Anthony heard commotion, and went to investigate.
"Step one foot outside...and you're mine..."
He cringed at the door being slammed, and heard some moaning and a huff of disappointment.
"We should've just left it alone..." He heard a voice getting closer.
"Bucky, I know, but we can't do anything now. We're trapped..."
"Just shut up! Give me a minute."
Anthony waited for a moment and went to move around the rafters of the bell tower.
"...hello?"
Shit...I really need to practice on stealth.
"Is someone there?"
Anthony kept moving farther away from the voice, but the faster he went, the louder he became until...
"Hi! I'm sorry. We were just exploring when, well, I'm sure everyone could hear the ruckus we caused down there..."
Anthony climbed up into the bells, weaving in and out to try to lose this man who just kept following him, talking his ear off.
"My name is Steve, by the way...just in case, of, well, you know, stranger-danger..." Steve laughed to himself. Smooth, real smooth.
He stared down from his perch at the man, admiring his persistence to talk to someone. Maybe he did not like being alone. He could definitely relate sometimes.
"What's your name?"
Anthony realized too late that Steve was really close to him, thankfully the shadows were hiding his face. He turned to leave.
"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to frighten you. I guess I get overly talkative when I'm nervous and trapped in a place that I didn't plan on being trapped in. But it's no big deal. Me and my friends, we've gotten out of a lot worse. This building is beautiful..." Steve squinted his eyes, trying to get a good look at the man. "You can come on out...I don't bite."
He did not know where to go or what to do.
"I'm sorry..." He mumbled, and knocked a smaller bell to distract Steve and ran.
"Hey!" Steve tried to chase after him, but could not navigate in the dark so well, and around all of these bells.
Anthony kept pushing through, and he opened up a trap door, dropping down to a private prayer room and his heart was racing!
"That was too close..."
"You're telling me...you scared me to death!"
He did not turn around, for fear of subjugating this woman to even more horrors that she could never unsee. But he had nowhere else to go...
"I'm sorry..." He said again, this time quieter, ashamed of putting himself in this situation. This was getting to be too much for him. Maybe Thanos was right...
"No, you're fine, it's just you scared me when you suddenly fell from the ceiling and almost landed on top of me!" She laughed. But when he kept staring at the wall, she got more confused. "Are you ok? Are you hurt?" She reached out to touch his shoulder, but he winced at the touch, and she stepped back, not expecting that kind of reaction.
"I'm ok...just...not supposed to be here..."
"None of us are. Come on, let's find a way to get out of here, and-" She went to circle him around, and when he screamed "NO!" [once again, not the reaction she thought was needed] and shoved her away to keep her from screaming in terror, he was surprised she just looked confused instead.
They stared at each other for a minute in shock and silence, both trying to figure the other out.
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." Anthony could not make eye contact anymore. "I shouldn't even be here...I heard something and doors slamming, and I just-"
"Hey, you're ok...my name is Carol...like I said, let's just get out of here, and-"
"I can't..."
"Did he imprison you too?"
"No! This is my sanctuary...I...I've said too much, I need to-"
"Carol?" Steve opened the door and his eyes rested on Anthony, and Anthony stared back in fear. "Well, you're hard to keep up with. Now we can properly meet." He held out his hand. "I'm Steve."
Anthony was trapped, and he had no idea why these people were so persistent in talking to him.
Did they not see what he looked like?
"Is this some kind of test? Like, I get it, I deserved to be punished, but..."
"Why would you think that?" Carol reached out to grab his hand.
He backed away. "Like that, for example. No offense, but are you all blind? Because this..." He gestured to his face. "Is not meant to be seen and treated normally..."
"What's a scar? It's nothing to be ashamed of..." Steve raised his shirt up. "See, there's more like that all over me."
"Because you never know when to stop while you're ahead." Carol rolled her eyes. "I've got scars too." She tilted her head and pushed her hair back, revealing one on her neck.
"And if you've seen my friend, Bucky, well, let's just say, he used to be the most eligible bachelor in the land..."
"I'm right here, you know." Bucky was leaning against the door. "What are you, some kind of guardian angel of this place?"
"Bucky, stop." Steve introduced them. "He...lives here?"
"Yes..." Anthony answered.
"Churches do always seem to be a nice place to crash...not one I would pick on my own free will..."
"Why are you all here anyway? I mean...everyone is welcome here, obviously, it's just..."
"We can't stay out of trouble with the law anywhere we go because we're just a bunch of stubborn assholes who like to pick fights with the biggest bullies." Bucky explained sarcastically.
"Don't take it personally..." Anthony understood. "Minister Thanos just wants what's best for us, and he has standards-"
"That we will never achieve because he thinks we're a bunch of evil witches." Carol played it off like a joke, but deep down she was still disturbed by what he said, and did to her.
"Well, I'm beat, so guest rooms are..." Bucky looked around confused.
"Oh, pardon me, this way."
They followed Anthony to some private quarters meant for extremely sick or wounded patients that were empty.
"Stay here as long as you like. If you need anything, I'll be where you found me."
"Thank-you, Anthony." Steve smiled warmly at him.
Anthony left without another word, pinching himself because he had to be dreaming.
This was not how things were supposed to go at all...