Everlasting Fear

chapter 17- My Blood From My Body

The Scarecrow’s POV

I flicked open my scythe as I perched myself on the edge of the Gotham Cathedral. My leather trench coat allowed the rain to slide off my back like snakes as the water hailed heavily on my head. My black fedora shadowed my hessian mask away from the Gotham public, as I searched the city looking for any sign of Ashleigh, but Gotham was covered with a thick haze of rain. I lowered my fedora, and stood up slowly. I loosened the noose around my neck, before I plummeted down to the streets below, I hooked my scythe around one of the many concrete ornaments which covered the church allowing me to slow before I hit the hard ground. Gotham’s un-innocent public gasped around me, which I could only chuckle to as, I crushed three vials of fear toxin in my grasp, surrounding me with blackness, and leaving the people around me fearing the dark. I walked through the streets a trail of black shadows followed me as I searched for Ashleigh in this dismal and dangerous city. People unfortunate to cross my path would finally realise there darkest and truest fears. Suddenly I was hit; I buckled forward and then stood back up. I looked over my shoulder to see a man standing with a shotgun in hand shaking with fear and aggression; I looked at my shoulder to see my own dark blood seeping through the fabric of my white button up shirt. I coughed slightly, causing blood to spill from my mouth, and onto my hessian mask. I twisted round to face the man who began to cower away from me, “do you think that was a wise move?” he stood frozen and suddenly tried to fire again, I whipped out my scythe and caught the man’s wrist angling the shotgun upwards causing him to fire into the swollen sky, I suddenly caught him off guard and pulled his forward causing his wrist to press against the scythe blade causing his blood to slither across it. I chuckled and pushed the black forward plunging it into his side, causing bright red blood to burst from his side, he slowly collapsed to the ground and shook heavily, as I crouched down to the floor, “that won’t kill you, but remember if you ever try and shoot me again I will kill you.” I chuckled and walked away from the bleeding wan who I left to wallow in his own self-pity and blood.

I hooked my blade around a fire exit hatch and pulled my damaged and bloody body, onto the rusted iron floor. I hooked and climbed higher until I was on the roof of the building, leaving my deep dark blood trailing after me. My shadow did not belong to me as it was engulfed by the night. The night began to creep slowly after my fear toxin, enveloping everything in its path with even darker turmoil. I leaped off the edge of the roof, onto the next as I crushed vials of fear toxin and letting them drop into the city below. As I leaped through mid-air I looked down at the cowering city below me, through the darkness of my fear toxin and the following night. As I hit the next roof I looked out into the city skyline to see, a woman dressed in a blood red dress hurling a red heel at the head of her advancer, of course it would be Ashleigh, “leave me alone!” she screamed as she pushed off the roof, and landed running away from the batman wannabe the Red Hood. I growled as he wouldn’t give up his advance, on a woman who obviously didn’t need his help right now, right now she needed my help. I leapt from roof to roof, advancing on Ashleigh and the Red hood. My booted feet slid along the wet gravel which covered the roof top, Ashleigh ran up to me and swung her around me, suddenly my eyes opened wide as her nailed hands rested on my shrapnel pierced shoulder, I suppress a scream of agony which caused me to gargle my own blood slightly. She pulled away her hands and saw blood on them, she looked up at me with a shocked expression, and I shrugged half-heartedly, “I’ve got shot multiple times before, to me this is nothing.” Suddenly out of the corner of my eye I saw a silver pistol aimed at me, I faced the Red Hood, “you said getting shot once was nothing.” I nodded slowly, and smirked under my mask, “that’s true, but if you shoot me I don’t think Batman would agree with you.” His gun lowered slightly, and then was brought back up to aim the barrel at my head, “hand me over Dr Ashleigh.” I looked at Ashleigh who stood there poker face and breathing steadily, “she came to me willingly Jason, I’m sure you can appreciate that.” I turned my back towards the boy, and pulled away my fedora and hessian mask to smile down at Ashleigh, “Are you ok?” she nodded and gently spoke, “I just want to get away from here.” I nodded and smiled, once again. Suddenly Jason Todd’s adolescent voice rung out, “if you move Scarecrow I will shoot.” I shrugged and began to walk away with Ashleigh, that boy would never go against Batman’s no kill code if he wanted to be accepted by him. But maybe I was wrong, as the metal bullet him my other shoulder causing me to let go of my scythe. I leaned forward and suddenly landed face first into the loose wet gravel below me, I couldn’t see Ashleigh but I heard my scythe being picked up from the ground besides me, and I smiled.