RUINATION | FINNICK ODAIR

THANTOPHOBIA

"Finnick is dead."

Lara weakly shook her head.

Her thoughts were fuzzy but she knew what he was saying was a lie. Despite how much they drilled it into her, she refused to believe it.

So much had changed since the interview. She no longer had a bed. Instead, she was forced to sit in a restrained chair every minute of every day. Beatings had become regular; as had the injections of tracker jacker venom. She'd been starved and dehydrated in their hopes of getting her to beg for mercy in exchange for vital information.

By all means, she should be dead. The only thing that kept her going was the thought of her partner.

No matter how many times they'd try to tell her otherwise, she kept her own truth. After every denial, Snow would motion for a guard to beat her up. She was unable to move or fight back, but she still retaliated with her words.

It made Snow enraged. The longer it took for Lara to break, the longer it was to use her as a weapon against the rebellion. He'd gotten so fed up that he pushed himself out of his chair and stormed up to her.

He slammed his hands down on both sides of the armrests where her wrists were restrained.

"You'd go through all of this purely based on your denial to accept that your loved one is dead?" he roared.

Lara finally snapped. She couldn't take it anymore. All the lies and the pressure was too much.

"Finnick is alive!"

Her voice was raw, but powerful. There was no hesitation because she knew she was right. If she wasn't, then she might as well just surrender to Snow already.

Her anger ignited in denial and passion. No amount of poison in her system could stop the venom that she spit out through her words. She narrowed her eyes and seethed,

"And I'd go through ten times worse to prove that you're a lying bastard."

Snow's nostrils flared as she slumped back in her chair. Her body wasn't capable of holding itself up anymore. She let her head fall down in exhaustion.

Snow fought back a snarl as he gestured for his guards to bring something in.

Or rather, someone.

The screaming is what caught Lara's attention first. Then she heard the curses. That's truly when she knew who it was.

Her head snapped out as she saw Johanna being dragged into the room. She gasped at how different the stubborn girl looked now. Her head was completely shaven, and she looked just as starved and hollow as Lara.

Lara struggled against her restraints as the guards hit Johanna to keep her contained.

"Leave her alone!" she shouted.

The guards pushed Johanna to the ground and began to kick, punch, and beat her. She shouted and whispered in pain while curling into a ball to protect herself.

Another figure was pushed into the room.

Annie.

She, too, was beaten almost as equally as Johanna. But since she was more fragile, Lara could tell Annie would not last as long.

Lara yelled out for them to stop while desperately trying to break free. Johanna cried for her friend's help, which was never given.

"Stop!" Lara screamed, "Snow, stop this! You're killing them!"

The man simply shrugged, "An acceptable loss in my book."

Lara grunted from how much effort she put into trying to reach Johanna and Annie. But both continued to suffer until the former finally begged.