BatIM AU: Henry's Path (OLD - rewrite in progress/consideration)

Act 3, Scene 20: The Final Stretch

Henry Stein

"Linda!" Henry leaped forwards and tried to grab her before she fell, but she had already fallen too far. Henry's hand grasped thin air, and he cried in despair. He could hear her panicked screams.

"We can't do anything, Henry! Get away from the edge!" Henry felt Alison pull him back, but he planted his feet in the ground and yanked his arm away. He took a step back, then dived into the dark pit. He heard Alison and Tom's helpless calls, but it was drowned out by his fear when he realized how deep this abyss went. It seemed to be over a few seconds before he actually hit the ground. Henry splashed into the ink and landed on something strange. He heard a muffled grunt from whatever was beneath him.

"Get... OFF!" the creature yelled. It sounded vaguely familiar, though Henry couldn't quite place it when the voice was muted by ink.

Henry scrambled away, grabbing the edge of the nearby floor and heaving himself up. He watched as a small shape popped up from the ink and gasped for air. When all the ink had dripped off the figure, Henry was absolutely relieved to see Linda.

"You're alive!" Henry cheered, hesitating before jumping into the ink again to greet her.

"No thanks to you," Linda grumbled. She rolled her shoulder and cradled her broken ribs. "I already fell about a hundred feet; I don't need you falling on top of me. Plus, with the already broken ribs, yeah, it was painful."

"Sorry," Henry apologized, but he couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice.

"I can't believe you!" Linda punched Henry in the arm playfully.

"Well, I can't just leave you alone down here!"

"Well,excuse me. I think I can handle myself, thank you very much. Besides, if I had died on the way down, you would have died, too. What good would that do to the others?"

Henry looked down at his feet. She had a point. Though he didn't have to search for a reply, spotting the familiar golden outline of Wally.

"Wally!"

"Wally?" Linda echoed. She watched Henry run up to an unseen object. "So, you cansee the dead!"

Henry stopped mid-step and looked back at Linda guiltily. "Maybe?" he said slowly. Wally laughed behind him.

"Sure can," he said. "In fact, I bet he could see dinosaurs if he looked hard enough!"

Henry caught two more voices from a dark corner. Sammy and Norman were laughing, too. They seemed much closer now than they had when they were still alive.

"Linda will think I'm insane," Henry whispered to Wally, attempting to drop his voice low enough so that Linda wouldn't hear.

"Insane?" Linda asked. "Henry, you're not insane! This is amazing!" She leaned away and gave him a quizzical look before adding, "Unless it's a sign of depression."

"What?"

"Oh, he's depressed alright!" Wally mused, bursting into another fit of laughter.

"But you can't see them," Henry explained. "I think this is part of the hidden messages and visions. I'm not like the rest of you. Or, in Joey's words, I'm special."

"Joey?" Linda asked. "What's he got to do with this?"

"Never mind. Anyways, I might have an idea on how you'd be able to see them, too."

"Is it safe?"

"Eh. I've never tried it before, so there's no guarantee that it won't hurt, let alone kill you."