*Okay so no direct Katniss or Peeta in this chapter, but they will be back in the next one I promise. Enjoy*

"You know that this could be dangerous, right?" Effie asked her husband.

"I know that this might be their only chance." He sighed and pulled her toward him, "We have no other options. I can't let these kids remain trapped by this drug. It kills me to think that they might be stuck here for the rest of their lives."

She pulled back enough to look into his pale blue eyes, "I know how you feel. I wish I could help them too."

They remained in a tight embrace for several minutes before moving away. Haymitch grabbed his coat and moved to the door. He was going to talk to some of Katniss and Peeta's old teachers. He wanted to get as much information as he could before he set his plan into action. He also wanted to visit Prim's gravesite. He found the article talking about her death and made an appointment at the local prison to talk to the ones responsible for it. Apparently, they had been caught several hours after the shooting. He was hoping that the information he gathered would help him reach Katniss and Peeta. He knew that his little experiment could have some potentially hazardous drawbacks that could break them, but it could also heal them.

Haymitch had always been a pessimist. It was always easier to expect the worst and hope for the best when dealing with the mentally unstable. He wanted to think that he could heal all of his patients, but the truth of the matter was that many of them would die in the institution. Effie was an optimist through and through which annoyed him to no end when they first met, but it was part of the reason why he loved her so much. She refused to give up and truly believed that she would be able to help these kids.

She was the one that kept him from becoming an alcoholic. He had been at his breaking point several years ago. One of his patients had committed suicide in front of him. The alcohol had been his way of coping with the death because it made him feel numb. Effie was the one that pulled him out of the bottle. She encouraged him and was there with him through the bad times.

His contemplations came to an end as he pulled up to the middle school that Katniss and Peeta shared. It was a rather unremarkable building, shabby compared to the modern buildings in the capital. There was a small playground that looked to be rusting and a fence that was down in some areas. The office was small and the portly woman behind the desk had a very stern face. When her eyes landed on his, he felt like he was in trouble, "Can I help you?"

He squirmed under her gaze, "Yes, I'm Dr. Abernathy from Panem Mental Institution. I spoke with a principal Paylor earlier this afternoon about two former students."

Another woman with dark brown hair and green eyes emerged from the open door behind the portly woman, "Dr. Abernathy?" he nodded, "You were enquiring about Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, correct?"

"Yes ma'am I was."

She held out her hand for him to shake which he accepted, "I'm principal Paylor. Would you like to step into my office?" She gestured to the door behind her which they entered. "May I ask what this is regarding?"

He sat in an old leather chair across from her desk, "They're patients of mine and I believe that I might be able to help them if only I could get some more information on them. I'm most interested in any kind of interaction they might have had."

She reaches for the two files that were laid out on her desk, "Well it appears that Katniss was in the choir program, though she quit after the death of her father. She didn't appear in any other clubs or activities here. Peeta was in the junior wrestling league." She skimmed through the rest of the files, "It appears as though they had a couple of classes together."

"What classes did they have?" he inquired.

"Let's see…American History, English, and Math."

He leaned forward, "The teachers that taught those classes then, they wouldn't happen to still be around would they?"

"I'm afraid not. Mrs. Donner moved away several years ago. Mr. Flickman was offered a job at the local news station. He was the one that broke the story on that drug, oh what is it called? The one that makes the kids think that they are in some kind of game where they have to kill each other to win?"

"Tracker Jacker," he replied rather distastefully.

"Yes, that's the one. Anyway, they turned it into an actual show called 'The Hunger Games' which is just sick if you ask me. Turning these children's pain into a show is disgusting. Where did they even get that name?"

"They get it from the kids. They don't understand how it works exactly because the drug is so new, but there is a base delusion that all of the victims share which is the fact that they are all tributes in a sick contest in which they have to kill each other and they call it the Hunger Games. Somehow all of the kids that take it are programmed to believe this and everything that they experience becomes part of the delusion. Some get over it, but others remain affected. It's actually why I'm here. Katniss and Peeta were each affected by the drug and I might have found a way to help them."

Her hand flew up and landed right over her heart, "Oh my word, that's horrible. I'm sorry I couldn't be more help."

"Actually, you said they had three classes together, but you only told me what happened to two of their teachers."

She shook her head, "Oh, sorry. Um, let me think…Oh right, Mr. Templesmith. He was found murdered several months ago in an old warehouse by several kids. His son's body was found with him."

This bit of information interested him for a whole other reason, "Do you know what they were doing in the warehouse?"

Her brow crinkled in confusion, "I know that he was afraid that his son was doing drugs. I don't know if that had anything to do with it, but the police officer that informed us of Claudius' death said that the children they picked up were high."

The wheels in Haymitch's head were turning rapidly. He may not have found any useful information on Katniss or Peeta, but he did find some information about a few of his patients. "Do you remember the name of the officer that talked to you by chance?"

She thought for several moments before shaking her head, "No I don't, but I'm sure the police department could give you whatever information you need. May I ask what this has to do with Katniss and Peeta? They weren't involved were they?"

"No they weren't involved. I thank you for your time Mrs. Paylor." He stood and shook her hand one last time and made his way out to his car. This trip was turning out to be much more informative than he could have hoped for.