Vulnerable; A Nightwing Fanfiction

Chapter 1

It was a sunny day in Bludhaven as Dahlia stepped onto the sidewalk and breathed in her first breath of freedom. The sun was shining high in the sky as it basked over her olive skin. She had only gotten to see the sunlight for about ten minutes a day over the past three days, when she and the others would be allowed a walk around the grassy fields. As her inmates would be busy taking drags off their cigarettes, Dahlia would walk into the middle of the field and bask in the sun. For a moment she would be able to escape the unfortunate truth of her circumstance, and convince herself that the vitamin d she was taking in was actually lifting her heavy mood. But just as quickly would that moment be robbed from her as she and the other inmates were whisked away back inside to be locked up again.  But now the sun that rested on her skin felt different, it felt even better than before now that she was officially a free woman.

The pavement felt extra hot against her feet, since she had no shoes on but just a pair of bright red hospital socks with a big happy smiley face on each pair. She stared down at the smiley faces, which was ironic because she was anything but happy. She had lied to the front desk that she had a ride waiting around the corner, it was the only way she would be able to be let out. But no one was coming for her, for a few days ago her friends and boyfriend, well ex boyfriend now, had left her for dead. She had not even tried to contact the people who had abandoned her, and since she didn't have access to her phone and no numbers memorized, the payphone at the facility proved useless to her. So this was a true break from the outside world as Bludhaven had moved forward while she stood still. Dahlia continued to stare down at her red socks as images of that night started to flash in front of her eyes.

"Get away from me, you're crazy," the man standing in front of her exclaimed as he recoiled back, "you need help". Dahlia was kneeling in front of him with tears streaming down her face. Those words hurt like a dagger in her heart, as they were uttered by someone who was supposed to care and support her. He didn't even have to explicitly say that their relationship was over for her to know that this was the end.

"Just leave her here, we can't carry around this dead weight with us," said another figure standing next to him.

"Please," Dahlia wept from the dirty ground. But the people in front of her would show no mercy or an ounce of empathy as they walked away leaving her all alone. She watched them walk away and leave her stranded on the pavement, but at this point the drugs really started to sink in, and her world turned hazy and unclear.

Dahlia blinked and was brought back from the flashback to the smiling faces staring back at her. She tried really hard to recollect what had happened next, but the memories would not present themselves to her, as if someone had deleted the rest of that night from her memory entirely. After straining herself for a few minutes, she realized that she must have blacked out that night, for she had no recollection of the events that took place after her unpleasant flashback. The next memory that was some-what clear in her head was waking up in a hospital bed the next day. She had no memory of how she had ended up there, and the staff just told her that a good samaritan had brought her in, meaning her friends had no involvement in her being saved.

Dahlia decided that it was probably a good idea to start moving away from this building and the nightmare that came with it. She walked around the corner of the building and out of sight from the front desk, then headed toward the next busy intersection. She was still wearing her hospital scrubs, and was gaining quite a few concerned glances as she walked down the sidewalk. She paid no attention and kept walking forward with the most neutral face she could present. When she finally arrived at the next intersection that was labeled and read the street signs, she realized that she was a long way from her apartment. 

She had a momentary flashback of riding in a dark ambulance, tied down to the gurney as if she was a top tier villain from Gotham City. But just as soon as it appeared in her head it was gone again, and she was stuck again staring at the street signs. Since she was so far it would probably take her a few hours by foot. She would have to hurry if she wanted to make it home by nightfall since Buldhaven could be very dangerous at night. And with that awful thought that made her stomach churn, she started her walk, trying to pull out any more lost memories of that night.