Chapter Ten – The Light, part II

"There is no coming to consciousness without pain. People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own soul. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious." Carl Jung

As if by magic, an unlocked door was at the end of the hall, in a place that had not existed before. The two of them went to her, and soon they were outside. Diana in her state was difficult to run, however, Bruce would not leave her. He clung to her hand tightly, and they walked the path until they were out of Arkham's domain.

Outside the walls, an old pickup truck was waiting for them. Wally, aware on the outside of the vehicle, pressed the keys in his hands when he saw his friends.

"Where's Shay?" He asked when Diana and Bruce came closer. The couple stopped and exchanged a guilty look.

"We're sorry, Wally." Diana excused herself. "She wanted to stay to give us time to leave."

"And you left my wife behind? I need to go back and get her."

Diana took his arm. In the distance, they saw the security guards running madly toward them.

"I'm sorry for that, but we don't have much more time."

The redhead was still reluctant. He did not want to go, but if they stayed, all the effort they had made up to that point would be in vain. So, with a heavy weight in his heart, he nodded. Bruce helped Diana into the hitchhiker while Wally stepped into the driver's side. They'd heard the altered voices of the security guards less than a hundred yards from them, yet Bruce stopped and looked around.

The surrounding landscapes seemed to die. The trees were dry, there were no flowers, and the sky was dark in the place where there had been some sunlight and healthy plants before. That reality was deteriorating, he soon realized. His time was running out, both in that world and in the next.

He awoke from his reverie with Diana's desperate cries, begging him to get in the car. Bruce looked back and saw the security guards getting closer. He jumped into the back of the truck. The security guards aimed their weapons, and fired, as the truck moved farther and farther away.


Wally drove for what seemed like hours. For Bruce, it was as if they'd been rolling through the same part of town countless times. They walked in circles, or this reality was much smaller than he imagined. When they finally parked, they were in front of a large warehouse. The place was familiar.

They went through the corroded doors and locked themselves inside. Bruce took a good look around. It was the same shed where his enemies laid a trap against him. That was then ground zero. The place where it all began. There was a reason to be there. It should have.

"Why did you bring us here?" Bruce questioned, already suspicious.

"Hey, I'm just trying to help ..." He held up his hands. They heard a noise outside. "It must be Shay. She knew where to find us."

The redhead walked toward the door, but Bruce stopped him. He stood in front of him.

"It's not her."

"How do you know?"

"She would never get here so fast without a vehicle. Something wants you to leave. You and Diana are my only allies in this reality, if you leave, I lose."

As if to shake the structures, the noise again made itself present, then the female voice calling them by name. Wally swore it was Shayera and ran out, even under Bruce's protests. Two of his allies fell. Now he had only Diana. Bruce stared at the woman. He's never been so lost before. She was his only safe haven.

"Please ..." he pleaded. "Don't leave me."

Diana ran to him and hugged him.

"I won't, Bruce. I love you."

"I love you, too."


After an eternity, Diana managed to free Bruce from the straitjacket. He stretched out his arms, feeling them after days stuck. The two were still alone and trapped in the shed. Bruce did not dare go out, much less he wanted Diana to do it. Whatever it was, the shed was the last safe place.

"He's not coming back." Diana said, referring to their friend.

"I never thought he'd come back. My time is running out."

Diana frowned at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Look."

Even if he dared not leave, he dared to look through a crack. He indicated the woman to approach and she did. Diana bent down and did not understand, obeyed. She looked and looked, but her eyes did not notice anything different. There was a misshapen void on the other side. All dark, after all, it should be the night. She stared back at the husband with a questioning expression.

"I don't see anything, Bruce."

"There is nothing beyond the confines of this shed. If you leave, you will cease to exist too. When I have nothing left, I disappear, too."

"You can't! What do we do?"

"I've been thinking, and ... this is just a dream. A long dream that I can not naturally wake up." He paused. "But maybe I can force my body to wake up."

"Whatever it is, it doesn't look good to me."

Diana's desperation only increased. He did, however, seem calm. His strength was depleted, and Bruce could think of nothing else. Even with his incredible mentality, in that world it was harder to concentrate. And, tired as he was, he was about to give up. Whether he went or not, he accepted his fate. But he still had a trick.

Bruce walked a little, moving a few feet away. He returned shortly after, carrying a rusty old dagger. Maybe it was there just for him to find, or maybe the object belonged to one of his fantasies, forgotten at the end.

"I found this while examining the place. Will serve..."

Diana's eyes widened.

"Wait, Bruce. What will you do?"

"When you die in a dream, you wake up. If this is a dream, may I wake up in the real world. It's my only chance to survive."

"But what if this is the real world?"

He paused for a moment, thinking. Would it be worth it? In the other reality, his life was at stake, and now he was a wanted in this reality as well. Anyway, he was a chased at risk of dying, in both realities. So their choices were basically the same. However, he knew he could not stand still just waiting for a result to manifest. He knew that no result would be good.

He pointed the dagger in the direction of his stomach, and gave Diana a good-bye look.

"Then you'd better call the emergency. I love you..."

Diana shouted, and held out her hand. The pain hit his stomach as the cold blade sank into his skin. He fell, feeling the sharp pain. Diana bent down to him, yet it was too late. The last thing Bruce heard was Diana's desperate cry before the world went dark.

Yeah, that was kind of based on Djin, on Supernatural. Any similarity is not coincidental. Ah, this story is at the end, just another chapter and a epilogue. I wanted to write more, but I thought this was the point.

Gratitude and see you next time!