Project Alpha

Chapter 15- Incident After Incident

"What did you say?" I practically yelled at him.

"Aria," Nat began to say.

"No, I want someone to tell me the truth," I cut her off before she could say anything else, but something else was nagging at me.

***

Nat and I were sitting in the middle of a fighting ring. Not much was being said between the two of us, but it felt good to just be in the presence of a friend.

"Do you ever wonder if we have parents out there?" I ask her. She takes a moment to think about her answer before she says it, which kind of answers it for her.

"I try no to, but my mind seems to always wander to it," she says.

"I guess it's better not to wonder. I won't get hurt that way," I responded. I should have taken more notes from Nat all these years because she seemed to be better at all things to do with Hydra than I am. I've always strived to be the best, but there will always be someone better, and Nat was it. I was thankful to have her, though. She was an amazing teacher and an even better friend. We both hated it here and both desperately wanted out. Even though she was a few years older than me, we bonded over these two things and quickly became friends.

"Not necessarily," Natalia said. "I think it's good to hope for something. It gives us something to live for; to survive for." I give her a weak smile.

Sure, it gives us something to live for, but in that time hoping, are we really living? It seems more like we are being controlled by something bigger than either of us. It's something that no one hopes for their child to be involved in, at least I hope they don't.

The last time I saw my mom she was being pinned down by the same men who brought me in here. My dad? Well, let's just say he is a completely different story. I had no memory of him whatsoever. Mom always told me that she had met when they were both young, but that was it. I think the reality of that was she didn't want to ruin my dad's life, but she would never say that. She was too kind to say that. Plus, I was only a kid when I got taken away.

"I wish I could've met my dad at least once," I tell Nat.

"I wish I could've met mine, too," she says.

***

"What is happening to her?" Tony barked.

"This happened at the hospital, too. I think it happens when she is remembering something," Natalia explains.

Once again, when I come back from the world I had just been in, I'm hyperventilating and Steve is pinning me down. Tears streak my cheeks and my teeth are clenched tightly together. It takes several moments for me to calm myself down. Not only are the flashbacks scary, but they also hurt extremely bad. It's like someone is pulling them from deep within my brain.

Once Steve realizes that I'm not going to harm anyone, he lets go of me. Everyone in the room is staring at me, probably wondering what the hell my problem is. I don't blame them. I would be wondering the same thing if it was someone else.

All four pairs of eyes are on me, staring at me with curiosity, but all curious for different reasons. The fourth pair of eyes, the one I haven't met, seems shy, but kind. He is the one I take as the doctor. His attire does not match the title, but something about him just tells me that he is here to help me.

I break eye contact with the doctor and look Tony in the eyes instead, "Do the blood test, and then leave me alone." He just nods in response, seemingly too stunned to speak.

Tony still had a needle in his hand from before my little episode, and he used that to take the blood that he needed for the test. I'm not a huge fan of needles. I'm not sure why, but I do know that they make me very anxious, and my heart rate spiked when Tony grabbed my arm to jam the thing in before.