Matt walked down the stairs of his rooftop entrance one step at a time late afternoon. It was already dark, and he was out all day, looking for her with no success. He removed his mask, remembering the moments when he did this and Anna was waiting for him in the living room, smiling, and at the same time scanning him for injuries. When he reached the bottom step he still didn't sense her presence here and the emptiness and quiet of the room hit him hard. He felt a fist was twisting his heart, making it impossible to breathe. He collapsed on the floor in the middle of the living room and finally let his tears run down his face. He failed protecting her, and because of him, she's gone. He was so close, but still not enough. He didn't get there in time, wasn't able to save her when she needed him the most. He lost her, he lost the most important person in his life, the only one who understood him and the only one he loved.
'You should've been there for her, you let her down in the worst possible way.' His own words were echoing in his head.
"Foggy... Foggy... Foggy..." The robotic voice of his daytime phone broke the silence, and he rubbed his face, walking to the coffee table to pick it up.
"Yeah..."
"Jesus, what happened to you? You sound like a half dead person. Did they kidnap you, too?"
"What? No..."
"I left at least a dozen voice messages, trying to reach you all day. Kinda freaking out to be true."
"Sorry, Foggy. I was out looking for Anna all day and forgot my phone home."
There was a pause, then Foggy's voice changed to a quiet and comforting tone. "Come to the office, there's something you need to know."
Matt swallowed hard, he already knew what he's gonna tell him, but nodded. "I will be there in an hour."
When Matt stepped in to their law office both Karen and Foggy were waiting for him. Karen rushed up to him and hugged him, crying loud. Her eyes were all red, she was probably crying all day.
"I'm so sorry Matt..." she said between sobs. "Anna... she's gone..."
Matt furrowed his brows, trying to keep his emotions at bay. But when Matt didn't react, she forced the words out.
"She's dead..." Karen said finally, and his efforts weren't enough anymore to stop himself from crying as well. Just hearing these words - the words he was afraid to say out loud - stabbed multiple knives in his heart.
"What? No... H...how?" He asked.
"The police found the warehouse where they were kept, but didn't get there in time. I'm sorry. Some military guy shot Anna, Tom told everything to the police. Daredevil helped restraining the doctor and others, so the police have everyone in custody now at least. Tom was here for hours, wants to help with our case against Dr. Moon and his team." Foggy explained quietly.
"Where is she? I want to 'see' her." Matt was hoping maybe the police found her body. If they did he needed to be there, just to be close to her, holding her, feeling her one last time.
"I'm sorry..." Foggy said quietly. "They haven't found her yet."
"Then how can they be sure she's dead? Maybe she's still alive, we need to find her!" Matt turned around to leave, but Foggy stopped him.
"Matt... she got shot in her abdomen, Tom said Dr. Moon was trying to bring her back, but couldn't. I'm really sorry..." Foggy eyed him worriedly, he hated seeing his friend in pain. He looked half dead. "Did you sleep any last night? Or today actually?" He was seriously concerned for him, Matt looked horrible with dark circles under his eyes, in addition to the previous wounds decorating his face, more pronounced now without the makeup. He's been awake for 32 hours now, without eating anything since yesterday morning.
Matt shook his head. "It doesn't matter, she's still out there, injured. There are so many cases when people survive getting shot. She needs help! Why can't you see that?" He needed to get out and keep looking for her, so he started walking to the door. "I just need to find her."
"Matt!" Foggy yelled this time, stepping in front of him. "Take a rest, you will think clearer after you had some sleep. Please..." Foggy looked at Karen, shaking his head sadly. They both knew Matt going out looking for her wouldn't do any good. It's not like he, without sight would be able to find her, he would just hurt himself in an accident, or something bad would happen to him. Especially in his current state it was dangerous for Matt to be out on the streets alone.
"Come on, Matt." Karen gently took his hand and lead him to his office.
Matt was still muttering under his nose. "I... I have to find her... have to find her..." but let Karen walk him up to the couch. "I have to find her..."
"The police are still searching for her, they're going to find her."
He didn't want to go home where everything reminded him that she's gone, where everything was screaming at him that he failed protecting her. So he lowered himself on the couch with his laptop and earphones, and started doing some online research, maybe there's something he missed. Maybe they had some other buildings where they took her. He could do some research before going back out there. After a good hour his head dropped and he fell asleep. Karen quietly tiptoed in to put his laptop on the desk and covered him with a blanket.
The two watched him for a minute, then carefully closed the door.
"This is horrible, he was finally happy, like really happy, first time in his life. And she could be free soon, now that we have three people testifying against them and have all the proofs. And they could be together... and now... he doesn't deserve this." Foggy whispered, shaking his head. "Just so unfair. Finally we can take down Dr. Moon, and everything would be fine... She was such a nice girl, went through so much and they loved each other. They don't deserve this..." He repeated himself and rubbed his forehead.
"Come, let's work on this case, it has to be solid." Karen said with still red eyes.
Foggy nodded. "Let's do this."
They went into Foggy's office, so they won't wake Matt up with noises and started working on adding the new details to the case they already started before the kidnapping.
Matt woke up from a dream, and sat up straight. He was with her in the warehouse, sensing them killing her and he still wasn't able to do anything to stop them. His breathing was fast and heavy and felt the sweat on his forehead. He looked around with his senses in the dark room, then calmed down when he identified where he was. He was in his office and not in the warehouse. He rubbed his eyes, probably got a few hours of sleep in. He heard Karen and Foggy talking quietly in the other room, surprised that the two were still here this time of night. He knew it's late already, because the buzzing sound of Foggy's neon light told him it must be still dark for them to use lights and the outdoor traffic already calmed down to almost nothing, signaling that it's around midnight at least. Slowly walked out to the reception area and opened their door, rubbing his neck that got stiff from sleeping in an awkward position.
"Hey, Matt... how you feeling?" Karen asked with a concerned look.
"Better. Thank you for the blanket."
"Of course."
"We're almost done." Foggy said with a smile. "Everything is ready for the hearing to take down Dr. Moon, Fisk and his company, and the laboratory. We talked with Sheila and Miranda on the phone and we went through all the details again with Tom as well. Everything is matching with what Karen found and the details she heard from Daredevil. We finally can put an end to this. We already charged the doctor with kidnapping, illegal experiments, torture, and possible murder, so he can't leave jail, not even on bail."
Matt nodded. "I'll stop at the police jail tomorrow morning and try to get some information out of him, he might want to tell us more."
"I'm not sure if that's a good idea. It's too personal, and you are hurt. Let me handle it, maybe it would be better?" Foggy asked carefully.
"Thank you, but I want to do this. I can do it."
"Are you sure you will be able to talk to him?"
"Yeah, I will be fine. I see more clearly now, don't worry." Matt said, he had more than just one question and didn't want Foggy to push him off of this case. Of course it's personal, and he wanted to be involved with everything. "But it's already late, guys. Why don't you just go home and rest?"
"Sure. But you too."
Matt thinned his lips and nodded.
He changed to his black outfit right after he got home, and headed out to continue his search for her. He went back to the warehouse and tried to check for any clues where those men could have taken her. But everything was lost, no signs of anything useful. The car tracks were all destroyed by the several police and other vehicles, and his nose didn't pick up any familiar scent what could help either. He started checking out their other buildings in the city one by one. At dawn he decided to call it a night, maybe he will have better success with the doctor. He already knew he didn't know where his men took her, because he didn't lie, but maybe there's something else important he didn't tell him.
He was at the police precinct at 8am sharp in Matt Murdock's clothes, unshaved and with slightly messy hair. When Brett lead him to the interrogation room he tried to calm his anger down. Just the fact that he was close to this scientist made him furious and ready to break every single bones in his body. His self control was strong though, he remembered the time when he almost killed Fisk and knew how much strength he needed to leave him alive. He never gonna let himself get to that close to crossing the line, no matter what the person in front of him did. Not even Dr. Moon. They got him, he's gonna get what he deserved, killing him wouldn't do any good. One of the doctor's arms was in a cast and his face was decorated by Daredevil's punches. He was seated by the table, wrists chained to it.
"Dr. Moon, my name is Matthew Murdock, our firm is representing the victims of your experiments." Matt walked up closer and stopped across the table by the empty chair to create some space and obstacles between them. He wasn't trusting himself completely not to attack the scientist. Yeah, he wouldn't kill him, but that didn't mean he wouldn't want to make him suffer more.
"They weren't victims, they helped science." He said with a pride voice.
"Against their will. We call that victim. You kidnapped, tortured and experimented on them."
"Only experimented on one of them, but she isn't here to testify, is she?" He smiled, and Matt grabbed the back of the empty chair in front of him strong, just to channel his anger on it. Unfortunately Matthew Murdock couldn't attack this scientist, especially not here in police custody.
"Where is she?"
"I have no idea. I didn't kill her and I didn't take her body anywhere."
"But you are responsible for her death."
"There's no body... so it's not a murder until they find the body." He countered, that grin was still on his face.
"We can still prove kidnapping and torture, what gives you plenty of years in prison, probably you will be around 130 years old by the time your sentence expires. Maybe more." He let the chair go and stepped closer to him. "Unless you cooperate, then maybe they'll drop a few years and your stay won't be as miserable."
"I only listen to my lawyers, they know their job much better than you who is from some low end firm. Are you allowed to question me by the way?"
"We will see about that. Where are your lawyers anyway? As far as the police knows nobody contacted you after your call."
Matt felt the insecurity in the doctor. Maybe the lab will throw him under the bus? He's failed, and kidnapping and torturing were serious crimes, not to mention murder. Matt could imagine that SciTech will wash their hands and tell that the doctor acted on his own. Except that they have the evidence from Sheila with all the signed documents. But the company and the doctor had no idea about that.
The scientist rubbed his forehead, chains clicking by the movement. Matt sensed him sweating now, probably having the same thoughts as he had.
"Ok, look. I needed her alive, I didn't want her to get killed. You have to trust me."
"Let's say I believe you, since she wouldn't do any good to you if she's dead. Where is she?"
"I didn't lie to the police when I said I didn't kill her. You need to promise me that you won't charge me for murder."
"Then you have to tell me more. Who shot her? Where did they take her?"
"The guy's name is John Miller, he is working for a private military company. He pulled the trigger and killed Anna. So you can charge him with murder, not me. I gave them an order not to kill her, but this idiot thought I was in danger by her power and shot her to save me." The doctor said eventually, still feeling pissed at the guy. "Look, I tried everything to save her life after the shot, but couldn't. You have to trust me, her death wasn't what I wanted. About the whereabouts of the girl's body, I really don't know." He sighed deeply. "But they have this facility up North where they make things disappear, so that would be my first guess to look for."
Matt put his hands down on the table, leaning closer with killing seriousness. "Address..."
There was a loud gunshot, right next to her ears. It resonated in her head and she couldn't hear anything except a very high pitched whistle for a while. Something hurt, oh yes, she knew this feeling quite well. She felt being shot before - not that she actually got shot ever -, but she felt this before. Daredevil... yes, it was him who got shot, and she felt it in her body while healing him. It was painful then, and it's painful now.
She was so close to being shot at the lab when saving Daredevil, but then he saved her life from the bullet. This time he wasn't here to save her...
She forced herself to turn around in slow motion, away from the scientist. She didn't want it to be Dr. Moon's face what she'll see last in her life. Her eyes shifted to Tom's shocked look, and she knew whatever happened just now wasn't good. His expression was panicked and was yelling something, trying desperately to get to her, but the soldiers were holding him down now. Her plan didn't go well, it went really really sideways. She thought nobody will kill her, she was certain that she's important for the doctor enough to keep her alive. These men had an order not to kill her after all. Hurting and torturing? Yes. But not killing. But she's definitely dying, she can feel her heartbeat slowing down in her chest, probably the bullet hit an important organ. Suddenly it felt difficult to stand, and she felt sleepy... why was she's standing anyways? She could just sit down and rest a little and everything will be fine. Yes.
The world blacked out, and she wasn't sure what was happening for a while neither how much time passed.
She knew her heart stopped beating normally, it's a very weird feeling. Is it possible to feel it? Why she's not dead? Or dead also still feel pain and have thoughts? Because this pain just under her ribcage didn't want to go away. She felt something cold on her chest and an electric shock ran through her body. Her heart beat once, twice, then stopped again for a while.
She can do this, just needed another shock. Maybe the paramedics arrived already and trying to restart her heart. Ok, Anna, focus.
There it was again and her heart made two weak beats, but then it got tired. She needed something stronger. Like that person next to her read her mind, she felt a needle poking through her skin and the adrenaline ran through her body. Ok, this works, she felt all alive now. She heard the sirens from the background far away, the police was arriving possibly. That's good. They're saved. Someone touched the left side of her neck, checking for her pulse.
"Damn it, she has no pulse!" She heard a man cursing, his voice sounded familiar but she couldn't place it.
"Yes I do, you damn ass, just slow..." she tried yelling but couldn't, no words left her throat. What kind of medic was this guy anyway, unable to identify that she's still alive?
Someone lifted her up and carried somewhere close by. But instead of an ambulance bed she felt her body got dumped roughly in a trunk, and heard the lid shot close.
Wait a minute... what's going on?
She wanted to open her eyes and yell that she's alive, but feeling weak. The car started moving and she tried focusing on her heart. She made it beat once, twice, took a few breaths in, then stopped. It was like broken.
Why she can't make it beat normally? Was she really dying? No, she can't die now. Not now that finally she found love. Matt... she hold onto the image of him. She saw him smiling at her, reaching out with his hand to touch her face, and she felt that so pleasant shiver going down her spine. "I need to get myself together. I can't die." She forced her heart to beat a couple times again. She can't die now that finally she could possibly be free soon and be with Matt. They're so close figuring out who's behind the Moonshot project, then they could charge that guy and Dr. Moon and bring justice to them. No, she definitely can't die now, she had to stay alive for Matt. She ran an assessment, the bullet punctured her liver. Could be worse... At least it's not her heart or lungs. Ok, focus on your heart and just keep it beating, even if it's slow she thought. Just keep forcing it to beat so she had enough oxygen to survive. The rest can wait, she will deal with her bullet wound later when she hopefully has more power.
She was able to make her heart beat a couple times again, but had no idea how to heal her main injury. She felt drained and keeping her heart beat a few times in a minute used up all her strength.
"Matt... I'm sorry... I don't have enough energy. I don't know how to heal myself." Frustratedly she cried in her head, still unable to form actual words. Usually she used her own energy to heal others, but now that she lost a lot of blood her body was drained and damaged, barely able to keep her alive.
Where are they taking me?
After a long drive, what felt forever - but possibly only took half an hour - the car stopped. She heard steps and the trunk opened. The men grabbed her body roughly and dropped it on a hard and cold surface, she wasn't sure what exactly.
"Damn, she looked beautiful." One of the guys said to his partner. "Shame that she's dead."
"Yeah, whatever. Just get this over with, I want to go home."
"She still looks hot though... Don't you want to have some fun before we put her in the grinder?"
The other man made a disgusted face. "You sick fuck. She is dead."
"Well, yeah, but only for a short while, look, not even stiff yet." The man lifted her arm, then dropped it.
"Jesus, you're crazy." He spit on the ground. "Whatever dude, I'm out of here. Just make sure you grind her body and make it disappear after you are done." And with that the other guy left through the door.
Anna focused on this one guy now, she knew he was standing right next to her. She can handle one guy. Yeah, except she's almost dead, and weak. Wish she could find some energy to recharge.
The guy licked his lips while watching her and Anna had to force herself not to throw up. This guy was really sick. Wish she could move her leg and kick him on his balls. That would feel great. She felt his hands on her arms and he yanked her jacket off. She was wearing a white and thin long sleeve shirt underneath, soaked in her blood now. The cold air hit her skin and she shivered inside. He was talking about something, but she didn't understand a word. Then his hands were on her arms, and she felt like a lightning bolt ran through her body. Here was the charge she's been waiting for, of course. She always had to put her hands on the person she's healing, thin layer of clothes didn't matter, but she was wearing a thick jacket before. Now that she had no barriers she can get some charge from this guy. It was exactly the opposite way what happened when she was healing someone. She used her own energy to help the other person, but now she used his energy to heal herself.
The guy in question also felt something, because he yelled out in surprise.
"What the fuck?!"
Anna sat up straight, grabbing the guy's arm, soaking in his energy, and this time she knew she's really sitting, and not just in her mind. She focused hard on her inside and healed her heart to make it beat normally.
"Holy shit! Fuck! Fuck!" The guy yelled, jerked his arms out of her grip and started running away from her.
"A fucking zombie! She turned into a fucking zombie!" He screamed loud while leaving the room as fast as he could.
Anna dropped back down on the table exhausted. She had a steady heartbeat, but it was still very weak. She needed to heal her main injury, otherwise she will be out again. So she focused on her breathing, keeping it slow and controlled, and used all her energy now to heal her wound and liver instead. She stayed there without any movements for a very long time, looking pale and pretty much dead from the outside still.
It was dark when she opened her eyes again. She ran a quick scan on herself, finding her bullet wound mostly healed and her bleeding completely stopped. She still lost a generous amount of blood, and it's very hard to regenerate that without additional liquid. She sat up, feeling dizzy, and her body responded with a horrible headache to that movement. She gagged, then rubbed her temples and very slowly looked around. The full Moon was shining through the windows, casting enough light on things so she could identify them. She was in a large room, with big heavy machines, sitting on a table. The smell was disgusting, animal blood mixed with rotten meat. This was some sort of slaughterhouse.
There was nobody around as much as she could tell, everything was quiet. She needed to get away from here in case those guys come back, but had to find some water first. Carefully lowered herself to the concrete floor, but she had to grab the table immediately, because her legs didn't want to cooperate. They were extremely weak, and having no control over her own body made her worry a bit. She stood there for a few minutes, leaning heavily on the table. Ok, so what's gonna happen after she's out? She remembered she had something important to do, she had to go somewhere, or to someone, but couldn't recall where or who.
"Shit." She cursed in frustration. Her brain wasn't functioning correctly either. Something was really messed up with her. She needed some water, she knew that, feeling very thirsty. So dropped down on her knees and crawled to the hose attached to a faucet on the wall. They must have using this to hose down the blood of killed animals. She was dry heaving again just to the thought of that. After multiple tries she eventually was able to open the faucet, and grabbed the end of the hose to drink, ignoring the fact that it was dirty and tasted like rubber mixed with plastic. After she had enough, leaned back to the wall, and tried hard to recall what exactly happened to her. There was this thick fog over her brain stopping her to think clearly. The effort was too much, and she fell asleep eventually.
Next time she opened her eyes it was bright light. The sun was shining through the small windows.
"I need to get out of here." She told to herself, and she was able to stand up this time without seeing much of a spinning from the room.
She walked up to the door, and the cold air hit her face when she opened it, helping her to wake up more.
"Where the hell am I?" This place and area didn't seem familiar to her at all. She had no recollection where she could be. Looked like an industrial area with one road leading out of it.
The sun was shining, but the temperature was below freezing. She didn't care, just wanted to be as far away from this horrible place as possible. Her legs started leading her up on the road, toward the buildings in the far distance.
Matt waved down a cab and gave the driver the address from Dr. Moon, hoping this was the right one where those guys took her. The cab driver kinda looked at him questionably, but started driving. After about 45 minutes he stopped the car at the gate of some industrial building.
"This is it. Are you sure this is the right address?" He looked at the blind man.
"Yeah, why? Is there anything creepy about this place?"
"I would say it's abandoned, but who knows. Are you sure you're ok to be dropped off here?" He asked with some concern.
"Yeah, I will be fine, thank you."
Matt paid for his ride then walked up to the gate, tapping the ground with his cane. It wasn't locked, so he pushed it in and went up to the door. He froze on his track when Anna's pleasant scent in the cold air hit his senses, the lovely lily and vanilla. His heart picked up the pace with high hopes as he opened the door, wishing to find her there, despite the fact that he didn't hear any heartbeats inside.
There were no lilies and vanilla indoors though, and the strong smell of dead animals and blood filled his nose and he wanted to throw up immediately. Carefully scanned through the room, his breathing became shallow as he realized why they truly brought her here and his hope got replaced by horror. Perfect place to make a body disappear, just grind it with all the animal meat.
"No.." he noticed her jacket on the table and ran up to it. "No..." panic started to build inside him and the room felt suffocating. He picked up her jacket and hugged it to his body. "I'm too late.. too late again." He was sobbing now, still holding onto the piece of fabric like his life depended on it. "No... I'm so sorry, Anna... I'm so sorry..."
He had no recollection what happened in the next two and a half hours, but soon after that he heard sirens and sergeant Mahoney showed up with his men.
"Murdock! Why you called us here exactly?" He yelled at the blind lawyer who was on his knees in the middle of the room, face pale white, breathing rapidly.
He called Brett apparently... but now he wasn't able to speak, just hugging her jacket still.
"Oh..." the sergeant said after seeing Anna's clothes and the realization hit him. This was the place where those guys made her body disappear. "I'm really sorry."
Foggy and Karen showed up as well, Karen was trying to hug Matt, but he didn't react at all. Everything was muffled, like he was under water, drowning. The police was busy searching through the building, everyone was talking loudly, but for Matt he only heard white noise.
"Foggy, he's all cold and shivering." Karen faced her fiancé with a worried look.
"He's in shock, is there a medic somewhere?" Foggy asked Brett, and he motioned towards the exit.
"Come on, Matt." Foggy helped him up, supporting his weight by the right arm, and Karen by the left elbow.
"Hey, we will need that jacket, it's evidence." A policeman said, but Foggy made an angry look at him, and Mahoney hushed the guy off.
Matt remembered sitting down at the back of an ambulance truck, someone putting a blanket on his shoulders and asking questions, but he didn't care to answer.
"He will be fine." The paramedic said after a few minutes. "Just in shock. Needs some time to recover. Can someone stay with him in the next 24 hours?"
"Yeah, we both can stay with him." Karen replied.
"Good. Keep him warm, and here are some pills, should help him relax a bit and sleep. Give one to him after you take him home, and take one in every six hours if needed. And make sure he drinks plenty of water." The medic explained while writing details on the plastic pill bottle.
"Thank you." Foggy said and they walked him up to their cab, what was still waiting outside of the gate.
"Have you ever seen him like this?" Karen asked Foggy after they've arrived at Matt's apartment. The blind lawyer didn't say a single word since they arrived to the crime scene. Foggy shook his head sadly. Matt was on autopilot and walked up to the couch and dropped down on it.
"Never... not bad like this."
Karen put her hand on Matt's and tried pulling him up. "Come, let's go to the bedroom and try to get some sleep."
He didn't move, just lifted his legs up on the couch. His place was here on the couch. Anna sleeps in the bedroom.
The couple exchanged glances, wasn't sure why Matt didn't want to move, but then Foggy nodded. "That's ok..." he put a pill in Matt's right hand, the left was still holding onto Anna's jacket like to dear life. He placed the pill in his mouth and swallowed it without any question. Karen gave him a glass of water and he finished that too, then he just laid down on the couch. Karen fetched a warm blanket and covered him. Sleep didn't come easy for him that night, but the relaxer pill started working in about an hour, and he was out until the next morning.
Matt woke up to the smell of coffee, and smiled inhaling the pleasant scent deeply. Anna was making breakfast for him again. He smelled the eggs and ham cooking and his stomach growled. He sat up just to realize it's Karen in the kitchen, and felt a stabbing pain in his heart as reality sunk in.
"Good morning, how are you feeling?" She asked quietly when noticed him sitting.
"Has Brett called yet? Have they found anything?" He asked automatically. Karen let out a breath, at least he's talking.
"Not yet, but he will soon I'm pretty sure. They're checking all the machines for human DNA or parts, it takes a while. Foggy went to the initial hearing, both Sheila, Miranda, and Tom will be there. That doctor won't escape." She said.
John Miller... John Miller... that's all Matt could think of now. He needed to catch him, he killed Anna. But he wasn't planning on sharing his name just yet, he wanted to talk to him first before handing him over to the police, and probably make sure he won't be able to use his hands on any guns, ever.
"Thank you, Karen."
"Come, you need to eat something."
Matt stood up and walked to the dining table, feeling weak and tired. He knew he needed his strength to catch that guy, which meant no more breakdowns. He hadn't eaten in almost four days now and knew he's going to start hallucinating soon. So forced food in himself and drank both the coffee and water she put in front of him, but pushed away the pill.
"Thank you, Karen. I really appreciate it, but I'm good now. You don't have to babysit me."
"I know, but I don't have anything important to do, so I will be here with you." She said, remembering the paramedic's advice to watch him for 24 hours. "I stay until the evening, no arguments."
Matt nodded, knowing there's no meaning to argue with her on that.
"You know that tomorrow is Anna's birthday?" He said quietly, and Karen just walked up and hugged him, both sobbing with sadness.
Later that day Karen made herself busy with cooking some lunch, so Matt used that time to walk up to the small red cabinet in the living room by the bedroom door. He opened the door and focused on the tiny box inside on the top shelf, forcing his tears back. After a few minutes of hesitation he reached for it with shaking hand and opened it in his palms to reveal a beautiful silver necklace with thin chain and a pendant on it. He rolled it around his fingers, feeling the shape of the tiny flower, then squeezed it hard in his fist, not bothering this time to stop his tears falling down on his face yet again. Her birthday was the next day.
The day passed slowly, Matt was making plans in his head where to find that guy, and a second after his front door closed behind Karen in the evening, he headed to the chest in his closet, and Daredevil left to search for his pray.
"It's been over 2 months now, Matt." Foggy said with concerned expression. "You should really leave your apartment, at least come down to Josey's with us."
Matt was sitting on his couch, wearing sweatpants and a shirt. He still couldn't accept the fact she's dead. Partly because they never found her actual body, the police did find human DNA in the heavy grinder machines at the slaughterhouse, but they weren't Anna's. They said it's possible that hers just wasn't found, or maybe they made her disappear in a different way, like using a handsaw or something. They did find her blood on that table though, what was enough proof to think she was indeed dead.
But Matt had this unexplainable feeling in his heart. Him and Anna had a very strong connection and her healing him and being connected mentally countless times gave him this feeling, the feeling of her existence. It was like she was part of him, and he knew that part wasn't lost completely. He had no reasonable explanation for how could she be alive though, he knew well that Dr. Moon indeed tried everything to bring her back to life, but couldn't. He was a doctor and he didn't lie when he told him that Anna was dead. But still, this what he felt inside was stronger than any reasonable thought. He just knew she's alive, but couldn't explain this to his friends. So he stopped convincing Foggy about it, because after 4 weeks he started thinking that something was seriously wrong with his blind friend, and he's unable to accept her death and never recovers from his sorrow. So since then, Matt never mentioned anything about Anna being alive. He stopped going to the office completely after the trials, spent all his nights patrolling the streets, saving innocent people and looking for her. And his days to heal from the injuries and rest. And the injuries unfortunately happened more often as his pain and lack of self health care started taking a toll on him. He didn't have appetite, barely ate and felt weak and tired most of the time, but still forced himself to go out at nights. His main focus was to find her, because he just knew she was out there somewhere.
"And when was the last time you shaved? You look awful, man. You also need a haircut badly. Those pants and shirt, they are one or two size bigger. How many pounds did you lose? Are you eating enough?"
"I'm ok like this, Foggy. Really." He forced a smile on his face. "Yeah, of course I'm eating, I'm just not that hungry lately. And rather just stay home."
"I thought you will feel better after everyone is in prison, but seems like that didn't change your mood much. Fisk is in solitary now, without any way to contact anybody. Dr. Moon and John Miller are locked up for a very long time." Foggy dropped down on the couch next to his friend. "This should make you feel a little better. I'm seriously worried about you." Foggy was watching his face, then his gaze lowered to his neck and Matt sensed his friend's heartbeat picking up fast.
"What happened to your neck?" He reached out to touch a deep cut close to the base of his neck, barely visible from the t-shirt.
"Matt?" Foggy's voice changed to a worried tone. "Did you do this to yourself?"
"What?" He asked nervously, shifting away from his friend. "Of course not. It was just an accident." Matt recalled last night's event in his head when he was fighting with that big guy. The masked man pushed him through a window, but he was still conscious, so Daredevil went after him and he just missed noticing that the guy had a piece of the broken glass in his hand. He thinned his lips at the memory, feeling ashamed that he made such a mistake. He should have sensed that glass, but he was a bit off lately.
"Accident?" Foggy stood up, still looking at him. "This doesn't look like an accident." He rubbed his eyes, walking in small circles around the coffee table. "Matt, if you don't want to talk to me, maybe you would like to talk to a professional? Someone who can help you? Please?" Foggy reached out for his friend's wrists, checking the inside for cut marks. Matt didn't resist and let his friend scan through both of his wrists. Foggy relaxed a little when seeing none.
"I'm ok, Foggy. Trust me, you don't have to worry about me. I didn't try ending my life I swear, it was really an accident. I just need a little more time, Foggy. Please."
"Ok, ok, I understand." His blonde friend was hesitant, not believing him completely. "I give you a little more time, but not too much. Next week we will drag you down to the bar. No excuses."
Matt let out a miserable laugh. "Next week, huh?"
"Yes, so be ready. We don't expect you to smile or celebrate, just want you to start making some effort, like you were alive. Maybe leaving your apartment a little will help with your grief, we have to try. And please, shave by then, otherwise you will scare everyone away. And don't even think about cutting yourself... again."
"Noted."
"How's Karen, I haven't seen her in a couple of days?" Matt asked after a short silence.
"Oh, she's fine, she's been busy, trying to get things ready for the wedding, so didn't have time to stop by." He scratched his neck. "Are you sure you're ok with the date? We are totally fine with delaying it."
"Yes, absolutely. Please, I already told you, don't change the date, I want you two to be happy. And I promise I will be there."
"It's just... we really could move it to the summer or later, depending on how much time you need."
"Please don't. Valentine's Day sounds so romantic, have the wedding then please. Remember, life is too short..." He said with some sadness in his voice, though trying not to show it much.
"Ok...ok... I left some food in your fridge, eat it. I will see your bones soon if you keep starving yourself like this."
Foggy was about to leave when he noticed something weird and froze. "Are you still sleeping on the couch? That bed looks exactly the same for weeks."
"I... I just like it better here. The colors from the billboard are pretty nice lately since they're running this new ad."
"Shut up, you just made a blind joke?" Foggy clapped his hands. "Maybe not everything is lost?" He smiled and left the apartment.
Matt let out the air he was holding, took a lot of effort to convince his friend that he's better. The truth was he's feeling worse and worse every day. The only thing what kept him going was hope, hope that he will find her. But as the days passed it started getting harder and harder to hold onto it. He focused on the bedroom, and slowly walked in there. He hasn't been here since that night. Everything felt like her in here, the smells, the memories, her things. He remembered her laying in bed, wearing his shirt and slowly opening her eyes in the morning, just to smile at his direction. That beautiful smile, full of love, love for him. He felt the sharp knives stabbing his heart, so went back to the living room, feeling overwhelmed suddenly. He failed protecting her, he wasn't there for her when she needed him. He can't give up now, can't fail again. She was out there and he had to find her. But he had this fear deep down, knowing Anna's past and he was scared of her not being here in New York anymore. What if she left and ran away, and she's in a different state already and he will never find her? There's that possibility, but still he just couldn't give up. What if they holding her somewhere locked up and she's still here in town? He had to find her.
Foggy was right though, he needed to shave and look like a normal man again. He also needed to be more careful hiding his injuries from his nighttime fights. He didn't want his friends to worry about him, or potentially sending him to some shrink. He went to the bathroom, knowing it's getting dark soon and he needed to go out, like always. Every single night, no night off. Listening to the sounds and heartbeats, trying to find that one. And saving innocent lives in the meantime. Taking his frustration and pain out on criminals helped a little, but didn't solve everything. It's been over two months. If she was really alive and still here in New York, he would have found her by now and as the days went by it was slowly getting harder to hold onto that hope.
There was a loud scream and he dropped down from the fire escape fast to kick the knife out of a man's hand to save the girl curled up in the corner. He didn't go easy on him, gave him several punches until he was all out.
"You are my second miracle." The girl said shakily. "Thank you."
"Nobody called me like that before. They usually call me the Devil instead." The vigilante said with surprise mixed into his voice.
"You're not the Devil, more like an Angel, like that girl was who saved my Mom yesterday."
Matt's heart started beating fast. No, it can't be her, don't get your hopes up. There are other girls out there who can fight and save others. But it was too late, his heart was full of hopes and dreams. He had to know the truth before his emotions got carried away.
"What girl?"
"My Mom, she got mugged and stabbed. I was with her. We were sure she was going to die, she was losing so much blood. The guy ran away with my Mom's purse, but this girl saw us and she... I know this sounds crazy..."
"What did she do?" His heart was beating fast with anticipation. "Did she run after the guy?"
"No, not at all. She healed my Mom, like a miracle, only took a minute and her bleeding stopped and the stab on her chest healed completely. She saved her life! She was an Angel I'm pretty sure, like you are. There's no other explanation."
Matt's heart now pounding loud in his chest, getting harder to control his emotions. This sounded exactly like Anna, only she could have done something like this. He was considering to ask the woman how she looked like, but then realized she couldn't give him a description he would be able to recognize. To him, Anna was the mixture of this pleasant smells, sounds, her heartbeat, breathing, warmth of her voice, and all her unique reactions. Like the way her skin got flushed and heartbeat sped up every time he was around her, the goosebumps on her arms when his fingers traced over her muscles. That soft skin of hers, so pleasant to touch that he could easily get lost in caressing her. The sound what her silky hair made as it was brushing her back and shoulders as she moved. That energy what always surrounded her and he felt the sparks from it when he was around her. The way she talked, always honest without anything fake. That so pleasant and warm special tone she always used when she talked to him, only him and nobody else. Her smile and laugh what always brought happiness to his heart. There's no way anyone could give him a description like this. So instead he asked a different question.
"Where was this?"
"Oh, in Jersey. My Mom lives there. About half an hour drive from here. Maybe shorter if it's not rush hours."
"Can you give me the address of the attack?"
"S... sure." The girl was a bit confused why did that matter to him, but he just saved her life, so would help him with anything.
He ran as fast as he could, crossing the Hudson through the Lincoln Tunnel, jumping from building to building wherever it was possible. He stopped at the top of the apartment complex by the alley, where the attack happened, and listened to the night with high hopes. Many heartbeats, mostly sleeping, but none of them was the one he's looking for. He smelled the dried blood down below on the pavement, but couldn't smell anything what belonged to her. She can't be far, she was here just yesterday. What if there's someone else like her out there? No. Can't be. It had to be her. She's not dead, he could feel it.
Matt jumped across the street to the top of the other apartment complex and went a little further, up to the tallest building nearby. Maybe he will hear her voice better from here. There were definitely less screams in this neighborhood than in Hell's Kitchen, safer and quieter. But no sound of Anna. Maybe she's asleep, and not talking. He needed to get closer to hear heartbeats than voices, so decided to scan through the neighborhood by moving from rooftop to rooftop. The sun came up on the horizon and he knew he couldn't go back home, it's too early and people would notice Daredevil crossing the tunnel under the Hudson in daytime traffic. So instead he kept looking for her from the rooftops, nobody will notice him there during daytime. And maybe he had better chance finding her now than at night, since she's supposedly awake.
He walked down the stairs of an abandoned apartment building early afternoon to spend a short time there and warm up a little, since it was still freezing outside. She disappeared on the last week of November, and it was the end of January now, the coldest month of the winter.
He just needed a few minutes to rest, then he can continue his search. There were a few homeless people in the building, hiding from the cold as well. They covered themselves up in blankets, sleeping in corners. Most of the windows were broken, but the homeless tried fixing them with plywood to keep the cold breeze out. There were no doors or furniture, the flooring was all torn up and the wood burnt long ago to provide some heat for the people here in the past. Now there were cold ashes piled up in all sorts of different areas. He lowered himself to a free spot by the wall and closed his eyes under the mask. She's alive, now he was certain of it, it wasn't just a feeling anymore. He had proof, and just needed to find her. His mind started wondering though. If she was really alive, walking free, and here in the city, why she never contacted him? It's been more than two months now. He remembered her wanting to leave New York after that TV appearance to protect her friends. Maybe she didn't leave town this time, but instead she was hiding now for similar reasons? Maybe she didn't know about Dr. Moon being behind bars? That's possible, since this case never ended up in the news.
He dozed off for a few minutes, and when he came back to his senses he felt the presence of two kids in front of him.
"Is he dead?" The vigilante heard a little girl's voice.
"No, he's just sleeping. See? His chest is raising and falling." The older kid said.
Matt moved his legs to reposition himself and the kids jumped.
"Are you the Devil?" The girl asked him.
"They call me Daredevil."
"Whoa! I heard of you, you are badass." The boy said smiling. "Are you hurt?"
"No, just resting. Looking for someone, I heard she was in this neighborhood yesterday." Matt replied.
"Is she your friend?"
"Yes, very good friend. She helps people."
"Like the Angel?" The girl asked.
"Do you know her?" Matt sat up straight, remembering that the woman he saved last night called her the same way. Angel. How ironic that was? The Devil fell in love with an Angel.
The girl nodded. "Yes, she helps us sometimes, when we're sick."
"That's her! Do you know where can I find her?" The excitement and hope started building in him.
Both the girl and the boy pointed their fingers up to the ceiling.
"Is she upstairs? In this building?" He started scanning for noises, but couldn't hear her. Not that so familiar heartbeat.
"No... she's in the sky. I told you she's an angel. She always comes from the sky." The girl said and they ran away laughing.
Matt furrowed his brows. Were they joking with him? They seemed like telling the truth, the truth they believed in at least. But they were kids. Either way, it was worth checking, so he stood up and went upstairs, looking for her in every rooms and corners.
He scanned through the whole neighborhood that day, finding nothing as the night ended slowly as well. Around 3am he decided it's time to head back toward Hell's Kitchen. Suddenly two loud gunshots hit his senses and started running to the direction of the sound. There were four men chasing one guy inside of a car repair shop, who seemed to be the owner. He jumped down in front of them and positioned himself to the side, so the four guys lined up and only one could attack him at the same time. He blocked his punch then grabbed his right arm with his right hand, pulling it to the side, then grabbing his second punch strong, crossing the guy's arms in front of him and twisting them in a painful angle. This gave Daredevil the leverage to move the guy around easily, because if he won't move then it's gonna hurt a lot. So he spun him in front of the second attacker, giving him a strong push and knocking the second guy down with the body. While these two were on the ground on top of each other, the vigilante kicked the third one hard with a front kick, forcing him to land on his butt. The fourth man came from his left with a knife and when Daredevil noticed that the first attacker recovered and was about to punch him he missed blocking the knife attack and he felt the blade slicing into his left oblique. Quickly turned around and grabbed the guy's arm, twisting the knife out of his grip and knocking him out with a hammer fist while simultaneously delivering a back kick to his other opponent. The man fell backwards, hitting his head in a car waiting for repair in the shop, knocking him out. He jumped and kicked the third one unconscious fast as well. One more to go. Suddenly he felt the room was spinning and he lost his balance completely as the dizziness clouded his senses. He tried holding his head with both hands to steady himself, but then stumbled over a couple of oil canisters on the floor and fell down hard into an oil change pit. He hit his shoulder and the back of his neck badly on the concrete wall of the pit while falling, scraping the skin off, but to his luck the bottom of the hole was sand, so he didn't break any bones as his body hit the ground. He was desperately trying to get up, but the dizziness didn't get better, and he fell back into the dirt. He hadn't had anything to eat in the past couple of days again, and was awake for two days straight now. He cursed as he felt his body was giving up just now when he needed to be strong and focused. Everything went quiet as he stayed down motionless for several seconds.
"Matt!" He suddenly heard Anna screaming his name and his eyes popped open. "You need to get up, Matt! Now!" He heard it again and slowly pushed himself onto his knees, scanning his surroundings with his senses. Anna wasn't here, and he felt the squeezing pain in his chest as he realized he was just imagining her again.
But there was still one guy standing and he heard him lifting something up - something heavy - and throwing it onto the masked man down below. He rolled in the dirt fast to avoid the impact in the last second, which made his head spinning even more. Uncoordinatedly stood up, supporting himself with the wall. The guy jumped down behind him, and Daredevil ducked to avoid his punch and spun around to deliver a strong hit in his stomach, then knocking him out as well on the head. He hold onto the ladder leading up from the pit for balance, panting heavily for long minutes. He hadn't been eating much in the past two months, and that definitely started showing its signs. After a good five minutes he felt more stable and carefully climbed up on the ladder, sensing that the owner of the shop was hiding behind the barrels.
"Call the police, they will take it from here. These guys won't wake up for a couple more hours." He told the guy and left the repair shop.
He got back to his apartment just before the next sunrise, collapsed on the couch exhausted, hungry, and frozen to the bones. He knew he had to eat, but the thought of food made him wanting to throw up. So just stayed there as his eyes slowly closed under the mask. The cut on his oblique muscle was still bleeding some, but he was way too tired to do anything about it. She's out there, somewhere, he needed to get back there... but his body decided no more, and his brain shut down for a long and deep sleep.
He startled by a loud scream from a few blocks away. He sat up realizing it's dark again, he must've slept through the whole day in Daredevil's clothes on Matt Murdock's couch. He shook his head, this could've gone really badly if Foggy or the others decided to make another unannounced visit.
He heard the scream again, definitely coming from somewhere nearby, so he didn't dream that. Ran up to the roof access and made the jumps to the other buildings and dropped down to a guy to save his victim from him.
He woke up the next morning from the usual dream, being with her here on the couch, hugging her close to his body and listening to her heartbeat. He swallowed deep and as he sat up he sensed someone in the kitchen. His body froze immediately. It wasn't Karen. It wasn't Foggy. It wasn't Tom.
"I'm making you breakfast." He heard Anna's voice and his eyes grew wider. "You need to eat, Matt." She said with warm voice and put down two plates on the table, slowly sitting down on one of the chairs, waiting for him.
He swallowed again, scared to move. She was here in the apartment.
"Matt... you really need to eat something, you haven't had anything in days again." She smiled. "Please?"
He slowly stood up holding his breath and carefully walked up to the table, pulled one of the chairs out and sat down.
"You are here."
"Of course, I promised you I won't go anywhere."
He reached out with his right hand, trying to touch her across the table, but his fingers felt the air only. He's hallucinating, again. His hand dropped down on the cold surface of the table and his tears slowly started running down his face.
"I miss you so much."
Tom came over later that day to check on him. As usual the three took turns and they were trying to make sure Matt was still ok and visited him every other day or so. They had their own keys, because sometimes Matt was passed out and didn't answer the door, so they decided for his safety they needed to be able to unlock the door and get inside.
"I brought you some Chinese takeout, and I'm not leaving until you finish all what I put on this plate." Tom said, placing the food container on the table and grabbing a plate with utensils. Matt slowly stood up from the couch, supporting his weight heavily as he felt all the aches from the last few nights' fights in his body. He got a couple of new bruises on his torso, ribs, shoulders and neck, in addition to that cut on his oblique what he forgot to treat. He walked around the couch trying hard to look normal and hide the pain as usual.
"Thank you, I really appreciate it." He said with a forced smile.
Tom turned toward him. "Are you feeling dizzy again?" He started asking, but then panicked. "Matt! What happened to you?"
The blind man got startled. "What? Nothing, I'm ok." He let the couch go and spread his arms out.
"You are bleeding, man!" He rushed up to him seeing some blood soaking through his grey shirt where the cut reopened just now from moving.
"What did you do to yourself?" Tom reached out to pull his shirt up to check on his wound, but Matt grabbed his wrist strong with lightning reflexes before he touched his shirt. He really didn't want Tom to see all his old scars in that area.
"It was just an accident, it's nothing serious." He said and pushed the other man's hand away.
"Matt..." Tom sighed, but kept his distance. "How could you possibly have an accident in your apartment? Especially this often? Foggy told me about the other cut on your neck. Are you trying to harm yourself?"
"Of course not. I'm fine, really. Just leaned on the counter to grab the spice jar from the back and didn't notice the knife there, and accidentally cut me. That's all, really." Matt tried to come up with a good excuse, but Tom wasn't convinced.
"Matt... Anna wouldn't want to see you hurting yourself, please." Tom said with sadness in his voice, but seeing the pain in the other man's eyes made him drop the topic. "Sit down and eat."
Matt swallowed and sat down. He hated causing trouble to his friends and making them think he would hurt himself on purpose. But couldn't exactly tell them the truth. So he was forced to let them think he's more miserable and depressed than he actually was. Especially now that he found proof that she was still in New York, he was feeling better. The food smelled good, but for Matt it just caused nausea. He had almost zero appetite in the past two months and he had to force down even that small amount of food he ate. But he felt weak and got beaten up badly in his last couple of fights because of that, what meant his body was in desperate need for some fuel. He knew he needed some of his strength to find Anna, so grabbed the fork and ate part of the meal Tom put in front of him, and forced it to stay down.
The week passed and he wasn't able to find her still. It was a Saturday, the end of the first week of February and he swallowed. A new month, and she's still missing. He went to New Jersey every other night, and patrolled in Hell's Kitchen in others. It was early afternoon and he's already making plans where to look tonight, when Foggy knocked on his door. He brushed his fingers through his hair, checking his body for blood or any visible cuts, and when he confirmed that everything was fine with him he opened the door. Karen was with Foggy as well, and he furrowed his brows at the fact that he didn't notice her through the closed door. He must be extremely tired, in which case he could have easily missed Anna as well on his search missions. He made a mental note to 'look' through the areas again he did in the past three nights, just in case.
"Are you ready?" Foggy asked with a big grin on his face, putting a box of bagels on the dining table for his friend, so he will have something to eat in the morning.
Matt gave him a confused look. "Ready for what exactly?"
"Josey's!"
"Oh... has it already been a week?"
"Yeah?" Foggy looked at him like he's out of his mind.
"No excuses, Matt." Karen said. "You haven't left your apartment in almost three months now, it's time." She put her hand on his shoulder, ignoring the fact that she felt his bones more pronounced. They agreed with Foggy that instead of pointing out to him how badly he looked, they will try encouraging him instead. "I know it's been hard, but you need to try. At least come down with us for a little bit." She smiled at him gently. "Please?"
"Just... just for a short while, ok?" Matt asked carefully. He needed to go back out there, but didn't want his friends to worry about him more. He wasn't really locked up in his apartment like they thought, but couldn't share his night life activities with them either.
"Ok, now put on some decent clothes." Foggy pointed out, since Matt was wearing a pair of very old pants with pull strings in the waist to keep them up on him, fuzzy socks pulled up high over them, in addition to a stained long sleeve shirt what saw better days.
"What's wrong with my clothes?"
Foggy dragged him to his closet and threw a better outfit in his arms, then pushed him to the bathroom, closing the door on him. Matt obeyed and changed to the gray suit his friend gave him, poking a new hole on the belt since it was too long for his current size. He really did lose a lot of weight. At least Foggy left him alone with it and not trying to dress him.
Josey's was quite busy today, and several of the customers were already drunk, yelling loud. Just as usual in a bar like this. They settled down at a table and Foggy went to the bar for some drinks.
Matt was fidgeting with his folded cane on the table impatiently, turning his head toward the door every time someone came in or out, hoping maybe it's her, despite the fact that he knew Anna wasn't the type who went to bars.
"Hey, relax. You are very jumpy." Karen put her hand on his grip and Matt realized what he was doing and let the cane go.
"Sorry."
"Here are the beers!" Foggy got back with their usual drinks, patting his friend on the back.
Matt drank some of the beer. The alcohol was rushing to his head right away after he swallowed it on completely empty stomach.
"So... how things are going with the wedding?" Matt asked Karen.
"Good, actually. I have most of the things done and my Dad will arrive next Monday."
"Yeah, big day." Foggy said nervously. He met Karen's Dad a year ago, but this time he's coming here for an important event.
"I'm sure everything will be fine." Matt smiled at both of them.
"Ahh... isn't this great? Us being down here again, like in the good old days?" Foggy said with excitement.
"You know, I... I told Anna that after she's free to walk on the streets again we will come down here, the four of us..." he lowered his head, and the couple looked at each other worriedly.
"I'm so sorry, Matt." Karen said. "We didn't know... we could have gone somewhere else."
Matt shook his head, the alcohol made him forget about staying quiet about his belief on Anna's being alive. "Doesn't matter, I'm gonna find her, I'm so close, I know..."
"Matt... we talked about this... remember?" Foggy's voice was sad and painful. "Anna is dead. Maybe if you would let us hold a memorial for her, that would help?"
"She doesn't need a funeral or memorial. She's alive, guys. For real. I... I just have to find her. I know it."
Karen and Foggy exchanged worried glances, and Matt realized he slipped. He shouldn't have mentioned this to his friends, had no idea why he wasn't able to keep it inside this time. He suddenly felt drunk, but only had a few sips of beer. He needed to get back home before he made things worse.
"I'm sorry guys, I... I don't think I'm ready for this yet." He stood up and started walking toward the door, avoiding everyone in his way like someone with sight. His friends just looked at his disappearing body without a word.
The following couple nights he spent scanning through the areas he's already checked, making sure he didn't miss anything. It was Wednesday night, cold, but rainy. It was pouring down hard and Matt knew it's going to turn into snow soon if the temperature dropped more. He was patrolling in Hell's Kitchen tonight, already soaked through and shivering in the cold, but there was still a few hours of darkness left from the night what he wanted to use. He heard a scream from a five story abandoned building and he picked up the pace to rush there. He entered the building through the roof, searching for heartbeats with his senses. It was an old building, ready to be torn down. The rain was leaking through the roof in multiple places and slowly making its way down to the lower floors as well. There was a woman on the fourth floor, scared to death, hiding. His radar picked up two guys searching for her, so the vigilante took the stairs to run down one level, toward the men. He came behind one of them and attacked him right away. The noise made the second guy aware of Daredevil's presence and pulled his gun out, firing at the masked man right after he knocked his opponent out. Matt tilted his body fast to avoid the bullet, then moved from cover to cover as he slowly got closer to the shooter. The man fired again. The masked man cursed he didn't have his batons with him tonight, he could easily use those now. The man fired the gun again backing up slowly behind a large table turned on its side to block himself from the vigilante in case he also had a gun, but Daredevil dodged this attack as well. The guy ran out of bullets, because his next shot didn't fire, just made a clicking sound, so Matt started running straight toward him and jumped high above the table and was planning to drop down just in front of him. But the old wooden floor weakened by years of water damage cracked under his feet when he landed and Daredevil fell down to the third floor. He landed hard on something with his shoulder and hips, breaking the old wood, then felt the floor opening again and he went down yet another level. He hit his back and head badly this time and the world went quiet.
He wasn't sure how long he was laying there, but it was nice, he enjoyed the peace, not hearing any screams or loud noises anymore. He felt extremely tired and cold. His clothes were all soaked wet from tonight's rain and he's been out in the unpleasant weather in them for hours. He slowly closed his eyes as his body started shivering violently.
"Matt?" He heard her voice and smiled. She's here, everything was fine now. He found her finally, he thought as her scent hit his senses. He felt her touching his face gently and he lifted his arm to hold her hand, but only felt the cold wet fabric of his own mask.
"Matt! Get up! I can't help you if you're dead!" Her voice was panicked this time.
"I'm tired. I just want to sleep." He said quietly and his hand dropped to his side.
"Matt... you can't sleep now. You have hypothermia. You have to get up and go home." Her voice was worried and he sensed her tears. He didn't want to make her sad. What did she just say? He had hypothermia?
The noises slowly started to come back, he heard the rain was dripping down from the hole he fell through. He focused on the sound of the water as it was echoing in the empty space, then forced his eyes open and pushed himself up. The movement hurt, his bones were cold and beat up by the fall, but he knew that the hypothermia was much worse than the bruising he felt. He listened to his own heartbeat, it was irregular and his body still didn't want to stop shivering. She was right. He only had minutes to get home and warm up, or he's gonna pass out and die. He can't die, no matter how good that would feel to just rest here. He had to find Anna. If he died here then he would never find her. He pushed through his pain and stood up, supporting himself, then suddenly the smell of lily and vanilla hit his nose again. He scanned the room, sensing nobody here, but slowly took a few steps toward the direction of the pleasant scent. It's her, he would never make a mistake on that. He tilted his head, then lowered himself to reach down for a small hair tie on the floor. She was here. This was hers. He found proof, like real, physical proof. She was alive and she was still in New York. She was here in this building just a few hours ago. His grip tightened around the rubber band, and suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his chest as his heart tried to speed up but failing. He had to hurry, he couldn't die here. He put the hair tie in the side pocket of his cargo pants, while his other hand crunching his chest in pain as his heart tried desperately to keep beating regularly. Matt turned around to leave just to get punched in the face by the guy who was trying to shoot him earlier.
"I thought you were dead, Devil of Hell's Kitchen! You took a pretty big fall there." The guy said laughing and Matt turned around to hit him hard, then spun to knock him out with a high kick, using up all his energy.
"It's not that easy to kill me." He said with a deep voice, teeth chattering, and realized how much he meant that. He's not gonna die here. The shivering got more intense, so he quickly started stripping his wet shirt and under layer off, and pulled off the guy's dry coat with shaking hands to put it on instead. He pushed his soaked mask in the pocket. He felt better immediately, but it wasn't enough to stop the shivering. But maybe it was enough to help him get home. He slowly started walking towards his building, stumbling a couple times. He sensed his body temperature dropping in every second and his body was unable to warm up, and the stabbing pain in his chest got worse. He knew that in less than ten minutes he's going to pass out and then if no help comes he's gonna die from heart failure. At least his mind was still mostly clear and he wasn't far from his apartment, but wasn't sure if he could make it there in time.
"Matt, you need to hurry." Her voice was still in his head and it slightly warmed his body up as he pushed himself to walk faster. He was too exhausted to climb up to the rooftops, so took the alleys and then the elevator up to his apartment. He didn't have his mask on and was wearing that guy's coat, so nobody would think he's Daredevil. As soon as he stepped inside, he started taking his clothes off one by one with hands shaking violently, dropping them on the floor on his track to the bathroom. He couldn't feel his lips from the cold and his teeth were chattering badly by the time he got to the bathroom, forcing his shaking hands to open the faucet. He stepped into the tub and lowered himself to the bottom as the warm water hit his skin. First it hurt, like he was burning, then slowly felt the shivering lessened. After a good fifteen minutes he walked up to the couch and curled up under the blanket. He was out until noon.
The next day he felt happy. First time in a very long time. He focused on the small object he found last night what proved her being alive and his lips turned into a smile. He didn't care that his body felt like a wreck, every bones and muscles hurt from the bruising he got during that fall. He still felt the best in a long time. He waited for the night to come with excitement, hoping he will find her this time, but unfortunately came home alone yet again.
It was Friday night when he decided to take a visit back to Jersey, just in case she was there, but his search mission wasn't successful. A woman's scream stopped him coming home after a long night, just a couple blocks from his apartment.
Two men were trying to rape a girl down in the alley. He smelled blood, that meant they already hurt her. He sensed a knife in the taller man's hand. No more hesitating, he dropped down in front of them, knocking down both in the momentum. Didn't take much time for him to beat them unconscious, none of the guys were fighters. He turned to the woman on the ground, just realizing they cut her neck and she's applying pressure to stop the bleeding. He squat down next to her, helping with the pressure.
"I need to take you to the hospital..." he started saying, but felt the air was moving as someone jumped down from high above behind him and a hand gently touched his right shoulder. The smell of lilies and vanilla filled his senses and he finally heard that pleasant heartbeat he's been searching for. His body stiffened. He's hallucinating again. No, he can't hallucinate here on the street when this woman was dying. He needed to focus, so shook his head fast to clear his mind. But even after that he still heard that pleasant sound his heart had been begging for so long, so giving in just let himself enjoy it for a few seconds while the illusion lasted.
"She's not gonna make it there."
He froze at the familiar voice, hold his breath, and in shock slowly turned around. It sounded more real than the voices he heard in his head before, but maybe his mind stepped up its game. He swallowed hard, there she was, standing in front of him, same smell, same energy, same heartbeat, same voice. Her hair was a bit longer and he heard as it was brushing her back. She was thinner, but stronger and was wearing old clothes a few sizes bigger than her actual body. She wasn't injured, wasn't hurt, she was all healthy and alive. He couldn't believe it, and was scared to make any sudden moves in case she disappears. He wasn't hallucinating, no, this had to be real. He tried remembering when did he eat last time, but couldn't recall. It's been at least three days again. Maybe he was really hallucinating.
"Anna?" His voice came out shaking, frightened of finding himself on the couch waking up from a dream. Or walking up to Anna, trying to touch her face and feeling the empty air instead. So he didn't move, hold his breath and just enjoyed this moment while it lasted. He felt his own heart was beating at maximum speed, so loud it was deafening. Then he sensed her expression on her face changed to something what he never expected.
Shorter but sad and dark chapter, really sorry about causing this much pain to Matt. This was one of the most challenging chapters to write. Two more left and I promise they won't be as dark as this was.