Chapter 36

"Please, sir, I just want her for a few minutes. I know that you're usually against such things, but if you were there with me, then you would understand."

The yellow guard from before was currently talking to Ahuizotl, along with his tan friend, for the past 45 minutes. What they wanted, or more accurately, what the yellow guard wanted, was for the hybrid to give him one of the mares to 'mess around with', since they were so bored with just standing around and doing nothing. Now normally, I wouldn't have cared otherwise, wanting nothing to do with the idiots, however, two things prevented me from doing so.

First: the only mares in the area were prisoners, since none of the guards were females.

And two: the only mare that they want is Fluttershy.

"For the tenth time, I said no. You know that I disdain the fact of forced sexual acts just to satisfy ones lust. It is just so…barbaric." Stated Ahuizotl, rubbing his temple with a hand. The dagger and sword were currently laying next to him, while the hybrid, himself, was sitting next to the altar that Dinky was occupying. I was listening through the whole conversation since they first started, and the only reason that I didn't interfere yet was the warning that the prick gave us, making me hold my tongue.

It has been almost two hours now, and there were only about ten minutes left before the ceremony began, and so far we have been unable to come up with any ideas as to how to free all of us. During the time, more and more tribal ponies came into the clearing, until there were at least five dozen of them surrounding us, making escape even harder for us to pull off. During that time, Ditzy was a complete wreck; she didn't even acknowledge me when I tried to help her. The only one to that could help her at the moment was Daring Do, and even then, she just kept on crying, worried for her only filly. Some of them others seemed to be feeling similar to what Ditzy was feeling, while the rest were just putting on a strong face for the others.

I then realized that I was dozing off, when I suddenly felt somepony move next to me. Looking down, I saw that it was Scootaloo, huddling as close as possible to me. She looked back up at me, her eyes filled with tears, though she still tried to keep what looked like to be a strong face.

"Hey, you ok?" I asked, mentally smacking myself at the stupid question.

The orange filly was quiet for a second, and then she slowly shook her head before nuzzling even closer to me. "No, I'm not. They're going to kill Dinky, and then you guys, and…I…I-I don't what t-to lose another dad…n-not so s-s-soon." She then buried her face into my side, and I could feel her tears as they started to moisten my shirt. I tried to think of something to say, but my mind was blank, unable to say anything, for there was nothing that I could say to make her feel better.

Instead, I just tried to snuggle closer to her and, in a low voice, I said, "I love you, Scoots."

"I…I l-love you t-too…D-Dad." She whispered. We stayed like that for a good thirty seconds, and during that time, I began to again absent-mindedly listen to the argument that was still going on with the two guards and Ahuizotl.

"Come on, sir! I mean, how are you so against it, if you threatened one of them with a similar treatment yourself? And it was a filly no less." Said the tan one. That normally would have made me upset, but Ditzy already told us what happened with them during their stay here.

"Because, I only said it so that she would cooperate."

"But what if she didn't?" Said the yellow one.

"Then I would have no choice but to go through with my promise, though it didn't come to that, obviously."

"But still, they caused us so much trouble, just this one time, just let us have some fun?"

Ahuizotl was silent for a while, seeming to be actually thinking about it. After a few seconds, he sighed and slowly nodded, saying, "Very well, if it will get you two out of my fur, then go ahead. Just make sure you bring her back intact and breathing. Also, do it so that I won't see it, and gag her so that I won't hear her either."

My eyes widened in horror upon those words, and I quickly brought myself in between Fluttershy and the two guards, the Pegasus quickly hid behind her mane as well as staying close to my back. "Over my dead body, ass-jack." I growled at the two as they approached.

The yellow one just smiled, and then lifted his hoof and smacked me across the face, saying, "Trust me, I would love to, but Ahuizotl already has some plans for you." He then hit me in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me. "Just be thankful that you won't see it happening, cause if I had it my way, I would make you watch ever single second of it. And I mean every *Hit* single *Hit* second. *Hit*" He said, each hit going for my stomach and chest. I groaned and gasped as I tried to breath properly again, and after a few seconds of catching my breath, I looked up and noticed that the tan guard was able to pull Fluttershy away from behind me by her tail.

I immediately tried to get up, but was once again hit by the yellow guard, making me lose my balance and fall back to the ground. I winced a bit, but otherwise I still got myself up. "You so much as lay a hoof on her, and I'll make sure that you'll never have 'fun' again." I said, glaring at him.

The tan one just shrugged, and then, turning to his friend, he said, "Well, come on, this was your idea in the first place, unless you would rather wait."

"Yea, yea, I'm coming." Said the guard, walking up to them. He then stopped right behind Fluttershy and said, "And soon, you'll be coming as well." With that, he gave a slow lick on her cutie mark, causing her to give a fearful moan, and for me to have my anger spike as I tried to get out of my bonds again.

Just as they were about to walk away, two bolts of what appeared to be magic burst from the tree line and collided with the two guards, sending them flying back into a pillar, knocking them out cold.

Everypony in the area froze, shocked by what just happened. We all turned to where the shots were fired, and right at the edge of the clearing was none other then Shining Armor.

"Shining!" Shouted Twilight, surprise and hope in her voice. All of the other tribal ponies stood up and aimed their spears at the unicorn, ready for his next move. Ahuizotl walked up so that he was in front of his minions, his cats walking next to him, all staying low to the ground, ready to pounce.

"So, you are Shining Armor. The one I have heard so much about, the one, along with Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, who stopped the invasion of the changelings. To be honest, I thought that you would be…bigger." He said, smirking at the captain.

"So, you're Ahuizotl. The one that always fights Daring Do, and has now not only captured my sister and her friends, but also from what I am able to tell, is about to preform some sort of ritual to give you more power. To be honest, I thought you would be…smarter." Retorted Shining, a smug look on his face.

Ahuizotl just glared at him, and then, motioning at his minions to get ready, he said, "I believe I am smarter then you, for only a fool would come in here all by themself and think that they stand a chance against my elite warriors."

To his surprise, Shining just chuckled. "What makes you think that I came here alone?" With that, he lit up his horn, and shot something that looked like a flare into the air. It shown for a few moments, and then vanished altogether. One second passed, then two, then three. On the fourth, the area around him exploded as at least three dozen Royal Guards came running out of the tree lines, forming right behind Shining, who was still smirking at Ahuizotl.

No pony moved for a second, and then, in a loud voice, Shining aimed his horn at the tribal ponies and shouted, "Royal Guards. CHARGE!" With that, Shining, along with the rest of the guards, began to charge at the enemy, and the battle began in earnest.

The tribal guards that were around us were stunned by the sudden appearance of Shining and his guards, as were the rest of us. Thankfully, Daring realized what was going on, and she immediately charged the nearest earth pony, somehow getting free of her bonds before punching her guard straight in the face, knocking him out. She then took the guard's spear and quickly ran to me, placing it in front of me.

"How the hell did you get free?" I asked her.

Daring just smirked, and then she suddenly had a knife in her hoof, though it didn't look that deadly, it still seemed sharp enough to cur through rope, as evident of how she was able to get me out of my binds pretty quickly. "I've been tied up by Ahuizotl too many times already, that I thought I would carry a small knife just for those occasions." She said as she worked on freeing me. Once I was free, she took the spear and hit it as hard as she could against a nearby pillar, breaking the spearhead off. Giving the spearhead to me, she said, "Here, help me free the others with this, then get on with taking out some of the tribal ponies." I nodded, and then went to work on first saving AJ, while Daring went to free Dash.

Thankfully, a couple of the Royal Guards came to help free the rest of them with us, and soon, we were all free from our binds. As soon as Fluttershy was free, she ran up to me and hugged me tightly, and I could feel her literally shaking my body with her shivers. I tossed the spearhead to the side and wrapped her up in a hug, brushing her mane and saying soothing words to calm her down, and while she did stop shaking, she still seemed to be on edge.

I then turned to face the others and asked, "How the hell did Shining know where we were?"

"Well, I told him when we were in the Crystal Empire." Said Twilight in a matter of fact voice.

"Wait, why didn't you tell us this before?" Said Dash, a bit upset.

"Well, I tried, but no pony bothered to ask, all of you were more interested with what Daring found in the library." Stated the purple librarian in an upset tone, causing Daring, Dash and I to blush a bit in embarrassment.

I looked up to see how the battle was going, and at the moment, it seemed that the RG were on the defensive, due to the larger numbers of the Tribal. Shining was currently fighting a few Tribal at once, ducking and weaving through their attacks, before landing his own devastating hits. Already there were some casualties on both sides, though there was no disconcerting which one had the edge. Some movement then caught my eye, and turning around, I noticed that the yellow and tan guards were already starting to get back up.

I turned to face everypony with me and said, "Ditzy, keep an eye on Fluttershy and the fillies. Rarity, Twilight, go to Shining to see what you can do to help him. AJ, Pinkie, and Dash, go take care of the cat minions. Daring…you do whatever you do in a situation like this."

"And what about you?" Asked AJ.

I turned and walked away, saying, "I have a score to settle with somepony." They were all a bit confused with what I said, and a bit hesitant to do what I said. After a few seconds, Daring turned to face them and said, "Well, you heard him, let's go everypony!" With that, they all nodded, and went to do their tasks.

Twilight, Rarity, Ditzy, Fluttershy and the fillies all went to go and see Shining as he finished fighting a few of the Tribal, knocking them unconscious. He heard them approach, and turned around, ready for another fight. Upon seeing his sister, he perked right up and said, "Twily! Thank Celestia you're alright, as well as…wait, where are the others?"

"They're doing some other things to help you guys out, and we came here to see if we could do anything to help as well." Said Twilight, motioning to Rarity.

"Well, if you could, I would like Rarity to help bring the wounded away from the front lines so that they don't get more hurt then they are, and Twilight, I would like it if you could stay with me and make sure they don't sneak around or flank us, since they do outnumber us almost two to one." They both nodded, and Twilight readied her magic for the job ahead, while Rarity went to help out some wounded guards, muttering something about 'wishing it wasn't going to be dirty.'

Meanwhile, Dash, AJ, and Pinkie were heading on over to where the cats where, while trying to think up a plan to defeat them.

"Ok, so, I say we go in there hooves blazing, and show them no mercy." Said Dash, pounding her hooves together as she flew along with the others.

"Well, ah think we should take them out one at a time, make sure they don't trap us or anything, ya know?" Said AJ, galloping with them.

"Well, why don't we just ask them?" Asked Pinkie, bouncing along.

Both AJ and Dash looked at the pink pony in confusion, before they collided into something, causing them to fall down. Regaining their bearings, they realized that it was the panther, which turned around and smiled upon seeing them. Soon, the other three cats were all facing the ponies, smiling as they crouched to the ground, tails waving above them (except for the lynx), ready to strike.

There was a moment of silence between the two parties, and then Dash decided to initiate their attack instead of waiting. She quickly flew to the cheetah and smacked him across the face with her hoof, shouting, "I got this one!" before flying off. The cheetah snarled and then went after her.

Next to react was the tiger, and it decided to target AJ, leaping at her. The orange pony jumped back just in time to avoid the giant cat's claws. The tiger growled at her, and AJ just smirked, saying, "Let's see how well you handle this rodeo, partner."

That left the panther and lynx with Pinkie Pie, and they both grinned as they approached the party pony, ready to make short work of her. Suddenly, Pinkie touched them both and yelled, "Tag!" before bouncing away, leaving two confused cats to chase after her.

I walked up to the two Earth ponies that were just getting their bearings back, and once I was close enough, I said, "So, what was that about raping Fluttershy?"

The yellow one looked at me with disgust while the tan one looked annoyed, both of them getting into a fighting stance, and then the yellow one said, "Trust me, they may have gotten the jump on us, but we still have the number advantage. We'll beat them in a few minutes, with plenty of time to spare for the ceremony."

To their surprise, I didn't show any care about what they said, opting to just crack my knuckles and shoulders, saying, "Well, in that case I'm just going to have to finish you two off quickly." With that said, I slowly got into a cat stance like the time I sparred with Shining, and readied for them to make the first move.

We both stared at each other for a few seconds, and then they charged first. The yellow one went high while the tan one went low. I dodged to the side and then did a spinning kick at the tan Tribal, sending him flying back. I quickly aimed a punch for the yellow one, but he reacted fast, blocking it with his fore hoof before aiming a head butt in my gut, to which I was able to block. I was about to do a palm strike across his face, when I felt strong force hit me in the back, sending me flying a few feet. I got up quickly, and noticed that the tan Tribal was shaking his hoof a bit from the punch he just threw at me while they both regrouped for another attack.

'Well, this is going to be more difficult then I thought.' I thought to myself, before I got myself ready for their next assault.

Daring, meanwhile, was running through the horde of ponies, both Tribal and RG alike, dodging the latter and beating up the former, until she spotted her intended target. Giving herself a boost of speed, she quickly jumped and, giving a few flaps of her wings, landed on Ahuizotl's back.

"Hello there, you miss me?"

With a snarl, the hybrid reached with his tail hand to grab the Pegasus, but Daring just bucked it back before jumping up a little and then landing hard in his back, making him fall down with a large *OMPH!*. Daring then did a summersault off of his back and landed in front of him, and she braced herself for another attack. Ahuizotl got up and then dusted himself off before facing Daring, a small frown on his face, but otherwise remained silent.

"What's the matter, Zolty, too embarrassed to speak?" taunted the tan adventurer.

"This time, Daring Do, I will beat you, and you will stay down." Stated the hybrid, and then he charged Daring, a fist up to hit her. Daring just ducked under the hit, sending him spiraling away from her and onto his face in the ground. He got up with a grunt, spun around, and readied himself for another strike.

Rarity was busy helping those that were wounded out of the main battle area, and bringing them to a more empty area that Ditzy, Fluttershy, and the fillies were waiting, while at the same time making sure her mane and coat stayed as clean as possible. It was an impossible task, however, and after a few minutes of trying, she just gave up, deciding that she would just take a very long shower when she got the chance. Twilight, meanwhile, was keeping an eye out on the sides, making sure that the guards weren't flanked, while at the same time keeping an eye out on Shining, making sure that he was doing all right. At a few points, she noticed that one of the Tribal ponies was trying to sneak up, and she would either yell at her brother to get his attention, or hit them with a magic bolt to distract them long enough for Shining to finish the job.

"So, how did you get here so fast?" Asked Twilight as she blasted another Tribal that tried to sneak around.

"Well, when you came to Candence and I, we were both surprised and shocked about what happened, so naturally, we tried to go and get Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, however they were too busy with some negotiations with the Griffin Generals to help in any way, much to our, and their, disappointment. Thankfully, they lent us some Royal guards to help us; and a few hours later, we were all ready. It took us almost an hour to find this place, and when we did, we entered the temple and went looking for you guys in this jungle. It took us a while, but we found you guys all bound up, and, well…you know the rest." Shining said, bucking another Tribal in the face, knocking him out.

"Well, we're just glad that you made it at all, but we better hurry before Ahuizotl tries to finish the ceremony."

"What exactly is he trying to do, anyways?" Asked Shining. Twilight then explained how he was trying to wake up a human warrior, and apparently sacrificing a young foal could only do it, and Ahuizotl decided to use Dinky as his sacrifice. Shining's eyes grew wide upon hearing this, and when Twilight finished explaining, he said, "Well, we better hurry this up before he gets the chance, then." Twilight nodded in agreement, and then they both began to concentrate at the battle at hoof again.

Meanwhile, Dash was busy leading the cheetah on a long chase, one that she knew she had to win. She would tease the cat by slowing down just a bit, and then just when she was in range of the cheetah, she would zoom back ahead before it could pounce on her. Rainbow kept on doing this for a good few minutes, while, each time she would also change directions suddenly, sometimes stopping completely and watching the cheetah just run right by her. As this kept on, the cat began to get more and more annoyed, and was starting to tire out as well. It kept on running after the cyan Pegasus for a few more seconds, then it began to jog, then walk, and then it finally stopped.

Dash, realizing that she wasn't being followed any more, zoomed back to the large cat and stopped just out of range of it. "What, you can't keep up with awesome me? Well, that's too bad." The cheetah lifted a tired paw up, but when it brought it down, Dash just stepped to the side, and the cat fell face first on the ground, too tired to continue.

AJ was currently busy dealing with the tiger, dodging and weaving through its attacks, while trying to land a hit of her own. They both were able to land a few hits on each other, AJ sporting a few scratches on her when she was a bit too slow to move, and the tiger had a few bruises from the bucks that she landed on it.

The farm pony began to tire out, and it seemed like the tiger wasn't even breaking a sweat. She knew that she had to end it soon, so she began to look around as she was fighting, trying to find something that she could use to give her an edge.

She then spotted a pillar a few meters away, and getting an idea, she began to lead the tiger towards it, bringing them closer and closer to it. Just when it was behind her, the tiger landed a hit on her side, making her land right next to the large pillar. She got up slowly, blood dripping a bit from the scratch that she just received from the blow, and glanced up. The tiger smiled, knowing that it had won the fight, and with a low growl, it pounced at AJ with all of its force, preparing the final blow. Suddenly, however, AJ stepped to the side, making the tiger crash head first into the stone, cracking it a bit, as well as dazing it, leaving it vulnerable to a counter attack by the country mare.

AJ took this opportunity to take the longest piece of rope that she could find, and quickly hog-tied up the tiger, leaving it on it's back and out of commission.

"That 'ill teach ya ta not mess with an Apple, ya varmint!" She said, quite pleased with her work.

Suddenly, in a blur of rainbows, Dash was right next to her, a proud look on her face.

"Well, I think I beat my guy faster then you, AJ." Said Dash, her traditional smirk on her face.

"Now hold on a moment there, partner. You telling me that you made it a challenge to see who would win the fight the fastest?" AJ asked.

"Uh, yea, why not?" Said Dash, a confused look on her face, causing AJ to face hoof.

"Argh, never mind that, let's just go help the others, ok?" Said AJ, gesturing to the guards. Dash nodded, and as they both went back into the battle to help the RG against the Tribal, they were suddenly met with Pinkie, who was bouncing around them.

"That was fun! We should do that more often!" Shouted Pinkie, bouncing around them.

"Uh, what did you do, Pinkie?" Asked Dash.

Pinkie just gestured to her side, and when both ponies looked they couldn't believe their eyes. Right where Pinkie was just a few moments ago, there was the panther and lynx, all tied up in what looked to be…gift-wrapping?

"Um, were did ya get the wrapping, sugarcube?" Asked AJ, confused.

"Why, I keep it with my Party Cannon, see?" With that, the party pony suddenly produced her party cannon, and then pulling the rope, she fired the cannon, which shot out a couple of pies, which in turn landed on a few of the Tribal ponies faces, much to the amusement of the guards that came to beat them.

AJ and Dash just stood there, staring at the pink pony in wonder, and then, shaking their heads, they looked at each other, and at once, they said, "Just Pinkie."

With that, all three of them got up and charged back into the fray.

I was still busy battling the two guards that I decided to just call Terra Equis 1 (yellow one) and Terra Equis 2 (tan one), and so far, they were beating me to a bloody mess. Sure I was able to hold my own and get a few hits in here and there, but it was two against one, and I haven't been practicing as much since I came here, so I felt a bit out of practice. Also, they would use whatever advantage they had to get an edge in the fight, be it dust, rocks, or even other ponies. I was panting hard from the fight, my shirt a wreck from the blows that were dealt to me, while their coats were carrying a few bruises. I knew that I had to end it soon; otherwise I would lose to them.

And I had no intent on losing to them at all.

Once again, they charged me, this time TE1 went left, and TE2 went right, trying to flank me. I waited for the last possible second, and then I ducked, causing them to hit each other. With them stunned, I quickly stood up from underneath them, hitting TE1 in the stomach, sending him flying away, and then I spun around, backhanding TE2 in the face, making him spin around in a circle for a couple of seconds before landing on his ass, a dizzy look on his face.

"Uh…why's the room spinning…?" He slurred, before he fell backwards and went out for the count. With him out of the way, it just left me with TE1: the yellow guard.

I walked up to him, my anger still festering in my eyes, the pony still gasping for air. Once I was right above him, I said, "So, is there something that you want to say now?"

The pony gasped for a few seconds, and then, turning towards me, he said, "Yea…when this is over…I'm going to slit that mare's throat once I finish with her. And then I-" I stopped him right there with a palm heel strike to the sternum, paralyzing his diaphragm for a few seconds, and then, I said, "You just don't know when to quit, do you?"

Instead of waiting for him to respond, I just slowly got up, and then, staring right into his eyes, I said, "Remember what I said, about making you a mare?"

He gasped a few times, finally able to breath, and stared at me, confusion in his eyes. "What, are you just going to hit me there again? Is that the best you can do, just hitting a stallion in the nuts?"

I smiled, though it never reached my eyes, and I said, "Who said anything about hitting?" With that, I reached down with my right hand to his crotch, and grabbed his balls in a firm grip.

As soon as I made contact, his pupils dilated, and he stared in horror at me. "No, please! I…I beg you, don't-"

I simply ignored him, busy with what I was doing. I placed my left hand on my right arm. Still looking into his eyes, I said, "Scream for me, bitch." With that, I slid my left hand down the right arm, while at the same time I yanked as hard as I could with my right arm, the hand still gripping on his nuts with all my strength.

There was a loud, meaty ripping sound, and then silence. A few seconds later, a high pitched scream echoed through out the battle field, causing a few of the RG and Tribal to pause in their fights just to see what happened. What they saw both amazed and terrified them at the same time, for there I was, the yellow tribal guard's bloody balls in my hand, while his crotch bleed profusely of blood, pooling under his legs. The stallion made no movement, besides the occasional twitch of a leg, his eyes glossed over in the most agonizing pain that he ever experienced.

I stood there for a few seconds, staring at the mess that I caused, and then I unceremoniously dropped his bloody sack onto the ground, before turning around and finding some of the ponies staring at me, both Tribal and RG alike. I just stared back, my adrenalin running, challenging anypony to fight me, daring them to fight me. I was so pumped up with emotions and adrenalin that I couldn't have cared if it was a Tribal or a RG; I just wanted to release my anger on something.

Daring Do was currently busy dodging attacks from Ahuizotl, ducking, side stepping, and even hovering a little, making him miss her every single time. She was able to get a few hits on him, and although they were strong hits, they still didn't prevent him from moving smoothly across the battlefield, matching her blow after blow, hit after hit. He then did a sweeping motion with his leg, but she just jumped it, and then turned around and bucked him in the face, making him stagger a bit. She was about to take advantage of the situation, when a loud high pitch scream swept the battlefield.

They both turned to face the sound, and were shocked to see me standing over the unconscious Tribal guard, nuts in hand, the pony withering on the ground in extreme pain.

Daring's mouth was open from the shock of what she saw; surprised that he would do something like that. Ahuizotl, however, merely chuckled at the sight, before turning to the adventurer and saying, "So much power and potential is in that human, and yet he does nothing with it. It's a shame, really, cause I almost decided to try and bring him to my cause when I first heard of him, but then decided against it, For I believe that the human in the crystal will be much stronger then that one by so much more."

"Oh yea? Well, you won't be able to wake him up once we get Dinky free." Stated Daring, glaring at her arch nemesis.

The hybrid perked up at this, and then, turning back to face Daring, he said, with a sadistic grin, "That reminds me, it's just about time for the show to begin." With that, he charged at Daring, but it was much slower then his normal attacks, giving her plenty of time to dodge. Only when he was behind her and kept running, however, did she realize that she fell for his trick, allowing him to reach the altar.

Daring tried to go after him, but to her dismay, she was tackled by a couple of Tribal ponies, pinning her to the ground momentarily. She could get out, but she knew that she wouldn't make it in time; so Daring did the next best thing. She shouted.

"SOMEPONY STOP AHUIZOTL!"

I turned to the sound of Daring shouting, and saw Ahuizotl making a break for the altar. Knowing that I was the closest one to him, I broke into a sprint, charging straight towards the hybrid.

Ahuizotl reached the altar very quickly and, taking the sword and dagger in his hands while taking the bowl in his tail hand, he began the ceremony. He held the bowl next to the altar where the blood would drip into it, while placing the dagger blade into the bowl. He then grasped the sword with both hands and raised it above his head, the point aimed at Dinky's heart, the unicorn filly looking up at the blade with dread in her eyes.

"AHUIZOTL!" I shouted, charging him with all my speed. Ahuizotl turned to look at me, seeing me only a few meters away, and grinned. Turning back to face Dinky, he began to plunge the sword down.

At that moment, time seemed to slow down, my footsteps echoing with each step, my heart beating in my ears, my right hand outstretched, reaching for my daughter. The sword gleaming in the light as it approaches her heart.

Dinky turns to face me, and I see a single tear fall from her eyes. I could see sorrow, pain, sadness, fear…so many emotions at once, all flowing from her eyes, nearly overwhelming me, causing my mind to cloud up. The sword is inches away from her now, and it is a matter of time before she dies. I reach out with my hand…

The next thing I know, blood splatters everywhere.