Chapter 53 of Rebel or Madge?

A/N: I feel so bad that I haven't updated in forever! I always tell myself to go write it but then I do something else! Ughhhhhh, I have like 3 weeks until school starts and I really want to finish that before it starts! I'm gonna try! Comments make me update faster!


Madge Undersee is alive. Like a-l-i-v-e, alive. Like not dead, alive. Madge freaking Undersee is freaking alive and I can freaking breath again, alive.

The Doctor demands I ride in a wheelchair (much to my displeasure) to the hovercraft port. At first it was just to the hospital doors, but then I mouth off and it became the port. The click click click of the little wheels dipping into the cracks between the tiles sounds like the train used to sound going over the tracks, click click click, just it's a little less noise. I count the tiles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 as the Doctor rolls me down the hallway. Everyone is literally staring at me like I'm some kind of freak. I guess word spreads like wildfire down here in the Underground.

The Doctor is humming some stupid, useless tune under his breath and Haymitch looks like he wants to reach out and strangle him for it. Doctor Lockie doesn't seem to notice, just keeps humming softly and happily like so damn carebear – Loves-a-lot, probably, I think in disdain.

"Will you stop?" Haymitch growls, his voice comes out tinted with exhaustion and nerves. He sounds like he hasn't sleep in a year and the nervous ball of nerves in his stomach is clenching too tight to be comfortable. The worry lines on his face are now more prominent than ever before and his hair seems a little grayer than a week ago. But mostly, he looks like he has the weight of a coal mine on his shoulders.

"Stop what?" Lockie asks kindly enough. He sucks his lips into his mouth, molding them around his teeth which cause his cheeks to puff out slightly.

"Mm, I don't know…the humming." He snaps.

"If you wish." That's the thing I hate about District 13 natives. They always sound bored and monotonous the second you don't like something about them or their District. It's like, your annoying humming is putting us on edge, now don't go all robot (whatever you say, Master) on us. District 13 is so much different than 12 that it's almost scary. They're all pale like ghost from the underground sucking all the color out of everything, and they act like machines rather than people. They're as gray as the concrete maze surrounding us. There's absolutely no life in these people. It's like they're slaves.

My wheelchair click, click, clicking louder now with the absence of humming and it is almost deafening. The weight in the air is heavy and Haymitch's lasting angry is palpable. The walls pass by us like cars pass each other in the Capitol, like a flash and a dash. We turn hallway after hallway of endless gray, passing a few elevator shafts as we go, until we turn the last corner to glass window peeking into the port.

From here, on the other end of the hallway, I can see people in gray setting up tables with clipboards and steel chairs. And as we roll (more like I roll) toward the glass door and windows I can see (what feels like the first time in forever) a cluster of color. The color is District 12 refugees' clothing and non-bleached skin tones. The weight of constant anxiety from being underground vanishes for a second as I take in the olive toned skin and coal covered people. They're beautiful, they're home.

It seems like this crowd of people have a lot more Townies than the others – including mine. Blonde hairs peek out everywhere, bobbing and swerving around people. Scared eyes watch those of us gathering at the window. Most of us are District 12 natives, waving and smiles and crying at the sight of love ones, but I don't see Madge yet.

"Let's go inside." Doctor Lockie slides his keycard into the slot by the door. It's usually not activated but today it is. He shoves me over the little bump and jostles me, apologizing softly for the discomfort. We glide over to the nearest desk worker and ask for Madge Undersee. A woman's face lights up in recognition at the name and nods enthusiastically at us. She waves over her shoulder as she starts to walk away, gesturing for us to follow her.

She takes us into a bad compartment and nods 3 times on a wooden door – the first wooden anything I've seen in this place.

"Come in." A deep but clearly female's voice penetrates the door.

The woman that led us here opens the door and the first thing my eyes lock on our seas of ocean blue. In my preferable vision I see her bright smile light up her face and it makes my heart beat a little faster in my chest, skipping a few beats.

"Gale." She breathes, "I never thought I'd see you again."

"I could say the same, princess." I smirk.

She nods toward me, "What happened?"

"That's not important. What's important is you're here, alive." Her smile widens, making her skin crease at her eyes. She laughs a little, causing her chest to shake once but no sound erupts from her lips.

Haymitch launches forward, his shock clearly gone. He wraps Madge tightly in his arms and his head rest against her shoulder like it was too heavy for him to hold it up any longer. Madge reciprocate the action and hugs him back tighter.

"I've missed you, princess."

"I missed you too, Uncle Haymitch." Although they are not actually related, she is the closer Haymitch has to a daughter. Madge's mother, Madeline, was like a sister to him after May's death. They dealt through the pain as much as they could with the strength of each other. Only for Maddie, it was enough and she took to having headaches and morphine filled days. Haymitch had to be strong, and so he was. He built himself an Empire of learning about the Capitol and ways to be a better Mentor. He made friends with the right people and allied with those younger than him – like Finnick – with fire in the eyes and desire to see the Capitol burn in their hearts. He found Rebels, those who would avenge May's death for Madeline.

Now that she was gone, Madge was all he had left, besides the Victors.

Someone cleared their throat and Haymitch pushes himself away from Madge.

"Thank you." The other dude doctor said.

Haymitch watched every move of the doctor while I make small talk with Madge. She tells me about her journey through the woods ("You know, for a place you love, it's quite scary." She states and I chuckled. "It's full of wonder and life, what's not to like?" "Oh I don't know, bears, snakes, ticks, birds, sticks cracking, and people sobbing." She ticks them off on her fingers as her piercing blue eyes stare into mine with a hardness of humor. "Then how did you survive?" "The big guy next to me was my knight in shining armor. He picked every tick off me and made sure I was fine. Even kept telling me I'd see your ass again, that every tick was a step closer to you. Even though none of us actually knew if you were alive."). And in turn I told her about my time in District 13 and how I made it out of the arena ("So, how did you make it out of the arena? After Katniss shot the forcefeild the screen went black." She questions. "It was a setup, one that Kat wasn't a part of. It was the plan all along to break the forcefeild and get the hell out." She nods a few times as she processes the information. "How different is 13 from 12?" she asks cautiously, her eyes darting to all the District 13 members in the room. "Hella lot different. It's all gray and underground. There's nothing but recycled, ventilated air that smells disgusting and makes you feel dirty. There's no moisture to the air at all. Everything is schedule to the last second and if you're not where you're supposed to be it's like World War III. Everyone but Coin is treated the same and if you like the taste of food…you're not getting it here. It taste like sand and it feels like sand in your mouth. No creativity at all. It's mind boggling how boring and regulated it is down here. I hate it." I state, not caring for one second that the 13 native's eyes are literally about to pop out of their heads. Madge glances at them nervously, "I'm sure it can't be that bad." "Don't try to save what can't be save, dearie." Haymitch cuts in, shaking his head at the lost cause of District 13. "They're all bastard." He states with distaste, glaring at all the 13ers.").

Soon enough Madge is released to the care of Haymitch Abernathy. "…and give me some damn liquor once and a while, would yeah!" he yells over his shoulder on his way out. Madge shoots me a curious glance and I just shake my head. I'm sure she'll hear about it all night and every night so on living with Abernathy.

"Well I got training, so I gotta go." I state.

"They put you back in training? You were just released from the hospital an hour ago." Haymitch glares at the wall. Sometimes he really does care!

"Yeah, well, I don't make up the schedule and it's only gun training." Madge winces at the word gun.

"So you're fighting?" she states. I nod. "Just…Just be…careful, okay?"

"Okay." And off I go down a different corridor.


A/N: Yay! Madge is back and Gale's out of the hospital! Sorry it's a bit of a filler chapter but it has some clues, maybe, if I remember. Haha! Hope you're enjoying your summer and it's not as hot as it is here. :)