Hydra's shadow

Chapter 6: Afraid

* ECHO'S POV*

It was a long walk up in silence to the main part of the tower, leaving me slightly breathless as we reached the last step. Natalia looked behind to check I was still following, speaking to me for the first time since our conversation back in the cell, right as she stopped outside a closed door.

"This one's been empty ever since Tony bought the tower, it can be yours if you like?" she questioned.

She could tell by my silence and hesitation that I was still overwhelmed and quite frankly a little paranoid, after all I was walking free in a tower full of people who'd just put me in a cell 200 feet below the ground, so she gently nudged the door open and motioned for me to walk inside.

The room itself was a little on the small side, with a wooden bed frame pushed up against the far wall. Just to my right was what looked to be a closet, although I wouldn't be needing that anytime soon seeing as the only pair of clothes I had I was wearing, presumably stolen from the night Peter found me on the rooftops. I traced my fingers along the wallpaper, worn away in some places, as I moved across the room towards the solitary window bringing just enough light to make the room seem somewhat cheerful.

"I know it's not much-"

"It's perfect, thank you." I interrupted, a smile invisible to Natalia as I looked out the window to what I now knew to be New York City. I felt a tear prick at the corner of my eyes, quickly blinking it away as I turned back to face her.

"I've never had my own room before, so this is amazing really. Thank you Natalia." I added, just as she returned that warming smile from before.

After a moment of hesitation she seemed to snap back into reality as she moved towards the door left ajar behind her.

"Wait here, I'll just grab you a blanket this floor can get pretty chilly overnight."

She stepped through the door and back out into the hallway, returning a couple minutes later with a soft woollen and slightly rugged cream-coloured blanket, laying it on the edge of the bed by my feet. She moved back a couple paces and glanced to the alarm clock on the table beside me, the time reading 5:23am.

"It's Monday tomorrow so everyone will be up early, Peter has school and the rest of us have a mission."

I could feel a slight awkward atmosphere growing, nodding as Natalia spoke to me so as to keep the conversation going.

"I don't reckon you'll wake up before we leave but if you do maybe don't come down until I've had a chance to tell the rest of the team?"

"Yeah, of course. I understand."

"Good, glad we're on the same page!" she laughed dryly, as she was clearly nervous. She quickly composed herself to normality, finishing the conversation for the night, well morning really,
"Okay, I'm gonna head to my room, gotta wake up innnn 2 hours!"

"Yeah you should definitely try sleeping Natalia." I joked, as she started to walk towards the door.

"Goodnight Echo." she muttered as she closed the door behind her.

"Night Natalia." I whispered back, turning my head over to face the wall next to me, and for the first time ever, shutting my eyes somewhat peacefully, no longer afraid of something happening at any moment.

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The faint smell of bacon wafted through the gap underneath my door, the faint chatter from the kitchen causing me to stir awake. I slowly opened my eyes, groaning slightly as the stream of sunlight directly struck my eyes, leaving me feeling blinded. I slowly turned my body, pulling the tightly wrapped blanket from beneath me, and slipping my shoes on. I made sure to be quiet as my room couldn't have been more than 2 floors away from the kitchen where, by the sound of it, everybody seemed to have gathered. I sneaked out of my room, leaving the door closed behind me.