Ready Or Not Here I Come - A Damian Wayne Story

Chapter 4

They ran through the tunnel as fast as they could. The only light was that of the flashlight Dick had remembered to grab before entering the dark tunnel. The four boys had no idea where the tunnel was leading them or how Bruce even knew about it, but they didn't pay it any mind at the moment, seeing as they were running for their lives. Jason was in the lead with the flashlight in one hand and Damian's wrist in the other. Tim was in the middle, and Dick was at the rear making sure no one was following them.

They had only been running for a few minutes when Damian tripped over something and fell, his hand flying out of his brother's and landing hard in the dirt, jarring his head and making hurt even more. He looked at what he had tripped over and scooted backwards a few paces, horrified at the sight before him. It was a skull; with grotesque rotten flesh still hanging loosely from it. But that wasn't what unnerved him. The skull seemed to be looking straight at him, and yet the skull had no eyes in its sockets. It looked as if they had been gouged out by the claws of a huge beast, with deep scratches marring the skin near the sockets. In all his years as an assassin with the League, Damian had never seen anything so utterly. . . terrifying.

He felt arms stretch around his chest and he looked up at the owner of the arms, almost scared of what he might see. It was only Jason though, and Damian relaxed a little.

"Are you okay, Damian? Can you walk?" His older brother asked. Damian nodded; of course he could walk, what was he, an infant? Damian got up unsteadily, then tried to take a step forward and almost fell again because of the pain he felt in his head at that single step. Before he could hit the ground, Jason caught him. "Whoa there, baby bird. You are definitely not okay. I'm carrying you the rest of the way, whether you like it or not."

Damian put a hand to his wound and only nodded, too tired to complain at the moment. He knew he wasn't in good shape at the moment, still recovering from being poisoned a day ago and a serious head wound not even an hour ago. He knew he should be lying in a bed, not running for his life in a dark, musty, underground tunnel going who knows where. But he had no choice in the matter. It was run or die. So he let himself be picked up gently by his older brother and watched through fluttering eyelids as Jason handed Tim the flashlight, telling him to lead. Damian heard one of his brothers, Dick he thought, say one last thing before he fell unconscious.

"It's gonna be okay, Damian. We'll protect you no matter what."

Then Damian heard no more.

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Soon afterwards, the tunnel led them to a wooden door with a thick metal handle on it. Tim tried it first since he was closest and found that it was locked.

Before Tim could say anything, there was a cry of "Back away!" And the sound of someone charging the door. It was Dick. He rammed the door with his shoulder and the door burst open with a loud crash!

Before anyone could say anything at the accomplishment, they heard footsteps and shouting not far behind them. Dick quickly ushered his brothers in and shut the door behind him, finding a deadbolt and locking it. He looked at their new surroundings. The building they were in looked to be some kind of warehouse, filled with lots of big boxes and crates perfect for hiding in. Before he could observe any more, the three boys heard pounding on the locked wooden door.

He turned to his brothers and quickly whispered them instructions.

"Split up and hide where ever you can. Don't come out of hiding until you're absolutely sure they're gone. We'll meet up after and figure out what to do from there. Do you understand?" There was more banging as they nodded. "Good. Now go."

They split apart, Tim going up a ladder to the rafters, Dick hiding in a large crate full of pink Styrofoam peanuts, and Jason heading towards another door with Damian.