The Way We Fall | Bruce Wayne

CHAPTER 32 - Fright

A piercing scream escaped Sara's throat as she thrashed against the restraints. She perceived every face around her to be distorted into some vile creature. They exhaled fire and spoke words incoherently.

The room itself was no longer bright and empty. She frantically looked around as it seemed to fill with smoke.

Delusional, she felt that the mask still over her face was choking her. She cried and yanked at the arm restraints, wanting to claw away at the mask but to no avail.

The hallucination of a blazing inferno threatened to draw closer. It felt as though it would consume her alive.

Mr. Riley raised his voice with a question, but to her it sounded only like an otherworldly shriek.

He muttered a foul word under his breath. "She's too out of it," he said, seeing Sara staring with a blank, petrified gaze. "We'll give it some time to wear off, just enough for her to be able to put two sentences together."

As the group moved to leave the room, he looked back once more. "In the meantime, she should get a good fright."

If only it was as mild as a mere fright.

Her throat felt raw from relentless screaming. Sara perceived growing flames filling the room, anticipating the horrific pain that never quite touched her skin. However that didn't subside the fear, it only created an increasing dread that tore at her conscious.

She saw the hideous creatures depart from the room, leaving the wild blaze in their wake.

An undetermined amount of time passed, and she could only cry and scream for so long before her body demanded rest. With a cloudy perception of reality, she felt too fatigued to fight any longer. Everything slowed as her head leaned back against the chair. With a rapid pulse and shallow breathing, she felt like succumbing to the darkness of the hallucinated smoke.

As she began to welcome it, she could faintly hear a forceful shout from beyond the room. It sounded more realistic to her ears now, though still unintelligible. The terrifying effects of the gas appeared to be wearing off slowly. But as it did, she felt consciousness slip away more and more.

More shouts, angry, followed by loud crashes.

Sara felt the overwhelming urge to fall asleep, and the fight against it was a losing battle.

When she heard closer shouting this time, she forced her eyes open just enough to see. Mr. Riley had reentered the room, seeming shaken up. Another thug followed him, the other two were absent. He fumbled with the lock on the door as she scrambled to secure it in a hurry.

Mr. Riley frantically looked between her and the glass window, the aerosol can in his shaky hand.

She watched as he hastily stood beside her, pointing the can at her as if she were being held hostage. Sara wanted to cry and plead against the toxin, but her words were only unintelligible mumbles.

"That's it! Get the hell out of here!" He yelled to someone invisible to her eyes. The can was shaking in his trembling hand right beside her face. "Now!"

Sara tried to squint to see whoever it was that he was talking to. Someone beyond the window. All she could see was a blurry silhouette.

And for her sake, she wished whoever it was would do as he said.

Mr. Riley looked down at her now, his eyes lighting up with an idea. She'd seen that look many times before at the office when he presented the Board with a new concept.

She felt fear that wasn't caused by the toxin.

He glanced up at the window again, eyes narrowed. "If that's how it's going to be, then you might as well know who it is you're going through all this trouble for."

With his free hand, he grabbed her mask and tore it from her face.

Sara was too exhausted to react. Eyes half open, she saw the silhouette's tense shoulders begin to sag. Laying her head back against the chair, her head turned to watch the aerosol can raise toward her face once more. Her spinning mind wanted to protest, but her body demanded rest.

"Who would've thought you would try to save a wanted criminal twice." Mr. Riley sneered, waving the can around. "And quite honestly, there's worse scum in Gotham. But you waste your time here, sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."

As Sara's eyes began to ease shut, she heard a loud shattering of glass followed by several physical blows and grunts. One large thud against the wall behind her and a groan from the only remaining thug.

"Put it down." She heard a familiar rough voice.

"Get out of here!"

No more than a second passed before she heard the hiss of the can. She could smell the potent toxin, and immediately she opened her eyes in terror. Sara stared at the ceiling, her mind unable to withstand any more of the hallucinogen.

In the same instant, Mr. Riley was shoved against the wall, the intruder holding him by his shirt. "How much did you give her before?" The man slammed him against the wall again, his voice raising into a blood curdling shout. "How much!?"

"The hell if I know!" Mr. Riley's tone was a mixture of defiance and fear. "Do I look like that crazy doctor? I just found a stash of the stuff. You think I know dosages?"

Unsatisfied with the response, the man landed a solid punch and released Mr. Riley to slide to the floor, unconscious.

Though she heard the exchange, Sara's mind struggled to comprehend any of it. When a masked face came into view, she began to scream and thrash in the chair.

After a few moments, the restraints clicked and disengaged. Sara didn't have the strength to stand, but she put all of her might into trying to fight the arms that lifted her from the chair.

Her wide eyes gazed up at Batman, but she could only see a half-creature half-human monster. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to struggle against him as he lifted her carefully.

"It's not real," he said, his rough voice loud enough to intrude her scrambled thoughts. "You have to relax!"

She screamed and cried, fighting against his gentle hold.

"Sara!"

At that, she looked around frantically. It sounded like Bruce. But she didn't see him. She couldn't comprehend that voice came from the vigilante who was running through the asylum, carrying her in his arms. In her confusion, she stopped fighting against him.

The familiar fatigue returned with a vengeance, and the last of her strength was gone. She heard Bruce's voice once more, but she couldn't understand a word as darkness overtook her.