I woke up to blinding lights. Then, after a few hasty blinks, the glows were gone. What did remain were four towering white walls that made a massive room. Pushing myself up from the floor that felt like marble but didn't look like so, I gazed about uncertainly. My head was still at a delirious state. The air smelled of nothing. The room contained nothing and I could hear, nothing.
It was so quiet that to a point I began to wonder if I had lost my hearing as well. That set off a chaos of panics in my chest. The feeling of helplessness echoed through my body, nestling at my stomach and forming a knot.
Why was I here?
I shut my eyes and sucked in a deep breath. Memories rushed back and hit me like someone had shot me with arrows.
Shooting me with arrows.
I snapped my eyelids open and twisted my head towards my arm, my eyes instantly falling onto my bandaged forearm.
So it was real.
I began to feel restless once again. I had to figure out a way to escape, then find Matron and try to pretend none of these had happened. And also, to live off the grid and make sure they couldn't find me again.
As if it was as easy as that. I was alone and I was only armed with Eagle. The possibilities to escape sounded as cheerful as Matron's morning greetings.
My knees were shaking by the time I had finally found my footing. It was then I realized how weak and tired I was, even after I had passed out for God knew how long. A fight would definitely be something that I wanted to avoid.
A light buzz behind me caught my attention. I spun around and felt momentarily dizzy at once. My vision was like an untuned television. I fluttered my eyelids closed briefly and opened them again. The fog of darkening stars fell away.
A glowing, rectangular screen floated just few feet ahead. I wasn't so sure what to think of. There was no energy left in me to make a face at the strange sight. No hash remark seemed to be available at the time. Anyway, smart remarks weren't suitable when there was only yourself to entertain.
The screen flickered to life. A man with an eye patch was positioned within the limited space. His face was tight with a scowl, which led me to think he had never smiled for once in his life. That didn't earn him any point for his first impression.
"We have been expecting you, Miss Charlotte Black," The man had said.
My thoughts were all over the place. I couldn't find the strength to focus them. It was like trying to grab a handful of water by balling a fist under the water surface. I was suffocating, I was failing.
"And are you listening, Miss Black?" He asked, his eyes showing judgement and nothing more.
I frowned and stared. His eye patch was making him look really evil. The expression that he was wearing didn't help much. The man looked like he had just popped up straight from a fairy tale book.
He sighed. I guessed it was because the blank look in my eyes kind of answered his question. Yes I was listening. No I wasn't trying the slightest to focus on my thoughts. In exasperation, he continued, "I'm Nick Fury, director of SHIELD."
So he was the Director Fury that Captain America had been mentioning.
Seeing my unresponsive reply of emotionless expression, the Director opted to move on. "SHIELD, in case you are wondering, is a secret organisation that aims to protect people on Earth from any kind of attack or harm."
That caught my attention. My eyes found a fixing point on him and concentrated. The director nodded approvingly, which kind of annoyed me because I didn't want his approval. He technically kidnapped me. Matron would have finally noticed I wasn't with her. Hopefully. But what else could she do then? This man looked like he had the technology in the whole damn world. And most terrifyingly, he seemed to know a lot about me.
The man kept letting words fall through his tight lips. I was half irritated by his unwanted presence, yet the other half of me wished to know the truth behind his actions. So I waited. "We want you to be part of our operation now, Charlotte Black. You will make our team stronger than it has been."
Annoyed, I snorted rather loudly, which caused the director to stop mid sentence. He raised an eyebrow at me expectantly, curiosity gleamed behind his dark, hard eyes generously as he awaited my first response.
I considered the choice of my words carefully before speaking up, "You don't know what I am." I was glad my voice didn't crack after hours of not using it.
Director Fury tilted his head to a side slightly. His expression was unreadable. Though I guessed most of the time he was an unreadable character. "I have discussed about you with your mother. Mrs. Black has seemed quite pleased with our plan."
My mother. His words were plain as the sky that I couldn't see at the moment. My jaw dropped and I must have looked really lost and confused, for Director Fury creased his scowl and seemed to have crossed his arms. I wouldn't have known because the screen ended just above his chest.
"Has your mother not talked to you about this?"
I was motionless like a status. How could I explain this? The more he said, the more confused and conflicted I was. "My mother left me when I was ten. Since then, I have been living with my aunt and my cousin."
"To be honest, I would expect your mother to inform you upon our plan..."
I could not let him finish. His words bared only nothing but pain to me. "My mum doesn't care about me. She hasn't talked to me in years. She didn't even give me a reason when she left, so why would she start talking to you about me?" I burst and saw a spit flew from my mouth. "Stop lying about this whole thing, okay? Just let me go." My voice dropped and numbness ate at me. My head sank as I found it harder to hold the man's eyes. It felt as if he was reading me, and my failing misery of life. I would be no use to him. I could barely fight after all these years of laziness. "Please let me go."
I was glad the man was too busy looking around him in search of something to hear my last remark. The director held a file in his hand and scanned it with his good eye. After a while when he confirmed something that he had questioned in his mind, he turned the document towards me. There was a inked signature at the bottom. My mother's name crawled along the material.
''See, I'd imagined we have already gotten everything sorted out.'' Director Fury explained in a slow tone that suggested he was watching my reaction tentatively. I refused to meet his eyes as I felt myself rooted to the ground. My limps were cold and lifeless, there was nothing left in me that felt functional in that precious moment.
''Without my acknowledgment? I don't think that would work at all,'' I managed to let those words fall through my taut lips.
Director Fury dropped his hands, yet his eye was locked with mine. Momentary silence filled the air. My stomach lurched with nerves and shooting thoughts that I could not get a grip on. ''Apologies, Miss Black. But this is not how things work in SHIELD. Contract is a contract. As long as you have finished your part here, you can return to your place, and we would gladly do the honor to wipe you off the grid.'' Nick Fury gestured with his hand like a magician trying to persuade his audience that his lies were nothing but truth.
I bit the inside of my cheeks and realized I had no other options. ''I don't get to say no, do I?''
I would find a way home. I swore to myself. No, I promised myself.
A sly smile lit up the director's face. ''I'm glad we've gotten that straight,'' He remarked and glanced to his side before looking back at me. Unspoken orders were given in sheerly a blink of eyes. A knot tightened in my chest. Eagle threatened to change sharp on my pinkie.
''Now all we need to complete is stage one of our project.'' Nick Fury's words were turned and flipped in my head. I wondered if he was going to kill me and slice me up in order to test my genes.
''We are going to test your ability and strength.''
I did a double take. Frowning, I fixed gaze with him quizzically. He continued none the less. ''This room that you are standing in? It's invented by one of our team members. If you want to know, his last name is Stark. To him, it's one of his little toys. To us, we use this to train our best men. This toy of Stark's will be able to detect your fears and provide an environment so real that you will do your best to survive.''
I got it. ''I don't like what I'm hearing, but I will just to face the challenge or whatever fears that are hidden in me, right? And then, I'm done.''
He shrugged and pulled a face that suggested the survival test wasn't as easy as I had imagined.
I waited for him to give me more information but after another nod directed to the side, Nick Fury turned towards me and said, ''Good luck.''
My mouth dried when the screen flickered into nothingness. The room was still a shade of blinding white. The air was was motionless and smelled of emptiness.
Then, it all changed.
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And I have decided to end this chapter with a little cliff hanger:) If you like the story, please votee:) It would mean the world to me!