SIX
So here we are, fighting and trying to hide the scars.
I'll be home tonight, take a breath and softly say goodbye.
The lonely road, the one that I should try to walk alone.
I'll be home tonight, take a breath and softly say goodbye.
- "Here We Are," Breaking Benjamin
After they landed at the airport, Loki scrapped his plans of escape; the airport was far too empty for him to turn invisible.
He resigned himself to one of his other plans of escape, the one he had been most reluctant to follow through with. It consisted of him lulling Alana into a false sense of security, then escaping when she least expected it.
He hated that plan. He wanted to leave as soon as possible.
Alana drove the black car that was waiting for them at the airport.
"It's mine," she told Loki cheerfully. "S.H.I.E.L.D. always wants to get chauffeurs, but I'd rather drive myself. At least they bought the car!"
She laughed.
Loki looked out the window and said nothing.
Alana sighed a little. She guessed that Loki didn't want to talk, but it still disappointed her a bit. Living with a person who pretty much refused to talk to her would not be so great.
But then again, he had just fallen from the sky and almost died.
Alana decided to give him some time and space to figure out what he wanted to do.
She drove the rest of the way in silence, stopping only to type in a security code and give her fingerprint to the pad at the gate.
The metal gates opened with a clunk and she drove through, the gates closing behind her.
"There's a lot of security on the outside. Sometimes I think that S.H.I.E.L.D. wants to keep me in one place for as long as possible. Oh, and tomorrow I'll program your fingerprint in so that you can get inside, too."
Loki glanced at her, puzzled. Did that mean she was going to let him out?
The car parked outside of a large, modern house, all glass and sleek black. Only two or three lights were on inside, not fully illuminating the house in the dark of the night.
Alana stepped out of the car and breathed in deeply. It was always nice to be back home and smell the fresh air and the trees. Loki stepped out of the car too, taking in his surroundings.
Alana walked up into the house and entered her fingerprint and the passcode again. The doors unlocked and she stepped inside, Loki following her.
She flicked on a light switch and Loki saw a spacious room with comfortable leather chairs and sofas. A bowl of fruit sat on a low coffee table.
She walked up the stairs and opened the door furthest down the hallway with Loki following silently.
"This is your room," she said.
Loki looked at the pale gray walls, the black comforter, and the black desk. The room was large, though not the size of his on Asgard. Glass doors led out to a small balcony overlooking a swimming pool. It was neat and tidy.
"It will be adequate," he said.
Alana smiled tentatively. "I expect you're pretty tired. I'll show you around in the morning, if you like."
Loki nodded curtly.
Alana added, "If you need anything, I'm just down the hall."
Loki looked coldly at her. "What would I need from you?'
Alana shrugged, then said, "Goodnight," and left, closing the door on her way out.
Loki wandered around the room, examining the adjoining bathroom and flipping through some books he found on the bookshelves.
He paused as he found a leather-bound sketchbook lying on the bottom shelf. It was blank, but as he flipped through it, he found a scrap of paper tucked in between two pages. On it, the word hide was written over and over again.
Loki paid it no mind, closing the book and placing it back on the shelf.
Pulling off his shirt, he fell into the bed, worn out from his day of travel.
He slept uneasily, haunted with dreams of falling.