Reality Check : : Barry Allen/The Flash

05

Black. Everything is black.

I sit up, although I don't remember why I was even lying down in the first place. Was I asleep? Am I in bed?

No; whatever I'm lying on is too hard for that.

I push myself up off the ground easily, straining my eyes to try and make out something, anything, in this darkness.

Elise.

Well everything must be okay if my stupid conscience is speaking again.

Elise, turn around.

I sigh and do as I'm told, knowing that there really isn't much else for me to do.

Only, when I turn around, there's actually something there. It looks like a person... But not.

"Hello?" I call cautiously, trying to see the figure better.

Hello Elise.

"Wait, you're my conscience? Why can I see you?" I ask. Musical laughter fills the air, only it doesn't. My ears aren't hearing this. My brain is.

We are not your conscience. We have been around for a lot longer than that.

"We? Who's we?"

We are we.

"Wow. That's a great answer." I say sarcastically. "Who are you?"

We think it's best if you figure that out for yourself.

"Okay... Where am I? How did I get here? How did you get here? If you're not my conscience, then why have you been saying my name over and over? Why're you here? How long will this take? How long will I be here? How do I leave?"

Patience. We will answer everything in due timing.

"Please just tell me what happened."

You were struck by lightning, and now you are here. This place is the 'in-between' zone, if you will.

"Wait, as in like, between asleep and awake? Between death and life?"

We cannot say, but you will figure it out. We have called you, for you have been deemed suitable for a trade. We are here because you are here. We have always been here. You will be here until you are not, and that is up to you.

"What?" I ask in total confusion. This figure just contradicted itself so many times, and hardly answered any of my questions. "Who are you?"

We are we.

Great. It knows how to repeat itself.

"Am I gonna be stuck here forever, or what? Like, should I bother coming up with a name for you or should I just twiddle my thumbs until I dematerialise or something?"

You will not dematerialise. You will leave. You will wake up, and then you will be gone.

"So this is a dream? I just have to wake up from my sleep?" I pinch myself and slap my own arm really hard. Ow.

We never said you were sleeping.

"But if I'm not sleeping, then how do I wake up?" I groan; this is going nowhere. I lie down on the floor in defeat and frustration, then realise that maybe I need to fall asleep now, that way I can wake up.

Elise.

"What?" The figure appears on the ground next to me and I can now see that it's literally just a light. Basically it's a silhouette, but instead of being made of shadows it's made of light.