Long Past Dawn

It just feels too quiet.

I quicken my pace until it's almost a drum. I don't like how quiet it is. It might be stupid but I still keep going, after all, I'm closer to the place I want to be than to the warehouse.

I round a corner and there it is, the grocery store, I almost sprint the last hundred meters. I step through the automatic doors and sigh in relief when the cold AC sweeps over me, making goosebumps on my skin. I look around the store, except for the cashiers that look way too underpaid there are only a few shoppers in the store.

I dart around the store grabbing what I need, and maybe a few things I don't need so much.

I'm at the back of the store when I hear the commotion start, but when I do I sprint down the aisle I'm at so I can get a clear view of where the noise came from. Three men stand in the front of the store, all are armed with guns and their faces are covered by masks.

Just my f.u.c.k.i.n.g luck, two robberies in less than a week. I sigh trying to think of a plan, why did I have to come here alone? One of the men, the leader maybe, aims his gun at the ceiling and a bullet flies out. In the closed space of the store, the bang is deafening, "Everyone put your hands up!"

His voice is gruff and there's no room for argument in his voice. I eye the gun in his hand, I may be invincible but if that thing shot me it would hurt like hell. I sigh and drop the items in my hands to the floor and raise my hands above my head.

In the corner of my eye, I see a cashier lean down and press something under a counter, I inwardly smile, helps going to come. But I'm not the only one who seems them do that, one of the men sees them press the button under the counter and for a second I can see panic flash in his eyes before he raises his gun, ready to shoot, "Get the hell away from the counter!"

The cashier looks wide-eyed and frightened that they were caught, and frozen in fear they don't move from their station, the man's gun clicks in his hands and I can't breathe, "Get away from the f.u.c.k.i.n.g counter!"

The cashier shakes in fear but can't move from the spot they're rooted to. I can only watch, stunned, as the whole thing plays out in front of me. I see the man's hands shaking and that's when it hits me, he's going to shoot. By the time the thought comes to me my body is already moving on its own.

Time seems to slow down as rush forward, the man releases the trigger and I can see the bullet flying and the look of shock on the man's face when he sees me run forward. I push the cashier out of the way of the bullet, I spin around to see the bullet come straight at me and this time I don't have time to move. The bullet hits me straight in the c.h.e.s.t and the force and shock of it all sends me to my knees.

I cough and blood splatters over the ground in front of me. I look up at the man and he looks down at me, fear and shock are etched into his eyes. The third man in the group turns to the man who just shot, his eyes are shocked, "F.u.c.k. Why the hell did you have to shoot a kid?! F.u.c.k!"

I look down at my c.h.e.s.t, my hoodie is turning red from the blood pooling under it. I expect it to hurt, after all, I'll probably die in a few minutes, but it doesn't. I don't know what it is but the bullet wound doesn't hurt at all, I mean, I've heard about how shock numbs the pain but I was shot in the heart.

I place a hand over my heart and it comes back soaked in blood. It would be an understatement to say I'm feeling a little light-headed. I look around me, every pair of eyes in the store are glued to me. I let out a hollow laugh. F.u.c.k. Fuuuuuuuuck.

Batman is going to kill me before this bullet does. I stand up slowly, my body feels oddly heavy, like it doesn't belong to me. The man that shot me is shaking, "S-stay back!"

I walk towards them. The man shoots again but because of his shaking hands, it only grazes my shoulder. I hiss as white spots of pain fill my vision. My fingertips tingle and I can't tell if it's from the pain and numbness or something else.

I open and close my hands. I try to think of my fight with Black Canary, I'm sorely outnumbered here but if whatever the cashier pressed worked than I shouldn't be for long. All three of the men are looking at me in fear, they obviously didn't expect to be fighting a thirteen-year-old girl they just shot twice.

The idea of freezing them at this point has been ruled out, I'm never again freezing someone. My throat feels raw and scratchy and for a moment I wonder if I'm going to die here. Right now the thought doesn't seem too crazy.

I suck it all up and think about all my possible options. I breathe in through my mouth and out through my mouth. I just hope that now that I've distracted the thugs someone can try to phone the cops.

The numbness in my c.h.e.s.t is now gone and there's a gentle throbbing replacing it. My head is still fuzzy and I feel like I could collapse at any moment.

I try to stay grounded and focused. My fingertips start to relax as a familiar feeling washes over me, I raise my hands so my palms are out facing the three men, I know perfectly well that I should have bled out by now but all I can focus on is the power surging through my body and rushing out of my palms to meet the crisp air.

Crystal shards like the ones that make up my wings burst from my palms, they flow towards the three men and after a second they fall limply to the floor. Their guns hit the floor and I flinch at the sound of it.

I look over at their still bodies and for a second I wonder if I killed them, if I really am a murderer now. Then a woman steps forward and leans down, touching each of the three men under their jawlines, testing their pulse probably, then she puts a finger under their noses, my guess is she's checking they're still breathing. After she's finished she stands up and announces to everyone, "They're unconscious."

I let out a small laugh that sounds more like a sob to me, in the distance I can hear police sirens wailing. I fall to my knees again in shock, no one speaks, we all just wait quietly until the cops come.