Happy thanksgiving everyone !

I couldn't wait to update again lol

"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."
― Marilyn Monroe

In the darkness of her room, accompanied by the moonlight that entered through the boarded window, Alex waited for her chance to strike.

She held her breath for a few seconds, straining her ears to ensure there was no one around.

Silence.

Deciding she had waited long enough, she rose from the pathetic thing she called bed, untangling herself from the Itchy blanket.

She stayed like that for a moment, mainly to wait for the room to stop spinning and also because she wasn't sure of what to do. Escape, yes, but how.

She knew her door was unguarded. As long as she was alone in her room they saw no need to keep her guarded.

"Idiots."

As far as she knew, there were only three people in the house, Donny, Lisa and the unnamed douche that had choked her during her first escape attempt.

The two guys were her main concern. They were big and packed with muscles, no doubt they were eating a different kind of canned soup than hers, maybe a different brand? Perhaps a hearty chicken soup with testosterone and dumplings?

She picked the can, -her last meal- and almost dropped it when she saw a cockroach chilling there. Disgusted but still motivated Alex covered her hand with a rag and ripped the lid.

"My only weapon." She gripped it tighter.

Her gaze focused on one of the many glass bottles littering around and picked it up, the label was unreadable, its content almost empty. Alex hoped it was enough before hiding it away in her pocket.

She swallowed her nerves as she walked towards the door. Her legs felt like jelly, but made no sign of giving in. She gripped the handle for support before she slowly opened it.

She peaked first, and once she was sure there was no one around she fully stepped out.

Her heart was beating wildly as she descended the stairs. Sweat was dripping down her forehead, but she wasn't about to make the same mistake as before.

The closer she got to the bottom she realized she wasn't truly alone. She could hear the faint sound of a tv and some snoring in the distance along with the stench of cheap beer.

If she chose to make a run for it she risked being captured again, so she maintained her pace. Slow and steady wins the race, Alex. Keep moving.

She was so close to the exit.

A phone rang loudly breaking the silence and freezing her in place.

From his spot on the couch Donny let out a trail of curses as he struggled to answer his phone, "What?" He grunted, "Ah, it's you." He softened his tone, "Yeah, I was asleep-No it's okay, what wrong?" There was a pause and then he sighed tirelessly, "Yes, any brand it's okay. Not like the girl can complain much, we could feed her shit and she would be none the wiser."

Her blood boiled.

He burped, "Hurry up, I'm getting hungry- I know, I'll see you soon." He said before he hung up. "Now I need to take a piss," he whispered to himself before drinking the remaining of his beer. He turned then, and froze once his eyes landed on her.

Surprise transformed into fury as he made his way towards her.

"What the fuck are you doing here girl!" He shouted.

She was shaking in her spot, whether it was from fear or rage she couldn't tell. Alex was only certain that she wasn't going to run away and leave him unpunished. They deserved it. He deserves it.

"Make him pay." A woman's voice whispered inside her head.

She had done nothing wrong.

He tried to negotiate with her, "Go back to your room and I'll forget this even happened, okay? I'm not a bad guy, I can even help you! I can get you something else to eat, you like Ramen?" He was closer now, his arm reaching to grab her.

The stench of his drunken state made her eyes water and her nose crunch in disgust. Her whole body tensed in an anticipation, her grip tightened and without a warning she slashed his face.

Warm blood splashed her face, neck and arms leaving her momentarily stunned.

His reaction was immediate, "You crazy bitch!" He launched at her and she barely got out of his way before he attacked again, "I'm going to kill you!"

Muscle memory jumped into action as she dodged his attacks much to his frustration. The adrenaline fueling her movements made sure she couldn't feel the pain when he finally connected a punch.

It was obvious he was trying to aim at her face, probably to return the favor, but her reflexes had saved her from most of the impact. Instead, he had hit her in the side of her face, near her jawline.

The blunt force of the impact made her lose her footing. Taking advantage of her distraction, he jumped her.

He stepped on her wrist, forcing her to drop her makeshift weapon before he landed his left foot on her chest.

Alex bit her lip, the side of her face throbbed in protest at her action. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of hearing her scream. The only sound coming from her were her ragged breaths.

He was heavier than her, the weight of his foot was enough to pin her in place. She was nothing but skin and bones. In a panic frenzy she tried to summon her power to no avail. Nothing happened. It was only her and her fist now, no crazy asgardian magic to aid her. The poor state of her body was to blame. She was no longer a proper vessel.

"Not so tough now, huh? Crazy bitch, " he spat, digging his heel in her sternum, "You're going to regret this." He promised, removing his foot as he turned to grab his phone.

It happened so fast.

One moment she was lying on the floor and the next she had jumped on his back, dragging the can lid across his neck.

Her fingers were warm with his blood.

He gurgled something unintelligible as he struggled to throw her off. His nails digged and scratched her forearms as her back collided painfully with the wooden wall.

Alex stayed in place till he stopped moving. Stopped breathing. Stopped living. She was shaking again.

She wiped her hands on his shirt. She refused to meet his eyes. The weight of what she had done was threatening to break her.

"Worry not, child. You did nothing wrong." The same voice soothed her, easing her mind and soul.

She stopped shaking then. The image of Donny's dead body was pushed to the back of her mind. She had other things to worry about. Especially considering she was still in the phase 2 of her totally not improvised escape plan.

"Thank you, Lady Eir."

Her breathing had evened and she was starting to realize the effect of the adrenaline was starting to wear off. She rose then, pocketing away his phone and ignoring the burning pain in her calves as she ran away.

The soles of her feet became a disgusting mixture of blood and dirt as she ran through the forest, avoiding the roots as best as she could. She had tripped twice already, and it had taken an incredible amount of strength to stand again.

She had considered staying there. Lying in the dirt to wait for the inevitable. There was nothing- no one- waiting for her return. She had no reason left to live in this life. She knew how everything would turn out. They'll be fine without her.

It had started to rain then. A loud thunderstorm storm boomed in the sky. The sound of the thunder resonated in every fiber of her being, feeling her with determination. She had made a promise, hadn't she?

She couldn't give up. Not when she was so close.

Lightning illuminated her path. Their bluish light lasted enough for her to gather her bearings. Alex cupped her hands, now clean thanks to the rain to collect water.

The liquid tasted glorious, and with the risk of becoming nauseous she drank more.

"I'm not dead yet." She wouldn't give Stane the satisfaction of taking her life. He'll pay for what he did to her.

She started to run again. It seemed every little stone in the area had found their way in her path, embedding themselves in her soles, sending an excruciating pain to crawl up her legs. Alex refused to stop.

She had lost track of time. She could have been running for a full day and she wouldn't know. The darkness surrounding her seemed endless, swallowing most of the light provided by the lightnings the further she went. The canopy of trees was so close together that the sound of the thunder seemed to echo around her.

It keeps her on guard. Any trace of tiredness was gone the moment the tree's shook with the loud sound.

She couldn't even hear her own racing heart.

A lightning exploded in front of her.

A bluish light tinted her horrified expression as she dug her heels on the ground, barely avoiding the hit. She felt, her palms and knees suffering most of the damage.

She could see a trail of smoke where the lightning had landed.

Confused, Alex frowned and looking up she asked, "Am I going in the wrong direction?"

Her answer came in the form of a thunder.

Nodding, Alex stood, still looking up, "Left or Right?" She asked the sky.

From the corner of her left eye she saw a lightning land not too far.

She could ponder on the weirdness of her situation once she was out of the woods, for now, she was more than okay to be guided by the power of mother nature.

Another agonizing minutes- or hours- went by before she saw her salvation. A gas station in the middle of nowhere.

Dripping wet and covered in a mix of blood, sweat, dirt and tears was the happiest she's been in her whole life.

A laugh bubbled in her throat, she couldn't believe it!

Smiling, she looked up one last time, "Thank you."

Alex slowed her pace, suddenly aware of how tired she was as she made her way to one of the cars there.

She was close enough to the driver's window to be heard, "I need help," she barely said before her voice broke, she wanted to cry.

The woman looked startled, her blue eyes widened in fear, one of her hands flew to cover her mouth, "Jesus christ dear! What happened to you?" The woman asked as she struggled to open her door, frantically looking around to try to locate the source of danger.

Her lip trembled as she battled to pronounce the words, her tears were falling now and she shook her head slowly, she had no idea how she was still standing, "I- I was k-kidnapped,"

The woman was out now, calling for help. One of her hands was rubbing circles in Alex's back while the other was occupied with her phone.

"Don't call the police!" Alex begged, before the woman could question her, a young man stepped out of the establishment.

He hurried in their direction, holding a jacket that he draped over Alex's body, "I called an ambulance. They should be here soon." He announced.

An awkward silence fell upon then. No one knew how to address the situation besides calling the police and the paramedics.

"I need to pee," Alex said, trying to stand.

The woman came to her aid, supporting most of Alex's weight without complaining, "Where is the restroom? " she asked the boy.

He blinked owlishly, surprised at being addressed so suddenly, "Uh, they're inside. Near the entrance." He supplied as he followed close behind, "Wait, no!" He stopped, prompting them to do the same, he handed the woman a key, "Use the employee's one. It's cleaner.

(...)

The ride to the hospital was a blur. Alex could only remember being helped inside by the paramedics as the woman squeezed her hand in reassurance and wished her the best.

She had smiled then, "Thank you for everything."

The doors were closed and with that began the questioning. To their credit, the paramedics were only doing their job, so Alex tried to comply in what she could, still, that didn't mean she was about to divulge what she went through. She was still trying to process it herself.

Once it became clear she wasn't talking, they changed their approach. One of them, the man with the tattooed arm started to ask her about herself, mostly harmless questions to keep her awake.

Alex kept her responses short and polite, she didn't have the energy to deal with this. She wanted this night to be over with.

Arriving at the hospital wasn't any better.

She was sent directly to the emergency area and then placed in a room where she was evaluated and asked another bunch of the same questions she had refused to answer, accompanied by the constant reassurance of the doctor and the nurses that she was safe now as they wrote down her vitals.

She had nodded, and told them she wasn't ready to talk about it yet.

They shared a look and let her be. The doctor excused himself and left the room as one of the nurses finished taking another blood sample and followed suit, the last one was preparing an I.V, unaware of the knot of nerves that was forming in Alex's stomach.

"Is that really necessary?" She asked, fidgeting in her bed.

The nurse turned to her, pausing her movements to address Alex. She nodded, a small sympathetic smile appeared in her face emphasising the crow feet around her brown eyes, "You are severely dehydrated and malnourished," she said as if speaking to a child, "This," she picked the bag, waving it a little, "Will help you recover faster."

She released a steady breath to calm her nerves, "Okay," she nodded, "It's okay. You can proceed."

She winced as soon as the needle pierced her skin, preparing herself for a wave of dizziness that never came.

The nurse clicked her tongue, removed the needle and tried again, "Sorry, this happens sometimes."

Four attempts later and a bloody arm and Alex was properly hooked.

Needless to say, she was wary of the nurse.

She needed to distract herself, "Do you have a mirror?" She asked the nurse. After seeing the reaction from the people in the gas station and the paramedics, she was curious to see what she looked like.

The woman winced, "I see what I can do about that," she said softly, tucking her in. "For now, you should focus on getting better."

"That bad, huh?" She asked, a hint of humor in her tone.

The nurse shook her head in disapproval, whether of her words or her appearance, Alex couldn't tell, "You look fine. Just a little, rough and tired."

"So, basically I look like a Tim Burton character?"

The nurse let out a small giggle as she agreed, "Yeah, and like you had a fight with a cat, and the cat won."

It was her turn to giggle, "What about my hair?" She asked, raising a hand to touch her matted locks.

"I'm sure it's seen better days. A little dirty with leaves and mud, but fine overall."

"By your description it sounds like I could win the Miss universe right now,"

"You'll give them a run for their money, hun." She smiled as she wrote something down in her clipboard, "I'll need to check on other patients, okay? I'll return soon to check on you. If you need anything, press this button and someone will come," She instructed, pointing to the mentioned device before she left.

Alex nodded, sinking in the bed, relaxing for the first time since God knows how long.

Her peace didn't last long. As soon as she tried to close her eyes to rest the door opened revealing another nurse, who looked a little apologetic, holding bandages and what Alex could assume were antiseptic and other stuff.

"I need to check your feet," the nurse informed her, waiting for Alex nod of approval before lifting the covers. Her brows furrowed at the sight, her lips pursed in a thin line, "You poor thing," she muttered quietly lifting Alex's right foot.

She had no idea how bad it was, but judging by everyone's reaction she wasn't a pretty sight. It seemed the title of miss universe wasn't really on her reach.

The nurse worked quietly and carefully, her hands were gentle when cleaning the wounds and firm and steady when removing the remaining pebbles and dirt inside the cuts, "It looks like you won't be needing any stitches," she announced before switching to the other leg.

"Lucky me,"

The nurse snorted, "indeed, lucky you. It could be worse."

"I know," Alex muttered, closing her watering eyes, "I know." She said in a whisper that unsettled the nurse.

The woman apologized, choosing to continue her labor in silence, not wanting to upset the girl any further. Rumour has it she was a kidnapping victim that had barely made it out alive, and honestly, she could see it wasn't just a rumor. Her appearance and vitals -which were in an very alarming state- along with the amount of strong drugs found in her blood system was so insane to the point that they were surprised she was even alive, let alone conscious.

Her history had already spread all over the hospital and the police had been notified, regardless of the girl's request of not informing the authorities.

She finished her task by bandaging both appendages and with one last look at the girl's haunted form, she gathered her instruments and left.

Alex finally opened her eyes. She hated the pity looks she had been receiving since arriving. She wasn't a victim. She was a survivor.

With a tired sigh, she tried to relax again. The sole of her feet were sore and itchy, the last one being courtesy of the antiseptic, but besides that she was doing fine.

She felt weird.

She had fantasized with the idea of escaping for so long, that it seemed surreal that it was happening. She was genuinely terrified of falling asleep and waking up again in that dark room.

She would rather die than return there.

Shaking her head abruptly to rid herself of any depressing thoughts, Alex had the sudden need to see her reflection. She had to face reality sooner or later, and with nothing left to do, she chose sooner.

It was tricky to stand up without tripping and ripping her I.V on accident. Funny, hours ago she wanted nothing to do with them and now here she was, trying to keep it in place. She snorted at the irony.

Her freshly bandaged feet were stiff and hurt just a tiny bit, but made no other indicator of hindering her mission.

Dragging the metal thing where her fluid bags were hanging, Alex made her way to the bathroom.

The light was off.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes before turning the light. She mentally counted to ten, and then she opened her eyes.

She gasped. She definitely wasn't winning any beauty pageant any time soon.

She was a mess. Her skin was sickly pale and dull, her veins were visible, emphasising the purple tones of her under eyes. Her jaw line was bruised and inflamed, her lips chapped and bloodied. Her hair resembled a bird nest with the amount of knots, mud and leaves in it. It was longer as well, reaching her collarbones with no problem.

God, she could see her collarbones.

Swallowing hard she lifted her mudied top, which, thanks to the light she recognized as the same pajama shirt she had been wearing the day shit hit the fan.

She let out a sob. There was a boot shaped bruised in her chest. She could easily count her ribs too. Any definition and muscle she had gained with her training was gone. She was a sack of skin and bones, topped with a bird nest.

Her arms, hands and legs were part of a similar history, covered in scratches and cuts that she refused to remember how she got. Especially the half shaped moon cuts in her forearms.

She could understand their reactions now.

She was furious.

Her body and mind will heal. The physical marks of her ordeal will disappear soon. Her healing powers will take care of it.

"She was a survivor. She was strong. They couldn't break her. And they will pay."

She dragged herself back to her bed ready to close her eyes and rest once for all. Alex refused to be afraid.

(...)

The music blasted loudly through the lab. The glass door shook in response to it, but it was royally ignored as he busied himself by playing his imaginary air guitar as he sang along.

He cleared his throat, preparing himself to give it all for the chorus when the music was abruptly shut down.

He huffed in annoyance, glaring at the roof, "C'mon J! That was the best part," he complained.

"Sir, I found her."

A.N : I can't believe we reached 200+ reviews! let me know what you think of today's chapter.