Through the Smoke (prompt: slump)
Jan. 10th, 2026 05:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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fandomocweeklyTitle: Through the Smoke
Character: OC - Paisley Webster; OC - Tessla ??? (mentioned); OC - Fairlane ???
Fandom: The Hunger Games
Word Count: 434
Prompt:fandomocweekly "Slump"
Warnings: Canon-typical violence; Character death
I can see Tessla slumped over through the smoke. I can see the pipe jammed through her chest.
One of those cannons was for her.
I can’t hear clearly but I felt the booming in my chest. I’m too confused to keep count but it’s a lot. More than just Tessla, mangled in the rubble in front of me.
How did I even get here, out here in the smoky sunlight? I try to track back through my muddled memories of the last three minutes.
The building collapsed when the bomb went off.
I don’t know who set it. I doubt they knew we were there, crammed in the narrow space between the drop ceiling and the floor above. They were probably targeting the Careers stalking overhead. It could have been the Gamemakers shaking us loose.
But when I see the girl from 6 creep towards Tessla and reach for her backpack, I take it personally. I wrench a piece of the rubble loose and send it flying towards her head. She hears the commotion, looks up, darts out of the way. Fairlane, that was her name.
Was she the one who built the bomb? Did Fairlane kill my friend? Do I even care? Tessla is dead and this girl is within reach. I grab a length of scaffolding and drop the last few feet onto the heap of broken concrete and metal.
Fairlane sees me, backs away. She turns to run and I chase her. Adrenaline surges through my veins and my vision sharpens on her, blurs around the edges. I’m drawing back my weapon when the sponsor gift hits me on the head.
It gives Fairlane a moment to escape and she disappears into the smoke. I reach down and grab the parachute. It’s attached to a metal container that I tuck into my bag. I’ll investigate later.
First, I have to take care of Tessla. She was my ally. We would have been friends if she was from 8. Penny would have liked her. I think she would have liked Penny, too, but I’ll never get to know her well enough to guess.
It’s not like with Penny. I’ve known her since we were babies in the same day service care. I’ve only known Tessla for two days but I know now, as I crouch beside her and close her eyes, that I’ll miss her for the rest of my life. Whether I die in the next five minutes, or hours, or days, or if I live for another 50 years, I will miss this girl slumped over in the smoke for the rest of my life.
Additional notes: Character name info here
Character: OC - Paisley Webster; OC - Tessla ??? (mentioned); OC - Fairlane ???
Fandom: The Hunger Games
Word Count: 434
Prompt:
fandomocweekly "Slump"Warnings: Canon-typical violence; Character death
I can see Tessla slumped over through the smoke. I can see the pipe jammed through her chest.
One of those cannons was for her.
I can’t hear clearly but I felt the booming in my chest. I’m too confused to keep count but it’s a lot. More than just Tessla, mangled in the rubble in front of me.
How did I even get here, out here in the smoky sunlight? I try to track back through my muddled memories of the last three minutes.
The building collapsed when the bomb went off.
I don’t know who set it. I doubt they knew we were there, crammed in the narrow space between the drop ceiling and the floor above. They were probably targeting the Careers stalking overhead. It could have been the Gamemakers shaking us loose.
But when I see the girl from 6 creep towards Tessla and reach for her backpack, I take it personally. I wrench a piece of the rubble loose and send it flying towards her head. She hears the commotion, looks up, darts out of the way. Fairlane, that was her name.
Was she the one who built the bomb? Did Fairlane kill my friend? Do I even care? Tessla is dead and this girl is within reach. I grab a length of scaffolding and drop the last few feet onto the heap of broken concrete and metal.
Fairlane sees me, backs away. She turns to run and I chase her. Adrenaline surges through my veins and my vision sharpens on her, blurs around the edges. I’m drawing back my weapon when the sponsor gift hits me on the head.
It gives Fairlane a moment to escape and she disappears into the smoke. I reach down and grab the parachute. It’s attached to a metal container that I tuck into my bag. I’ll investigate later.
First, I have to take care of Tessla. She was my ally. We would have been friends if she was from 8. Penny would have liked her. I think she would have liked Penny, too, but I’ll never get to know her well enough to guess.
It’s not like with Penny. I’ve known her since we were babies in the same day service care. I’ve only known Tessla for two days but I know now, as I crouch beside her and close her eyes, that I’ll miss her for the rest of my life. Whether I die in the next five minutes, or hours, or days, or if I live for another 50 years, I will miss this girl slumped over in the smoke for the rest of my life.
Additional notes: Character name info here
