Except now the loud wailing in her human ears, the sudden presence of the second gun that she didn't see, and now the sudden flash of another influence in her mind have stalled her for too long. Green eyes meet red, and now the lightning-fast computation has slowed, curling in on itself as it tries to root out whatever is there, trying to free itself, getting caught up.
Which is the point where the bullets bite into flesh, that tiny fraction of pause, and now he's shooting wildly and there is blood coming from her shoulder and a graze on her arm and one of her ribs is aching like a hammer just pounded it in and then -- crack -- one of them gets her in the jaw.
The force of the shot throws her head back, and where the head goes, the body follows. Flecks of blood and bone fly out as it the bullet whittles the side of her face to a raw edge, tearing open her cheek and chin and landing somewhere in the lower part of her skull.
She lies back on the ground, vision pulsing and pounding as her brain tries frantically to shut down the pain, but it's not particularly possible; the human reactions have overwhelmed her.
She can still speak, but it hurts like being shot all over again just to move her jaw. She tries to move, but now it's away from him.
Then it hits her: he has her, if he wants.
Humans. Not again. Never again. Why...why did I? I said I...I...I don't...I...
No. No, she...did do that, didn't she? The City, the human body, all of it is getting to her. And now all she can hear is the ticking noise, and as she reaches up to try to cover the bleeding from her face, she activates the distress beacon that she programmed in the moment she arrived in the City...]
action;
Except now the loud wailing in her human ears, the sudden presence of the second gun that she didn't see, and now the sudden flash of another influence in her mind have stalled her for too long. Green eyes meet red, and now the lightning-fast computation has slowed, curling in on itself as it tries to root out whatever is there, trying to free itself, getting caught up.
Which is the point where the bullets bite into flesh, that tiny fraction of pause, and now he's shooting wildly and there is blood coming from her shoulder and a graze on her arm and one of her ribs is aching like a hammer just pounded it in and then -- crack -- one of them gets her in the jaw.
The force of the shot throws her head back, and where the head goes, the body follows. Flecks of blood and bone fly out as it the bullet whittles the side of her face to a raw edge, tearing open her cheek and chin and landing somewhere in the lower part of her skull.
She lies back on the ground, vision pulsing and pounding as her brain tries frantically to shut down the pain, but it's not particularly possible; the human reactions have overwhelmed her.
She can still speak, but it hurts like being shot all over again just to move her jaw. She tries to move, but now it's away from him.
Then it hits her: he has her, if he wants.
Humans. Not again. Never again. Why...why did I? I said I...I...I don't...I...
No. No, she...did do that, didn't she? The City, the human body, all of it is getting to her. And now all she can hear is the ticking noise, and as she reaches up to try to cover the bleeding from her face, she activates the distress beacon that she programmed in the moment she arrived in the City...]