The Sixth Titan | Teen Titans

Chapter Sixty-One - Final Stand, Part Two

    My fingers curl against the leaves, slowly pulling them out of my matted hair with soft crunches. My eyes flutter open, only to find myself staring up at the top of the redwood trees. Several questions float through my mind, but one presses on.

    Why did I wake up in the middle of the forest?

    I don't have time to answer the question, however, as a scream echoes from below my feet. I sit up abruptly, causing black spots to appear in my vision, and stand up gradually before staggering in the direction of the noise. It sounds familiar, but I can't place it. My mind's working in a million different places at once, at a million miles an hour.

    My body collides with a tree, and dazed, I cling on to it and look around the corner. An animal stares back at me, gasping and growling as blood pools at its feet. Its eyes are begging for my help, almost as if it knows me personally. My mind struggles to catch up, but when it does, I feel beyond stupid and guilty.

    "Beast Boy," I groan, stumbling towards him blindly.

    The shapeshifter reverts to his human form, clutching an arrow lodged in his abdomen. I cover my wince, knowing if Beast Boy sees it, he'll go into full panic mode. Knowing what to do, I look up at the teen almost ashamedly.

    "Beast Boy," I mutter, "this is gonna hurt a lot." I rip the fabric off my shirt and give it to the boy. He stares at it, dumbfounded. "Put it between your teeth."

    The green teen obliges, placing the fabric between his teeth before looking down at the wound. Our four hands are bloody and I hold down the wound, allowing Beast Boy to place his hands on the ground for support. One of my hands wraps around the arrow, and I twirl it slowly. To my relief, it moves, indicating it's not on the bone, but Beast Boy's screams are unforgettable and burned in my memory forever.

    I stop, fighting the urge to jump back. Quickly, I snap the arrow in half and discard the tail, throwing it behind me. By now, the snow below me is tainted with blood, sending chills down my spine. My fingers grip the arrowhead and I look up at the shapeshifter.

    "Ready?" Beast Boy nods, and I begin counting. "Three, two—"

    I pull the arrowhead out of the wound, and Beast Boy's blood begins to spill everywhere. Ripping off more of my shirt's fabric, I create a tourniquet with the nearest stick and push my body back, gasping as I wipe hair from my eyes.

    "Ember," the Titan mumbles softly. I look up at him to see his body wobbling, and begin to move toward him. "What... what have you done?"

    I reach Beast Boy just as he falls into the snow, eyes closed and pulse gone. His words and screams echo through my mind as I stare down at his body, squeezing my eyes shut and willing the world away. A scream rips through me, so loud all the birds in the sky fly away. I scream for Beast Boy, and for his untimely death.

    My younger brother's dead, and it's all my fault.

    "Vital signs, abnormal."

    My eyes snap open and I lurch forward, quickly stopped by the restraints on both my wrists and forehead. I glance down to see a belt wrapped tightly around both wrists, red marks and bruises already forming around them.

    On the other side of the room, my father stands in front of a transparent board. Red markings are made all over it, though I can't make out what is said on them. He pushes his glasses further up his nose as he looks down at me, jotting something onto a piece of paper and shaking his head disapprovingly.