[The sight should have served as a warning, but his reaction time was just too low. Ashton's legs coiled up, ready to spring aside, but he was not fast enough. There was a sharp pain, like someone was slowly pulling his skin off. The sound of fabric and flesh tearing filled his ears, his eyes wide at first with the shock, then clenching tight. He tried to scream, but his voice was drowned out by the echoes of two others, blazing fire and chilling ice blasting out in anger and retribution before suddenly cutting off.
Then his legs gave out, and he first dropped heavily to his knees, arms loose, jaws slack, before finally tipping over into a tired, bleeding heap on the grass.]