Clint spun around to look towards the kitchen where the front door was but it was still too dark to see anything.
"Shit," he whispered as he turned back towards the quiet bedroom. Without thinking, he reached for his phone in his pocket only to remember stupidly dropping it just minutes earlier. "Shit!" Clint walked further into the bedroom, almost tripping over some clothes laying on the floor. "Natasha? Are you in here?" he whispered louder.
Silence.
Quickly glancing back at the doorway to make sure nothing was there, he went further still into the room.
Bzzzz.
A phone lit up on the floor near his feet, nearly causing him to jump out of his skin.
"Ohhhhh that's happening now alright, okay," he said aloud quickly before stooping down to grab the phone. It was Natasha's. Stealing another glance at the door, he looked at the screen, squinting slightly at the sudden brightness.
[1 incoming text from Barton J]
His breath caught in his throat and his stomach dropped. Clint immediately entered her password and unlocked it, opening the text.
[4:23 am, Barton J ] The halls are decorated so beautifully in her blood. Didn't you notice?
Clint glanced at the still empty doorway again and looked back at the phone. He could barely type, his fingers trembling uncontrollably.
[4:24 am, sent] Who the fuck is this!? WHERE IS NATASHA.
"Clint!" Thor suddenly whispered loudly from where he stood, peeking around the doorway. Clint yelped, dropping the phone and stumbling backwards back onto the floor.
"Thor?!" he whispered breathlessly. "Where the hell have you been?! Do you know where Tasha is?"
"No," he shook his head quickly, glancing behind him before entering the room. "I only just got in," he whispered sheepishly. "I had heard Natasha's door slam shut from down the hall and came running. It was locked, so I had to kick it in… I will pay for any damage I have done to it, however!" Thor paused, looking around the room for the first time. "She isn't here. I've searched the entire apartment."
"Yeah, so have I," Clint grunted softly as he finally got back up, staring at the phone again. There was still no response. "You didn't, uh, see anything unusual about the hallways when you were coming down here, did you?" If anyone, Thor would have noticed any abnormalities, living just two stories above Tasha.
"Not that I can recall," he said, still not fully understanding what was happening, and obviously still not fully awake, either. "Was there something different about the halls?"
"I don't know," Clint answered simply, quickly jogging past him and through the apartment to the broken door. Stopping short, he stared at the hallway in front of him. His mouth was opened slightly, the phone falling out of his hand onto the floor. Thor rushed to his side and looked both ways down the hall. His eyebrows furrowed again as he looked at Clint.
"What? What is the matter?"
"What the hell is going on?" Clint said, mainly to himself, as he stared at the perfectly lit hallway: not one scratch or mark on the walls, not one thing out of the ordinary.
Bzzzzz.
"Hello?" Tony's voice sounded from the door buzzer. "Nat? Are you there?"
"That's a stupid question, Tony. Think for a minute!" Bruce's said, his voice a little softer than Tony's. "Move! Let me!" Clint rushed to the door buzzer.
"Tony? Bruce? I'm going to buzz you up! Be careful. Something isn't right here," Clint said quickly into the mic. He remembered how when he and Steve had arrived: how they had somehow managed to get buzzed in with no one in the—
Steve.
"And keep an eye out for Steve! I lost him somewhere near floor 5 and didn't have time to look for him!" he said loudly into the mic before hitting the button to let them in.
"You lost Steven?" Thor asked, appalled. "How do you lose Steven?"
"I don't know! One second he was right behind me, the next, I turn around and he's nowhere to be seen."
"Clint," Thor's tone leveled, his face growing serious. "What is going on?"
Bzzzz.
Clint jumped slightly, having almost forgotten about the phone. Quickly going and picking it back up again, he unlocked it and opened the new message.
"Clint."
"Hold on."
"Clint."
"Hold on!"
[4:31 am, Barton J ] Clint?! Clint it's me. I don't have a lot of time. I'm still in the complex if you just it sounds like its walking away im going to try and call you quick but I don t have a lot of time
Bzzzz. Bzzzz. Incoming call: Barton J
Clint had only gotten halfway through reading the text when the call waiting screen popped up. Exhaling sharply, he answered and put the phone to his ear quickly.
"Hello?! Tasha?"
"Clint- I don't- I have to be quick," Natasha whispered on the other end. Her voice was breathy and hoarse sounding, but still a rush of relief went through Clint.
She was alive.
"Where are you?!" he asked quickly, one hand on resting on the back of his neck, his elbow pointed in the air.
"I'm still here," she inhaled sharply and went quiet, covering the mic on the phone.
"Natasha?" he called immediately, forcing himself to stay quiet. "Natasha, are you there?"
"Down," Tasha said quickly into the phone. "Down. Just keep going down, and don't stop. You'll find me. Just. Go. Down."
"Already on my way," Clint replied shortly, glancing at Thor before turning into the hallway. "Tash, I'm on my way, okay?"
"Shit, Clint, don't use th-" she whispered and the line went dead.
"Tasha?" he quickened his pace and glanced at the phone. "Damn it! Thor, come on!"
"You still haven't explained what's going on!"
"I'll explain on the way!" Rounding the corner, he immediately ran into Tony, causing the both of them to fall onto the floor.
"Clint!" Bruce quickly helped the two of them to their feet. "Where's Natasha?"
"Down."
"Down?" Tony asked skeptically. "We were just 'down' and she wasn't there, Barton."
"What in all the nine realms is going on? Where is Natasha?"
"Down!" Clint repeated, making his way down the hall once more. The other three quickly followed him. "Did you see Steve?"
"No," Tony's eyebrows were furrowed. "You said you lost him?"
"Yeah, it… Was dark earlier," Clint answered, sounding a little unsure of himself. It was dark, wasn't it? And there were scratch marks on the walls, he was sure of it… But then, where was the creature? It had followed him up until Natasha's door, and then suddenly was gone? He rounded another corner and sped to the door.
Thor quickly jogged in front of Clint and blocked the door.
"Clint," he bowed his head slightly, his eyes narrowed. "Where is Natasha?"
"Get out of the damn way!" Clint roared, trying to move him from the doorway. "Thor, please, just trust me. We're running out of time!"