It was the screams that woke her up, but the bangs are what drew her out of bed and dragged her over to the window. She leaned heavily onto the ledge and slowly dragged her eyes over to the digital clock on the crowded bookshelf, and then to the pile of unfinished homework sitting on her desk.
Half-past four, no time to finish the homework, and no chance of getting a decent amount of sleep. She pushed the window up, a shiver crawling down her spine as the chilled air seeped through her thin t-shirt.
"Guess I'm sick today" she said as she heaved a heavy sigh and hacked as thick smoke filled her lungs. Another loud bang brought her attention a few feet below her window to a street fight, two guys were duking it out and one had been banging the other over the head with the lid of a trash can.
Once the guy on the ground had a satisfying amount of blood rushing from his head and pooling on the concrete, Trash Can Guy looked over to where a slim figure sat perched on the dumpster, eyes wide with pleading.
It was a girl, a few years older than herself, she had short choppy blond hair and a black bomber jacket. Mina took another glance over the area as the girl clapped her hands and assured Trash Can Guy he'd done well. It was rare that she missed people, people rarely appreciated others watching in on fights, especially if they didn't do well in them.
It didn't seem like anyone else was hiding in the small alleyway, so she turned her attention back to the odd group below her. The girl hopped off the dumpster and crouched in front of the guy on the ground, watching as he lay twitching in a pool of his own blood. She gently clapped his shoulder a few times before speaking, her words echoing against the walls.
"Jason, if you can make it back to base by tomorrow, you'll be accepted back in," he looked up at her weakly and she offered him a small wink. She walked over to Trash Can Guy and leaned in close, inspecting the already swollen marks on his face, "I'd rate your performance a four out of ten" she threw over her shoulder to Jason, "I'm sure Fury'll want you out training if you make it back."
She took Trash Can Guy by the hand and left, leaving Jason on the ground.
Mina sat there watching him try and fail to stand up for a while before grabbing her old, outdated phone off her desk and making a quick call to the police. She'd watched dozens of fights from her window, far too many of her nights had been spent like this. Watching as people rolled around on the ground, a tangle of limbs, kicking and clawing at their opponent before collapsing on the ground, exhausted and beaten.
Mina trudged over to her bed, barely listening to the operator on the other side of the line. She managed to rattle off a few details about Trash Can Guy and the girl before hanging up on him and falling into the many blankets on her bed.
It wasn't long before the familiar sound of sirens echoed into her room and she drifted off listening to the frantic radio chatter.
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566 words
YOU ARE READING
Artemis
ActionAfter Mina accidentally gets involved in an organization known as the Syndicate of Shadows, she's taken from the world she knows and gets thrown into the middle of a war she hadn't known was happening. With peace in the balance will she be able to s...
