The Darkness Within《TITANS》

Chapter 7

"Hurry up, girls. We haven't got all day," the older male assassin called from outside the gas station bathroom. The two had decided to use this opportunity to find a means of escape, but the blue-haired girl was rather distracted.

"Why's everyone acting like it's so not crazy I'm not dead right now?" she said, picking at the dried blood on her forehead, her hands holding a slight tremor. "I got shot in the head. My brains were all over your face." Her face morphed into a grimace, eyes wide with terror. Rachel pulled her hands away from struggling with opening the window. "This isn't real, is it?"

"Girls? Rachel?"

"Coming." The purple-haired girl struggled with the dirt-tainted window once again.

"Come on now, Rachel. There's people waiting on you." He banged on the door again.

"I really have to take a shit, but I'm too nervous. But my bowels are turning." She bounced on her feet, stretching her pant waist away from her stomach.

"Can you just help me with this? We can fix your bowels later, okay?" Jordan sighed, helping the girl pull on the window frame to no avail. "I'll be right out," she called to him, trying to pull off her restraints.

"Who's gonna help you now, bitch?" The distorted voice echoed into the bathroom, a demonoid Rachel in the mirror.

"Shit." Jordan sniffled, swallowing another pill to get away from the hallucination. "This day is fucked," she muttered, squeezing her eyes shut. Was she real?

"Who are you?" The man's voice sounded beyond the door. Her eyes met Rachel's, both confused. She was unable to pick up what the feminine voice had said, but the explosion that followed knocked the two off their feet. The ringing in her ear was like screaming beyond this world. Debris floated around her foggy vision as dry coughs erupted from her chest. She felt a hand on her arm as she sat up, the muffled voice of her sister fading in as the ringing slowly faded away.

"Are you okay?" She nodded, looking up at the magenta-haired woman stood before them. Her locks were curly and big, accentuating a shimmer in her dark skin. The flashy, purple dress she wore was covered by a brown, fur coat. Dirt crunched beneath the thigh-high boots she wore on her slender legs.

"Do you know who I am?" She asked, Rachel sitting up on her elbow. "Girl, who am I?" 

"I don't know." Rachel shook her head at the aggressive question, the woman's eyes traveling to Jordan, who only shrugged. She sighed, looking back at the burnt corpse that was once a man.

"Come on. I have a feeling you'll do better with me than them." She helped them up, cutting their bonds loose with a small knife she had hidden in her coat. They fled the scene, the two unsure of the woman's motives, but at least they had each other.

***

The woman sped down the highway, silence filling the air except for the music playing softly on the radio. With her head against the window, Jordan took in a breath, sliding her face on the cool glass. A soft groan left her lips as she mourned her lost bag, but she was grateful for what she had saved in her pockets at least. Thank God for paranoia.

She rubbed her eyes, the conversation in the front seats muffled, like fingers had been stuffed into her ears. Her tolerance for the substances seemed to have been building too quickly. She couldn't seem to grip reality as her body switched from complete zen to gut wrenching anxiety. She grabbed at her chest, the sound of the vehicle and her sister's voice fading in and out, creeping up as if they were stuffed inside her head.

"Jay? Jay, come on. We're gonna get something to eat." With her blue curls in fists, the girl shook her head.

"Not hungry."