End Of The Line // Ralph Dibny

Chapter 30 - Death Doesn't Come That Easily

"Ralph?" I said breathlessly and concern flooded my mind. I couldn't believe it. This couldn't be him... He was dressed head to toe in black and bore a red stripe across his shoulders, the suit wasn't half bad, way better than his current one. But what made my heart skip a beat was the blood red band hugging his left arm.

This wasn't Dibny.

A wicked smirk crossed his lips, which, I noticed, were too identical to the ones I've met. Almost instinctively I looked into his eyes, but unlike the lips, they were colder and darker than the ones I knew.

He looked at me crookedly and I could sense that he knew me, somehow, someway. He inched forward and Iris got up to her feet and sent me a look. She slowly bent down and picked up one of the broken legs from the table I hit. For a brief second, I had the urge to stop her, as if this was the Dibny I cared about.

When I looked back at him he hadn't even acknowledged or cared about Iris's actions, his foreign eyes were dead set on me. A nervous lump formed in my throat.

Without warning or sound, he extended his arm and latched onto my wrist, gripping it tightly and wrongfully. I instinctively attempted to snap my arm away from him but unlike Dibny, this villain was trained and way stronger... Deadlier even.

He easily pulled me towards him and I heard Iris call out my name. "I'll be fine," I responded unsurely.

He finally spoke in a harsh low tone though I knew Iris could hear him, "I presume you are this earth's, Willow Blake?"

"Yeah, why do you care?" I said surprisingly confidently even though I could feel the inevitable fear building up inside of me.

He looked me up and down sickly and under his eerie gaze, I felt like hiding.

"Pitiful," he said simply and I couldn't stop my scowl. With my free hand, I brutally and uncontrollably slapped him. My breath hitched in my throat and I froze. He calmly turned his head back to me and he, steaming with shock, felt his already bruising cheek.

He erratically let go of my hand and slammed me into the church's wall, holding me above the ground, hands clasped around my neck. I gasped for air and tried disparity to pry his hands from me but I had no luck.

He smiled devilishly and yelled, "You have nothing to offer, can't even defend yourself with any abilities. The truest Blake resides on our earth and can bend reality to her will! She is undefeated in war and holds one of the highest honours in our Führer's army. You are a disgrace to her name."

Tears started to blur my vision and I still couldn't feel the relief of air filing my lunges. All I could do was open my mouth and pray for oxygen to once again return.

Just breathe.

Breathe.

Please.

I felt tired and began to give up in my fight and struggle for life. My arms fell limp and the world grew darker and much quieter. My eyelids grew heavy and everything became a blur of colour, like a painting left out in the rain.

This was the end of the line. And all I could see was his dark eyes staring into mine.

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Turns out, death doesn't come that easily.

Life is harder. More painful.

Pain. That's all I felt. Everything was screaming out in dispiration to ever so kindly let me know that I was injured. I didn't want to open my eyes, I was afraid of what I might see.