Author's Note

Sorry for the really short chapter before, because I had to rush for an important matter, so I had to cut the previous chapter short. So sorry guys! This is the continuation of the previous chapter.

….

She caught a glimpse a clear liquid being injected into her arm, and a slight burning feeling begun spreading throughout her arm.

'Number 1034, are you willing to cooperate with S.H.I.E.L.D. with the investigation of Centipede and their activities?'

The robotic monotone voice reverberated in the room and the guards left through the sliding metal door.

'Wait, you don't understand, I was not aiding Centipede, I was captured by them and-' Her rebuttal was cut short by the brisk reply.

'Please answer the question, Number 1034. Will you cooperate?'

Hapless, she tried to make sense again, only to be shot down by a sudden searing sensation in her veins.

'What you have just experienced is Stage One of the new serum designed to inflict maximum pain with the least side-effects on the human body. There are a total of ten stages.'

Skye struggled for breath as the burning feeling subsided and she felt dazed, like that feeling had burned all life out of her.

'Will you cooperate, Number 1034?'

Skye closed her eyes.

Please let this be a dream. Please.

….

The bus was abuzz with excitement but the air was heavy, weighing on everyone on board the plane. Ward sat in the co-pilot seat of the cockpit, beside the solemn May and was just staring out aimlessly at the sky. He wanted to be the first to know if they were reaching S.H.I.E.L.D.

He had to be the first to know.

'Tsk.'

Ward was snapped from his daze to realize that an irritated May was glaring daggers in his direction. He looked at her quizzically and saw her black eyes flick to the direction of his foot and found the root of the problem.

His tapping foot. He gave a silent apology to the Calvary and proceeded to exit the cockpit before he did anything else to anger the woman.

Wandering around the entire plane, he was at a total loss of what to do.

Restless, Uneasy.

All signs of anxiety.

He sighed and finally faced the question he had been trying to avoid for so long.

How was he going to face Skye?

'I mean, I can't just go see her like nothing's happened before, can I? ' He mumbled to himself and he ran a hand through his short hair.

Shit. This was why he preferred violence to anything else. Violence was just so easy, simple.

He went to the small kitchen and grabbed a can of beer. He wondered briefly who had left the can there, but hey, free beer.

He settled himself into the hard cushions of the couch and took a long sip of the beer.

Salvation.

Closing his eyes against the light from the ceiling, he silently resigned himself to a mental debate of what to do.

This was going to be a long, long flight.

….

Skye clenched her teeth as the man on the screen activated the serum again.

It took her everything to keep from crying out, and the time at Ray's hands had taught her a thing or two about endurance.

If she could endure for long enough, maybe they will believe that she is telling the truth. That is if she can actually endure that long.

The feeling gradually subsided and Skye let out a long breath. Her vision cleared and she stared once again at the man on the screen.

He was saying something but she could barely hear it, let alone make out the words.

She was so tired, so sleepy.

Her eyelids began to close and right before she could slip under the comforting cover of darkness, she was pulled back to the real world when the pain had returned, at an intensity twice of before.

She could not help the scream that tore through her throat as she bucked against her restraints in an helpless attempt to escape.

'I apologize for boring you , Number 1034. You have just experienced Stage Two. Shall we see how many stages you can last?'

The monotone voice sounded but even through the speakers, Skye could hear the sneer in the question.

Bastard.

As the pain came again, Skye saw white and before she lost all sense of the world, she heard the question of her inner self.

'Can you last that long?'

….

Okay, sorry for the long wait guys, this chapter, added with the previous ones makes a total of 1,125 words! I hope that this can suffice as an apology and I promise the next chapter will be up before this year ends!

P.S. Does anyone know how to get rid of a cold in the shortest time possible?