-The Light of Brockton Bay-

- Taylor's POV

I hear the sound of water flowing. The sounds of gentle waves lap nearby. I begin to stir as the noises nearby rouse me awake. 'Just one more minute please.' I didn't feel like waking up just yet. Groggily, I try to pull my blanket over me, only for my hand to uselessly flop onto the hard ground near my legs. 'Did I fall asleep without a blanket?' The hard ground wasn't the best place for a comfortable sleep. 'Wait a minute, hard ground?'

Immediately thoughts begin assaulting my mind, causing me to hurriedly sit up. 'What just happened to me?' Trying to reorganize my thoughts, I start to remember what just happened. Panic sets in as I realize I should be dying in a locker filled with vile waste. I rub my eyes while looking around, only to find myself in a mostly black void. I'm still wearing the outfit I had before I passed out, a pair of navy blue baggy jeans and a dark grey sweater with the logo of the dock workers union.

The void around me is unsettling, a pitch-black abyss that feels limitless and yet restrictingly close at the same time. My surroundings are barren and lifeless, but it also feels like it has potential, like an empty farmer's field waiting for new seeds. Once again, I notice the sound of flowing water nearby. I turn my attention to the only thing that I can see within this landscape that is not my own body.

A few dozen feet away is a river, phasing in from the left, flowing to my right, only for it to once again start fading into nothingness. The water leisurely flowed as small waves lapped onto the non-existent banks on both sides. As I approach I start to see the river with a closer and clearer view. Just shy of 100 feet long and only 15 feet wide, it was somehow contained by the darkness that surrounded everything. The water on the surface was clear, slowly tinting as she looked deeper into its depths. The colour reminded me of how two mirrors facing each other slowly turn the deeper reflections greener.

Then I noticed the small motes of light deep beneath the surface, painting a picture of a starry night sky. The deeper stars were bigger and shone brighter than the ones near the surface. I began to feel compelled to dive in and take one of the stars. Continuing to look at them only increased this feeling; I started to hear faint whispers from the ones closer to the surface. I heard murmurs of desolation, promises, friendship, heartache, love, hate, aspiration, and all kinds of emotions. Every star had a different feel; one played static, another felt loneliness, and one felt a dwindling hope that was slowly burning away until there was nothing left.

One star near the surface caught my attention, it was purposefully quiet, for it judged people without providing input. My hand slowly descended to the water to try and pull this star out of the river. The water warmed my skin but was not hot, it flowed around my hand, giving me a tingling sensation as it continued to move downriver. I went onto my hands and knees as the water reached my shoulder. I grasped the star that was now in front of my hand and began to pull it out. There was some resistance as the water began to feel like glue and then molasses as it got closer to the surface. With a final yank, the star was dislodged from the river, now sitting within my palm.

Looking at it, I could now feel and see what was contained within the star. A skull with a cross going through it and adorned on the top was a crown of thorns. It silently judged people who confessed sins to it and allowed them to accept their past mistakes. The star slowly sank into her hand until it disappeared without a trace.

Snapping out of this haze, I reel back and scramble away from the water. 'What just came over me?' It was as if I couldn't think clearly, but it also felt like something I had done before, like a fast-food worker absent-mindedly preparing burgers without anything significant focus. I felt confused as everything that just happened didn't make sense. This pitch-black void, the river with stars, the 2 giant worms, the woman who spoke to me, none of it made sense.

As my thoughts started to get back into one piece, everything began to change. I saw the river slowly begin to fade as it did at both ends, I could hear the faint sounds of buzzing, and I could feel something squishing between my toes. Remembering that I was still in a locker filled with waste caused me to completely break my stupor. I found myself somehow waking up in my locker despite not being asleep a moment ago.

Instinctively, I pushed on the door of my locker, only to be shocked as the locker door was pushed off of its hinges. 'How did I..?' I step outside my locker, the lights blinding me for a moment before I can look at my surroundings. I spot a clock on the wall. It's currently 45 minutes after when students go home. The halls were barren of life other than myself; the students had already gone home. 'Not like you would want to spend time here.'

Walking through the halls, I step inside one of the bathrooms to wash myself, only to realize I didn't feel dirty. I look down to find myself wearing a black gown with a white robe on top. I rush to the mirror and see my reflection, wearing a complete set of new clothes. On my head sits a crown of thorns, it digs into my scalp but does not cause me to bleed, nor does it cause any discomfort. I feel dumbfounded by this situation: 'Why do I look like someone cosplaying Jesus?'

I didn't want to go outside looking like this, I would look like a religious nutjob. Remembering what I felt during my time in the void, I get an idea of how to get rid of the outfit. I try to remember the sensation of pulling out the skull's star and try to do the opposite, not trying to put it back in the river but to try and separate itself from me. My outfit begins to fall apart into tiny specs of light, fading as they float upwards. My original outfit covered in filth took its place. 'Holy shit I'm a cape!' I think, not even realizing the humour in my particular choice of words. It was then that I started to feel worse and worse.

I felt my body ache. I could feel every bug bite, the gouge in my knee, my starving stomach, everything came rushing back. It was like the clothes I was wearing before were giving me the strength to ignore my wounds. I felt better than before I got my powers; perhaps my powers gave me some strength when not wearing the robes. I still felt like shit though.

I needed a new set of clothes that weren't religious or covered in filth. After washing myself of some of the grime on my skin, I decided to pilfer a new T-shirt and shorts from the school's lost and found bin. I could last for an hour or two at most before I faint from my injuries. Making my way to an exit, I breathe some of the fresh outside air. It's almost 5 pm, which means the buses are still running, luckily. Some people would think the smell would get me kicked off the bus, these people don't live near merchant territory.

I debated calling an ambulance, but that would mean Dad would get contacted. I didn't want to go through that, and I especially didn't want him to go through that. Knowing what happened to me would break him more than he already was. No, I want to keep this a secret from him.

-The Light of Brockton Bay-

Arriving at the hospital gave me an ounce of joy. My strength had slowly deteriorated up until this moment when I could barely walk without falling over. It must have been strange to see someone looking like they were half alive riding the bus. A few people had given me odd looks; two had offered to call 911 for me. Luckily, I was in the home stretch of my journey. I make it to the front door of the emergency room and I collapse forward onto my hands, the jolt sending pain up my arms. My strength had finally run dry as I could no longer stand by myself.

I hear someone run up to me and ask in a woman's voice, "Are you ok, miss?" I shake my head. The woman wraps her arms around me to help me up and keeps one arm on me as we walk towards somewhere. As I walk with assistance, the nurse is giving shouted orders to others nearby. I don't understand any of them; the sound is muffled to my ears. I feel terrible, and I know any second now I will pass out and collapse. Slowly I turn my head slightly towards my companion, "Don't tell my father about this." That was the last thing I remember before I fainted for the second time today.