Girl At War

Escape and Contact - 8

After the initial panic, Eloyse was calm. She kept her pace to a walk or slow jog, not wanting to risk getting lost in this maze of hallways and doors. She'd never been in a building like this before. All the buildings she'd ever seen had one room. She wondered how they heated this giant place. More explosions shook the ground. Eloyse skittered sideways as the floor rocked.

Somebody was really into destroying this place!

She upped her pace, nearly running along the corridors. She flew past the door before braking and rapidly backing up. There was sunshine out there! She whirled toward the door and struck it, but it held fast. Disappointed, Eloyse quickly looked it over. She picked the lock and pushed open the door. The fresh air was tinged with gunpowder and dust. Eloyse coughed. She began following the building, wanting to get to where they'd left the horses. 

Turning a sudden corner, she slammed on her brakes. Before her were two people, huddled around a door. They had something in their hands. Suddenly both backed away, and the man put up a colorful shield he was holding. The redhead women crouched behind it with him. Eloyse didn't wait to see more. She spun around and plunged into the trees. 

She had hardly made twenty steps before the explosion sounded. It was loud, deafeningly loud. It threw her forward, to her knees. She stayed there a long moment, hands over her ears. They were ringing, and hurt. She stayed that way a moment, trying to catch her breath and not panic. Recovering, she got to her feet and moved off, a little slower.

Footsteps behind her warned her of somebody coming. She turned quickly, backing up a bit. Her clothes were neutral, blending in with the trees. A man came running past, practically flying. His light-colored hair was windblown. He left a blue line where he'd gone. Eloyse held perfectly still. The man went past, not seeing her.

She exhaled, and slipped away, thinking. All three people she'd seen so far were dressed very strangly. She frowned, then shrugged her shoulders and decided to forget the whole matter.

However, the event that happened in the next few minutes forced her not to forget. She had her head down, picking her path among the branches and leaves so she could walk soundlessly. And she nearly ran into him.

Her eyes flicked upward, and she instantly froze completely. He was looking straight at her from less than ten feet away, a lazy smile on his face. He was carrying a fancy bow in his hands, arrow notched and ready. There were arrows on his back. His close cut hair was dark, and he was built sturdy. His blue eyes were mildly amused and something else. Impressed?

"Who're you?" he asked. His voice held no threat, but Eloyse was also an archer and she knew how quick he could raise the bow and shoot. She panicked. There was a sunbeam not two feet away from her. She snatched a piece and as he started raising the bow, she flung it at his face. He dropped the bow and pawed at his eyes as the blinding light hit him.

Eloyse fled.

****

"I am not kidding!" he struggled not to shout. The man before him smirked. The rest of the team looked on in a mix of amusement and concern. Clint was sitting leaning against a tree, the others scattered around the little clearing.

"Right. You've got to be kidding! I mean," Tony turned and paced away, "you saw a girl, didn't hear her coming, but was turning and saw her. Correct?" Clint listlessly nodded. "So you asked who she was, and she grabbed a sunbeam and threw it at you? Impossible!" Tony scoffed.

The archer threw up his hands. "I only told you what I saw!"

"Ok." Tony knelt before Clint, speaking as though to a little child. "Number one." he listed them off on his hand. "Nobody can sneak up on you. We've all tried, and we're the best at sneaking up there is. Two." he held up a second finger, "Nobody, I mean nobody, can control sunbeams. The weather? Maybe. A little tiny piece of sunlight? No chance!" He stood up and walked away.