*A/N Oh my goodness... wow... so I've been like mega-busy, and I'm so sorry I haven't been able to update much (or read much lately either). If you're still here with this story and ready for another chapter, well here you go. I'm thankful for your existence. Sorry again for the wait for the chapter after this. School is way harder than it should be at the moment, but I'll try and update soon!*


"Ivy!" he yelled. My eyes slowly opened. I was confused when I couldn't see the sky, or even trees. Everything was gray.

"What's wrong?"

"Ivy! The fog! Move! C'mon! Get up!"

When I rose too slowly, Finnick grabbed my arm, and he pulled me up forcefully. He shoved my weapons into my arms and took off running, dragging me along. Everything was still dull and hard to see, and I realized too slowly that it was because of the fog.

"What is it?"

"No idea! Duck!" Finnick yelled as he cut down a branch so we could pass through easily. I began to breathe heavily.

Remember Peeta. Just survive. You'll see him soon.

"Everything's okay, Ivy! We'll get out of here," Finnick shouted. I felt like he was saying this more for himself. My ankle began to burn. I looked down and saw my skin bubbling. So the fog was poisonous.

I screamed. Finnick glanced quickly to my ankle, eyes widening. He pulled me along, and for a while, it was just a small burning sensation, and I could run fine. Then, my ankle began to stiffen.

"I can't move my ankle!" I shouted as well as I could over our heavy breathing and slashing of branches. Finnick began to slow down, facing me. Why was he stopping? "No, Finnick! Hurry up! Run!"

"I can't leave you here to die," he said, picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder. I noticed he left a couple weapons behind so he could hold me. The price for my life now could be the cost of both our lives later, and I prayed that we at least both survived through this so it would be considered worth it.

My arm began bubbling next, and then Finnick's arms. Soon, we were both stiffening and blistering all over, and Finnick was moving barely over a jog.

"A few… more… steps…" he would mumble every so often, trying to keep up our spirits. But we had been running for what felt like an hour. I wondered when the fog would stop. Or when we would stop.

I looked up, to see that a weird sort of invisible wall was holding the fog back. But we had just passed through that 'wall.' It was being contained somehow behind that invisible wall, and at the time, I was so relieved that I didn't care why it had stopped.

"Finnick. It's done."

"What?" Finnick breathed out, barely conscious. I slipped off his back and landed hard on my backside while Finnick collapsed from exhaustion. I tried to crawl towards him, but everything on me hurt. I was thirsty and hungry and tired. I just wanted to curl up, like Finnick was doing, and sleep. But there was no way we could just sleep here.

"We can't stay here, Finnick. It's not safe."

"But Ivy… I can't move…"

"I know you're tired, I am too, but we have to at least try…"

"No, Ivy… I really can't move. That fog did something to my nerves. I can't control my arms and legs anymore," he said, sounding almost close to tears. I forced my limbs to move me closer to him. "My skin…" he gasped. He forced his arms to move, cringing in pain over the movement, and touched his face.

My hand fell into a puddle in the ground, stinging my boils. I immediately took my hand out of the water. Everything began to burn again, like putting more wood on a fire. My skin was on fire, and I began to cry.

"Ivy," Finnick whispered sadly, panting.

"I just want Peeta," I sobbed. My head fell into the ground. "Please, Finnick. I need him. I can't make it without him. I just want him now. Please."

Finnick's breathing stopped, but I didn't care to look up at what he was feeling. I just wanted Peeta. Only Peeta. I thought I was strong enough to handle this without him, but the thought of him out there with Johanna or alone was more than I could bear. I just wanted him to be with me right now, holding my hand, holding me close. It was insane and just incredibly stupid how much I needed him.

I missed him uncontrollably.

"Alright."

My head shot up as quickly as it could. "What?"

"Alright. We can try to rendezvous with them."

"Finnick! Thank you so…"

He stopped me with a swollen hand pushed stiffly and with much effort in the air. "I said try. I don't know if we'll be able to find them."

"Anything is better than this."

Finnick nodded. "I know just how you feel, Ivy." He reached for a nearby tree and pulled himself up, offering me a hand. "Let's get going now. Maybe we can catch them at the beach… if we hurry."

I took his hand, and rose unsteadily to my feet.


I didn't cry as we half ran and limped to the beach because all I could think about was Peeta. And how I was going to see him again soon. I felt it. I was going to see him so soon. My insides were lighter, and I was so optimistic it was crazy.

Finally, breathing heavily, Finnick and I broke through the jungle and saw the beach. I began to charge forward, still only thinking of Peeta, but Finnick put out an arm stopping me.

"We have to make sure it's safe."

I nodded in agreement, but I was really just anxious. I glanced around, looking only for my Peeta.

Once Finnick deemed it safe, we walked onto the beach, down one of the spokes to the Cornucopia. He picked up a couple more tridents to replace the ones he had dropped. He had to hold them weird because of the boils on his hands.

I heard something. Jerking around to face the beach, I saw many figures rushing towards us. About half of them were colored red, and I feared that they were mutts of some sort. My stomach wrenched, thinking about my last Games… and the mutts.

Finnick let out a small sigh. I turned to look at him quickly. "Ivy! It's…"

"Ivy!"

I stopped everything that was going on outside and inside me. I tuned all my senses into that one word. Because it was him.

Peeta.

He was shouting for me. I turned, and I could see him. He was red. He was almost here. And suddenly, I was pushed behind Finnick. I wondered why he was holding me back. I wanted to run to Peeta. Finnick knew this was all I wanted.

Just as I broke free from Finnick, I noticed the other half of the running party more closely. The Careers.

So much happened at once that I couldn't quite comprehend it all.

Wiress was hit with a knife in her head by Gloss, the male from 2. She fell down and rolled into the water, creating a small, red spot around her dead body that slowly soaked the water around her a deep crimson.

I saw that Johanna was basically dragging Beetee with her and that Peeta was behind them both. I wanted him to rush in front of them; I didn't want him to end up like Wiress.

Quickly, one of my arrows found the notch, and I fired a shot at Gloss, hitting him in the chest. He tumbled backwards into the water and went under. I doubted that he would survive. At the same time, I noticed Johanna chucking an axe back at Cashmere, Gloss' sister. It buried into her skull, much like Haymitch's from the 50th Quell, and she, too, joined her brother in a watery grave.

Enobaria and Brutus retreated, angering me. I wanted them dead. They had tried to kill my Peeta, and they would try again. I hated them. The cannons went off for those lost, and I looked back up to see Peeta closer than I imagined he ever would be.

Finnick allowed me to start running towards Peeta.

"Peeta!" I screamed as loud as I could. I saw Johanna let go of Beetee, and he collapsed on the ground. But I ignored this. I kept rushing, as fast as I could with my wounds, to him. I couldn't wait to feel his arms around me again. I couldn't wait to touch his face and smell his hair and hear him talk.

"Ivy!" he barely gasped out. Tears fell from my eyes at the sight of him. He was alive and okay. Not limping. Not covered in boils. Not floating in the water next to Cashmere. He was running towards me.

Once he and I were just a couple feet away from each other was when the Cornucopia began to spin.