SOTF Archive/SOTF Classic

Garnet was dragged over. Her shoulders hit the floor. Weight pressed down on top of her.

She choked, gasped.

Her eyes opened.

“Good morning.”

Garnet’s arm jerked. Willow’s knee pinned it down.

Willow was bleeding all over Garnet. From her mouth, from her guts, from her back.

She started to drag the tip of the shard against Garnet’s cheek.

“I’m a sore loser Garnet.” She confessed. “But I think you already knew that.”

She dug.

“Pick an eye.”

The thoughts clawed slow and sluggish. Stun gun, Willow had still—idiot, what an idiot.

Last time she got to make a mistake.

Glass dug into her face, Garnet bit down on her gasp. If, if, if all she could do was, not give her a moment’s extra satisfaction then, then she, then she wasn’t. gonna. give it.

“Eye spy—a little fucking kid.”

Hollow. She was going to make Garnet hollow. Empty her out. Willow dug her fingers below the jaw of Garnet, steadying the constantly moving head of her victim. She leaned forward, whispering sweet nothings in her ear.

“Then I guess, I’ll do both.”

Willow stabbed the shard against Garnet’s temple. Slowly, she made her way toward her eye.

Gears. Turning gears. She never broke even a single cog, in the end.

“You’re not the final boss.”

Her breath hissed, caught, flickered.

“Ygh—you’re not beating the hero.”

Blood streamed down her face.

“N-nobody’s gonna make you the villain.”

She felt it grinding, carving through flesh.

“Just another p-poor kid, c-caught up in the m-machine.”

“Shut up.”

Willow didn’t stop.

“Shut up, let me- stop. Stop it.”

She cried. For real this time. “You- you-”

“Don’t you fucking dare pity me!” She choked on both blood and pride.

“Everyone will!”

Garnet wrenched left, into the pain—Willow’s hand skidded, tore her cheekbone bare, ground up and across her temple.

Willow’s grip broke. Her knee slid off Garnet’s shoulder.

One free arm. One last shot.

Garnet brought back her elbow with all her might.

Willow didn’t have the time to talk. Her head cracked. Again. She fell to the side, away from Garnet. She gasped for air.

She coughed. Garnet moved again.

Willow screamed again.

Couldn’t think about her hip couldn’t think about her ankle couldn’t think about her face

A narrow beam of light stretched across the floor. At its edges, something glinted. Short barrel. Slim stock.

One more time. Stand up, stand—her legs gave out. She slammed to the floor again. She couldn’t. Nothing left. She couldn’t.

Clenching her teeth, she crawled for the gun.

“Get-get back here.”

More movement. She couldn’t see. There were too many stars. She stumbled toward Garnet, her fingers grazing the ground for something.

There, she found a broken piece of metal.

“We’re-we’re not done yet!”

How far?

How far back? How far to go?

Her hand passed through the light. She reached, not quite, not quite—she strained, her fingers stretched out—

She listened to the slithering of Garnet. She found her. She could feel herself growing weaker by the second.

She had to make sure nobody went home.

For Daria. And for Sierra. And for Kat. And for Roxie. For Marianne. Especially for Marianne. She had to stay out of this. Nobody had to suffer.

No-one had to anymore.

She just had to finish this.

“Please—

—caught hold

Garnet rolled onto her back, shotgun grasped. Willow, a shadowy mass, lunging—

Don’t look away.