The Way We Fall | Bruce Wayne

CHAPTER 31 - Reckoning

When she made it inside, everything was eerily normal and calm. At the moment, the only chaos would be in the security office as officers scrambled to power the cameras again. They would have no idea about the fire alarms until it was too late.

Peeking around a corner, she saw the last few jugs of what she now knew to be gasoline still sitting in the lobby. The one that had been spilled was already nowhere to be seen, though undoubtedly others would have picked up on the odor as well. As for the rest, they could've been anywhere in the building by now.

Dashing from cover to cover, Sara approached the elevators. She'd never be able to find all of the gallons of fuel, let alone get them out. She could only hope to find Bruce and somehow convince him to leave. Then he could notify security. As long as she wore the mask, not a soul would believe a word she said. Maybe not even him. Nevertheless, Sara swiftly pressed the elevator call button before ducking behind cover again.

The elevator chimed upon arrival. She ran inside, pressed the button for the second-highest floor, and spammed the close-doors button. As the doors eased shut, she could finally have a moment to breathe.

The moment didn't last long. She held in a breath as the elevator slowed to a halt on the twenty-second floor. She pinned her back to the side wall, waiting in anticipation for someone to step inside. The doors opened again. One second passed, two seconds. Nobody. She leaned her head against the wall in relief as the doors shut once again.

She stepped in front of the doors as it neared her destination. Five more floors. Four. Three.

The elevator jolted to a sudden stop.

No, no, no, no. Sara pressed the floor button again. It remained illuminated, but nothing moved. She tried another, no response. Spamming the open-doors button, she could feel the rising panic. Finally, she pressed the emergency button. Yet not more than a few moments later, it all went dark.

With a cry, she slammed her fists on the immovable doors.

Suddenly, she heard a loud thunk on the ceiling above her, and the elevator shook along with it. It was followed by the ear-piercing scraping of metal. Then, a panel in the ceiling dropped to the floor. Behind it was a hidden maintenance door, which had now been opened.

As Sara moved to peer through in the dark, a canister was tossed into the elevator. Hissing, it quickly released a foreign gas into the small space. Her mask filtered toxins poorly. In mere seconds, the world began to spin and no longer could she stand on two feet. She collapsed to the floor, clutching her mask as the gas burned her nose and throat. Sudden fatigue struck, and within moments she slipped into unconsciousness.

—————

Reality returned with a throbbing headache and a wave of nausea. Disoriented, Sara's eyes fluttered open. She hasn't observed much of where she was before she quickly squeezed her eyes shut, the world spinning around her. It took several minutes for the dizziness to ease enough for her to open them again.

The bright light hanging from the ceiling only fed the pounding in her head as she glanced around the small, claustrophobic room.

Plain white walls. A door to her left. A mirror straight ahead. It was like a police interrogation room.

As she tried to move, she felt herself bound to a chair by restraints tightened around her waist, arms, and legs.

Or an asylum.

Her utility belt was gone, though the mask remained. She struggled against the restraints, but it didn't take long to figure out that it was pointless. At first she felt confused, not recalling the events at Wayne Tower. Slowly, her memory returned. Every part of it. The last she could remember was the elevator, and the feeling of toxic suffocation.