Tracing the Webs

Chapter 3

Gwen had managed to convince the two that she didn't need to go to a hospital, and that she'd rather deal with her wound on her own.

David was still going to call the police to report what had happened. When she asked if he could try and keep her name out of it, he seemed too tired to refuse her.

Gwen thanked David for the directions he gave her to an area near the shelter and started walking. She wasn't sure what she was going to do now. Her mind was on the fritz and she was moving on autopilot at point.

Daisy, or Skye, jogged up beside her, "do you want any help getting home? I have my van around the corner, I was running some... errands nearby."

Errands. Right. She's a hacker, so those errands probably aren't getting milk from the store.

"I-"

Gwen looked at the face of the future superhero, Quake, and organized her thoughts.

There were many reasons why she shouldn't take her up on her offer, and why she should walk away.

But if there was one thing she knew about Skye from Agents of Shield, it was that she was kind. And that she always strived to do the right thing.

Taken in by Skye's eyes, Gwen sighed, and settled on her decision.

"Yeah, I'd appreciate that."

Skye opened the back of her van, and rummaged around for a bit until she found a small first aid kit. She instructed Gwen to sit on the floor of the van with her feet on the pavement, and opened the kit.

"Um, I don't really know how to treat a gunshot wound, but I'm hoping we just need to disinfect this and bandage it. It mostly looks like a deep scratch." Skye was looking down at the kit while she spoke, and Gwen could see the character that she was familiar with in this person.

Skye's dark hair and smile, right in front of her, seemed so real and comforting. But to see someone she knew as fictional with her own eyes, it was difficult to ground herself in reality.

She took a breath, and pasted a small smile on her face. "I don't imagine you come across many people with gunshot wounds?"

Gwen went into polite conversation mode. Words were flowing out of her mouth without any other thought except 'act normal.'

Emotions didn't come easy to her- at least, conveying emotions didn't.

Lying was easy. Everyone was good at lying to some extent. To her, it was just an extension of everyday interactions. Not to mention, she had come to realize that when it came to lying, less was more.

She had always been a more inward-facing person, which led to her becoming more of an observationalist than a conversationalist.

Observing people, staying in the background, feigning successful conversation- these were all things that she did automatically. Was she protecting herself or just being herself, she wasn't sure.

I probably should've started seeing a therapist a long time ago.

Being in this new world was a strange change. All the danger and unfamiliarity made her want to protect herself even more, but it also made her feel reckless, courageous.

That, combined with her newfound abilities, made her unsure what direction she was headed in.

"Ow!" Gwen's leg jumped. Skye had the alcohol wipe in her hand, near Gwen's leg.

"Sorry, but we really should clean this. It's gonna hurt for a bit."

"It's fine, I just wasn't expecting it." The pain wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. In fact, she didn't feel the level of pain that one would expect from a gunshot wound.