The Darkness Within《TITANS》

Chapter 6

"Don't do anything stupid," Rachel said, her voice monotone as they both stared into the bird cage. The younger girl said nothing, not making a promise she wasn't sure she could keep.

"They're up here," Dick's voice sounded from behind them, a little out of breath. "Hey, what're you doing up here? I was worried." Jordan scoffed.

"I bet you were," she said as the man walked up to them, observing their stoic demeanor. The girl glared at him, squeezing her tongue between her teeth to distract the rest of her body from jumping at him.

"What's wrong?" He finally asked. Rachel took the brown envelope from inside her coat.

"You were gonna leave us here... you said you weren't, but you lied," Rachel said, gripping onto the brown paper. He looked over at Jordan who's head had been lowered, observing her dirty boots. "You must lie a lot. You're good at it." He said nothing, his eyes lowering to what Jordan hoped was in shame.

"Man, we trusted you, Dick. Even after the other looneys." Her blue waves moved with the gentle, frigid breeze. She folded her arms, trying to keep herself in place.

"What're they talking about, Dick?" Hank's voice startled the man as he whipped around. Rachel handed the paper over to Hank.

"Hank, don't read that. I-" Dick approached the man, trying to stop him.

"It's got my name on it." The detective didn't argue, knowing the man had a point, standing further back from the taller male. He opened the letter, reading it for a second, Dawn by his side. "What the fuck?" He looked up at Dick, Jordan shifting her weight to one leg. "You were gonna leave them here? You were gonna pay us?"

"It's not that simple." Rachel stepped back to the cage, leaving the adults to argue. The blue-haired girl felt the familiar tingling under her skin, her head feeling like it was stretching beyond the clouds. It tickled, waves of tranquility leaking onto her like glitter slime. The slight stumble had gone unnoticed by the group as she made her way to the small bench a few feet from the cage.

She tried to hold on to the anger, but it kept slipping away. She felt paralyzed, but in a way she was the one who didn't want to move. Her throat tickled with light laughter, the cool night breeze caressing her skin. She was delighted, unaware of the arguing behind her.

"Well, hello there." The four new figures were in and out of focus as her head kept spinning. She took a deep breath, humming as warmth pulsed inside her body. She felt her arm being pulled, barely being drawn back to reality by the grunts and clanks of a fight.

"What's wrong with you?" Dick questioned, guiding the staggering girl behind a metal vent by her sister. "Are you high?" He opened her half closed eyes, noticing the even more prominent bags under them. She smiled, pushing his hands away.

"It's fine," she said, drawing out the words. He sighed, disappearing, gone to be a hero. Rachel breathed heavily, squeezing her eyes shut. Jordan took her hand, intertwining their fingers. She could barely feel her sister's hand against hers much less the death grip she held on with. There were loud crashes behind them, a silence following. She wasn't sure how long it lasted. She wasn't sure of anything.

The mysterious group surrounded the two, the older woman kneeling by Rachel's side. "There you are, dear." She smiled. But even with an unclear mind, the bluenette knew there was harm meant to be done. The woman grabbed Rachel, tying her hands, rendering her powerless.

"What about this one?" The younger female asked. The woman observed her for a moment, shaking her head.

"We don't need her."

"But... I wanna keep her. Please?" The boy pleaded. The woman sighed, a stern look settling on her features. Jordan squinted her eyes, even though she could barely see either way. Her eyes stared down the barrel of the gun pointed between her eyes. With not a second to comprehend her predicament, a shot rang out, her body going limp.

"NO! NO!" Rachel's screams scraped against her throat, her sobs leaving her breathless. Her body shook, unable to make a sound. The only family she had left was just murdered in front of her eyes. Again. Now, she was truly alone.

"Now, no time for dillying. The show must-" The woman froze, a gasp alerting the family of assassins, Rachel flinching away. The girl spluttered up blood, her back hunched over as she gagged and retched.  A fit of coughs left her lungs, tears spilling from her eyes. Her head felt as if it had exploded and scattered her brains.

"What the fuck?" She choked out. She swallowed the blood coming up her throat, almost gagging at how wrong the metallic taste felt. Her breaths trembled, hands violently shaking as she realized what had happened. "Oh, am I a fucking ghost?" She cried, feeling her body, fingers grazing over the healed skin of the gunshot wound blood still covered. "What the fuck?" Her eyes were wide, burning with terror.

A heavy feeling came over her head, like a cloth over face, water being poured over it. She had it every time she had a near death experience. Falling head first off a three storey building, alcohol poisoning or stab wound to the chest. She only ever woke up with a faded scar. But this time, she was sure life had sunken from her body, leaving an empty shell of bones and useless organs.

"Now can we keep her?" Fascination playing in the boy's voice. Jordan stood abruptly, immediately regretting it as stars nailed her head with pain. She bent over, hands on her knees, trying to keep herself steady. She froze, the whispers, faint at first, were growing.

"No, no, no." Feeling her body being pulled, she panicked. "Wait... I can't. I need- need my medicine. Please!" The red-haired girl scoffed, rolling her eyes impatiently.

"As if."

"Dear," the woman warned, contemplating for a moment. She finally instructed the boy to accompany the bluenette for her medicine. "Don't be too long now. Ten minutes."

She lead him to the apartment, her hands now tied in front of her. She cried, not only because her head was pounding with a splitting ache, but everything falling and clashing before her. Her mother's death, without knowing how much she loved her. Her sister probably hating her for never being sober, or being able to protect her. 

She took a pill, swallowing and stuffing the small bags of the rest in her pockets.

"Why do you take those?" He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. She flinched away, clear liquid running from her nose, mixing with the blood. Her ears felt clogged, dried blood coming from inside.

"Migraines," she muttered, trying to keep her distance as her body burned from inside out. A disembodied howl almost brought the girl to fall over as she pulled at her hair, a groan sounding from her chest. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut the fuck up!" The boy, confused, pulled her by the arm, caressing her face to look at him. She sniffled, turning away from him and grabbing her bag, breaths heavy as sweat drenched every inch of her body.

"Language," he scolded softly. Come now. Wouldn't want to keep mother waiting." He pulled her down the stairs, everyone else waiting at the bottom.

"That was thirty seconds longer than mom said," the young redhead complained. They piled into the car, throwing Jordan in the trunk while Rachel squeezed between the other two teenagers. 

The bluenette was gagged, the girl in front of her getting annoyed at her constant groaning and writhing, finally falling unconscious as the night progressed.