Embracing (A Hunger Games fanfiction)

A new girl on fire

I jump to my feet and quickly stand Katniss up.

“Take Prue,” I tell her urgently. “I have to get Effie out of there.”

Katniss is crying so I quickly kiss away her tears as well as Prudence’s. Then I turn around and run for the house along with Haymitch.

We’re both about to slam into the front door when the fire leaps up, blocking us from entering.

“Around the other side!” Haymitch yells and jumps the fence.

I back away from the burning door.

“Effie?” I yell at an upstairs window. “Effie are you okay?”

“Peeta?” her cry answers mine. “What do I do? The house is on fire!”

“We’re coming Effie, we’re coming,” I assure her.

Three other guys followed Haymitch around the front and I wait patiently for them to come back. A shorter time then I expected. Haymitch comes running back.

“The front doors blocked too,” he tells me. “We can’t get in. Oh god, we can’t get in.”

We’re both crying now, as is everyone else. People stagger around the place, covered in burns. A mother holds her dead child her arms and I see a gathering of people around another dead person.

And then I feel that familiar darkness begin to creep into me. I feel my own pupils dilate as the thoughts begin to run through my head. It’s Katniss’s fault. It’s her fault.

I try to shove the thoughts out, but they continue to invade. Effie’s scream yanks me out of my dark world.

“I can’t get out!” she screams. “What do I do?”

“Jump out the window!”  I scream up at her.

I see her figure run towards the top window in a yellow glow. How long does she have before the fire enters the room?

She starts banging on it.

“Effie hurry please hurry,” Haymitch screams. “Please Effie, please get out!”

Effie begins to claw frantically at the window.

I try to scale the building myself, but my hands rebound when I feel how hot it in. The paints melting away. I can’t climb it. I can’t help her.

“Stop, stop, stop,” I tell myself. “Focus. You have to help. Have to help.”

“THE WINDOWS PAINTED SHUT!” Effie screams loudly and all the other moaning people grow silent. “IT’S PAINTED SHUT. I CAN’T OPEN IT!”

“My fault. It’s all my fault,” Haymitch is sobbing and rolling on the ground. “I did that. I did that. I did that when I was drunk. My fault, my fault. My fault.”

“SMASH IT!” I scream up at her. “DAMN IT EFFIE, BREAK IT!”

I see the fire enter the room before she does. I feel the fire before she does. She whirls around after a few moments. Then she turns back and pounds on the window with what you’d think to be enough force, but it doesn’t give.

I begin to shake violently. I hear myself screaming encouragement over and over. I hear Haymitch moaning on the ground. I hear Effie begin to scream in agony.

I watch as the fire licks over her body. I see her fist finally break throw the glass, bloody, but there all the same. She screams louder yet and I cross my fingers.

But then she falls to the ground. Out of view. And that’s how I know it’s over.