Sapphire Angel - Superheroine

Chapter 39 -- A White Lie

Three hours after the explosion, Sapphire Angel crept down the hall of Dominick's mansion, toward Ashely Dominick's room. As she reached the room, she saw a man with thinning grey hair standing next to the bed. She froze, before noticing a stethoscope around his neck and a clipboard in his hand.

She considered backing down the hall, but the man turned to her and nodded. Without saying a word, he walked to the door, slipped past her, and continued down the hall to the stairs.

After he disappeared from view, Sapphire Angel looked back to Ashley, who watched her with alert eyes. The heroine hesitated before stepping forward. She moved with slow and methodical steps, and a burning dread roiling in her stomach, for she was here to be the bearer of news.

Demarco Dominick was dead. Stanley had learned this news through a police contact minutes earlier, after fire personnel found Dominick's charred body in the warehouse ruins. Beth had suspected as much, but hadn't known for sure whether the Fizzure CEO had escaped the building before the explosion.

Authorities might be heading here with the news, but Ashley should hear this revelation from Beth. The blond woman thought of her own feelings when John had died. The cold pit of despair still gnawed at her, letting her empathize with the dying girl.

Ashley watched her approach with wide eyes.

"You look better than earlier tonight," Beth said to the girl.

The smile that crossed Ashley's face seemed forced. She shook her head.

"This is temporary," she said. "That was Dr. Frankel who just left. He said I only have a few days left, if that. Maybe hours. I wanted to find out what happened tonight, so I asked him to help me stay conscious for a bit. He gave me something to keep me awake, and to fight off the pain."

Sapphire Angel forced her expression to remain neutral. She knew Ashley was in bad shape, but hadn't expected her time to be so short. The heroine's mind swirled, reconsidering her reasons for coming. Did she really want this girl's last thoughts of her father to be of his horrible deeds? But could she lie to Ashley? And if she lied, what would she say? Ashley would wonder why her father wasn't here.

Beth paused next to the bed. She forced herself to meet Ashley's eyes. Ashley spoke first.

"They've been trying to locate my father, so he could be with me. Did you find him?"

It took the costumed woman several moments to answer.

"Ashley, I'm so sorry," she said, and her voice cracked. She reached out and took one of Ashley's hands. "Your dad didn't make it. But he died a hero."

Ashley looked away and stared straight ahead, not answering. The silence became uncomfortable, but Sapphire Angel couldn't find any words that might help. Finally, Ashley's head lifted, and instead of sadness, wide eyes lit up her face.

"A hero?"

"When I arrived at the warehouse tonight, some Fizzure men captured me. While I was in captivity, I heard your father arguing with his scientists. It turns out they had gone against his wishes, doing very dangerous things. They planned to experiment on me next. Your father sacrificed his life to save me."

A stunned expression froze Ashley's face. Sapphire Angel thought it would be difficult to lie. John's comic book superheroes weren't supposed to stretch the truth, were they? But this felt right. Life was rarely black and white, she mused.

Ashley didn't speak, so Sapphire Angel continued.

"They were powering up a device that probably would have killed me. Your father got to the device and started ripping things apart. It freed me, and I got the prisoners out, but something happened that caused an explosion. The whole building went up. Your father... he didn't make it," the heroine said, looking down. "I'm so sorry. He saved my life, and by doing so saved the lives of the other prisoners."

Beth hoped her story didn't contain noticeable flaws, and she couldn't tell if Ashely was buying it. The sick girl remained silent, staring down at the covers of her bed. When she looked up at the superheroine, tears filled Ashley's eyes.

"You wouldn't lie to me, would you?" Ashley asked.

Sapphire Angel shook her head. "No, I wouldn't." Again the lie came easily, and without guilt.

Ashley nodded slowly. Beth expected questions, but a thin smile came to the sick girl's mouth. Ashley let out a prolonged sigh, and Beth could almost see the worry and stress evaporate from her body. The reaction probably had less to do with the quality of Beth's story, than with the dying girl aching to believe in her father.

"How many prisoners did you save?" Ashley asked.

"Three," Sapphire Angel answered, giving her first truthful statement of the visit.

Ashley folded her hands in front of her and took a deep breath. Beth realized the girl would ask no more questions about the warehouse. Questions could only shake Ashley's belief in her father. The sick girl remained silent for almost a minute, before finally looking up at Sapphire Angel.

"Can I ask for one favor?" Ashley said.

"Sure," the heroine replied, with a thin smile.

"Can you stay here? Stay with me, until the medicine wears off and I fall asleep? There's nobody else, and I don't want to be alone."

Authorities might be on their way here to tell Ashley of her father's death, but Beth hoped the chaos at the scene would delay their arrival. If she heard them coming, the heroine might need to leave, but she had to believe this final gesture for a dying girl would work out.

"Yes, I can do that," Sapphire Angel replied, and placed a gloved hand on Ashley's shoulder.

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Does it make Sapphire Angel less heroic in your eyes when she tells a white lie like this? Or does it just show her kind heart?

One more chapter left.

It's human nature for feedback to motivate writers, so, if you can, please fill in that little, empty star in the corner if you liked this chapter. And of course I'd love to see your comments.

~CJ