Rough hands shook me awake and I quickly jumped up, expecting anything, except for what had filled my ears.
"We have to run, hovercrafts-"
My brother didn't finish his sentence, immediately I grasped his hand and burst into the street. People were running in all directions but most of the population was heading for the meadow, hoping to find freedom on the other side of the fence.
"Caro!" Tom yelled and I saw that I had let go of his hand, people now ran in between us, separating us.
"Tommy!" I replied, urgency filling my voice and I tried to get through the crowd.
With a shove from someone I couldn't see, also trying to make their way through the masses, I fell with a loud yelp, ending up sprawled on the ground.
"Caro, are you okay?" Tom appeared beside me and held out his hand for me to haul myself up with.
But even I could tell that we were in trouble. I could hardly see through the mass of panicked people flooding the streets, my breathing was clogged up due to fumes and yelling and screaming filled my ears. With three of my senses preoccupied running in the right direction was hard. That's when I heard the first bombs land. They must've been at the other end of district twelve, as they did no damage to Tom nor I but it scared me to no end.
Another round of bombs landed, closer. The impact sent me flying, again separating me and Tom, as did it with most of the people that surrounded me. A consistent ringing sounded in my ears as well as screams, cries, moans, horrible sounds of pain and panic filled me as I searched for Tom, refusing to leave without him. I could see dead bodies up ahead, and the thought of whose family they belonged to, what pain they were making the survivors go through, if there was any survivors was the thought that entered my head.
"Caro! Run!" A male voice ordered, I looked around for the source of the voice, knowing it was Tom, when the next bombs hit followed by an immediate fourth round. The pounding of my heart overtook the ringing in volume, and I was certain the next bomb would land where I was.
I continued to look for my brother but it didn't take me long to find him. His body lay metres from me, twisted in an inhumane position probably after landing wrong. His face plastered in a look a pain and grief.
"Tom!" I exclaimed, kneeling by his side and taking his hand. "Don't die, please, don't leave me alone. I need you."
Tom parted his lips slightly, whispering a word I couldn't quite capture.
"What is it?" I asked, my voice breaking at the end of the sentence.
"Caroline, run," his weak demand came out in a whisper and I didn't even have time to deny, stay by his side until he died when four bombs came down at once, one of them landing a few feet from where Tom and I were.
R.I.P. District Twelve