Working With Red

Good Evening and Sweet Nightmares

Updated: 2021.08.18 

Warning: Violent and gruesome depictions of blood and gore

* * * 

You let out a gasp and shot up on bed, panting hard as heavy beads of sweat rolled down your face.

"N-No. . ." you muttered, shaking your head vigorously as you tried to calm your racing heartbeat. "T-That's not how it happened."

You closed your eyes, taking a deep, shuddered breath as you laid back against your sweat-drenched pillow. You were too tired to care at this point. With another deep breath, you slowly pulled the blanket back up over your head.

"Just. . . try to get some sleep, (Y/N)," you whispered, snuggling deeper into the comforter. Unlike last night, where it was the noises of Star City and the unfamiliar atmosphere keeping you awake, they weren't the reason for your current restlessness. Instead, all you could see when you closed your eyes was the image of the men collapsing in the middle of the foyer; however, the image in front of you was very different every time.

Though you were reluctant to do so, your exhaustion got the best of you and you soon slipped off once more, your dreamless sleep turning into something much more horrifying.

"Is that all of them?" Dinah asked, making her way down the stairs. She then looked over to you, and the smile on her face grew exponentially. "Oh, my gosh! Sweetie, you did an amazing job!"

"Uh, thanks?" (Y/N) answered unsurely. "To be honest, I think I blacked out." 

"Dumb, but adorable," the man beneath you grumbled. Green Arrow suddenly scoffed from across the room.

"Aw, don't be so degrading," he retorted, jutting out his bottom lip as he spoke in a babyish tone. "She's such a smart little cookie." You immediately frowned, and both Dinah and Green Arrow laughed.

"Can we just wrap this up and go home?" A rather annoyed voice growled from beyond the front doors. Everyone turned their heads to see Roy, a little breathless, walking up the front steps and into the foyer. He, too, was clad in his Arrow uniform, though by the looks of it, his pants had been ripped and there was a large black smudge across his left cheek. 

"Yeah," Green Arrow grunted as he stood, keeping his bow aimed at the man below him. "We just need to clean up this mess and tell Wayne it's safe to come out." You looked up for further instruction when the man beneath you suddenly let out a chuckle so quiet you almost didn't hear it.

"That's what you think," he whispered, barely loud enough for you to hear. You hesitated for a moment in confusion, but when the twisting in your gut became unbearable, your head shot up and your eyes flew around the room. They landed on the open front doors, and your heart nearly fell into her stomach.

"Red, move--!"

One single shot rang out, and a second later, Roy was face-down on the carpet.

"No!" Green Arrow roared, and he'd no sooner gotten to his feet before he joined Roy on the floor; two sharp cracks ripped through the air as both bullets nestled into his chest.

Dinah released an angered scream, tears welling in her eyes as she opened her mouth, and an earsplitting shriek emitted from her throat. It sent an invisible wave toward the men in front of her that threw them back against the doors, but not before another man came from out of nowhere and fired a shot straight through Dinah's throat. Her shriek cut off as blood began to spill from the corner of her mouth, accumulating into a puddle beside her head when she collapsed to the floor.