I thrash on the floor, clawing at the hands locked around my throat. His grip is steel, crushing the air from my lungs. My claws rake across his mask, but the material is too dense to tear at this angle. Panic builds as the weight pressing me down feels hauntingly familiar.

Just as my vision starts to tunnel, I wrench one knee free and drive it hard into his lower abdomen. He grunts in pain, loos...