"Dahlia Blossom. Don't let the name fool you. She's better known as the Black Dahlia. And she didn't earn that nickname by smiling and looking pretty."
"She sure knows how to perform for the camera."
"Because she knows how to play the game. She alwa...
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Dahlia and Finnick slept relatively undisturbed in each other's embrace, savouring the rare moments of peace while they could. Unfortunately that peace was disrupted far sooner than either of them would've liked by Peeta mumbling Katniss' name in his sleep. As he frightened himself awake with a gasp, his body jerked into Dahlia's and, in turn, roused her from sleep.
"Peeta?" Dahlia murmured in confusion, eyes squinting as the dim light flooded her vision. Rubbing her eyes, she turned to the boy with concern and asked, "Are you alright? What's wrong?"
But he could only anxiously reply with one word, "Katniss."
As he shot upright with his eyebrows furrowed, Dahlia noticed the faint hissing sound that had begun to echo around the tunnel. Nudging her elbow into Finnick caused him to stir and instinctively turn to check on Dahlia, paranoid that something had happened. And then he heard the noise. The rest of the squad around them started to hear it too.
"What is that?" Jackson questioned in suspicion as she sat up from her spot against the railing. No one had a proper answer for her... Apart from Peeta.
"We gotta go. We gotta get outta here now." He rambled fearfully, descending into panicked chaos as he scrambled to his feet. Instead of running straight away as many would expect, he next turned to Dahlia and Finnick, desperately tugging them to their feet.
Gale hissed at the boy, "Keep your voice down."
But Peeta ignored him as he revealed, "Mutts! They released mutts."
That announcement made everyone jump up from their spots and collect their gear at the speed of light. "Pollux, what's the fastest way out?" Katniss asked nervously, eyes stuck on the endless expanse of darkness in front of her.
"Come on! Go! Go!" Jackson commanded, ushering her squad out of their temporary resting spot and back out into the tunnel.
Pollux took up spot as the guide in front of Katniss as Gale shot a blast of fire down the end of the corridor. The blaze acted as their beacon of light, something to focus on as they waded through the water. Dahlia and Finnick once again found themselves following directly behind Katniss, Peeta's trembling body clinging to their side. Jackson held up the rear, covering their backs as her torchlight beamed out into the hissing shadows. Everyone was on edge.
As Gale peered round the corner of an intersecting tunnel, Dahlia slowly unsheathed her blade and kept one hand hovering over the assortment of weapons strapped to her body. She was waiting for the attack, waiting for the moment when the mutts grew tired of stalking them through the darkness, waiting for them to strike. But as Gale fired another detonation of flames, the illumination revealed that there was nothing there. The squad continued on, even more uneasy than they were before.
They approached a narrow gap in the wall which Pollux was quick to clamber through. Upon reaching the other side, he signalled for the others to wait while he checked for dangers. Dahlia hated just standing there. She felt vulnerable, like a duck sitting out in the open, eyes watching her from every angle. The mutts were the hunters and they were the prey.
