thearena | A choice gets made

Sandy wasn't even breathing hard yet, running away was her specialty.

In fact she was running slower to stick close to Pruna and Clementine. The old Sandy would have abandoned them.

The old Sandy May be completely dead at this point.

"They're coming on the left too!" She yelped pointing ahead as another pack of grabby and aggressive room as came into view.

"I am!" Clementine huffed, with all the experience of someone for whom running for your life was a near daily occurrence where she came from. She's not trying to talk too much, focusing on breathing and not falling behind. There had been no way she'd have thought before such harmless looking little robots could be such a danger but like with everything the Capitol seemed to make they apparently had sharp teeth.

When Sandy yelled out in warning she gasped but thought quickly, "Crap! This way!" they had no choice but to veer in a new direction, heading towards where the escalators to the ground floor were located.

Pruna's probably the worse runner of the three but it didn't stop her shouting at them. She darted in the new direction, glancing behind her at the roombas. "Why do there be being so fucking many."

She glanced ahead again and frowned as she saw the escalator, her head darted left to right as she tried to find another way to escape.

Sandy put on a burst of speed to grab at a trash can, tipping it over as soon as Pruna had passed it. But the Roombas would not be slowed down for long apparently.

More Roomba's appeared up ahead, blocking them from continuing past the escalator. They only had one direction left to go, down the ominous escalator.

"Uh..." Sandy skid to a stop looking unsure having seen first hand how dangerous the things could be. "Maybe we can climb down it..."

"There weren't before!" Clementine used her bat to hit one aside out of their path. It seemed like the little machines had vastly multiplied in the last week, stepping up from a harmless annoyance into a real threat.

Her teeth gritted she looked at the other two girls, "I don't think we have a choice." she felt something tug on the back of her pant leg and Clem looked back and down sharply, "Hey! Get off!" one of the roombas had snuck up and was sucking up the fabric of her jeans.

"Of course we do no be having." Choices were rare things in Pruna's experience. She turned at Clementines shout and kicked the roomba hard, sensing it skittering away. She reached out to grab Clementine's hand to pull her along further out of range.

"If we do be sticking to the sides it might be being alright."

Sandy swallowed hard and grasped the hand railing of the escalator putting her foot out to touch the moving stairs. As soon as she applied pressure the hand railing dragged her out and the stairs crumpled away revealing twisting, grinding gears below. Sandy let out a cry of panic and her legs milled in mid air while she pawed wildly grabbing hold of the floor and tiles to keep from falling.

This situation was going from bad to worse. If Pruna and Clementine turned to help her the Roomba's would grab them. If they fought the Roomba's Sandy would be on her own.

"Crapcrapcrapcrap!"

Gratefully Clementine latched onto Pruna and let herself be pulled along, "Thanks!" she panted, using the bat to shove another enterprising roomba back away from them. "We could--"

She cuts off as Sandy cries out, Clementine turns and see's what's happening with shock rippling across her features. "Sandy, hold on!"

The roombas seemed to take this as an opportunity, moving even more aggressively closer at the other two girls. Clem hits hard at every single one she could, she knows this sort of situation but with Walkers in place of the little robots, she knows exactly how bad it is. "Ow!" one rams into her leg, "Pruna, grab her, I'll hold them off!"

If Pruna can just pull Sandy off the escalator maybe they still have a chance to get out of this alive together.

"Do no be letting go." Pruna shouted at Sandy, she kicked at another roomba and tried to make her way over to Sandy, climbing was something Pruna could do. Like running was the strength of Sandy and Clementine, Pruna had been climbing on the roofs of the streets around since she was too small to remember.

She clambered up on to the railing and reached out to Sandy. "Be grabbing me."

Only by her daily training was Sandy able to keep a grip with one hand while reaching with the other. Her fingers groped at the air and her arm trembled with the effort while her legs continued to lash out trying to find something to push off of. Her body swung back and forth over the grinding clinking gears below.

She couldn't scream out for help. She wouldn't even cry. She just focused all she could on Pruna's hand and for just a moment the constant noise in her head fell silent.

Their fingers brushed together in vain.

Clementine whacked roomba after roomba with her bat, waiting for Pruna or Sandy to yell that they were safely up. She didn't dare take her eyes off the swarm of little robots for a second, dodging as lightly on her feet as she could at their little charges.

Unfortunately, her defensive stance seemed to be getting more of their attention, despite the vulnerability of the two girls on the escalator the one hitting them seemed of more interest. So despite her efforts Clementine found herself being back towards the escalators too. "Hurry!"

Pruna took a deep breath and reached down further, trying to grab Sandy, she glanced to the side to see Clementine being pushed back. "Be climbing." She shouted to the other girl. "Be hurrying."

She tried to grab Sandy again.

Sandy let out a grunt of effort and pulled as hard as she could with her clinging hand. Her arms trembled and her grasping hand found Pruna's clutching desperately, squeezing as tight as her sweaty palm would allow.

Casting another glance below her she slowed her legs kicking to try and make it easier for Pruna to haul her back up.

"Oh God..." Clementine says as more of them gang up on her, she's backing faster now as they rush at her legs, try to catch the hem of her jeans and shoelaces. Before she knows it she's right beside Sandy and Pruna at the top of the escalator.

Relief floods her as Pruna gets Sandy up but it's short lived, "There's too many." she said, then yelps as a roomba strikes her ankle and she feels blood start to soak into the fabric of her pants. In trying to avoid it she's close to overbalancing herself.

"Then be climbing!". Pruna felt relieved when she finally pulled Sandy up and she leaned over to swing her ice skate at one of the roombas. It wasn't very effective.

"Be hurrying." She reached out to grab Clementine.

Sandy too lunged to snag Clementine and unfortunately was struck from behind by a Roomba as well sending the two girls tumbling over the edge.

The gears ground and clanked under their feet as Sandy looked up in apologetic and fear at Pruna. Now she was the only girl of the three with her feet on solid ground and the odds were quickly rising that she would abandon both of them and save herself. It was the most reasonable move after all.

"Try and get up high, they little monsters can't climb like we can." She shouted full expecting a flip in her stomach and horrible pain in the next few moments.

Clementine yelped fearfully as the roomba struck them and she felt herself fall. Her hands flailed out and managed to grab the ledge, the sharp metal there cut into her fingers and made her grip slippery as her heart pounded in her chest.

Oh God, oh God!

"Pruna, help us!" she said, reflexively, a counterpoint to Sandy's exclamation for Pruna to run. Clementine didn't want to die here, this way, she didn't want any of them to!

For a moment it did look like Pruna was going to scarper, her eyes flickered from Sandy to Clementine and back again...

She couldn't leave them. Her legs wouldn't move even though that was the sensible thing to do. They were stuck to the rail and it was her hands that moved, stretching down to try and grab the two girls.

"Be grabbing on. Be hurrying!" The roombas were still there and the metal teeth below looked hungry.

Sandy's fingers were already white from the tightness of her grip. In stark contrast her face was turning red from the effort as she put all of her strength into her right arm and reached with her left. The arm was shaking and her fingers groping on air as she felt pain shooting through her shoulder.

People never really understand how hard it is to just hang off of something till they try it with one hand. Somewhere in the back of her head she heard Shepard yelling at her to dig deep and push harder!

Sweaty, slick fingers curled around Pruna's hand and squeezed as tight as they dared. Suddenly Sandy's weight was half on Pruna which was a relief for Sandy's arm...but probably not for Pruna.

Clementine is glad to see Sandy pulled to safety but all the while her own grip is growing more strained, her knucles turned nearly white with the effort of holding on and she can still feel herself slipping.

The sound of gears somehow grows louder and more terrifying by the second in her perception. Her own panicked breathing and small gasps of fear are drowned out by their relentless grinding.

"I can't hold on much longer!" she calls up urgently.

Pruna reached down again and grabbed Clementine, holding her tightly to keep her away from the metal teeth.

But Sandy's weight is on her and it makes all three of them slip down further. Sandy started slipping again and Pruna didn't have enough hands. Soon they were all going to fall into the metal teeth and this would all be over.

She closed her eyes and slammed into the emptiness, it made everything easier. Sandy was almost at the top, Clementine was still dragging them down and now Pruna was almost falling as well. They needed momentum, they needed to get onto the rail. She wasn't strong enough to pull them both up, and she was slipping further down.

She let go of Clementine, let go and kicked her in the chest hard, hoping it would be enough for the girl to let go of Pruna's wrist and to give Pruna the momentum needed to grab hold of the rail and pull herself and Sandy up.

The sound of little girls yelling and screaming is one that travels quite far. Dave recognises Pruna and Sandy's voices but, more importantly, he can hear Clem. He ditches what he's doing quickly, sprinting through the mall as fast as he can so he happens upon the scene almost breathless.

"Be careful of the- Shit." His expression hardens when he witnesses that little moment of betrayal and he throws himself lurches in desperation, despite knowing there's fuck all he can do to help her at this point. He's just standing there like a chump.

"Clem, no!" It's probably the loudest he's yelled in his whole life, a pained look on his face when he watches her fall before he forces himself to turn away from the scene. Not that it matters much when he glances back, palling as much as someone as white as he can and resisting the urge to dry heave. That was nasty and she deserved better. It seems wrong to try attack some kids, even if it's for revenge, but little does he know- Mindy is on the approach as well.

For a moment she thinks they're going to be alright. Then Pruna starts to slide forward and Clementine feels the bottom of her stomach drop out in realisation that this time things won't be okay after all..

Or maybe that's the impact of the foot on her chest, breaking her grip on Pruna's wrist.

For a moment she feels like she's floating before the realisation catches up with her that she's falling, that Pruna kicked her down. Clementine only has time to let out a short scream before her body impacts on the gears.

From there at least it's mercifully quick.

The last few days have been a blow to Mindy's pride, in more ways than one. Failed to kill the fucking bastard that offed Hotaru. Check. Failed to find out what even the fuck killed Chibi Usa, the WHOLE reason she kept her murdering self tethered, if only to make sure she didn't traumatize the girl or bring unwanted attention their way. Naturally, she;d be looking for Clementine, and so she did her best to check on the people she knew WERE around to see if they knew. Save, she remembered, had a relationship with the girl, so first moment she saw him, she went for the guy, hoping to ask if he saw Clementine...and a moment later, she got her answer.

Everything moved in slow motion: there was Sandy, needing help, and there was Pruna, lifting the girl up, but throwing Clementine down. CLEM. The girl who did her best to live through this bullshit, who was supposed to have her out but was denied it. Clementine, who would have never attacked first, who was that cute kid people wanted around, not Mindy (not that she blamed them). One more friend, dead. Left by her and dying as a result.

Dave could scream for Clementine, but not Mindy. She didn't wait to be sad, because this was how you wasted time talking and then dying. She was mangled, cut up and in pain thinking about how many deaths she let happen on her watch.

So she was doe with words. She flew toward Pruna, knife in hand and a snarl on her lips. If she killed Clem's killer, it'd be her where she ought to be. Not saving, but using what she knew: killing quick and effortlessly, without mercy.

No regret now. Regret was for pussies.

Everything had happened so fast!

Sandy had only just looked to Clem in time to see Pruna kick her square in the chest. The impact was so much that even Sandy felt winded just looking at it.

She was stunned in horror for a moment at the sound of a body being ground up by gears. It started as a shredding but ended with a crunch. The unforgiving steel easily overpowered her bones.

Then there was shouting and suddenly Mindy was racing towards them as they continued to hang perilously on the edge of the crumbling escalator. Was she coming to help?

No...no the look in her eyes was one of murder and madness. It was a look Sandy had come to know well from her time in the arena. For a moment Sandy felt fear and looked to Pruna who clearly had her hands full keeping them from falling to their death.

"Hey! Hey stop! Stay back!" Sandy shouted to Mindy trying to snap her out of her bloodlust. She kicked and scrambled with her feet to gain some leverage and try to get a better grip on the railing so Pruna could defend herself.

Why did Mindy have to lose her mind right now!?

They were close to the bottom now, luckily the railing moved downwards as well. Pruna wrapped her arms around Sandy tightly and jumped the last few feet to the safe ground below. The moment they touched down she let go of Sandy and dived forwards to meet Sandy, ice skate swinging around towards Mindy.

She wasn't angry like Sandy, she was still in the emptiness. There were no feelings at all. She was vaguely aware of the boy, Dave, screaming, and Sandy shouting for Mindy to stop. But her focus was on Mindy and she held the other ice skate like a blade in her hand, slashing out at the older girl.

Damn, it's going to take a lot of something to burn that image from his mind. Unlike Mindy, Dave holds back and watches the girls as they descend. It's rather like a cat watching mice, even if he's not sure he could ever kill for kill, he's at the point where he might do some punching.

As it happens, he barely even needs to consider that. Mindy blurs past him and he lets out a sound of exasperation, watching after her and turning away again at the sight of Clem's blood and remains. When he talks, he's looking to the side.

"Let them get down, Mindy." He calls out. "I could do without seeing another person turn into a pinata." He shouldn't buy them time, not when Pruna is attacking, but the request is genuine. That was a gross death.

An ice skate is not a knife, but it will do in a pinch. Mindy knows that, and just as well knows how to avoid a knife and how to wield one. Her dad had gotten her a balisong for her birthday for shit's sake. So countering her knife with an ice skate is only buying time for Pruna, in Mindy's versus mode right now.

Yes, she knows she's fighting in full on retribution mode, and right now she doesn't care. That was her friend there, and she was pushed to her death. She couldn't get her back, and that was another death on her head. Sure she could be brought back, sure you weren't SUPPOSED to take the dying seriously. But Mindy had, always, in the back of her head. What was more, she could accept her own death, but someone under her watch, not so much.

She didn't want Sandy to die, that much was plain in her eyes. It was Pruna, who killed her friend, that had Mindy's attention. She was going to shoe Pruna exactly how quickly her hands could work with a knife, and she'd start by ridding Pruna of that skate, using the knife to knock it out her hand.

Sandy stumbled when Pruna let her go and flailed her arms to make sure she wouldn't fall backward into the bloody gears.

Seeing the girls rush at one another destroyed any sense of relief she had at not being dead.

"Stop it! Both of you!" She barked as anger began to boil up inside her. Hadn't enough blood been spilled today?

If Pruna had not been in the emptiness then Sandy's voice would have gotten through, would have made her pause. But she was focused. All that mattered was Mindy, her target.

Dave's voice did not register, neither did Sandy's. Clementine's death had been tactically sound, Mindy was attacking now and she was the focus, she had a knife. Pruna didn't. Pruna knew how well trained Mindy was, they had fought before, Mindy had beaten Pruna.

But she wouldn't this time. Pruna darted forward to close the distance and kicked, aiming for just under Mindy's knees.

The fact that the girls probably have no intention of listening to him is frustrating, but he isn't surprised. He'll circle them carefully, his hand lingering near his saber as he tries to approach Sandy.

"No, that's cool. Ignore me. Kill each other, that'll solve all your fucking problems." He grumbles loudly, mostly to himself before he glances up to Sandy and reluctantly holds out his arms. He needs to swallow hard when he catches sight of the blood and gore, so he focuses on her face. "You need a hand down before saddle club reject back there turns you into mincemeat too?" It would be wrong not to offer.

Yeah Dave, that was exactly what she was going to do. Mindy had more than enough reason to be pushed to the edge right now, and a weapon coming for her put her in the zone, where she needed to be. Pruna was no pushover, and from the look on her face, she was where Mindy was too.

Which was why Mindy knew, advancing, that she'd leave herself open to a lower body attack: she counted on it. Shifting your body out when someone could easily fuck up your lower base was elementary. An idiot certainly would have fallen for it, hell, if she'd been more out of her head, she could too.

But Mindy was not the type to just let an attack fly on her. When Pruna bent down, the knife changed hands in the blind of an eye, and even as Pruna bent to kick, Mindy took the hit and then the knife was in her right hand in a swinging slash motion just as quick to pierce the leg.

Edited 2014-10-05 20:54 (UTC)

Sandy hesitated at Dave's offer before inching closer and letting him help her down. Her body was stiff as a board and she looked like she was repressing a scream.

Once she had two feet on the ground she stumbled away from him and muttered a shaky "Thanks, I'm Sandy by the way." before turning her attention to the girls.

"Mindy stop!" She tried again in vain.

But the two were already deep into their battle now and Sandy had an annoying suspicion that neither of them would stop till they were forced.

"Damnit Mindy." She grumbled and scanned the area looking for a tool to try and separate them.

The knife went in, a flicker of pain on the outside of the emptiness, enough for her to know it would hurt when she let it go. The all too familiar sensation of blood on skin.

She brings the ice skate up again, this time aiming for Mindy's face, trying to drive her backwards, to buy time to evaluate how damaged her leg was.

There's something weirdly endearing about the fact that Sandy feels the need to introduce herself after having her ass saved, but Dave can't properly appreciate that right now. He's mostly glad that he didn't have to see another kid get shredded and he's almost enthusiastic about involving himself in splitting up this fight and not thinking about Clem and letting that get to him.

"HEY!" He calls out in his most aggressive voice, it isn't one he takes out of the box much because he really doesn't like to lose his cool, but he'll be damned if he's watching more girl slaughter. His hand is hovering over his saber and he glances toward Sandy, edging back toward her. "Got any bright ideas?"

OH NO. Mindy had had it up to HERE with people fucking going for her face in this fucking Arena! It was bad enough she couldn't see and had to compensate, but she had that fucking brand to contend with too. If Pruna was going for her face she was going to be inciting Mindy at full wrath.

Vaguely she hears Sandy calling her name and grimaces. Of COURSE she'd be backing Pruna, it didn't matter Clementine died because she fucking pushed her. But it DID matter to Mindy, who was at least going to get the satisfaction of making Clem's killer pay.

She shifted herself away from the skate but came back a moment later with her knife again, not to back from her attack now.

Even IF the latest wound was bleeding more than she wanted.

"I wouldn't say it's a bright one." She muttered and pointed at a large trash bin that had been knocked over.

"Throw that at them. I'm too small to get my arms around it." Half of her was just irritated that the girls had started in the first place. Mindy had instigated it but Pruna was participating and neither of them could stop themselves until the other was dead.

"Just try to aim it between them...and don't knock them back towards the escalator." Though of course that should go without saying.

"Since those two are being such IDIOTS!" She shouted the last part out of irritation.

"It's as good as it's gonna get." He agrees, keeping his voice low now. If they're going to ignore him yelling at them, they can get hit in the butt with a bin. He rolls the sleeves of his shirt up, sparing a moment to flex before he strolls over to the bin and drags it back with him.

"Time to take the trash out." Heheh, he's so witty. He hurls the bin toward the fighting girls in the hopes that it knocks them over. If he happens to be aiming a little more for Pruna, that's purely a coincidence. Yep.

The ice skate came up again, blocking once more. Anger was crashing at the sides of the emptiness, not getting in but close. Anger at Mindy, anger at the whole situation. Anger at Sandy when she heard her shouting, Pruna wasn't an idiot. She pushed it away, and concentrated on the fight.

Right until something large and metal rushed right at her, hitting her square in the head and sending her flying. She crashed to the floor, tumbling backwards and landing in a heap before trying to get up, trying to get her bearings before Mindy took advantage.

She was making sure she was aware of everything, even off conversation happening around her, but her focus was on Pruna, and doing what needed to be done. The bitch had taken out her friend and done it without a care in the world. She was livid and still smarting from the deaths of her friends. All of this was wrong and she wanted to do right, at least. To redeem herself.

Then she stupidly STUPIDLY glanced at Sandy.

Fuck, just, what the fuck did she have to do that for? She was supposed to turn this shit off, and there was a trash can flying and knocking Pruna off her ass. It was perfect timing, all she had to do was finish the job. Get the revenge.

And there was Sandy. Who had paid her dues and got nothing. Who had been tortured and ravaged and brought to a mess. Who lost as much as her, maybe more, and the only small thing she had was this fucking murdering girl. She was owed more than this. Was she going to go after her girlfriend and kill her, and feel good saying "well, you shouldn't have fucking went after my friend?"

No. Mindy'd hand were not clean. She murdered Shion. She'd killed Pruna before. She'd killed Sandy. Did she really want to be like these people, some asshole that killed and justified it with some bullshit reasoning?

Mindy turned to the two of them.

"That joke was fucking terrible Dave. And your girlfriend's a fucking bitch, Sandy."

She sighed, and lowered the knife. "Fuck it. I'm leaving."

Sandy winced when she saw the can collide with Pruna's head and the girl knocked off her feet. Instinct and a flash of hot rage found her mercilessly slamming her pointy little elbow into Dave's poor unsuspecting belly.

"I said aim between them you idiot!" She admonished in a aggravated tone before scampering over to see if Pruna had a concussion. On the way she caught Mindy's words of concession from the battle and rolled her eyes.

"You're just as bad as she is and you know it."

Finally she got to Pruna and positioned herself between Pruna and the others in case the little assassin wasn't quite ready to give up the battle.

This entire situation was a screwed up mess and Sandy couldn't help but wonder if Clementine hadn't gotten the easy way out.

While Dave had hoped that the can would lay more damage on Pruna than Mindy, he hadn't precisely intended for it to hit her in the head like that. He can't really care too much when it seems to have gone as planned, so he's dusting off his hands when Sandy elbows him hard in the stomach. The surprise of it is enough to knock the wind out of him for a moment, forcing him to brace against the wall for a moment and giving Mindy time to escape his line of vision entirely.

"What the fuck?" He spits out at Sandy, straightening up even though she's scampering off to her friend's side. "Oh boohoo, sorry that your shitstain of a murder pal got smacked in the face with a bin. Have my sincere fucking apologies in the form of some lively hand gestures." He flips them off. A lot.

"Fuckin' bye." He turns his back on the girls, wasting no time striding out of the scene and away from it all so he can properly feel bad about Clem and not worry about kid drama.

Pruna was trying to get up, angry that Mindy got the last word, that Dave had hit her and stopped the fight. But she couldn't fight Sandy, couldn't hurt Sandy and so the moment she got in front of her she stopped, ice skate coming down to her side. She didn't even return the gestures Dave was making, just glared at him over Sandy's shoulder, she would get revenge on him and Mindy. They were both stupid heads.

Once he left her glare fell onto Sandy, "And do you be being mad with me as well?"

Sandy's face was a scowl which melted away into exhaustion.

"No, you did what you had to to save my life." She conceded and gently put her arms around Pruna curling her fingers in the girls shirt in a desperate hug. Sandy gave a slight shiver.

"If Mindy and Dave couldn't see that then they're idiots." She added trying to justify the whole thing to herself and failing miserably.

She wanted to be mad at Pruna but how could she? Mindy would have attacked her anyway. And Pruna defended herself as anyone should have expected her to.

It was just another depressing example of Pruna's ruthless sense of logic.

Pruna nodded, she had done, she had stopped Sandy from dying and Dave and Mindy were stupid head idiots. Her arms faltered for a moment and then she wrapped them around Sandy in return, hugging back just as desperately. Sandy was safe, it was alright. She would just have to avoid Mindy and Dave, two more people who definitely wanted to kill her now, instead of just probably wanting to kill her.

After a moment of hugging she let go, walking over to where the escalator was. The body, or remains of the body, hadn't been removed yet. They would have to leave before it was. The sight didn't seem to bother Pruna, she had seen worse. She crouched down, "May the gods be watching over you Clementine." As an assassin she used to pray over every kill, but now, here after the first arena she had stopped. Her gods didn't work here and when everyone just woke up again it seemed weird. But it felt right here. "And may your soul be being reborn in darkness."

She realised as she stood up that in her shock and confusion she had never prayed for her sister, she hoped someone had. Kant maybe. She turned to walk away, Sandy was free to follow her or not.

Sandy watched in stunned silence. She had never seen Pruna say those words over someone she had killed in the arena. She couldn't remember Pruna showing any kind of regret over a victim before.

With her stomach twisted in knots and one last bitter glance at the blood soaked gears of the escalator, Sandy made to follow Pruna away from this place. It would be another long quiet night for the two of them likely.

A choice gets made

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