《Broken (Peeta Mellark Fanfiction)》Chapter 13 - Chaos
Advertisement
I fasten Tigris's furry hat over my head so it hides my blonde hair, grimly remembering what happened to the man who'd been accused of being me just because of his similar hair.
I pull my scarf over my mouth as the cold air whips onto my face. I merge into the crowd of Capitol citizens with my head hanging low. The sky is very dim, making it difficult to locate Katniss and Gale ahead of me. It shouldn't be a problem, I know they went this way, and I'm sure that they're headed to the President's mansion. It's essential that I find them, so I know if or when I need to cause a disturbance. At least it'll be harder for people to see my face.
I can hear gunfire in the distance, and I try to block out the desperate crying in the crowds. There's silent refugees, and curious children, asking what's going on and where they're going. A little girl in a purple tutu holds hands with who I am assuming is her mother. They're right in front of me, the little girl looks up at her mom with a confused expression.
"Mommy, where are we going?" She asks.
"We're going to the president's mansion." The mother answers in a hushed tone.
"But why?"
"He's offered us a place to stay, we will be safe there."
The little girl nods before looking back at me. She looks away, then quickly looks back at me again. I keep my eyes on the ground, and nestle my face more into my scarf so it's covered better. Luckily the little girl looks away from me again, so I can release a breath I didn't realize I was holding in. I slowly move to the edge of the crowd, thinking I can get a better view from here. Suddenly a bunch of people in front of me randomly start dropping, at first I'm confused, then I hear the gunfire above us and see the ripple of bullet wounds across their bodies. I drop down to the ground with them, a woman next to me starts screaming, and other people join in. I crawl over to the wall, my entire arm dipping into a puddle of someone else's blood. When I look up, I can see the dark uniforms of the rebels. They're the ones shooting. When my eyes glance over the motionless bodies, I see the purple tutu of the little girl who stared at me only moments ago, she's lying in the street next to her mother, motionless with the others...
Advertisement
I can feel my heart racing, but my mind is somewhere else, I have to find Katniss. I can hear more gunshots coming from the rooftops, I stay against the wall with a few other panicked Capitol citizens. People are running now, tearing past each other while peacekeepers shoot at the rebels above.
I move quickly against the wall, avoiding the sight of any peacekeepers, but luckily they are occupied with trying to shoot down the rebels, who are now starting to pour out into the streets and take cover behind vehicles or display stands. Many refugees aren't so lucky, a large number of them are lying out in the streets, dead. Some of them might've activated a pod, because I can hear explosions followed by piercing screams coming from up ahead.
I aggressively push away the dizziness that is prickling with madness as I try not to trip on the bodies, or slip on the pools of blood.
Maybe I should head back to Tigris's, I'm going to lose control and make things worse.
I can't head back now, I've made it this far, and I still haven't found her.
What could I do at this point? I came to cause a distraction but now there's plenty of that going on now.
I'm not going back, I'm not going to do nothing, this insanity can't control me any longer, at least not now.
I make my way towards where I think the City Circle is, it's still a little far away but all I can do is try to get there, I know that's where she'll be. The air is steamy, all I can see is snow, piles of corpses, and people shooting at each other through unclear steam. There's so much blood, flooding the streets and sidewalks, then there's the screaming, never-ending from every direction. There are so many ways Cressida, Pollux, Gale and Katniss could have already died by now. I hold onto the idea that they're still alive, but it's barely possible to think.
I duck into a doorway, then crouch down and lean my head against the wall with my hands clamped over my ears. Insanity spirals through my veins, yanking me away from the real world, but I'm still desperately holding on. As I'm slipping, her name appears, and I repeat it to myself over and over.
Advertisement
Katniss.
She might still be out there. I have to find her, I have to make sure she's safe.
That's what you and I do. Protect each other.
I force myself to stand back up, to step back out into the chaos. Most of the screams have stopped, and I can't see any peacekeepers and rebels shooting at each other anymore. The steam is a little faded, I can see groups of people in white uniforms pouring throughout the streets. They are medics from District 13, and it looks like they're checking every corpse, searching for survivors that they could possibly help.
I'm not too far away from the City Circle, I can see a large concrete wall that separates a big crowd of people from the president's mansion. I quickly walk towards it behind a small group of panicked Capitol women. I get close enough to see the president's mansion in the short distance, not currently taking in any residents. Citizens are crowded in front of the wall, shoving their children to the front, it looks like they are taking in the children first.
What happens next is a blur, there's shouting, pointing, falling parachutes like the kind you usually see in the Games, then a giant explosion.
The snow is tainted red with flesh as blown off body parts are randomly lying about.
I'm on the ground, covering my ears as they ring, staring at the scene in horror while feet pound past me into the City Circle. It's the medics, they're running down the street to the moaning children lying on the burnt ground.
When I look behind me at the frantic medics running past me and into the City Circle, I see a familiar face.
Her blonde braid, the innocent eyes, it's Katniss's sister Prim.
I blink my eyes several times, then look away.
I'm probably hallucinating. My hijacked mind lies to me all the time, I can't trust it. It can't be her, it's not real. But what if it is real? Then again, what if none of this is real?
My head hurts, but I find the motivation to stand up again. People are crying, children are screaming, my hearing slowly recovers from the ringing but it's still all very distant. Medics, peacekeepers, and refugees all rush past me to and from all directions. I move with them, closer to the City Circle, and I scan the many faces to see if I could find Prim's once again, but I can't.
Then I see her, on the other side of the Circle, it's Katniss, she moving closer as well. She can't see me, she's staring at all of the unfortunate children. Through all the loud roars of noise, without the slightest bit of thought, I shout her name. But when I take one step towards her, a giant fiery wave blows me backward.
A wide line of heat burns into the left side of my body. Flames slash my face, and my forehead stings. I try to lift my hand to my face, but it's burning too, the entire sleeve of my Capitol outfit has giant holes burnt into it. My neck sizzles with pain, and I'm suddenly aware of my clothes on fire. The smoky scent of burning fabric fills my nostrils. Before I can attempt to stand up again, the smokey air turns into complete darkness.
Advertisement
- In Serial26 Chapters
Magnus
Updates daily at 23:06 UTC. 2/1/2021 NOTE! This trilogy is being published by Aethon Books starting with book one on 5/1/2021. All books have been removed from RoyalRoad. This story was posted on RR in its entirety before being removed. Magnus Cromwell kills for a living. He’s organized, professional, efficient. Like a machine. But when his family’s life is on the line? That’s something else. That calls for the kind of warm-blooded vengeance that scorches earth and summons tungsten rods from space, leaves a whole lot of melted flesh, and no one to tell the tale. It should've been a blue milk run. As by-the-book as it gets. With his sister Nina out safe and the opposition decimated by hypersonic gunfire, MC wondered where they got the guts to even try. Then something hits him. Lays him out cold, and leaves him waking up to a fantasyland with nothing but his armor and a half-written note to guide him. It's a strange place where even stranger predators eye him for their next meal. Where his life’s on a timer, and where the darkest horrors haunt his dreams, painting visions of death. There's no right day to mess with Magnus Cromwell. But the universe sure managed to pick the absolute worst one. --- - MC is stone-cold, strong(OP), and gets even stronger, but he'll still face his fair share of challenges, both internal and external. - LitRPG-lite. No stats and an unconventional system. Expect abilities and progressions, but there will only ever be a handful of them. - Science Fiction and Fantasy collide, with a touch of mystery, Lovecraft, and body horror. - Professionally painted art scenes! - This series is finished. A Huge thank you to RoyalRoader MikeWe for the banner, and to NoDragons for his help editing the synopsis. Cover and scene art by the talented John Molinero Discord: https://discord.gg/s6e5rTj [participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge]
8 310 - In Serial26 Chapters
Aether: The World Inside a Dream
Aether is the name given to the world inhabited by creatures and objects once dreamed by humans. It's a weird universe, but still intriguing and full of mysteries that connect to the real world. Kazuki, a typical high school student who loves games and has a bit of hesitation towards girls, but a flaring libido, gains irregular access to this world, and RPG powers. His entry into this place is sure to change forever his life, as well as the fate of the entire universe. Update: (Paused, I'll will focus on another website in my native language, then maybe I come back here. If you want to follow there: https://kiniga.com/projeto/aether-o-mundo-em-um-sonho/) Note: I'm not english, so the story may have grammatical errors. I'll fix it whenever I'm made aware of them.
8 189 - In Serial11 Chapters
The Rise of The Emperor of The Dreadlands
Dane Carter was the son of the genius robotic engineer who was making various breakthroughs every year. Dane lived a rather ordinairy life compared to the money he had, even though he had rich parents. All was well until one day, when a group of hired thugs attacked attempted to murder his father after they were going home from a late night dinner. He ended up dying to save his father and thought it was all over until he awoke where his journey would begin. His journey to become the Emperer of the Dreadlands.
8 148 - In Serial6 Chapters
Faeos Book One: The Stuff of Legends
A ragtag assemblage of adventurers, scraped together by seeming circumstance, investigate the theft of an ecologically essential artifact. In so doing, they find themselves embroiled (as adventurers so often do) in the larger machinations of a mischevious gnome, a determined mage or three, and a dire threat to their homes. Based on a homebrew Pathfinder campaign begun several years ago, and still running. Faeos is one part combat, one part character building, and one part entirely justified silliness. Blame any lead character weirdnesses on my players, whom I love. Blame everything else on me. Oh, and yes, this should also be tagged "Unreliable Narrator."
8 85 - In Serial100 Chapters
Escape The Night - Season 3
"I don't remember much about what happened. All I remember was waking up in a coffin with the crown on my head."Joey Graceffa has survived two deadly dinner parties, and has no intention to live through another one. However, he received a letter from a distant relative, informing him that he has inherited a castle. When he went to investigate, he was attacked by the dark spirit that haunts the castle walls."I would have to go through it again. I would have to watch them die without being able to help them."Invites are sent, and twenty of his friends appeared at his doorstep, ready for a party in the medieval era. However, things are not as they seem, and the guests soon discover that they must fight for survival if they want to return home. The guests must protect, betray and kill one another to survive, but even the strongest people can fall. "My friends were going to die."Only a few can return home, but who will they be?
8 103 - In Serial6 Chapters
The Midori Cafe
What if All Might never found Izuku after the sludge incident? what if Izuku gave up on being a hero and opened a cafe instead?read more to find outAka a person who only reads/writes angst attempts to write fluff.Completed.
8 130

