[ COMPLETED ]
BOOK 2 of the ORPHIC series
MONACHOPSIS
/ˈmənˌāˌkōpˌsis/
the subtle but persistent feeling of being out of place.
~~~~~
Lucille "Lucy" Opal Baker might be the unluckiest person...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Was there something I could've said to make your heart beat better?"
Avengers Tower, New York August, 2014
WHEN IT HAPPENED, LUCY WAS far from prepared. She had gotten lost in her attempts at recovery, which was a far better than what she'd experienced with SHIELD, especially when her and James's well-being was on the front of everyone's minds. Her brain had healed faster than Helen had expected; that was, in part, thanks to Henry who instructed them to inject three serums a week, not one. And he'd leisurely blown up a HYDRA base when he heard Sas—Pierce had given her a lobotomy. He may have beaten in a few HYDRA agent skulls and Lucy struggled to remain ignorant to his unhealthy coping mechanisms. She was only relieved Agent Hill was still in contact with him, which meant he had some semblance of help.
And Maria was good at what she did.
Lucy had recovered at a linear rate; that didn't mean that particular linearity would remain. She'd forgotten in the bliss of being free—in trying to understand the world as it was and not how she was taught to see it—that the tranquility wouldn't last forever. That she'd have to face the guilt she'd numbed for so long, the guilt, which, especially mitigated Tony's complete and utter kindness.
She awoke to the sound of a guttural scream. It was a familiar sound that she was no longer alarmed by; James's constant cries in the night were just that, constant. They were cacophonous and reverberated throughout the halls, forcing her from her slumber.
JARVIS usually alerted Steve, who'd sprint into the room with a disheveled look, concern gracing his features. Lucy would climb out of her fluffy corner and nervously stand at the doorway. She would listen intently to James's voice. Sometimes he awoke angry, angry at her for daring to be disobedient in the memory he dreamed of, and sometimes he awoke in sorrowful tears.
Tonight, however, JARVIS's voice rang in her room.
"Agent Baker," he started, mechanical voice managing to sound concerned, "I believe Mr. Barnes is asking for you in his distressed state."
Lucy gripped her bear tightly, looking up at the ceiling as if JARVIS could somehow explain. His silence made her stand and she released her bear, padding out of the room quietly. She walked across the hall and placed a hand on James's door.
She could hear faint crying, and her urge to protect James grew far stronger than her fear of seeing the Asset. She pushed the door open, darting into the room. Her eyes adjusted to the dark and she could see James curled in the corner of the room, red-rimmed eyes lifting to meet hers. His shirt was torn like he'd clawed at himself until the fabric was off and not suffocating him.
