Everlasting Fear

chapter 23- Life Or Second Death

Ashleigh’s POV

I was pulled through the dark and smoke filled streets. My neck burned as the sliver of a cut which lined my neck felt like a deep paper cut. I held my hand against the cut stopping the cold air hitting it; Ra’s Al Ghul pulled me harder through the streets as we finally got to the broken train station. As soon as we entered the tunnel he stopped, and grabbed both of my shoulder as he held a sinister smile on his lips, “why did you give yourself up?” the thick piece of glass still sat snugly in the palm of my hand causing a pool of blood to gather in the tight fist I held around it. I smiled a bloody toothed smile which held hate on the surface, “Because I had to.” I spat out thick dark blood onto the hard gravel floor beneath my feet. He looked deep into my eyes seeing if I would crumble, he’d have to try harder. I looked over my shoulder to the disappearing light of the burning Gotham city, all I could do was hope to whatever god was out there that the Scarecrow would come for me as I was dragged further and further into this man made hell. All the awe I felt about this place when I was brought back to life, no longer existed now all I saw where ruins of old Gotham. Torches soon began to line the stone walls of this dank underworld as I was tugged towards Ra’s Al Ghul’s private quarters. My body felt broken as my corset and jeans where soaked with my dark blood. Ra’s pushed me towards the large ornate doors which blocked off his room, and as soon as I collide with the door it opened. I fell on the cold marble floor causing me to hiss as my slashed bare arms burned against the frozen floor. Suddenly I was pulled up from the floor by my neck and thrown onto the bed. My body bounced limply on the plush surface. The small thick piece of glass still sat snuggly in my hand, the mad man walked towards me with narrowed dark green eyes and a tight lipped mouth. He ran a finger over my slashed throat and chuckled, as blood dripped from his sharply nailed finger, “nothing but a paper cut.” He licked the blood from his finger, he walked over to a dark carved wardrobe where he untied the red sash which was wrapped around his waist, which left him defenceless as he dropped his sash he dropped his scimitar. I lay still on the bed, I hoped Jason Todd was still alive, and I hoped the scarecrow wasn’t as physically damaged as I thought from Ra’s Al Ghul’s attack on him. My head lulled to the side where I stared at the hand which gripped onto the one piece of glass which could help me escape this place. One drop of my dark blood escaped my tight grasp, my head quickly twisted to reveal a very insane looking Ra’s Al Ghul approaching me. I swallowed hard as I raised myself into a sitting position against the light wood headboard, I could feel thin slivers of blood creep down my neck. I swung my legs over the side of the now bloody bed and slowly crept towards Ra’s Al Ghul. My hand desperately clutched at the blade of glass which was smothered in my blood. His dark eyes flickered to me, a small triumphant smirk curled up on his lips, I breathed out slowly, I needed to get close to him if there was any chance of making a fatal slice. His body turned to face me; his bare torso was tense and was lined with muscles. I stood toe to toe with him, I sighed heavily and finally spoke, “I want to make a deal.” He nodded and leaned towards me with a sinister grin revealing his bright white teeth, “Fine tell me the terms of this deal.” I cleared my throat gently and looked to the floor, “I will stay here with you if you leave Gotham and its inhabitants alone.” He raised an index finger to his chin and nodded slowly to himself, “Why would you finally make this deal Ashleigh?” I breathed out raggedly, I needed to keep calm. “Because I’m putting everyone I care about at risk.” He chuckled, as I stared down at my booted feet, suddenly he grasped my chin forcing me to look up at him, his face soon faded from a face holding a proud and triumphant manner, to one which was tight lipped and sinister. “Do you really think I am that naïve?” he suddenly grasped my wrist tight causing me to drop the blood soaked piece of glass, onto the mellow coloured marble floor. I looked up from my bloody hand and back up into the eyes of Ra’s Al Ghul. My body was thrown against one of the four golden walls surrounding us; I muffled a strained scream as I felt my ribs crush on impact. My body fell to the cold burning floor, as my body shook with pain, Ra’s suddenly grasped my throat and raised me into the air and then slammed my body back against the bloody wall, my legs kicked out in mid-air as I was held at Ra’s Al Ghul’s eye level. He pressed his lips against my ear and chuckled darkly, “This time when you die I will make sure you do not remember any of your previous life.” He pulled my body away from the wall and slammed my body into the hard marble floor; I could hear the sound of metal grating against the bloody marble, suddenly something glinted bright white within Ra’s Al Ghul’s hand before, pain entered my system like a toxin, spreading throughout my body viciously as I looked body at my body to see Ra’s Al Ghul pulling a blood covered scimitar from my fragmented body. Suddenly the large doors which blocked my return to the world of Gotham City, shattered under the force behind them, and behind the rain of shards stood the man I loved. A small smile slowly emerged on my lips as blood trickled from my mouth and onto my pale white cheeks. My eyes began to slowly pull themselves to a close like the curtain call at the end of every play.

Scarecrow’s POV

My teeth tore apart my lips as I saw the sight that no man ever wants to see. She lay there in an ever widening pool of her own blood, her eyes were closed but her chest still weakly rose in an effort to stay alive. “How Dare you do this to her?!” I screamed out towards Ra’s Al Ghul, he stood there with his scimitar covered in Ashleigh dark blood, and his eyes shadowed by this own insanity, “Because I can just as easily bring her back to life.” He chuckled immorally, as he looked down at his own blood covered sword. I lunged towards him, my bloody hands wrapped around his neck as I slammed him against the gold covered wall behind him which cracked on impact, “Do you really plan on killing me Scarecrow?” I dug my nails into his skin causing blood to flow from his neck. I threw him across the room causing blood to streak across the marble floor, I flicked out my scythe causing a rusted blade to emerge and glint darkly. Ra’s pulled himself up as he clutched at his heavily bleeding neck, “I do plan on killing you.” I growled lowly, as I raised my scythe and slashed across his torso, he laughed darkly as more blood poured from him, “My men will take me to the Lazarus pit!” he screamed out as I plunged my scythe into his rib cage causing rows of bones to crack and splinter underneath his skin. His body collapsed against the wall and slowly slid to the floor, “your men are dead, or have deserted you Ra’s Al Ghul.” he chuckled deeply but it soon faded as he began to speak, “I…” but I wasn’t going to give him the pleasure of speaking to his murderer, as my scythe plunged into his chest just beside his heart. Black blood poured from his mouth and from the holes in his neck as I made my way towards the woman I loved. Her chest rose and fell as slowly as I slowly lifted her blood drenched body from the pool of blood beneath her. I carried her in my arms through the dark and dead streets of Old Gotham and into the city with was resilient to change. The Batman stood there in front of me enclosed in his cape making him look like a shadow with belonged to this city, “Let me take her Scarecrow, you will be arrested if you set foot anywhere near that hospital.” I placed the fragile form of Ashleigh into the Bat’s arms, and I watched as he took away the only woman I have ever loved and ever will love, to save her from second death. The sky was swollen and black, and the stars of the night sky where masked by the huge rain clouds which finally rained upon the smouldering city of Gotham, as I climbed up fire escapes and roof tops following the caped crusader until he reached the hospital. I perched myself low against the slick roof top of the Old Gotham Cathedral, watching the police men and doctors swarm around the Batman and Ashleigh in fight to save her life. As the crowd slowly entered the hospital, I leaned against a spire of the church, as I watched Ashleigh being transported throughout the hospital on a stretcher into an operating theatre. I sighed and bowed my bloody head underneath the swollen sky, as heavy tears and the thick drops of rain washed away the blood and dirt covering my broken body, as I slowly drug myself away from the scene which would determine Ashleigh’s life or second death.