Clutch My Pillow Tight, an avengers fanfic

8 years. That was how long it had been since the shell had collapsed the entrance to the mine where her 3 brothers and father had been working during the attack on Sokovia. The city had been in flames, buildings crashing, bombs exploding while its civilians ran in terror, trying to find shelter. Most of them were able to do so, but many were lost. Kida Liandra, only 8 years old at the time, had been hidden with her mother under a table in their apartment during the attack. She thought the world was ending, but rather than see the light, she saw red. The flying debris stabbed through her mother as she protected Kida, the tip of the metal beam just barely missing the child's own throat. It took the rescue crew 2 full days to pull her from the rubble, leaving the youngest Liandra alone.

Now, Kida sat outside of the closed mine, the warning signs and boards blocking them off. She knew her family was gone, but she could still remember following her father and brothers to their work every day, waving to them as they disappeared into the dark. All she wanted was one last time to wave to them, but that would never come. She knew she had to move past that day and accept that she would never get one last hug. That was why she was there. This was her final goodbye. Staring at the boards, she pictured her brothers and father standing there, a small hint of a smile spreading on her lips before she began to whisper the lullaby her mother would always sing to her before she went to sleep in Sokovian.

"Sleep now, my love, don't you worry your head
It's time for all angels to crawl into bed.
Close your eyes, for the night has come once more,
And once the morning light follows, we shall see what the world has in store..."

Just as she was about to repeat it, her hand moving to wipe a tear that was forming, she heard the sound she feared the most: Dogs. Instantly she snapped her head around to see how close they were. Sure enough, just over the next hill, she could see the police appearing, holding back the dogs. She knew that this area was off limits, but she didn't care then. All she had cared about was saying her final goodbyes to her father and brothers. Now, though, she needed to move.

Standing up as fast as she could, she ran and slipped behind the other side of the mine. It wasn't a permanent hiding spot, but it was good enough to get the upper hand on the officers. The dogs? It was too late. They had caught her scent already, and she knew it was only a matter of time before they came around the corner. She could hear the officers speaking to their dogs before ordering a surrender. Kida wouldn't give up that easily, though. She was small, and small meant fast. She was thin, too, which let her slip between smaller spaces once she was away from them.

Taking a deep breath, she attacked.

Jumping out, quite literally as there was a dog approaching her, she used the dog's back to gain more leverage and jump onto an officer's shoulders. He instantly tried to throw her off, but after knocking his hat off, she gripped his head and dug her nails into his scalp. He began to scream, causing the dogs to jump on him, and the other two officers to reach for their weapons. It was time to go. Pulling her feet up, and moving her weight to his head temporarily, she launched herself at the second officer, tackling him to the ground. She had to roll, though, and use the officer's body as a shield for the bullet that went flying. Instantly, though, the officer's face disappeared, her mother's returning before her eyes. Suddenly she didn't feel so big anymore. Pushing him off of her, she forced the image of her mother out of her head and scrambled to her feet before running as fast as she could. The blonde didn't even stop to take down the last officer. She didn't have time: The dogs were hot on her heels.

Pushing herself as fast as she could towards the city, she ignored the burning that overtook her calves and lungs. She couldn't give in. Their barks were only getting louder. Heart pumping and legs moving, she entered the city, the dirt beneath her feet changing to hard stone. It hurt her knees to run on, but she couldn't stop now. She didn't even glance back. Seeing an alleyway, she ducked down it and saw a fence. Perfect. Kida only picked up the speed for what she could manage, and jumped onto the fence with a small scream for effort. Once her fingers were wrapped around the chain links, she began to pull herself up only to scream out in pain. One of the dogs bit her ankle. Looking down, she used her free foot to kick it in the nose, the animal whimpering out and dropping. After that, she pulled herself up as fast as she could and threw herself to the other side with a roll, her face curling up in pain as she hit the ground. She could tell nothing was broken, but knew she would have bruises at least. Watching the dogs try to claw their way through the fence, she stood and started off towards the old apartment she was hiding in. Her ankle was throbbing, and she needed to clean and wrap it.

It took her a good 15 minutes to reach the apartment where she had watched her mother die protecting her, but it felt even longer. She was breathless, her ankle risking infection with every second passing. Shaking, she approached the tub and ran the water. Thankfully there were still apartments in this building with residents, as most of the building had been rebuilt. Her section would need to be rebuilt soon, though, and she would need to move on. Kida needed to focus, though. Pushing all thoughts out of her head and her pants to the ground, she shoved her bleeding ankle under the water and winced. It didn't take too long for it to get cleaned, though, and after grabbing one of her mother's head wraps, she improvised a gauze for the wound. Afterwards, though, she moved to the only spot she wanted to go: Under the table.

Their beds were still in good enough condition to sleep on, but Kita hadn't slept on them in years. In fact, she hadn't slept in a bed since she was 8 years old. They were too lonely, and after having run away from the orphanage only after a month of being there, she felt lonely enough. Under the table she felt as if her mother was with her, and that was all she wanted. For her father and brothers, she wanted one last wave, but from her mother, she wanted one last night of her holding her, whispering their lullaby in her ear until she fell asleep. That day would never come, though. Therefore, the 16 year old girl had to settle for the best thing she could get.

Curling up alone under the blanket her mother had made for the family, she closed her eyes and began to sing to herself.