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Deafening sirens sounded everywhere, swallowing the previously sounding voices of the residents of district 13. They did not immediately begin to move, as the drill was carried out quite often. Some slowly finished their dinner, some continued to work, parents woke up the children, who reluctantly got out of bed.
As soon as the voice started talking about the "non-training alarm", people did not immediately believe what they heard. Most of them panicked, but they quickly calmed down, remembering everything they had been taught. The residents of the district gathered the necessary things in a fairly organized manner and headed to the evacuation site.
Haymitch wanted to go to the headquarters where Coin and Plutarch were, but they wouldn't let him in, explaining that everyone, without exception, should go to the catacombs. The mentor did not argue once again and went to the evacuation site with everyone. People were walking briskly down long staircases that led deeper and deeper underground. Haymitch managed to make out Katniss among all this gray mass, descending and looking back all the time. The mentor wanted to call out to the girl, but even his bass was impossible to hear here. The stomping is too much.
Suddenly, the ground seemed to go out from under their feet and people fell screaming onto the stairs. Haymitch looked up and saw the dark blue sky. In seconds, large drops of rain fell on his face. People's shock didn't last long. Screams and screams were heard from everywhere. The panic began. Haymitch was picked up by a crowd of terrified residents of District 13 and carried down the stairs. They stumbled, screaming and crying, down the iron stairs. One of them was a woman with a small child. She huddled like a kitten, clutching a baby to her chest. Haymitch noticed how the man almost touched the baby with his shoe, pushed him away.
- Can't you see where you're going? Haymitch shouted over the screams of the people. The man was taken aback, but not for long. After a minute, he came to his senses and ran on, seemingly not even understanding the mentor's claims.
Haymitch helped the woman up and walk to the still-open gate. They were the last ones. After walking down a long corridor, Haymitch and a woman with a child found themselves in a large, crowded shelter. It was stuffy and there were a lot of boxes with incomprehensible contents. The mentor noticed Katniss, Prim and Mrs. Everdeen sitting on the same bed. Haymitch exhaled. Later, he discovered that Gale, Finnick, and Beetee were also here. The only one he couldn't find was Effie. Everyone had already taken their seats, but there was no sign of the capitol. She stood out from all those present, so it was impossible not to notice her.
The mentor rushed to Katniss. When asked about Effie, the girl just shook her head, anxiously watching Haymitch leave. No matter who the mentor asked, no one knew about the location of the capitol.
No one else came in and the woman's loud voice clearly stated the remaining time until the doors closed. Haymitch didn't know if he was doing the right thing, but he didn't have time to think. The mentor abruptly moved from his place and ran to the exit, which was empty. The mentor listened. There were no hurried footsteps.
Haymitch wondered why Effie hadn't gone with the others. She didn't like this place and probably showed her protest by doing so. Most likely, she thought that someone would come for her and ask her to go down a few floors below? Effie's not stupid enough to think that. Then what could be the reason?
The mentor took long strides and quickly reached the desired floor. He literally jumped over the steps to shorten the distance to the desired goal as quickly as possible.
The woman's voice began to count down fifteen minutes. Mentor's stomach clenched. If he and Effie do not reach the shelter in time, they will be covered with a pile of stones from above or they will fall down the stairs when the bombing begins.
There was a sudden jolt with such force that Haymitch barely had time to grab onto the railing to keep from falling. It was like a massive earthquake. It seems that the bombs have already been dropped at random, not knowing exactly where the shelter of district 13 is located.
As soon as the shaking stopped, Haymitch ran to the compartment where Effie lived. He prayed to himself that Effie was in her room, otherwise it would mean that she was somewhere in those catacombs, he was just looking inattentively.
Abruptly opening the door, the mentor froze in the doorway. A new shaking made him wake up, and judging by the palpability, the bombs were already close. The voice began to count down five minutes. Effie was lying unconscious on the floor next to the bed. Apparently, she hit her head on the steel leg of the bed.
Haymitch grabbed the first object that came to hand and shoved it under the door so that it wouldn't close against the new shaking. Mentor easily picked up Effie's fragile figure in his arms and almost collapsed with her to the floor from a new blow to district 13.
"The blast door will close in twenty seconds," the voice said monotonously.
Haymitch cursed loudly as he tried to get out of the room. It turned out that the object that he had planted was not too strong and, after a new blow, flew off to the side. Fortunately, the mentor managed to slip through, almost losing his balance.
"The blast door will close in ten seconds.
And then Haymitch realized that no matter how hard he tried now, they would not have time to reach the shelter. There was a long staircase ahead, which one person could easily run down. But the mentor had a woman in his arms for whose life he was now responsible. He could not foresee how long it would take for a new tremor to begin, so he had to act carefully and take his time. They could have been crushed by rocks, but the probability of this is much less than if they rolled down these stairs. And considering the fact that Effie had already received a severe blow to her head, she could have been left without it at all.
After another blow, Haymitch waited a few seconds, and then ran down as fast as possible. When he reached the next staircase, he stopped, acting on the same tactics.
As he reached the penultimate staircase, Haymitch heard the door close. He was too late. Mentor took a deep breath and rushed forward. The stairs were the last and he knew he would slip through. But he was wrong. A huge piece of stone blocked the way for both of them, almost pinning them down. Haymitch jumped back in surprise and stumbled, falling on his back, hugging Effie tightly, who almost received another blow. Mentor felt an unbearable pain in his back, which spread amazingly slowly throughout his body. Haymitch realized that if he didn't pull himself together right now, the woman whose life he intended to save would die. He didn't know why he was doing this. She was just dear to him.
Haymitch rolled over so that he was hovering over Effie, and then he stood up, gritted his teeth, and bent over again to pick Effie up in his arms, slowly went down.
The end was so close and so far away. He got there, but not to the end. Haymitch was banging his hands and feet on the massive door, which was clearly not going to give in. The mentor hoped that someone would hear them, but these were just naive assumptions.
The mentor gave up trying and decided to wait for the end of the bombing here. He sat down on the dry ground and gently pulled Effie towards him, laying her head on his shoulder. He bent down and touched his lips to the top of her head. He felt a salty taste on his lips. There wasn't much blood anymore, but she didn't stop walking.
When the man saw the cracks in the ceiling, he looked away and hugged Effie as tightly as possible. She was unconscious, but he felt her warmth and he felt her fear. I wonder what she was thinking about in the last few seconds before she lost consciousness? Why did he think of her immediately after he found himself in the shelter? He felt that she was not there. And he would never forgive himself for her death. They may be covered with stones now or suffocate from dust and sand entering their lungs, but this is not the main thing. Now she's unconscious, but she's alive and she's in his hands, that's what's important.
Haymitch hears the clang of the door opening right next to his ear. Through the sand pouring down from above, Haymitch sees the stranger's face. He is shouting something through the pounding roar and clearly hopes that he will be heard.
The mentor somehow gets to his feet and picks up Effie. His back is making itself felt again, but Haymitch tries not to show his pain.
The mentor goes inside and notices the face of a worried Katniss and Prim standing next to her. The two men persistently try to bring them back, but Katniss waves them off. As soon as the doors close, the mentor, without answering the girl's questions, goes to the designated compartment. Realizing that his and Effie's compartments are in different places, Haymitch changes direction and walks towards the Everdeen family compartment. He knew that Mrs. Everedin and Prim would be able to provide the necessary assistance to Effie.
The order keepers wanted to be outraged, but seeing that the man is very determined, they lag behind him. Moreover, there was an empty bed. Haymitch puts Effie on the cot and moves away from her, letting Prim and Mrs. Everedin go to the poor thing.
Effie's face is painfully pale. The lips merge with the face, and bluish veins are visible under the eyes and on the bare arms. Haymitch put all his worst fears out of his head and sat down next to the bed. Prim and her mother would do their best and Mentor knew it. According to Prim, she had lost enough blood, but it was more than enough for his physique.
It took about an hour before the bandage was applied and the wound was cleaned. Effie did not regain consciousness during all this time. Prim's blood stopped quickly and without any complications.
After Mrs. Everedin noticed that the mentor was wincing painfully, she decided to check on him as well. It turned out that a little more and Haymitch could have broken his spine in half, but he escaped with a severe bruise.
Haymitch didn't leave Effie's side for a second. He had already begun to fear for her life. He checked her pulse and heartbeat several times. As soon as her hand twitched and her eyelashes moved, Haymitch lunged forward and touched his hand to her cold forehead.
Her eyes were sleepy and her movements were not legible.
"Haymitch," the woman whispered hoarsely, touching his arm.
The mentor was silent.
"Please," Effie continued, "lie down with me.
Haymitch hadn't expected such an offer. Effie's condition wasn't the best right now, and after she came to her senses, she probably wouldn't even remember those words. Although, who knows if she's serious or joking?
But after these words, Effie fainted again. Haymitch walked around the bed and lay down on it, hugging the woman and feeling her breathing.
The bombing stopped and everything became quiet, and she finally came to her senses, but this time she fell asleep in his arms.