Siren's Serenade ▷TFATWS

Prologue: Once Upon A December

This was her ticket out of here.

Anya took one last look at the ugly, cramped room that she had been in for as long as she could remember. She looked up at the speakers built into the ceiling that played music all hours of the day.

Yeah, she definitely wouldn't miss this place.

Anya swiped the key card and watched as the doorknob's outline lit up green. With a shaky hand, she opened the door. As she pulled it open, the guard that had been sitting outside fell at her feet, eyes lifeless. The blood pooled around him as Anya gingerly hopped over him, pocketing the key card.

She looked both ways down the hallway. There were a few other bodies littering the ground. Who, or what, could have done this? Anya had no interest in sticking around to find out.

She started sprinting down the hall as fast as she could. She had memorized every door, every hall, every single step it took to get in and out of this forsaken place. She had never walked these halls or left the building without any escorts. Without him waiting for her when she was made to stop walking.

What could be waiting for her when she chose where to go? As she ran, Anya's mind buzzed with ideas of where to go, what to do, and who to find. The where and the what were hazy but the who...

Grayson. She had to find Grayson.

What did he tell her? He lived in... New York. In Manhattan. Or at least he used to before HYDRA forced him to work for them. Would he have gone back there? Regardless, that's where she would start.

Anya turned a corner and came face to face with four guards. They looked beaten and shaken up. Their guns were already drawn but the surprised looks on their faces at the sight of Anya told her that they were expecting someone else to round the corner.

"What the hell are you doing out?" One of them asked.

"Ambrose won't be happy about this," Another pointed his gun at her. "Back to your room Siren, it isn't safe right now."

"Shit I don't have my earplugs on me." Said a third, patting his pockets. "Whatever you do don't let her-"

But Anya had already taken a deep breath and opened her mouth. A single note rang out, a simple b major. The first two guards dropped their guns as if they were suddenly slippery. The third tripped over his own feet.

As they scrambled, Anya looked toward the fourth. He still had his gun pointed at her, unaffected. She looked closer, recognizing him as one of her usual guards. He had been posted at her door earlier this morning.

He was wearing earplugs.

In a flash, Anya lurched forward and kicked the legs of the first guard, knocking him to the ground. She flipped the other over her shoulder, slamming him into the ground with a thud. The fourth guard shot at her twice and she dropped to one knee.

Right behind the third guard.

The bullets hit him once in the chest, which wouldn't have been a problem as he was wearing a bulletproof vest. But the second bullet struck him in the neck. He fell backwards and Anya slid smoothly to the side.

As she did, the key card fell out of her pocket. Anya scrambled to grab it.

"Freeze Siren!"

She caught her breath and looked up to see the fourth guard standing over her, gun pointed at her head. Anya glared at him, face burning with hatred. He glanced down at the key card on the floor and chuckled harshly.

"Now where did you get this?" He asked.

Anya stayed silent. The guard clicked his tongue and slid the key card away from her with his shoe. She watched it slide to the other side of the hallway in anguish. There went her way out.

"Back to your room," He hissed. "Or I'll tell Ambrose you tried to escape again. You remember what happened last time-"

But then something slammed into him. No, not something. Someone.

The gun went off and Anya ducked. But it didn't go anywhere near her. Instead, it shot upward, hitting the lights in the ceiling.

The lights began to flicker rapidly, broken from the bullet. There was more shouting as two more guards came running, guns pointed at Anya's savior. She whipped back around to look at who just saved her life. His back was to her as he threw the guard against the wall.

Huh. Anya blinked. So that's who she has to thank.

But there was no time for that. The flickering lights were making her vision blurry. The two guards opened fire on the mystery man. Anya pressed herself against the wall and looked towards them. If she couldn't thank him, she could at least return the favor.

Anya jumped forward and her fist collided with the jaw of one of the guards. He yelled out in pain and she was quickly in a tight fight with him. She sang a few low notes under her breath and given the close proximity, he collapsed and she knocked him out with a swift kick in the head.

Breathing heavily, Anya looked to see the mystery man still grappling with the guard who had tried to shoot her. The lights were still flickering, making her see spots. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the other guard slowly raise his gun to the mystery man's turned back.

Anya slid to her knees and, hands shaking, wrestled the fallen guard's gun out of his hand. The mystery man had taken down the guard he was fighting. But the other was aiming for the back of his head. Anya said a silent prayer. She had always been a terrible shot.

Anya fired the gun from her spot on the ground.

The guard fell, blood spurting from his head.

Silence.

Anya watched as the mystery man finally turned around. The lights were flickering much slower now, dimming with every second. She couldn't make out his face. But she could tell he was wearing a mask on the lower half of his face. His hair was... long? She couldn't be sure.

But his silhouette was facing her, staring at her. He had a hand on his belt where she could see another gun at the ready. She lowered her own gun slowly.

The flickering lights let her see what was on the ground right next to him. The key card.

She looked back up to the man with wide eyes. She watched his head turn to look from her, to the guard she had just shot, down to the key card next to his foot, then back at her.

A beat.

He reached down and picked up the key card. Anya held her breath. He was going to kill her wasn't he? Well, better dead than stuck here-

The key card flew through the air and landed in her lap.

She looked back up to see the man's retreating back as he raced down the opposite hallway.

Anya sat there in stunned silence for a moment. Did that really just happen?

There was no time to contemplate. Anya seized the key card in one hand and held the gun in the other before sprinting down the hall herself. More bodies littered the ground as she ran, jumping over them. There was no time to stop and stare.

She swiped the key card at the entrance. It glowed green and the doors slid open. Anya raced out of there as fast as her legs would carry her.

It was quiet outside. No music. Anya hadn't had this kind of silence since... well, she never had. She grinned. She was finally free.

Anya couldn't remember the last time she had been this happy.

Then again, she never remembered much of anything.