Nature is full of defense mechanisms. Every living thing that has a stomach wants to fill it, specifically with the tasty life forms nearby. Because those life forms - be they plants, insects, or wild game - would prefer to remain uneaten, they develop ways of discouraging predators. The Death's-head Hawkmoth looks and sounds like a bee so it can enter hives without being stung, blue-tongued skinks shed their still-wriggling tails to distract predators, and certain corn snakes develop coloration nearly identical to the deadly coral snake. Rebekah was, herself, an animal. And though she was at relatively low risk of being eaten - human beings had few natural predators, outside of polar bears and Republican lawmakers - she had, as all animals do, developed a set of defense mechanisms. She used mimicry and distraction and confusion to survive, using them on threats and uncomfortable situations, and even, at times, herself.
Defense mechanisms work, that's why they exist. But they aren't a catch-all. A tortoise's shell comes at the cost of mobility, and a curled armadillo must remain perfectly still. And a girl who really, really wants to distract herself from something bad, from something truly and utterly terrible, can do it if she tries hard enough. But only for a little while. Reality always seeps in through the cracks in the shell.
-=-=-
Rebekah had told herself that this was all a fantastic spectacle, that it was just something to watch until it petered out naturally. She'd tried reasoning that there were practical reasons for just sitting back and letting the other two slug it out for a bit. But she knew that those excuses were nothing more than a veneer, a smokescreen she'd thrown up to avoid having to look, to really open her eyes and look at what was happening. Looking at the animals fighting on TV, looking out of the corner of her eye as her father put the big black wolf out of its misery, those had been easy, compared to this. Compared to watching two people fighting, both of them presumably waiting for her to jump in and pick a side and put an end to it. But she didn't. Couldn't. Just thinking about it made her hands tremble. The rifle was practically shaking.
This... this game was life and death. She couldn't handle that responsibility. She couldn't be the one to decide who would live or who would die. She didn't want that power. She shouldn't have that power. But these two weren’t going to stop, unless she stopped them, and if one of them killed the other they’d come for her next, and she’d either have to kill them or run out there, where the others were. This fight wasn’t fascinating. It wasn’t a marvel of nature. It was grisly and horrible, and it shouldn’t have been her problem or her fight, but it was, because she was there. No matter what happened next, whatever she did or didn't do, she'd be making a choice.
It would've been nice to stop and think about skinks. But there weren’t any skinks about to think about; there was just Rebekah wearing her blue Snuggie and holding a rifle, looking like Cookie Monster’s weird cousin that nobody wanted to talk politics with at Thanksgiving.
She made her choice. She put down her flashlight and stepped into the beam it cast, shouldering the rifle.
“All right, that’s enough!” she yelled, in her loudest, cheerleader-iest voice. It echoed fiercely off the walls as she pointed the gun at the two combatants. “Let Jess go, now.”
Cambrian
Open (TW animal harm)
V9 Characters:
Zara Mohammad
Alexis Keller
Wyatt Latimer
Stephanie "Radical Steph" Raddison
Xiomara Ximenez
Zara Mohammad
Alexis Keller
Wyatt Latimer
Stephanie "Radical Steph" Raddison
Xiomara Ximenez
-
Ruggahissy
- Posts: 2569
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 4:13 pm
(CW some eye stuff)
The game of consequence had started before they stepped foot on the bus.
Mal squeezed as hard as she could, drool and blood leaking down the side of her face.
She was so pretty. Everyone always said it.
Jess scrambled and found purchase with her fingers, finding a handhold in Mal's skull. She pushed in, crushing back Mal's eyeball.
She screamed and let go, falling backwards and hitting her head on a rock.
She kept her eye closed but felt the world swim and wanted to vomit.
Mal prayed silently, her mouth moving slightly without voice. She had never done anything wrong. Things had gone wrong, but not because of what she'd done. It was just a tragic twist of fate, the unfairness of other people who disliked her for no reason. She only wanted to protect herself, who could fault her for that?
No one, she was sure. No one, she told herself, as she tried to gather the strength to get back up.
The game of consequence had started before they stepped foot on the bus.
Mal squeezed as hard as she could, drool and blood leaking down the side of her face.
She was so pretty. Everyone always said it.
Jess scrambled and found purchase with her fingers, finding a handhold in Mal's skull. She pushed in, crushing back Mal's eyeball.
She screamed and let go, falling backwards and hitting her head on a rock.
She kept her eye closed but felt the world swim and wanted to vomit.
Mal prayed silently, her mouth moving slightly without voice. She had never done anything wrong. Things had gone wrong, but not because of what she'd done. It was just a tragic twist of fate, the unfairness of other people who disliked her for no reason. She only wanted to protect herself, who could fault her for that?
No one, she was sure. No one, she told herself, as she tried to gather the strength to get back up.
Jessica felt Mallory's eyeball squish around her finger and heard the scream. Her hand withdrew quickly, shocked by what it had done. But the pressure around her throat ended and she could breathe again. She took two heaving gulps of air as soon as she had the chance.
"Don't call her that!" She shouted at Mallory as soon as she could speak again.
Rebekah had yelled something while they had been fighting with each other but Jessica didn't know what it had been. She couldn't hear her over the roaring in her ears.
Her body was burning with anger, she could feel the heat pulsing across her skin in waves as she pushed herself to her feet.
She stalked over to where Mallory was hunched over on the floor.
This was what the girl had wanted after all. She had fired the first shot and Jessica was merely returning with a volley of her own.
A familiar voice deep in Jessica's mind tried to tell her that what she was doing was wrong.
Her hand wrapped itself around a clump of Mallory's hair again and she pulled her head so they were looking at each other. Meanwhile, her other hand was drawn back, ready to deliver another blow.
"You're an evil bitch." She snarled.
"Don't call her that!" She shouted at Mallory as soon as she could speak again.
Rebekah had yelled something while they had been fighting with each other but Jessica didn't know what it had been. She couldn't hear her over the roaring in her ears.
Her body was burning with anger, she could feel the heat pulsing across her skin in waves as she pushed herself to her feet.
She stalked over to where Mallory was hunched over on the floor.
This was what the girl had wanted after all. She had fired the first shot and Jessica was merely returning with a volley of her own.
A familiar voice deep in Jessica's mind tried to tell her that what she was doing was wrong.
Her hand wrapped itself around a clump of Mallory's hair again and she pulled her head so they were looking at each other. Meanwhile, her other hand was drawn back, ready to deliver another blow.
"You're an evil bitch." She snarled.
They weren't listening. Couldn't listen, maybe. Like she wasn't even there. This was a thing that happened to humans sometimes, when the defense mechanisms in their brains were trying so desperately to survive that they jettisoned auditory processing.
The stranger was on the ground, her mouth moving, gasping for air, blood and tears streaming down her cheek. And Jess was grabbing her by the hair, snarling like a wild thing, pulling back her fist to finish her.
Thoughts flashed through Rebekah's mind, potentialities that existed for a fraction of a fraction of a second. She could watch Jess murder this girl, right here and now. She could turn away and do nothing. She could shoot the girl and put her out of her misery. Too many choices. Impossible choices.
So she did what all animals do: she relied on instinct. She just moved, without thought, the way she'd been trained to on dozens of weekends in self-defense. Dropped the gun, grabbed Jess's fist and twisted it, pulling it up behind her back just enough to hurt. And then she shoved her off, hard, away from the other girl.
The stranger was on the ground, her mouth moving, gasping for air, blood and tears streaming down her cheek. And Jess was grabbing her by the hair, snarling like a wild thing, pulling back her fist to finish her.
Thoughts flashed through Rebekah's mind, potentialities that existed for a fraction of a fraction of a second. She could watch Jess murder this girl, right here and now. She could turn away and do nothing. She could shoot the girl and put her out of her misery. Too many choices. Impossible choices.
So she did what all animals do: she relied on instinct. She just moved, without thought, the way she'd been trained to on dozens of weekends in self-defense. Dropped the gun, grabbed Jess's fist and twisted it, pulling it up behind her back just enough to hurt. And then she shoved her off, hard, away from the other girl.
V9 Characters:
Zara Mohammad
Alexis Keller
Wyatt Latimer
Stephanie "Radical Steph" Raddison
Xiomara Ximenez
Zara Mohammad
Alexis Keller
Wyatt Latimer
Stephanie "Radical Steph" Raddison
Xiomara Ximenez
-
Ruggahissy
- Posts: 2569
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 4:13 pm
"I'm --"
I'm not evil.
Jess and Mal were close, faces inches apart. There was a horrible, stabbing pain searing into Mal's head from her eye, going back to the brain.
A hot fluid of tears and thick goo leaked from her closed eye, warming her cold cheek.
"Help, please," she begged in a small voice, face scrunched up.
The cave was finally quiet now without the noise and screams bouncing off the walls.
Why did people have to be like this? Why couldn't people be civil, honorable, kind?
Then there was a sudden intervention. Someone was finally on her side.
Prayers answered.
She grinned manically and took the opportunity of the interference to wriggle from Jess's hold. Partially restrained it was easy for Mal to get a few punches in, gut, maybe face, she wasn't sure.
Within seconds she lunged forward with her whole weight causing Jess to come loose from Rebekah's grasp and both girls tumbled back to the floor.
Someone had helped her. Someone had believed her. And she used it to give herself the advantage. Life wasn't fair, so anything you could use to give yourself an advantage, to level the playing field, was OK. It wasn't evil. It was just survival.
"And you"
She slammed Jess's head into the ground.
"Aren't as good as everyone says!" she screamed.
She slammed again.
"YOU THINK YOU'RE SOME KIND OF ANGEL?"
There was no response.
Mal panted, half a crazed smile pasted to her face.
She shakily got to her feet.
She'd gotten away again.
I'm not evil.
Jess and Mal were close, faces inches apart. There was a horrible, stabbing pain searing into Mal's head from her eye, going back to the brain.
A hot fluid of tears and thick goo leaked from her closed eye, warming her cold cheek.
"Help, please," she begged in a small voice, face scrunched up.
The cave was finally quiet now without the noise and screams bouncing off the walls.
Why did people have to be like this? Why couldn't people be civil, honorable, kind?
Then there was a sudden intervention. Someone was finally on her side.
Prayers answered.
She grinned manically and took the opportunity of the interference to wriggle from Jess's hold. Partially restrained it was easy for Mal to get a few punches in, gut, maybe face, she wasn't sure.
Within seconds she lunged forward with her whole weight causing Jess to come loose from Rebekah's grasp and both girls tumbled back to the floor.
Someone had helped her. Someone had believed her. And she used it to give herself the advantage. Life wasn't fair, so anything you could use to give yourself an advantage, to level the playing field, was OK. It wasn't evil. It was just survival.
"And you"
She slammed Jess's head into the ground.
"Aren't as good as everyone says!" she screamed.
She slammed again.
"YOU THINK YOU'RE SOME KIND OF ANGEL?"
There was no response.
Mal panted, half a crazed smile pasted to her face.
She shakily got to her feet.
She'd gotten away again.
She'd screwed it up. She'd screwed everything up. She'd only meant to separate them, stop the fight before it got any worse, but the stranger had taken advantage of the moment and smashed Jess' head on the floor, and now... now, because of her, Jess was hurt, or dead, or...
"N-No..." she whimpered, from somewhere deep inside herself.
"N-No..." she whimpered, from somewhere deep inside herself.
V9 Characters:
Zara Mohammad
Alexis Keller
Wyatt Latimer
Stephanie "Radical Steph" Raddison
Xiomara Ximenez
Zara Mohammad
Alexis Keller
Wyatt Latimer
Stephanie "Radical Steph" Raddison
Xiomara Ximenez
-
Ruggahissy
- Posts: 2569
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 4:13 pm
Mal panted, teeth visible in a crazed smile. She stood, wobbling.
The light of the flashlight cast harsh shadows across their forms and hid part of her face.
"No... No," she said, the smile melting and her brows knitting in concern.
"You didn't do anything wrong. I was --"
A crack pierced the crisp air and she was thrown forward onto her knees. Pain pierced her chest.
On her hands and knees, blood dripped onto the cave floor in front of her.
All she could do was sputter and bleed.
The light of the flashlight cast harsh shadows across their forms and hid part of her face.
"No... No," she said, the smile melting and her brows knitting in concern.
"You didn't do anything wrong. I was --"
A crack pierced the crisp air and she was thrown forward onto her knees. Pain pierced her chest.
On her hands and knees, blood dripped onto the cave floor in front of her.
All she could do was sputter and bleed.
There was thunder in the cave for a second time. But this time Mal was the one struck. The light from the muzzle flash revealed Jessica propped up against the cave wall. The discarded rifle held in her hands and a wisp of smoke escaping from the barrel.
Her head throbbed and ears rang from the combination of sound and physical abuse. She could feel a wetness at the back of her head from where Mallory had smashed it into the floor of the cave and the egg that was rapidly forming.
Jessica had never fired a gun before but Mallory had dropped to her knees so she assumed she’d hit her target.
Jessica wondered that if wherever she was Maritza would see what she had done. What would she have thought about what Mallory had said? Would she forgive Jess for shooting her sister? Somehow she doubted it.
Mallory’s blood leaked out of the hole in her chest, painting the cave floor red. As it did so Jessica thought about how everything between them had changed when Maritza had been sent away. How once she had found out the truth their relationship shifted. There could be no peace between them, not until Maritza returned. Mallory would never admit what she’d done but Jessica would never let her forget.
In a weird way Mallory had acted as a link to Maritza for Jessica. Something that kept her best friend in her mind and memory despite everything else that happened in her life. And she had just severed that link with one pull of a trigger. Jessica glanced down at the gun and with a look of disgust tossed it to the floor.
“I’m sorry Maritza,”
Her head throbbed and ears rang from the combination of sound and physical abuse. She could feel a wetness at the back of her head from where Mallory had smashed it into the floor of the cave and the egg that was rapidly forming.
Jessica had never fired a gun before but Mallory had dropped to her knees so she assumed she’d hit her target.
Jessica wondered that if wherever she was Maritza would see what she had done. What would she have thought about what Mallory had said? Would she forgive Jess for shooting her sister? Somehow she doubted it.
Mallory’s blood leaked out of the hole in her chest, painting the cave floor red. As it did so Jessica thought about how everything between them had changed when Maritza had been sent away. How once she had found out the truth their relationship shifted. There could be no peace between them, not until Maritza returned. Mallory would never admit what she’d done but Jessica would never let her forget.
In a weird way Mallory had acted as a link to Maritza for Jessica. Something that kept her best friend in her mind and memory despite everything else that happened in her life. And she had just severed that link with one pull of a trigger. Jessica glanced down at the gun and with a look of disgust tossed it to the floor.
“I’m sorry Maritza,”
-
Ruggahissy
- Posts: 2569
- Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2018 4:13 pm
The strength left her limbs and she collapsed to the cold stone floor. Soon, she was as cold as the rock, though the lack of light hid how pale her face had become.
"I'm not..." she whispered wetly, blood flowing out.
This hateful girl shot her and apologized not to her, but to her sister.
Even though she'd gotten her sent away, Maritza ended up winning anyway.
Even here, at the end, Mal was incapable of admitting her wrongs.
Yes, she was regretful, but only because consequences finally arrived, not because she regretted the pain she caused.
Yes, she was upset that she had to reap now that the sowing had been done.
Fear gripped her heart as she felt it slow, fear about what sort of person she had been and fear, most of all, that she was going to die alone.
"I didn't mean it," she choked out. Tears pooled from her good eye. "I don't want to be cold."
Mal was consumed by the icy sensation, torturous nausea and pain -- not from her injuries but because of what she felt.
That although there were two people nearby, her worst private fear had come true. There was no comfort from either the human or divine.
She would die in a land that didn't know her name, completely alone.
Mal Valdez: Deceased
"I'm not..." she whispered wetly, blood flowing out.
This hateful girl shot her and apologized not to her, but to her sister.
Even though she'd gotten her sent away, Maritza ended up winning anyway.
Even here, at the end, Mal was incapable of admitting her wrongs.
Yes, she was regretful, but only because consequences finally arrived, not because she regretted the pain she caused.
Yes, she was upset that she had to reap now that the sowing had been done.
Fear gripped her heart as she felt it slow, fear about what sort of person she had been and fear, most of all, that she was going to die alone.
"I didn't mean it," she choked out. Tears pooled from her good eye. "I don't want to be cold."
Mal was consumed by the icy sensation, torturous nausea and pain -- not from her injuries but because of what she felt.
That although there were two people nearby, her worst private fear had come true. There was no comfort from either the human or divine.
She would die in a land that didn't know her name, completely alone.
Mal Valdez: Deceased
Rebekah watched the girl crumple. There was nothing she could do. She was a child all over again, watching that beautiful black wolf lying ruined on the asphalt. Too afraid, too helpless to do anything except bear witness. The girl would die, just like the wolf had died. She would die lost and afraid, far away from home in a world that was cold and hard and cruel. Her final words were sad and plaintive, a feeble cry against the inevitable. And then she was still.
Rebekah felt something leaking down her cheeks, and found that she was crying.
She looked into the darkness. The gunfire had lit everything up for a split second, but then the blackness had come flooding back with a vengeance. It was all a void now, except for the little slices carved out by the fallen flashlights. Jess was lurking in there somewhere. Jess, who was injured because of her. Jess, who had a gun, and had just used it to shoot the last person with whom she'd fallen out.
Rebekah debated trying to make a break for it, slip out through the gloom, silent as a furry blue ghost. But she didn't want to end up like the other girl, catching a bullet in the back while running away. She wasn't ready to die like that. Not yet.
"Look" she said, pausing for a half second to see if she'd get shot before continuing. "I-If you're gonna shoot me, can... can you at least give me a few seconds to talk to the cameras first? There's something I wanna tell my dad."
Rebekah felt something leaking down her cheeks, and found that she was crying.
She looked into the darkness. The gunfire had lit everything up for a split second, but then the blackness had come flooding back with a vengeance. It was all a void now, except for the little slices carved out by the fallen flashlights. Jess was lurking in there somewhere. Jess, who was injured because of her. Jess, who had a gun, and had just used it to shoot the last person with whom she'd fallen out.
Rebekah debated trying to make a break for it, slip out through the gloom, silent as a furry blue ghost. But she didn't want to end up like the other girl, catching a bullet in the back while running away. She wasn't ready to die like that. Not yet.
"Look" she said, pausing for a half second to see if she'd get shot before continuing. "I-If you're gonna shoot me, can... can you at least give me a few seconds to talk to the cameras first? There's something I wanna tell my dad."
V9 Characters:
Zara Mohammad
Alexis Keller
Wyatt Latimer
Stephanie "Radical Steph" Raddison
Xiomara Ximenez
Zara Mohammad
Alexis Keller
Wyatt Latimer
Stephanie "Radical Steph" Raddison
Xiomara Ximenez
Mallory fell forward onto her front and for a brief moment, there was no noise in the cave save the distant drip of water but Jessica found no satisfaction in it. She reached up with her left hand and rubbed her throat, trying to massage some of the soreness away, and felt her thumb brush over something warm and wet, smearing it across part of her face. A quick dab of her thumb to her tongue confirmed Jessica's suspicion of it being her own blood. Wiping her hand on her leg she carefully stood up, keeping her hands on the cave floor for as long as possible. The flash of the gun combined with the wild swinging of the flashlights in the fight had served to reset her night vision.
As she stood up fully a wave of nausea washed over her and Jessica reached out and put a hand on the cave wall for support. She felt like she was going to puke and whatever vision she had started to swim. As the adrenaline wore off she felt the after-effects of Mallory's blows more and more. Her stomach and ribs both hurt, while her entire head felt like it had been cracked like an egg. A thick cap of pain lay over her entire skull all the way down to her jawline and Jessica could feel it throbbing behind her eyes as she tried to regain her balance.
A voice started speaking and it took Jessica a moment to figure out where it was coming from in the cave or who it belonged to before her brain was able to piece everything back together.
Rebekah hadn't run away after tackling her she guessed.
"Huh?" Jessica said, turning her head to face where she thought Rebekah's voice had come from. It was hard to tell since the darkness felt so bright.
"Why would I shoot you?"
As she stood up fully a wave of nausea washed over her and Jessica reached out and put a hand on the cave wall for support. She felt like she was going to puke and whatever vision she had started to swim. As the adrenaline wore off she felt the after-effects of Mallory's blows more and more. Her stomach and ribs both hurt, while her entire head felt like it had been cracked like an egg. A thick cap of pain lay over her entire skull all the way down to her jawline and Jessica could feel it throbbing behind her eyes as she tried to regain her balance.
A voice started speaking and it took Jessica a moment to figure out where it was coming from in the cave or who it belonged to before her brain was able to piece everything back together.
Rebekah hadn't run away after tackling her she guessed.
"Huh?" Jessica said, turning her head to face where she thought Rebekah's voice had come from. It was hard to tell since the darkness felt so bright.
"Why would I shoot you?"
Rebekah could think of at least three reasons why she figured Jess might shoot her. Four, if you counted the old standby of "Because it's a death game and you'll die otherwise." But if Jess couldn't think of any of them, it didn't seem like a good idea to share the list. Since she'd led off by assuming that Jess had a reason to shoot her, though, this didn't really seem like a situation she could exit gracefully by saying "Never mind!"
Rebekah waffled uncomfortably in the darkness for a few seconds before saying, "Well... b-because I pulled you off her... But I wasn't trying to hurt you, honest... I just... She seemed scared, and I thought if we let her go, that she'd just run away..."
She swallowed hard. There was a lump in her throat, and her voice felt shaky. "I-I... I just wanted the fighting to stop..."
Rebekah waffled uncomfortably in the darkness for a few seconds before saying, "Well... b-because I pulled you off her... But I wasn't trying to hurt you, honest... I just... She seemed scared, and I thought if we let her go, that she'd just run away..."
She swallowed hard. There was a lump in her throat, and her voice felt shaky. "I-I... I just wanted the fighting to stop..."
V9 Characters:
Zara Mohammad
Alexis Keller
Wyatt Latimer
Stephanie "Radical Steph" Raddison
Xiomara Ximenez
Zara Mohammad
Alexis Keller
Wyatt Latimer
Stephanie "Radical Steph" Raddison
Xiomara Ximenez
Well...Rebekah did make a good point Jess supposed. She scrunched her eyes shut to stop them from screaming at her. Her head had a dull pain like a rock was lodged in her brain, whenever she moved there was a dull ache that spread across her entire skull.
When she nodded along with what Rebekah was saying, more out of habit than anything else the pain multiplied and rolled around her cranium in waves. A hiss of pain escaped her lips and she crouched slightly lower and leaned her whole side against the cave wall. Putting her head against it helped ease the pain somewhat, the chill of the stone soothing against her bruised skin.
"She does that," Jessica responded softly, keeping her voice low because loud noises hurt. She belatedly realized that she should have been saying did, but pushed on. "It's alright," She eventually managed to croak out, hating how her voice sounded being echoed around the cave. She also wished the dripping would stop.
"I wasn't going to hurt anyone." Jessica found herself saying, "But she tried to shoot me so." She gave a weak shrug, forgetting it was pointless as Rebekah couldn't see her.
When she nodded along with what Rebekah was saying, more out of habit than anything else the pain multiplied and rolled around her cranium in waves. A hiss of pain escaped her lips and she crouched slightly lower and leaned her whole side against the cave wall. Putting her head against it helped ease the pain somewhat, the chill of the stone soothing against her bruised skin.
"She does that," Jessica responded softly, keeping her voice low because loud noises hurt. She belatedly realized that she should have been saying did, but pushed on. "It's alright," She eventually managed to croak out, hating how her voice sounded being echoed around the cave. She also wished the dripping would stop.
"I wasn't going to hurt anyone." Jessica found herself saying, "But she tried to shoot me so." She gave a weak shrug, forgetting it was pointless as Rebekah couldn't see her.
"That's true," Rebekah said, lapsing into a thoughtful silence.
It didn't sound like Jess had wanted to kill anyone. Or at least she was saying that she didn't, and didn't seem to have followed it up with a gunshot. That was a good start, at least. But the woolly mammoth in the pre-Cambrian cave dwelling was that Rebekah didn't entirely believe her. Yes, it had been self-defense, because the strange human had taken a shot at them, and she'd refused to stop strangling Jess even at gunpoint. You couldn't fault a blue poison dart frog for poisoning the inside of a predator's mouth while it was trying to eat them. But... the human hadn't been a predator when the gun went off. She'd been running away, leaving, and Jess had lined up the sights and fired anyway. Rebekah knew her way around self-defense, and there was nothing defensive about re-engaging an attacker who was disengaged and fleeing the scene. Jess hadn't killed reactively, she'd killed proactively.
And unless Rebekah understood that action, she'd never be able to trust Jess. Not for a single second.
She looked over at the patch of darkness where Jess resided. "Who was that girl? Why did she say those things about you, that you're not an angel and stuff?"
It didn't sound like Jess had wanted to kill anyone. Or at least she was saying that she didn't, and didn't seem to have followed it up with a gunshot. That was a good start, at least. But the woolly mammoth in the pre-Cambrian cave dwelling was that Rebekah didn't entirely believe her. Yes, it had been self-defense, because the strange human had taken a shot at them, and she'd refused to stop strangling Jess even at gunpoint. You couldn't fault a blue poison dart frog for poisoning the inside of a predator's mouth while it was trying to eat them. But... the human hadn't been a predator when the gun went off. She'd been running away, leaving, and Jess had lined up the sights and fired anyway. Rebekah knew her way around self-defense, and there was nothing defensive about re-engaging an attacker who was disengaged and fleeing the scene. Jess hadn't killed reactively, she'd killed proactively.
And unless Rebekah understood that action, she'd never be able to trust Jess. Not for a single second.
She looked over at the patch of darkness where Jess resided. "Who was that girl? Why did she say those things about you, that you're not an angel and stuff?"
V9 Characters:
Zara Mohammad
Alexis Keller
Wyatt Latimer
Stephanie "Radical Steph" Raddison
Xiomara Ximenez
Zara Mohammad
Alexis Keller
Wyatt Latimer
Stephanie "Radical Steph" Raddison
Xiomara Ximenez
"Mal," Jessica started, then realized Rebekah would need more information. "Mallory Valdez, she was in that prayer group." Jessica turned her body so she sat against the cave wall. wincing as her head continued to pound. Rebekah was asking her a lot of questions.
"She lies a lot," Jessica continued once the pain had subsided somewhat. Her thoughts were jumbled both as a function of the adrenaline dump and the blows to the head she had taken courtesy of Mallory. So while she understood Rebekah's questions it was hard to keep some annoyance from creeping in. She'd been dealing with Mallory for years and she'd grown used to how the girl used words and her two faces to turn situations. Jessica didn't appreciate having to explain to people what she saw as obvious at the best of times. Entering into yet another cycle of that cycle with Rebekah after Mallory had tried to shoot her, strangle her, and smash her skull against the rocks wasn't a welcome step in her attempts to process what had happened.
"In junior year she got Maritza, her sister, sent away," It had never been confirmed, but it was obvious to anyone who knew anything about the situation. Jessica wondered if Maritza knew, she imagined that she must have harbored suspicions. Mallory had always been jealous of her. She would never know though. Their location was proof enough of that. "I think it was...well," There was a long pause as Jessica remembered what Mallory had screamed during their fight. "You heard her."
"Maritza was...my best friend," Jessica said as she dabbed at the cut on her cheek to distract herself, "So I pushed Mallory on what happened and she hated that."
"That's the story."
"She lies a lot," Jessica continued once the pain had subsided somewhat. Her thoughts were jumbled both as a function of the adrenaline dump and the blows to the head she had taken courtesy of Mallory. So while she understood Rebekah's questions it was hard to keep some annoyance from creeping in. She'd been dealing with Mallory for years and she'd grown used to how the girl used words and her two faces to turn situations. Jessica didn't appreciate having to explain to people what she saw as obvious at the best of times. Entering into yet another cycle of that cycle with Rebekah after Mallory had tried to shoot her, strangle her, and smash her skull against the rocks wasn't a welcome step in her attempts to process what had happened.
"In junior year she got Maritza, her sister, sent away," It had never been confirmed, but it was obvious to anyone who knew anything about the situation. Jessica wondered if Maritza knew, she imagined that she must have harbored suspicions. Mallory had always been jealous of her. She would never know though. Their location was proof enough of that. "I think it was...well," There was a long pause as Jessica remembered what Mallory had screamed during their fight. "You heard her."
"Maritza was...my best friend," Jessica said as she dabbed at the cut on her cheek to distract herself, "So I pushed Mallory on what happened and she hated that."
"That's the story."