"Doctor! Dr. Scaffer! Open this door! Doctor!" Natasha banged on the door. I pushed myself off of the door and into the apartment. I ran my hand along the back of the black couch and turned around slowly. Even though everything here was rather bland, it was still nicer than my apartment in Brooklyn. Natasha's knocking echoed through the apartment as I inspected everything in the apartment. The kitchen was spotless and full of the best and newest appliances and utensils. I walked down the hall and found three doors. The first door swung freely in when I pushed it lightly and I found a bedroom. I figured that it was a spare room based off the layout of the hallway. I stepped back out of the room and turned to the door directly across from the room. When I pushed it open, I found the fanciest bathroom that I've ever seen. The back wall was surrounded by glass for a shower, next to it was a deep tub that looked big enough to hold 5 people. I backed out of the bathroom and over to the last door at the end of the hall. I pushed the door open and came to the biggest master bedroom I'd ever seen. There was a large bed in the center, pressed back against the wall, above the bed was a beautiful painting of the mountains. A purple, velvet bench rested at the end of the bed. Directly across at the end of the bed was a flat screen T.V. with a dresser below. Right across from me was a large window, draped with white curtains and a cushy window seat under it. I walked in in a daze. I'd never seen a room so nice in my life. I set my backpack down next to the door and stepped inside the room. The soft carpet tickled my bare feet as I tip-toed over to the bed. I ran my hand over the covers of the bed and looked around the room again. Behind me was a double doored closet. I padded over and pulled open both doors, sending a rush of wind back at me. There were shelves and rods layered neatly inside. Resting on one of the shelves was a stainless steal safe. Next the safe, resting neatly on a hanger was a pristine white robe with the seal of Stark Industries sewn into it. I pulled it down and held it in my hand as I walked over to the third door in the room. I pushed the door open and came to another bathroom, this one was twice as large as the first one. A large, glass shower took up on corner as a large bathtub filled up the other corner. It was beautiful, for a bathroom. I stepped into the bathroom and the tiles leaked heat into my cold feet. As I entered, I caught a glimpse of myself in the huge mirror over the sink. From one look at me, anyone could tell I'd gone though an ordeal today. My long hair was a mess with from wind and falling, my face was tanned from the sun but decked out with fresh cuts and bruises, My grey shirt was streaked with dirt and blood and the entire left sleeve was cut off completely, a white bandage wrapped around my arm. I had dirt imbedded into the knees of my pants from kneeling. My hands were a dark shade of brown from tearing at the dirt and my feet were dirty from being barefoot all day. I set the robe down on the counter next to the sink and pulled off my shirt. The bandage wrapped around my shoulder and down my arm a bit. I reached over gingerly and unwrapped my shoulder. I dropped the bloody bandage into the trash and went back to look at my shoulder. It was stained with blood and gauze pressed over the wound. I pulled it off and shuddered as a stab of pain shot through me. A long cut was stitched up across my shoulder. I clenched my jaw and walked across the floor to the shower. I stripped out of my remaining clothes one handed and stepped into the shower. When I turned to the knob to turn it on, I was taken back. There were five levers and more buttons than I knew what to do with.
"Uh, JARVIS?" I called out awkwardly.
"Yes Miss Scaffer?" the english voice said.
"How do you work this shower?" I asked.
"Pull the middle lever down to turn the water on. The levers on the left control temperature, the ones on the right are for water pressure. The button on the left is shampoo, middle is conditioner, and the one on the right is soap," JARVIS said.
"Thank you JARVIS," I called back, pulling the lever down. Water shot out from the stone walls and down from the ceiling. I let out a gasp as cold water hit me from every angle. I squealed as he ice water pelted every part of my body; my fingers fumbling with the levers on the left, trying to warm up the water. After a few minutes of fidgeting, shivering, and cursing, I finally managed to get the water to warm up. Once I turned down the water pressure, the shower wasn't bad. It felt like I was being wrapped in a warm blanket. I turned to face the shower head and studied the buttons before finally deciding to press the one on the left. A cold, thick liquid poured down onto my head and dripped down my back. I gasped and raised my hands to my head. I fumbled to wash my hair with one hand as I looked around the shower, The same process ensued with the conditioner. I faced the buttons again and paused before pressing the button on the far right. The water that was shooting out of the walls stopped. In it's place, metal arms equipped with what looked like buffers from a car wash came out. The arms reached out to me and started spinning. Soup bubbled up across my skin as they moved up and down my body. I watched the process in confusion until they retracted and the water appeared again. After I rinsed off fully, I pulled the lever up, the water coming to a direct halt. I rung my hair out and stepped out of the shower. The heat from the floor crept up through my feet.
"JARVIS, where are the towels?" I asked.
"Under the sink," JARVIS commanded. I padded over and found fluffy, white towels stacked neatly. I pulled one out and wrapped it around me. In the next cabinet over, I found a first-aid kit. I pulled it out and set it on the counter. It was surprisingly well stocked for a small kit. I set out anti-septic wipes, gauze, and bandages and set to work patching up my shoulder again. It was frustratingly difficult to to wrap up my own shoulder, but I managed it eventually. I put the kit away and shrugged into the robe. As I left, I scooped my clothes up and walked out of the bathroom.
"JARVIS, is there a washing machine?" I asked.
"In the closet in the living room," he answered. I padded down the hallway and out to the living room. I spun around for a second before I caught sight of the closet. Inside the double-doored closet at the mouth of the hallway was a very high-tech washer and dryer. Before dropping my clothes into the washer, I dipped my hand into my pocket and pulled out the compass. I stared at the button at a loss how to work it. After A few awkward seconds of staring, the top locked on and water started pouring in.
"O-oh. Thank you JARVIS," I said sheepishly. I made my way back to the room with the compass spinning in my hand. Curling my leg up to my chest, I plopped down on the bed. The sheets felt velvety against my legs. Compared to the thread-bare sheets I had in Africa, this felt like heaven. Suddenly, a knock reverberated through the apartment.
"Dr. Scaffer!" Steve's voice echoed out through the apartment. I help my knees tighter, "Ma'am, open the door please," he called. There was a long pause then another banging knock, "Miss please open up!"
"JARVIS, show me something please," I buried my face in my knees. The T.V. switched on and CNN played, drowning out Steve's incessant knocking.
"Breaking News coming out of West Africa tonight," I perked up and looked up at the T.V. The woman sitting behind the desk looked down at the papers in front of her, "Early this morning in Niger, West Africa, a small village was woken up by the sounds of explosions," the screen changed to a shaky video of the African landscape. There was a dull chatter below the video which was a mix of the Native language and English of my students. Out of the corner of the screen, came a clue of color then there was another explosion, sending sand high into the air with a deafening boom. The breath stuck in my throat, "It is unclear what caused this explosion but reports are claiming that the terrorist group, ISIS, has been known to target places like this. The site of the explosion was a small archaeological excavation. All the students and archaeologists are accounted for except for the Lead Archaeologist Lucy Scaffer, who hasn't been seen f-" another booming knock out the woman off. I closed my eyes and dropped my head into my knees again.
"Show me something else JARVIS," I mumbled, trying to stop my reeling mind.
Everyone was safe. No one was hurt in the explosion. They would think it was terrorists. They'll send all the students home. They'll think I was kidnapped by terrorists when in actuality, I was 'saved' by the ones fighting the terrorists... But they're the ones who blew up my site...
I realized that my room had gotten eerily silent. I slowly raised my head to look at the T.V. Instead of CNN, a bright picture of the hallway outside my room lite up the T.V. quietly. Steve was no longer knocking on the door and must have left. I watched the screen in silence for a long time before breaking my vision and looking down at the compass. It spun around in its different ways as I watched. I pressed the two rings and the compass together, stopping the spinning. It really was a beautifully crafted in gold and silver that sparkled in the light. I noticed that the letters inside the compass weren't Latin letters. They looked like strange, random scratches in the gold and silver around the compass. It looked like the compass was engraved to someone.
"Dr. Scaffer?" a soft voice came from the T.V. I jumped and looked up, closing my hand around to compass. Dr. Banner stood outside the door with something resting in his hands. He reached up and knocked lightly, "Dr. Scaffer? I know you're awake," he said quietly. I pushed myself up slowly, still eyeing the T.V. He looked down at his shoes and let out what I assumed was a laugh. He looked up and looked directly into the corner with a smile, "Please let me in," he said kindly. I walked out to the door and tightened the robe around me. I hesitated before swinging the door open. Dr. Banner looked down at me with a smile.
"Evening," he said with a smiled. I leaned against the door, narrowing my eyes at him suspiciously.
"You gonna try and break down my door too?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest. He laughed.
"Oh, if I wanted to, I wouldn't have to try. but I really don't want to," he said sweetly.
"Then why are you here?" I asked, shifting nervously.
"Well, I had to cut up your shirt pretty bad to stitch you up and you didn't have any shoes. And I thought it'd be kind awkward to walk around barefoot and with half a shirt through Brooklyn," he said sheepishly and held out the folded shirt with a pair os sneakers on top. I looked down at the offering in front of me slightly taken aback.
"Oh, thank you. That's really thoughtful," I said taking the clothes from him. He smiled up at me again.
"I see you found the shower," he smiled.
"Yeah, what;s up with the living shower in there?" I asked. Banner laughed again.
"Tony works late and used to fall asleep in the shower before he could do anything. Almost drown a few times. So he invented this shower that would do it all for him," he explained. I nodded dimly.
"So I assume they sent you to convince me to hand over my backpack?" I asked suspicious again. He knit his eyebrows together in confusion.
"Nope, I just wanted to give you these," he motioned to the clothes. I looked down, lost for what to say, "Well Doctor. Sleep well," Dr. Banner turned to leave down the hallway.
"Thank you Dr. Banner!" I called after him. He paused and smiled back at me.
"Please, call me Bruce," hr said before disappearing down the hallway.