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.

They forced her down, stepping on arms and legs heavily and she yelled around the muzzle. More guards came in, rushing by her to Peeta at the end and pulled him from his torture as well. She was lifted and dragged by the chains, arms bending uncomfortably behind her back as she swayed, dangling in the air.

She was dropped in a room in glaring light and an warmth that she wasn't use to anymore since they had shoved them in cages. She recognized it, the sterily style prep room that they had put together in the center, the same room they had placed them in before her last interview and Terra felt her stomach drop when she realised that they were getting her ready to present again. She wondered what she would be encouraged to say this time, if her words would cause for more backlash and pain onto herself when the rebels fight against it. She knew what she had signed up for from the beginning but it didn't mean that she was prepared for the things that would happen in retaliation.

Tugging and prodding, a burning set across her back and she jerked away, howling she turned back and spotted the red hot brand that glowed like a spot of colour in the monotoned room and tried to lash out but the shackles stood fast and stopped her from moving too far, too close.

Peeta was carried in soon after and they dropped him onto a table top, strapping him down with tight metal bands, and she felt for him when she realised the poor boy was still hallucinating from the tracker jacker venom. She realised rather suddenly that they would be waiting for quite some time as they worked to sober him up, so to speak.

They pulled her up, tying her down just the same and she gives an experimental tug, hissing at the way it rubbed against the raw skin at her wrists. They left, keeping the two strapped alone, and she tilted her head to look at Peeta, her mouth still covered and the words muffled as she called his name.

"They're going to kill her," he mumbled, tossing his head from side to side and continued to utter seemingly random words about trees and cave ins, something about bread in the rain. "They're all going to die. Everyone is going to die. Dead by morning."

She tested her feet, moving her jaw to try and work her mouth free, but found everything to be stuck tight. Her back stung where it pressed against the metal slab, sticking in place and she groaned when she lifted her hips as best she could to try and settle down more comfortably.

It was hard to tell how long they lied there, chained down, but Peeta began to come to after a while of random bursts of screams and pointless words. He began to make much more sense, muttering something about a bomb and District 13, and Terra's fear only increased.

Bombing the rebel headquarters would have been one of the first, best actions to have take, and Terra thought that it might be the first thing that she did had she been in charge. Make a show of putting down the base before they could spread their message, come down on them for treason. It was curious why Snow had allowed them to survive for so long if they had been such a threat.

It made Terra wonder why they had been allowed to live for so long if they were all such a threat, why hadn't he done something to stop things from getting so out of hand. She didn't know what she believed about the rebellion, if she fought with them or against, or if she simply wanted to get away from everything in general, but she knew such death and extremes should have at least been avoided at all costs.

"Peeta," she called, voice muffled. "Wake up!"

He groaned, head lolling to the side, and she tried again, jerking her head to moved her hair from her face.

"Get up. I need you to tell me what you heard," she tries again, speaking as clearly as she could.

The boy tosses his head to face her, blearily opening his eyes, and she gave him a little wave with her fingers right before he started freaking out out, jerking and moving and she wonders how he could honestly be surprised by any of this after all that they had been through.

The doors opened and a non-descript styling team came in holding a tray of tools meant for grooming. A smaller, petite girl with brightly coloured lashes came forward and injected Peeta with something at the side of his neck and he relaxed immediately.

Hands carefully work around her head and a rush of cool air flushes around her mouth, and she gasps for air.

"It's much better without that ugly thing in the way," one of the men comments and he gets a smack on the arm.

It takes her an embarrassing moment for the to notice them, her original styling team, and her heart leaps in her throat at the sight of them. She had never learned their names, never cared for them before, but as they gently worked water through her messed up hair and a sweet smelling rose lather over her body, she couldn't help the tears that streamed slowly down her cheeks.

"Oh, Terra, dear, our very own cowgirl, we're going to take such great care of you now," the girl with pretty lashes tells her, head a shiny bald with pretty spots of colour tattooed like that of tempered glass or bottles broken amd placed together to form a kaleidoscope of art.

She felt horrible now for finding them unoriginal in the face of the Capitol citizens. There was a no wide eyed, disbelieving expression, no starry dazed wonder when they looked at her, and though she knew that it was a pitty in their eyes as they cleaned her, she didn't care as long as they acknowledged the pain and torment she was in simply by being here. Maybe they could say something, could spread word around the Capitol on their behalf.

"What did you give to him?" She whispers, head falling to face him.

"A little bit of watered down morphling. It'll burn off soon and wake him right up," they tell her, smiling pleasantly. "It's going to fix him right up for his interview."

A soothing, startling sensatiom came at her side and she jerks away, craning her head to peek at where they were working to remove one of the brands at her side.

"No, don't touch it please. Leave it," she begs, wiggling her hips as beat she could. "I want to keep it so I know it's real."

One of the men frown, pouting, and Terra could see twinkling lines set into his lips around where the soft skin puckered. It was a neat thing, pretty and unique from what she could tell. "We might have a little bit of trouble getting it covered up, but if that's what you want."

"Thank you," she sighed, closing her eyes and enjoying the feeling of being clean while it lasts. They dab gently at her face, cleaning her mouth and prying it open to clean her teeth.

She can hear more people entering the room, moving around Peeta as he argued and snapped.

Someone leaned in close to her face, brushing her cheeks clear of water and she flinched away from the touch, breathing heavily through her noise at how unexpected it was.

Bright lashes and a myriad of colours greeeted her vision, the stylist smiling softly said, "You still have friends here in the Capitol."

°°°

Vote,

Comment,

& follow me on wattpad

Hey! So i was wondering if there was a reason that no one was commenting? Like are the chapters not good or maybe my writing?

Unedited

2019-02-24