Come What May-Chapter 2, Page 1 by @amaxwell (Andi Maxwell)

Andraia swore as the alarms started screeching behind her. There was a loud shout, and the sound of pounding footsteps that were growing louder with each passing second.

She swore again, vehemently wishing that her partner had not picked this exact moment to be a hero. 'Dammit, Kassie,' she thought. 'Always out to prove something even to those of us who you don't have to!'

She took off running, and after several hallways, thought she had lost her pursuers.

"What?!" Another shout proved her wrong. "Guards!" someone called. She'd been spotted. Tearing off again, her frantic pace tearing the air from her lungs, she raced along, weapon at the ready.

A sharp left brought her to a dead end. She whirled in a panic, jade eyes flickering up and around, searching for any possible exit.

They settled on a great, large window at the end of an adjacent hallway. 'A window...' she thought. 'It's my only chance!'

Without a breath to spare, bullets ricocheting off the floor at her feet, she turned and ran for the window. Firing off a few quick shots over her shoulder, Andraia gritted her teeth and shoved one gloved fist straight through the glass, ignoring the sharp sting as the razor-like shards cut shallow incisions in her hand. She cleared the sill of any spare bits, and perched on the edge, surveying the drop before her. 'It can't be avoided...I HAVE to bring back help!'

Andraia held her breath and leapt from the second story window. She hit the ground and rolled, coming swiftly up to her feet.

She didn't hear a voice at the window murmur the words "Target acquired" as a rifle with a laser scope took aim at her unprotected back.

She wasted no time in taking off for the nearby forested area, hoping to get lost in the thick grove of trees ahead of her.

Andraia had not yet achieved her goal when something struck her hard in the back. One hand went reflexively up and she cursed angrily at the wetness spreading along her fingers. There was no time to spare now, and she squared her shoulders, pressing on despite the bullet lodged in her spine. If she gave up now, her partner and best friend was dead. Plain and simple.

No time to stop.

No time to hide.

No time to die.

Okay, this is from a Gundam Wing fanfiction I'm writing with a friend of mine, and my character is currently escaping from the clutches of a very unlikely-or so we would have thought-captor, her best friend having played decoy to get her enough time to get out. There will be more pages, this is just the first. And my kudos to anyone brave enough to read through that long damn narrative. It was kind of necessary, though. Especially since I had to downsize the actual manga panel so much that you can't read my craptastic handwriting. -.-' Page two coming hopefully soon!

Fan art from: Gundam Wing-inderectly, anyway

Artwork © Copyright 2002 Andi Maxwell