The flash... II

Chapter one: fear

TRIGGER WARNING: mention of blood, injuries and death

Throughout the coms a sickening crack echoed in the lab. Silence fell upon the team, no one dared to speak a word. Iris covered her mouth with her hands, her mind raced with thousands different thoughts. What was that noise? Did it come from Barry? Did Barry cause it? Was Zoom responsible? What bone could produce such horrendous sound?

She turned her head towards her friends, only to discover that both of them were in the same state she was. Cisco opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, but the words died in his throat, again and again. Caitlin took the microphone from him and called Barry's name, but no one responded. Not the first, not the second, not the third time. Iris turned away from them, chocked a sob and squeezed her eyes.

When she lifted her head she saw that monster on the screen, holding an apparently dead Flash by the neck. She screamed, horrified by the image, petrified by the possibility that he was dead. Cisco and Caitlin turned to her, only to enter once again the state of shock they were in just seconds prior. They're eyes filled with tears as they listened to the loathsome speech that Zoom was proudly giving to his audience.

Just as he finished a flash of blue lightning entered the building and they were forced to face their nightmare. The view of their friend dangling from the other speedster hand was possibly the most terrifying thing they've ever seen, probably will ever see. Barry's face was slightly blue, blood dripped from his nose and a bruise was visible under the mask. The suit was clearly damaged, ripped above the his knees and left elbow, the emblem was broken in half and his right glove was missing. However the scariest thing about the sight they were forced to endure was their friend's chest: completely still. None of the three understood a word Zoom said, but they snapped out of the trance as soon as Barry's body was dropped and Zoom disappeared.

Caitlin rushed over and immediately shouted at Cisco to get a barrel and barked at Iris to help her lift him. Cisco arrived with the barrel and the three of them moved him to the infirmary. Caitlin ripped the suit off her friend and felt his torso for hidden injuries. Just then a continuous sound ripped the silence the room was filled with. Iris froze and her hands started shaking, Cisco took a few steps back, horrified by Caitlin's scream. The doctor immediately started CPR as Cisco charged the defibrillator. 3 shocks were necessary to revive Barry.  3 tries until his heart finally started beating again. 3 exhausting, terrifying tries needed to escape tragedy.

All the cleaning, the setting up, Joe's arrival was all a blur for everyone. Cisco barely remembered the detective entering the labs, Caitlin couldn't recall attaching Barry to the oxygen tank and Iris, she didn't have memory of any of the things that happened after Zoom's inrush. Nothing felt real, nothing felt tangible. They must have been in a dream. Must have been in a nightmare.

As Barry's pulse stabilised everything started to get in focus, everything started to feel concrete. Cisco could now feel the leather of the chair he was sitting on touching his bare forearm. Caitlin could sense the gloves covering her hands and she quickly took them off as she realised they were covered with blood, her best friend's blood. Iris noticed the tears streaming on her face as chocked sobs hurt her chest. She looked up and met her father's eyes, full of tears just like hers. Joe looked down at his daughter and he tightened the embrace. Iris let out an horrendous cry as she buried her face into her fathers chest. Joe just tried to stay strong, he had to. He needed to. But the fear clenched his heart, tightened his throat and blurred his vision. Once again he was forced to witness his son, his Barry on a hospital bed, tubes in his nose, in his throat, in his arms. The boy he had the pleasure to watch grow into a wonderful man now looked like a kid, a horribly beaten little kid who did not deserve any of the pain he was experiencing.

Once again the building met with silence. Not an awkward silence. Not even a comfortable one. A nauseating kind of silence, that brought a dreadful feeling upon the team. A sickening silence that like darkness, full of scary monsters, embraced the infirmary, settling terror in their souls. An almost disgusting silence, a silence no one dared to break, in fear of meeting the consequences of the wrong words.

Everyone's eyes were set on the floor, as if in that moment the pavement held all the answers to their unspoken questions, the solutions to all their problems. But it didn't. The white ceramic of the tiles stared right back at them, completely blank, shining under the LED light installed all around the labs. The hope that some words containing the meaning of all the pain they had to suffer would appear on the gleaming white floor was slowly fading away. The constant, rhythmic beeping of the monitor was the only thing connecting the to reality. The certainty that Barry's heart was beating was the thin string that linked all of them to sanity.

When the sun started to rise they were still there, around the bed occupied by him. All night not a word was exchanged between them. Not a singular noise other than the cardiac monitor was heard or made. Cisco was still curled up in his leather chair, his head on Caitlin's shoulder, while the woman rested hers on his. Iris was still in Joe's arms, the grip as tight as it was hours prior. No one moved an inch in fear that the moment of stability would end, in fear that Barry would fade away. Cisco gathered enough courage through the night to be the first one to break the silence.
"He's stable, right?"
Caitlin finally looked up from the floor and let her eyes meet the screen next to the bed. The minute it took her to accurately analyse the data seemed more like a year. The West had lifted their heads towards the doctor and were not so patiently waiting for answers.
"He is"
Were the only words the girl was able to pronounce, her throat constricted by dehydration and extreme relief. After hours the detective released his daughter and brought his hands up on his face, to hide the tears that were surprisingly still rolling on his face. Iris rose on her feet, the small smile that was forming on her face slowly faded as she remembered about something. About someone. Fear once again gripped on her heart as she took her phone out.
"I have to make a call"
And she exited slowly the room, leaving everyone around her astonished.