Changed by Time ✔

thirty-four.

0113 hours

Wendy stared down Andrea, her eyes flicking from her face to the knife. She knew that there were only two ways this would end – she was not going to like either of them.

Andrea attacked first, lurching forward as she swiped at Wendy. She sliced Wendy's stomach, only cutting the fabric and barely missing her skin. Wendy grabbed Andrea's wrist, reaching past her as she used her ungloved hand to manage a nasty right hook.

Andrea recovered quickly, grabbing Wendy as the two women fell to the ground. Andrea was on top, pushing the knife down as she tried to stab Wendy in the chest. Wendy pushed back, eventually managing to punch her in the throat again.

Wendy pushed Andrea off of her, practically throwing herself towards the knife. She grabbed the handle, fighting with Andrea. Wendy tried to pull it out of harm's way while Andrea kept trying to stab her.

The knife began twisting between them, the direction of the blade beginning to waver as Wendy's hands began to shake from exhaustion. Andrea reached up and grabbed Wendy's shoulder, pulling her closer.

The blade sliced through the skin, blood already beginning to pool out as it soaked both their clothes. Wendy rolled over, falling onto her back as she laid next to Andrea. She looked down at herself, placing her hands on the red splotch on her jumpsuit.

She raised her hands to reveal her blood-stained skin, but she felt no pain. She looked over to Andrea, watching as she coughed up some blood. Sticking out of her chest was the knife.

0117 hours

Wendy simply stared at the knife for a moment, processing what just happened. She hadn't even realized when the knife did a full 180 to turn the blade onto Andrea. She didn't intend for that to happen, yet it did.

Nolan ran down from where he was, falling to his knees as he landed next to Wendy. He grabbed her shoulders and helped her up. "Are you okay? What happened?"

She said nothing, simply staring at the knife sticking out of Andrea's chest. Nolan followed her gaze, his eyes widening as he saw the sight. Andrea slowly turned her head to them, coughing some more blood as she said, "Now you won't have anyone to take revenge on... Not even yourself..."

"Mom..." Wendy simply replied, her lip trembling. Her hands shook as Andrea took one of them, holding it weakly. "But I... I..."

"Be good." Andrea looked back down at her chest, grabbing the handle of the blade as she tore the knife from her chest. She let out a strained gasp as her hand fell limp, the blade resting on her stomach.

Nolan slipped in front of Wendy, wrapping his arms around her as he held her in a tight embrace. He said nothing as she stared at Andrea. She didn't move as he tightened his grip on her, still careful as they were both in pain from their respective fights.

Wendy wasn't sure what to think. She knew this was one of the outcomes of the fight, she just didn't want to believe it. She always assumed her parents were dead from the moment they left, only for her mother to return miraculously and reveal that she never died.

She had her mother back. Had.

She felt nothing at the moment, not even sadness at watching her take her last breath. Nolan pulled back, brushing a piece of hair away from her face as he said, "We need to get out of here, Wendy. We really do."

He stood up and pulled her to her feet. She kept her eyes on Andrea, slowly falling to the knife.

Nolan began to walk back towards the entrance. "I think we could use the supplies in the bag Abigail's crew used to get down here. Maybe there's even another entrance we can go after—" He cut himself off as he realized that she wasn't following him.

He turned back towards Wendy. She just stared down at Andrea with her hands limp at her sides. She eventually kneeled down, pressing her fingertips against Andrea's eyelids as she slowly closed them. She took the knife off Andrea, wiping the blood off on her jumpsuit. She stood back up and placed the knife in the sheath.

"Wendy?"

Wendy turned towards the golden pool, simply staring at it. She let out a scream, one that Nolan didn't know that she could even unleash. She fell to her knees, pounding her fist into the ground at the edge of the pool. She leaned forward, pressing her face against the ground as she began to cry.

Nolan ran back over, kneeling next to her as he said, "Wendy, it's going to be okay. It really is."

"I know that!" she shouted back, whipping her head up to look at him. "That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt now!" She stopped herself as she saw his face.

She'd only seen the expression he made only once before.

It was in the months leading up to her and Katie getting together. Wendy finally accepted that her parents weren't coming back and the devastation set in. Katie was there to comfort her but at the time, Wendy was inconsolable.

It just hurt.

Wendy ended up yelling at Katie during her breakdown. The look on her face was almost the exact same to the one on Nolan's face. She'd never felt so guilty so quickly.

"I'm sorry," she said, leaning into Nolan as he wrapped his arms around her. "I shouldn't have yelled at you."

"It's alright, I know you didn't mean it." He rubbed her back up and down, simply there for her.

Wendy wasn't sure how long they sat there. She just knew that it was time to leave.

She pulled back from Nolan, rubbing her reddened eyes with the back of her hand. She stood up and turned towards the golden pool, staring at her reflection in it.

"Mom was wrong... I can take revenge for her death." She turned towards Nolan. "Do you still have that extra stick of dynamite?"