Whaaaaat?! Two updates in 24 hours?! It must be just after the one-year anniversary of this story~ ...Holy shit it's been a year. -E
Bzzzzzzz.
Clint groaned lowly and put a hand to his head, rubbing his temple softly before opening his eyes. Blinking a few times, he let his eyes adjust to the darkness before looking over at his phone lit up on the nightstand. Checking the time, he reached over and grabbed the phone. 2:48. 'Who the hell is texting me at 2:48 in the morning? Someone better be dying,' he thought bitterly to himself.
[2:47 am, Nat] Hey, are you up?
'Tasha. I should've known.' Sighing softly, he adjusted his position to text comfortably.
[2:48 am, sent] No. Why are you up?
Closing his eyes again, he carefully balanced his phone on his forehead, waiting for her reply. Flinching slightly when it did come, he opened his eyes and grabbed the phone, wincing slightly at the light.
[2:50 am, Nat] Can't sleep… Did I wake you up?
[2:50 am, sent] Yeah, and I'm going back to sleep now. 'Night, Tasha.
Turning the screen off, he tossed his phone onto the other side of his bed, stretching his arms and legs. Rolling onto his side, he closed his eyes again, quickly falling asleep.
Bzzzzzz. Bzzzzzz. Bzzzzzz.
Clint blinked a few times, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion before realizing his phone was vibrating. Sighing loudly, he stretched his arm out and grabbed his phone. 'What now, Tasha?'
[2:51 am, Nat] Fine, jerk.
[3:13 am, Nat] I thought you said you were going to bed?
[3:14 am, Nat] I may have been in the shower, but I still heard you, idiot.
[3:14 am, Nat] I'm not coming out there in just a towel. Get out.
Clint stared at his phone, still half asleep.
[3:16 am, sent] Oooh, you're just in a towel? ;)
[3:17 am, Nat] How did you even get in?
He opened his mouth slightly, sitting up slowly, his eyebrows furrowing.
"Wait…" Looking around the room quickly, he turned on the light, the sense of deja vu flooding his brain.
[3:18 am, sent] Wait, Nat… I'm lying in my bed...
[3:18 am, sent] Has this… Already happened before?
[3:18 am, Nat] Ha ha very funny.
[3:19 am, sent] No, really. Has this happened before?
He sat, waiting for an answer. After a few moments, he sighed quickly and took a picture to prove that he was, in fact, in his bed, nowhere near her apartment building. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and leaned forwards, his elbows resting on his knees.
[3:20 am, sent] (Attachment) See? Not there.
Clint continued to wait, staring at his phone. Leaning back, his leg started bouncing in anticipation. He glanced at the clock again. 3:25. Looking back at his phone, he lit up the screen. Still no response. Something was wrong.
[3:26 am, sent] Natasha?
...Nothing.
[3:28 am, sent] Tasha, please.
[3:28 am, Nat] I was wrong.
Clint gulped slightly and adjusted his position slightly, all sense of deja vu immediately vanishing. In the middle of typing, he got another message.
[3:29 am, Nat] I heard it in the kitchen, so I opened the door, ready to kick your ass but I was wrong
[3:29 am, Nat] I was so so wrong
Goosebumps appeared all over his arms. She never, ever admitted she was wrong. At anything. The sense this had happened before slowly began creeping in again. Maybe he'd dreamed this happening before? Was this a dream? Shaking his head slightly, he replied.
[3:30 am, sent] Tasha, what is it? Who's there?
[3:30 am, Nat] I don't know if it saw me I closed the door right after I saw it
Something about the way that she kept saying "it" sent cold shivers down Clint's spine and he stood up.
[3:31 am, sent] It? Why do you keep saying it?
[3:32 am, Nat] It s not human. it was taller than th e ceiling it had to bend down
[3:32 am, Nat] It looked like it had claws instead of hands
[3:33 am, Nat] It's April 1st. If this is some sort of fucking sick joke you and Tony are playing, I'm going to fucking kill you.
[3:33 am, sent] Tasha, I promise you, it isn't.
Clint started pacing his bedroom, not taking his eyes off of his phone. Should he call the police? Should he text Tony to make sure he wasn't pulling any shit? Fingers trembling slightly, he sent Tony a message.
[3:34 am, Nat] Bullshit. You guys are assholes. Tell him to cut it out.
[3:34 am, Tony] No? I've been up with Bruce. Why?
He licked his lips slightly, trying to determine if Tony was lying or not. Tasha was right, it was April 1st, and Tony was an asshole. Especially when it came to pranking or scaring people.
[3:35 am, sent] Prove it.
He stopped pacing and glanced around the dimly lit room. Tapping his fingers on his phone lightly, he slowly sat back down on his bed, waiting.
Bzzzzzz.
[3:37 am, Tony] (Attachment) Seeeee?
Clint looked at the picture that Tony sent. The two boys were sat in front of a small tv, both holding controllers in their hands while Mario Kart was paused in the background. Something about the picture unnerved Clint- it was probably their expressions. Tony was glaring at the camera while Bruce looked as though he'd seen a ghost. Staring at the picture, he jumped slightly when the phone buzzed again.
[3:38 am, Nat] CLINT THIS ISN'T FUNNY.
[3:38 am, Nat] TELL HIM TO FUCKING KNOCK IT OFF.
[3:38 am, sent] Tasha, it isn't him. I just texted him. He's been with Bruce all night.
He stared at his phone, anxiously waiting for her to reply. After a few minutes, he started nervously opening and closing the messaging app, his leg bouncing again. Trying to focus on Tasha, his mind kept going back to the picture from Tony.
[3:44 am, sent] Tasha? Seriously, it isn't Stark. I promise..
He waited a few minutes more. Nothing. He went back to the picture, but when he tried to open it, the app crashed.
"What?" He said aloud, his eyebrows furrowing. He tried again, but the app continued to crash. Shaking his head, he went to Natasha again.
[3:49 am, sent] Natasha are you okay?
[3:49 am, sent] Please, Nat, what's going on?
[3:51 am, sent] Hello?
He should do something. But what could he do? He was miles away- if something happened… Clint began to pace around the room, trying to decide what to do, nearly dropping his phone when he got a message.
[3:58 am, Nat] It keeps calling for me… Whispering my name over and over…
[3:59 am, Nat] "Time's up"
[3:59 am, sent] Nat I'll be there as soon as possible just stay safe
Clint immediately ran around his room, grabbing his hearing aid and putting his socks and shoes on in record-time, cursing quietly to himself as he put them on the wrong feet at first. Practically running out of his room and through his apartment, he tripped straight over a laundry basket, landing face-first onto the floor.
"Ooof!" He froze for a moment. "I know this' happened before…" Staying on the floor another moment, he quickly brushed the thought away, figuring he was being ridiculous. Jumping up, he ran to the door, only to go back and grab his keys before he left. Jogging across the hall, he opened the door to Steve's apartment, walking right in and turning the lights on.
"Steve!" Clint practically shouted as he made his way into Steve's room where he was still sleeping through the already open door. Exhaling sharply, he narrowed his eyes. Grabbing one of the blankets with both hands, he pulled up in one sharp movement and suddenly Steve found himself face down on the floor next to his bed. Groaning softly, he slowly made to sat up.
"What do you want, Barton?"
"Tasha's in trouble," he said quickly, tossing a shirt to him, looking for his shoes. Steve sat up, waking up quickly.
"She's in trouble?" Standing slowly, he pulled on his shirt and grabbed some socks, sitting on the floor to put them on.
"I'll tell you on the way," Clint answered, sounding extremely distracted. "Ah!" Steve's shoes suddenly went flying past his head from the closet, one of them hitting him in the shoulder.
"Ow!" Exhaling sharply, his eyes narrowing slightly, he picked up his shoes and put them on. "...Right." Grabbing his phone, he looked up, only to see Clint was gone. "Hello?"
"Come on!" Clint called, already at the front door. Jogging out of his room and out the front door, he glanced at Clint as he locked and closed his door.
"Thor lives right by her, doesn't he?" He asked, sounding more like he was stating fact than answering a question. "Shouldn't you call him?"
"Right! I didn't even think to try Thor, actually…" Clint furrowed his eyebrows, instantly frustrated with himself. He took out his phone quickly and dialed Thor's number, putting his phone to his ear. Steve glanced at him and stayed quiet, moving quickly. Thor answered almost immediately.
"Hello?"
"Thor!" Clint practically shouted through the phone. "Thor, Tasha's in trouble. Get the hell up and over to her apartment. Now, okay?"
"She's in trouble?"
"Yes."
"How can you be s-"
"Just trust me, damn it, and get the fucking hell over there!"
"Of course," he said quickly.
"Good. Hurry up." Clint hung up and quickly put his phone back in his pocket, taking out his car keys. They were in the parking garage next to their apartment building, headed for Clint's car. Technically it was Tony's car, but he never used it. "C'mon!" he called to Steve as he climbed in the driver's seat. Automatically feeling uneasy, he shook his head and started the car, ignoring the warning in his stomach. Steve got in the car and shut the door, staying quiet.
"We're coming, Tasha," Clint whispered as he quickly pulled out of the parking garage and onto the empty street. Arriving what seemed like a matter of seconds, the boys climbed out of the car. Slightly confused, Clint stalled as he closed the door. "Did… Did that seem like it took literally no time to get here?"
"That's how long it always takes," Steve said dismissively, shutting his own door. Looking at the apartment building, Clint blinked a few times. The front door was wide open and the lights that usually stayed on 24/7 were all off.
"Alright, I've got a really bad feeling about this…" Clint said hesitantly as he slowly made his way towards the building.
"Clint, you're being ridiculous," Steve rolled his eyes, grabbing Clint's shoulders and steering him inside. Glancing around inside the dark entrance as he stepped inside, Clint took out his phone, turning on its flashlight.
"Nat's on the 7th floor… C'mon," the pair made their way silently to the stairs and began to climb them. Gripping his phone tightly, Clint read off the floor names as they reached them. "2… 3... 4… Ow… Stupid step… 5… What was that?" He stopped, spinning around to look back down the stairs.
"I didn't hear anything," Steve shook his head, looking at Clint. "Let's keep going." Giving him a weird look, Clint nodded slowly, turning back around.
"Okaaaaay… 6… 7. Okay, I think her apartment issss… Two halls… A corner… Or two… Then it's one of the ones on the… Left, I think. 7B. Got it?" Glancing behind him, Clint stopped, realizing Steve was no where in sight. "...Steve? Steve!"
Silence. Slowly turning his head to the door, he stopped again. Surely, this had happened before. He'd walk through that door alone, stumble around in the dark like an idiot, get to Tasha's… She wouldn't answer. He'd break the door open. Look around. She would be missing. Thor would show up. Maybe he had dreamed this before? Either way, he couldn't risk it. Not if Tasha's life could be on the line. Opening the door, he began making his way down the hall. After a few seconds, he stopped dead as a dark voice called to him.
"Clint….Barton…." Immediately shining his light all around, he looked for the source of the voice.
"...Who's there?"
"I'm going to kill you… Just like I killed her…" the voice whispered, the noise seeming to surround him completely. Turning forwards again, Clint yelped and jumped backwards. A gigantic creature with hundreds of arms stood in front of him. Its skin appearing to be stretched back, its eyes far too big for its head and completely black. Its mouth was huge, its teeth razor sharp and covered in blood.
"Nope!" Clint took off running in the opposite direction, rounding a corner and practically running straight into Natasha's front door. Knocking at first, he realized what he was doing was stupid, as there was a monster probably following him, just in the next hall. Instead of waiting for an answer, he took a step back and kicked the door in, mentally apologizing to Tasha and promising to pay for it.
Closing the door as best he could, he quickly began his search through the apartment, starting with the bathroom and making his way to the bedroom, not finding a single sign of Tasha. As soon as he set foot in the bedroom, he jumped, hearing a loud banging against the front door. "Shit," he whispered to himself, glancing back towards the door. "Tasha?" Walking further into the bedroom, he saw the light of a phone suddenly shining on the floor. Stooping down to pick it up, he recognized it as Tasha's phone. "Oh. Great. Of course." Unlocking the phone, he saw that he had a text message from himself. Only it was brand new. Confused, he felt in his pockets for his phone, only finding them to be empty. "Shit!"
[4:23 am, Clint] The halls are decorated in her blood.
Growling softly, he replied as quickly as he could.
[4:24 am, sent] Who the fuck is this!? WHERE IS NATASHA.
"Clint?" Clint squealed and the phone went flying into the air, hitting him in the head. Grunting softly, he rubbed his head and picked up the phone, finding Thor standing in the doorway.
"Thor! Where have you been?! I told you to go immediately to Tasha's!"
"I've looked through the entire apartment and haven't seen her. Have you?"
"...No. Obviously," Clint rolled his eyes before stopping. "Err… You didn't… See… Blood on the walls in the hallways, did you?" He asked almost awkwardly and Thor shook his head.
"No? Should I have?"
"No, no…" he shook his head quickly. "No, it's… Nevermind, that's nothing."
Bzzzzz.
Flinching slightly and almost dropping the phone in his hands again, Clint looked at it, seeing another text from "himself." Unlocking the phone quickly, he read the message.
[4:31 am, Clint] Clint, it's Natasha. I'm still in the building, but I don't have a lot of time. I'm going to call you quickly.
Heart practically leaping out of his chest, Clint glanced at Thor as the phone received an incoming call.
"Hello?! Nat?!"
"Go down," Tasha sounded from over the phone. Clint sighed softly in relief. She was alive. She was actually alive. Sure, a text was one thing, but that could have been a trick. Hearing her voice just automatically made him feel a little better.
"Tasha! Tasha you're-"
"Just go down! Keep. Going. Down," she repeated over and over again.
"Down? Down where? Tasha, where are you?" Clint quickly began making his way past Thor, through the apartment and to the front door.
"Shit! Don't use the-"
The call suddenly dropped and Clint stared at the phone.
"Tasha?! Damn it! ...Damn it!" Racing out the door and into the hall, he called back at Thor. "Thor! Come on!" Glancing behind him for a moment, he almost immediately ran straight into Tony and Bruce.
"Clint!" Bruce exclaimed happily as he jumped up off the floor, helping both Tony and Clint to their feet.
"T… Tony, Bruce, what the hell are you two doing here?"
"To help, obviously," Tony glared at him.
"I… Umm…" Pausing a moment, Clint exhaled sharply before jogging towards the stairs again. "Don't have time for this- if you're helping, follow me!" Bursting into the stairwell, Clint began taking the stairs two at a time down. After a few flights of stairs, he nearly walked straight into Steve.
"Steve! ..Steve, where have you been?!"
"What?" Steve looked at him, clearly confused. Shaking his head, he glanced around. "I've… Been right here? With you? The entire time."
"The hell you have!"
"Come on," he began to steer Clint back towards the stairs to go up, only to be stopped by Clint. "What are you doing? We have to keep going up! To find Natasha?"
"Steve. I just came from upstairs. Tasha isn't there."
"You're delirious. Come on," Steve tried again.
"Wh- No. Look," Clint insisted, glaring slightly and holding up the phone in his hand. "I've got Tasha's phone to prove it." Steve stopped and looked at him for a long time before responding.
"Clint… That's your phone…"
"No, it's-" Stopping short, Clint examined the phone in his hand more closely. He was holding his phone. Spinning it over in his hands quickly, muttering under his breath, he turned the screen on. 4:10 am. "Wait, we hadn't even left until after 4- now it's saying it's only 4:10!" Steve ignored him, staring up the stairs, hearing the faint sound of Bruce, Tony and Thor chatting as they made their way towards them. Glancing at Steve, he followed his line of sight up the stairs and heard the boys, watching them as they rounded the corner. "Ah! See?!" Pointing up the stairs, he turned to look at Steve, the presence of the others proving he was right.
Steve stood frozen at the door leading into the hallway, his back turned to Clint and his hand gripping the handle. Clint suddenly felt more uneasy than ever as he slowly walked towards Steve. "…Steve? Where are you going..?" Bruce walked onto the landing and peeked over Clint's shoulder.
"Steve?" Within seconds, Tony and Thor were behind Clint and Bruce, all of their eyes on Steve.
"Oh, uh… I, heh," Steve slowly turned to face them, a nervous grin plastered over his face. "I was gonna look for... For Natasha this way…"
"Why?" Bruce asked as he took a step forwards next to Clint. "You know her apartment is up."
"And anyway, why would she be on this floor?" Tony asked, moving out from behind Clint's other side.
"Well I- she- She could be anywhere, really," Steve forced a chuckle, his hand still firmly on the door handle.
"You're acting weird as hell, Rogers," Tony crossed his arms, one eyebrow cocked. "What's goin' on?"
"What aren't you telling us?" Clint demanded, crossing his own arms. Thor glanced back up the stairs and then at Steve, tall enough to see him clearly over Tony, Clint and Bruce's heads. Steve merely shook his head.
"You guys can look wherever you want. But I'm going this way," he insisted, giving them a twisted grin and was immediately through the door, slamming it behind him.
"Damn it, what the hell?!" Clint charged forwards. "Steve!" he yelled as he swung open the door, only to stop in his tracks. Running down the hallway with its back to the boys was the creature from upstairs. The only difference now being Steve's hair falling from its scalp, his skin peeling away from the creature's back, and his clothes scattered down the hall behind it. The four stood completely motionless in the doorway as they watched the creature round the corner out of sight.
"What," Bruce finally managed after a few moments of silence.
"The fuck," Tony added immediately.
"Was that?" Bruce finished almost numbly. Tony's jaw was hanging open slightly as he continued to stare at where the creature had disappeared to. Thor had the small hints of a smirk on his face.
"We should go find Natasha," Thor suggested casually, looking at Clint.
"Yep!" Clint practically slammed the door shut again and took down the stairs again.
As he got to the bottom of the steps on the ground floor, he went and quickly opened the door, immediately freezing in his place.
"Why are we stopping?" Tony asked, stopping quickly so he didn't walk into Clint. Рooked from Clint to the hall, his jaw immediately dropping open slightly.
"What's-" Bruce stopped as he stared at the hallway in front of them.
"Is there a problem?" Thor asked, annoyed. "I thought we were in a hurry?"
"But we went down," Clint finally said, numbly. "We went down." In the hall was the same discarded clothes mixed with shredded skin and hair as before. Clint shut the door and opened it again, as if the scene in front of them would change, but it still remained the same. "There's no way." He took off running down the stairs again, but as he got to the floor below, he found himself standing behind the boys again. "What?!" he yelled and the other three spun around, all with different levels of shock on their faces.
"Didn't you just…?"
"...But you.." Clint took off up the stairs instead, hoping to end up on the third floor. Yet when he reached the next floor, he found himself standing in front of his friends yet again.
"This isn't right!" he ran up the stairs again, only to come to the second floor a third time. "Okay… Okay… So we're trapped on this floor," Clint said to himself, starting to pace in circles on the landing. Looking between Tony and Bruce, Clint stopped again, his face paling. "Wh… Where did Thor go…?" Bruce and Tony immediately looked around the stairwell, their eyes widening.
"But he was just here!"
"How… Did you lose him?" Clint stared at them, his mouth hanging open slightly. "Wait… Wait… No… I've… I've seen this before… I know I have… Tasha is missing. Probably in the basement. Steve is missing. Probably dead. Thor is missing…" Tony and Bruce exchanged concerned glances.
"Clint… What are you talking about?"
"Next we- We go out into the hall… It's dark… We're using our phones to see. Hand in hand…"
"I would never walk hand in hand with either of you," Tony interrupted quickly, but Clint continued regardless.
"We go down the stairs at the other end of the building…" He was pacing now.
"Clint, you're not making any sense."
"We reach the ground floor-"
"Is that why we're still right here with the stairs that keep sending us back to this floor?"
"-And we split up-"
"That's a dumb idea. We would never do that." Bruce objected bitterly, his arms crossing. Tony glared at Clint, nodding.
"-And Bruce! Bruce gets taken by the creature!"
"'Creature?' Clint, now you're just making shit up."
"Tony goes running, but he's too… He's too late, and-"
"Clint!" the two men began yelling his name, louder and louder each time they opened their mouths.
"-And I go running after Tony-"
"Clint!"
"-But by the time I get there, it's taken him too-"
"CLINT!"
"And then it-"
"CLINT!"
"-it took me." The two men went silent as they stared at Clint, their eyes unblinking, their faces motionless. Clint looked between them. "The monster took me. And none of this is real, is it?" As if on cue, Tony and Bruce opened their mouths, and a piercing screech came from them and surrounded Clint. Gasping and nearly ripping out his hearing aid, Clint covered his ears, wincing slightly, still able to hear the noise as if he still had his hearing aids in. Through the screeching sound, however, he could still hear a voice faintly calling to him.
"Clint! Clint! Can you hear me?! Clint!"
(I'm so sorry for how much of that was repeated from other chapters but it was necessary)