EDIT: I also would like to point out that this story is inspired by Horseluvr00's story: A Place To Call Home. Please check out her story if you liked this, it's probably ten times better than this anyways ;)

Chapter One

Life couldn't be better for me. I had a loving family and friends, along with almost perfect grades at school.

But when I graduated life had changed almost at once for me. My parents always supported every decision I made. I loved them for that. What they didn't support was the fact that I loved going out on my own all the time.

I was trying to find a job at the time it happened. My mom had always told me that I should learn how to defend myself. That's why I'd started taking defensive classes like karate. She never knew that I took extra classes like archery and even shooting.

Sometimes I wondered where I got the love for that from. Mom was never the violent type. She was an animal lover, just like me. We owned a ranch and I was always busy working at the stables, from cleaning out the stalls to riding our two horses.

Don't get me wrong, I loved working on the ranch. But there was a time when I needed to get away and start my own life. That was when things had started going wrong.

I was walking down the sidewalk trying to find places that were hiring. Most companies usually loved hiring high school students. Especially during the summer. Which was part of the reason I had such a hard time finding something.

Unfortunately I hadn't been paying attention to the people who were watching me. That was my first mistake. My second mistake was not realizing until too late that someone was following me.

One minute everything was fine with the world. The next, I felt a strong pair of arms wrap around my neck. Almost at once I tried throwing my attacker off, yelling as I realized they were trying to choke me.

"Don't make this any harder for yourself." I rolled my eyes and slammed my elbow backwards, hearing a groan shortly after. After the arms had unwrapped themselves, I was gasping for breath as I tried making a run for it.

"Don't let her get away!" another man shouted.

By now the street was in chaos as black vans started flying towards me. It didn't take them long to reach me, even as I ran at a full sprint. My heart was racing with panic as I tried to find an escape route. Anything was better than being taken down by these men.

"I would stop now, if I were you," a low voice sneered.

I glared at the men that had me surrounded. All of them had guns. Whether they were concealed or in plain sight, I had no choice. Even if I could defend myself, they would easily overwhelm me. Without warning one of them fired their gun at me, and the world suddenly went black.

…

"Sir, are you sure about this?" Agent Coulson was staring at the screen that Fury had pulled up. Images of a seemingly abandoned warehouse in Detroit. No one suspected that it was being used as a facility for kidnapping. Or that it was being used at all.

"Positive," Fury replied with a confirming nod. "Get the team ready. You're leaving in thirty."

Coulson gave him a look of surprise before walking away. He already had a team assigned for this mission. The best of the best, as it was. If things got dicey they knew what to do.

Meanwhile, at the hanger door, Clint was waiting along with Natasha and a few other agents. All of them were dressed and ready to go. But this mission wasn't going to be an easy one. It hit the both of them harder than most.

"Any idea what Fury's got under his sleeve?" Clint asked as they waited for Coulson.

"No idea," Natasha replied.

All of them stood there in awkward silence until Coulson was finally ready. Hopefully things would go smoothly this time.

…

They arrived at their destination about twenty minutes later. It was still late at night, and most people would be fast asleep. Coulson was the first to arrive and check the perimeter. Guards were posted around the entrance of the building. With one wave of his hand, Clint had fired two arrows and they were killed in an instant.

Once the guards were taken down, Coulson made a beeline for the back of the warehouse. Already he could hear several voices in the background. A few were laughing their heads off, oblivious to the fact that their operation was being infiltrated. It was obvious they were amateurs.

"Excuse me!" Coulson shouted as one of the men finally spotted him. He hurriedly shooed the others away and tried to keep on a profession demeanor as the rest of Coulson's team surrounded the warehouse. "I'm with Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcements and Logistics Division," he explained while pulling out the badge. "We have a warrant to search the place."

"Why the hell would you want to do that?" the man demanded. "We've got nothing that's worth looking for."

"So you wouldn't mind if I did a little searching, would you?" Coulson remained calm as the man started panicking.

He could hear footsteps shuffling in the background, and the distant sound of gunfire.

"Alright, fine," the man muttered.

"Scope the area for any hostages," Coulson whispered through his earpiece. "I've got the interior."

"Stay safe," replied Natasha.

Coulson only smirked as he headed inside. The man he confronted earlier had already disappeared. Most likely they had secret exits they could flee out of in case something like this happened. What he found next inside made his blood run cold.

Bodies were thrown at random places. Blood now stained the cement floor, and a horrible stench filled the air. Coulson scanned the area carefully and realized to his disgust that they were just kids.

He continued searching the area, disgusted to find that there were more bodies thrown in piles. Clearly these people had worked ahead of time to keep themselves from getting caught. But they weren't expecting SHIELD to break in and stop them.

Finally Coulson had reached a small room where he found the man from earlier standing. But what he saw next made him reach for his pistol almost at once.

The guard was holding a girl by the throat, knife embedded as she struggled to free herself. She was already badly wounded, and had torn clothes along with messy blond hair. She was choking for breath as she kicked the guard in the knee.

Without warning Coulson pulled the trigger. The guard fell in an instant, dropping the girl in the process. Once he was dead the girl struggled to run away, obviously seeing Coulson as a threat. He let out a sigh and slowly approached her, careful not to hurt her.

…

I wasn't sure how much time I spent there. I lost track of the time. All I could remember was how much pain and horror I endured in that warehouse. I knew these men were trying to find something. They spent most of their time working with other kids they brought in.

Then again I shouldn't say that they were working with them. These men were torturing the kids they brought in. To the point where if they refused to speak, they were killed on the spot just to show what would happen.

The stench of dead bodies was beginning to get to me. They didn't even bother removing the kids that were killed. That was probably the most horrifying part. Knowing what they were doing was more than just terrifying. I hated what they did. I wished there was something I could do to stop them. But I was helpless as long as they continued beating me.

But then something had changed. I was the first to notice that the guards were panicking. They hadn't even realized that they were being surrounded.

It wasn't long before the same guard that tortured me on a daily basis grabbed me by the neck. I tried my best to fight back, struggling against his strong grip. Lack of food and water had made me weak.

"You're in luck. It seems those blasted SHIELD agents found us before we could figure out your ability," he sneered as he placed a knife against my throat. I let out a choking cough as he pressed the blade against my skin. Pain seared through me as I tried to hold back a cry. "This time I'll make sure you never speak again, bi—"

He wasn't given the chance to say anything else. Before he could finish his sentence, I slammed my knee into his stomach, mustering all the strength I had left.

The guard let out a choking cry of pain, and seconds later he dropped me. I used that moment to crawl away as fast as I could, hearing a gunshot seconds later. It didn't take a genius to see that he was shot dead. Someone else was watching us, and I needed to get away as soon as possible.

"It's okay, I'm not here to hurt you!" Yeah right! I rolled my eyes as I desperately scrambled to safety.

This damned leg was holding me back. Those guards had done everything humanely possible to make sure we couldn't get away. Even if that meant breaking legs or arms, or anything else for that matter.

"We've got a survivor," the stranger said through what I assumed was an earpiece. Seconds seemed to pass as I crawled under a table. It was the only safe place I could think of that he couldn't reach. I was skinny enough and small enough that I could easily squeeze underneath.

Footsteps sounded shortly after. I was cradling my knees with my arms as I listened to their conversation.

"What did you find?" a woman was speaking. Her voice sounded annoyed, as if she'd done this sort of thing before.

"I'm not sure; one of the guards was holding a girl by the neck, but she managed to slip away," the first stranger explained.

"We'll find her," said a second male voice. "But the real question is, what's SHIELD going to do when we bring her in?"

"Do we really need to discuss this now?" asked the woman, sounding irritated once more.

I found myself getting more terrified by the second. I'd heard rumors about SHIELD. According to some people they were like the police, only they always carried firearms with them and sometimes fired without question. And other people said that they were the reasons the Avengers were formed.

Either way I knew I couldn't trust them. Not if they were anything like these men. All I could do now was hope and pray they didn't find me.

…

Coulson hadn't taken long to find her. She was still in the room where the guard was shot. Natasha and Clint waited outside in case more guards came. It wasn't likely. Anyone who was smart enough would know to stay away now.

He knelt down to see her cowering under a table, holding her knees together against her chest. She looked at him in horror as he tried to keep a straight face.

"It's okay," he said reassuringly. "I'm one of the good guys." The girl just stared at him for a few more seconds. "Are you hungry? Or thirsty?" he asked, hoping that would coax her out.

It was obvious she needed medical attention in the worst way. To top things off she would probably need a therapist after this was over. It looked like she'd been through hell.

Coulson let out a sigh when she didn't speak. Instead he placed down a bottle of water, hoping that would at least encourage her to trust him. When that didn't work, he stood up and gestured to Clint. The archer worked better with younger kids. Hopefully he could somehow coax her out.

"She won't come out," he whispered once Clint approached them. The girl's eyes widened as more agents walked in to scan the area for any weapons that might have been left behind. She shrunk back against the table, gasping when she couldn't go any further. "See if you can get her out, otherwise we may have to sedate her."

…

I stared at the two men for what felt like hours. The pain in my leg and my throat was becoming unbearable. But I still refused to budge, despite that fact. This guy had just offered me something I hadn't had in probably months, and I was too nervous to even try it.

What if it was poisoned like the first time I arrived? It had taken almost a week for me to recover from that. And the guards had done the same thing with our food. I could still remember to my horror watching as a kid dropped dead because of the food they'd poisoned.

"Hey, it's alright." I looked up and nearly squealed at the sight of a new stranger. I assumed it was the same guy from earlier who'd been talking about what SHIELD would do with me. "The water isn't poisoned, if that's what you're worried about."

For a moment I thought it was too good to be true. But when he handed me the bottle I took it without thinking. I thought for a few moments before finally taking a sip. My eyes widened in amazement when I swallowed. I hadn't had water this good in months!

The blond man smiled reassuringly as I took a few more sips before putting the bottle down.

"See? We're not here to hurt you." I eyed him suspiciously, noticing the fact that he was carrying weapons of his own. Arrows. He was an archer.

I shouldn't trust him. Not after what those guards did to me and everyone else here. But the fact that he hadn't tried hurting me was almost reassuring enough.

No, I reminded myself. If he hadn't hurt me now he'll try later on. He's just like everyone else.

"Barton, you've got ten minutes to get her out of here," the woman from earlier suddenly spoke up, making me flinch in the process.

"Come with us, you won't regret it," he quickly added while ignoring who I assumed was his partner.

"You should go with her." He looked at me in disbelief when I spoke for the first time. I hadn't realized until now how hoarse my voice sounded. How long had it been since I last spoke? "I'll be fine."

"Yeah, like I'm supposed to believe that," he retorted with a roll of his eyes. "Come on, you'll be fine," he added, reaching out with his hand.

I eyed him warily once again before giving it some thought. If they left me here I would need to find medical help somewhere else. I'm sure that the nurses would be appalled by what had happened to me. And even if they could help me, how could I afford whatever was wrong with me?

Finally I decided to take the risk. If worst came to worst, well, maybe I could finally end my suffering.

AN: I wasn't even sure if I'd post this... because I know there are so many fics like it out there. But I really wanted to see where this would go. I already have about six chapters typed up, in case anyone is wondering. Which means fast updates! If FF actually decides to work. Also, I do want to point out that this is somewhat similar to Project Viper. But there are some major differences that I'll point out in later chapters. And I also can't believe I'm working on another FF ^^ Specially considering I can't even finish my others XD