Child Of Fire

Chapter 18//Pain

A/N: I'm so sorry for what happens in this chapter. Please forgive me... 😔😔😔😔 I was literally crying while writing this chapter and the next one, so just...... Yeah. I'm sorry.

{{Timeskip//Loki POV}}

    I cough, spitting up my drink onto the floor. It felt like somebody just took ahold of my stomach, squeezed it, and then shook it a few times. I put down my cup, putting my hand over my mouth, tasting vomit.

    "Are you okay, brother?" I hear Thor ask, and I nod.

    "You're not my brother, you oaf." I say weakly after swallowing the vomit.

{{Timeskip//Ellie POV}}

    "Shut up!"

    "Fuck you, you fat mother fucking bitch!" I yell back, straining against the chains.

    "I hope that you trip and fall and crack your head open and not even the vultures eat you! You'll rot on the streets, because nobody wants to go near you, lest even run over your cold corpse! And I hope you die alone! Just like you were the day you were born!" I yell, trying to cover up my panic.

    I feel something get slapped over my mouth, and I growl. I pull and yank, but it's useless. I get plunged into freezing water, and would have screamed if my mouth hadn't been covered. I feel my muscles freeze up, the blood rushing into my head. I breathe out, forcing the air out of my nose, no matter how stupid it was.

    They didn't want me to die, they just acted like it to try and scare me. Or at least, I hope so. It's just like a cat playing with its prey before putting it out of its misery.

    I hear the rattle of chains being pulled, and feel myself being lifted out of the water. I breathe out again, the pain in my chest growing. It's been there for almost the whole time I've been here, and I'm slowly losing hope that I'll be saved.

    I feel whatever was on my mouth get ripped off, and I take a deep gulp of air. I laugh, feeling a sudden rush of euphoria.

    "Fuck you, asshole." I giggle, barely able to feel my legs anymore.

Shouldn't that be a cause for concern, I think to myself, but the thought is almost immediately thrown away when I feel a harsh slap on my face. I just giggle more, my face screwing up. I know my face is probably red, all the blood rushing into my head.

"I think that's enough for today. We don't want her going insane." I hear a different voice than usual say, and I giggle even harder.

"I'm not insane! You are!" I say, then laugh so hard I can't feel my face.

"Put the shock collar back on her. Maybe it'll teach her a lesson."

"No!" I snarl, shaking, feeling the chains swinging back and forth.

{{Timeskip//Loki POV}}

    I stare at the book in my hands, not able to get past the first line. After a few minutes, I growl and give up. I put my head in my hands, covering my eyes and letting silent tears rack my body.

    "She'll be okay, Loki. She's a fighter. She survived 14 years with her mother. She'll be fighting to the last second until we find her." I hear Natasha say, and I startle up, then quickly wipe my face.

    "I know, but... I need her." I say, hearing how quiet my voice was. "I really need her."

    Natasha rubs my back while I just put my face in my hands again, crying.

    "If we've learned one thing since she's been here, it's that she's stubborn. She won't give up hope, and we won't either."

    I hear Stark scream, running into the room. "Jarvis, share my screen on the tv."

    I see a video pop up seconds later, and I feel the blood drain from my face. I snatch the phone out of Stark's hands, pressing play.

    "I don't think she has much time left." a voice says, and the video switches to a clip of Ellie, giggling like crazy.

    "No, she doesn't. And, you'll never find her in time." I see a gun in a pair of hands, pointing at Ellie.

    The video switches to a new clip.

"Hey, baby." Ellie says, her eyes focused right on the camera. "I know you're taking a video, because that's what most people do before they murder their hostages, but, I don't care. You want information, you'll have to grill me alive, bastards. As for the video." Ellie eyes refocus on the camera, and I see just the tiniest hint of mischief, but also terror.

"I'll give 'em hell, darling." The video cuts out, and I growl, tears streaming down my face.

I hear a crackle, then see a blurry video appear right after the other one ended.

"I don't know if this is working, but I'm going to have to hope it is. It's hell here." Ellie says, then coughs, a deep, wet cough that makes my heart ache.

"It's- It's even worse than you would think. You'd say, 'Oh, she survived 14 years with her crazy bitch of a mother.' But this is worse. So much worse."

I see terror in her eyes, and I feel my heart start to break.

"I'm always cold, I can't even summon the fire under my skin. I can feel it there, but it's just out of reach, like something on the top shelf and you're short." I feel my mouth open, and hear Natasha gasp.

"Just- know, that I love you. All of you. I don't know what they're going to do to me next, but I know I might be gone by the time you guys show up. If you see this, please, please, please hurry. I don't know how much longer I can take this." Ellie says, then coughs again. I feel a shiver run down my back.

"To quote one of my favorite songs, 'If I go, let me go. Don't you follow me, let me go. I will let you down, let me go. Even if your heart can't take it, light me up in flames.' Loki, I love-"

The video cuts out, but not before I hear Ellie scream, and see a figure standing in front of her, snatching the camera out of her hands. I hand the phone back to Stark, and he looks at me. Stark backs up, and I just stand there, trying to not scream and turn the whole room into a mess.

I know what my face looks like, Thor's told me about it enough times. I take a deep breath, and walk out of the room. As soon as I get to my room, I put shields up around my room, and scream. I scream until my throat is raw, and then I scream a little more, tears streaming down my face.

{{Timeskip//Ellie POV}}

    "How long's it been?" I ask, hearing how quiet my voice was.

    "How long's what been?"

    "How long's it been since you kidnapped me from the tower?" I ask, afraid to hear the answer.

    "Almost a year." I nod, swallowing.

    I feel a tear slipping down my face, and I let it go. I don't even care anymore about hiding my tears.

    "They're not coming for you. You'll die here." I sob louder, my breaths coming in shallow gasps.

    "I've missed my birthday, a Christmas, and almost a whole year of holidays. Because of you." I say, and hear a short sharp laugh.

    "And you'll miss many more."

    I hear a boom in the distance, and I sit up. Hope starts blooming in my chest, and I feel a small smile on my face.

    I hear a scream, then another, then more and more and more. I cringe back, curling back into a ball. I hear the door burst open, and hear an angry yell.

    I feel arms wrapping around me, and I yelp, tears springing in my eyes.

    "Darling, it's just me." I hear Loki say, and I freeze, relief flooding through my system. "Darling, say something."

    I wrap my arms around Loki, pulling him into the tightest hug I can manage, crying, when I feel something get pressed to the back of my head.

    "Move, and she dies." the guard says, and I growl.

    "More like, pull that trigger, and I'll kill you in 20 different ways." Loki says, and I know that he was probably doing something. Not even seconds later, I feel a pain right in the back of my head.