How many days had they been here now? However long, it was far, far too long for Ashley to have been holding back. She'd snapped and cried and fought, and now, when there was a bruising impact and an unbearably hot flash of pain against her ribs, Ashley finally screamed, wordlessly letting out everything she'd been holding in.
There was a smell of burning and something unpleasantly liked cooked meat. She and Grandpa didn't keep kosher, but she didn't think she could handle pork again if she was ever reminded of the smell.
When she and Sofia fell, Ashley lost her grip on the scythe again. Wouldn't be any good now anyway, not close. Instead, she let it go, and grabbed for Sofia's face with one hand and her neck with the other.
And There'll Howl No Demon Louder
-
MurderWeasel
- Posts: 3442
- Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2018 9:56 am
- Team Affiliation: Jewel's Leviathans
The pop, the kick, the flash, it was something. The smell was unspeakable. The impact was hard, but Sofia was on top, though her bracing arm took a serious knock. Her funny bone sent tingles up her left forearm, and that felt more real than the tearing in her side, if not stronger.
The flare gun fell away, yet again. It was useless now, no time to reload and there was only one flare left besides, and Sofia had thought that maybe Ashley would just stop and admit defeat, but that didn't happen at all. There was a grim pride in that, though; Sebbo had gotten his ass handed to him for a reason. Ashley was tough, dirty, even now clawing at Sofia's face and neck. Fingernails scratched around Sofia's eyes and cheeks, but her makeshift bandanna was proving an improbable tactical advantage, offering some measure of protection and making it harder for Ashley to get purchase; there was some blood on Sofia's face, but not a lot.
Her throat, now that was a different story. She thought little of it at first, figured Ashley was just scrambling for purchase, but for an instant her breath caught and she didn't know if she was being choked or not but that brought a roiling panic, brought thoughts of a noose, and fitting it may have been, but all wrong all the same. She wasn't ready. She was scared, and desperate, and that made her strong.
It took a while to suffocate. She just had to be sure Ashley couldn't keep a hold that long.
Sofia grabbed for the girl's face with her good hand. She feinted for the eyes, to draw Ashley's focus for a second, but her real goal was control of the girl's forehead. Sofia grasped, grabbed, squeezed, and tried to knock Ashley's head back against the ground, again and again, thrashing and throwing all her weight into it. That would loosen the girl's grip. It had to.
The flare gun fell away, yet again. It was useless now, no time to reload and there was only one flare left besides, and Sofia had thought that maybe Ashley would just stop and admit defeat, but that didn't happen at all. There was a grim pride in that, though; Sebbo had gotten his ass handed to him for a reason. Ashley was tough, dirty, even now clawing at Sofia's face and neck. Fingernails scratched around Sofia's eyes and cheeks, but her makeshift bandanna was proving an improbable tactical advantage, offering some measure of protection and making it harder for Ashley to get purchase; there was some blood on Sofia's face, but not a lot.
Her throat, now that was a different story. She thought little of it at first, figured Ashley was just scrambling for purchase, but for an instant her breath caught and she didn't know if she was being choked or not but that brought a roiling panic, brought thoughts of a noose, and fitting it may have been, but all wrong all the same. She wasn't ready. She was scared, and desperate, and that made her strong.
It took a while to suffocate. She just had to be sure Ashley couldn't keep a hold that long.
Sofia grabbed for the girl's face with her good hand. She feinted for the eyes, to draw Ashley's focus for a second, but her real goal was control of the girl's forehead. Sofia grasped, grabbed, squeezed, and tried to knock Ashley's head back against the ground, again and again, thrashing and throwing all her weight into it. That would loosen the girl's grip. It had to.
Once, twice, and then there was a real crack the third time that Ashley's head hit the ground, and she didn't keep count after that. There were no words between them anymore, just grunts and growls.
Ashley's one hand moved from Sofia's face to her hair, yanking hard, trying to pull her back, but she couldn't put as much force into it as she wanted to. Her hand wasn't moving quite right, fingers not really responding.
Crack.
Something was wrong, and if Ashley hadn't already been furious and fighting for her life, the realization would have terrified her. She could hardly see, and now her hands weren't working. Everything was red, but the edges were wavering and gray spots popped in and out of existence.
Crack.
Morton. He'd gone down with barely a fight, just closed his eyes and let go. She wasn't going to do that. It didn't matter who she was fighting. Sofia, Sebbo, Morton, Victoria, the entire United Goddamn States of America. Ashley was nobody's bitch.
Crack.
She wasn't really choking Sofia anymore, but she dug her nails in as hard as she could anyway and felt what she hoped was blood.
Crack.
Everything hurt in ways she'd never experienced, never imagined, but Ashley didn't let go until everything went black.
Her heart would stop beating later. Her conscious mind died screaming and spitting blood, and in her last lucid moments, Ashley felt alive.
F05 ASHLEY PONTECORVO: DECEASED
Ashley's one hand moved from Sofia's face to her hair, yanking hard, trying to pull her back, but she couldn't put as much force into it as she wanted to. Her hand wasn't moving quite right, fingers not really responding.
Crack.
Something was wrong, and if Ashley hadn't already been furious and fighting for her life, the realization would have terrified her. She could hardly see, and now her hands weren't working. Everything was red, but the edges were wavering and gray spots popped in and out of existence.
Crack.
Morton. He'd gone down with barely a fight, just closed his eyes and let go. She wasn't going to do that. It didn't matter who she was fighting. Sofia, Sebbo, Morton, Victoria, the entire United Goddamn States of America. Ashley was nobody's bitch.
Crack.
She wasn't really choking Sofia anymore, but she dug her nails in as hard as she could anyway and felt what she hoped was blood.
Crack.
Everything hurt in ways she'd never experienced, never imagined, but Ashley didn't let go until everything went black.
Her heart would stop beating later. Her conscious mind died screaming and spitting blood, and in her last lucid moments, Ashley felt alive.
F05 ASHLEY PONTECORVO: DECEASED
-
MurderWeasel
- Posts: 3442
- Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2018 9:56 am
- Team Affiliation: Jewel's Leviathans
It worked.
A final smack, and Ashley went limp. Sofia rolled clear, coughing, throat burning inside and out. She brought her hand up to it and her fingers came away damp, but that wasn't important. It was a minor thing, trivial compared to the throbbing in her side. Her blazer jacket was already darkening with a spreading splotch of blood. The adrenaline kept her moving for now, but she could feel herself twisting inside in ways she shouldn't have with every movement. This was bad, really bad.
She glared down at Ashley, then moved around, quickly gathering the girl's things. The blade of the spear was liberally coated in red, and Sofia wiped it on the fallen girl's shirt, then nudged her with its non-pointy end.
Ashley didn't move. Sofia's frown deepened. She was just down for the count, right? Just out for a while. Okay, that was bad without medical attention, but Ashley had earned her concussion or mild brain damage or whatever. She did not currently seem to be choking on her or tongue or vomiting blood, so she'd keep. Sofia just wanted out.
"We should go," she called to Sebbo. She had, she realized, kind of been tuning him out there. It was hard to focus on more than one thing at a time. It was hard to focus on anything. It was hard to walk straight, even.
"I think I need to sit down and get patched up," she continued.
That was understating the situation quite a bit. Sofia probably should've felt afraid, but she didn't. She didn't feel much of anything as she set off down the street at random, glancing behind her to make sure Sebbo was following but a second later unsure he actually was.
((Sofia Chiles continued in Stand And Deliver))
A final smack, and Ashley went limp. Sofia rolled clear, coughing, throat burning inside and out. She brought her hand up to it and her fingers came away damp, but that wasn't important. It was a minor thing, trivial compared to the throbbing in her side. Her blazer jacket was already darkening with a spreading splotch of blood. The adrenaline kept her moving for now, but she could feel herself twisting inside in ways she shouldn't have with every movement. This was bad, really bad.
She glared down at Ashley, then moved around, quickly gathering the girl's things. The blade of the spear was liberally coated in red, and Sofia wiped it on the fallen girl's shirt, then nudged her with its non-pointy end.
Ashley didn't move. Sofia's frown deepened. She was just down for the count, right? Just out for a while. Okay, that was bad without medical attention, but Ashley had earned her concussion or mild brain damage or whatever. She did not currently seem to be choking on her or tongue or vomiting blood, so she'd keep. Sofia just wanted out.
"We should go," she called to Sebbo. She had, she realized, kind of been tuning him out there. It was hard to focus on more than one thing at a time. It was hard to focus on anything. It was hard to walk straight, even.
"I think I need to sit down and get patched up," she continued.
That was understating the situation quite a bit. Sofia probably should've felt afraid, but she didn't. She didn't feel much of anything as she set off down the street at random, glancing behind her to make sure Sebbo was following but a second later unsure he actually was.
((Sofia Chiles continued in Stand And Deliver))