· 。ﾟ☆: *.☽
▎ RUINS ▎
»»————- act three. from the ashes
FORTY SEVEN ━━ violent ends
when everything goes to hell,
the people who stand by you without
flinching, they are your family
— unkown
THERE IS A CERTAIN MOMENT IN YOUR LIFE, THAT MAKES YOUR HEART RACE SO UNCONTROLABLY you actually start to think it will explode from your ribcage and tear your skin apart. Maybe it starts faintly, like poison slowly working it's way through your system. You start to sweat, and your gut get all twisted, and breathing, suddenly becomes the hardest task you ever faced. Then the fear creeps up, and it is like instead of exploding, you heart freezes up, no longer beating and supporting you. You stand rooted to the ground, ears ringing and thoughts hazy. You tell yourself, run! Run you idiot, but your limbs remain still and you feel like you lost all control. And as you stand, in the face of death, Erin knows that this brave heart of hers, is failing her for the first time.
She had known fear, and pain and had experienced truly terrifying things in her short life, but never had she felt like this as she helplessly stared at the black tar-like liquid that came cascading down the enormous walls at a rapid speed.
The katana strapped to her back, the one that had saved her so many times, felt completely useless in this situation and all she wants to do is close her eyes and wait for everything to pass.
"Erin!" The voice sounds panicked, but for some reason it does not penetrate her brain. It is like she's back at district four with her head beneath the ocean waves. She can almost taste the salt, feel the coldness on her skin.
She feels a pull, one like the waves calling her back to shore. But this one is stronger, more desperate and chaotic. Her body betrays her, feet stumbling and twisting to remain upright and her head whirls around to find Finnick's face in front of her.
Never had she seen this look of utter fear engraved on his face, and everything seems to move in slow motion. His lips are forming words, but they do not come in.
"We need to go!" She barely makes the words out, the constant ringing in her ears making it impossible.
And like the waves back in district four, everything crashed around her. The noise returns, the yelling, the screaming and shouts of her unit. It's like her heart isn't frozen anymore and blood streams through her limbs.
"Erin?!"
The brunette can't bring herself to say anything, but she sets the first step forward, and then everything moves at a high speed, the scenery around her blurs to nothing more than greys and greens as from somewhere ahead of them, Jackson shouted at them to go to higher ground.
With giant leaps, Finnick and Erin ran up the stairs side by side, Katniss and Peeta only slightly ahead of them. Her speed staggered however, the moment she witnessed Peeta pull Katniss back by the back of her jacket and pushed her to the ground.
The raven haired girl barely managed to roll aside before Peeta slammed his gun on the ground mere centimeters away from her shocked face.
The two immediately sprung into action as Finnick latched onto Peeta's back with the help of Mitchel, while she rushed to Katniss' side and hauled her back up to her feet again.
Her eyes widened, and her heart started to hammer in her throat as the black liquid started to creep closer up the steps again— closer to Finnick, Peeta and Mitchell.
"Finnick!" She shouted as she tried to pull Katniss with her up the stairs. "We have to go!"
The blonde looked at her, the same panicked look on his face as Peeta trashed in Mitchell's arms, and before anyone could predict what was happening, Peeta managed to twist around in the soldier's arm and with one strong push, Mitchell fell back in the black tar with a loud scream.
Erin expected it to be over right there and then as Finnick finally managed to control Peeta as he dragged him up the stairs, but she was proven wrong rather quickly when something pulled Mitchell's body up and strung him over the courtyard for everyone to see.
Finnick finally reached her— a trashing Peeta in his arms and they rushed up the last couple of stairs when the black liquid started to gain on them again, crashing against the stairs like waves on rocks.
"Go, go—go!"
Erin watched as Jackson shot through a glass door of the nearest building and ushered them inside with curt instructions.
"Let go of me!" Peeta yelled, spit flying from his mouth.
"Shut up for a moment and walk!" Erin shouted back at the brainwashed boy harshly, but it didn't detter his attempt at escaping in the slightest.
With much struggle, Finnick got him up the stairs, but their luck was already running out again as the stairs to the next level were completely destroyed, leaving them stranded as the tar kept growing closer and closer.
Luckily, one of the soldiers finally sedated Peeta as he went limp in Finnick's arms. The blonde carefully lowered him to the ground before he reached out for Erin and pulled her closer to him.
The air was filled with tension as they watched the liquid climb up the stairs and her breathing grew heavier with each passing second as she held tightly on to Finnick's hand.
'It's slowing down,' Cressida observed as the liquid reached the top step, but it didn't move any further. A large sigh escaped Erin's mouth as she watched the liquid recede.
"Gamemakers are still putting on quite a show."
"They always are." Erin scoffed before turning to Jackson who was still staring at the disppearing liquid before shrugging whatever she was thinking off. "451 to base, over."
"We better move." Finnick suggested calmly, "If peacekeepers didn't know where we were, they do now."
"451 to base over"
'Those surveillance cameras caught us,' Castor added thoughtfully while Jackson kept trying to get radio contact with the base.
"451 to base over"
"'This is a bad spot."
"I'm with him. We need to move now,' Gale urged only hurriedly, as he looked at the unit.
"I can't get a signal," Jackson announced defeated before her gaze fell on the Holo in Katniss' hands, "But I can get us back to base. Everdeen, give me the holo."
The Girl On Fire looked down at the black device in her hand, her her eyes fixated on the small spot where some blood remained and she didn't make no move to hand it over.
"Everdeen, what did I just say? The holo,' Jackson stated more forcefully, "Come on, let's go."
"Boggs gave it to me,' Katniss countered.
"What are you talking about?' She frowned.
"He did. He transferred security clearance to her. I saw him,' Homes confirmed from where he stood leaning against the wall.
"And why would he do that?"
"I'm on special orders from Coin."
"To do what?"
"To assassinate President Snow." Katniss stated calmly.
"I don't believe that for one second. As your new unit commander, I order you to transfer security clearance to me now." Jackson demanded, her voice unervingly steady as Erin watched their commander slowly reach for her gun.
"I can't do that." Within seconds everybody was moving as the commander raised her gun towards the mockingjay.
Erin hands grabbed tightly onto the handle of het katana, ready to strike at any moment, while both Gale and Finnick held up their own weapons while Jackson soldiers pointed their guns at them.
"Let's not lose our heads here commander." Erin spoke bravely, hand still abover her head holding onto the handle of her katana, ready to pull it out of its sheath.
"I'm not asking you again, Everdeen. Give me that holo." Jackson ignored the comment and kept her eyes trained on Katniss.
"She's telling the truth,' Cressida stepped in front of the gun, not even blinking an eye. "Plutarch wants it televised. He thinks if we could film the mockingjay assassinating Snow, it'll make the capitol surrender before the casualties get too high."
"While we're arguing, there's a hundred peacekeepers on their way here." Gale informed them.
Having enough of the situations, Katniss pushed the automatic crossbow Gale was holding up, down and faced the commander again. "Boggs promised me that when the time came, you would help me."
Erin's jaw unclenched when finally after a few more tense seconds, Jackson lowered her gun reluctantly before nodding once, "All right soldier, the Holo is yours."
Some of the tension finally left the air when everyone lowered their weapons and instead focused on the Leegs twins— more particulairy the one with a messed up leg.
"She can't move like this"
"We have to evacuate her."
"I'll stay with her."
"Are you sure?" Erin asked, eyes focused on the Leegs sisters with a worried frown on her face.
"Yeah. We are."
"As soon as we get back into contact with the base, we'll send someone to come get you." Jackson promised.
"I don't think we're gonna leave any footprints." Gale announced and everyone redirected their attention to him just as he retracted his foot from the black colored step, leaving no print at all. "We should leave now."
Erin hesitated a moment as she looked over her shoulder at the Leegs, something in her gut telling her to not let them stay here. "Are you sure you can handle this alone?" She asked again.
"I got her." The woman held her gun up, a tight smile on her face. "Now you go and get Katniss to Snow alright?"
"I will, I promise." She confirmed before disappearing down the stairs.
she would soon come to regret that promise.
As she got out of the building, she watched the scenery with wide eyes; everything was black besides some top parts of the building, some even hung from the lanterns amd camera's like ice.
They all remained silent as they descended down the stairs, but Erin couldn't keep her eyes away from Mitchell who's body was still strung above the plave, also completely black, and in a very odd angle— to another soldier with its back pressed against one of the steps.
"Come on, this way," Gale called over his shoulder when he spotted one of the buildings that was in a better shape before breaking the door open and usher them inside it.
Together with Finnick, Erin managed to drag a semi-conscious Peeta inside the building and up the stairs and into a spacious and she guessed once, luxorious, apartmant.
Her eyes raked over the room, to the grande chandelier hanging from the ceiling to the large television in the middle of the room while the others moved around her to shut the curtains close. Carefully, they lowered Peeta back to the ground and placed him against the wall.
"You good?" Finnick whispered as he looked at the brunette next to him.
She didn't respond and instead peeked through one of the curtains when the sound of engines filled the air.
A dozen or so jeeps came riding into the courtyard and peacekeeps came spilling out in their shiny white gear woth their guns held up as they positioned themselves strategically in front of the building they were in only moments ago.
Where the Leegs still were.
She jumped when they opened gunfire, bricks crumbling down while the twins fired back at them, but to no avail as one of the peacekeeps fired a rocketlauncer and a loud explosion rattled the windows.
Erin clenched her eyes tightly shut, but she could still vividly see the flames behind her eyelids. She felt Finnick's hand on her back, rubbing soothing circle before she finally tried to shake her emotions aside. "I'm okay—I'm good."
"Okay." Finnick nodded.
"Okay." She breathed out
There was a beat of silence, before the television in the room came to life and the familiar musical theme of the Capitol's news filled the air
The same stupid tune that she heard before the announcement of the Quarter Quell Erin thought bitterly.
She watched as Caesar Flickerman's face came onto the screen, his normal flamboyant look slightly less than normal, but his purple hair and eyebrows still stood out.
"Good afternoon,' Caesar spoke; 'I'm Caesar Flickerman. Here with our continuing coverage of the defence of the capitol. Today, as our peacekeepersvaliantly hold off the rebels, our story takes a surprising twist. Katniss Everdeen, our once favourite daughter, has infiltrated the city with some of the Victors, whose names are all too familiar. Finnick Odair, Erin Benton and Peeta Mellark."
Erin watched nervously as Peeta's eyes were locked on the screen and he startes to shake slightly.
"Clearly, some alliances don't last forever... Take a look at what happened just a moment ago, when our peacekeepers cornered Katniss Everdeen and her band of foolish rebels. Whatever arrogance brought this treacherous girl back to us, you are about to witness a great victory, not only for the Capitol, but for Panem—So there you have it. Katniss Everdeen, the Girl on Fire, a girl who inspired so much violence, seems to have met a violent end herself."
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