Escaping the Speed: Chapter Three

BARRY POV:

The women leaned forward, her cold hands touched his already cold chest. Barry's heart sank at the words she whispered in his ear. He felt his entire body tense at her statement. Fear laced his body while dread filled his bones. Before he could react Barry felt his speed rise to the surface; but instead of giving him strength it only brought intense pain. Quickly it died down, but the collar around his neck was suddenly radiating heat, as if it had turned on for a minute before quickly turning off again. Barry didn't know what his new accessory did, but he quickly realized he needed to be more cautious of it.

Relief was short lived as the women laid the sword down and got up and left the room. The echo the door created as it closed was followed by a silence that her quiet words quickly filled, repeating like a mantra in his mind. "You've been gone a long time Flash. There isn't anybody left. They're dead, they are all dead. I know that they're dead, because I killed them."

Half of him didn't believe her, couldn't believe her. They couldn't be dead. The other, more rational side of him knew that time passed differently within the speed force. It was around before the beginning of the universe, before the creation of mankind and thus was around since before the invention of time. A moment in the speed force very well could have been a life time in reality. Barry knew that time was hard to understand, so he knew that the strange and cold women could very well have been telling him the truth.

But that didn't mean he had to believe her. No, the un-rational side of him knew that Barry Allen couldn't survive without them. They weren't just his friends, they were his family, his support, his backbone, his reason to get up in the morning and to run. The longer he thought about it, the more he could feel his speed trying to move. And oh man, did Barry wish he could move. If only his body wasn't so injured from his inprisionment; his muscles exhausted and his bones weary. Barry wasn't sure how long he had been trapped, but it felt like an eternity filled with nothing but endless physical, mental, and emotional torture.

Still, that didn't stop the speed within him from surging. Out of his control, Barry felt the calming feeling of being wrapped in the lighting, only this time it brought him no comfort. Once again the collar around his neck heated up, bringing a flaming pain that spread from his neck throughout the rest of his body; which was currently seizing from the painful sensations attacking his frail body. Barry was't aware of how much time had passed, but it felt like hours. Slowly his speed drained away, leaving an aching pain that rested deep within his bones. Usually he healed quickly, but this time he wasn't sure he would heal at all.

Out of breath and unable to move his limbs, Barry laid there taking deep and calming breaths. He tried to match each intake of air with his heart beat, which was easy to do since he felt the constant rhythm throughout his entire being.

The scarlet speedster remained like that until the large door opened once again, revealing the women with short, curly red hair. This time though she was holding a black bag. She seemed to like the fact that he was shirtless, which made him uncomfortable. Barry was a modest guy, he didn't even feel fully comfortable being shirtless at STAR Labs while Caitlyn ran tests on him. Her cold hands were once again on his chest, but this time she was strategically placing sensors. She took her time, allowing her hands to explore his injured torso. Barry desperately wished he had the energy to push her off of him. Instead he tried to pretend it was just Caitlyn running another test, and that those were Iris' soft hands.

"Hello Flash," her voice was gentle, which bothered Barry. "Let me tell you a little about what's going to happen. First, lets start off with that collar that's around your neck." He felt her nails trailing around the edges of it, gracing his still burning skin. "I recommend you try to avoid using your speed. It'll only bring you pain. You see, this sexy little thing was created with the sole purpose of dampening your speed." A small, cruel sounding laugh escaped her taunt lips. "Well, Savitar actually. But we both know that you and him are two sides of the same coin. You are Savitar just as must as he is you.

"I know you tried to use your speed while I was out of the room, because it activated your pretty little collar. See," her fingers wedged themselves between the collar and his skin. "Don't my hands feel nice. The collar doesn't merely keep your speed at bay Flash, it collects it. Your speed, every time you try to use it, will only feed the collar and make its effects more intense, more painful, more permanent." Barry's eyes met her green ones, and he was afraid of what he saw in them. She was excited about what was going on, which only meant that this wasn't going to be kind like Caitlyn. "The fabric was weaved with particles from the speed force itself, so I heed you not to ignore these words: do not activate your speed. Be a good boy for me and just lay still. I'm going to be causing you some pain, but we needn't make it even worse now, do we?"

Barry tried to ask her a question, but no sound game out. Instead he sighed and decided not to try again. She took a step back from him and admired her handiwork before grabbing a clipboard from the bag. She sat down next to him and rested a hand on his shoulder. "I have a feeling you were going to ask me something along the lines of 'what do you want with me?'' Brown eyes glared into green, his silence was his answer. She smiled and said, "Well Flash, that's simple really. I want to control the Flash. As I'm sure most people secretly dream of doing. To have someone with your abilities up my sleeve, well, that would make the world my playground.

"Would you like to know how I'm going to do that Flash? How I'm going to manipulate you to behave and help me out when asked?" Without warning, she cold women picked a knife out of the black bag and quickly embedded it into Barry's abdomen. Against his will a blood curling scream left his dry lips, which called upon his speed and activated the collar simultaneously; emitting another wave of unbearable pain coursing through his limp body.

This made the women's smile widen and the glee in her eyes to intensify. " I am going to destroy you Flash. I will tear you down until there isn't anything left of you. I will break you Flash, murder the person you were before the speed force imprisioned you. Then, I will slowly rebuild you into what I need you to be." To emphasis her words, she twisted the knife harshly before yanking it out; leaving his wound to bleed and fend for itself against the brisk air. Once again the pain made him scream, but he managed to force his speed to remain still. It exhausted his already exhausted body. Barry wasn't sure how much longer he could manage to play this game without passing out.

"Knowing you, you'll fight me every step of the way. You'll try to cling to yourself. But why would you do that Barry?" It was the first time she had used his name. It hurt more than any physical damage she could inflict to him because with the simple usage of his name meant that she knew his identity. And if she knew his identity than those words she whispered in her ear had even more evidence for being true. The thought that everyone he cared about was dead was more torture than the knife she used or the collar that restricted him.

"I look forward to your fight Flash. Because I won't stop until you can't fight anymore. Until you won't fight me anymore." Barry couldn't cling to consciousness anymore, and the rest of the room faded into black as his body gave up trying and he slipped into the darkness.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Published: October 17, 2017

Status: In-Complete

Next Update: ASAP

PSA: Sorry if the format is weird, I type this on my iPad and does NOT ENJOY my uploading this VIA an iPad I am so sorry guys I am trying to figure it out*