Hey, Everyone! So, I totally expected more death threats than I actually got last night. Oh well! Now, without further ado (because I know you're all dying to see what happens), Read on!


Chapter Twenty-Nine

Ivy Mellark's POV

"Alex!" I screech as I run towards him. I stop abruptly before I reach him and pull my bow into shooting position. In the blink of an eye, three arrows are flying at Blake. The first hits him in the abdomen, the second in the neck, and the last right in his left eye. His body crumples to the ground. There is no way he's getting back up this time.

I run over to Alex and kneel beside him. I check his pulse and breathe a sigh of relief when I feel it. It is not very strong but it's there. I gently turn him so he is on his back, making sure that the side with the knife in it is not on the ground. I can't help the tears that flow down my face as I cradle Alex's body on my knees. I run my fingers through his soft, curly, reddish-brown hair.

How could I have been so stupid! I should have noticed that there was something up with Blake, especially since I never met his family. I'm such an idiot! And now, now my best friend is paying for my stupidity.

I cradle the side of his face with my hand. I feel a strange feeling in my stomach. It . . . it feels like butterflies, the kind you get when . . . when you realize you love someone. More tears cascade down my cheeks.

Why couldn't I have realized this earlier? Why did it take me until now, when he's dying in my arms, to realize that I love him? I guess I've always loved him but I never wanted to admit that I loved him like this.

"I'm sorry," I whisper to him as my tears continue to fall. I hear voices and footsteps. I grab one of Alex's knives, ready to defend us both. But, then, I see Grandpa Haymitch and the rest of my family come through the secret tunnel. Haymitch notices Alex's condition first and sprints over to us.

"What happened?" He asks me as he kneels beside his dying son.

"Blake threw a knife at his back. I think it hit his lung," I answer him. I can see the tears form in Haymitch's eyes. He takes Alex into his arms, his own tears finally spilling over.

I don't know how long we sit there but the sound of sirens brings me back to reality. Uncle Gale and Phoenix come through the secret tunnel with a couple of paramedics. The paramedics load Alex onto a stretcher and rush him to the ambulance.

"Go with him," Haymitch urges me.

"Are you sure?" I ask him. Surely there is nothing more in the world he wants to do then be with his son.

"Yes," He answers. "I gotta go find Effie." I nod before rushing after the paramedics.

Haymitch's POV

I wipe the tears from my face. I need to find Effie. She has to be in here somewhere. I look around the room. It's very large but very plain. The walls are stone and the floor is some sort of metal. Then, I notice the spiral staircase.

I decide to go up it. I start towards it and can feel the rest of the group following me. We still need to find Effie and the antidote for the poison that put Katniss and Peeta into comas. I have a feeling that they'll both be in the same place.

At the top of the spiral staircase, there is a long corridor lined with white walls and bright fluorescent lights. It reminds me so much of the place where we found all the prisoners in the Capitol during the last rebellions and I can't suppress the shiver that moves through my body. I just hope that Effie is okay. I couldn't bare it if something bad had been done to her; not again.

As we move down the corridor, I notice that there are prison cells that line the walls. She's here. She is down this hallway! This thought spurs me on and, before I know it, I am literally sprinting down the hallway, making sure to look into every cell for my beloved wife. I reach the end and my mouth goes dry. She was supposed to be here!

"Where is she?" I yell, spinning around to face the rest of the group. They all look just as confused as I feel. "She's supposed to be here!" I shout, my fist colliding hard with the wall.

"Haymitch . . ." I hear a soft, feminine voice whisper.

"Effie? Effie, where are you?" I ask in a shout. So much adrenaline is coursing through my body. She's close. She's close!

"Here! The wall, Haymitch, the wall," She answers me. I spin around to the wall. She's in there! I knock on it and I can't help the chuckle I let out when she knocks back.

"I'm gonna get you out of there, Princess. I promise." I tell her, leaning my cheek against the cool, white wall.

"I know you will, Haymitch." She responds and I can just picture her leaning her cheek against the wall just as I am doing.

"I think I could be of assistance," Johanna tells me, swinging her axe.

"That's a perfect idea!" I exclaim. "Effie, I need you to back away from this wall as far as you can. Johanna is going to break it down with her axe." I tell Effie.

"Okay. Go ahead and start." She responds. I nod at Johanna and she swings her axe hard against the wall. It makes a huge crack in the wall. Nash passes me his axe and Johanna and I work to break down this wall. I am fueled simply by my desire to make sure my wife is safe. She has to be okay.

Finally, we break through the wall and I can see Effie. She is in the corner of a very, very small cell, her wrists bound in chains. I run to her and envelope her in my arms.

"Ef, I'm so, so, so sorry I let them take you again." I tell her, fresh tears falling down my cheeks.

"Shh, Haymitch, it's not your fault." She tells me. She tries to bring her hands up to brush away my tears but she can't.

"We gotta get you out of those chains," I tell her, looking around for anything that could get my wife's delicate wrists from those damned chains.

"Remington keeps the key around his neck," She tells me. I nod before turning to Gale, who is already on his way to retrieve the key from a lifeless Desmond Remington's body.

"Where's Alex?" Effie asks me and I can feel my heart break. Effie must see in my eyes what I am thinking because her own eyes start to water; "No . . ." She whispers, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Shh, the paramedics came and took him to the hospital. Ivy is with him. I promise, as soon as we get you out of these damned chains, I'll take you to him." I tell her, wiping away her tears. Effie nods and I once again pull her into my arms, her head resting on my chest.

Gale returns with the key and I quickly free Effie. As soon as she is free, she throws herself into my arms, sobbing into my shoulder. I just hold her as she cries, trying desperately to keep my own tears from falling.

"What did he do to you?" I ask her in a whisper. Effie just shakes her head, never lifting it from my shoulder, indicating she doesn't want to take about it. I nod and run my fingers through her hair.

"We need to find the antidote," I hear Gale say.

"I know where that is," Effie informs us before she turns back to her cell. She knocks on a few of the stones before she pushes one out of the wall and reaches into the one beside it. She returns with a small, glass flask containing a purple liquid.

"He told me about Katniss and Peeta and then told me that it was up to me to find it. Said that, if I didn't, they would both die," Effie tells us, wiping tears from her cheeks. Gale takes it and then we all head to the hospital the paramedics took Alex to. Please, let my son be okay.


Effie is safe! Whoo! Now, I promise the next chapter (okay, basically the rest of the story) will be IvyXAlex fluff. I know you've all been dying for it since like the beginning of this story. I promise you, I will not disappoint! Guys, I love these two as much as you do! Don't you think I want my own creations to finally express their love for each other? Cuz I do! So, review because reviews really spur my writing on and feel free to leave me a suggestion of two on what you guys wanna see between some of our characters! Thanks SO MUCH for reading! I really do love all my readers! You guys are the best!