This Is Stella's Reality

November 13, 2015

It was dark.

My vision was hazy, like fog had suddenly settled over my dreams. In the depths of my mind, I walked forward, feeling the same sort of unease I always felt in the Shadows. But I wasn't in the Shadows. I was asleep next to Bucky and Steve in our bed, yet I could not feel them.

Instead, I felt a thousand eyes watching my feet carry me through the expanse of my own creation.

"Hello?" I asked.

Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello.

I slammed my hands over my ears as the echoing shout of voices rang in my ears. Around me, there was nothing but blackness and void, yet it felt as if the entire world stood within the confines of this nightmare.

"Hello," a voice said so clearly I could feel its breath tickle across my skin.

My whole body turned to face the sound as the rest of the voices died in my ears.

I remember I screamed.

Bright blue eyes met mine, and a crown of blonde locks shone like gold despite the impending darkness around Sharon Carter and I.

She smiled which made me sick. "Long time, no see, Stella," she said. Her hands were laced together in front of her, and she rocked slowly on her heels as I stood straighter and watched her. "How are you here?"

"Where is here?" I asked.

"Nowhere," she answered as if it were obvious.

I was silent. I knew of no place called Nowhere. But this was just a nightmare, a figment of my imagination, right? Sharon Carter was in the abyss of Tartarus and suffering eternal punishment, right?

Frustration bloomed in the back of my mind. I was a goddess of death; I should know where a soul is located, yet in this place, in the recesses of my mind, I knew nothing.

We continued to stare at each other for a moment longer. Her eyes were like glass beads, shiny and empty. Yet her voice held life when she spoke finally. "Why are you here?" She asked again.

"I'm dreaming," I replied simply. "This is a dream. This isn't real."

"Why isn't it real?"

"You're dead, Sharon."

She giggled as if it were the funniest thing in the world. That annoying and piercing laugh that made my stomach twist into knots at the memories it brought along with it. "Dead," she echoed with a grin on her face, shoulder still shaking with laughter. "I think I'd know if I were dead, Stella."

"You are," I breathed, taking a step away from her. My chest tightened a bit at the confused look she gave me, a ghost of a smile hanging on her lips. "I'm the one that killed you."

That smile widened again, her eyes lifting as her whole face erupted into chilling humor. "You're so silly," she teased, then her face suddenly dropped.

Sharon's head turned slightly, as if someone were whispering in her ear, and she was listening very intently. Slowly, she faced me again with gentle eyes. "I have to go," she said. "We'll see each other again soon. Tell my boys I'll see them later."

I blinked and she was gone.

A sinking feeling settled into my bones, like the world was rapidly closing in on me. I forced my eyes shut and steadied my breath.