Chapter 5: Non Est Asylum Part 4

The rental car Liv drives tears away from the house. The tires squeal around corners. She drives blindly. She doesn't care where she is going. All that she knows is she must escape. She must flee. Tears start falling as her emotions overwhelm her. She wipes her eyes and sees through the windshield. A lone figure stands in the middle of the road at a railroad crossing.

"Why on Earth would you choose to stand there of all places?" Stein asks John. He just shrugged and continued to stare at the TV.

The rental car breaks hard. Its bumper is inches from Constantine. On the side of the road, Chas waits in the yellow cab. Liv exits her car and slams the door. She marches up to John to confront him about the events that were happening.

SMACK! Zed had slapped John hard across the face. John gave a shocked cry of pain and surprise. Zed left a red mark on the side of his face. He rubbed his cheek.

"What was that for?"

"What was that for? You could've died."

No reply

"What's happening to me?"

"You're waking up. You're seeing the world for what it really is. Just like Jasper could."

"Which means what?!"

"Impatience. The psychic disease of the 21st century. Where's the pendant?" John sighed. Liv handed him the satchel and John removes the pendant. He puts it in her hand and clasps his around hers. She stares at their joined hands in fear. "Look around." John said.

"No."

"Do it." John said. Liv raised her head. She notices wispy dark shadows streaking across the gray sky as if they were dozens of shooting stars. They were traveling in all different directions.

"Spooky." Mick stated. He really didn't think it was, he was just bored.

"What are they?" She asked.

"Souls. Trapped. Searching for a way out." Was the answer given.

"Can you see them?"

"No. What else do you see?" He asks. Liv spins on the tracks. Her face filled with alarm at the sight of a train barreling at them.

"Look out! There's a train!" She cried out in fright.

"You might want to get off the tracks." Carter said. He looked slightly concerned. Not because they were about to be run over but mostly for his mental health.

"Is there?" John replied casually. Liv tried to turn and run but John held firmly onto her. She is facing the approaching train. She tries to pull free.

"How are you so calm about this?" Jax asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?" John asks back.

"How about the fact that you're about to be run over?"

"What are you doing? Let me go! We have to get off the tracks! Let go!" she shouts. Too late. The train made impact. Instead of being run over, the train disappeared into a cloud of smoke. "What just happened?" Liv asks in confusion.

"So that's what you meant…"

"Ghost train. Derailment, probably. The more deaths involved, the more vivid the visions."

"That's horrific to think about. That was pretty vivid." Stein said as that was said.

"This is all impossible."

"Denying it won't make it go away."

"How come I can see these things?"

"You got your father's gift. When you touch his necklace, it focuses your ability to see what he saw. There are worlds beyond ours. Parallel planes of existence. Entities among us. Jasper could see 'em all. He tried to teach me, but I didn't have his knack." John explained her ability. For the first time, Liv saw that her dad meant something to John.

"So you to were… close?" She asked.

"We can talk later. Right now we're prey. Pull your car over. You're coming with us." He answers whilst avoiding the question. John turns to the cab. Liv remains where she stands.

"Not until you promise to tell me about my dad."

"Fine. I promise. But knowledge don't come cheap, luv. Sometimes the price can be astronomical." John accepts her terms and, with that they turned to leave.

The cab drives along a densely tree lined highway. Liv sits in the backseat. She is lost in thought, staring out the window at passing trees. John as nodded off. Chas is driving. 'The Ring of Fire plays on the radio'.

"Oh, I'm a fan of this song!" Ray exclaims. He hums the tune. That is, until Mic growled at him. Slightly nervous for his life, the inventor stopped.

"John was going to tell me about Jasper. I want to know how he died." She asked Chas.

"Bravely." Came the driver's one worded reply.

"Were you there?"

"That'll be enough of that." John interrupts. His eyes are still closed.

"I was just thinking, whatever's after me, maybe it wants revenge for something my father did."

"I'm not concerned with the why. I just want to send it packing, square my debt with your dad, and be done." John reveals what he currently desires to happen. Abruptly, the song on the radio starts cutting out. Chas tries to tune the song back but only finds more sharp static. It was almost like a jagged Bluetooth. John shoots forward in alarm.

"Where are we going anyway?" Liv asks. John glances out the front windshield at a fast approaching stoplight. It's green. As the cab nears the intersection it flickers between red and green. It explodes.

"Chas!" John called out. He tried to warn his friend. Too late. A semi-truck hits the cab. This sends the cab flying. When it lands, John is no longer in reality. He is in a memory.

"Not this. Please, anything but this." John whispers under his breath. Even though much time has passed, this even still caused a terrible reaction when thought about. Chas once more moves from his spot by Renee back to John. He is visibly shaking. All who were not present when said memory had taken place looked at the man in confusion and slight concern. John had, in his own weird way, begun to grow on them, if only a little bit.

John, on a knee, faces a terrified young girl. Astra. She is wearing a pajama gown. She is crying in fear as she stares over John's shoulder. Her eyes desperately searching the dark for something.

Not a sound is uttered from those present. They all stare at the screen.

"…it's following me… make it go away…please…" She cries out as she holds on to John.

"Come here. I got you." John whispered as he reached out.

John took Astra into his arms and holds her tight. She buries her face in his neck. She glances behind him and lets out a scream. John turns as well. The silhouette of a demonic figure steps into view. Primal. Inhuman. Backlit. John fiercely pulls Astra closer to protect her.

"You can't have her!" John yells at the figure as he holds onto her. His voice breaks slightly as the demon nears. Not tight enough it seems as the demon pulls Astra away. He calls out her name.

"John! Get me out of here!" She cries before fading off into silence.

The show pauses even though nobody had spoken. The audience looked around at each other, back to the TV, then to each other again. They were all thinking the same thing. They didn't know much about John. Only what the show had explained. But they still felt sick to their stomach after the scene. Astra's fearful cries. John's desperate attempts to save her. It was enough to drive a man mad. If it was this bad just seeing it on a TV screen, they couldn't fathom how it would've been like should they have been there.

John awakens from the memory and finds himself thrown from the cab. Thunder clouds form. John looks to the intersection. The cab lies on its roof. Liv struggles to escape the backseat while Chas groggily comes to in the front. John rises to see a power line spraying a waterfall of sparks. The threat to set the cab ablaze is very real. John runs to the cab. He crawls into the backseat to help Liv free her foot, which was lodged under the front seat that Chas occupied.

"My foot's jammed under." She relays her condition to John.

"Keep your hair on." John acknowledges that he heard her. He was still a bit out of it from the crash.

The power line explodes. One end of the power line falls to the ground with a thud. It starts snaking its way towards the cab.

"Well, this isn't good."

"You gotta cut her free, mate." John calls to Chas.

"No problem." Chas replies.

"Wait!" Liv stopped him. The reason soon became clear. The power line hovers outside the passenger window. It tries to find a way inside. "Don't touch any metal. Neither of you." the power line hits the window harder. "Do something!" she calls to John as he had gotten out of the cab. He heard her call and raised his hand to the power line.

"No. Go touch the metal. It'll be perfectly safe…" Snart say as he looks up from the ground to the TV. Sarcastically of course.

"The sacred cross commands you! The Star of David commands you! The Omkar, the Lotus, and the Shahada command you! Flee this place! Disperges in Ventum!" He cried out. The power line fell to the ground and fizzled out. "I think I got it."

"How magic is used. It's simply astoni…" Stein begins before being cut off.

"Shing." The assassin and mechanic finish his sentence.

Chas throws a shoulder into his dented door. It flies open and he climbs out. He pulls open Liv's door. The Power line lay dead near his feet. Chas cuts Liv's foot loose with his knife. She tumbles free.

"Good. She has escaped. Hope they're not too far away from wherever, speaking as you've got no mode of transportation."

"Brilliant deduction Mr. Palmer. I believe you will get your answer soon enough if you refrain from speaking too much." Rip replies.

John and those who had been to the Mill House share a look.

"Hurry now, luv." John tells Liv as he helps her out. Thunder rumbles and lightning flashes. The power line rises behind Chas. "Chas!" he tried to warn him. He never finished though as the power line punched straight through Chas' chest.

"How are you still alive?" Rip asks Chas. The man in question shrugs.

"Spoilers…" He said.

"No." Liv mumbles. John keeps a hold on her.

"Come on! We can't help him! If we stay, we'll all die." He tells her as he drags her away. They take off at a run.

End Chapter