Changed by Time ✔

thirty-three.

0041 hours

Wendy held her position against Andrea, pushing back as she used the plated glove as a sort of shield against the knife attacks. She was able to finally push back against Andrea, causing her to fall back against one of the rocks. Wendy went in for a gut punch, landing the hit as Andrea let out a grunt.

Wendy kept her fists up in a blocking position as Andrea fought back. She switched between punching and slashing and stabbing with the knife. Wendy was sure that Andrea was going to snap her arm right into two as she kept taking the hits from the plated gloves. Regardless, she always made sure to keep her guard up against the knife.

A hit would've been debilitating. A stab was game over.

"I must say, Wendy," Andrea went in for another punch, landing it against Wendy's shoulder, "I'm quite impressed with how you're holding your own. Abigail wasn't even able to fight back and she was probably trained by the same people who trained me."

"You're only mocking because you know that I won't go down with physical attacks alone," Wendy snapped in response. She slapped away the knife with her plated glove, punching her in the chest with her bloodied hand.

Andrea cringed as she covered her chest. "A boob punch? Seriously?" She dramatically sniffled. "I couldn't be prouder."

Wendy punched her right in the nose, causing Andrea's eyes to tear up as blood began dripping down her face. "There. Now you can actually cry."

Wendy spun around, throwing her leg up as she tried kicking Andrea. Andrea grabbed her leg, throwing Wendy into the rock as she fell back down onto the ground.

Andrea sat on Wendy's stomach, pressing her knee against her ungloved arm and shoved it into the ground. Andrea held the knife above Wendy's throat, panting as she prepared herself.

"I don't want to do this," Andrea said, her voice cracking slightly. "You've left me with no choice."

"And you just left me."

Andrea raised the knife up, tears beginning to run down her cheeks. She let out a scream as she began to thrust the knife down onto her. Wendy brought up her plated hand, managing to slap the knife out of her hand just in time. The blade sliced against her cheek as it flew aside.

Andrea switched tactics instantly, throwing her hands around Wendy's neck as she began to strangle her. Wendy grabbed at Andrea's wrists, trying to pull her off. Every time she did so, Andrea would tighten her grip.

Wendy then reached up and grabbed Andrea's neck, pushing and choking her back. Andrea let go with one hand, maintaining her tight grip with the other. She reached for the knife, her fingers brushing against the handle. Wendy kept pushing back, simultaneously choking her and keeping her away from the knife.

As she kept pushing and fighting, Wendy looked back towards the direction her mother was reaching. She pulled her hand away from Andrea's neck and reached for the knife as well, realizing that if she wanted to, she could grab the knife instead.

Just past the knife, she watched as Nolan emerged from his hiding place. He no longer wore his jacket, revealing his dirtied and torn Henley shirt. The fabric from his jacket had been torn up and was tied around his left hand. Blood streamed down his arm from the knife wound Andrea brought upon him.

He certainly wasn't at full strength, but he no longer looked like death had blown upon him like a birthday candle. He was pale and looked a little sickly, most likely from a combination of the gas exposure and the blood loss. She really needed to get them out of there.

Wendy made a decision in that moment.

She slapped the end of the knife, sending if further away from the two women. Andrea turned back to her, regripping Wendy's neck as she started banging her head against the ground over and over again.