I actually liked writing this and kinda liked the end result, hope you do too:)
Thanks to Christoffer Mrch, Elizabetch, Professor R.J Lupin1, Tick Tock Follow The Clock, for following/favoring since I submitted the rewritten chapters, and thx to fairyblue1123 for reviewing again. Glad you're enjoying my story and I'll try to keep it up.
Chapter SIX
July, 2015
The first thing I notice when I open my eyes is how cold I am. It's not like the kind of cold you would get from walking outside in the winter, or from a small breeze. It was deep, deep in my bones. In my very core.
I don't...remember. What happened? This isn't Hydra. I keep my eyes closed, cutting off my sight to strengthen the other senses. The sounds of pipes and air conditioning is too quiet, almost muffled. Much more importantly the buzz is different. It's stronger now than I've ever felt it before my entire life and it's everywhere. I open my eyes to slits, my vision darkened through my eyelashes. The bed I'm in is big, adult sized. I'm not wearing that horrid grey uniform, meaning the only mark left of Hydra is the small black tattoo on my inner wrist. Right below my number: 0298. Which is right below a vertical, raised, white scar. Instead I'm in a set of dark blueish sweats, with a small eagle insignia on the left chest. Stickers with wires running to a weird machine are stuck on my hands and I can feel them on my face. I fight the urge to rip them all off.
Suddenly, door handle rattles and close my eyes, struggling not to shiver. Two sets of heavy footsteps but must stop just inside the doorway. A lighter more delicate pair of heeled footfalls walk closer, and I subtly take deep breaths to keep from trembling. What's going on?
"We know you're awake." Says a female voice. I don't move. It could be a bluff.
"The monitors. Trust me, we know your resting vitals because you've been out since you were recovered about a week ago." I struggle to understand the voice. 'Recovered'? I can't remember. It must of just been another round of trials. That would explain the memory gaps, but not this place. A few more moments pass before I see the pointlessness of pretending and give in to curiosity, opening my eyes.
The first thing I take in before the speaker is the two armed guards behind her. Again, they are not Hydra, but instead have the same eagle logo on their uniforms. They each have a visible gun, but weirdly I don't recognize the model- I chalk it up to all the other memory issues I'm currently experiencing- and various other bulges that suggest hidden weapons. The voice is wearing a wearing an official looking pantsuit.
"Ah, there she is. Sleeping beauty." What the hell is sleeping beauty? I just stare at her, blankly.
"My name is Maria Hill. Now, I have no doubt you are very confused right now…" she trails off as she sees me notice the pair of handcuffs locking my wrists to the thick plastic handrails of the bed. I shake them, testing the cuff's strength.
"Please, those are just a precaution. You trust us, we trust you, we can get those taken care of. After you show us some trust." I don't respond.
"She does speak English, right? The file said that at least?-," She says as she presses her finger up to her ear and seems to mutter to herself. I'm puzzled by this action before I sense the electricity behind her ear.
"Where am I?" As I speak though, something far greater renders everything else void. The lightness of my neck, the absence of the constant pressure upon my throat; the collar was gone. I could barely remember a time when it hadn't been present to choke me, promising pain at the command of a little button. "You got it off?"
"Oh yes, tricky little piece of work that was. Now if you can answer some questions for us, your file we recovered was incomplete." She narrows her eyes. "Let's get this off the table first. You are an enhanced, correct?"
"What?" I asked.
"Abilities?" She clarifies and I cough in response, my mouth suddenly dry. "Ah, the nurse did tell me. You're comatose for a week and where are my manners? I'll be right back with a glass of water."
"Wait. This isn't Hydra." I say and she turns back around. "Who are you?"
"Shield, ma'am. Strategic homeland intervention, enforcement and logistics division. Hydra is gone." She must see the relief in my face. Even through all the many masks my conditioning built up, no amount of stoicism can hide my relief at that.
"You're safe now." She said with an understanding tone. Like she's dealt with this before. "Stay right there," she awkwardly pauses for a moment as I attempt to lift my arms and she shrugs before continuing. "We have a lot to explain to you."
As she leaves I fall from being propped up on my elbows to flat on my back. I lay there for moment to give time for the guards to follow her out before I try it. Stretching out my thumb and index finger, I give a minuscule surge, barely above a static shock you would get from charged clothing. A tiny white blue bolt flashes between them. I smile, not having to worry about the collar and I want to surge with all my power on my own accord. That would be bad though, so I don't. I give another small surge because I can't help it just as the door opens again.
It's not the lady with short dark hair. Instead it's a burly man with a crooked nose. Immediately I sense there's something off about him.
"Experiment 0298." He addresses me. "Hail Hydra."
That word, experiment, triggers something inside me and instantly I remember in flashes. The alarms. Agents pulling me out of my cell to the lower levels of the base. Meeting Annalise, Haydn, and Karl in that room. The room with large glass tubes and all the scientists. The four of us we crowded together in a circle of guards. I remember electricity pouring out of my bodies into the bodies of my only friends. Just enough to kill.
"No." I say firmly, praying it doesn't sound like I'm trying to convince myself. "Hydra is gone. She said Hydra is gone."
"We will never be gone. We are Hydra. Ready to comply?" He looks down at me.
"I'm not Hydra." I said, taking deep breaths. His arm snakes out and he grabs my arm, turning it over and pressing his thumb to the Hydra insignia tattoo.
"You will always be Hydra. We will take you back with us, regardless of your answer. The higher ups would just like to know how you wish to be treated, which side you're on. They're actually quite glad to have rediscovered you and are willing to overlook certain actions from your past. You need to choose. I'll ask one more time, ready to comply?" He speaks quickly, as if wanting to get out of the room quickly. The Shield logo is his uniform but Hydra propaganda is spewing from his mouth. The lady was wrong. I am anything but safe.
"Hail Hydra." I respond.
"So your time under has wisened you," He says, and reaches to under the handcuffs. I wait for him to undo the left one, and as soon as he opens second cuff, I surge as hard as I can.
He can barely scream, the volts impairing all his functionalities. The smell of burning hair fills my mouth and nose, but I'm used to it. I climb of the bed, delightfully ripping the wire sticker things off, and notice with annoyance that the last cuff is still on, just one side attached to my wrist. As soon as my feet hit the floor, my legs buckle and my muscles turn to jelly. I growl and surge in frustration, my hair hair raising as ribbons of electricity crawl over my body. Come on, I think, you need to escape.
Suddenly red light began to flash, bathing the room in a bloody filter, and a blaring alarm sounding. With that I found a way to get back on my feet and I stood, balancing precariously. I run painfully to the door, and feeling the threads of energy, pry off the light switch cover to reach deep inside and place my hands on the bare wires. I let out another strong pulse of lighting, and the circuits began to override, plunging the building into darkness and cutting off the alarm.
I open the door and take off as fast as I can, no idea where I am going. All I knew was that I had to get away. The necessity to stay calm took over instinctively, and my senses reached out. Maria had had a small electronic in her ear and I could detect them coming down the hallway I was currently in.
"Come out now." A familiar female voice calls out. Maria Hill. She was so nice, I'm tempting to come out before I think about how that would appear. She doesn't know that man was Hydra. To her, I just killed one of her agents and knocked out the power to whatever building this is. That or she's Hydra herself. I can't take the risk. I will not let anyone control me again.
I turned around a corner and using the earpieces to avoid any other guards. After going up three flights of stairs and countless hallways, I find an exterior door and dart outside.
The sky is dark, like the sun has just set, and a misty cold surrounds me, although it's not as cold as the chill inside me. I'm in a wide alleyway and I take a second to catch my breath before running again. As soon as I get out of the side street though, my breath is gone again. The buildings are tall. Too tall. There are lights everywhere, huge colorful moving pictures cover the buildings. It's loud. Honks and shouting and noisy engines. I could have stood there for hours if not for the crushing hand that grips my upper arm.
Reflexively, I surge. However the guard is wearing some sort of thick insulative covering. I swing my other arm around and before he can catch it, I claw his helmet and face protection off and let out a shock straight into his skull, making sure it's non fatal this time. Just enough to incapacitate him. Guards are behind him and I take off again, not stopping for anything.
I run for what seems like an eternity, taking random streets and turns until I'm positive I've lost them. Sometimes on the edge of my vision I swear there's a shadow trailing me, swinging from building to building. Occasional search lights come inexplicitly from the sky and I have to dodge them to avoid being seen. You can't let them catch you, you can't let them catch you, I repeat in my head over and over. That's still the only thing going through my head when a circle of white light sweeps in front of me and I jump off the sidewalk into the street. It's still the only thought as a horn blares in my ear, and screeching tires slide against the ground and something slams into me.
You can't let them catch you, you can't let them catch you, you can't let them catch you...
Thxxxxxx