muses_creative prompt set 12 - song prompt
When darkness turns to light // It ends tonight // It ends tonight // Just a little insight won't make this right // It's too late to fight // It ends tonight // It ends tonight. -- All American Rejects
Claire glanced at her watch as she quickened her step just a little, tucking some hair back from her face as she shivered a little bit. She was supposed to have Kenji with her but she didn't feel it was right just to call him when she was on an hour break. She was only going up to the small diner up the street to get a bite to eat which was where she had been sitting when she heard the sirens. Not an unusual thing in New York, they heard sirens all the time and so she ignored them as she turned up the music on her iPod just a little more, focusing her attention on the book that she had brought for her break.
Now it was done and she was hurrying back to the coffee shop; she was supposed to let Nicky off of her shift and then finish the night out. Ethan was supposed to show up an hour before closing to help her with everything, not that she thought that she would need him as the day had been fairly quiet so far. Not at all unusual for a Sunday. It was a slow shift, one of the ones that she hated since she usually worked the morning but Ethan had asked her to cover his shift so that he could go to a dinner with his family.
As she turned the corner to head to the shop, she paused as there were cop cars and an ambulance outside of the coffee shop. Her brows drew together a little bit as she moved forward slowly, wondering if they were at the shop next door or if....the coffee shop? Did a customer get hurt? Did someone have a heart attack? A million questions ran through her head as she moved forward a little more quickly, her breath sticking in her throat a little more as she felt almost like she were moving through water now. Dread was creeping up her spine like a slug, making her shiver as she moved a little quicker till she was almost at a run.
A cop caught her at the door before she could run in, his arm wrapping around her waist to haul her back as she tried to burst into the shop. She could smell it, it was a scent that she knew well and instantly her stomach started to roll as the bitter, coppery tang of blood filled her senses. There was another smell, something a little harsher and she swore she saw a spray of crimson over the back display along the back wall behind the counter. The cop pulled her into the street, removing her from the scene as a couple guys moved past her.
"No, no, let me in." Claire struggled against him, her eyes still fixated on the door. "I work here!" She told him, almost indignantly as she seemed to think that would get him to let her go.
"You can't go in there, Miss. We need to speak to you." The cop looked down at her, his features stoic but she saw it in his eyes.
"What happened? What happened in there?" She demanded then, her breathing a little more ragged.
"Far as we can tell, someone tried to rob the store." There was something else in the story, something that he didn't want to tell her.
"What happened to Nicky?"
"Nicky, is that the other worker here?" Claire barely nodded before she saw the sympathy rippling across his features, his hands tightening around her arms as his voice softened, "I'm sorry, Miss, but she's dead."
"N-No." Claire started to shake her head, her throat closing as she tried to pull back then. "Nicky." Her eyes were spilling over before she was even aware of it, yanking to get away from him but he held onto her tightly even as she started to scream from her friend. It had to be a cruel joke after all; she had just seen Nicky not even an hour before. The redhead had laughed as she forced Claire out of the shop to go eat, promising her that she would keep the place from burning down.
"Nicky!"
She didn't even know the name of the cop as he held her closely to him, trying to be comforting as he rubbed her back gently and tried to comfort her with small noises that she was sure he thought would work. She wanted to push him away, she wanted to go inside and fix all of it. She wanted to tell him just to let her, it would only take a syringe filled with her blood and then this whole thing would be over. The cops could go away; Nicky could get up off the floor and complain how bullets hurt just like Claire did at times. All the times that she had tested it.
She knew what it was like to have a bullet tear through the flesh, the feeling as it shredded the internal organs and stole one's breath. She knew the flash of incredible pain before the blackness came and then the disorientation when the light came back. But that was her, she was the girl that couldn't die.
Nicky wasn't like that though, she was breakable and she couldn't put herself back together. She was mortal, she was human and she was everything Claire wasn't. And Claire couldn't bring her back, not now. Too many questions would be asked, too many people knew and there was no way to cover it. So she let the tears drain out of her, made longer by the anger that she felt at the fact that she couldn't fix it. She let the cop hold her up even when her knees wanted to give out and she wanted to collapse to the ground. Eventually he lead her to a cop car where they would make her sit for awhile before they would decide what to do with her.
They made her sit quietly in the back of a cop car so that they could take her statement from her, to ask her if she had seen anyone hanging around the store that she didn't recognize or gave her a weird vibe. No one though, no one that she didn't recognize as she had seen mostly regulars and anyone who wasn't a regular seemed...nice.
But Claire knew better than anyone that appearances could be deceptive.
The day grew darker as she sat there quietly, watching the store. She could see the person working all over the scene, dusting for fingerprints and whatever else it was that they did to catch a bad guy. She wanted to laugh and she didn't know why. The desire to laugh quickly turned to the need to cry as she watched them lift the black body bag onto a gurney and she knew that was her friend inside. No, not her friend but rather it was just a hollow husk now. It wasn't the same laughing redhead who had more energy than anyone that Claire knew, a fun loving girl who loved to poke fun at Ethan and bug Claire about her older boyfriend.
It wasn't the girl who held Claire's hand when she had a panic attack at work and sat there in quiet understanding even if she didn't know the story about why Claire was so freaked out. Why she was haunted by things that she never talked about. She wasn't the same girl who was going to talk Claire into taking a class or two at NYU just so that they could continue to hang out when Claire wouldn't work the same hours anymore.
It was just another person slipping through Claire's fingers, another person that she couldn't save or freeze time for. A person that she couldn’t bring back to life with her blood just because she didn’t want to lose someone else that she cared out, because she didn’t want to face that kind of pain.
What kind of hero are you?
Tonight, as she watched them load up the body bag to be taken away, Claire decided that she wasn't sure she wanted to know.
Claire glanced at her watch as she quickened her step just a little, tucking some hair back from her face as she shivered a little bit. She was supposed to have Kenji with her but she didn't feel it was right just to call him when she was on an hour break. She was only going up to the small diner up the street to get a bite to eat which was where she had been sitting when she heard the sirens. Not an unusual thing in New York, they heard sirens all the time and so she ignored them as she turned up the music on her iPod just a little more, focusing her attention on the book that she had brought for her break.
Now it was done and she was hurrying back to the coffee shop; she was supposed to let Nicky off of her shift and then finish the night out. Ethan was supposed to show up an hour before closing to help her with everything, not that she thought that she would need him as the day had been fairly quiet so far. Not at all unusual for a Sunday. It was a slow shift, one of the ones that she hated since she usually worked the morning but Ethan had asked her to cover his shift so that he could go to a dinner with his family.
As she turned the corner to head to the shop, she paused as there were cop cars and an ambulance outside of the coffee shop. Her brows drew together a little bit as she moved forward slowly, wondering if they were at the shop next door or if....the coffee shop? Did a customer get hurt? Did someone have a heart attack? A million questions ran through her head as she moved forward a little more quickly, her breath sticking in her throat a little more as she felt almost like she were moving through water now. Dread was creeping up her spine like a slug, making her shiver as she moved a little quicker till she was almost at a run.
A cop caught her at the door before she could run in, his arm wrapping around her waist to haul her back as she tried to burst into the shop. She could smell it, it was a scent that she knew well and instantly her stomach started to roll as the bitter, coppery tang of blood filled her senses. There was another smell, something a little harsher and she swore she saw a spray of crimson over the back display along the back wall behind the counter. The cop pulled her into the street, removing her from the scene as a couple guys moved past her.
"No, no, let me in." Claire struggled against him, her eyes still fixated on the door. "I work here!" She told him, almost indignantly as she seemed to think that would get him to let her go.
"You can't go in there, Miss. We need to speak to you." The cop looked down at her, his features stoic but she saw it in his eyes.
"What happened? What happened in there?" She demanded then, her breathing a little more ragged.
"Far as we can tell, someone tried to rob the store." There was something else in the story, something that he didn't want to tell her.
"What happened to Nicky?"
"Nicky, is that the other worker here?" Claire barely nodded before she saw the sympathy rippling across his features, his hands tightening around her arms as his voice softened, "I'm sorry, Miss, but she's dead."
"N-No." Claire started to shake her head, her throat closing as she tried to pull back then. "Nicky." Her eyes were spilling over before she was even aware of it, yanking to get away from him but he held onto her tightly even as she started to scream from her friend. It had to be a cruel joke after all; she had just seen Nicky not even an hour before. The redhead had laughed as she forced Claire out of the shop to go eat, promising her that she would keep the place from burning down.
"Nicky!"
She didn't even know the name of the cop as he held her closely to him, trying to be comforting as he rubbed her back gently and tried to comfort her with small noises that she was sure he thought would work. She wanted to push him away, she wanted to go inside and fix all of it. She wanted to tell him just to let her, it would only take a syringe filled with her blood and then this whole thing would be over. The cops could go away; Nicky could get up off the floor and complain how bullets hurt just like Claire did at times. All the times that she had tested it.
She knew what it was like to have a bullet tear through the flesh, the feeling as it shredded the internal organs and stole one's breath. She knew the flash of incredible pain before the blackness came and then the disorientation when the light came back. But that was her, she was the girl that couldn't die.
Nicky wasn't like that though, she was breakable and she couldn't put herself back together. She was mortal, she was human and she was everything Claire wasn't. And Claire couldn't bring her back, not now. Too many questions would be asked, too many people knew and there was no way to cover it. So she let the tears drain out of her, made longer by the anger that she felt at the fact that she couldn't fix it. She let the cop hold her up even when her knees wanted to give out and she wanted to collapse to the ground. Eventually he lead her to a cop car where they would make her sit for awhile before they would decide what to do with her.
They made her sit quietly in the back of a cop car so that they could take her statement from her, to ask her if she had seen anyone hanging around the store that she didn't recognize or gave her a weird vibe. No one though, no one that she didn't recognize as she had seen mostly regulars and anyone who wasn't a regular seemed...nice.
But Claire knew better than anyone that appearances could be deceptive.
The day grew darker as she sat there quietly, watching the store. She could see the person working all over the scene, dusting for fingerprints and whatever else it was that they did to catch a bad guy. She wanted to laugh and she didn't know why. The desire to laugh quickly turned to the need to cry as she watched them lift the black body bag onto a gurney and she knew that was her friend inside. No, not her friend but rather it was just a hollow husk now. It wasn't the same laughing redhead who had more energy than anyone that Claire knew, a fun loving girl who loved to poke fun at Ethan and bug Claire about her older boyfriend.
It wasn't the girl who held Claire's hand when she had a panic attack at work and sat there in quiet understanding even if she didn't know the story about why Claire was so freaked out. Why she was haunted by things that she never talked about. She wasn't the same girl who was going to talk Claire into taking a class or two at NYU just so that they could continue to hang out when Claire wouldn't work the same hours anymore.
It was just another person slipping through Claire's fingers, another person that she couldn't save or freeze time for. A person that she couldn’t bring back to life with her blood just because she didn’t want to lose someone else that she cared out, because she didn’t want to face that kind of pain.
What kind of hero are you?
Tonight, as she watched them load up the body bag to be taken away, Claire decided that she wasn't sure she wanted to know.