In the Blink of an Eye

Chapter 1

My feet smacked on the hard tarmac as I ran though the dark alley. I was running for my life. I don't know who, or why but I was being chased. Maybe they were Hydra, but they didn't look like it. I knew Hydra and I knew that they didn't look like...that. No, this was different, they were different, but then again, so was I. I don't know how they found me, but they did, and now I was running as fast as I could down a pitch black alleyway at two o'clock in the morning. No matter. Either way, they were still after me.

"She went down here," I heard a voice say. It was a man's voice, of that I was certain, but that wasn't really going to help me figure out who these people were. I kept running, turning left and right at every opportunity, hoping to lose them every time, but no such luck. I could hear two of them talking behind me. I couldn't gain much from their conversation though.

"Cap, you got eyes on her?"

"Yep, she's right in front of me, but man, she's pretty fast."

I came to a wire fence, which I climbed over with ease, however there was now a building straight in front of me and nowhere else to turn. The building did have a small metal balcony though, which I could climb up and onto. It looked like an old house that hadn't been inhabited in years. I raced towards it and jumped up grabbing onto the hard, cold edge of the balcony, pulling myself up until my feet were safely on it too. Climbing over the railings I entered the house. I turned so I could see back out the way I came in. I was pacing backwards slowly, and I could see no movement from outside, but I knew better than to let my guard down. At that moment I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders. Without hesitation I elbowed them square in the jaw and whipped around to face my opponent. She was quite tall, with short, red hair and a pretty face. She didn't react to what I'd done, but instead just stood there watching me, as if she was waiting for me to fall into some sort of trap. She put her hand up to her ear and spoke.

"We got her. Second floor. I'm with her now."

She spoke in such a way that I couldn't determine whether what she said meant imminent death, or being taken away and locked up, like before. I heard something behind me, and I turned my head to see a man in a red, white and blue suit coming in from the balcony, followed by another man dressed in all black, carrying a bow. I looked back at the girl and she was no longer alone, but had another girl standing next to her. The second girl had long brown hair and was wearing a red leather jacket. They were definitely not Hydra.

I stood there for a while, turning to look at each one of them again in turn. What seemed like forever, in reality was only a matter of seconds, and I'd made my choice. I turned and ran towards the glass window, bursting through it, glass pieces shattering all around me. The fall was hard, and I tried to pick myself up, but failed miserably. I soon felt a strong pair of arms wrap around me and pick me up before blacking out.