The Thing Inside Me

Chapter 7

My heart was racing, my vision clouded. All I could see was blurred faces of complete horror, trapped under a large claw. I heard voices in the background, they were muffled. The fire was bright, its flames danced making me dizzy. My breath was fast and hot, wisps of smoke seeped through my beard teeth. "Nightslash!" A voice called from the other side of the flames. I heard the whistle of arrows flying, I could see steam mixed in with my barrier of flames. I tried to focus on the fire, maybe the others will be able to stop me if they can get to me. I opened a gap in the ring of fire, Robin seize the opportunity and leaped through the opening. It closed quickly behind him. "Nightslash!" He called with is hands out in front of him. "Let them go." He said in a calm voice. Calm! How am I supposed to be calm right now? He broke my concentration, my dragon formation walk towards him leaving its prisoners a chance to escape. It growled at him as it stalked his movements. Leave him alone! "You need to control yourself!" She yelled sounding panicked. Im trying! I could feel tears running down my face, but the monster did not weep. It continued to stalk its prey. "Look at me. You need to relax-" Listen to him! "look into my eyes." The dragon did, its pupils dilated in response. I could see him now, Robin was there in front of his friends guarding them. The beast lowered itself to the ground. Robin approached it, its eyes tired and teary. "Rest." He said gently placing his hand on its muzzle. The monster's eyes came to a close, and everything went dark.

Dick's POV
The dragon closed its eyes and it turned into smoke, the flames vanished from the ring. I waited for the smoke to clear, when it did she laid there motionless. Her hair covered her face, I gently brushed it away. "All of you return home now." Batman said roughly, he approached the girl quickly with precise movements. Everyone cleared out quickly without a word. "Now what do we do?" I said standing up. "She stays here, inside Mt. Justice till she wakes up." He said looking down at her, she looked almost peaceful as she laid there. But there was pain hidden deep in her calm expression. Bat man picked the girl up carefully, he carried her to one of the spare rooms. "She needs fluids and lots of rest, you will stay with her till she wakes." Batman said as he hooked up an IV to her arm. "And when she wakes?" I asked setting into a nearby chair. "You will contact me if I'm not back." He said leaving, he closed the door behind him. I looked around the room, my eyes fell upon her resting face. Her eyes shifted under her eyelids, she must be dreaming.

Sapphire's POV
Everything was black and white, like the color and happiness was drained from the world. I was in a familiar room, it was small and had a bed in the left corner with small stuffed toys. In the opposite wall a large bookcase shelved with many books. It also had a large bay windowsill across from the entryway. Upon that windowsill sat a little girl, she had long hair the color of the night sky. And a tiara decorated with dark gems. She sat there quickly as she hugged her knees, starring out the window. I approached her slowly, sitting across from her. She made no movement acknowledging my presence. "Hello." I said kindly, she looked up at me. Her eyes were pure black, they were cold. She sniffed and turned her gaze back to the window. "Why did he trap me here?" She said quietly, her voice was small an innocent. I turned to gaze out the window, there was nothing there. Only darkness. "Who?" I questioned, "Your dad!" She said loudly. Her head snapped in my direction, I jumped at her movement. She stood and walked towards the bed, picking up a familiar doll. Her dark eyes were sad as she gazed upon it. I looked back out the dark window, "I don't know." I said sadly. "We are not happy here." She said placing the doll down. I looked at her again, "You must go." She said looking down at her hands, they were sounded by a dark fog. She looked up at me, terror in her eyes. I looked down at my hands, they were also sounded by a fog. Mine was different, mine was pure white. "Leave!" She screamed, and my eyes opened and the room was gone. I was outside, my mom carried me in her arms. Large shadows were cast on the sides of tall buildings by raging flames.

I opened my eyes, my heart racing. Robin sat next to me in a uncomfortable wood chair. He straightened his posture when he realized I was awake. "Are you okay?" He asked intently. I paused thinking about his question. Am I? "I'm not sure." I said truthfully, my gaze fell upon my wrist. It had a cord attached to it, my eyes widened. What is that? I sat up quickly, my heart rate sped up. "Easy!" Robin said as he shot out of his chair and too the weird machine. He grabbed my hand, I looked up at him. His eyes were hidden behind a mask but I could tell he was concerned. My pulse slowed down as he stood there holding my hand. He looked over at the machine, "What is it?" I asked. "The machine? It's a EKG monitor." He said looking turning his attention back to me. I must have looked confused because he then told me what it does. "It watches your heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, and other stuff." "Oh." I said turning my gaze to the door, "They are listening." I said as sorrow spread across my face. He let go of my hand and approached the door.