aurelia dent | excerpts #3 | DC OC

it was a painfully average day. it was aurelia's first year at gotham city university. she'd grown used to the routine, six weeks into the spring semester. she sits at her desk, computer on the table, fingers moving across the keyboard as the professor carries on with the lecture.

her backpack sits on the floor beside her chair. she glances toward it as her phone vibrates, sat on top of the contents of her bag. it was a text message from an unknown number. she reaches down to read it. as her hand wraps around the device, a scream rings out. her eyes raise to see thick, green gas pouring from the overhead vents.

it's disorienting. her eye dart around the room as people run out, leaving their things behind. she finds herself following, hands covering her mouth and nose. it doesn't matter; the gas seeps between the cracks in her fingers as she stumbles out into the corridor.

"no, no," aurelia murmurs, eyes widening and wetting at the apparition of her father. "no."

what was this? she'd been in gotham for less than a year. she had no clue about scarecrow or his fear toxin. and that hallucination looked so real. it looked just like him: his empty green eyes, his dark hair, his lips set in a line, a silent portrayal of displeasure. she could even hear his footsteps as he approached. reaching out for her.

she steps backwards, away from the apparition. in reality, it was just her professor, doing her best to help. but it's too late.

aurelia takes another step backward. her fear-ridden brain can hardly compute the feeling of her body falling down the staircase. she flails slightly, bracing for the fall. this is it, she thinks. it's over.

when she finally meets the floor at the bottom of the stairs, her left knee meets the concrete. an instinctive scream cuts through the air as everything blackens. it was all too much for her poor brain to handle: the fear, the pain.

when she finally wakes again, she's in a hospital bed. her body feels... weird. it aches, but it's numb. she can't see very well. they must've removed her contacts. she shifts to move and cries out. a sharp, stabbing pain shoots through her left leg. 

"...fuck," she whimpers.

"oh, she's awake!" a nurse announces, making her way into the room with haste. "try not to move too much, sweetheart. you're still healing."

"...from what?"

"oh... um..." the nurse gives her a trying smile. "we had to replace your left knee. you shattered it in the fall. you're lucky you didn't hit your head on the way down."

"replace... my knee?" aurelia's face falls. how was she meant to afford this? her scholarship wouldn't cover this. she couldn't possibly ask bruce wayne for more money. her breathing quickens. "no- i can't-"

the nurse looks sympathetic, her hand covering aurelia's. "hey, hey, it's fine," she coos softly. "you're okay! it's covered."

"it's... what?" her eyes raise to the nurse's face.

"it's covered," she repeats. "an anonymous donor covered it."

anonymous donor. yeah, right. she was certain that "anonymous" donor was bruce wayne. her hospital bills were probably a drop in the bucket for him. 

nonetheless, aurelia sighs, relieved. she leans back against the pillows. "just rest," the nurse instructs, thumb brushing over her knuckles. "that's all you can do right now."