Melody Yuen(DC Universe)

8

DISCLAIMER: GRAPHIC CONTENT AHEAD

"Mommy, Mommy. Look out!"

Silence.

Everything moves in slow motion. The silence is suffocating. It engulfs everything around me and blocks out all other noises. Wow. Who knew silence could be so loud?

A ringing noise begins to pierce my ears. The ringing noise swallows everything around me and fills my ears. I can feel my heart beat pounding through my chest trying to break through.

My body no longer feels like my body. I have no control over its movement. In what feels like slow motion, my head slams forward into the seat in front of me and crashes back to my own head rest.

Then everything stops and time feels normal once again. But the ringing never leaves. I am glued to my seat. My vision is foggy. My hands move up to wipe my eyes.

That's when I see the blood. My hands wiped blood from my eyes. Sowly and shakily, they come in contact with a gash on my head, but there is no pain. I look down at my leg which is being crushed by the drivers seat in front of me. Still, no pain. 

I immediately look at Wes. My heart beat grows louder and faster.

What I see is an image I know I'll never rid of.
Wes' head is out the window. I can't see his face, but I'm not sure if I want to. The window is cracked which makes me realize the impact of the collision caused his head to crash through the glass.

Is he...

I choke a sob. His left arm, closest to me, hangs limp with the wrist facing up. I reach my arm over shakily and clutch his wrist with a sudden movement. I check for a pulse. It's weak, but still there.

I try to scream for help, but no noise comes out. Or maybe the piercing of the ringing noise and sound of my heartbeat are concealing my voice.

I look at my parents in the front seat.
They both are leaned forward with their heads hanging down. My mom's head on the steering wheel. My dad's on the dashboard. Both of their mouths are hanging open.

I try to unbuckle myself. I reach for their necks and check for their pulses.

None. Nothing. No.

I scream again but the ringing only grows louder and louder. I feel tears stream down my cheeks. Or maybe it's more blood.

Instinct causes my body to open the car door. I collapse on my hands and knees to the ground. I wipe my eyes and go to the other side of the car.

And that's when I see Wes's face.

As I walk up, he lets out a little cough. He's looking around in horror. But when he sees me, his eyes relax.

"Mel," he whispers. I hear him and only him. The ringing disappears and the beating is gone. It's only his voice. Although a whisper, it echoes through what seems the entire world.

"I'm here," I say as I gingerly stroke his hair. My voice sounds coarse.

When I remove my hand I see all the blood left from his head. That's when I get a really good look at him. His eyes are swollen and purple and he has a gash through his eyebrow. His bottom lip is swollen and bruised.

"Mel, I...I,"

"Shhh," I say stroking his head once more. I look at him and tears start to form. "I'm going to find help."

I look down the long road and there are no cars to be seen for miles. I go back to the other side of the car to find my phone. It's shattered. My dad's phone fell from the GPS stand. It's also shattered. I see my mom's phone in her pocket and I reach for it.

"Please don't be broken. Please don't be broken," I say. I grab it and turn it on.

No service.

I go back out of the car and lean my back against the side. I put my head into my palms and slide down to a crouching position. I cry.

I cry and cry and cry. I sob so loudly in a way I've never heard myself sob before. When I calm down, I realize that there are no cars around, but ours is standing upright. We didn't roll or flip. So what caused the accident? I go to the front of the car and discover the giant rock we had crashed into just off the road. How did we end up off the side of the road? My mom must've been distracted. But by what? Then I remember.

I remember Wes saying "Mommy, Mommy. Look out!" while pointing at my window. I point my head in the direction he was pointing.

That's when I see it. Out in the field I see a dim purple light shining from the ground. It's light is getting dimmer and dimmer. How did I not notice that before? What is it?

I cross the street towards the light. Then I realize how far out the light is. It looks half a mile away.

So I run. I sprint as fast as I can towards the light. About half way there I stop. I am standing at the edge of a crater. A gigantic hole in the ground. In the very center of this crater, is a the purple light. I swiftly roll down the crater and get closer to the light. It is still far away. I run even faster.

Then I start to feel the pain in my leg and head. The shock has wore off. Still, I continue to push through.

As I get close and closer the purple light continues to fade. I slow down to a limp as I near the light.

The light turns out to be a ball of energy. It's rolling and fizzing like those bath bombs I used occasionally. It's light continues dimming.

I reach out for the ball. Once in my hands, its glow returns and grows brighter and brighter. The ringing comes back, but is no longer muffled. It's clear as a bell. The noise echoes and shakes the ground.

Despite being frightened, I stand admiring this pleasantly warm ball in my hands. It gives me a sense of comfort, which is all I needed. The pain of my leg and head grows and brings me to a kneeling position.

Then a voice breaks through the sound of the ringing. "NO!!!!!" I hear a boy's voice say. I look to my right and see a boy who looks no older than me on a motorcycle. He swerves to a stop. Once he removes his helmet, I realize who he is.

Robin. As in the Robin. Batman' protege. Soon after, more teens join him. They all seem to be the same age. The Justice League?

This day just gets weirder and weirder. Am I still in shock? Do hallucinations come with shock?

I look back down at my hand and the purple light is growing even brighter. The ringing grows even louder. The purple grows extraordinarily bright. I look away because I can sense, in a few seconds, it will become blinding.

A silent "What?" escapes my lips from all this confusion. Robin looks horrified along with the rest of the team.

"Take cover!" I hear him yell. I can't see them anymore because of the light I hold in my hands.

And then the light explodes and my vision goes black.