The Line Between Living and Dying

The Mist

Joe fell to the ground, convulsing as the mist left his body. 

"Joe? Joe!" Henry yelled, banging on the glass of the visitor booth.

Dani knelt beside Joe, placing her fingers on his neck. "Come on. Come on. Come on," She murmured. Joe couldn't be dead, he couldn't be.

A gust of wind blew Dani's hair around and when she looked up, she saw the streak. "It's you." She whispered.

"Back away." He ordered, his voice distorted.

Dani nodded, backing away. The streak knelt down, injecting Joe with a serum. He stopped convulsing and was breathing normally again.

"Go get him," Joe whispered. The streak nodded, speeding away.

Dani watched in awe at the sight. Then she focused back on Joe. "Joe. Joe, can you hear me?"

"Yeah." Joe wheezed.

"I'm calling an ambulance," Dani informed, whipping out her phone and calling the simple, three-digit number.

The ride to the hospital was filled with a lot of texts and phone calls.

* * *

Dani stood on the roof of her apartment building, a glass of wine in her hand. She closed her eyes, feeling the gentle night breeze calm her nerves along with her alcoholic drink. She had just gotten home from the hospital and was hoping to relax in her peaceful spot.

Then a huge rush of wind ruined the moment. 

"How did you find me?" She turned to find the streak standing a few feet away, on the ledge.

"You're kind of in an easy-to-find spot." He answered, voice still distorted.

"So, you ran around the city until you just found me up here." Dani guessed.

"That too." The streak smiled.

Dani placed her wine glass down. "Why? Why search me out?"

"You need to stop looking into me." The streak said. "It will put you and everyone you care about at risk."

"Everyone I care about has willingly chosen to help me." Dani retorted. "So you should think of a better reason to convince me to stop."

"Why are you interested in me?" The streak questioned.

"That's a long story."

"I got time."

Dani chuckled. "All right, fine. My best friend saw his mother get murdered right in front of him when he was eleven. And for years he told everyone that there was a man in this lightning storm that killed her. But everyone ignored him and his dad went to jail for the murder. After I saw you at the Stagg award robbery, I thought that you were maybe the guy who did it."

"Thought? What changed your mind?"

"Another friend. She showed me countless reports of a streak who saved people. Then tonight you saved her father. So now I know that I was wrong. And I'm sorry for accusing you of murder. Even if you didn't know it."

The streak smiled and even with his blurred face, Dani could see it. "What?" She asked.

"Nothing." He shook his head. "You just remind me a lot of someone I know."

"Is that a good thing?" Dani tilted her head.

"It's a great thing." The streak corrected.

Dani was the one smiling now. "Well, then, I'm honored."

The streak suddenly turned, holding the side of his mask. "Until next time." He told Dani before speeding off.

Dani looked to the ground, watching as the Streak ran through traffic. "Whoa."

* * *

The next morning, Dani woke up to the sound of her phone ringing. She pressed the answer button without checking the caller id and held the device to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Dani, it's Caitlin." Caitlin greeted.

Dani glanced at her clock. "Why are you calling so early?"

"Cisco told me about your powers and the blood sample he took. So, last night I did some tests." Caitlin vaguely explained.

"And?"

"How fast can you get to S.T.A.R. Labs?"

* * *

Dani got dressed quickly and teleported to the Labs to meet Caitlin.

"Dani--"

"Is everything okay? What's wrong with me?" Dani panicked.

"There's nothing wrong," Caitlin assured. "The news is just... drastic."

"Drastic? How?"

Caitlin hesitated. "Why don't you take a seat?"

Dani shook her head. "I'll stand."

"Okay then." Caitlin sighed. "Last night I ran every test in the book on your blood." She grabbed a piece of paper from the main desk, handing it to Dani. "We knew that you were connected to the astral plane but we didn't fully understand it. Until last night."

"What does this mean?" Dani asked, never taking her eyes off of the paper.

"It means that you can't die, Dani. Your hypothesis was right. You can't even get sick."

 Dani fell back into a desk chair. "H-how is that possible?"

"When the dark matter wave hit you, it stopped then restarted your heart in a split second. You should have died. But the connection you have with the astral plane is keeping you alive." Caitlin explained. "It's like you're walking a line between living and dying."

"And sometimes I fall to the dying side." Dani realized.

"Exactly." 

Dani stared at Caitlin, a million thoughts racing through her mind. Her worst fears were confirmed.

She couldn't die.