Will Alone

[Grim Wolf]

The gun clattered to the floor. The girl collapsed. And then Tyler shifted, putting a hand over her neck. His hand was tight, but not tight enough to cut off any air.

"Move, and I'll kill you," he said.

She obeyed. Tyler stared at her for a long time.

"You shouldn't have stopped," he said. "You shouldn't have threatened me. You want to kill me? Kill me. Pull the trigger."

He tightened his fingers just a little. "You were the one who did something stupid," he said. "Are you regretting it?"

Loosened his fingers again. Enough so she could speak.

[Skraal]

Eliza's lungs burned as she struggled to pull in air from her constricted throat. No. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. She couldn't just die like this! She gasped as he loosened his fingers.

What did he want? Did he just expect her to grovel before him? Bastard. Like hell she'd surrender to him. It took almost every last ounce of her willpower to whisper out a response.

"Fuck you."

The last bit of willpower was focused on sending her knee up toward the boy's groin.

[Grim Wolf]

The angle wasn't great for Eliza, but she had enough leverage to get off a good shot. Tyler's eyes went wide and he hissed through his teeth as he flinched to one side. That was enough; Eliza scrambled free.

And after her gun.

Tyler twisted and grabbed at her ankles.

[Skraal]

A wave of relief washed over Eliza as her fingers closed around the handle of the rifle. Unfortunately for her, it was at that same moment that Tyler's fingers closed over her ankle. She was so close. She couldn't let him get her now. She kicked back desperately in an attempt to free herself.

No luck. Tyler's fingers seemed to tighten their grip. There was no way that Eliza would be able to manoeuvre herself in order to fire at him. Her heart pounded like it was going to tear itself right out of her chest. There was no time to think. She grabbed the rifle by the end, turned, and swung the butt at her assailant. 

[Grim Wolf]

Tyler was already scrambling onto his feet when the gun swung back, narrowly missing his head and smashing into his chest. He gave a low yelp of pain but then grabbed at the gun, his teeth bared in a grimace. At the same time, he savagely kicked at Eliza.

[Skraal]

Eliza could feel the panic rising in her body as she tried to pull the gun back from Tyler. She honestly wasn't expecting him to try to grab it from her like this. She screeched in pain as his foot connected with her ribs. 

Gritting her teeth, she tried to force herself to fight past the pain. She grabbed onto the rifle with both hands and pulled with all her might. Another blow from Tyler's foot connected with her stomach, causing her to bite down hard onto her cheek. She spat out blood as she gave one mighty yank on the rifle in her hands. She could feel Tyler's grip on it slipping. There was only one more thing that she could do. She pushed herself forward and bit down hard on Tyler's hand.

A rewarding cry of pain shot out from the football player's lips as the rifle clattered to the floor. Eliza looked down at it. The taste of blood was still in her mouth. This was it. No second chances.

Before she could grab for it, however, her opponent kicked it away. They both stood there in silence, neither of them daring to make a move. Time seemed to stand still. Finally, Eliza spoke, her voice quavering as she fought to catch her breath.

"All...all right... It's a stalemate...okay? You go...your way...and I'll go mine...Nobody dies..."

Her heart pounded painfully in her chest as she held her breath, waiting for his response. She didn't even want to think about what would happen if he refused her offer.

[Grim Wolf]

Tyler's eyes flickered--from Eliza to the gun and then back again. He opened his mouth, closed it, and then let his eyes flicker once more--to the office where Garrett had spoken to him.

Tyler nodded. "Okay," he said. He took two steps backwards, eyes still flickering between Eliza and that gun. His duffel bag lay discarded on the ground; he slowly stopped over and picked it up, never quite taking his eyes off Eliza.

"But don't threaten," Tyler said. "If you're going to shoot, shoot. I don't think you can afford to hesitate here." Two more steps, and Eliza still hadn't moved. Then Tyler nodded. "Be careful," he said. "Cody'd be messed up if you got yourself killed."

Tyler ducked around the corner, then turned and started sprinting. As he did, he glanced down at his hand, bleeding where Eliza had bitten it. And a slow grin started to spread across his face.

(Tyler Lucas continued in Stagecoah, and other vehicles)

[Skraal]

Thank God. Eliza exhaled sharply. She kept her eyes on the boy as he stepped away, watching until he had left her sight.

Pain flooded through her whole body. She could still feel the weight of Tyler's kicks to her sides. Fuck. She had enough to deal with here without having to care for some broken ribs. What was she thinking, starting a fight with a jock in the middle of a small hallway? They didn't take all those steroids for nothing. Eliza closed her eyes as she leaned against the wall, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

After a few more moments of rest, she had finally caught her breath. She spat out some more blood, unsure if it was her's or Tyler's. Disgusting. She walked over to where her gun lay on the floor and picked it up. It didn't seem to be too badly damaged. She'd have to read the manual that came with it before she tried to use it again. It was clear that she'd never be able to defend herself by just holding it in her hands. She needed to even the odds as quickly as possible.

She thought back to what Tyler had said before he left. About Cody. She had never thought that her dying would affect him. Heh. Typical. It would be just like him to only appreciate something after he had lost it. Then again, that's how most people are. Eliza sighed. She adjusted the straps of her bag over her shoulder and staggered down the hall and out of the building. Next fight, she wouldn't hesitate. Not for Cody's sake, but for her own.

((Eliza Patton continued in Hit the Pavement))