ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴀᴛᴍᴀɴ. ɪɪ

0.3

I awake with a painful feeling underlying my chest in the middle. My eyelids feel weighting shut, light glowing through them in a reddish-yellow consuming from the window. My brain is awake now, with a primal surge of adrenaline that hands me the strength to open my eyes. The rays of the sun fall upon the buildings, forming a sort of blockage from the lights. Slowly enough I roll my body over, but the feeling of my chest burning causes me to groan. I trail my eyes to the other side, but she isn't there.
My body gains strength from arching up, contorting my bony form. My hand instantly grasps the bed frame for temporary help. The pain stretches around my throb. My eyes shut and release a grimace to hold my composure from the suffering. My fingers grip the frame and forcefully press my body to perk up. A background noise and soft laughter echo through the stairs. My attention brings me to the sound of the toddler's voice. I take small steps before my palm presses onto the cold oak-wood wall, sliding both of my bare feet onto the floor till I trail out to the staircases. The throbbing continues.
I reach the staircases and quickly grasp onto the handrails from trembling to the floor. There's a moment of silence from the stairs around me, filled by the sound of my breathing that is shallowing and growing faster. My hand travels to my chest again, folding the black shirt I'm wearing to scan the place. The blood has spread around the bandage and leaks through the silky material. I take a deep breath, fold my shirt back down, and travel my feet on each tread, continuously slipping out a moan.

My arm wraps around the area of my bandage, sliding each foot into the main entrance with the help of my palm holding the balance against the wall. I reach through the doorframe, drawing my attention to the kitchen. Alfred stands behind the counter with a black apron wrapped around his neck and the strings twirled behind. He leans forward and rests his elbow on the desk, holding onto a bowl and a spoon. My eyes trail to the child.

He giggles in enjoyment when Alfred made odd sounds from a helicopter, traveling his hand in the air before finding the destination to the toddler's mouth. I take a deep breath and grip onto the doorframe from pushing forward.

Once I take a few steps inside, Alfred's eyes immediately dart to me. He quickly places the bowl down and leaves the spoon as he grabs into his stock, limping towards me. "You look horrible, Bruce."

The sound of Alfred's voice catches my attention from the racking of pain. My body comes to a stop, feeling each of my bones breaking in half. A combination of nausea, sweating and my heart racing through each heartbeat. I quickly trail my eyes to Alfred, breathing faster than usual as I press my fingers onto the bandage. "I'm bleeding, Alfred."

Alfred immediately stops his tracks with a worrying expression. He takes a deep breath, limping as fast as possible. "We need to take you to the hospital." He says sharply and grabs onto my arm. I quickly hold onto him, feeling the dizziness hit me with a brick. My breathing continues to rise as the pain takes over a portion of my brain.

Then the pain increases from my thorax to my head and the world goes black.

My eyes shot open with a sudden shock as I quickly touches my chest; newly wrapped in a bandage. A soft feeling embraces my body as I travel my attention around to notice I'm laying on the couch. My head drifts off to the left side, and immediately catches onto the toddler sitting on the wooden floor beside my head; our eyes collapse together. His angelic face with chubby cheeks and familiar chocolate-brown eyes. His long brown hair waves and curls up naturally with a messy mop-top, arching the end of the splits.

His small fingers grip the edge of the couch with his mouth a little open, staring into my soul. My hand travels to the edge, stretching my index finger to the floor. "Don't sit on the floor, it's cold." My voice rasps with a dry throat. I swallow softly to bring it back.