"Children. Close your eyes okay? No matter what you might hear close your eyes and don't open them until either I or your parents tell you too." Mirabels voice was strained as she stood protectively in front of the four children, her three usual little buddies and her adorable Antonio as well.
The four children who only had her to protect them at the moment. Even if Dolores alerted everyone that there was something wrong going on, it would take them at least half an hour to get here at the shack in the woods. The shack that had been Mirabel's personal safe haven for when everything got to be too much. The shack that the kids had found on accident while exploring the woods.
The shack that was now under attack by these five men. These men who wanted to hold the children hostage or take Antonio for his gift. But they mentioned the gift being in his blood and how useful it would be and then had the fucking nerve to tell her to stand aside so that they could get to the kids, so that they could get to her kids.
"There's five of us and we're armed girlie. Don't make us have to kill you to get to them. Because we will." The apparent leader said looking amused at how Mirabel was staring at them in a narrowed eyed fight ready stance as she near crouched in front of the children protectively. Like a mother lion would her cubs.
"You'd better be prepared to take me down in one blow. You'd better be prepared and ready to kill me in one shot. Cause the only way you're taking these children is over my cold dead body. So leave now with your lives intact or prepare to die." Mirabel growled at them and one of the men looked a bit unnerved at that but tried to cover it up with false bravado. He stepped forward and slammed his fist into Mirabel's face, turning her head to the side with the force of the blow.
"Wrong choice." Mirabel said spitting out some blood and immediately her hands shot to the guys head and with a quick twist and some force she snapped his neck, letting him drop to the floor dead before he understood what happened.
"Who's next?" Mirabel growled as she glared darkly at the unnerved and now angry men.
"It's only one girl! Kill her and take the kids!" The leader said and her was drawing his machete when Mirabel lunged and grabbed his arm, twisting it and breaking it at the elbow and grabbing his machete in time to turn and slam it into another mans face. Two dead. Three to go. One of them slashed at Mirabel with his machete and she twisted slightly, muscles honed by years of running and dancing allowing her to move fluidly. Instead of cutting her deeply across the chest she received a not as deep gash across her back while her strong legs came up and slammed into the fifth mans groin.
He fell to the ground holding himself in pain and Mirabel had to turn and deal with the other man who was slashing and stabbing at her before she could end him. She took two more slashes, thankfully non-fatal she noticed idly, before she managed to use her short but sharp nails to dig into his throat and then rip it out with her bare hands.
Turning back to the one she broke the arm of a quick twisting of his neck had taken care of him as he tried to stand.
Squelch!
Mirabel gave a gasp of pain and she felt blood pooling in her mouth as she looked down. The final man, the one she had groin kicked, had his machete buried in her side from her back until it came out of her front. Thankfully it looked like it missed her spine and her lungs but fuck did it hurt.
Mirabel dropped to her knees with a gurgle but quickly swallowed back the blood in her mouth as the man grabbed her hands and broke them at the wrist with a sickening crunch not unlike the necks she had snapped.
"Let's see how you protect those brats now bitch. Both hands broken and a machete in your gut. You'll be dead before long and I'll be free and clear to take the brat and run." The man snarled in a voice that she was sure was a few pitches higher than it should be.
Mirabel gritted her teeth as she stumbled up to her feet, hearing the children whimper and sob from the corner they were hiding in.
"If I'm going to die..." Mirabel grunted as she stood up and she heard how Antonio started bawling at those words and she'd have to apologize to him later for it.
"Then I'm goign to take you with me!" Mirabel snarled as she lunged at the man who yelped in surprise as she slammed into him. Her hands were broken, she couldn't bend over too much or twist to use her legs. So she did the only thing she could think of.
She sunk her teeth into the mans jugular and then ripped his throat out with her teeth. She watched as the light left his eyes, as he gurgled and choked on his blood until he died a few seconds later and Maribel spat the flesh out of her mouth. She barely noticed or paid attention to the blood on her chin and lips, both hers and his.
Instead her head snapped around and she growled when she heard fast approaching foot steps. She didn't care that her pupils were blown wide at the moment, her glasses somewhere on the floor and she hoped distantly they weren't broken. She didn't care that she had a machete in the left side of her stomach and had blood on her face and hands. Hands which were broken. She didn't care about how blurry and semi-dark her vision was as she fought to remain conscious.
All she cared about were the four scared little children huddled in a corner behind her crying and sobbing and in danger. She didn't know who was about to be in the doorway of the shack that had once been her safe haven but she didn't care.
If there was any threat to the kids she'd kill them.
"Tonio! Mira!" Thankfully she managed to distantly recognize the voice through the blood pounding in her ears and she squinted at the large figure.
"L-" She coughed up some blood and heard a sharp intake of air from the doorway, "-Luisa?" Mirabel had to be sure it was her Hermana however. She knew the kids would be safe with Luisa. But if whoever was here wasn't Luisa, if whoever was here was a threat...
"It's me, Mira. It's Luisa. Dolores found me first. The others shouldn't be far behind me. Mama is coming with some arepa's...can you hang on until she gets here?" Luisa asked and Mirabel relaxed slightly, able to hear Hermana's voice better.
"Tonio...the kids...they're..." Mirabel coughed up more blood as she tried to talk, realizing that it was more difficult now for some reason. She squinted and she saw Luisa enter the shack properly and make her way closer.
"They're all right there behind you Mira. They're right there and it doesn't look like they're hurt but I need to check, okay? Can I check the kids?" Luisa asked and her voice was gentle as if she were speaking to a spooked animal.
"Get them safe," Mirabel ordered and Luisa moved towards the kids and gently led them from the shack before returning for her sister.
"They're safe now Mirabel. Now let's get you out of here, okay? Let's get you out and get you to Mama so she can give you some of her arepa's. You look like you need a few." Luisa's voice was still gentle as she moved closer to her sister who gave a snorting noise that was half choked.
"Proby. Probably.... too late for me. Safe...keep the kids...safe." Mirabel said struggling to get the words out as darkness encroached on her vision and took it over completely.
She barely heard Luisa's cry of her name as she slumped finally. Giving in to blood loss.
