Snippet #1278380

Saomaru waited with bated breath for the opportunity to strike. Avani's bending was something else, she reflected, and she wondered if the girl had ever had a private teacher for that sort of thing. Most of the benders she had met were self-taught, due to the need for secrecy, and thus only a few were ever really potent at it anymore.

Still, they were outnumbered, and she knew she had to find her opportunity soon. As quickly as she could cross the bridge, they could abandon the fight and evade as well, which might up their chances of survival... it was only then that the gravity of the situation really hit her. Sure, living in the Undercity was a health risk daily, but only rarely were people ever outright killed by something. Most injuries that were not related to disease were accidental. She wondered for a moment if this was the sort of thing that Eket or any of the others she did not know had to deal with on a regular basis. Truthfully, she wasn't sure how they did it if it was so.

Her brother caught a drone and smashed it with his sword, clearing a straight shot for the bridge. Heart in her throat, Saomaru didn't need to be told, and took off from a dead stop, runner's legs launching her forward into a sprint. A few of the drones seemed to have caught on, and she had to duck and dodge around them. More than once, she felt the wind of a near-miss slice over her face or just behind her back, and this only urged her faster.

Ten feet from the bridge, she was forced to a stop. A shield blocked her path, and took a swing at her with the weapon it was holding. Saomaru yelped and threw herself to the side, tucking into a roll with the piece of technology safely cushioned in her grasp. She scrambled quickly to her feet and stood, panting, trying to figure out some way to get past it.