ᴛʜᴇ ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ♡ ʙᴜᴄᴋʏ ʙᴀʀɴᴇꜱ.

✩ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜰᴏᴜʀᴛᴇᴇɴ: ᴍᴀᴡᴜ'ꜱ ᴅᴇꜱᴛʀᴜᴄᴛɪᴏɴ.

                  Mawu felt herself slowly stir awake, but a tinge of pain caused her to wince. She pressed her cheek against the shelf's side, attempting to move her arm. Her surroundings came apparent shortly after recognizing that her arm had been damaged. Her eyes grew wide as panic began to settle. She couldn't see anyone but the dead body of Doctor. Fire engulfed the once lab, and her lungs filled with smoke.

The damaged woman opened her mouth to call out for help, but only a howl of pain pushed from the middle of her throat.

As much as she tried to remember what took place before finding herself alone in this hell - not a thought came to mind—Nagel's death, a blast of fire, then nothing but bleak darkness.

Mawu's bright eyes search the surrounding area. A thought of Bucky and Sam being dead amongst the rubble moved her into tears.

And then, as she began to move the lower half of her body, a glimpse of something moving from her left caused Mawu to cease any actions. The sound of a heavy yet saturated object dragging and falling itched her ears.

Thump. Slush. Thump. Slush.

This horrifying sound repeated over and over again until it grew closer.

Shaking in fear, Mawu slowly craned her neck to see the object reaching out for her.

A decomposed hand stretches out from the darkness, followed by the mummified face of N'Daré Munroe, Mawu's deceased mother. Yet again, her ghost revisiting to remind Mawu of the sins she had committed so long ago.

Unable to move or speak, Mawu's chest moves with a heave, and a muffled sob overtook her words. The monster in front of her was the last memory Mawu recalled of her mother. Torn into pieces, deteriorated, and inhuman.

N'Daré opened her mouth to reveal rotten teeth, and her white eyes kept on her youngest daughter.

"You should be dead," spoke the demon in its native tongue as its maggot-infested body took hold of Mawu and crawled on top of her. Mawu's eyes blurred with tears, wishing someone could save her.

"You should be dead. You should be dead."

The distorted scowl repeated. Never-ending as the humidity from the hallucinations breath felt all too real against Mawu's cheek. A tight feeling in Mawu's chest grew as she moved her head back and forth, attempting to maintain the gory face from keeping her attention. However, the creature dressed as her mother took Mawu by the jaw and forced the young woman to be steady.

Mawu squeezed her eyes shut, muttering, counting - anything to distract herself. If she could ignore the fact that she is in a closed space without assistance from another, the images and fear may go away.

"You killed us," N'Daré continued to drawl, its teeth snapping with each movement of its mouth. "You are not in control. You're dangerous—a mindless girl. Everyone is afraid of you —"

The words spoken to Mawu dug deep, and instead of calming down, Mawu grew with so many sentiments — she could no longer keep the lid shut. Her mind grew with so many voices and echoes of the dead, the deaths she could have prevented - all of it took her by the heart and soul, squeezing tightly. With a deep gasp, a scream came from her throat - scratching her voice strings. Each eye, like before, shone red and blue, and a burst of energy iced her veins. Objects close by flew away from Mawu as the power seeped from out of her pores.

This feeling is no longer fear but anger—everlasting anger of her past and everything taken from Mawu. Life is unfair, so unfair she couldn't understand why things gas to happen. How many times does it take to have happiness?

Why must she be reminded of everything? Why can't the guilt leave her when peace is her only wish?

The recollection of that man who froze time came too. That man strived to steal something from Mawu, and it backfired. Nearly killing everyone. N'Daré's ghost no longer plagued Mawu as the only thought at this moment; kill the stranger.