Taiya's ears were ringing. She couldn't make sense of anything. All she could hear was ringing and screams.

Finnick was in front of her, his mouth moving, but no sound reached her brain. He was trying to pry her hands away from her ears, but they were clamped firmly in place.

His eyes were darting around everywhere, looking towards the screams, but they'd always return to Taiya. He wouldn't leave her.

Taiya screeched in panic and she turned back into the wall.

"Taiya! Taiya!" Finnick's pleas finally broke through to her mind. "Tay!"

"I'm ok, I'm ok," her voice shook. "P… Peeta," she turned her eyes to the boy who was violently shaking.

"Here," Finnick held her hands and gently helped her stand. "I've got you. I've got you."

Her feet tripped as she stood, but his hands were instantly on her back, supporting her so she fell into his side.

Taiya turned to look in the direction the explosion had come from.

It was Boggs.

Katniss, Gale and Homes were crouched over him. But he wasn't moving. He was gone.

"You ok, Peeta?" Finnick asked, looking over at the boy who was pulling himself up.

He didn't answer. His eyes were dark. This wasn't Peeta the bread boy. This was the wannabe Mockingjay assassin.

Taiya knew the signs, but she hadn't noticed, she wasn't looking at Peeta. She was watching the Leegs girl limp over to Messalla. He'd been thrown into the left side of the courtyard by the blast.

"NO!" Taiya screamed, but it was too late. She'd strayed into the forbidden sector of the courtyard and placed her foot on a stone tile that slowly sunk into the ground.

A low rumble echoed around the block as all the exits started to seal themselves off. There'd be no escape.

"RUN!" Taiya screamed at the top of her lungs.

Finnick gave Taiya a forceful shove forward, propelling her in the direction of Katniss and Gale while he grabbed ahold of Peeta.

It was just like the fog in the quarter quell. He needed her in front so he could focus on saving the District 12 kids.

They'd started running in just the nick of time. Black, oily matter spouted like a geyser from the street, billowing like a tsunami straight for them. It was flowing between the buildings, creating an impenetrable wall of darkness. They couldn't retreat, they couldn't escape. Their only chance was to get to higher ground and hope they could outrun the oil.

"Go, go, go!" Gale yelled out for the whole squad.

"This way!" Homes took charge as he picked a building and sprinted towards it.

"Let's go soldiers!" Jackson's voice echoed through the air.

"We need to get to higher ground!" Homes called out to them as he shot open the door of a building.

Everyone was scrambling. There was no time for dilly-dallying.

Taiya glanced over her right shoulder. Finnick was in sight, only a few steps behind her. If she'd instead looked over her left shoulder though, she would have seen what Peeta was about to do.

He was about to attack and slam Katniss backwards to the ground.

Taiya was unaware of that as she sprinted forward.

"Finnick!" she heard her husband's name called out and she immediately spun around, terrified that he'd fallen behind and become prey to the black oil.

He hadn't, he was safe, but Peeta was out of control.

A soldier named Mitchell had tried to subdue Peeta by grabbing him around the waist and ripping him away from Katniss.

But Peeta was in fight or flight mode. And he chose to fight. Mitchell's attack had only served to anger Peeta more.

"Finnick! Restrain him!" Jackson called out. Finnick was sprinting towards Peeta, desperate to get there before anything horrific happened.

But it was too late. Peeta had flung his elbow back into Mitchell's face.

"Peeta!" Finnick yelled out in a desperate plea.

Peeta wasn't listening. And Finnick wasn't fast enough. Peeta had shoved Mitchell backwards into the tar, incidentally activating the netting trap they'd earlier discussed.

Only this wasn't your typical netting. This netting was made of barbed wire. Mitchell let out a loud scream of agony before quickly falling silent.

Taiya could all but hear the cannon echo in her mind. That was another tribute dead.

"Finn!" Taiya went to run towards him. He was struggling to get Peeta under control, the boy was still trying to lunge at Katniss. She'd only made it one step when she felt an arm slam around her waist.

"Get inside," Gale tried to push her into the doorway Homes had just shot through.

"Finnick!" she pushed back against Gale, but the boy wasn't letting her run towards the fast-approaching black oil. He wasn't letting her run towards Finnick. "Let me go!" she yelled at Gale. She couldn't stand by watching while her husband wrestled Peeta, if he couldn't get him under control now, they'd both be doomed. "Katniss!" Taiya yelled at the Mockingjay. "Hurry!"

Peeta wanted Katniss. If Katniss ran towards the building, Finnick would have more luck wrestling the boy in that direction.

One yell was all it took for Katniss to look away from Mitchell's suspended body and sprint towards the building.

"Come on, come on! We gotta move!" Gale yelled at the remaining members of the squad who were racing towards the building.

"Get inside!" Jackson desperately tried to urge them on.

"Upstairs! Go!" Homes waved them all through. "Hurry up!"

"Come on, Taiya!" Gale tried to tug her inside, but she was holding firm. She wasn't moving until Finnick was there.

"Taiya, go!" Finnick grunted as he hauled Peeta in her direction.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Taiya began to panic. She didn't want to leave until she was certain he was out of danger, and currently, he was way too close to the tar to be considered safe.

Gale wasn't waiting for permission now. This was not a good time for a panic attack. They didn't need two traumatised victors having a meltdown at the same time. He jerked Taiya off her feet and ran into the building, immediately sprinting towards the stairs.

Taiya thrashed against his hold, but she didn't take her eyes off Finnick. He and Peeta had both made it inside at last.

Katniss and Pollux were leading the squad, but they'd stopped running once they'd made it to the first-floor landing.

"Keep moving! Keep moving to the top!" Jackson ordered.

But there was nowhere to go. The staircase had been destroyed. They were stuck on this level.

Gale released Taiya as soon as they reached Katniss and she immediately turned to look at Finnick.

Finnick was behind them, dragging a frantically struggling Peeta up the stairs. Peeta was not in his right mind. He was too far gone to call back. Taiya hadn't seen him like this in a long time and she didn't know what to do. She was able to calm him down if he was on the edge, but when he was in this state, there was no calming him down. Finnick had to hold Peeta into a corner with all his body weight to keep him from attempting another attack on Katniss.

"Hey, hey. Peeta, shh," Finnick tried fruitlessly to settle him. Homes had to step in and inject Peeta with a sedative, which immediately made the boy slump against the wall.

Now that Peeta was down, everyone turned their attention to the black oil that was getting closer to them every second.

Gale put his arm in front of Taiya, pushing her back slightly so she stepped backwards into Finnick. Feeling him right behind her, she immediately clasped her fist into the side of his shirt. Finnick gently lowered Peeta to the floor before he stood back up. He wrapped his arm around Taiya's stomach, pulling her further back as they watched the oil edge closer.

"It's slowing down," Cressida announced.

"Can it slow down faster?" Taiya breathed as they watched the oil rise a few more steps. It was slowing down though. It rose up to their level, spilling slightly over the step before there was a gurgling sound as it began to retreat and drain out of the block.

"The Gamemakers are still putting on quite a show," Cressida scoffed.

"Oh god," Taiya dropped her head onto Finnick's shoulder with a sigh. "I hate him so much."

"Who? Gale?" Finnick frowned as he looked up at the man who'd dragged Taiya out of there. It didn't really seem fair to complain about him when he'd just made sure she got out safely.

"Freaking Lucius Creed," Taiya shook her head. "I hate him." That made more sense. "I promised Gloss I'd try to get rid of him."

"Yeah, I'll help you with that," Gale muttered as he peered out the window. Drowning in oil would be a horrific way to go. It was just more evidence to Gale about the sadistic nature of the Capitol.

"451 to base, over," Jackson tried to make contact.

"Hey, we better move," Finnick spoke up as he ran a hand down Taiya's back, making her straighten up. "If Peacekeepers didn't know where we were, they do now."

Castor nodded in agreement. "Those surveillance cameras caught us."

"451 to base. Come in," Jackson made another attempt but was again met with silence on the other end of the line.

"This is a bad spot. We need to move now," Gale anxiously looked out the window. Anywhere was better than where they were now.

"They're going to come swarming," Taiya whispered as she stepped closer to him. "They know which building we came into."

"We don't have much time," he agreed before turning to look back at the squad, waiting for them to make the next move.

"451 to base. Over."

"I don't think they're answering," Taiya snarked. They didn't have time to try and get in contact with the base. They needed to move now.

Jackson closed her eyes in frustration as she returned her radio to her pocket. "I can't get a signal. But I can get us back to base. Everdeen, give me the holo."

Taiya hadn't noticed Katniss clasping onto the holo. But her silence was telling. When she didn't immediately hand the holo over, Taiya knew there was going to be trouble. She stepped away from Gale and Finnick to stand next to Katniss as she watched the girl, curious as to what the teenager intended to do.

"Everdeen, what did I just say? The holo. Come on, let's go."

"Boggs gave it to me," Katniss protested.

"What are you talking about?" Jackson frowned, not liking the girl's defiance.

Homes backed up Katniss' story immediately. "He did. He transferred security clearance to her. I saw him."

"And why would he do that?" Jackson questioned.

"I'm on special orders from Coin," Katniss answered. Lie.

"To do what?" Jackson queried, not buying that at all.

"To assassinate President Snow."

Well… go big or go home, Taiya had to smirk. This was one bold girl. But they didn't have time for this rubbish, they needed to get out of here while they still had a chance.

"I don't believe that for one second," Jackson shook her head. Katniss had gone to the Haymitch School of Acting after all, she was not a good liar. "As your new unit commander, I order you to transfer security clearance to me now."

Taiya knew reaching for the larger gun on her back would flare up tensions even faster, so she let her hand subtly drift to the handgun she had strapped to her hip.

"I can't do that," Katniss refused.

Jackson's hand moved to her holster, not even remotely subtle, and that's when it kicked off.

Taiya already had her hand on her gun, so she whipped it out and aimed it straight at Jackson as she stepped slightly in front of Katniss. Gale was only a moment behind, stepping forward to back her up, pointing his crossbow at Jackson.

Taiya heard a scramble from behind her before Finnick was at her side, his own gun in hand. He had been busy checking over Peeta and hadn't noticed the building tension behind him. He'd just heard people draw their weapons and turned around to see his wife step in front of Katniss and into the line of fire.

"Let's not lose our heads here," Gale warned Jackson and the Leeg woman who was standing in opposition.

"I'm not asking you again, Everdeen," Jackson cautioned. "Give me that holo."

"Oh for gods sake!" Taiya stamped her foot. "We don't have time for this!"

Cressida bravely intervened, stepping in front of Jackson's gun. "She's telling the truth. Plutarch wants it televised. He thinks if we could film the Mockingjay assassinating Snow, it'll make the Capitol surrender before the casualties get too high."

Cressida was a much better actor than Katniss was. But Jackson still wasn't sold.

"Oh my god!" Taiya whined. "Why do you think I was sent here? Everyone knows I didn't want to come. Do you really think Plutarch would have let me come just to see Finnick? No. I know the inside of Snow's mansion better than anyone here. I'm meant to help Katniss get in and navigate through it to get to Snow. Now can we all just shut up and move? We need to go!"

"She's right," Gale agreed. "While we're arguing, there's 100 Peacekeepers on their way here."

"You're up against three victors and a Gale," Taiya warned the woman. "Back down while you still can."

Katniss huffed, she'd had enough of this. She reached up and forcefully lowered Gale's crossbow. She tried to lower Taiya's weapon as well, but as soon as she lowered it, Taiya just lifted it straight back up. She was not lowering that weapon while there were still two guns being pointed at a 17-year-old girl.

"Boggs promised me that when the time came, you would help me," Katniss tried to reason with Jackson.

Evoking the memory of Jackson's fallen friend seemed to have its desired effect. Boggs and Jackson had grown up together. Jackson sighed before holstering her weapon. Taiya hesitated on lowering hers though, and it took Finnick reaching over and pulling her arm down for her to relax.

"Alright soldier," Jackson nodded. "Holo's yours."

The tension was still in the air though. Once again, the mission rested on the shoulders of a teenage girl. How was that fair?

Gale looked Jackson over once more and satisfied she wasn't going to make another move against Katniss, he moved away to inspect the stairs.

Taiya turned to make her way over to the unconscious Peeta in the corner when Finnick caught her arm.

"Let's not step into the line of fire next time. Please?"

"I shall do my best," she gave him a small smile before she crouched down. Peeta was just waking up. "How was your nap bread boy?"

"I don't think we're going to leave any footprints," Gale announced after placing his foot on the dry black oil that was now covering the entire block. "We should move now. And those cameras outside should be covered up by the oil."

"She can't move forward like this," Castor evaluated the Leeg woman. Taiya hadn't even realised she'd been hurt. "We have to evacuate her."

"Leave me here," the woman nodded in understanding. The safety of the whole squad had to come before one person, especially with the precarious situation they were now in.

"As soon as we make contact, we will send somebody back. I promise you," Jackson assured. "All right, everybody, move out. Let's go!"

"Let's get him up," Gale spared a glance down at Peeta.

"You ok there, Peeta?" Taiya asked cautiously. His eyes looked stable, not like they did before. This was bread boy Peeta, not the Capitol-programmed version of Peeta.

"Yeah," he groaned, he was still groggy from the sedative.

Taiya nodded at Finnick, who immediately stepped forward and helped the boy to his feet. Peeta wasn't steady on his feet and stumbled. "Can you walk?" Finnick asked, taking on some more of the boy's weight.

Peeta didn't answer, but he did seem more confident on his own feet after a few steps and stopped leaning on Finnick as much.

"Die Creed, die," Taiya mumbled to herself as she looked at the black liquid that was coating the stairs. So this was his sadistic idea of how the 70th Hunger Games should have ended. Ass.

Taiya had to suck in a breath as they walked outside. The entire courtyard was covered in that black gunk. It was like paint. The courtyard that used to be filled with socialites gossiping was now destroyed.

But it was what hung in the air that was the most disturbing. Mitchell's body was still suspended up there.

"Hey check it out Peeta," Taiya down pointed at the ground. "There's no footprints."

She wanted him to look down, not up at the body. But it wasn't a good distraction technique. He'd already seen it. The guilt had already hit him like a freight train.

"Come on, this way," Gale called out to the squad as he broke into a small jog.

"You got Peeta?" Taiya asked Finnick.

"Yeah, what are you…" he went to ask, but Taiya had sprinted away.

"Gale," she reached his side. "We need to get inside. With all the time we just wasted the Peacekeepers won't be long. We're too exposed outside."

"How well do you know this area?" he asked her. He knew she knew more about the surroundings than he did, it'd be silly not to ask.

"Very well."

"Where are you thinking?"

"There," Taiya pointed at a familiar building. "I know it. I can pick the lock and get us inside an apartment without damaging anything. If the Peacekeepers can see that a door's been smashed in after the black oil flooded this place they'll know that's where we are. They'll have no reason to check if I can get us in there without damaging the door."

"Alright," Gale nodded. "Quickly."

Taiya immediately pulled a pin out of her hair. It looked like Kenna's lock-picking skills were coming in handy yet again.

She just really hoped Lucius Creed was cowering in his apartment somewhere. She had a bone to pick with him.

Mim31: Vous êtes français ?! J'ai vécu en France pendant 2 ans ! Mon français n'est plus très bon, je pense que je devrais reprendre des cours pour m'entraîner !