LITTLE GIRL

Her hands screamed at her. The agony radiating from them was worse than it had ever been, and still she kept her hands tightly gripped on the gun, firing relentlessly. If she stopped for even just a second, all of their lives would be in jeopardy. 

She hid her wince each time the pistol kicked back into her sensitive palms, her hands sweating beneath her gloves. Her breaths were laboured, her eyes constantly darting back and forth, instantly catching sight on the many threats. She felt spoilt for choice - she could aim in every direction all at once and still they'd all be bombarded. 

In the distance, Locusta caught sight of what appeared to be giant wheels thundering towards them. She swore colourfully under her breath, emptying the rest of her clip into the nearby monsters before harshly jabbing Octavian and Curio out of the way. They protested, their words silencing as they saw the circle incoming. 

Without a word spoken between them, they all picked up the pace. 

Except Octavian started running towards it. 

Locusta skidded to a stop, spinning on her heel to see Octavian's muscular form weave between the fighting. It looked like he was running directly for it. 

"Dumb ass," she muttered, sighing deeply. She exchanged a look with Curio, his wide eyes telling her everything she needed to know. Shaking her head, she licked her lips. "Let's go save his ass." 

The pair darted after him, moving nowhere near as gracefully as Octavian did. They stumbled their way through battles, ducking every few seconds to avoid being sliced or shot. It was harder to run the closer they got to the wheel, with all humans, aliens and creatures running away from it. 

She really wished she was amongst them. 

She pushed her way through the crowds, indifferent to the shouts thrown at her back. She just kept her eyes straight ahead, gaze trained on the same brunette mop of hair that led them all into battle too many times. She couldn't wait to catch up to him, to give him heavy fist across the face and drag him out of the way of danger. 

Locusta finally broke free of the crowd, Curio not far behind her. She stumbled the moment she was free, staggering to a stop. The wheel was too close now. Her attention spun to it's path of destruction - where Octavian rushed off to. Where Proxima Midnight stood commanding her army of mutants. 

Locusta froze. 

The very alien she had angered what felt like aeons ago was breathing the same air as her. She had no protection, only a mortal weapon against her spear and superior might and superior fury. Locusta wanted to cower away from her line of sight, to hide behind a rock and wait for her to leave. She knew she couldn't. 

Especially when Octavian was barrelling towards them. 

Curio caught up to Locusta, chest falling up and down rapidly. He stopped, following Locusta's terrified gaze. His Adams apple bobbed up and down. She felt as though she could barely hear anything over the thundering of her heart, the pounding loud enough to alert everyone nearby of their location. 

Curio squinted his eyes, staring. "Is that Octavian?" 

Locusta nodded. 

"What are we doing here, he needs our help!" Curio spun around to Locusta, firmly grabbing a hold of her shoulders. She squirmed under the contact, the weight foreign to her. "This bitch was responsible for what happened. Let's do our job and end it, and her, right now." 

Locusta said nothing. 

He shook her shoulders again, her head snapping forwards and backwards. "This is the man who's fought by our side for years. You may be abandoning him, but I'm not." 

Locusta frowned at him. For as long as she'd known Curio, he was the one to always try to weasel his way out of a fight. He only fought when he needed to, and hearing him so willing to enter a battle against a member of the Black Order shook her to her core. He had changed more than they could comprehend since coming to this reality. 

Curio turned his back to her before she could say anything else. He sprinted in the direction of Proxima Midnight, where her and Octavian were frantically battling it out. Locusta stared after him, gulping deeply. She clenched her fists together, holding her breath. 

She couldn't leave them to die. 

In her mind, she was planning on scolding the pair of them very thoroughly. She had insults on repeat in her head, cursing the two men for being so reckless. This was a powerful member of Thanos' army, and now she was throwing herself into the fray. 

If she died, she was so coming back to haunt them. 

Locusta followed in Curio's footsteps, trying not to pay attention to the giant circle gaining closer to them. If she could, she would have started muttering ideas on how to use them to her advantage under her breath; she barely had enough oxygen to keep her lungs inflating. 

The sounds of clashing metal attacked her ears. As soon as she was in eyesight, she gaped at Octavian spinning an alien blade in his hand, dancing around Proxima as she leered at him. Curio was ducking out of the way of her swinging spear, the edge of it grazing his cheek lightly. It drew blood - and the sight was enough to invoke an inhumane fury within her. 

"Get the fuck away from my friends!" Locusta snapped.

Proxima halted in her movements, the spear hanging in the air. Her gaze darted towards the small girl. The alien laughed. "Have you come here to die?" 

Locusta simply smiled, slipping her gun into her waistband. Curio and Octavian stared at her as if she was insane, watching as she pried her gloves off of her hands and tucked them into her back pocket. "No, but you will be." 

The air bit at her hands. Her hands lit up in an imaginary fire; she ignored the sensation. Her power was a curse, but it was a curse she needed to bestow upon someone else. 

Proxima smirked. 

With a flick of the wrist, her spear was flipped in her hand, the blade pointed towards Locusta. She gulped subtly. She let herself take a step closer to the alien, the blade closing in on her throat. Locusta's eyes snapped to behind the alien, connecting with Octavian's. 

She didn't even need to make the gesture. 

Octavian's hand shot out, just at the same time Locusta bent her back, the blade slicing the air where her neck would have been. His sword swiped at Proxima's side, and she dodged it with ease, taking another shot at Locusta. This time she couldn't sense the attack incoming, the blade tearing at the skin on her stomach before she flinched away. Her blood oozed out of the wound, staining the blade. It sizzled on the weapon. 

Proxima looked at Locusta, then the poison on her spear. 

She smirked. 

Proxima swung out wide. Locusta rolled away, her side burning. She sprung to her feet, expecting to be face to face with the sharp edge, expect she saw something that was worse than what she predicted. Her poisoned blade was waving at the boys, them expertly jumping out of the way. They were huffing heavily. Locusta knew it wouldn't be long before they were unable to continue. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a wheel getting closer. There were several of them coming at the group, but from what she'd seen, the wheels only moved in straight lines. Her mind quickly reeled with the possibilities, landing on one singular plan, her feet responding the moment her mind stopped calculating. The whole process had taken seconds, something she hoped that would work. 

It had to work. 

Locusta pulled out her gun, lifting it and lining up her shot. She squinted her eyes, taking a deep breath in, taking a deep breath out. She let a suspicious calm blanket her body. Locusta didn't let the wind rushing off the wheel behind her distract her. She didn't let the clunking of the wheels all around her throw her off. 

Now!

Locusta pulled the trigger. 

The kick of the gun rippled agony through her entire arm, and this time she let herself succumb to it. She screamed in pain, the gun tumbling to the ground. That entire time though, her eyes hadn't moved from the scene in front of her. 

The bullet hit the rim of the wheel whizzing past, ricocheting off of the metal. It was flung back towards the group, soaring towards its target. Locusta held her breath. 

Proxima Midnight shrieked. 

Her arm holding the spear went limp. The weapon fell to the floor, Locusta diving in to snatch it up before the alien could even think about it. Proxima grasped at her shoulder angrily, spinning to spit venom at Locusta. 

Locusta flipped the spear in her hand, the weapon pointed at Proxima. 

Proxima growled at her. "Is a little girl like you going to kill me?"

Locusta stared her down stonily. With one swift swipe of the blade, she cut Proxima deeply across the chest. She staggered back, hand clutching her chest tightly. She chokes. Black blood dripped from her lips. Her gaze darted between the three of them. 

She turned and fled. 

Octavian inched after her. Curio lifted his arm up, stopping him from moving any further. "She'll be dead soon enough."

It felt as though all of the energy had been sucked from her body. Her muscles pleaded with her to relax, to collapse to the ground and sleep for millions of years. But she couldn't do that, not yet. 

"Did we just kill a member of the Black Order?" 

"No," Octavian smiled. "You did." 

The three of them huffed a laugh. Maybe winning this battle wasn't as hopeless as it seemed. 

-

hey guys! how you all doing? i have mocks next week and i am probably going to cry so thats great ahaha

its weird to think there's only about 10 more chapters of story, and then 4 more deleted scenes. since its nearly over soon, i was wondering if anyone had any questions about the book, characters, me etc for a little q and a at the end?

thank you all for reading, see you soon!

-thirdwheelchurchill