A Place In This World (Beginnings and Goodbyes, #1) {Completed}

the fear of falling

I stick close to Pietro as he leads me through the streets of his home, his youth, and we soon encounter more people in need of help. I snap to attention, downing robots from the air, while Pietro dismantles the ones on the ground. I usher more people to move towards the main square, towards the major artery of this city, and away from this carnage and fear. As the last of the rumble of feet running away quiets, that's when I feel it as I run after Pietro.

In the distance, I hear cracks and reverberations of debris falling heavy and hard to the ground. The cobblestones beneath my sprinting feet vibrate up through my legs, my chest, my teeth. Something isn't right, and suddenly screams go silent, the sound of crashing metal and stone ceases, and I stop where I am, losing sight of Pietro. I gaze all around, anticipating a new, bigger threat, but the sky doesn't darken, the earth stops shaking for a second. I hold my breath, scanning, scanning, scanning, but I can't find the answer I'm seeking.

"Cara!" yells Pietro, and I cut my gaze back to him. He dashes towards me, but a giant ripple rocks the ground beneath us, and he falls to his knees, hands bracing for impact. I stagger and stumble towards him and land on my knees beside him against my will. He pants, eyes wild, as he takes in our position, the sky, the buildings surrounding us on the wide avenue. His gaze lingers longest at something over my shoulder.

"Pietro, what's happening?" I ask.

He sits back on his heels, surveys our surroundings further, and then shrugs. "I don't know. An earthquake?"

I glance around, feel a chilly breeze brush through the loose strands of hair around my temples. Fire burns in the distance, and another great shudder passes beneath us.

"You are so not helpful." I look over my shoulder and peer out to where Pietro had been staring. Down a narrow alleyway, where buildings had once stood is now occupied by blue skies. I attempt to stand on unsteady legs, but the tremors have seemed to stop, and my stomach drops when I lift my head to gaze up overhead and see clouds drawing near.

Pietro seems to realize at the same time I do what is happening.

"Sokovia is flying," I say.

He nods, a scowl darkening his face, the first flicker of worry tightening the corners of his lips. "We need to find your father. My sister. They should still be together. Hopefully."

My stomach lurches at that. What if my dad fell over the edge as the city rose, lost to a graveyard of debris miles below? What if he was crushed by a demolished building? What if he was all alone, trapped, with no way for someone to get to him? Too many horrible scenarios flash through my mind, but Pietro grabs my shoulders, forces me to look him in the eyes.

"I will get us to them, but you have to trust me, okay? Hold on," Pietro says in earnest and lifts me into his arms. My hands loop around his neck, and I tense, bracing for the split second right before he takes off. I close my eyes, my face instinctively hiding in the crook of his neck, and then we are moving against time, against space itself. And yet, as I peek out over his shoulder, the city passes in a blur, and my eyes can't focus to the point it makes me sick. I close them again, and breathe.

I am almost tossed from his arms when he comes to an abrupt stop, but our arms tighten around each other. I glance up at his face, and confusion swivels his head around as he fails to recognize his own city, unsure of which road to take.

In Pietro's hesitation, a voice emerges from every crevice of this falling apart city. Overhead and below.

"Do you see the beauty of it?" the voice, full of conviction and charisma. "The inevitability. You rise, only to fall. You, Avengers, you are my meteor. My swift and terrible sword. And the earth will crack under the weight of your failure."

The stone buildings around Pietro and I crack and splinter as we rise higher into the atmosphere, the ground still shaking beneath us. He holds me tighter, my heart pounding a rapid beat into the arm he has wrapped around me, but we say nothing of comfort to each other, only listen to the promise of death echoing all around us.

"Purge me from your computers, turn my own flesh against me. It means nothing. When the dust settles, the only thing living in this world will be metal."