stupid," Binary said scathingly. He turned his spear around so that the point was facing downwards. "Spare you? Now? When it's just the four of us?"

Gadget crept forward. Binary wasn't wearing the night-vision goggles like he was the day before. There wasn't really any point anymore, when the fire around them lit up all of their surroundings.

Where's Corduroy!?

The thought entered her mind so abruptly. Because if Binary and Monkshood were here…then Corduroy should be, too. But as she gazed around, she couldn't find him.

"One minute!"

"No…" Gadget said. Her heart, which had slowed its pounding in her chest from the sprint she took from her campsite to here, restarted.

Corduroy wasn't here. Gadget didn't need to glance up into the sky, because above the Cornucopia were the numbers that counted down how much time he had left. It was just like the countdown to the Bloodbath.

"PLEASE!" Monkshood cried out. She sounded so heavily in pain. There wasn't going to be any escape for her, and that thought made Gadget's stomach churn. If she and Corduroy hadn't taken her supplies…would…

"Shut up!" Binary shouted, and he stomped down on Monkshood's injured leg. As the sound of her bones cracking was heard, she screamed. One of pure agony.

"Thirty seconds!"

"Come on, Corduroy," Gadget whispered. She gazed uncertainly between the numbers above the Cornucopia, and the sight of Binary's attack on Monkshood.

"The Careers were right about one thing," Binary said cuttingly. He took his foot off of Monkshood's, and slammed his spear into her other leg. She screamed again, louder than before, and Binary looked down at her, impassive. "All your begging is the same." He pulled the spear out, and Monkshood let out a yelp. "No variety."

"Twenty seconds!"

No, no no no!

Monkshood stopped crawling. It seemed that she realized what Gadget and, she guessed, Binary, already knew. There was no escape. And a new layer of fear entered her eyes. "You ain't a Career?" she asked, her tone intertwined with fear and hatred. "You act JUST LIKE ONE!"

"SHUT UP, GLITCH!" Binary yelled, and Gadget heard Monkshood cry out.

A distant roar caught her attention and she turned her gaze in the direction it had come from.

"Ten!"

"Corduroy!" Gadget cried out, desperation tinging her words. He couldn't die! He couldn't!

"Nine!"

Between the fire, she saw him. And right behind him was a reptile-like mutt. But her eyes were firmly on Corduroy. His kukri in one hand, and his other empty. His backpack was gone, too.

"Eight!"

Claudius' thunderous voice boomed across the arena as he counted down the seconds. Gadget didn't want to know what would happen to Corduroy if he didn't cross through the ring of fire in time.

"Seven!"

The mutt right behind him swiped with its claws, just barely missing Corduroy. It couldn't get him! It couldn't!

"Six!"

Please! There was nothing she could do. But Corduroy got closer and closer with every step. With every second. She took steps of her own closer to him, to do what, she wasn't sure.

"Five!"

"CORDUROY!" she called again, and she didn't care that Binary definitely heard her. It didn't matter when he was going to come after her soon regardless.

"Four!"

"Gadget!" Corduroy called back. He outstretched his free hand.

"Three!"

Gadget outstretched her own.

"Two!"

The ring of fire started to close bit by bit. Gadget's heart drummed in her chest. Make it! Make it!

"One!"

Corduroy burst through the flames, making it into the clearing just then. The mutt that had been right on his heels stopped at the perimeter. It roared once, then scampered away.

Gadget caught Corduroy's hand in her own and she embraced him. Corduroy's free hand wrapped around her, as well. He was alive!

"I-I…you…" Gadget started, but she couldn't get the words out. She didn't need to say the words for Corduroy to know what she was thinking, she was certain.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Corduroy's kukri rise. His own hand tightened around her, his embrace stiffening. And Monkshood's claims returned to her. The doubts she tried to instill into Gadget about Corduroy all came back.

Her breath hitched and again, she felt fear in Corduroy's presence. She tried to prepare herself. He wouldn't hurt her. He wouldn't hurt her. He won't hurt me.

But then she felt Corduroy's second hand join his first in his embrace around her. She felt his head on her neck, and she could feel his pulse beating wildly against his chest.

"I am sorry I left," Corduroy whispered, and he truly did sound distraught. "I thought that-"

"It doesn't matter," Gadget interrupted. The doubts faded away, and a small smile crossed her lips. Monkshood's poisonous words fled her mind.

Corduroy's arms dropped, and Gadget followed his lead. Now was not the time. They were lucky that Binary hadn't decided to leave Monkshood to kill them while they were distracted.

"What a happy reunion," Binary said suddenly, and Gadget turned to look in his direction. He looked back at her with a raised eyebrow and an expression Gadget knew all too well. He was thinking about how he could use this to his advantage. Binary's statement wasn't sarcasm. It was just that. A statement.

Behind Binary, Monkshood silently pushed herself back. Her eyes were on Binary's back as she moved. But it was futile. Gadget knew it was futile.

With either of her legs broken or impaled, she was never walking again, and propped on her back, she could only drag herself so far. The walls of fire hemmed them in. There was no leaving this place until everyone was dead.

Binary turned abruptly. It was like he had absolutely no fear that either Gadget or Corduroy could stop him. He looked down at Monkshood, and the girl panicked.

"NO!" she screamed, pulling herself back to try and get away.

"You won't escape from me!" Binary stated. He put his foot down hard on her leg, and stepped over her. Then, he put his spear against her throat and forced her head back into the ground.

"CORDS!" Monkshood screamed. "GADGET! HELP ME!"

"They aren't coming to save you," Binary said coldly, and with little fanfare, he raised his boot and slammed it down against Monkshood's head.

Gadget gasped and stilled. He…he isn't…

But he was. Monkshood screamed again, and Binary slammed his heel back down into her head.

"How many times do you think it'll take for you to die!?" Binary asked cruelly. He raised his boot again. "My guess is the same number that matches your district!"

"NO!" Monkshood cried, but it was completely useless. Binary's foot came rushing down to meet her, hammering her head into the ground.

When Binary lifted his foot again, Gadget could see tears of blood leaking from Monkshood's eyes. Her hand gripped at the dirt while her other tried to grapple for Binary to stop him.

"Stop!" Gadget said, pleadingly. This was…this was horrible!

Binary turned his head and he smirked at her. Then, he shoved his boot down into Monkshood's head again, and Gadget heard something crack.

"AAAGGGHHHHH!" Monkshood screamed in complete agony. Her hands released and dropped to the ground bonelessly. Gadget couldn't look. She couldn't move.

All Gadget heard was Binary's foot being brought down onto Monkshood's head again, and she heard an even louder, nauseating crack that made her want to retch. Monkshood's cries grew weaker, and Gadget had no idea how many slams of his boot Binary had done.

Binary crushed his boot against Monkshood again, and Gadget looked at the sight. She held a hand to her mouth in shock at the brutality of it.

"Ugh!" Binary grunted, and he brought his heel down into Monkshood's skull again.

Gadget screamed in horror as Monkshood's head gave way with a horrific, sickening fracture as Binary cracked her skull open against the ground.

Monkshood stilled.

Boom!

Light filled up the sky and Gadget looked up. Monkshood's face appeared for a few seconds. Brown, calculating eyes stared down at her. Eyes that were never going to see again. Then the darkness swallowed her, and she was gone forever.

Monkshood was dead.

Binary didn't stop, though. He slammed his foot down against Monkshood's head again and again, and Gadget couldn't believe she was witnessing what he was doing.

His boot turned her head into a puddle of blood and fragments of bone and brain that decorated the ground, until there was nothing left of Monkshood's face and skull. Her body twitched as Binary hammered her head with his foot, before she fell still again.

Only when Binary was satisfied did he stop. He pulled his boot out of the wet mass that was once Monkshood's head with a disgusting squelch. Blood, sinew, bone, and brain were all over his foot.

As much as she wanted to turn away and upchuck everything once again, she was forcefully pulled away from the sight by Corduroy, his hand gripping her left arm firmly and twisting her body to the side.

"C-Cordu-" Gadget stammered.

"Keep your profile sideways from Binary's perspective," he said, "do not let him see your primary weapon."

The flamethrower.

Gadget tensed her left arm, but kept it still, using whatever of her thin body's profile she had to conceal it as instructed.

"As long as he thinks you have only a sword, you have the advantage."

"B-but…"

"No, Gadget," Corduroy said, "there is a change in your plan."

What?

"Wh-" Gadget tried again.

"Why do you get to choose who might be victor?" he asked, a hint of challenge in his voice.

Realization dawned on the girl. Tears threatened to let loose as her mind caught up to the implications.

"Goodbye, Gadget."

And before she could say another word, or try to latch onto him despite her busy hands, Corduroy had already turned away and rushed forward. His kukri was prepared in his hands, and everything Gadget wanted to say died in her throat.

No. No!

Binary twisted sideways. He planted his foot against the ground and as Corduroy swung his kukri down at him, Binary blocked the attack with his spear.

"You're brave," Binary acknowledged. Gadget could see how determined he was to lose no ground. Binary and Corduroy's weapons clashed loudly, both of them trying to break the other first.

Corduroy couldn't do this alone! Gadget's arm felt heavy. The flamethrower like it was weighing her down. She didn't know what to do! The flamethrower gave her an element of surprise, just as Corduroy said. But…but she couldn't lose him! She couldn't!

I won't let him die.

Gadget dropped low to plant the flamethrower against the ground. If…if Corduroy needed it, he would find it. And…and if not…

Gadget tried not to think about the alternative. She rose, and she sprinted forward to join the fight. Her heart was in her throat with how fast it was beating. This was the end! Where someone was going to leave this arena alive.

"Get away from him!" Gadget yelled, just in time for Binary to retreat a step, just as Gadget tried to swipe with her weapon.

Corduroy looked at her, but she didn't have time to make out his expression before Binary thrust forward with his spear. Gadget gasped and swung her short sword, twisting her hips to force enough momentum to block the attack.

"You would help another district try to kill me?" Binary asked, hissing the words with such venom that it almost took her aback.

Corduroy went on the offensive. The kukri in his grip shot forward, aiming right for Binary's neck. Or more accurately, the junction between the collar of the suit's armor, and his jaw.

But then Binary stepped back, practically ducking as he went. With a spin, he was feet away from them, and he pointed his spear right at Corduroy.

"How are you still alive?" Binary asked, and Gadget realized his question was aimed at her. "Don't bother answering that," he said, "I already know."

Gadget whimpered and Corduroy didn't say a single word. She knew he was thinking. Thinking for a way to outmaneuver Binary. The Capitol couldn't possibly be enjoying this. Their attacks were far from the usual bloody finales they'd come to expect.

It was that thought that scared her. If Seneca Crane got bored…he could do something, anything, to make things more interesting for their audience.

"I was kinda hoping that it would be me and you," Binary revealed with a tilt of his shoulder. Then he turned to look fully at Corduroy. "But not you."

And that was all Binary needed to say before he was on the move again. He pivoted with surprising speed. Not as fast as the Careers, but quick enough that it took Gadget by surprise.

And more importantly, Corduroy as well.

Binary slashed his elbow right into Corduroy's gut, his fingers pressing a button on his gauntlet as he did so. The telltale, familiar sound of electricity started to thrum. Binary had just become far, far more dangerous.

Corduroy grunted, instinctively doubling over. Binary wasted not a second, thrusting his fist into the back of his head, toppling him to the ground.

"No!" Gadget cried out. As Binary lifted his spear to drive through Corduroy, she pumped her legs as fast as she was capable.

The spear started to drop…

And Gadget collided with Binary, forcing them both back step after step. Her double-edged knife skid uselessly against his armor, and Gadget could feel electrical currents blast through her body as she shoved.

Every bit of exposed skin against his armor burned and surged at the kilojoules of voltage that shocked her. She dimly heard Binary cackle in amusement. But it was too much. She couldn't hold on forever.

Gadget collapsed to her knees, breathing heavily from the pain she had just suffered. The aftershocks ran up and down her arms. The smell of slightly burnt skin hit her nostrils and she tried to hold it all back. Her limbs trembled and quivered like a floppy disk.

She looked up, just in time to see Binary's bloody boot hurtling towards her face. Before she could move, or even prepare herself to move, he struck.

A gasp passed through her lips as she fell onto her back. Her head hit the dirt, and she practically felt her eyes roll in her head from the force. Gadget could taste dirt and blood on her lips. Whether the blood was her own or…Monkshood's, she didn't know. She didn't want to know.

Her gaze found Corduroy's body. Whatever Binary did to neutralize him so bad…it made her eyes wet with tears. More likely, it was a combination of things. Of every wound he'd collected over the course of…how long had it been inside this arena? Eleven days?

Binary loomed over her. He turned his spear over so that the point was pointed right down at her. "Do you have any idea how long I've been looking forward to this?" he asked.

Gadget whimpered again. The spear hovered right over her chest. All it would take was some downward momentum to pierce her body. It was all Binary needed to do.

"You've been a waste your whole life!" Binary snapped at her. He raised his bloody boot and brought it down into her side.

"Ah!" Gadget cried out. The pain rushed through her and made her kick her legs uselessly. There would be no crawling away.

"Do you really think you deserve to live?" Binary asked her incredulously. "You don't!" He raised his boot again, and slammed it even harder against her stomach.

"Please!" Gadget cried out. It was like she was at home again, in District Three. Suffering Binary's bullying and the things he could do to her.

"You are nothing!" Binary yelled at her, stomping his foot right into her gut.

Gadget screamed. She had failed. Her teary eyes looked towards Corduroy as he struggled to stand up.

"The only reason I'm glad you're still alive is so that I can do this to you myself!" Binary snarled at her. The spear came rushing down, and Gadget closed her eyes, preparing for the impact.

Only for it to collide with the ground right beside her.

Binary stared down at her, prying the spear out of the ground. "I'm going to kill you, Gadget," he said, with abrupt calmness that it sent shivers down her spine.

"Why?" Gadget whispered, her voice cracking.

Binary looked coolly at her. "Why not?" he asked. "I saved you in the Bloodbath. You owe me."

"Please!" Gadget sobbed. She didn't want to die! And Binary's cruelty…it knew no bounds. There was no reason for him to be so cruel to her. Not in here. Not at home.

"Shut up!" Binary snapped, crushing his boot against her leg. Hard. It reignited the agonizing burning that the trap she had stepped in caused.

"AUGHHH!" she screamed, crying out into the dark sky.

Binary grinned. Sadism shined brightly in his eyes. "I'd love to continue this," he said, raising his spear once more, and this time, Gadget knew that he meant to kill, "but I'm going home."

"Your mom came to see me," Gadget said suddenly, the words escaping her before Binary could begin to bring the spear down into her. It was a gamble, Gadget knew. But it was the only thing that she could think of. "After we were reaped," she added upon seeing Binary stop his action.

He looked almost confused, like he hadn't been expecting Gadget to reveal that.

It was enough to make him hesitate. Gadget didn't care what he next wanted to say, or how he would make her explain. Her hand tightened around her short sword, and with a cry, she slashed it upwards.

Binary didn't have time to move. He wasn't expecting it. Gadget wondered idly if he'd forgotten about her weapon, or if he wasn't her to fight back. Whatever the case, her double-edged knife cut through the air, and right between two of the wires that connected Binary's spear to his generator.

Binary grunted, and Gadget shoved her hips upward, throwing his foot off, if only just barely. And then, Gadget rolled to the side, picking herself up as she went, taking hurried, quick steps away from the boy who tormented her for as long as she could remember.

The pain in her gut throbbed, but Gadget refused to stop. Her eyes bounced between Binary as he regained his footing, and Corduroy as he slowly started to pull himself up. Gadget ran to his side, looping her arm around his waist to help him up.

"Gadget," Corduroy said, somewhat weakly. How had Binary done so much damage with such little force? "Gadget, you have to run," he told her.

"Not without you!" Gadget cried. Corduroy was on his feet again, and Gadget cast a glance over her shoulder. Binary glared right back at her with fury in his eyes. And then, he took his step.

"This is how the Hunger Games ends, Gadget," Corduroy told her, a sad smile crossing his lips. "With one victor."

Gadget's dead eyes widened in panic, and before she could say another word, she felt Corduroy's hands on her shoulders, and gave her a mighty shove back. She fell to the ground as she went, and Corduroy had already turned around, his eyes firmly on Binary.

"So much loyalty to someone you barely know," Binary stated plainly. His spear turned and Gadget could still hear the thrum of electricity flowing through it. She…she failed. Cutting through those wires had done absolutely nothing. How could she be so stupid? How could she miscalculate so greatly?

"Loyalty seems to be something you do not have," Corduroy returned. He stood up straight, but Gadget could see how he was trying to hide his pain.

Binary scoffed. "Enough talk. Let's end this! Me and you!"

Binary stomped his foot once, and ran forward for Corduroy, who did the same thing.

No! I can't let this happen! Gadget thought desperately. She glanced at where she left her flamethrower. It glinted, barely, from the fire that shone on its silver surface. Forget the surprise! She had to take Binary down before he killed Corduroy!

Corduroy met Binary halfway, his weapon connecting with the spear in a loud clash that echoed through the clearing. Gadget tried to stand, even though her every limb hurt. They screamed in pain, and it felt like a victory in and of itself that she managed to move at all.

She looked despairingly at the fight in front of her. A fight she was unable to stop from happening. Binary easily blocked Corduroy's attack, one after another. The grin of a sadist split his face, and he truly seemed like he was enjoying this.

Corduroy shoved his fist towards Binary's face, catching him in the jaw, and throwing his head back. It wouldn't have stunned him long, and Gadget knew that Corduroy knew that fact. He turned the kukri around in his hand so that the blade was pointed downward, and he thrust it towards Binary's throat.

But Binary parried the blow with his armored sleeve, and the kukri harmlessly skidded across the metal.

Corduroy's eyes shot up to meet Binary's, who glared right back at him. Binary wasn't a Career. The only reason he was as strong as he was was because of the armor. Gadget tried to stand, her legs almost wobbly as she went. Everything hurt so much. It was like her body was trying to give up and shut down.

Binary's fist smashed against Corduroy's face, and this time it was his turn for his head to lurch back. Then, he swung the handle of the spear right into the side of his face, dazing him even further.

"No!" Gadget cried. But not even Binary paid her any attention. She wasn't a threat, after all.

Binary shot his foot out, crushing his heel against the back of Corduroy's leg, and knocking him to his knees. He grunted, and before he could do anything, Binary's hand wrapped around his hair, pulling his head back taut.

"I bet that hurts," Binary snarled. Then, his eyes found Gadget, just as she climbed onto her feet, holding her arm as she stared right back.

Corduroy didn't look at Gadget. His eyes were turned to the corner of his gaze. What do I do!? Gadget thought with panic. If she made any movement at all…she feared what Binary would do to Corduroy.

"That sorrow you feel," Binary snapped, and Gadget looked at him, "it's your fault!"

Gadget swallowed. Her usually dead eyes were pleading, and finally, Corduroy looked at her, too.

"If you had just listened to me, none of this would have happened," Binary continued to say, his voice so cold. "But you had to make a connection with an enemy tribute, didn't you?"

"Please…" Gadget pleaded, but for what, she wasn't entirely sure. She could beg and plead as much as she wanted, but Binary would never listen. Seneca Crane would never listen.

There would never be more than one victor.

"Well, Gadget? What was it my mom came to see you for?" Binary asked. His grip on Corduroy's hair tightened, and he kicked Corduroy's hand, launching the kukri to the ground a few feet away. "Now's your chance to explain. Explain!" He shouted his final word loud enough to make Gadget jump.

"I…" she trailed off immediately. What was she supposed to say? Binary held Corduroy's life in the palm of his hand. If…if she said something he didn't like…then was going to kill him. He'll kill him regardless, she reminded herself. The most she could do was buy him time. "She…wanted me to help you," she said simply.

"Ah," Binary said with a nod, like everything suddenly made sense to him. "Well, that didn't turn out the way you wanted."

"Please!" Gadget begged, falling to her knees. Tears ran down her cheeks. "Please don't kill him!"

Binary stared at her. He lowered his spear out of view, behind Corduroy's back. His gaze was locked onto Gadget's, and she hoped so, so terribly much that he would listen. That he would kill her instead of Corduroy because…because the longer Corduroy lived, the higher chance he had to survive.

But then Binary pounced, thrusting his spear. It tore through Corduroy's back, and Gadget watched in horror as it ripped through his torso. Completely, all the way through.

"No…" Gadget whispered softly.

"Gadget…" Corduroy said weakly.

"One. More. Kill," Binary said, as if he was tired. Then, with a push of a button on his gauntlet, the electricity started up once more.

Corduroy gave a single cry out, before his eyes shut.

Boom!

"NOOOOOO!" Gadget screamed.

In the sky, Corduroy's face lit up.

Binary pulled his spear free from Corduroy's body, then kicked him forward so that he landed on his stomach.

Gadget couldn't believe it. She couldn't stop staring at the sky. Corduroy's face…so alive, even if he was unsmiling, stared down at her. He…he was gone. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't be! It couldn't!

But it was. This was really happening. Just like everyone dead before them, Corduroy's face disappeared.

This had to be a nightmare. A terrible, horrible nightmare. This couldn't be happening!

Gadget shed her outer jacket and hurried forward. Binary was almost completely forgotten as she went. All that mattered was her friend. He couldn't be dead. This couldn't be happening. Not after everything! Corduroy was meant to survive!

She landed on her knees beside Corduroy's body, holding her jacket firmly on the wound. "Why!?" she sobbed. She made to turn him over, but Binary stopped her with a swift thrust of his boot, bringing it against the side of her head, knocking her over with a grunt.

"Why?" Binary asked softly. He looked almost deranged. "Why!?" he asked again, this time with a shout. "Because this is the Hunger Games, Gadget!"

"You killed him…" Gadget said. She didn't care for the reasoning. It didn't matter. Her friend…he was dead. Sobs passed through her lips, and she barely pushed herself up so that at least she wasn't lying on the ground.

She sobbed and wailed, crying for all of Panem to see. Did they see her now!? Did they see how pathetic she was!? She hadn't killed him but…but what she built had. The suit of armor that she had built, with silent hope that Corduroy would be the one to take it…and Binary had used it to kill him, instead.

"You know," Binary began casually, circling Gadget's crying form, "when I got reaped, I had a plan. The mines," he said gesturing loosely with his shoulder. He gave a small chuckle. "But I hadn't accounted for this!" He touched finger to the chest plate. Gadget tried to move, tried to crawl away, but Binary kicked her in the gut, and with a whimper, she fell onto her front once more. "When you revealed your plan on the train, I didn't think you were going to even survive the Bloodbath long enough to put it into action."

Gadget didn't look at Binary once from where she lay. Her dead, tearful eyes were locked longingly on Corduroy's corpse. He's dead…the thought echoed in her mind like a bell, ringing over and over and over. Despair coiled around her, and Gadget couldn't breathe.

"But you survived," Binary went on to say, "so I made some adjustments to my plan." He kicked Gadget's side again, and she cried out, the despair leaking from her throat in the midst of her torment. "I had to keep meeting with Glimmer when no one was paying attention in order to work something out. Maybe I had a chance when Cato was alive, but after Glimmer told me that you killed him…" he trailed off.

Pain erupted in her side, and Gadget grunted through her tears. She wasn't going to survive. Everything she worked towards was a failure. The flamethrower? Useless. Corduroy…he was dead. What point was there in going on? She had failed everyone.

"But it all worked out in the end, didn't it?" Binary asked, and Gadget could hear the satisfaction in his voice. "I got the mines. You got your suit. And as for how you owe me…I'm cashing that in."

Gadget turned finally, looking at Binary. Rage boiled in her gut. After everything this…this malfunction had done to her…the taunting and the torture. Corduroy…

She grit her teeth, and before Binary could bring his spear up, Gadget launched her injured foot into his leg, and upon it's impact against the boy's armored knee, she felt something tear open. It wouldn't do any damage, but Gadget knew that Binary was unprepared for her to fight back. Her attack pushed her backwards and away and she felt a painful throbbing against most of her leg. She knew she'd reinjured it and most of the painkiller's effects were gone by now.

Even if she died here, she wouldn't lie down and let Binary win. Resolve joined her rage, and Gadget jut her jaw out as Binary took a step back in surprise.

I'm going to delete you!

She didn't know when she'd lost her short sword. Maybe when she took off her jacket. Regardless, it didn't matter. Gadget fought to ignore the pain in her bones as she grabbed Corduroy's fallen kukri, and with a twist of her arm, hurtled it towards Binary.

It wouldn't hit, but that hadn't been Gadget's intention. Binary ducked even as the curved weapon went wide, and Gadget got to her feet, hurrying towards her discarded flamethrower. She cursed herself for putting it down. It was a weapon, and even if the surprise didn't work against him, it still would have been incredibly useful.

Maybe if she used it, Corduroy would still be alive.

Stupid, stupid!

STOP. ANALYZING. THE. MAYBES! END BINARY NOW!

The fire blazed around the clearing of the Cornucopia. Dimly, Gadget was surprised that Seneca Crane hadn't had the fire slowly encircle them further. It didn't matter. Twenty feet became fifteen. Fifteen became ten. Ten became five. And then, Gadget was above the flamethrower. She crouched down to pick it up, twisting on her heels the moment she had it in her hands.

She had never hated someone as much as she hated Binary.

Binary wasn't as quick as she was, and he stopped running towards her when he saw the flamethrower. His lips parted in surprise. It was, as Marvel would have put it, marvelous, to see that shocked expression on his face.

"When did-" he tried to say, but Gadget didn't let him finish.

With great vehemence, she squeezed the trigger, and was rewarded with a powerful gout of concentrated fire burning through the air straight for Binary. He screamed and raised his arms to protect himself, backing away as he went.

"YOU KILLED HIM!" Gadget screamed, her voice loud enough that she thought it could be heard for miles in every direction. "HE CARED! HE CARED LIKE YOU NEVER WOULD!"

Binary continued to retreat, and Gadget pressed her advantage. He was surprised. He hadn't expected this, and that was probably the only reason she was still alive. She didn't know how much fuel she had, so she had to be careful.

Fire lingered on Binary's arm, and he shook it off with a brief look of panic. When it was extinguished, he glared at Gadget, backing up just a little bit further.

Then, suddenly, he leapt to the side and Gadget followed, her finger on the trigger, but not yet pulling it. There were crates scattered all over the Cornucopia, and Binary ducked easily behind one. She hesitated, standing still in the open, her flamethrower trained on the crate. Lanky limbs burned in exhaustion and pain, but there was no giving up. Not now. This was something she had to do.

She took a wary step forward…right on time for Binary to jump out from behind the crate, a device in his hand. Gadget's eyes narrowed in on it, and she realized what it was just a second too late.

Binary hurled the mine into the air, and this time it was Gadget's turn to get behind a crate. But she was too slow. The mine passed over her head, landing too far away for the explosion itself to do any damage.

The flying shrapnel was a different matter entirely.

Gadget dropped the flamethrower in favor of protecting her head with her hands. There was a loud bang that reverberated around the field, and a shockwave of heat and kinetic force washed over her. Followed by intense pain.

"AAAAGH!" Gadget screamed as something sharp pierced right through her palm. New forms of pain consumed her. Wrapping around her in a blanket of agony. Something slashed her temple, just barely missing her enough to embed deep into her skull.

Something else struck her in the chest, and all breath fled her lungs. It was like she'd been hit with a thousand sledge hammers and nails at the same time. She choked on her spit, and weakly swallowed.

Her hand…it was a mess. A sharp, large metal piece had gone right through part of her hand, between her middle and ring finger. Blood dribbled down her palm, onto her wrist. She realized belatedly that there was pain on her face as well. Gingerly, she touched the part of her face below her left eye. With a soft hiss of anguish, she realized that when the shrapnel impaled her hand, it had cut over her eyebrow and down the cheek, narrowly avoiding the eye itself, miraculously.

She let out a weak moan and tried to grasp the metal shard with one hand before releasing it. There could be consequences for removing it, and she didn't want to face what those might be.

I can always ram the shards into Binary's face.

Blood matted her hair to the side of her head, and she touched it lightly, pulling away to see so much crimson coat her fingers. Gadget hissed and she dropped her hand to grab onto the flamethrower again. Everything flared up, and part of her was convinced to not move. To stay right where she was and wait for something to happen. To wait for death to claim her.

But she wouldn't. She would not sit idly by with so much pain in her heart. She was going to kill Binary…she was going to kill him for everything he had done to hurt her, and she was going to win.

Girding herself once more, she slowly stood up on shaky legs. With a look over her shoulder, she saw Binary shoot her a wicked grin. She didn't want to stay here to figure out what he had planned.

Raising her leg, Gadget raced away, her feet hitting the ground hard as she went. Everything hurt so much. Even so much as breathing, and she felt something sting in the back of her throat.

"I don't think so," Binary said, his voice a mixture of cool amusement. Gadget glanced in his direction just to see another mine in his hand. Then, as abruptly as the first one, he tossed it in her direction.

"Ah!" Gadget cried, splitting off her direction and jumping towards the Cornucopia itself. She barely passed the wall when the mine was set off, and the heat from the flames whipped across her back.

The explosion boomed in her ears, and Gadget was afraid it was loud enough to burst her eardrums. That worry, however, was replaced when she felt something slide deep into her thigh.

Gadget's mouth opened, but she didn't even hear herself scream. She slammed the uninjured part of her free palm against the wall. Feebly, she tried to grab onto something, but it felt hopeless.

She looked down at her leg, and there it was. Another piece of metal sticking through her thigh. It had sunk deeper into her than any other piece of shrapnel. Her free hand released the wall and she gripped the edge of the metal.

Gadget sent a surreptitious glance at her surroundings, and her stomach dropped. She'd trapped herself inside the Cornucopia. If Binary had another mine…then she was dead. She needed to act fast and-

She hissed, releasing the piece of metal suddenly. Blisters had already started to form on her hand. The piece of metal was hot, far hotter than the one stuck in her hand. "Oh…" she groaned.

Ever so slowly, her hearing returned, the ringing sound in her ears fading away. The great bang of the mine passed completely. Gadget looked out past the Cornucopia entrance, scanning the ground for her short sword.

"YOU!" Binary roared, his footsteps growing near. "ARE! BENEATH CONTEMPT!"

Binary rounded the corner, his spear at the ready. Gadget shrieked and, as he took his first swift step into the Cornucopia, she raised her flamethrower and pulled the trigger.

"No!" Binary shouted, trying to twist out of the way at the last second, but Gadget followed him with her gaze and shaky hands.

It was Binary's turn to scream in pain. He tapped a button on his arm, deactivating the electricity. It was her chance. Probably the only one she would get to run past him before he recovered.

She released the trigger and the flames ceased pouring out; better to conserve whatever reserves remained. Most of Binary's torso and legs down to the knees were covered in flames, the fuel matter stuck to him and continued to burn. He would be cooked alive and sealed to the suit soon. Not wasting any more time, Gadget raced past him, twisting her hips and pulling herself to the side to narrowly avoid him and avoid incinerating herself in the wall of flames surrounding the Cornucopia.

She limped along, breathing heavily as she went. The shrapnel in her leg hindered her movement so badly. Her short sword was mere feet away, and Gadget changed course in order to pick it up.

"Agh!" Binary yelled, patting his body down to stop the flames. It had barely served as anything more than a distraction. Maybe a modicum of pain, but Gadget doubted that it did any more than that.

She ducked down, scooping up the double-edged knife from its place in the dirt. Her options were rapidly diminishing by the second. She felt like she could barely move. Both of her legs protested every step she took. How much blood was pouring out of her wounds?

There was a circle of crates, all scattered around the clearing. Maybe she could use them as cover? But before she could, Binary emerged from the Cornucopia, smoke and steam rising off his body. His face was the picture of rage. He wanted this to be over just as much as she did.

"Get away!" Gadget yelled, aiming her flamethrower at him. A glance to her left and right gave her no ideas. All she had was the short sword that she could barely hold onto. It clinked against the metal embedded between her fingers.

Binary stopped, and Gadget stared at him. What was she going to do? She couldn't get close to him. That was impossible. If she did, she was as good as dead.

"Do you think you're even worthy of continuing to live?" Binary asked.

Gadget opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, Binary was moving again. He grabbed something off one of the nearby crates and threw it at her.

Instinctively, Gadget ducked down to dodge, and prepared herself for another explosion. But none came. Too late did she realize her mistake, and she made to stand at the same time that Binary reached her.

"No! Noo!" Gadget cried out, pointing her flamethrower back at Binary, but he was quicker. He kicked her flamethrower, knocking it away, before he slammed his fist into her face.

A mighty crack split the air, and Gadget's head was thrown back from the force of his punch. Pain crashed through her head, and as blood flowed down her face, Gadget knew that her nose was broken.

A wad of blood came spitting out of her mouth, and as Gadget looked up at Binary, slightly dazed, her hand clutched around her short sword. She only had a few vulnerable places on his body that he could hit. If she could-

Binary suddenly kicked again, his foot colliding with the metal piece in her leg, sending straight through her thigh. The agony boiled over, and Gadget screamed again. This…this was worse than anything that had come before so far within this arena. She screamed into the sky. It was so much worse than any experience so far.

Gadget looked down at her leg, and she saw the piece of metal split through her, right out the other end of her thigh. Blood gushed down into the ground and she whimpered pathetically.

"You were never anything more than a tool to help me go home," Binary said, planting the tips of his spear against her chest. Before he could bring it up to gain enough strength to run her through, though, Gadget swung hard with her sword, cutting into the back of Binary's heel.

He yelled, backing away, and Gadget leapt up, grabbing her flamethrower as she sprinted away. Before she could turn around to use it on him again, Binary had pressed the button on his arm, and the electricity was activated again.

"You wanna dance, then?" Binary asked. He pointed his spear at her. "We can dance."

Gadget glared, and ignited the flamethrower. Just as the flames reached him, she leapt away, dropping low and putting her back to one of the crates. Her hope and her fears swarmed in her mind. She'd had to make her chance to hide at just the right time. Right when Binary was blinded enough to be unable to see her.

She peeked out from the corner, watching as Binary waved the flames away. Cool calculation made its way upon his features, his eyes scanning the Cornucopia.

Gadget ducked behind the crates, trying to move as stealthy as she could. But her leg burned. Everything hurt so much. Giving up was not an option. It wasn't! Her blood adorned her short sword, dripping down the handle. Blood that only belonged to her.

"Gadget!" Binary called, and she heard him slowly moving about. He could see her, and this would all be over. Of that, Gadget was certain. She didn't know how many mines he had left, but she assumed…she hoped that he had no more than the ones he'd already used.

She had two weapons. And she had to be careful not to lose either of them. Gadget had never learned, really, how to be stealthy. The only thing she could rely on was the crackling flames to mask any sound she might make.

"The longer you drag this on, the more painful it'll be," Binary claimed coldly. She could hear the hints of his own pain hidden in his tone.

Liar. You'll make it painful either way, Gadget thought. She knew Binary better than that. He hated her just as much as she despised him. He was going to make her death more brutal than he claimed. There would be no mercy if he got his hands on her.

Binary hissed, a breath escaping him. Gadget scrambled forward, putting herself to the side of the crate. Her heart was beating so loudly that she was certain Binary must have heard it.

But he kept walking, his pace slow. Like he had all the time in the world. "You won't escape here!" Binary announced. "You're going to die here in this arena, just like twenty-two other nobodies!"

Keep moving, Gadget, she told herself. She moved forward, circling the Cornucopia in the opposite direction from Binary. The crates would only help her for so long. She needed to be careful. Binary was not going to get away with killing Corduroy. She refused to let him.

Step, step, step, she went. Near silent as she crouched along the crates. There were so many broken pieces of metal and other pieces of debris she had to avoid stepping on. Gadget wasn't sure Binary would hear them, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Nobody is going to remember Eight," Binary said loudly. "I can't even remember his name! Why don't you remind me, Gadget?"

Gadget's blood boiled in rage. She would remember him. District Eight, they would remember him. For good or bad. Gadget promised herself, for as long as she lived, she would remember her friend.

Binary wanted to draw her out, she knew that. He wanted to play on her vulnerabilities to get her to show herself. Binary knew better than most how to do that. He had done it to her for almost her entire life. But Gadget was not going to rise to his bait.

Not this time.

Binary stopped moving, letting out a low groan of pain. That wasn't the only reason he stopped, though. He stopped because he needed to listen for her. Gadget resisted the whimper that bubbled its way up her throat.

"Where are you?" he muttered.

Gadget moved along delicately, planting the tips of her feet against the ground in order to create less room for her to make noise. It was so hard, though. Her leg throbbed in pain at the slightest movement. She could feel the piece of metal inside of her, still. Her arms were full, and she couldn't risk making even the smallest noise like banging them on the crates.

"Hiding?" Binary asked. "Is that what you've been doing this entire time?" he asked. "You're nothing, Gadget! No, you're less than nothing!"

Keep telling yourself that, you useless piece of corrupted folder.

Sweat had long since joined the blood on her temple. Gadget raised her foot and put it over the top of a rather large piece of destroyed metal, and pulled herself over it. No noise. Not a sound. Taking Binary head-on wasn't an option. She was slowly nearing him. Closing the distance while his back was turned.

"Glitch!" Binary cried, and he sounded truly like he was losing his patience. "Get out here! I want to go home! And I can't do that until you're dead!"

It was like Gadget was listening to his mental deterioration happening before her. She wasn't going to do anything but listen. Not until she got close enough. She crawled between two fallen crates, picking her feet up and curling them close to herself. It burned! Her legs felt like they were on fire from the inside out. Every movement she made with them jostled an injury that she couldn't stop from hurting.

Fight through the pain!

Sword handle slick with her blood, Gadget struggled to keep a firm grip on her weapon. The vermillion fluid trailed along the handle to the ground. She surmised only the chaos and mixed lighting made it hard for Binary to follow.

It probably helped that he was growing unhinged.

She advanced more quickly now, her steps quick, calculated and quiet, but with a frantic, desperate air. Her breath misted in front of her with each silent exhale. The air was still cold, despite the heat of the flames surrounding the remaining two combatants. She saw the same mist of exhaled breath from Binary, and upon closer examination of his movements, she could determine the rough extent of the damage wrought upon him by her flamethrower. Every step was careful, calculated, as if trying to move without causing undue pain.

His back was turned to her. She could see the steam-powered generator. The one thing that powered the suit, and gave him enough electricity to stop Corduroy's heart.

This was her fault. This was her creation. She never should have built it.

Binary took one last look around, then started to turn away.

Now! Gadget shrieked at herself internally.

Gadget jumped out from behind the crate. She leveled her flamethrower at the generator as fast as she was able, and pulled the trigger. A plume of flames came bursting out from the end of her flamethrower, and before Binary could even turn, the fire caught onto the back of the generator, engulfing it in flames.

"Ahh!" Binary yelled, spinning around. But the damage had already been done. He scowled and thrust his spear out at the same time Gadget lowered her flamethrower and swiped with her sword, cutting through the final wire.

But there was no sense of accomplishment. Binary knocked the blade away and thrust with his spear. There was a look of fury on his face, and Gadget tried to back away.

"AGH!" Gadget cried out as Binary's spear cut through the side of her waist. At the same time that Binary retracted his spear, he brought his foot up and crashed his heel into her stomach, throwing her back with enough force that she couldn't catch herself.

Both her flamethrower and double-edged knife fell from her grip, and Gadget saw Binary allow himself a pained grin, even as he winced. His burnt visage and flame-blackened armor was an unsettling sight over her.

Gadget clutched a hand to her waist. This time, she couldn't hold back the whimper as blood pooled in the palm of her hand. Binary's spear had pierced her rather deep. It hurt! Everything hurt so bad!

"There," Binary said, and he didn't sound at all upset about the split wire. "It's done," he told her. "It's done," he repeated.

Gadget swallowed, scooting backward. Binary didn't seem to be in any hurry, although he did smile faintly in amusement. He took a step…and grunted. He was hurt, as well. How much, Gadget didn't know.

"Yes," Gadget retorted, wincing as she clutched her side. "It is." Then, deciding that she was a fair distance away, allowed herself to smile.

Binary frowned. He was clever, Gadget had always known that fact. It meant that he was always hard to get the jump on. Hard to get the upper hand over him. But this…this time he hadn't seen her coming, not really.

Gadget's flamethrower used a fuel cannister, and the fluids didn't burn away immediately each time. They stuck to the surfaces and kept on blazing for some time if left unattended, much like the generator on the back of Binary's suit. His eyes widened in realization and he dropped his spear, hands flinging back to disconnect the generator. He'd seen Gadget do it, she knew that. She watched, scooting backward further as his hands were caught in the flames, and Binary let out a short scream of pain as he fought to disconnect it.

The locks came undone, and the generator tumbled roughly to the ground as the flames consumed it. But Binary grasped it and tried to hurl it away, his face filled with a desperate panic. It sailed through the air, but it barely made it to its arc before it exploded, scattering shrapnel in every direction…and boiling water like a superheated rain.

It encased Binary before he made it even a step in the opposite direction from where he'd thrown it, a scalding deluge of purest agony.

"AUUGGHHHHH!" he screeched, thrashing uncontrollably, in a hopeless effort to elude the brutal torment boiling over him and through him, taking another step, then a second, before falling to his knees. Steam rose off his body in foul-smelling wisps as his flesh partially melted and even sloughed off him like a disgusting muddy fluid of skin and sinew. Through it all, he was wailing and screaming like he'd never done before in all his life. Gadget could only imagine the punishment inflicted upon him.

"Ah!" Gadget yelped as droplets of scalding water touched her hand. An absolutely miniscule amount versus what Binary faced. But she felt no sympathy for him.

For everything he's done, everything he's taken.

Gadget gathered her nerves and stood up. She limped over to where she'd dropped her flamethrower, slowly picking it up as she went. Binary continued screaming, and Gadget looked at him as she slowly approached.

His hands were blackened, blistered and even burnt away from his attempts to remove the generator, and his face and head looked as if he had been lit on fire, as well. Binary's eyes darted to her own as she came to a stop in front of him.

For a second, neither one of them said a word.

"H-help!" Binary begged. His gaze was pleading. "I…I want…to go home," he said, almost whispering as he did.

Gadget stared down at him. Then, slowly, she leveled the barrel of the flamethrower at his face without a word.

Binary's gaze went from pleading to terrified in an instant. "Please…don't!" he managed to say. He stretched his hand out and Gadget pretended not to see that he was reaching for his spear. "I just want…to see my mother!" he continued to say. "You're…you're more merciful…than I am…"

Gadget looked back at Binary, her usually dead eyes a blaze of fury. "Mercy?" she asked softly. "Where was your mercy for Corduroy?" Her hands tightened around her flamethrower. "Where was your mercy when I begged for it!?"

Binary reached for his spear, practically jumping for it.

And Gadget pulled the trigger. Flames burst forth once more, spilling upon Binary. He screamed again, louder than ever. If he cried for her to stop, Gadget didn't hear it. The fire wove around his face like a tapestry of light and orange. As the ants with Clove, so did the flames dance right into his gaping mouth, consuming the flesh, robbing his sight, his skin, his life. And not immediately either.

Louder and louder, higher and higher in pitch. But Gadget didn't stop. She held the trigger down, staring without mercy at Binary as he twisted and rolled. His screaming wouldn't stop, but Gadget's resolve wouldn't end.

Then, finally, Binary's screams came to an end. A burning blackened skull and spine was all that remained of his head and neck.

Boom!

And just like that, Binary was dead. Gadget didn't bother to look in the sky. Her gaze remained firmly on Binary's corpse as she held the trigger down, using up the last of her fuel. She could smell burnt flesh in the air. It was disgusting. Something Gadget hoped she would never have to smell again.

The flamethrower shuddered to a stop, and Gadget dropped it to her side.

Binary was dead.

"Binary is dead," she said, testing out the words on her tongue. The boy who tormented her for as long as she could remember…was dead.

Gadget waited for the guilt to arrive, but it never came. She'd heard before, that revenge had always left people feeling empty. But…she didn't feel empty.

Gadget felt fulfilled.

Until she glanced to her side and saw Corduroy's still corpse.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I AM PLEASED TO PRESENT TO YOU THE VICTOR OF THE 74th ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES, GADGET TREVELYAN OF DISTRICT THREE!"

Claudius' announcement was followed by the sound of victory trumpets, but Gadget didn't pay it any attention. She stumbled to Corduroy's side, rolling him over and taking his hand in her own. "Corduroy…I did it…" she whimpered. Tears flooded down her cheeks. All cameras were on her and Gadget didn't care.

She had won…but Corduroy was still dead.

A hovercraft descended down into the Cornucopia. It was going to take her away from this…this place.

"I won't forget you. Not you…not Lace…not Peeta…not anyone," Gadget promised.

Above her, the ever-present dark sky started to lighten. The artificial sun quickly came up over the horizon, until it was right above her. All around, the fire that kept them all inside the clearing stopped. The only fire that hadn't, was Binary's corpse.

Gadget wiped away the tears that had spilled. Her hand clutched Corduroy's firmly, and she never wanted to let go. She could barely even believe that she had won.

"I'm going h-h-home, Corduroy," she said softly. She heard the hovercraft's ramp open. Gadget barely spared it a glance. It looked just like the one that had brought her here, although she was certain it wasn't.

She didn't want to let go. But she had to.

Gadget started to stand up, her legs wobbly underneath her.

And then Corduroy's hand squeezed hers.

Gadget shot her gaze to her friend's corpse. Corduroy's eyes slowly started to open. "What is…happening, Gadget?" he asked.

He's alive…he's alive!

Gadget screeched in joy, and wrapped her arms around Corduroy's torso in spite of the pain. Her tears returned tenfold, but this time, they were tears of happiness.

He was alive, and Gadget didn't care how. She had seen his face up in the sky, which meant that…Seneca Crane and the Gamemakers had screwed up somehow.

"We're going home!" Gadget told Corduroy. She helped him to his feet before he, or one of the Capitolites, could protest. She turned them around towards the hovercraft and enjoyed the gobsmacked looks on the medics.

Realization hit her then, as she helped him towards the hovercraft. She had used her short sword to cut off two of the wires and foolishly thought it had no effect when Binary reactivated his spear. You truly are an idiot, Gadget, she scolded herself. It hadn't sent enough electricity to stop Corduroy's heart…but it had fried the tracker bad enough that the Gamemakers thought he was dead!

Gadget grinned, she couldn't help herself. They stepped onto the ramp and climbed up into the hovercraft. Together.

She could picture it in her head, so vividly, Seneca Crane having a mass panic in his control room, but Gadget didn't care. Corduroy was alive! And that was all that mattered.

"Gadget," Corduroy said weakly, and she looked at him. There was so much vulnerability on his face. "I am sorry." He put a hand onto his chest. Gadget didn't know what kind of damage Binary did, but if Corduroy was still alive…she hoped he'd missed the vitals.

"Don't be," Gadget tried to say.

"No," Corduroy shook his head. "I am sorry for hiding things. And I am sorry that…" he stopped, swallowing, before continuing, "that I never shared my intentions."

"Shut up," Gadget said weakly, "it doesn't matter. Okay?"

Corduroy nodded slightly. "Okay…" He looked at her. "Gadget…it hurts…"

"I know," Gadget said. "I'm hurting, too."

"Stay with me?"

"For as long as I can."