HURRICANE, finnick odair (hiatus)

𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗨𝗗𝗘²

INTERLUDE

CHANGE IS NOT KIND TO EVERYONE

"You're going to be fine, C,"

A gentle sob leaves his lips as he leans against one of the trees, his hands painted a crimson red as the sound of choppers echo in his ears. There's yelling, gunfire and pained cries in the distance as his District crumbles into nothingness.

"You'll most certainly be going home tonight and when we get there, we'll play some silly games, ok?"

The pain that radiates from the large gash in his leg is absolutely nothing in comparison to the agony that each beat of his heart brings. It's almost taunting, reminding him that he's alive, that he has to keep on living.

"Hide and seek like we used to when we were kids,"

The foliage breaking apart near him is enough to alert him of somebody's presence, more than likely one of the hundreds of Peacekeepers that had been deployed to subdue them. It's terrifying, a deep pit of anxiety within him as he awaits his fate.

The boy closes his eyes, bites his lip and simply waits. Images of his family flash before his eyes, as he desperately tries to remember every thing about them one last time.

His parents with their gentle smiles and loving gazes, his older brother who had done nothing but protect him since he was a little boy and his big sister, the girl who had knitted the very sweater that clings to his sweaty skin. She had been the one to care for him so deeply, and shield him from the dangers of the world with her sunny smiles and ability to see the positives in the worst of times.

These were the people who had helped shaped him as a person, allowed him to grow up and loved and as safe as he could be. His family were the only constants he had in his life and now, now he's lost them all.

Asher's blood still coats the skin of his hands, the calloused palms a canvas for an incredibly traumatising picture. The cut on his leg is a pulsing reminder of the way his father had shoved him out of the way, a sharp rock slicing his skin, to save him from a gunshot wound — the very bullet that had gone through his skull. And his mum, he can still hear the screams of her telling him to leave, to run as far as he can.

They're gone.

Carter can't even bring himself to look at whoever is now in front of him, their presence unable to break him free from the horrific nightmare he's experiencing.

There is then a hand on his shoulder, shaking him erratically almost as if they're trying to wake him. A quiet mummer can be heard in his ears, the sound of his name amongst the sounds of horror around him. Without even meaning to, his eyes open back up and he's met with a pair of familiar ones.

Finnick Odair stands in front of him, a worried expression plastered upon his face as he takes in the younger man's appearance.

"F-Finn," it's a sob, a pleading one.

"Come on, we're going to get you out of here. It's okay," Finnick replies, his voice as gentle as it possibly can be.

"N-not okay. N-never okay,"

Then he falls forward, collapsing into the arms of a man who he hopes will save him from his current nightmare.