Nothing Lasts Forever

My Shadow

Natasha's POV

This darn tree. After a couple of hours up here the bark was definitely starting to imprint itself into my back. I sighed, and eventually the trucks began to move on. My heart began to slow and I could breath a little easier, which of course meant the adrenaline also started to fade away. I winced slightly as the pain from my side started to return. "Don't get soft now Natasha." She muttered to herself.

She wondered about her sister and of course Alexei and Melina. Where were they now? She hoped as far away as possible and continuing on with their lives. A small smile formed on her lips at the thought of Yelena. She pictured her with a dog by her side, laughing and playing with the new pet. Hopefully the happy image in her head would be real for Yelena soon.

Natasha often wondered if they could ever be normal. Live normal lives. Have normal jobs. The thought was brief though as she snapped herself back into reality. Who was she kidding. She had never been normal and never would be.

With a deep breath she was ready to move. She stuck by what she had once said to Steve Rogers that the first rule of being on the run was to not run, but walk. There was no way she was going to out run a dozen vehicles after hours of fighting and next to no sleep. Which was why this tree was the best place for her. Now though, she had to move forward.

She ignored the aches and pains, beginning to lower herself branch by branch. The descent was always more difficult than the adrenaline fuelled rush of climbing up. She had been about 25ft high and nestled by leaves and many branches so nobody was finding her. Branch by branch she made her way down and with a thud she finally landed onto the earth below her.

The back of her shoulder was still bleeding from her earlier fight in the Red Room. She had to get that sorted. She flicked open the piece of tech on her wrist and pulled up maps. A small village appeared to be 6.2 miles east. Without another thought Natasha broke into a jog in that direction.

Her tunnel vision kicked in with a plan developing in her head whilst she ran. The pain wasn't an issue as she had dealt with a lot worse before. What hurt more was loneliness. That, unfortunately, never seemed to get easier for her. It was easier this way though. Less risk of people to add to her ledger.

Half an hour passed before she began to hear life ahead of her. She slowed down and crossed the road heading towards a few dusty shops in front of her. She crouched behind a boulder before entering the village. Her outfit alone would draw a lot of attention. Quickly, she stripped off the black suit and pulled out a sweater that she had tightly wedged into her backpack.

She pulled it over her and stuffed the weapons into the bag which she then hid tightly underneath rocks. She made her way towards the village.

To her relief, the place was deserted. She entered what she hoped to be some kind of pharmaceutical store, keeping her head down. Instinctively, she took in her surroundings. Exits, number of people, supplies. It all seemed ok to her.

She picked up some cleaning alcohol with some cotton and bandages. She moved to the counter where a small elderly woman stood hunched. "Just these please." She spoke softly in Russian. "Oh and these." She grabbed some peppermint gum as well.

The woman scanned the items. Natasha couldn't help feel like there was something strange about her though. Her eyes twitched and her wrinkled hands shook slightly. Natasha frowned in disbelief when that same shaky hand bent down to reach thick black metal from underneath the counter. Before she knew it, an AMT Automag handgun was pointed at her.

"I'm sorry!" The woman croaked as her finger moved to pull the trigger. Before Natasha could react a single gun shot was fired. Blood sprayed. Ringing filled the room. A body collapsed to the ground.