Hard to Run

She woke up, her neck hurting from sleeping in a stranger position. At first she thought it might have been a dream. She always dreams about messed up stuff like that. But she opens her eyes, and sees Otto across the room in a chair, his back turned to her. She looks away, and sighs.

This place is broken, and seems dead in the sunlight, as if it's waiting for the night. The ground is wood, and the walls are metal. It seems empty and hollow inside. Another broken pier maybe if they're near the ocean. Otto sits on the other side of the pier. She sees that all the debris is on the side she lays on. Where Otto is working, is clean and clear.

He doesn't even turn to her when a tentacle reaches over towards her, laying a plate of scrambled eggs and sausage for her, before returning back to Otto. The arm opens it's red eye, to stare at her, and she notices Otto twitches. She stares back at the arm, before it leaves her with food.

Abbie stares at the food for a while, not wanting to eat. Not feeling much up to it. She doesn't even like eggs, not that she's ever really tried them. Only cereal welcomes her for breakfast before going to school. It is after all the easiest thing to make.

So she rests her head back on the floor, and stares at Doctor Octopus.

She remembers when Doctor Octopus wasn't Doctor Octopus. She did a report on Otto Octavius once, for science class. Of course, it was before recent times. Abbie frowns. She wonders what happened to him. After all he had a wife, he was happy wasn't he? He had a life, a career, a reputation...Otto Octavius, he had a good life. Respect among all. He was happy. She saw it, she read it, she could quote him saying that. He was happy. What happened? He could have gotten those arms off of him. What happened? Did he wake up and freak out, killing all those doctors? But why? Why run away? Run away from anyone who was trying to help you? It makes no sense...

But the fact he was talking to those things, did make sense either.

She's never heard anything about those things talking...

Abbie remembers reading online what had happened. She met up with Peter at the theater a week later, and asked about it. Peter didn't really seem like he wanted to talk. Peter never talks anymore though.

She looks online, and sees what people are saying. "Madman turns himself into Monster." All the news reports say. She assumed it was an accident by what she read. But that's Abbie. Always thinking the better of people. She never thought of The Otto Octavius as being a monster. He couldn't. But there she was, kidnapped, by him.

He still doesn't look at her. He kidnaps her, and doesn't even bother to look at her. As if she's nothing.

How he reminds her of her father.

"Aren't you hungry?" He says, but doesn't turn to her.

She gasps, as he speaks to her, but doesn't say anything.

Maybe if she doesn't say anything, he won't hurt her. That works with her dad. Just go home and not say anything. Run to your room, and not say anything. Leave him alone and not say anything. Then maybe everything will be okay.

It doesn't always work though.

But that's how it is when your father is drunk all the time.

You learn to live with it.

There, lying on the floor, all huddled up, she stares at him, watching him. Waiting for him to look at her, wanting him to say go home. Preparing for him to hurt her. She huddles up in those blankets, as if they'll protect her. As if he wont' be able to see her, like no one sees her when she wears black.

She's scared. She's scared for her life. She knows about Otto Octavius, she's seen it all, read it all before. He's insane. And she's scared.

She's going to die, that thought in the back of her head, haunting her. He said he wouldn't, but he's killed before. He's killed doctors and people, why would he care about some little gothic want to be girl? And that makes her scared.

So she huddles up tighter, but he doesn't even look at her.

She wants to go home. Not to her father, to her room. Back to her world, with the Matrix posters on the wall, and the drawings of spider-man. Back to her computer, and her Internet that connects her to the rest of the world, beyond her room, beyond her father.

Out there, somewhere in that world, is her mother.

Back to her computer, with all the stuff she's written. Back to the Internet, she needs to upload some new story. Back to the rest of the world.

But as she stares at Otto's back, with her pleading eyes, he doesn't even notice.

He doesn't need her. She's just some kid. Just some kid in the crowd who knows Peter Parker, and has a dad that hits her. Just some kid that wears a black trench coat so no will judge her. Just some hopeless kid, somehow maintaining good grades in school. Just some kid. She couldn't do anything for him.

Nothing for Doctor Octopus.

Then she starts eating her eggs.

She lies there, for what seems like hours, locked in silence. Hoping in silence she'll be freed. She watches the metal ceiling, and the wooden floor. She watches the debris she rests on. She watches the wall, and behind that wall is home.

The morning turns to day, and Abbie knows her father still hasn't noticed she's gone.

He still doesn't look at her much, maybe a shrug or two are made that are meant for her. But so far he hasn't looked at her all day. She doesn't know what he's doing. What is so important that he would forget his own hostage. Not even come to console her. Nothing. All day leaning over a desk, with those arms looking all around.

She watches as one arms hands him something, and sparks start flying.

And soon it's the little things Abbie begins to notice.

Staring at Doctor Octopus, she sees those arms. She watches them as they perform some task that seems needed to be done.

She begins to wonder, seeing them like this, if those arms really have their own minds. Something close to it. They seem to go their separate ways sometimes, wander off and find something to do.

The top right one always seems to stay close to Otto, watching him work. As if it were his mother. Making sure he was doing it right, or something. And the top right one even comes to lay on Otto's shoulder. She wonders if it's resting, or just trying to comfort Otto.

The two bottom ones are the ones that are looking around and grabbing supplies. The ones that look at her, and tilt whatever is their heads. Then they turn to Otto. And Otto always shrugs.

The left top one, is the curious one. Sneaking around, opening boxes, and exploring their insides. The one that looked at her in a funny way, if that is possible by a metal claw. The one that wrapped itself around Otto's left leg, as if scared it would be torn from him.

Of course, no one except Otto really knows how those things work.

And soon in place of Otto, the top left arm slowly crawls over towards her. Abbie has no choice but to wrap herself around her blanket, and prey it goes away. But instead it opens it's claws to reveal it's red eye.

Then it speaks.

"Ahh!" Abbie crawls away.

And the arm itself backs away quickly. Otto finally looks over, as the arm whimpers over towards him.

"It's all right." Otto says simply.

Abbie doesn't know who he is talking to.

And soon she realizes that man she's looking at is Doctor Octopus, not that man. That man has murdered. That man has hurt. That man is a monster.

The left arm hisses at her as it wraps itself around Otto again.

She'll rot in here. She'll be killed in here.

Here she'll never be found. Dad won't file her as missing. He'll just drink more. No one will look for her. Peter will wonder. Her peers will wonder whatever happened to that girl who wore black. Her internet buds, the only ones who will miss her. And most of them live millions miles away.

She'll die here. Her killer the man she was so curious about. The last thing she'll see is the very thing she wanted to see. Those arms. Those amazing arms, monsters.

And Otto Octavius, the man she wondered so much about, will be the last one to see her alive.

She's lived a life. She could live it much better.

Maybe publish some of those poems laying around on her floor...

Maybe ask Peter about his acting friend...

Maybe call the police next time Dad gets mad...

Abbie who pushed the world away from her, and went into the shadows. Abbie whose known as that girl in black. Abbie who spent all her life locked up in her room with a computer.

The day turns to night, and finally Otto leaves his desk, to walk into a corner, obviously looking for something.

Then Abbie looked to her right, the other side of whatever she was in. This place, this room. There was a way out. A little broken window.

It's cold, and it's night. Spider-man isn't looking for her. It's hard to run.

But she gets up and runs.

She kicks the window, breaking the remaining glass, and runs. And as she stumbles onto the pier, she hears hissing behind her.

It's hard running, when you haven't moved all day. Sitting there all day, thinking about your life.

Deciding you don't want to die.

It's hard to run in the cold.

Hard to run back to a home you run away from.

She looks behind her to see four mechanical arms chasing after her.

Hard to run back into the arms of a hurtful father. Back to the life you try to avoid.

Then she looks to her right, and jumps into what is the ocean. She thanks god, she knows how to swim. She goes underneath the pier, grabbing onto the bottom of the floor, taking quiet breaths.

The arms looked up at Otto, who stares down at the water.

Good thing she was within reach.

Then the arms went into the water after her. She looks up at the floor, to look through the cracks, and see if Otto was still there. She couldn't see anything, and she turned her head.

Then Abbie screamed.

A red light stared at her, and then she felt a tugging at her leg. And she's dragged into the water, and out. The arm holds her by her ankle, as it pulls her out of the water upside down.

"Please, don't try that again." Otto says simply, looking at her.

She stares at him, and nods.

Then gently he sets her down on the pier, flat on her back. Abbie started shaking from the cold, and breathing harder, seeing her breath. He waited for her to get up, and looked down at her.

"I'm cold." She whispered.

"Of course you are. You're all wet now." Otto frowned. "Come."

Then a mechanical arm gently grabbed her by the hand, and helped her lift herself up.

"I'll get you some more blankets." Otto said.

With that Otto, started walking back to that broken building at the end of the pier, and Abbie stared at him as he walked away. Otto looked back at her.

"How do you know I won't try and run again?" Abbie asked, shakily.

"Because you can't run from me." Was all he said.

Then he started walking again. Abbie waited a moment, looking back the city that she called home. She could start running again. She'd get a good head start. Then she looked back at Otto. But he would catch her. And he would punish her.

Then Abbie started walking after Otto.