RUINS ( FINNICK ODAIR ) ✓

xxxii. ━━ catching fire

· 。ﾟ☆: *.☽
▎ RUINS ▎
»»————-　act two. fan the flames
THIRTY TWO ━━ catching fire

may god have mercy upon
my enemies because I won't

— george s. patton jr

ERIN FELT THE DUST IN HER LUNGS AS SHE COUGHED hoarsly. She blinked fiercely, trying to clear her vision as she pushed herself slowly up to look back outside. The ringing in her ears continued as she sat back up and looked around for Katniss. The girl On Fire was close by, Gale held a protective arm over her body and had shieled her from the strong impact that occured only moments ago.

Erin carefully dragged a hand over her left arm and she clenched her teeth in pain as she pulled a small piece of glass from her skin, blood coating her fingertips as she approached Gale and Kattnis whom in return were approached by Boggs.

The brunette's hearing slowly returned but before she even had time to bandage her wound up, her eyes caught sight of the giant pillar that was inching closer and closer to them, threatening to fall right on top of them.

Her adrenaline kicked in and it causes her to push Gale and Katnnis forward, her own two feet picking up their pace as they all rushed to safety. The loud shattering of glass and bricks echoing behind them shook deep within Erin's core, a cloud of dust forming behind them and Boggs shouts demanded them to move faster.

The brunnte let her legs carry her as fast as she could until Katniss came to an abrupt stop near a broken window to see the Captitol hovercrafts circling in the sky. She felt a presence behind her and Erin tilted her head to see Alex standing there, a worried look etched onto his face as he ripped a part of his shirt in a hurry before tying it securly around her bleeding wound. The two siblings gaze's met and Erin gave her older brother an encouraging nod, assuring him she was alright before the two focused back outside.

"They're going after something in the south." Gale pointed out, his breathing ragged as he looked up at the sky.

Erin felt a lump form in her throat as realisation settled in. "That's toward the hospital."

"They're circling back around, come on!" Katniss shouted taking off again, running up a flight of stairs to a rooftop with the other close on her heels, gunfire echoing around them as the people of district eight tried to defend themselves against the bombers if the Capitol.

A few shooters were firing back at the bombers, the machine guns bouncing back in their arms as each round was dispersed. Erin ducked quickly when a shot was fired towards them and she watched with a sorrowful gaze as one of the few people left defened the district fell down from her post lifelessly.

"That's the hospital. They're targeting the hospital." Katniss' voiced, a tremble in her words as she looked forward in fear.

The Benton siblings watched in horror as the hovercrafts dropped bomb after bomb on top of the building, setting off massive explosions that shook the ground, buildings shaking and breaking apart in the distance.

Katniss shared a look with the other three people with as two bombers circled back in the air to target them. Gale and Katniss stood in front of the two district four siblings as the two bombers fired shot after shot at them.

Erin watched as Katniss pulled out an arrow from her quiver, locking it into place in her bow while Gale aimed his crossbow towards the fast inclosing hovercrafts.

Erin watched hopefully as Katniss let her arrow go, hitting the first hovercraft which came spiraling to the ground takin the second bomber with it in seconds, before exploding into a ball of fire, crashing right into another pillar that came tumbling towards the ground.

Erin found herself running alongside Katniss as fast as she could, a small spark of hope lit inside of her as they made it back towards the hospital, in hope of finding any survivors inside the make-shift hospital. Erin could see the fire raging in front of her eyes, the flames consuming the building whole causing her eyes to glaze over and her throat to close up.

      "Help them! Help them! Get them out!" Katniss shouted at the group that stood among the blazing fire, the crackling of flames surrounded them and Erin's hand shot up to cover her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes as she watched what was left of the building.

The brunette watched on as Gale held Katniss by her waist to stop her from entering the demolished building as she tried to go in and look for survivors. Erin didn't dare to look at the obliterated building, the heat alone coming from the flames telling her what she didn't want to hear.

There were no survivors

"Katniss, can you tell everyone what you're seeing right now? What do you want to say?" Cressida asked in a sharp voice, recording the Mockingjay with her camera.

Katniss stood with her back facing the camera, ragged breathing the only sound coming from the Girl On Fire as she looked back at the building once more, taking a deep breath she faced them before she spoke up in a clear voice "I want the rebels to know that I'm alive! That I'm in District Eight where the Capitol just bombed a hospital filled with unarmed men, women and children! And there will be no survivors!"

Erin didn't hold her tears back anymore as Katniss began speaking, her brother pulled her closer to him, the two siblings holding onto each other tightly.

"If you think for one second that the Capitol will ever treat us fairly you are lying to yourselves! Because we know who they are and what they do." Katniss pointed to the crumbling building in outrage, her eyes glazed over as she spoke to the camera, "this is what they do, and we must fight back!"

Erin tightened her grib on Alex' hand as she watched Katniss talk with such ferocity, like all the despair and suffering that Snow put her through were laced deep within her words. That everything building up inside her came out like a dangerous wildfire.

"I have a message for President Snow. You can torture us and bomb us and burn our districts to the ground. But do you see that? Fire is catching." There was a short pause as she pointed towards the flickering flames before Katniss spoke again with such hatred towards Snow and her own eyes aflame.

"And if we burn, you burn with us!"

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