Runaways

Home Sweet Home

Hannah stood on the streets of Bucharest, Romania looking at the cracked, beaten, and downright filthy building the landlord had called an apartment complex. She knew she had gotten scammed when she rented the apartment, but she didn't think it would be this bad. She could only hope the inside was better.

She took her eyes off the building to take in her surroundings. The street was empty except for a few rats finding a late lunch, and an abandoned shoe two birds were fighting over. There were plants that had died from trying to crawl their way onto the sidewalk, and there were live plants creeping up the walls. Hannah smiled to herself. It was perfect.

It had taken her a long time to find the place; how much longer would it take SHIELD when they didn't have the resources they needed. Two years ago SHIELD had collapsed, pushing a handful of agents to work in the shadows. And yet, they still managed to make her life miserable.

She was tired of being on the run from the organization. One slip up at Harry's House of Horrors, and she might as well have walked into their headquarters begging them to arrest her. Hannah shook her head as she pushed the memory aside. This was her chance to lay low for a while.

The landlord had said there were many residents; (which Hannah had a hard time believing considering there were no cars parked in the streets, and the parking garage was 3 miles down the road) so she picked up her single bag and walked into the building to meet the supposed neighbors.

Unfortunately, the interior was worse than the exterior. There were dusty couches, flickering lamps, coffee tables she could tell were wobbly just by looking at them, and cobwebs in just about every corner. At least the outside had some greenery. Everything on the inside was brown, including the peeling, floral wallpaper.

As Hannah had assumed, there wasn't a soul in sight. No wonder the landlord made such an effort to make sure he got a good price off of her. She sighed, but she wasn't about to complain. It would be a miracle if SHIELD would find her any time soon, and knowing that was all she needed to appreciate the rundown building.

There was no one at the counter, but the key to her apartment was sitting there; so she grabbed it and showed herself up the stairs. The room that had been offered to her was on the seventh floor. She would have taken the elevator, but - to no surprise - it was out of order.

The door to her "new" home was old and splintered. She turned the key in the lock, but the door wouldn't budge. Kicking the base of the door didn't work, and neither did pounding the top. She dropped her bag in frustration and rammed her shoulder against it.

The door jerked opened, and Hannah would've fallen face-first on the stone had she not been holding onto the handle. She absentmindedly rubbed her shoulder as she scanned her new living space. There was hardly any furniture despite her purchasing it furnished. There was a couch, a small dining table, and a desk. All of which, looked like they could crumble if she touched them.

"Home sweet home," Hannah muttered as she pulled her hair out of her face. Normally, she wouldn't get settled in until she was sure that SHIELD wouldn't find her, but the room needed some serious TLC. She brought her bag inside and got to work. After giving the space a quick scan, she decided to work on the kitchen. One room at a time, she would get the apartment fixed up. 

Hannah had made considerable progress with what she had. The kitchen was still in poor condition, but at least it wasn't covered in cobwebs and dead cockroaches. During the process, Hannah had heard noises coming from the floor above her. There must've been some residents after all, but she would have to meet them another time. It was getting late.

As she headed toward the bedroom, she realized that she hadn't been in there yet. Hopefully, when she turned the corner, there wouldn't be a family of moths she would have to evict.