A Demon's Drink {Book Three-Kat}

Chapter 33

--- Alfred’s POV---

So far, tonight had gone fairly well. Master Bruce was home and not donning the Batman suit, and Richard had returned to Bludhaven. Tim had left earlier this morning to enjoy the day in the city. I looked around the kitchen to see everything was placed neatly and picked up after the meal Bruce had; it was considerably smaller since he ate alone. There was a knock at the front door.

Walking across the house at a leisurely pace, I wondered who would try to visit in this kind of weather. It had been storming for an hour, dying out little by little. Now the rain was just barely drizzling, and I opened the door. It felt like my heart stopped beating in my chest. Katrina tried to shield her face from the light and I could see they were drenched to the bone and covered in blood; Kat more so than Tim.

“Oh my god.” Kat’s eyes closed and she fell to the ground, Tim landing on top of her. “Bruce!” I yell as loud as I could.

Instantly on my knees, I check both of them for a pulse. Tim lets out a short moan after I find his pulse and move on to Kat. My fingers pick something out, but it’s not as strong as Tim’s. He picks up his head the slightest bit and his breath hitches for a second. I look over to see him starting at Kat, partially trapped beneath his body.

“Bruce!” I yell once more and Tim looks up at me, fear flooding his eyes for the briefest of moments. “Tim what happened? Are you injured?” The boy shakes his head at me.

“No.” I can see bruises around his wrists, but that’s it. “Kat, she… she got shot in the shoulder.”

“Bullets are easy to remove.” I try to soothe him, but he shakes his head, nearly landing him on the ground again. He steadies himself before sitting up again.

“An arrow, they shot an arrow through her.”

I look over at the side of her that’s been exposed and understand the dark shape I hadn’t noticed earlier. An arrow shaft sticks out the back of her shoulder, and there are broken fragments laying where she fell. Finally I hear Bruce’s footsteps make it to my side.

“What happened?” He sounds angry, but when I turn to look at him, his face is ashen. Tim opens his mouth to say something but I cut him off.

“Right now, we need to get the two of them inside, and we can ask questions later.” My voice was the embodiment of calm even though I was terrified on the inside.

Bruce nodded and carefully cradled Kat as I helped Tim stand before quickly walking to the back of the house and pulling out a certain book. The wall shifted and he started to walk down the corridor that would lead him to the Batcave. I gave Tim a short look before he nodded, acknowledging his ability to get down the stairs. It took the two of us a little longer than normal to reach the bottom but when we did Bruce was already starting to remove the shaft from her shoulder.

“Is she…” Tim couldn’t finish his question either out of fear, or lack of breath from our trek down.

“She’s going to be fine.” Bruce spoke over his shoulder as he worked.

I brought Tim to one of the benches near the table Katrina was currently strewn on. Her shirt and shorts were soaking wet and a puddle started to collect on the floor below her. Mixed with the water was dark blood, spreading all along her left side into her socks. As Bruce cleans out the wood from her wound, the computers behind him are flashing through different screens, collecting data.

“What are they doing,” Tim asks, nodding toward the computers. His strength is slowly returning to him; I can see it in his movement.

“They’re testing her blood.” Bruce moves easily over her shoulder, finally bandaging it up. He wipes a hand down his face and lets out a sigh, placing his hands on the edge of the table. Kat’s chest rose and fell back down in even intervals, Tim’s tension left his shoulders after a few more seconds. “What were you two doing?” His voice sounded hostile, but I could not tell if it was toward the boy, or whatever attacked them.