22

The City

When the black spots faded, Monica looked up from the ground and nearly screamed. The last thing she expected was what towered over her, an eight and a half foot tall robot staring down at me with glowing red eyes. In an instant the boy and girl were behind her, lifting me up from under her arms. "Get off of me." She snapped, jerking away and backing up. "What is this? Is this what insanity is? Oh my god- I'm going mad."

The girl took a cautious step towards her, like she was the most fragile glass vase and one false move could shatter her. "Listen, I know you're probably confused but you look awful right now. You look hungry and tired, so why don't you come with us? We'll be leaving tomorrow and you can't very well stay here to die."

"I don't even know you, why would I go with you? AND you are COMPLETELY ignoring the fact that there is an eight foot tall robot just standing in the middle of the hallway." Monica scoffed.

The robot let out a weird, creaky noise. "Listen kid, we don't have all day. You either come with us or you die here." At this point her jaw was on the floor. He turned and walked the other way while the boy and girl shot Monica a pleading look before reluctantly following.

After a moment she ran after them in an impulse of not wanting to die. "Wait! I'm coming with you. But don't think I like it." The two humans smiled at her and the robot just kept trudging along, making a noise that resembled a grunt.

Later on the hunk of animated metal, Ultron she soon learned, claimed to need space to make his minions and sent them away. Monica was quick to take off and fled down the hall. She felt someone follow. "Can I help you?" She asked as she threw an annoyed look over her shoulder.

In an instant the platinum blonde boy, Pietro, the girl learned after hearing Wanda scolding him a few minutes prior. "Where are you going?"

"Walking."

"Where?"

"Somewhere."

"Are you just going to give me one word answers?"

"Yep." After that he stopped talking, but kept walking alongside her. After a moment Monica felt obliged to question him. "Are you going to keep following me around like someone's lost mutt?"

"Ouch." He muttered. "Yes, I am. Is that a problem, scurtă?" (shortie)

She paused as his words set something off in her fractured mind; from a long time ago.

"Can you grab that for me? I can't reach it." She asked, stretching her thin freckled arm up to the top shelf.

He let out a laugh, grabbing the mythology book and handing it to her with a cocky grin.
"I think that deserves a thank you."

"Thank you." She grumbled.

"You're welcome, scurtă." He laughed as he ran away, leaving the younger girl with the  worn book.

Slowly, she turned to him. "What did you call me?"

"Scurtă? It means-"

She rolled her eyes, exhaling. "I know what it means, Speedy." Monica kept walking forwards, knowing that he wasn't far behind. She pushed open a set of doors and slid down the ice coated railing, inhaling the crisp winter air and feeling the sting of it in her chest. She hadn't been outside in forever, it's so much better than looking out a window. The clarity of the trees with snow sprinkled on the pines and the bare branches. The way the soft wind blew snow in wisps of white. She admired the way the snow looked falling from the orange tinted sky, littering the ground that was illuminated by the blazing sun. Her boots crunched in the thin layer of snow in a way that scratched an itch in her brain. Man did she miss the snow.