I bring the blade down.
Full force.
A clean, fast swing.
But not to her neck.
No, I aim lower.
SLAASH!
Steel carves through flesh like paper.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Her scream tears through the air, filled with raw agony. Amanda collapses to the ground, convulsing, her limbs seizing as pain consumes her.
Her right arm—
It lands on the ground with a sickening thud.
Severed at the shoulder.
Blood erupts in violent spurts from the wound, gushing in thick, arterial arcs. The stone courtyard runs red in seconds, her torn sleeve soaked, her pristine uniform stained beyond recognition. It pools beneath her in a spreading tide of crimson.
The crowd jolts backward in horror.
Some students cry out.
Others stagger away, retching, clutching their mouths.
The scent of blood, hot and metallic, saturates the air.
Amanda twitches on the ground, her one remaining hand digging into the stone, clawing, nails scratching uselessly for something to hold onto.
