The numbness was the scariest thing for me. The feeling that nothing was real, but knowing everything was. I hated how easy and at the same time difficult it was for the world to blur with tunnel vision, peoples faces would morph into nondescript mannequins, targets, no longer living, just not yet dead. And then the blood would splatter the lense of my life, the red that always was there to remind me that once it first appears, it stays for the rest of your life.
"Faster!"
I couldn't. I was already moving as fast as I could to block his attacks. My defence was failing and he could feel it. He pressed his attack, even harsher. I dug into my sixth sense not even seeing the attacks before evading.
I barely dodged his left hook, but as I swayed his steel toed boot slammed into my now unprotected left side. I gasped and bit my tongue. I could feel my ribs grind as I hit the concrete.
Crap.
"Get up." He growled. For a brief minute I couldn't. My muscles seized up and didn't respond. I needed a moment to let my shaking muscles relax and recouperate. But the second boot to my ribs didn't give me that option.
I climbed to my feet trying not to wince with the grinding of my rigs.
My fathers one green eye glinted with barely bridled rage. "You are sloppy. Useless! You act like this is pointless, like no one cared to teach you how to properly use the gift I gave you." Well, I wouldn't call it a gift, but he had certainly given it to me. He continued to rant pacing around me.
"But I cared! I cared to give you the time and discipline you needed to be better! I gave you the opportunity to actually live! But this..." he flailed his arms in my direction. "This! Is disrespectful! After all I do for you and you can't even properly accept what I have given to you.'' His voice dropped. "You are weak and lazy, so I will again try and teach you how to not feel pain. How to not be weak, Kira. (Pronounced; Keer-ah)"
I didn't need to know what he was saying to know what was coming.
No no no please not again.
I clenched my fists hoping he wouldn't notice just how much they were shaking. I couldn't force myself to take a breath. All I could do was wait for the inevitable. I closed my eyes and waited for my warning.
Before my father had even finished speaking my adrenaline spiked and I jumped backwards following my blind instincts as the first punch fell on my right shoulder.
I just wanted one day to not feel this. That's all I wanted.
Soon after the first punch came he bocked me into a corner. I felt like a rabbit caught in a winter trap with no way out just waiting for the day when the end came.
His boot slammed me into the wall followed by his fist hitting my jaw sending me to my hands and knees. After that the blows were too quick to calculate or count. I couldn't even tell if they were kicks or punches.
The blood stains beneath me blurred, all I could feel was a vibrant pain coming from everywhere and nowhere, but as colors faded so did the pain. Somewhere along the line a darkness began to cradle me singing me a soft lullaby of peace, I reached for it and let myself slide into its cool inky nothingness.
Something was screaming, but I couldn't tell what. My eyes wouldn't open, all I could feel was cold and wet. And pain. Every breath felt like a branding iron was being shoved into my lungs. I knew that feeling, it was the feeling of broken ribs.
Broken ribs? A concussion?
With a groan I forced myself to open my eyes and when they did they were met with a familiar grey room lined with various weapons and an open space in the middle for 'sparing'. Apparently it had been just another day in 'training' or hell as I liked to call it.
I laid my head back down on a dried blood stain and squeezed my eyes trying to shut out everything, but the screaming persisted, constant and rhythmical.
Too rhythmical.
It wasn't screaming at all, it was an alarm. My school alarm. I was going to be late! Suddenly all of the strength I had lost came back to me. My hand flew out and smashed into my phone maybe a little bit too hard, but the alarm kept ringing so it was still working at least. I silenced the alarm. the next part was going to be much more difficult.
With teeth gritted I pulled myself up the wall forcing my lungs to take shaky but even breaths. The pain was excruciating, but I had come to an agreement with it a long time ago.
Once I was up I checked the time; seven A.M. I had an hour to shower, mend myself, and be out the door.
I can do that. I can totally do that.
Getting to the shower was the hardest part, I had to be quiet enough to not wake my father, which is hard to do when your coordination isn't great and you feel like your trying to walk on a summer gale. But somehow I made it all the way to the bathroom before I fell, which was okay because I tumbled right into the tub. I didn't even have to stand up again to turn on the frigid yet soothing water, but I did stand up once I realized I was still fully dressed.
After my shower I wrapped my ribs and super glued my split lip. It would take a little bit longer since I hadn't eaten recently, but my healing factor would kick in and heal the lip by the end of the day and I could handle broken ribs.
I caught my reflection in the mirror. I'll be honest, I wasn't looking great. A flowering bruise spread like an infection across my cheek bone and the ghost of a hand print was on my neck. Luckily I had concealer and a wide array of makeup to hide the 'family business'.
At exactly fifty nine minutes I was out the door mingling with a crowd of oblivious strangers.
I liked it out here, the chaos was my peace. It numbed the mind and reminded me that there were people who lived just as they died. Out here I could watch and not be watched. Out here there were always cameras and witnesses, at least in the daytime. During the night was a different story.
I managed to keep pace with the crowd funneling into the subway. Once there I tucked myself away into a back seat and retreated into the safety of observation.
At school I got a slap on the wrist for sleeping in algebra, didn't eat at lunchtime and turned in all grade A level homework, so basically normal, except for one thing; there's a field trip on Friday.
"Alright!" Called Mr. Harrison, getting the attention of his class. "In reward for our marvelous science teams extreme creativity and ingenuity, Stark Industries has offered to give our class an exclusive tour!"
My pencil snapped. The world tilted, and rocked on its axis. I can't go there, they would kill me, my father would kill me.
"....okay? Kiraa!" My eyes snapped up focusing on Mr. Harrison. "Are you okay?"
They noticed. I failed to stay discrete. Crap.
"Ummm yeah." I nodded. "I just am going to be out of town on Friday, I won't be able to make it." I lied.
Mr. Harrisons countenance changed to one of disappointment, something I knew well. "I'm sorry Kria, but this is part of a grade."
Double crap.
"What's the tour going to be going over?" I asked.
"Well, actually..." Mr. Harrison said rifling through some papers. "I have the itinerary right here." He passed around some papers with the schedule on them.
read through it carefully.
10:00-10:15 - Meet and greet
10:15-11:00 - R and D lab tours
11:00-12:00 - Experimentation and science for juniors program
12:00-12:45 - Lunch
12:45-2:00 - Presentations and scholarship programs
2:00-2:45-Q&A with level 4 SI scientists
Nothing about the Avengers, they won't be there, they wouldn't bother with a field trip.
The bell rang and the clamor of students leaving lifted the haze hovering over my eyes.
I walked home on autopilot trying to solve the curveball life had just thrown at me. There was no way I could just walk into the same building as the Avengers. My father would kill me even if the Avengers didn't catch me, but anything less than a perfect grade would give me almost the same outcome.
I glanced at the itinerary again, nowhere did it say anything about the Avengers, they mostly stayed in their luxurious penthouse up at the top where they could rule their city from afar. They wouldn't care about a small field trip would they? They do get those a lot, but I hadn't heard anything about people actually meeting the Avengers on one of them. Maybe, just maybe I could go and never have an encounter. My father wouldn't need to know and I would have a complete grade. If I was just that lucky and right now I think it's my turn for some good luck.
AUTHORS NOTES
Thank you for checking out my story!
You will all be (hopefully) pleased to know that the entire story has been written and I will be releasing a new part every week.
votes and comments keep my heart beating!!!!
I will post the next chapter next friday!