AN: PLEASE READ: I was EXTREMELY excited for the challenge that came with this, but my muse went down with some of the reviews and now it's almost a drag to write (which is really sad after 250 pages), hence the long wait period and forcing my muse to work.
Three Options:
a. Read the next few chapters and trust that I have a small inkling of seeing the bigger picture, then we'll be back to the normalness of basic psych 101. (did that sound like Garrett at all?)
b. Skip the next few chapters and come back when it's not such a big change to absorb (I'll title the chapter something with the word "Home", when all is well).
c. Stop reading completely and just picture Skye knocking out the man who kidnapped her as an unhyped ending from the last chapter. :)
Keep in mind, my writing style hasn't drastically changed, I haven't made the characters OOC (at least I think), Or killed them...cause that would suck. Should any of the above happen, PLEASE feel free to call me out on it.
I am NOT planning on making this a long trip (I find that a bit too hectic for my taste).
After they fix what the 084 did, they will start finding the trails to Skye's kidnappers. If you don't like the few chapters and what I'm doing with this, that's totally fine. I don't expect everyone to like it. It's risky, and different and the original was boring for me. If you want to stick around and read the rest, cool, if not, still cool. No hard feelings and I hope you find a story that you like.
Those sticking around, lets see what we can do with this, shall we :)
WARNING: If you hated me at the end of the last chapter, you will hate me more. All I ask is you read through it and give it a chance…or not.
Previously: Skye is forced to go on a mission at night. The team members do their best to help her prepare, including Fitz making her a pendant that can light up and has a tracker in it.
Skye figures out that Nelson was the one who originally kidnapped her in the first place, claiming it was just for the extra money, and plans to take her back. He tells her that he botched the whole mission, messing with the comms so that her teammates couldn't communicate and telling the enemy the entire plan. She fights her fears, knowing that she has to save her teammates and so manages to not only disarm and knock the man out, but to save Coulson and May. In the chaos, just as they are beginning to drive off, Skye realizes that Ward is not with them.
Ward touched the 084 as he planned on destroying it (no one listens to FitzSimmons!) which sends him inside of a structure. He thinks that Skye is dead and that May and Coulson are under heavy fire but is surprised to hear all three of his teammates just down the hall.
His hopes are crushed when he realizes that its not his team, his only conclusion being that he must be in an alternate universe…he quickly figures out that its a universe where Ward is not on the same side as Coulson when the other Skye shoots him with an ICER.
PS: THIS IS BEFORE THE LAST EPISODE HAPPENED. And there really aren't spoilers.
Chapter 54 AC thinks DC
Skye's gaze stared back at the building as May sped off. "Where's Ward?" she worriedly asked when the realization of his absence slithered past her panic filled blinds.
She didn't get a reply as the vehicle took a sharp swerve avoiding the blast of a bomb that had gone off, and yet it was close enough to the vicinity of the car to shake the otherwise sturdy vehicle.
"Shit," the specialist swore under her breath, slight panic heard in her voice that sent Skye's mind reeling. If May panicked, you sure as hell should be freaking out. "We got two more vehicles on our tail," the driver announced, totaling to four bazooka carrying boxed metals on wheels.
Skye wanted to ask about Ward again, wondering if he hadn't made it…
She immediately stopped that thought.
Her mind was incapable of wrapping around that idea...not now, not when the evidence was so inconclusive. Not when the other two had not confirmed it, their reactions giving nothing away.
It felt like an hour had passed, when in fact they had only been in the car less than 30 seconds before May swerved again.
"Skye, Ward touched the 084," Coulson finally explained as he reloaded. "We have to get it to FitzSimmons and see, but till then we don't panic and no one touches the…" Coulson turned, wanting to gauge how their analyst was holding up only to be met by the unoccupied back seat.
"No. No. No! Shit!" he swore as he looked at the object that had rolled out of its tarp cocoon, no signs of vibration. "She's gone!" he informed the specialist, the unbelievable-ness of the day's events catching up even to the team leader.
"What do you mean she's gone?" May asked, sneaking a quick glance back to confirm for herself.
"I had the damn thing wrapped up in the tarp!" He quickly defended. They had lost two of their team members to god only knew where, and the other two scientists were under attack. Coulson began to feel the panic seep into his being at the word 'lost'.
For crying out loud, they had just discovered that Skye was in fact alive and before he even had time to rejoice in that, she was gone again.
The team leader did his best to keep it together. He began listing the facts, mainly focusing on the positives to get his mind back on track of figuring out possible scenarios.
They didn't know the specifics of what the object did. Therefore, there was still hope for his two younger team members, as long as they could get the damn thing to the scientists…
The same scientists whom Skye had informed them were under attack…Shit! He thought for the fiftieth time over the course of this mission.
One thing at a time Phil, Coulson told himself.
Their first priority were the death traps behind them. They were being followed and it would do them no good to have the armed cars get within the vicinity of the Bus.
The older agent pushed aside all emotion before maneuvering his gun out of the way to reach the glove box.
"They're gaining," May gritted out, her eyes on the rearview mirror, quickly catching the two cars on their tail that were fitted for this terrain.
Coulson mumbled something that fell on deaf ears before he unlocked the glove compartment using his fingerprint and pulled out a silver box that contained one of the engineer's designs. Quickly opening the box, he dumped the small marble sized balls into his hand.
"I've never used these," he confessed before climbing into the backseat, his senses well aware of where the 084 had lodged itself.
Opening the sunroof, the older agent randomly took one ball in his throwing hand and tossed it at the oncoming vehicles before ducking his arm back into safety.
As soon as the sphere made contact with the ground, a thick cloud of smoke appeared that hid the oncoming cars for a short period of time.
"Well that would have been useful if we weren't out in the middle of nowhere in the middle of a clearing," May mumbled as she watched the two closer cars emerge from the smoke.
"Ok, lets try another one," Coulson stated as May swerved to avoid some of the flying bullets to which the leader braced himself, his gaze quickly traveling to the 084. It was still unmoving.
Once he gained his balance, he grabbed a blue sphere and threw it with a little more aim, ducking quickly as a bullet barely missed his arm. The sleeve of his suit was not so lucky. He turned his attention to where he had thrown the blue ball and waited.
May looked back in the mirror to see the effects as well, but nothing happened. She was really beginning to lose her patience with these guys. They had better things to do than to be playing a game of chase.
"Blue is a dud," Coulson mumbled before a huge explosion occurred, rolling one of the closer vehicles into a second one, effectively taking both of the cars out. The leader had immediately held on to the handle at the side of the door at the unexpected explosion.
"Or not," Coulson calmly stated.
"Two to go," May counted down, her voice dark and pissed as the plane began to come into view, barely visible in the dark.
"I'm sticking to blue," Coulson quietly decided before pulling out three blue ones and gently placing the rest in the cup holder. The team leader looked back to see that the cars had slowed down, increasing the distance between them. "May, I can't throw that far," he admitted, his free hand already holding on for dear life of what he knew was to come as he braced his legs.
"Hold on," the specialist warned before slamming the brakes just long enough to catch the other cars off guard and to decrease the distance. Her foot immediately returned to the gas. They could not afford being an easy close range target and FitzSimmons couldn't afford for them to be late.
"I'm tossing three," Coulson warned before releasing all of the blue spheres at once. The last two cars didn't stand a chance, the force from the combined explosions shaking their own SUV. He didn't take time to celebrate before grabbing his binoculars and going back to the sunroof.
"Oh crap," is all the specialist heard.
"Coulson?" she questioned.
"We got a situation. You better step on it May," is the only response she received before she saw Coulson reach down for his gun and take aim out the sunroof.
*******AoS*******
Skye woke up feeling groggy. As soon as her slow mind realized that she was on a bed, she quickly clambered off, nearly toppling over with the after effects still lingering….
After effects, her muddled mind thought slowly.
Drugs.
That word resonated through her head as she backed away from the furniture and headed towards the corner, her back coming in contact with the wall. She slowly slid down as her mind disbelievingly began to analyze the situation, working hard to focus on the facts.
Her weapons had been removed, including most of her mission gear, leaving her with the t-shirt that she had worn under her gear and her pants...pants that now had empty pockets, she realized after frantically patting them down.
The analyst reached to her neck with a trembling hand and to her surprise, she found the pendant.
She clutched it desperately. Its presence gave her enough comfort to be able to allow the air to travel through her lungs; enough comfort to try and figure out her situation.
A sob almost escaped in relief when her most valued possession let out its unwavering light, illuminating the dark room and lessening its hidden shadows.
She remembered knocking Nelson out…
The man who had taken her in the first place. The man who claimed it wasn't personal after he had delivered her to her own version of hell.
Skye had wanted to rejoice in the fact that she had taken him down, but her present situation wasn't allowing her to accept any compliments.
She remembered getting into the car with Coulson and May and telling them about Nelson. Then she had accidentally touched the metal...
She hadn't even known what it was when the explosion had occurred close to the car, sending the analyst careening at the sharp turn that May had made to avoid taking too much damage.
And then…
Her entire body froze with the flood of the memories.
Skye hesitantly ran her trembling fingers over the deltoid in her arm while whispering to herself. "Please don't be there, please don't be there," but she felt the tenderness.
Her breath caught in her throat when she allowed her eyes to roam the sore muscle…when she barely made out the puncture site with the red illuminated light.
Skye's mind quickly threw in the fact that the drug had been yellow, as if rooting for her to let go of the nonsense of logic and allow the emotions to flood through.
The analyst shook her head in denial as she felt the stinging of tears begin to build. She couldn't contain the quiet sob that escaped.
This couldn't be happening!
Her panic filled mind began to overwhelm her with the facts as she recalled the events.
One second she had been in a car with shots and explosions going off in every direction, the next she had found herself on the ground with a couple of strangers standing next to her, their faces shocked at what they were seeing. Skye had instinctively scooted towards the corner and away from the foreign men before she spotted Coulson and May, both looking just as surprised.
Her relief at the familiar faces had been short lived as her eyes had immediately gone to the team leaders clothes.
At that moment, the surrounding world had disappeared; her vision had focused on the material that hung down the man's neck.
Coulson's tie had been black with stripes. When the man had taken a step towards her, hands held in the air in a placating manner, she had seen it.
Both sides had been black.
Skye didn't remember much past that. Her mind hadn't been able to process anything outside of the approaching man that wasn't her Coulson. She'd felt the hands of one of the strangers and her body had immediately reacted while she had desperately denied that what she was seeing was true. Her eyes had remained glued to the tie, willing it to show a little yellow even as she fought the hands that attempted to restrain her.
But it hadn't changed. It had remained black even as she had felt the needle in her arm and her vision had slowly faded into darkness.
As her fears pushed towards the facility, her logic weakly...desperately reminded her that she had touched the metal object; the 084.
But her mind screamed, refusing to listen to logic. Stating every counter point.
They drugged her.
Ward wasn't anywhere near in sight.
Coulson's tie was black!
The analyst quickly used her hand to cover her mouth as another sob escaped. The scared girl forced herself to breath as she looked through tear filled eyes at her surroundings.
This was nothing like her bunk. It was bigger. From the little she had seen, she knew the she wasn't on the Bus... or a replica of the Bus.
The young girl didn't know how comforting that thought was.
She didn't even know what to think.
She just wanted to go home...
But was there even a home?
May and Coulson had been navigating through a fire zone and it hadn't been going so well.
FitzSimmons were being attacked by mercenaries with no one to help them.
And Ward.
Grant was gone.
It was all her fault.
If she hadn't been there, Nelson wouldn't have leaked the information to tie up loose ends. They wouldn't have attacked the team to get to her.
And now she was in an unfamiliar room with drugs coursing through her system and an image of a black tie that kept intruding in her mind. The same black tie that had ordered for them to give her the drugs after she had gone into a panic attack.
Skye tightly pulled her knees to her chest as she allowed the overwhelming emotions to consume her in this world that made no sense.
*******AoS*******
Coulson managed to take out two guards, making each shot count before they could even make it onto the ramp that had been forced open. Fury was not going to be very happy, but at this point, the team leader was not very happy. A third of his team was gone…
He was not happy with Skye having to not only face her fears, but the man actually trying to kidnap her.
The same man that Coulson himself had left her with.
Stupid! Another shot was fired, another guard went down.
He was not happy with Ward disappearing into thin air.
He was not happy with his stupid idiotic self that had thrown the object of unknown origin in the back with his analyst.
Another body crumbled to the ground, this one falling off of the ramp.
It was all so stupid. And right now, the two people who were going to figure out how to bring Skye and Ward back were being attacked.
Oh yeah, he was definitely not happy and someone was sure as hell going to hear about it. Right after he got his team back.
The leader ducked in through the sunroof as the car screeched sideways to a halt, the driver's side away from the plane. The two agents quickly got out, using the car as a barrier.
"We can't risk shooting, they have FitzSimmons," Coulson stated as the guards took cover. The leader reached for his comm again, hoping the close range would do the trick, but he had no luck.
"I'm counting three men," May replied, crouched down by the hood, her night vision gear in hand. The lights on the ramp were out but she wasn't sure if that had been done on purpose or the guards themselves had wanted the darkness. "I don't have a visual on FitzSimmon's, but..."
"We can't take any risky shots," the leader finished. Not only was he worried about the two scientists themselves, but if anyone was going to figure out what had happened to Skye and Grant, it would be them.
"Shoot them!" Coulson's hand shot to his ear piece at the screeching Scotsman's voice that reverberated against his eardrum. It was as if he had heard the leader's last words and was responding to them.
"Fitz?" Coulson tried, sharing a hopeful look with May.
"Sir, we are fine and behind the bulletproof lab doors. May I reiterate Fitz' words? They know we are in here Sir," the English accent took over, much calmer in her demands. "Well I suppose the doors are see through," Simmons mumbled out as an after thought.
"Oh, he just touched Lola," Fitz absentmindedly stated to Simmons. "Hey, you! Yeah, You! Coulson's going to shoot you for touchin that."
A loud thud was heard.
"Don't provoke them, Fitz!" Simmons admonished.
"Well it's true," Fitz defended, feeling a lot more confident in the glass doors holding the guards off then his partner did. It probably helped knowing that they had the Calvary just down the ramp.
Coulson began to wonder if the two scientists had forgotten how to use comms as their whole conversation was coming through. Either way, he was extremely glad to hear their voices.
Sharing another look with May, the older agent began to fire from the back of the car, drawing the rounds of the three remaining soldiers, while the specialist took a note of where the shots were originating from.
May managed to take two more down, leaving only the third guard who apparently had figured out their technique.
"Simmons, what are you doing?" Fitz hissed in Coulson's comm. The leader immediately tensed up.
"Hush Fitz!" The biochemist replied.
Before Coulson or May could advise against whatever had Fitz so on edge, Jemma must have acted because the next thing they heard was Fitz' shout of "Oh my god! Have you lost your mind?"
"All clear!" Simmons stated as she stood in the clearing next to Lola, hands cautiously held up, one of them wrapped around a fire extinguisher.
"He could have come after us!" Fitz squeaked.
"Oh Fitz, he was too distracted by May and Coulson. Besides, he was crouched right there in front of us! I knew that if I just took a blow to the occipital region…"
"You know that because that's how you knocked me out!" Fitz interrupted.
"To save your life! Will you please just let it go. That was ages ago…" Jemma quickly replied.
Coulson ran to the SUV and was back with the 084 wrapped in the tarp. "FitzSimmons!" he shouted, stopping the argument before it could go anywhere. His tone got both of their attentions.
"What are you doing?" Fitz asked, shocked that the leader was just holding the object with a piece of black plastic looking material.
"Where are Ward and Skye….and Nelson?" Simmons asked, the third person being an after thought.
"Ward and Skye touched this and then they just disappeared," he began.
"What do you mean just disappeared?" the biochemist questioned.
"They were there, then they were gone. No traces. No nothing. I need you two to focus and figure it out," Coulson stated, his tone barely holding back from showing concern that his absent members could be in real trouble…if they are even still alive, his mind added. He shut that out, refusing to listen till they had conclusive evidence. He couldn't lose them. Not now. Not when Ward had finally began making progress, allowing himself a chance at redemption. Not when he had just gotten Skye back.
"Of course they touched it. Doesn't anyone listen?" Fitz mumbled before throwing on some thick rubber gloves and grabbing it cautiously with the tarp. "It's vibrating," he stated, his voice sounding not the least bit surprised. He slowly walked over to the lab bench as they only had little light for visibility from the back up system. Now would not be the time to trip, the engineer thought to himself before placing the object down with extreme care.
"It was vibrating before Ward touched it and after he disappeared, it just stopped; same thing with Skye. I touched it when it was still, but nothing happened," Coulson quickly explained.
May headed to the SUV after rolling the dead or unconscious bodies off of the ramp and out of her parking spot. "Why is the power off?" she asked.
"Mmm," Fitz replied, distracted by the new puzzle in front of him. "Oh they were trying to hack the ramp so we shut the power off. You know, made them have to manually open it." The scientist wanted to ask how the guards could even hack into their frequency, but decided against it. It wasn't the time. Maybe after they got Skye and Ward back.
The engineer went to the fuse box, reattaching the wires he had disconnected with haste and the lower level began to come to life, section by section, as the power reanimated everything. He quickly returned to his new project.
Coulson watched the young man. He watched his every move, every reaction, just waiting for a sign. Something that told him whether he should really start showing his concern. He couldn't bring himself to think of where the others had gone. Couldn't bring himself to think of the idea that they could be in danger with no backup. Couldn't bring himself to imagine Skye's reaction; Skye whom they had sheltered the last few months.
Skye who wasn't used to facing things without one of her team members by her side.
The leader felt the anxiousness creeping in. He took a deep breath and just hoped to god that the young hacker had ended up with Ward.
The possibility of them being separated from one another didn't help to ease his restlessness. He shuffled his weight, afraid to ask.
"You don't look worried," he observed instead as he stared at Fitz.
Fitz shared a look with the leader before returning his attention back to the object. "Simmons and I managed to read through most of the reports."
"We tried contacting you, but the comms were down," Jemma jumped in.
"Hence that little gadget," Fitz explained, gesturing to the randomly destroyed walkie that had seen better days, wires sticking out from odd places.
"What did you find?" May asked, having parked the car.
"The rate at which it….vibrates," he attempted to explain in Layman's terms before stopping completely. He didn't have time to explain the science behind it. "It's all based on a theory but I think we can figure out how to reverse it. Our bodies are simply matter and electrical energy," the engineer tried again.
"Energy that is specific to each one of us, like a…" Simmons snapped her fingers. "Ah yes, a signature."
"Exactly," Fitz agreed. "Many particles, always moving, always vibrating and if you vibrate at the right speed, the theory is…"
Coulson stopped the young man. "Simple terms," he quickly reminded the scientist who had gotten a glint in his eyes, his words already having sped up.
Fitz almost looked offended but quickly shrugged it off. "The theory is…vibrate an object fast enough, it can …jump through one reality and into another," he explained, struggling to simplify it.
"As in?" Coulson encouraged.
"As in there is a possibility that they are in another reality. Think of the 084 as an accelerant. When touched, it causes the atoms that comprise our bodies…"
"To vibrate at a faster pace, and once the energy is used up," Simmons jumped in, already having discussed the reports and knowing where her partner was going.
"The object goes into a refractory period," Fitz finished, not missing a beat. "To charge," he added as an after thought, wondering if the saps even knew what a refractory period was.
"Kind of like the Flash from the comics? How he would speed up all of the atoms in his body to a certain speed?" Coulson tried.
Simmons' face fell immediately at the leader taking such a huge scientific breakthrough and comparing it to a comic book while May resisted rolling her eyes.
"Exactly!" Fitz excitedly agreed before snatching the pliers and reaching to a small flap. "Energy can't be created or destroyed, if we think of our universe as a closed system."
"First law of thermodynamics," Jemma quipped, her attention focused on Fitz and his actions.
The engineer glanced up in time to catch the look the older agents shared. "If we can figure out how to reverse the frequency…" his voice faded as he concentrated once again, trying to open the flap as gently as possible. He couldn't risk changing the settings.
The scientist immediately stopped, pulling back from the now open panel. "There's just one problem. I think I may be able to track Skye if she is still wearing her pendant, but with the object being here, we have no way of locking on to Ward's electrical signal."
"You're saying that we can get them back? As long as we have a way of tracking them…" Coulson tried to wrap his mind around all of the foreign ideas, not even understanding how one could lock onto someone's electrical signal let alone, in another reality. For crying out loud, they were discussing something he had read in a comic book.
"The reports say it's doable," Fitz added.
The agents once again glanced at each other before turning their attention back to Fitz, neither of them looking too happy.
"The reports have done it?" May asked, wondering why the hell he hadn't just stated that in the first place.
"Only with inanimate objects after giving them a charge. But, with the tech we have, I'm pretty positive we can pull it off. It's genius really!" Fitz concluded.
"Fitz. Ward and Skye possibly went to an alternate universe, at different times," Coulson tried to get the younger man to understand the importance of rushing things.
Fitz' features turned to one of concern at the thought of Skye being thrown into a universe where she might come to the conclusion that she was alone. He shook his head, determination taking over. "We have to find the current resonating frequency before we can reverse it," he stated, already gathering equipment.
"And before you reverse it, I'll go and find them," the older agent replied. "Can you come up with something to track us…" at the once again offended look at having his abilities questioned, Coulson stopped talking.
"I'll go with you," May offered in a straight tone, walking to the back of the SUV and leaving no room for argument.
"And you can't stay there too long. You know the whole altering the natural order of things in a universe that you don't belong…," Simmons paused at the confused look from the team leader. "Seriously, does no one watch Doctor Who? Although I suppose that's a bad example…." She trailed off. "I'll study the frequency," the English scientist offered; to which Fitz nodded before returning his attention back to the vibrating piece of metal.
"Um sir. Where is Nelson?" Simmons asked, nearly having forgotten about the man.
Their attention was drawn to the sound of a thud as a heavy weight hit the ramp coming from the back of the SUV.
"Got him," May responded back.
"He tried to kidnap Skye…again," Coulson stated. The dark look that crossed Simmons' face had the team leader resisting his instincts to want to take a step back.
They would deal with him later.
*******AoS*******
Skye didn't know how much time had passed as she sat there, pathetically huddled in the corner. She knew that she was regressing; regressing back to the fearful pet that they had trained.
Was this another fake realm created by her drugged state…
The analyst stopped that thought, knowing if she followed it, there was no coming back. Skye was already feeling as if the room was beginning to close in on her without the added panic of acknowledging those words.
She needed to get out.
Focusing on her breathing, she willed the tears to stop. Even if she was somehow back at the facility, she couldn't just sit around and wait for them to come for her.
The young analyst did her best to ignore the knowledge of what they would do to her if she was caught trying to escape. They had broken her at the facility to a point where her own team look a likes would mockingly leave the door wide open, knowing that her hope of ever getting away had been long ago crushed. She had stayed in her cage like the beaten animal that they had told her she was.
But the last months with her team had given her hope. Hope that despite the nightmares and haunted memories that plagued her, she would still get glimpses of light. Hope that a simple human touch could offer warmth and comfort; that it didn't have to bring pain and shame.
If she was going down, she would rather have her actions reflect someone who Grant and Coulson and the rest of her team would be proud of.
She would rather go down trying.
Even with that thought, it didn't stop the tears from wanting to escape, or cause the trembles to subside.
It didn't stop her thoughts from acknowledging that for the first three months after she had been ripped away from the only family that she knew, she had tried to escape from the facility several times and had ended up failing each time.
She didn't deny that at the current moment, there was a part of her that wanted to curl in the corner like a helpless dog who had been beaten into submission.
That thought made her want to gag as images of her collar and leash rushed forward. Oh what she would give for Ward to be there right then. Her chest ached for the specialist to hold her and just make it all go away, like he made everything bad go away, but he wasn't here...and it was her fault.
She tightly closed her eyes and allowed a few more tears to fall.
She wanted home.
"Focus!" the analyst whispered to herself, knowing that her muddled thoughts were on a repetitive cycle that wasn't getting her anywhere.
She didn't want the collar. She didn't want to be treated like a helpless animal.
Quit acting like one, the rookie inside of her stated.
Skye focused on her breathing, pushing the emotions to the side as best as she could.
She then got up. Quietly moving towards the door, she listened for any noise outside of the room, but found none. Slowly turning the handle, she was surprised that the door was unlocked.
Why would it be unlocked after she had fought them? Even after the needle had made its way into her arm, she had kicked and swung….
The hacker's mind began to panic again as she fought the terror that gripped her chest. Her hand remained frozen at the door.
What if they were playing another game? Like all of the times that they would dangle a reward in front of her just to strip it away. The Coulson from her nightmares had even admitted that he loved seeing the little hope flitting across her face when she had actually made it outside the looming facility walls one time, only for him to be standing at the open door.
He had walked towards her and she had backed away, shaking her head in disbelief and utter hopelessness. The door had clicked shut behind him, the resounding sound only mocking her as the light from the outside world abandoned her to this mad man who smirked before stating, "Oh this is going to be so much fun."
Skye's mind jumped to the present as she stepped back from the door, wrapping her arms around her abdomen.
She wanted to throw up.
She wanted her Coulson with the ridiculous tie that was just for her.
She wanted….
Skye stopped the spiraling thoughts. She knew that it was no use whining about her misery. It's not like there was anyone that cared to hear her pathetic mind begging for some familiarity.
She had two options. Stay here like the helpless animal that they had trained her for seven months to be, or go out there and face whatever consequences came her way.
It was the first time that the realization that they would have their way with her in both options dawned on her. The thought only managed to depress her more as she wiped the tears away and reached for the door.
She had nothing to lose.
Skye made it into the dim corridor, the pounding of her own painfully beating heart was her only company. She quickly turned off the pendant, her subconscious aware that she didn't need to make herself a bigger target.
Both directions looked the same, dark and ominous. The analyst fidgeted before choosing randomly.
She refused to let her hopes up. When they did end up finding her, she couldn't give them the satisfaction of stripping her bare of that hope as they laughed.
The analyst began to cautiously walk the corridor, one hand on the wall while the other held her pendant.
The young girl froze mid stride when she heard Simmons' voice getting closer. "With the dose that I gave her, she should be knocked out for a couple more hours, sir. And hopefully waking up much calmer."
"Good," she heard Coulson reply. Her fight or flight responses picked up ten fold at the knowledge that he was there. That he was coming.
Skye immediately began backpedaling away from the two, almost falling over her own feet in her frantic rush. Her shaking hands found the nearest door handle, her mind begging for it not to be locked. Much to her surprise, she found no resistance as the door swung in.
The hacker only slightly hesitated at the darkness before remembering the terror that was approaching her in the hallway. Coulson's voice echoing off of the walls made the choice much easier as she darted into the room and quietly closed the door, her hands fumbling in the process.
Skye stepped back. She unconsciously reached for the pendant but didn't turn it on, afraid they would see the light. She tried to calm her shaky breath, almost sure that he could hear it, but it was to no avail. And so she waited, listening to the increasingly loud steps as they made their way towards her.
She couldn't help but to wonder if they knew. If they were just playing with her…
And then they stopped right outside the doorway.
Skye's free hand flew to her mouth after she recognized that the whimpering noise had come from her own lips.
She bit her lip to prevent any other sound from escaping and anxiously waited.
"Do you think he's telling the truth, sir?" Simmons' voice picked up again.
"Before she came, I didn't doubt that Ward would pull something like this. But now, I'm just wondering if he's the cause of her reaction," Coulson replied.
"You know some of the guards got to him right?" May asked, her voice indifferent.
The older agent sighed, "let's hope he deserved it. We should probably check up on our new guest," he paused. "This time, we try the calm approach and not the welcome wagon," he added as an after thought.
The analyst began to feel a bit lightheaded till she realized that she had been holding her breath. Their words echoed like jumbled puzzles that her adrenaline-laced system could not comprehend as she was too busy begging in her mind for them to keep walking.
Someone must have listened to her pleas as the sound of their steps echoed in different directions and away from her. The relief was short lived when her mind focused on her fear of the dark in the dim lit room covered in shadows. Skye immediately pressed the pendant, unable to hold out any longer when she began to feel hands on her.
As soon as the light revealed her proximal surroundings, her hallucinations disappeared with the dark. There was no one touching her or even within her vicinity.
The analyst finally turned away from the door to gauge her environment. She quickly realized that she was at the top of a staircase with dim lights illuminating the lower floor.
"Skye?" She heard his voice before she saw him as she stood frozen, her hand tightening its grip onto the pendant. She was partly paralyzed by the fear that they had found her and yet, there was a small part that was tempted to stumble down the stairs towards the voice that held so much familiarity.
AN: I wonder who that is….Just kidding.
Hope you guys enjoyed the extra long chapter!
HUGE THANK YOU to VivaGrazia for betaing this chapter and giving me the idea to break it up! And thank you to Eclipse for reading it and encouraging the continuation. This chapter is mainly written cause of you two!
