I bolted awake, a short shout the first thing to leave my lips. I covered my mouth quickly with my hand to try and silence the sound as I sit in a bed, a worn blanket pooling at the waist. I look down finding myself bare minus a pair of boxer shorts. My chest is covered in bruises, as is my arms at the elbow joint and hands appearing to be from iv's or something of the sort.
I search my memory for any hint of where I am, or even who I am. All I can recall is a lake, the cold and the sound of dogs. "And that masked man..." I barely whisper to myself lowering my hand. Had he taken me here? Where here is and if that man knew me was all drawing a blank. I'd assume he did based on how he reacted when he first came into contact with me.
The smell of coffee wafted its way to my nose and I felt my head lifting and turning, looking for the source of it a sense of familiarity settling into me. I turn my head towards a door to my right, the only exit in the small room. It's cracked and light is streaming in from the doorway, the room I am currently in having only one window heavily covered by a thick curtain that blocks all light from entering. Unsure what time it is I instead focus on that door, listening as I hear a radio playing something upbeat and a voice singing along almost louder than the radio.
Everything about the night before feels like a dream while I sit, just listening, smelling. I let myself settle back into pillows. Sighing I decide to just let what is going on happen as I shut my eyes easily drifting back into a deep sleep.
Awaking a few hours later the room is encased in darkness, my breath speeding up I squeak out a, "Hello?" hoping to not be alone like last night. "I'm here." a voice calls back, similar sounding. Sitting up I blink a few times unable to fully adjust to the lack of light. The other occupant of the room must have noticed this as he clicked a small lamp to life. The person, a man by the looks of it was facing me, sat at a desk. His broad shoulders hunched over in what looked like a thoughtful position. Taking him in, slightly startled by the obvious swords strapped on his back I focus on his face. It's covered in a black and red mask, just like the man I had met the night before. Aside from turning the light on he sits unmoving, watching me in a way I'd think a predator would. All feelings of the comfort from earlier leaves me.
"You seemed to be having nightmares." He finally said after a few minutes. I blinked a few times unsure how to answer that, I felt like I had slept fine and remembered nothing of a bad dream. Another minute passes before he continues, "Suppose I'm lucky I hardly ever have to sleep. Although the worst kinds of nightmares tend to occur when one is awake." His voice is all serious and even toned. "Where did you go all this time?" He finally pushes back from his seat at the table, the chair screeching across the floor in protest. Standing his makes his way over to me, his hand reaching for my face once he gets to me.
I turn my head away, confused, "Look I don't know who you are...thanks for helping me but-" He pulls his hand back as if burned and interrupts me, "I-i Looked for you, you know when you went missing." He squeezes his hand pulling it up to his chest looking off to the side. "We all did. I swore I would find you, its been months! Months! At first I thought Tony and them had hidden you away somewhere. I didn't even know your name, what you looked like. Nothing." Looking back to me he sighed sitting on the edge of the bed. "I knew you where gorgeous Baby boy, under that mask. You where already so beautiful inside. A really good guy, a hero. So where did you go?"
I chewed at my bottom lip nervously not sure where to look. I tried looking him in the face but all of what he just said to me spoke of my having an obvious connection with this man. It sounded like a deep one at that. I dance my eyes around looking at everything, everything but his face. He sighs again, handing going up to rub his head in the way one would push their hair back. "Look..no pressure. Just why didn't you say anything?" I felt my breathing speed up, as my hands began to sweat I quickly wipe them on the blanket covering my lower half. "I don't know what you mean..?" I try, thinking of a way to figure this situation out with upsetting the obviously already perturbed man sitting at my feet.
He pulled a gun from it's holster at his waist, spinning it in his hands. I could feel my eyes flying open as wide as they go, my breath coming out in labored puffs now. "Relaaaaaax." He says with a hint of humor in his voice, "The weight of a gun in my hand helps me think when I'm stuck on a puzzle." He begins scanning it over as if looking for something he didn't see before on the obviously worn piece of metal. His words do very little to calm me, my lungs going overtime as the back of my head begins to tingle in a very unpleasant way my vision swimming. "I bet the answer is staring me right in the face." he claims looking me in the eyes, or at least I'm assuming thats what he's doing. I gulp trying to force my mind to work as I lose all ability to focus. "I just don't see it yet..." his voice lowers as he moves close to me, I lower back into the bed trying to avoid the man who is still holding a gun in his hand as he looms right above me as I laid down.
"L-look I-i-i don't know what it is you want, or who you are for that matter..." I try sucking air in trying to think my next words carefully and quickly, "but if it's money you want...I'm s-sure we could work something out?" I squeak the end bit out my lungs feeling like dried sponges refusing to soak up anymore precious oxygen to feed my body. "You really don't know who I am, do you?" he says in a way that sounds like something just clicked. I shake my head quickly tears producing at the corner of my eyes out of fear. "Well...shit." He mutters to himself pulling back into his original sitting position on the bed turning to look off to the table. "I'm not sure if this is the worst thing that could of happened, or the best.." He seems almost giddy at the end of that.
"Who are you?" I ask, laying on the bed stiff still. "Me?" He returns, quickly turning back to me. He seems to be in thought to for a moment, rubbing his chin with his gun. "Well for now lets just say I am your boyfriend, Baby Boy!" He exclaims, sounding rather happy with his answer. I don't quite believe him when just earlier he said he didn't know my name or what I looked like...but I don't have anything else to go off of, so for now he's the only person I've got to count on.