Rising Robin

Chapter XXVII: For Cheyenne

Dick rode his motorcycle down the road as the sun set behind the city skyline. As he drove, time felt like it was slowing down. It felt as though he was stuck in time, in a never ending moment. A moment where suddenly all he could think about was Cheyenne Freemont. All that he could wonder of was whether or not he could find her again. He began to cry about the possibility of never finding his childhood love.

"Stop," Dick thought to himself. "You have Barbara, now."

"But it doesn't mean that Cheyenne means nothing anymore."

As the inner conflict within himself grew more and more intense, he slowly began to become more and more frustrated. He almost didn't notice the long yellow police tape pulled across the entire block in front of him.

Dick pulled the handle back, braking the bike to an abrupt stop. He slowly parked the bike on the curb to the left & sat up from the bike. He turned back to look across the street. The warehouse that Dick assumed was supposed to be across the street was completely burnt to the ground. The foundation was completely destroyed. The building itself was reduced to charcoal & rubble. The alleyway was blocked off as well by yellow tape.

"Oh my god," Dick gasped softly to himself. He slowly made his way towards the alleyway where the entrance to the warehouse was. Dick stepped underneath the yellow tape & suddenly a strong whiff of sulfur hit him strong. Dick's eyes began to become a little watery. Dick rubbed his eyes, but began to believe it wasn't the strong odor affecting him. He felt his heartbeat begin to race as well. He felt panicky as he returned to the last place Cheyenne was. He wanted to call out into the night for Cheyenne.

Dick stepped through the dirty alley. He could see ash all around the walls & ground. It was unsettling. It haunted Dick as he walked through the reminder of that horrid night.

Dick stopped in his tracks. He sensed someone nearby. Dick began to survey his surroundings. He strained to look into the shadows that surrounded him, but he couldn't make anything out. Dick took a few steps towards a dumpster, where he saw a small figure slowly emerge from behind the dumpster.

Before Dick could even react, he began to choke. He felt his throat closing, suffocating him. Dick clawed at his throat but felt nothing wrapped around it. The figure stepped close to Dick with their hand held out towards him. Suddenly, Dick's feet were lifted off of the ground. He was being suspended from the ground.

Dick's heart began to race with panic. He tried to scream, to call out for help, but all that came from him was a weak squawk.

"Oh my god," the figure finally spoke after they stepped close enough to see Dick's face. Dick was suddenly dropped onto the ground, like gravity had just decided to apply to Dick. He massaged his throat. He felt sort of okay, but was still terrified.

Dick looked up at the figure. "Rachel," he said, looking at the dark eyes of her pale face underneath her black hood. He stood up & began to approach her. Suddenly Rachel's hand shot up, stopping Dick in his place with another invisible force against him.

"No," she said.

Dick took a step back. "Rachel, it's me."

"Yeah, I remember you, Dick," she spat coldly. "What the hell do you think you're doing here?"

Before Dick could respond, Rachel began again. "You know what, don't tell me. I don't want to hear you speak a single fucking word. I can hear everything right now. I hear your heart racing with fear & anxiety. I can hear your mind screaming Cheyenne's name, as anyone could hear it. It's like you think you're actually doing something to find her. It's like you think you're doing something FOR CHEYENNE. Well, you're fucking delusional if you think you're here because you care about Cheyenne. If you did, you would've been here that night, & you would've fought alongside us against Constantine. But no, you cowered away. You ran from that smug son of a bitch & left us to fight him on our own."