Skin

“What am I doing here? What’s going on? Who are you people?” She panicked as she tried to figure out how to remove the needles out of her arms without hurting herself.

“Miss Valencia, no need to panic. You are here in good hands.. there was a bit of an accident.”

She looked around and there was a big window in her room with two people peeking in, a young woman and a young man. The woman was tall and had a clipboard in her hand, she was writing something down. The man was a little bit shorter with long hair, he was sipping a drink through a straw. They looked on with interest.

“Answer my questions.” She said through gritted teeth. The pain subsided as her mind focused on getting back home.

“You are here because an accident occurred in Central City a few months ago. You are just waking up from a coma, and should really be lying down. Lastly, my name is Dr. Wells. Behind the window is Dr. Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon. We have been watching over you, waiting for you to wake up.”

“Why aren’t I in a hospital?” She didn’t trust him. She didn’t trust anything.

“A Miss Smoak and a Mister Oliver Queen have asked us to watch over you. Apparently they’re good friends?”

Violet could not wrap her mind around anything. She didn’t understand how she ended up in a coma. She didn’t understand why Felicity and Oliver would have her kept by these strangers. What even happened?

“What day is it? How long have I been out?”

“September 12, 2014. You’ve been out for nine months, Violet.”

“No, no, that’s not right. You guys are lying, get me out of here.” She screamed. She could not believe she had been in a coma for nine months of her life. She started to yell obscenities as she ripped the needles out of her arms, trying to get out. Blood splattered against her white gown. The room started spinning and all she could see was red. Suddenly, she felt arms restrain her and a mix of visions filled her mind. It felt like she was dreaming, but they were not her own dreams. The face of the woman with the clipboard came to the forefront of her mind. And then images of the man with the long hair came in. And she switched back and forth from different dreams until eventually, it all went black.

Her eyes flutter open and although everything is blurry, she knows exactly where she is. She’s in S.T.A.R Labs being watched over by Dr. Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon. Nine months ago, there was some sort of particle accelerator explosion that nearly ruined Central City. If you asked her nine months ago what a particle accelerator was, she would ask you to repeat yourself. Now, she could tell anybody that the particle accelerator was once made to provide clean energy to the city. She knows that Caitlin Snow’s fiancé was killed in this explosion. Cisco Ramon is a big fan of movies. And now she knows something really weird is happening to her.

“What is going on?”

“Welcome back, Violet.” Dr. Wells greeted.

“I don’t understand. How do I know everything about Caitlin and Cisco?”

“Everything?” Cisco asked.

“I can’t explain it.. it’s like.. I grew up with you two. But I’ve never met you before.” Both Caitlin and Cisco looked at each other with wide eyes.

“Violet, what I am about to tell you is going to sound out of this world. Nearly impossible. We’ve kept you here to keep watch and research any changes. While you’ve been out, there hasn’t been too much brain activity. In more simple terms, charts looked as if you were completely brain dead. Your friends at Queen Consolidated begged we looked over you a little bit longer. When you woke up, your charts went back to normal right away. Which was weird considering how long you were in a coma for. But what’s even more strange is when you were being put down by Caitlin and Cisco, the second they touched you… your brain activity skyrocketed. Half asleep and your brain was more active than the average person.” Dr. Wells wheeled himself around her bed, studying her.

“Okay, so I’m awake, my brain is working, what’s so weird? Besides the fact I’m being kept in a strange lab by people I’ve never met before?”

“You just mentioned you feel as if you’ve grown up with them.”

“But I haven’t… I didn’t…” She said and the dreams filled her mind again. The thoughts troubled her and she shook her head. “This is all just something going on in my head. Can I go home? This is probably some weird side affect.”

“Miss Valencia, you’ve been out for nine months. Bed rest is what’s best for you right now.”

“I’ve been in this bed, apparently for nine months. That’s enough bed rest for me.”

I’ve been out for nine months… has anybody from home come looking for me? Josh…

“Has anybody come to visit me?”

The room went silent, save for the steady beeping of the machines. By the looks on their faces, Violet could tell that nobody, not even her ex fiancé, had come to check up on her. Does he even know where I am? At the end of the day, she knew that the answer to that question did not matter. Because if he really did love and care about her, he would have done anything in his power to find her and bring her home.

“Your friend, Felicity, stopped by a few times to check on your progress.” This was definitely quite the shock to Violet. The two girls were not friends by any means. They hardly spoke to one another.

“She would not come hundreds of miles just to check up on me.”

“Well, she was visiting one other person, as well. Her friend, Barry, was also injured in the particle accelerator explosion. He was in a coma, just like you, but he has finally come to. A bit of a miracle, to be honest. It’s a miracle you both are still here.” Dr. Wells explained.

“It’ll be a miracle when I finally get to go home.”

“Miss Valencia, I’m sorry. But for right now, that is not something I can grant. We have a few final tests to run on you.”

“This is ridiculous. I’m awake! I feel perfectly fine! What tests could you possibly run?”

“Something inside of you has changed… and we want to know what.”