The Thing Inside Me

Chapter 12

We were running down a hillside just outside the burning city. Many citizens were evacuating the city as well. I looked ahead of us through my burning and itchy eyes, a building slowly came into view. It was large and sturdy, and had large statues surrounding the building. They were monsters with large teeth and claws, as my mother rushed me inside I could feel their eyes watching me. Inside the building were large pillars holding up the building, hanging from the their sides were lanterns with flickering flames dancing inside. My mother handed me to a woman, she looked very similar to my mother. She had long blonde hair and blue eyes like my mother, but other facial features didn't match. The feline that followed us to the building pawed at her feet.

I watched as my mother approached the large doors where my father stood helping people get inside. My mother nodded in my direction to the person holding me. She pressed a button making loud noises ring throughout the building, red lights flashed and the walls opened revealing silver ships. The lady carried me inside one, placing me in a chair that formed to the size of my body. I looked out a window to see my parents closing the doors. The ground started to shake and the walls shook. My parents were leaning against the large doors along with a bunch of soldiers dressed in metallic uniforms. A force on the other side was trying to force the doors open.

The doors swung open, sending my parents backwards. Fire burst out of the door, things with large guns causing more fire and destruction. My parents got up along with many soldiers, they raised their hands and a large transparent wall formed. The fire couldn't pass the barrier. A rhythmic thumping sound started in the distance, "They are coming!" A soldier yelled. Then bright beams of light started hitting the shield, and the rhythmic thumping grew louder. Large figures marched through the doors, holding large guns shooting out lasers. The barrier started to crack. I looked back at the lady who was with me, she was pressing buttons rapidly and mumbling something to herself. The feline hissed as my feet in the direction of my parents. Suddenly a loud sound erupted from the other side of the barrier, the barrier collapsed sending soldiers and my parents backwards. The lady screamed and long sword appeared in her hand, she rushed towards my parents.

They all the soldiers that survived the explosion got up off the ground, and formed weapons in their hands. They swung and dodged,  fighting for their lives. My parents emerged from the smoke and fire, my mom reached out her arms then collapsed a few feet away from me. My father yelled and I screamed. He cradled her lifeless body in his arms crying, he got up wiping the tears away and headed back towards the battle. The fight got closer and closer within seconds. The feline reached up to nudge my hand, it pressed a few buttons and the door closed behind it. I watched as it grew in size into a large black leathery beast. It attacked with its huge claws, large fang-like teeth, and sharp scorpion tail. The fight faded from view as the ship took off into darkness.

My eyes open slowly, my hands and feet hurt like I had been smashing them against a rock. And my left side hurt a lot. I tried to sit up but pain shot through my left side. My head fell back hitting the ground, making me dizzy for a bit. I laid there for a while staring at the stars, the stars look smaller than I remember, though it would be easier to see them if theses trees weren't in the way. Trees? I sat up suddenly making my side hurt again, this time I ignored it and stood up. When did I leave the city? Where am I? I looked around me, all I could see was trees. I tried to remember what happened, the team! Did they get out safely? My head started to spin, I need to find them.

I teleported near the tent, it was chilly out. And white stuff was falling from the sky. One touched my nose, it quickly melted and a chill went down my spine. I was about to head inside when I heard someone outside. I headed towards the sound of footsteps, Dick! I walked over to him, he looked up in my direction. His facial expression changed from sad to more of a confused look. As I approached him his expression brightened. He got excited and nearly called out my name but he caught himself, "Darla!" He said as he raced over to me and embraced me into a hug. I winced in pain, "What's wrong?" He asked letting go of me, and holding me out in front of him at arms length. "Nothing, I'm fine now." I said trying to sound pleasant. His eyes looked me over but stopped at my side, "Your bleeding." He said as his eyes widened. I looked down at my side, blood was seeping through the Danger costume. Dang it. "I'm fine, really." I said trying to assure him. He warped my arm around his shoulders and helped me inside the train.

He sat me down on one of the beds, and pulled out a medical kit from the overhead storage. "You really don't need to do this, I'm fine." I said trying to assure him. "Your not fine, your bleeding. And that wound is going to keep bleeding if I don't fix it." He said opening the kit and grabbing a needle, thread and some disinfectant. We stared at each other for a minute, he looked awkward. But I knew what was going through his head, I needed to take my shirt off do he could stitch me up. "Uhh..." he started to say but I beat him to it. "I know." I said looking down at my clothing. It slowly opens at the side making the wound visible. "Well that makes it easier." He said as he watched my suit shift so he could work. He dabbed some disinfectant on my wound using a cotton ball. It burned as it touched the gash, making me bite my lip. "Sorry, it's deeper than I thought." He apologized. I just nodded in reply. He prepared the needle, "Ready?" He asked. "Ya, I'm ready." I sighed as I leaned against the wall. He stared to stitch, I winced and twisted my body in pain. Biting my lip hard so I didn't scream. A metallic taste slowly crept to my tongue, I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the taste instead of the pain. "It looks like a large stab wound." He said as he finished stitching. I opened my eyes at the comment, "It does?" I questioned. "Ya, it does. See how clean the edges are, and when I was stitching the middle was deeper than the rest of it." He said as he stood up from his crouched position. "Yes." I said looking down at the wound. "Your handy work is very nice." I said while shifting my suit back to normal. "Thanks, you get lots of practice when you train with Batman." He said. I smiled at him, but my smile quickly faded as my mind got lost in thought.

"Is something wrong?" He asked as he put the medical kit back on it's shelf. "Yes, but it's nothing you want to talk about." I said starring at the floor. "I don't know what you mean." He said taking a seat next to me. I looked up at him, "Wally is your best friend, he should be here with you. He knows you backstory, he knows how much this circus means to you. I- I just, never mind." I said quietly. He breathed out slowly, lots of things were going through his mind and he didn't know how to react. He finally spoke, "Did you read my mind?" He asked as calmly as he could. "No, I try my best not too. My telepathy works differently than martians, I don't actually have to be inside your mind to read your thoughts. They just have to be loud enough for me to hear them. And I try to block them out, but so much goes through everyone's mind. It's hard, I'm sorry. I really do try." I said quickly trying to not give him enough time for him to flip out. But he just sat there.

"So you know my past?" He asked, "Yes." I nodded. "And Bruce's as well." I whispered. Dick nodded, "You can't tell anyone, do you understand?" He asked standing up. "Yes, I do. And Dick," I said coming to my feet, "I'm sorry about your parents. I know how you feel." I said opening the door and stepping out. I walked a few doors down to my bunker. Megan was already there, "Nightslash!" She exclaimed and threw her arms around me. "Shhh!" I said as I returned the hug. "Sorry." She whispered, "I'm just glad your alright." She smiled. "Ya, I'm glad your feeling better." I smiled. "Actually, I think I got that flue that's been going around." She said sitting down on the bed. I gave her a half smile and placed a cold cloth on her head, she looked at my confused. "Oh right, teleportation." She whispered, I smiled and nodded. She closed her eyes and climbed into bed.