Time seemed to crystallize around me like the ice formations that surrounded us throughout the arena. Cindy's scream of pain echoed in my ears, but it felt distant, muffled, as if I were hearing it from underwater. The sight of blood seeping through her protective clothing, the knowledge of what that bite meant, the implications of what would have to happen next—it all crashed over me like a wave of liquid nitrogen, freezing my thoughts and my body in place.
"It can't be happening," I whispered, the words barely audible even to myself. "Not her. Not now."
