Fates Intertwined

11. | Beanboozled

When Zyran awoke, the moon was still high, the sky alight with stars. He didn't know what had woken him. He looked around, stopping at Aurora's spot. It was empty.

Pushing himself up, he noticed that her belongings were still there and none of the food had been taken. She was still there. He grabbed one of the bags full of food and snacks and took off to find her, taking the stairs. He took two flights of stairs before he found her, sitting on the sill of a window. It was wide open, glass no longer present. It was the cleanest one.

Walking to her, he set the bag down and sat across from her. She turned to him as he did. "What are you doing up?" She asked, turning away from the trees. Her knees were up with her hands in her lap.

"What are you doing up?" He countered.

"Couldn't sleep." She shrugged.

"Me, neither." He laid his head back against the concrete wall. They sat in silence for a moment. But then Zyran broke it. "What's it like?"

"What's what like?" She looked back at him.

"Being locked up in that place."

She seemed to think about it. There were so many things she wanted to say but couldn't find the words to say them. Finally, she shrugged. "In Hydra, if you weren't locked up, you were experimented on. You were used as a toy. Everything was about performing to them. With me, I was so...angry. I was angry at them, at the world. At the hand in life I had been dealt. Many of the subjects fought the mind control. Most weren't strong enough, or killed themselves before they could win.

"They hated me because of my power. Because none of their experiments worked on me and I'd lash out at any chance I'd get. I've learned how to fight the control. How to not let it consume me. That's why I was able to escape. Thank God for Nara." She let out a breathy laugh. "If it weren't for her, I'd still be trapped in that shithole."

"But your eyes were black when you showed up in my basement." He stated.

"I was weak, but so were they. They managed to shoot one final serum in me, but I had already puked most of it out on the run. You guys would've been dead if I had any more in me." She explained.

"It's a good thing you didn't." He nodded his head.

"Yeah." She whispered, looking down at her hands.

"Have you always been on your own?" Zyran found himself asking, staring at Aurora with a curious look in his eye. "Did you ever have any family?"

She stayed silent, seeming to think about something. When she finally spoke, it was soft, quiet. "I did."

"Do you know if they're still around?"

Her lips pulled up slightly, but there was no humor on her face. "No. They'd be over a hundred even if they were."

"Oh..." He whispered. "I remember, back at the diner, that you mentioned having four deaths on your hands. What did that mean?"

Aurora sighed. "I've spent more years than I can count living off the streets. But there was a family that took me in. They gave me a bed, they gave me food. They became my family, and they were grateful because I was helpful to them. I helped with chores, helped with the young ones. But I made the mistake of trusting the wrong person."

"How so?"

"I told a friend...about my power. She told the town. The night that my family was killed...was also the night that I was taken by Hydra." She whispered, looking at Zyran. "I watched...as they were slaughtered, like pigs. Even the baby. They killed the baby." She hissed, her bottom lip trembling. "She was only a few months old; she didn't deserve that. Neither did Nessa. She was nine." Tears flooded her eyes, her vision blurring. She inhaled, exhaled. "They died because of me. Because of my power. It's why I— Why I needed to leave. Before I got you guys killed."