alex watched as darius, or was it daniel? was thrown against a metal shelf, flinging old, rusted machinery and medical supplies as the shelf tipped over. he slumped to the ground, clearly unconscious, with shards of metal protruding from his light blue dress shirt. alex quickly counted as the villain slowly panted back to a more humanoid form, gathering his strength. dave, daren, ugh she could never remember names, was out, probably dead, his captain america serum doing absolutely nothing, apocalypse shakira had been thrown out a window a long time ago, harry potter’s magic shenanigans had been absorbed, harry along with it, making the sorcerer stronger, and grace… grace wasn’t there. she was never there. alex was the last one. ‘just like old times’ she thought, as she charged. alex concentrated all her body weight into her arm as she went for a right hook, only for the villain to dodge deftly and grab her wrist. as she was spun around and put in a skillful headlock, she wondered how she was planning to defeat the literal wizard with hand to hand combat. she wasn’t grace. god if grace was here. no. focus. alex snapped her head back, dislocating the sorcerer’s nose. surprised, he let her go. she spun around, pulling out the knife from her black boots, ready for another attempt. the villain only grinned, a sick, twisted smile, as his nose scraped back into place, making alex’s teeth hurt.

“you poor child,” he said, his words splitting in into many different voices and tongues, “you think you can defeat me? you, a mear mortal?”

his voice sounded like sizzling poison on her skin.

“no. I don’t. but honestly?” alex heard herself laugh in a way she never had before. it was deranged, dead. “I couldn’t care less if I live or die at this point. all I care about is that you go down with me.”

the wizard’s eyes crinkled with foul delight.

“good.”

and then alex fell.

alex woke with a start. her face burned. then was slapped again, hard. then again, and again, and again. she put her hands out, begging, “please.. please stop! mom please!” but it didn’t stop. not even as she lay on the ground. it only turned to kicks. it wouldn’t stop. it would never stop. alex knew this. maybe that’s why she pushed herself off the ground and leapt for the window. maybe that’s why she let herself crash through, glass cutting her skin, free falling towards the grassy floor below.

alex hit the ground, hard, and groaned, her pulse pounding in her ear. it was dark in the allieway, with only one flickering streetlight. the air was close and dense, suffocating. no, wait, she was actually starting to suffocate. the air pressed in so hard that it felt like elephants were laying in her from every direction. she could feel the air being squeezed out of her lungs like a tube of toothpaste, and the sharp pain of bones about to break penetrated her entire body. she gasped, but could receive no oxygen. she writhed, spasming on the ground. then, just when she was sure her bones would all break and she would be crushed, it was over. a boot nudged her head.

“are you dead?”

alex looked up, too relieved to be annoyed at the question. and there she was. grace. she was there, combat boot hovering just by alex’s head, arms folded and raven black bob swaying slightly with the breeze. golden flower petals danced through the air as grace reached out her hand. alex reached as well, and for the beautiful moment when their fingers grazed each other’s, alex saw it all. the midnight car rides, the beat up pizzeria, the theatre where they watched legally blonde. the near death incounters, the tender fingers tracing her face in the early morning, rapped in white sheets. she saw, no, felt, it all. and then, just as their hands clasped the scene changed. alex caught chubukov as he fell. blood seaped from the holes in his back, and he coughed, gasping. alex sobbed as he died. the big, burly man had been one of the few who had ever shown her kindness. and now he was dead. all because of her. then she was fighting, watching her friends fall. she had never been the same after that. grace kissed her hand before she left, leaving alex sitting on their bed. she hadn’t come back. alex didn’t blame her.

then she was alone. it was night outside, crickets chirped, frogs croaked. the nightingale sang her song of sorrow. she looked around the room, swaying a bit on the stiff bed. the room contained the bear minimum of furniture, rickety, dusty. a vase of dried flowers sat on the nightstand, a black ribbon laid by her hand. a ripped up teddy sat on the chair in the corner. an empty rabbit cage was left on the floor. the room was still. empty. devoid of feeling. laiden with scraps of memories long buried and dry. and alex was numb.

guess who didn’t follow the prompt at all?! *raises hand eagerly* except for maybe at the end lol. I don’t really know where I was going with this, but, if I’m being honest, I made this all up as I went. sorry if there’s grammar/spelling errors lol. also, sorry if things don’t make sense. 🫣 I would explain if I could but I don’t know what’s happening either tbh 🥲🤣 except for that she’s going thru her memories? as I said, I literally made this all up as I went. it’s writen so you can interpret/expand on it however you want. I love writing little things like this and letting the readers fill in the blanks. and sorry for the dumb ending, my writers high was gone by then so I just ended it 😂 but anyways lol- if u have any feedback it’s is greatly appreciated 🙇🏻‍♀️ thanks for reading loves