WILLOW
Footsteps in the distance wake me. I part my lips taking a shaky breath. The air is uncomfortably hot and stale. The more I regained my senses, the more I realize how much pain I'm truly in, my head especially. I look at my right arm which has been duct-taped to the metal chair that I'm trapped in, and notice a large bruise with a small red prick in the center. I only have enough time to gather that I had clearly been injected with something before a sudden light from the stairwell blinds me. My eyes adjust enough to see the figure of a man that I recognize only from his silhouette. Before I have the chance to collect my thoughts, the overhead fluorescents flicker on above my injured skull, illuminating my senses further.
Bleach.
I get a overwhelming whiff of bleach mixed with an all too familiar metallic, rotting smell.
Blood.
I cant help the pace of my heart increasing. I have been trained and prepared for moments like this throughout my entire life, but the time is here, and I know what happens next. The man seems to smell the fear seeping through my pores, my body betraying me, and takes the opportunity to speak.
"Who are you."
I don't speak or look at him.
It feels like my body has been plunged in ice.
Never in my life have I ever felt this helpless, this frozen.
"I asked you a question."
The man bounds over faster than I can think to look, and takes my jaw between the coarse pads of his fingers, forcefully yanking my face up to see him. I slowly shift my eyes to meet his.
Dark green eyes pierce through my soul leaving a permanent mark and sucking any ounce of resolve from my body. I can't breathe.
"Who. Are. You."
Before having the chance to think, I speak- "Willow."
A mouse. A terrified little mouse. That is what I sound like. I look back and forth into his eyes as he stares into mine. He doesn't move for a time, then suddenly drops his hand, then his gaze, and walks away. Towards the damp, concrete stairs leading up to the surface. To freedom.
The light evaporates and so does my composure. I hear the door shut and I cant help what happens next. For the first time in 13 years, I cry. I am left alone as I silently weep, my body shaking. I don't try to stop the tears as they come.
YOU ARE READING
Ground Zero
FanfictionIts been 9 years since the 'rise from the ashes'. Growing up in a world of destruction and chaos, Harry and Willow have learned to adapt to the world's new set of rules; Don't forget to take the cure. Don't trust anyone outside of your commune. an...
