Authors Note: Phew, boy was this fun to write! Things really lift off in this chapter and Katniss finally meets another future member of the group! Next chapter will be a little recuperation and gathering of several characters, but there's probably gonna plenty of action in it too! Thanks for reading :P
"What are we gonna do?" She yelled, now allowing the extent of her panic to surface. After looking out the window and seeing just how chaotic the streets had managed to get in the time she had been preoccupied with Delly, the number one thing on her mind was escape. "I-I can call Finnick! He's got a range rover, we can ask him to come get-" Gunshots rang out as the screaming from outside intensified, the screech of hundreds of tires racing down the road forming the perfect harmony to the anguished cries of those trapped in the chaos.
Gale made his way over to the door to make sure it was shut, giving them some time to think as he pushed the chair up against the door handle. "Jesus, we're going to have to do something!" Katniss howled, becoming more and more desperate as the thumps from the cupboard where Delly was held intensified. Pausing for a moment, Gale quickly declared "Your bow." pointing to the sleek wood of her recurve bow that rested atop her wall of trophies. "We've gotta pack everything we can and get the hell out of here." He ordered, moving over to grab Katniss's backpack and throwing all of the food (though there was only a small amount-Katniss was in college) he could find inside.
Katniss rushed over and plucked her bow from its fastenings, slinging her 2 quivers over her shoulder as she attempted to arm them both. Picking out the knives from the kitchen drawer, she pulled her father's leather jacket out of the unoccupied wardrobe and an old biker jacket for Gale, pulling on the thick material in the hopes of protecting them from the prying claws of the dead. She pulled the medical bag out of the kitchen cupboard as well as all the leftover food that looked like it could survive a rough journey.
Gale then set to work on making more weapons, snapping off chair legs and fastening them onto his belt for easy access. He pried the nails out of the furniture and hammered them into the stakes using his combat boots he was thankful to have worn that day (even if the reason behind it was because they suited his outfit.) He packed several bottles of water, flashlights and batteries into a small bag, then dumping it into Katniss's much larger hiking pack before pulling it on, giving Katniss the robust daysack which, though it was much lighter, still carried enough necessities for a few days.
Katniss picked up her bow and nocked an arrow onto the bowstring, ready to draw as she looked to Gale and nodded. "Let's do this, Hawthorne." She smiled at him, attempting to lighten the situation. His lips spread into a small grin as he removed the chair from its position underneath the door handle, and burst through the door into the hallway.
Running through the corridors, it all looked the same besides the occasional bloodstain on the wall or floor, and the fact that a few of the dorm rooms had their doors hanging open, the occupants long gone. Making their way down the stairs to the reception area, Gale took his phone out and called Finnick. "Hey Fin? Yeah, it's me; you need to come pick up me and Kat right away. Yeah, get some basic supplies, make sure you're armed and meet us at Peeta's bakery, and make sure Madge and Annie come with you!" Hanging up the phone and securing it in his pants pocket, Gale turned his attention to the front doors as Katniss covered their backs, her bow drawn taught.
"You ready, Katnip?" He asked, bracing his hands on the door handle. She turned around to face the door, happy they weren't being followed. "Ready as I'll ever be." She nodded, a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. Gale grinned and pushed open the doors, though his expression sobered when he took in the scene before him.
Those… things were running rampant, shambling after anything breathing and chasing people to their cars stocked haphazardly full of supplies. Some were trying to break into houses while others were distracted by the occasional flaming car that had crashed onto the sidewalk and been hastily abandoned by its owner. Blood splattered in huge puddles across the street with an odd corpse or two littering the concrete, guts and limbs flying all over the place as clusters of the things devoured the dead and dying.
It was chaos.
"Shit! Follow me!" Gale commanded as he took off down the road. Katniss followed shortly after and they made their way through the frenzied streets, leaping over fallen mailboxes and abandoned luggage. Rounding a corner, they came to a stop as they took in the scene before them.
A (what looked to be) 50 car pileup blocked the road, some cars having swerved onto the sidewalk in an attempt to avoid it, but ultimately failing as their vehicles span out of control and only added to the excessive size of the pileup. The corpses shambled over in clusters, trying to work their way into the vacated vehicles, ambling through the shattered glass that lay fragmented on the floor as if it were merely gravel under their bare feet.
They came to a stop as they surveyed their options, they could continue going forward and take a detour around the block to get to the bakery, or they could attempt to make their way through the small alleys that led behind the shops, though the presence of dead corpses trailing down the paths meant that was obviously the more dangerous choice.
Gale's head swept around, taking in the scene, until Katniss proposed that moving forward would be best. Nodding his assent, they took off to round the corner at a slow jog, attempting to avoid drawing too much attention by making unnecessary noise by sprinting.
Katniss looked back, thankful that only one or two of them were now following them, confident that they could outrun the scuffling couple, one of which had its head crooked unnaturally to the side so that its face looked away from the direction its legs were taking it. Katniss shuddered at the sight, its slacked jaw dribbling a foul concoction of drool and blood that she wasn't sure was entirely its own, before turning and running alongside Gale down the much quieter road. There were still some of them trying to get into houses, and in an attempt to help those trapped inside, Gale started hooting and hollering at them so that they would pursue the quickly fleeing couple rather than the idea of the innocents within the houses.
Katniss was confused by what he was doing at first, until she heard the terrified wails of a baby no older than 6 months coming from one of the houses with a small group of them smashing at the front door when she clued into his idea and started throwing loose stones at the backs of their heads, all the while making as much noise as possible. Now that they'd garnered a small congregation of around 11 followers, they picked up the pace in an attempt to evade their undead papparazi, running in zigzags and using the cover of random cars to hide before moving on.
After what felt like years of running, they finally had the bakery in their sights, and were making their way down the sidewalk when one of them lumbered out of a nearby alleyway and grabbed Katniss by the shoulder mid-run. She was pulled backwards, trying desperately to regain her centre of balance as she was dragged into its cold clutches.
She slammed her elbow back, connecting it into her assailant's ribcage with a loud and satisfying thud. The ghoul stumbled backwards from the impact, so Katniss braced herself with her knife ready to lunge for its head. When she turned around, she heard a sickening crack as the rusted head of an axe embedded itself into the skull of her foe.
Thick curdled blood spewed from the wound as chunks of skull and brain flew clung onto Katniss's jacket, the body toppling forward onto its knees until it crumpled over sideways. The axe remained embedded in its skull until its wielder pressed their shin-high black converse boots on the corpses cranium and yanked out the head of the axe, spraying more gore on Katniss's trousers in the process. Finally looking up from the body on the sidewalk, she couldn't contain a small gasp of surprise as she took in her saviour.
Her eyes travelled up the lean body, taking in the now bloodied boots, stained skinny jeans and red flannel shirt covered by a dirtied green Starbucks apron, until they finally came to rest on their face. The woman's' piercing green eyes lined heavily in dark makeup bore into her own; her black hair tied into a messy bun and dishevelled bangs framing her face. Her blood red bandana held back the stray wisps that had become ruffled during the day, the colour matching the bold streak through her hair. Her sleeves were rolled up, exposing toned forearms that flexed and relaxed as she absentmindedly twirled the fire axe.
Katniss's gaze swept over her face, taking in her perfect pointed chin, cutting cheekbones and the mischievous glint behind the strangers green orbs. The woman waited a while, though couldn't resist as her smooth pink lips curled into a satisfied lopsided smirk and she spoke-
"You gonna stand there and ogle me all day, brainless?"