Warning: the first few chapters will seem kinda slow, but I promise they are leading somewhere.
Nothing sucks more than laying in a dirty, stinky alley when you can't move. I should know, I was in that situation for two days before anyone helped me. I still don't know how I got there, but you'd think people would have more compassion in a city plagued by criminals with varying degrees of sanity. I knew there are areas of the city that not many people are brave enough to walk about, but to see only a handful of people in two days is ridiculous!
I woke up in the alley on my back to the oh, so delightful smell of rotting garbage. Police sirens wailed in the background several streets over. I tried to move my legs, but to no avail. I remained in the same position I found myself in when I awoke – my torso flat and correctly aligned with my knees bent to the right and lying flat on the ground. I knew something must have happened because 1) I didn't remember arriving in the alley, 2) I wasn't feeling any pain in my legs or any other part of my body, and 3) the extent of my mobility was propping myself up on my elbows.
I was situated so that I was looking away from the nearest end of the alley in front of which was a Laundromat with an obnoxiously bright, neon sign. The other end was about ten yards away and with the poor lighting that seems constant in Gotham City coupled with my terrible eye sight I couldn't see out the other end, which was very inconvenient. I made it a point to not fall asleep so that I wouldn't miss any potentially helpful passersby.
It was night when my savior finally arrived. I heard some clanking and what sounded like fist fighting a few buildings down to my right. The sound drifted down to me, not across the street. They must be on a roof, I thought. It wasn't an uncommon experience with the Caped Crusader and his crime fighting companions patrolling the streets. I decided to keep my eyes up in case they started making their way towards me. After a few minutes of looking up at an empty sky, I grew bored. They must have gone the other way. I hadn't eaten in two days and the only water I had had since then was whatever I was able to gather in my mouth the night before what it rained (which wasn't much). I was about to succumb to a malnutrition and dehydration induced sleep when I saw a lithe, caped figure swing across my alley. Batgirl? I wanted to call out her name, but once I could no longer see her, I figured she was already out of ear-shot. Shortly after, another person began to swing across my alley, this one was not caped. "Nightwing!" I did my best to shout but it came out more as a hoarse whisper in comparison to the police sirens down the street.
Just as I had decided that he hadn't heard me, I saw the outline of a man's upper body appear over the edge of the building to my left. "Anyone down there?" he called.
I could only manage one word, "Help." It sounded as pathetic as my previous attempt at speech. But to my amazement he climbed over the side of the building and made his way down to me.
"What's wrong?" was the first thing he said when he appeared at my side. After two days of being ignored by the handful of passersby, I half expected him to sound irritated at being detained by such a feeble creature as myself, but he sounded genuinely concerned. I couldn't see his eyes because of his stupid mask, but by the light of the obnoxious Laundromat sign I could see that his concern was in fact genuine.
"Nightwing! Is everything alright down there?" called a female voice from above. So I was right, I thought as I began to drift off to sleep.
"No. You have to stay awake," Nightwing said as he shook my shoulder, effectively jarring me back to full consciousness. "Batgirl, call an ambulance. This girl needs medical attention," was yelled up to the sky where I could see Batgirl's silhouette leaning over the same building Nightwing had come down from. "When was the last time you slept?" That's an odd question for Batgirl, I thought. He shook my shoulder again and repeated his question, only then did I discover that it was intended for me.
"Two days," I replied in my pathetic whisper of a voice. "Water?" I asked, unable to form a complete sentence.
"Sorry, no. Not until the doctors at the hospital give the okay," Nightwing replied as I expected. No need to have me puking on the operating table, since it will come to that. "What hurts?"
"Nothing." As that one word left my lips, I wondered for the first time since waking in this disgusting alley why I wasn't in pain. Clearly, I should be in tremendous pain due to my legs, but I wasn't. Oh god, I'm paralyzed. My single biggest fear in the whole world must have become a reality, it was the only explanation. I didn't get to linger on this thought for long, though, for I could hear the ambulance zooming down the street towards us. Instead, I focused on Nightwing, the straight angular lines of his jaw, the way his black hair fell in his eyes as he looked down on me. His familiarity to an old friend was a comforting distraction from reality.
The next thing I knew, I was being lifted onto something soft with rails and being hauled into an ambulance. It was then that I realized I should thank Nightwing. Unfortunately, the doors shut before I could suck in the air for the two words. And now I'll probably never see him in person again, was my last thought before I put all my concentration into staying awake for a little while longer.
The next few hours went by in a blur as I concentrated on keeping my eyes open while waiting to be told that I could finally sleep. The words didn't come until the doctors and nurses began to prep me for surgery as they gave me the anesthesia. I happily obeyed.
