THE SIREN'S SONG 𓇼 F. ODAIR

69 ~ the explosion

Deafening screams drowned out any remnant of the laughter that had filled the area seconds before. Thick blood covered what used to be beautiful pink and orange streets of the Capitol, and smoke darkened the area around them, mixing with the special effects that were created for show.

Carolina stumbled back in shock, trying to make sense of her surroundings. When the second explosion hit, she threw herself to the ground, covering her ringing ears with her hands to block out the world around her.

You signed up for this, Carolina told herself. Follow through.

After three seconds, Carolina took a deep breath and jumped off of the ground, looking around wildly for the other members of her team. By the time she got up, she realized that Fletch was already making his way towards her at full speed.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "Every limb? Every finger?"

"Yeah, yeah," Carolina nodded, looking past him. Homes was knelt down beside Boggs. One of his legs was already covered by a soaked compression bandage, and the soldier was trying to create a tourniquet for his other leg. Katniss was on his other side, speaking to him with frantic eyes. "I'm fine. Where's Finn?"

Fletch didn't need to answer. Her eyes were already on him. She could only see the vague outline of his body through the smoke, but Carolina knew it was him.

On the other side of the street, Finnick was on his knees, giving chest compressions to what seemed to be Messalla.

"He was thrown into a wall by the explosion," Fletch explained, referring to Messalla's condition.

Before Fletch even reached the end of his sentence, Carolina was already sprinting towards Finnick. Messalla finally became conscious when she arrived, but he was looking around the street in a daze. His eyes refused to focus on a single thing, but he was well enough to pick himself up.

He didn't make it far before Fletch rushed to the man's side, catching him when he fainted.

Finnick jumped up from the ground seconds after Messalla stumbled off. He looked fine. There were no scratches on his face or visible limbs, nor was there any blood on or around him, but Carolina still took his face in her hands to double-check.

"I'm okay," Finnick said, repeating louder when Carolina didn't move. "Really, Lina. I'm fine."

Carolina looked over his figure, still soft and free of any blemishes albeit dirty from the lack of access to a proper shower, one last time before nodding slowly and taking a step away from him.

"Okay," she muttered.

She began to scan the area around them once again. By then, the smoke settled, and she could finally see further than a couple of feet ahead of her. It gave her a clear view of the entire block, specifically the street entrance closing in on itself, trapping the entire squad inside.

"Prepare to retreat!" Jackson shouted.

"It's not over!" Finnick yelled back, his eyes trained on the same thing Carolina was staring at.

Black oil began to fill the block they were standing on. It wasn't natural, likely a Capitol creation that had a mind of its own or had the ability to kill someone within seconds of touching it. All Carolina knew for certain was that they were not leaving the way they came.

Finnick's arm was wrapped around Carolina's in seconds as he began to drag her in the opposite direction. Gale and Leeg 2 fired ahead of them. One of Gale's bullets detonated a pod, blowing up a hole in the street.

The ear-piercing noise of the explosion combined with the stress of the situation caused Carolina to trip over her feet in shock, but Finnick didn't miss a step. He continued his run, dragging Carolina momentarily until she was able to catch her footing once again.