Falling Slowly [Barry Allen]

Chapter 27

Darkness. All I could see was darkness.

My first feeling is of the cold against the bare flesh of my arms and hands. Wherever I am, there obviously is no furnace. An odd thought to have at a time like this.

My second thought was the rough material binding my body to a small chair, as well as my wrists behind my back, and my ankles to the legs of the chair. And they were expertly tied. I couldn't move even a fraction of an inch, and to top it all off, my eyes are covered with a smooth, dark cloth.

My mind is whirling, and panic is beginning to grip the edges of my awareness. My breathing quickened, the only sound in the room.

My logical mind told me to calm down and to think about how I could assess the situation, figure out anything I could to help me understand my location. But my urgency was growing, and I couldn't control my own mind anymore.

My cell phone.

I attempted to move my hands toward my pocket, but failed miserably. However, the slight movement of my thigh proved that the device was no longer in my pocket.

Well, it had been a long shot, anyway.

"Looking for this?"

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A few hours earlier...

"Woah! Barry, look out! Over there!" I was shouting at Barry from beside Caitlin, but it was doing absolutely no good. He was so far out in the airline runways, I could barely see what was going on anyway.

But I could see all I really needed to see.

Barry.

A flying Cisco-bot.

And lots of missiles.

"You know he can't hear you, right?" Caitlin pointed out.

I sighed. "Yeah, I know... But it makes ME feel better!"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, princess," Cisco commented over his shoulder from a few feet in front of us.

I sighed, and my stomach tensed up as yet another missile was launched in Barry's direction. He dodged it, but the explosion was too close this time, and knocked him off of his feet. He tumbled to the ground in a not-so-graceful fashion, but managed to tuck and roll away from the site of the explosion.

Only then did I release the breath that I hadn't realized I had been holding.

"Is that all you've got, Cisco?!" Barry yelled into his earpiece.

Cisco turned to look at Caitlin, Dr. Wells, and I.

"Are you crazy?!" I exclaimed, flailing my arms at Cisco. "He's got a death wish!"

Cisco then turned to Caitlin, wordlessly.

"His vitals are normal..." she trailed off, biting her lip. She knew what was going to happen.

"Dr. Wells? Should I bring the heat?" Cisco asked, barely able to contain his enthusiasm. He was practically jumping up and down like a child on Christmas.

Dr. Wells paused for a moment, seemingly considering the pros and cons. But there was a smirk on his lips the entire time, and we all knew what the answer was going to be.

"Bring it, Cisco."

"Hey, Cisco?" I interjected quietly. He turned to look at me over his shoulder, eyebrows raised. "Just... don't 'bring it' too hard, okay?"

Cisco gave me a sweet smile. "I can't promise anything!"

I rolled my eyes and turned to make my way toward the back of the group, but Dr. Wells stopped me in my tracks.

"Ms. Marshall, would you like Barry to be unprepared for the danger he will undoubtedly face in Central City?"

I was so stunned by Wells's sudden remark that all I could do was stutter. "Um, well, obviously not, but-"

"Then why would you not want Cisco to give everything he's got into the simulation?"

My cheeks burned, but I wasn't about to back down.

"I just don't want Barry to be seriously injured so that he can't go out and fight crime for real-"

Wells cut me off again. "Captain Cold, Heat Wave, and Mirror Master aren't going to be taking it easy on Barry anytime soon. They will keep attacking Mr. Allen, even when he's injured."

He turned his chair so he was facing me. "I understand that Barry has taken a strong liking to you, but I can't help but feel that he made a rash decision to make you a part of this team. You don't realize what we are really up against here. This isn't just some game that we're playing. And until you can wrap your head around what's really going on, I don't believe you should really be a part of this team."

He turned his wheelchair again, returning his gaze to Barry, who was now running circles around the flying missile launcher.

I glanced between the two young scientists who had witnessed the lecture I was just given, each turning their eyes to the ground in embarrassment as my gaze met theirs. I knew they wouldn't defy their authority, even though they didn't agree. All the same, I couldn't help but feel slightly betrayed by my friends.

I watched Barry for a few seconds longer. He seemed to be enjoying himself, darting between weapons that could potentially kill him. It made me smile the slightest bit, despite all of the rude and degrading things that Dr. Wells had just said to me.

But a small part of me couldn't help but take what Wells had said to heart. He was right in the fact that I couldn't keep babying Barry. The villains he encountered wouldn't go easy on him, and he should train for it.

And maybe I don't exactly know what's going on in Central City, but I've only been here a few months. It's not fair for him to expect me to know everything after only a month or so of knowing Barry's secret identity.

But I wasn't helping Barry or anyone else by sitting in this abandoned airport landing strip and worrying, so I turned and walked quickly toward my car without saying another word. I had to get away and just think for a little while by myself.

I drove home, got out of my car, and walked up to open the front door only to find it locked. I searched my pockets for the spare key Joe had given me when I first moved in, and I had just wrapped my fingers around the cold metal when I felt a sharp pain in the back of my skull.

The force of whatever had struck me forced my body into the door, and before I knew it, a pair of hands had me pinned to the thick wooden door.

I felt something sharp in my neck, and then some type of fluid being injected beneath my skin. Before I could even throw a punch, my consciousness became fuzzy, and my equilibrium was turned upside down.

I began to fall, but I couldn't stay conscious long enough to find out whether I hit the ground or not.

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A/N: Dun dun dun!! Haha, I told you it was gonna get good. :) Hope you guys liked this chapter! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
QOTD: Do you think my chapters are too long? Not long enough? Because the longer they are, the longer it takes to post them. Let me know if you think the chapters need to be shorter, or if they should stay how they are. Thanks, Speedsters/Karry shippers! You're the best. :)