"Fitz!" I yelled. We were being hunted through Hydra's base in Switzerland. Fitz had disappeared and I kept running, that was, until I reached a corner; a posse lay in wait at both ends. I was trapped. The red octopus on the wall seemed to mock me as I drew in a few small breaths, trying to think but not being able to form coherent plans. A small noise made me focus in on the danger, it alerted me to Fitz hidden further down the corridor, hidden by a large metal container. He shot me a pained look and started to move towards me. I quickly shook my head at him and mouthed one word to him, "RUN!" He shook his head stubbornly, there was only one exit; which was close to where he was. I glared at him and repeated the command. 'Get out! Coulson! NOW!'
I heard footsteps quickly approaching behind me, spinning around I pulled out my gun. Shooting the first black clad man in the neck, the second started to pull back, but was too late, he was down. The next three were similarly dealt with, a small mound of bodies around my feet began to make movement more difficult, the other agents began to hang back, and I saw them starting to make strategies. I fired a few warning shots and tried to look for the area which would give me the biggest advantage.
I was glad Fitz's new bullet proof vest was working, I had mere moments before they began to walk forward like a group of hyenas approaching a cornered animal. Again I managed to shoot three of the enemies before the dreaded sound of an empty barrel took my hope. Now it was going to get interesting. Gathering my strength, I leapt into the mass of people and I started to kick, punch and fling bodies aside. A sudden blow to my side caused me to lose all the air within my lungs, and a sudden pain told me that I was hurt, several of my ribs were broken. Scratching at the face of the assailant, I used my useless gun to hit him over the head, knocking him unconscious. A solid kick to my leg caused it to unnaturally twist, the heavy metal of the boot causing me to cry out. I needed help, they were all around. But the battle continued, the battle for my life, I had no idea how many of the Hydra scum I managed to subdue but when they started to come less frequently I knew that I was reaching the end of the line.
I hoped and prayed that Fitz had managed to get out, he needed to tell Coulson the information we had been hunting down. I backed into a clear corner, I could only see half a dozen remaining, two of whom had menacing black machine guns, I had to get rid of them first. My lungs aching, ribs screaming in pain, I was hardly breathing. Just behind me I noticed a large rack full of equipment and machinery. Stumbling forward I grabbed the side of it and yanked down with all my strength, it started to wobble and I crossed my fingers. It started to topple. I ran back and continued to fight relentlessly. An enormous CRASH brought me to my senses, now all of the agents in the area would know where we were. What an idiot!
As I froze a dull thud reminded me of my danger, I started to feel a warmth that I couldn't place, it was spreading, down my side. Blood. I had been shot. Grappling with an agent hand to hand, he managed to land a few solid hits to my face and torso, a green object upon the back of him caused me to do a double take, it was the only colour on his black frame, it was a grenade. Managing to knock him unconscious I threw him back at the remaining enemies, wrenching the pin out as I did so. He landed in among his allies who moved out of the way, but remained congregated. Counting down the seconds, I prayed it would help. My strength and motivation to remain on my feet was fading fast, it felt like a lifetime.
3…2…1…
BOOM!
An enormous blood red fire ball shot down the corridor covering me with smoke, the burns scorching my skin, causing a disgusting burning smell that I knew was coming from myself. But there were no more Hydra agents alive, which I could see. I was barely alive. The howling wind blew in from the side in the wall, which the explosion had made. It caused the fire to swirl and dance around, lapping up the oxygen. Attempting to stand, it took an enormous amount of energy and several attempts, however I managed to get on my feet, mostly using the wall as a solid support. My vision continued to blur and fade in and out with the pain. I didn't know when I had begun to move; the snow was blinding me, whipping around my face, ears numbing, I had to get to the tree line, I would be safer out there. It was an unbroken line of trees, covered with the whitest of snow. My arms clutched at my ribs bruises and lumps already formed with scarlet blood trickling down my face into my eyes. How was I ever going to get out? Each step was a kilometre. I continued stubbornly, that was all I could do, close my eyes and place one foot in front of the other.
Then the trees appeared all around me, I grabbed at one as my leg gave out beneath me, and used it to lower myself to the snow covered ground beneath me, starting to shiver I tried to draw into myself for warmth. The added effort of shivering emphasising the pain. Blackness…