Void (The Avengers)

one

Her bottom lip trembled as she tried to form words again. "Please....n-not seven."

The old man stood up slowly, his hands folded behind his back as he walked over to the much smaller girl.

He towered over her, causing her eyes to fill with fear.

He sighed as he bent down to match her height.

Before she realised what he had done, she felt a sharp pain on the left side of her face. She quickly brought up her hand to cup her cheek, eyes filling with tears.

"We have talked about being disobedient and the consequences for failing to listen, Carter. Now, be a good girl and sit up on the table."

Carter hesitated, earning her another slap to the face from the old man. This time, she ignored the stinging sensation on her face, quickly scrambling onto the table and lying down.

Dr. Smith bound her arms and legs to the table. He carelessly dropped a pill into her mouth, just as he had done for the past several years.

She swallowed it without thinking, being used to it by now. She constantly wondered what it did. It didn't seem to do anything from what she could tell. But why would they give it to her if it did nothing? It had to be for something. Then again, they seemed to do a lot of things to her for no reason.

The man grabbed a needle from the counter as well as a disinfectant. The liquid inside the barrel was a sea green. Pretty to look at, but not fun to have injected into your body. He rubbed the disinfectant on a spot just above her elbow. The girls eyes scrunched shut, waiting for the needle. When she felt it, she got her teeth. No matter how many needles she got, she hated them. Her fear had never been overcome, even after facing it for six years.

The worst one was the last one. Filled with ruby red contents, the needle was huge compared to the others. It felt more like a pencil being forced into her arm, rather than a needle, causing her to cry out in agony, earning a punch to the stomach. Carter curled up as much as she could whilst being bound to the table. Tears streamed from her eyes, involuntary whimpers escaping her lips. The man finished, unbinding her from the table.

She sat up immediately, despite the fact that she was supposed to wait for him to tell her to.

He cleared his throat. "Room 23, Carter."

The girls breathing became shallow, eyes became wide. Fear bubbled in her stomach, giving her the urge to throw up. Room 23 was the main cause of her nightmares. She hadn't been there many times, but the memories of the times that she had visited haunted her.

"If you argue, you'll just earn more time in there."

He ushered her to the door, pushing it open to reveal the two guards from earlier.

"Room 23."

The guards nodded at Dr. Smith. They took Carter's arms again, dragging her to the room.

They reached the metal door with the large lock. Carter was having immense difficulty breathing now. When she was dropped to the floor, she stayed there, not being able to get up. One of the guards opened the door, then proceeded to try to kick her inside. They first sent a heavy blow to her back, causing her to go into the foetal position and cry out in pain. They sent more blows to her back, before giving up and picking her up once again. They threw her into the room, locking the door behind them.

Carter didn't need to look around to know the exact details of the room. Everything was white, just like Dr. Smith's room. In the very centre of the room, a clear empty tank sat, waiting to help with Carter's torture. The large hose running through the room went through a hole into the tank, ready to fill its contents with water. On either side of the tank, metal cuffs were ready to trap the young girl. Just like the previous times, she was made to take off her clothes and get in the tank. It took her too long for the guard's liking, due to her shaking limbs and strained lungs. Due to being to slow, she earned some kicks and punches. As she took off each item of clothing, she saw how many bruises and cuts she had. She counted them. She had more than usual as she had been acting up more recently.

She crawled slowly over to the tank, not trusting her legs. She managed to get into it, one of the guards then restraining her with the metal cuffs, while the other turned on the hose. Her arms were raised above her head, due to the fact that the tank was made so that when filled with water, the girl would be completely submerged.

Water flooded the tank. At first, it was nice. Almost like she was a normal person about to have a cold bath. Then, the flashbacks of being in the tank the times before began coming. She tried her best to push them aside, but she couldn't. Tears began to make their way down her face, blurring her vision.

But soon enough, it got too high to continue crying. The water now reached her chin. She was nearly under.

It now reached her mouth.

She took in one last breath before it covered her nose.

She was now completely submerged. The water turned off and the guards waited.

At first, it was always easy. She could hold her breath without difficulty for about thirty seconds. Forty, getting harder. A minute went past. A minute and ten seconds and the girl was beginning to lose consciousness. This was pure agony. Why not breathe in now and get it over with? No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't.

Carter finally reached her breaking point, breathing in the water. A burning sensation started in her chest, then began making its way to her entire body. It was pure torture. She had never felt anything worse, not even the injections she had to get all the time, not even the countless kicks and punches she got from the guards. This was so much worse. She wished her consciousness would just go. She even began to wish death would take her already. Being dead would be much better than this.

Her vision soon blurred and everything went black.

AUTHOR'S NOTE
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nice way to start, huh? I feel so bad for what I do to Carter :(