The Shadow [a marvel fanfiction]

Before: Chapter Two

Marie holed up in the bathroom of a gym all night and all day, until the late-afternoon crowd began to dwindle. After a pair of women left, she stepped out of the shadow of the sink and stood in front of the mirror. Her dark coiled hair was matted and kinked from days of no care. Her eyes were sunken in and her tawny-brown skin was pale and ashen. Combined with her torn, baggy clothes, she looked like she had just dug her way out of a grave.

Marie sighed and pushed the sleeves of her jacket up her arms. She washed her hands up to her elbows, cheap soap covering the dozens of thin scars dotted across her forearms. She splashed her face with water. It made her cheek sting.

Drying off, Marie abandoned her pitiful reflection and left the gym with the stare of the receptionist at her back. A taxi slammed on its horn and Marie nearly jumped out of her skin. She hurried down the sidewalk, ducking her head. She was on edge. Every loud sound made her heart soar and her fists clench; each person seemed to stare at her and know what she did.

You're a freak. You're a coward. You're a killer.

Thunder shook the skyscrapers and the dark clouds cracked open. Rain poured down in sheets and pounded against the streets. Marie couldn't see more than a few feet in front of her. The blurry neon sign of a sports bar flickered ahead, and she darted inside.

Her soaked appearance went unnoticed by the bar's rowdy patrons. A football game played on several televisions. Men in unbuttoned shirts and loosened ties abandoned their suit jackets on bar stools for beer bottles and shot glasses.

Marie kept to the dark paneled walls and isolated herself on a stool in the corner. Her wet body squelched against the cracked leather seat. She ran her thin, shaking fingers through her hair, taking advantage of the rain to untangle the strands. A free shower.

The bartender approached with a raised eyebrow. "Can I help you?"

Marie jumped as cheers erupted from the men and shouts for more shots followed.

"No. I'm just-I'm just escaping from the-the-the rain." If the woman could hear her over the noise, it was a miracle. She shrugged, depositing a clean rag on the bar before moving down to deliver another round.

Marie gratefully grabbed the rag and wrung the water out of her hair and the hem of her shirt. At least she wasn't dripping all over the floor anymore. Her clothes clung to her waif-thin body. She grimaced as she tried to pull them away from her.

"'Scuse me, is this seat taken?" A young man smiled down at her, casually leaning against the bar. Marie shrugged warily, sitting up and moving to the opposite edge of her seat as the man plopped down beside her.

She took a deep breath and nearly choked on the amount of cologne that radiated off him. She gave him a terse smile and turned to face the mirror hanging against the back wall. She prayed that he would leave her alone.

"What's a pretty little thing like you doing alone in a bar? Date?" He asked, leaning closer. The smell of alcohol rolled off his tongue and invaded her senses. She tried not to gag.

"Hiding-Hiding out from the rain." She looked at her hands and refused to make eye contact.

His hand rested on her thigh. "Maybe I can help you warm up."

Marie jumped off the stool and backed away. "I'm not-I'm not—I'm not interested."

"Come on, baby. Don't be like that," the man laughed, languidly turning to face her.

She glanced around the bar. No one was paying attention to them. Marie backed herself into a dark corner and gave the man an enticing smile. He smirked, stumbling off the stool. A chair suddenly shifted into his path. Inebriated and slow, he ran straight into it and fell.