Barry's POV

I buried my head in my arms. Why? Why would they do this? I trusted them! I thought they were my friends.
I thought they were my family.

(Flashback)

"Bar." Joe walks up. I know what he's going to say. But he can't change my mind. I wonder why he's even trying.

"Don't race him." Joe says. Joe has that look of solid determination. Also, guilt ... and regret?

I turn around to face Joe, sighing softy.

"It's not that easy." I say.

"Yes it is, you just say no." Joe argues. I wish Joe could understand. I'm not just thinking about myself when I decide this.

"We find another way to stop him, together like we always do." This angered me slightly. I walked over to him, I could already feel the emotions boiling in my gut. The anger.

"And do what, Joe?Just sit around and wait for him to kill somebody else? Wally? Iris? You? No, no way!" I snapped, my breathing already increased in volume. Joe pointed a finger at me.

"He needs you Bar! He needs your speed again to get what he wants. WE have the advantage here." Joe argued. I looked down, my anger causing my eyes to water. But I didn't let the tears fall. Not now.

"All I have to do is beat him, Joe. That saves the multiverse. This whole city. All of you." I shook my head. "I won't let another person I love die when I can prevent it." I said. I met Joe's glare. Still that same guilt, that same regret. Why?

Joe began to walk forward. "This...isn't just about racing Zoom is it?"

I couldn't stop the pained and slightly exasperated expression melt onto my face.

Why? Why couldn't he understand?

"You want to kill this guy." Joe murmured. I felt offended at Joe's shocked tone. As if I didn't want to kill him. Of course I did.

"Of course I want to kill him Joe!" I yelled, taking quick, angry steps up to Joe, and a slightly fearful expression came across Joe's face. I didn't care. I wanted him to understand.

"I want to do a hell of a lot more than just kill him, I want to suffer, for everything that he's done. And he's going to." Joe put his hands out to me, shocked.

"Come on Bar. Think about what you're saying!" What? Did he expect me to drop all my feelings and say sorry? Hate to break it to you Joe, but Flash isn't perfect, and neither am I.
You try having almost everyone you love ripped from you. Then we'll have a talk.I shook my head.

"I have to be willing to do whatever it takes." Then I nodded. "I'm sorry but I'm racing him whether you want me to or not."

That guilt. That Regret. It came to Joe's eyes stronger than ever.

"Then I can't talk you out of it."

"Not this time." I said, turning my back to Joe.

"Then I'm sorry too." Joe murmured, and before I could react a searing, blinding pain erupted in my shoulder. I fell against the wall screaming, my arms bracing me as I looked to my shoulder to see what had caused such immense pain. A dart. I could feel my body start to go into shock, both physically and mentally. I reached my hand up to grip my shoulder, but I couldn't reach the dart. My head turned to look at Joe, silently begging him for help, but what I saw shocked me even more. Joe was looking with a stone face, with Harry holding the gun, ready to fire another dart if need be. I lost my grip on the wall, gasping as I began to fall towards the floor. I finally crumpled to the ground, not even registering the terrible pain that struck my body as the dart pressed into my shoulder at the impact, then everything went black.

When I finally came to, I found myself lying on my side, the dart still painfully noticeable in my shoulder. In fact, the pain had actually gotten worse. But I pushed that thought to the back of my mind. The only thought going into my head was why Joe and Harry had shot me. Why?

My eyes shot open, and I lifted my head, suddenly realizing where I was, panic struck through me, but I tried to keep my fear under control. I was inside one of the cells in the pipeline. Inside. The. Cell.
In a cage.

"What?" I whisper/murmured, suddenly beginning to freak out, I pushed myself upright on my arms. Looking out the glass door, I came face to face with...
My friends.

Harry stood in front, holding the same gun that had fired the dart on my shoulder in his hands. He was ready. He was ready to shoot me again. The thought of being hit by another one of those darts, the thought that I had been hit by that dart, made me feel sick. But I wasn't going to let that show. Joe stood to my left of Harry, his expression the same stony cold one that I had seen when Harry had shot me. Cisco stood, or rather, leaned on the wall to my right, his arms crossed and a sad, guilty expression on his face. As if he really didn't like what was happening. Jesse, Catlin, and Iris stood behind them. Fear shot through me when I realized that they had put me in here. My family, my friends,(or so I had thought them to be) had put me in a cage.

"What are you doing?" I murmured, one leg propped up, ready for me to get up. My shoulder hurt. I sighed, turning my head away and beginning to force myself to move.

Get up, get up.

I didn't let them see how much that had hurt, how much that had made me want to pass out all over again. I could tell the dart was still in my shoulder.

Harry's head lifted up, and he seemed proud. Now standing I spoke,

"Why did you put me in here?" Put me in a cage. I hate cages. I'm not an animal.

"Because you're too angry right now." Joe answered, finally letting a small glimmer of guilt show through on his face.

"You can't race him like that." I ignored the pain in my shoulder as I leaned against the door, bracing both arms against it as if it would magically open.

"Without a plan, you ...you'll lose."

I spat angrily. "Keeping me in here is going to get everyone killed." I said, shaking my head.

"I'm the only one who can stop him you know that." I said. Harry stepped forward.

"You race Zoom on his terms...you'll lose." He said.

I really began to get angry then. And desperate. This wasn't their choice! They had no right to take away my freedom! They had no right to put me in a cage! They. Had. No. Right.
I thought they cared for me.

"This is not your decision to make!" I yelled, slamming my hand against the glass.

"It is this time." Joe said, nodding his head.

"No." I whispered, but it sounded more like a distressed cry, turning to the wall.

"We all made it together Barry." Joe added. I turned around. All of them?

They all agreed to betray me?

"What?" I looked everyone in the eye. "All of you"

Cisco looked up, "Bro, I went back and forth. I was like a good 60/40 at first-" Harry cut him off.

"Ramon." Harry warned.

Cisco took a deep breath, suddenly unable to look me in the eye. " Yeah...yeah we all made the decision."

"Come on." I murmured. I turned around, bracing myself against the opposite wall, despair hitting me like a boulder.

"Allen." Harry murmured.

"Allen!" He yelled. "This is for your own good." He turned away. They all started to turn away. NO! They were going to leave me here!

I turned back around.

"Don't do this!" I begged. Just let me out.

"Guys come on! Iris!" I was at the glass door again, tears glistening in my eyes. "Cisco come on!"

The door began to close. NO!

"YOU HAVE TO LET ME OUT! YOU HAVE TO LET ME-STOP IT YOU HAVE TO LET ME OUT!" I screamed, banging on the glass. Then the door was shut. I was trapped. In a cage.

(End of Flashback)

I finally let myself sink to the ground in despair. I had spend 10 minutes yelling and pacing around. Now my shoulder was killing me, pain worse than when Caitlin set my shoulder.

Caitlin.

I looked up at the camera, tears threatening to spill. "Caitlin? Please. Caitlin can you just take it out? Please? It hurts. Caitlin please!" I turned my head down, she couldn't hear me. Or she didn't trust me. I once again reached for the dart embedded in my shoulder. I couldn't reach. But red, sticky blood did get on my fingers, which were about 1 and a half an inch from the wound itself. My throat was hoarse from screaming, and my knuckles were bruised. I watched them, waiting for the bruise to disappear like they always did. But this time it didn't. I had spent nearly 4 hours in this cage and the bruises hadn't vanished.

I wanted nothing more to lean back against the wall, but the dart prevented me from doing so.I lost track of time hours ago, but it felt like 5 hours (It actually was 5 hours) had gone by. It was probably late now. My insides started to burn but I tried to pay no attention to it. It was probably lack of food, right?