Facing away from Donny, Ariett couldn't have realized she'd be shot until the bullet had already plunged through her back and punctured the once-beating muscle lodged in her chest. And couldn't or not, the thought [i]didn't[/i] cross her mind until after the bang: if only she'd been reflected, the bullet would have bounced simply off her metal shoulder.

As it was, the blast twisted her body to the right, so that she no longer faced the woman and Donny but instead the remaining surviving members of the limousine.

Perhaps it was the chill that had overtaken her since they'd crashed on this blasted university, or perhaps it was biological luck—but though she could feel her body weakening, she had not yet succumbed to shock. She knew she had only minutes—or seconds—before she'd be lost. Seeing the doctor, the knight, and the archer, she decided she'd might as well give them a chance.

As she forced herself limp, she surreptitiously armed the grenade, holding it by her belly, and drifting lazily back towards Leona and Donny. Once she drew close, she spin around to protect the others from the blast with her body, and release the grenade.