Tear It Apart⇸Finnick Odair [2]

09

Head rising above draining level, gasping for air, Terra was more than slightly confused when she found herself still conscious and completely aware of everything as the drowning liquid left with a quick, fast sucking.

Little whirpools appeared where the drains were, and as she fell to her knees panting, she hurried to force herself up in time to see Johanna knocked out with a heavy hit to the back of the head and a buzzing razor pressed close with bits of hair tumbling free to the floor. She looked past her friend to Peeta, jerking and writhing in his seat as tracker jackers buzzed around his head. She whimpered, pressing her hand to the glass and shakily rising to her feet as a peacekeeper entered the chamber, chains in hand and she staggered, snarling as he came closer.

Terra backed away, stumbling over herself and hands raised feebly into fists and as he reached for her with a thick, dark leather covered hand, she snapped, kicking and screaming, teeth pressing down on his digits as her fought to push her way.

The leather was high quality, full-grain, far more expensive than anything anyone in her district could have owned, but they had still seen plenty of the stripped flesh freshly delivered out to be manufactured. It was smooth, a set black, and Terra could taste the special cleaning agent used to preserve the duration as she bit down hard on one of the fingers that grabbed at her, digging blood stained teeth in as much as she could as she fought him off and refused to let go.

A hand grabbed at her neck, pressing her back into the floor with a hard smack as her head hit the ground. He tried pulling his hand free and Terra nearly frowned at the action.

She had always been told that if an animal bit you do not pull away, ot could tear the skin further, cause more damage. Her father had always said to push down as hard as you could, to force their mouth open wider and harm their jaw in order to gain an easy freedom. She wondered if such a thing had ever been a concern for him growing up, if wild animals wpuld haunt the streets at night as they had for her. The cattle and herds had always been their focus and required a vigilance of night work that the other districts didn't. Terra could remember the night when she was young sitting up at her window when she wasn't meant to, watching for animals that could sneak in under the fences. Her father was the Head Rancher of one of the larger herds and they were allowed to live right on the lot.

She closed her jaw down harder, teeth bearing into the leather, and she kicked her legs, struggling to give him off and away from her neck.

It was a nightmare that most Victors had, a hand wrapping around their throat, holding them down. Terra wasn't as scared of it before as she was now, having been choked before it was only the pain of the pressure that hurt after having spent so long suffocating as she had.

Because she had learnt to hold her breath longer now that she's been here and her thoughts weren't clouded as she fought back, pushing at the space where his helmet met his suit, working at this with fingers curled into claws. His other hand moved to grab at her throat and she linked it with her own, using his weight to guide his force upwards, knocking him off balance enough for her to switch their position and for Terra to finally get his helmet off.

She shook her head from side to side, jerking his hand in her mouth as she reared back with his helmet and smashed it against his head. Her mouth fell open in a breathless gasp, a warm dribble slipping down her chin, and she bashed the hemet against his head again and again, and once more for good luck.

Yelling came from behind the doubke doors leading out, she forced herself up in time to see the doors burst open and three more guards come rushing in, guns raised. She lifted her hands up, dropping helmet with a loud clatter, and when they grabbed her roughly, slapping her in chains and placing a muzzle like contraption over her mouth Terra didn't fight them as she probably should, not when she turned and met a dazed Peeta's gaze over the unconscious Johanna.