Eclipse (Born at Dusk - Book 1)

7

April 23rd, 1961

Kate had been thrown back into her cell, and she had a feeling she wouldn't be receiving any more 'gifts.' The guards had been rough with her, taking them the same route they'd taken before. She assumed it was nighttime because exhaustion hit her like a wave. Maybe it was the full meal she'd had or the constant stress she'd been under after the man shot at her.

He'd left without a word but didn't forget to spill hate in her direction before leaving her alone. Not long after, the same guards came back. After numbly falling asleep, Kate didn't rest easy. Eventually, after several hours, she'd been jolted awake by the sound of a gunshot; or at least what she thought was one.

Now, Kate lay on her bed, which was oddly comforting, and stared into nothing. Everything she'd supposed was real. She'd been kidnapped and shipped off to Russia to be 'put to work.' Given the man's response to her 'speaking out of turn,' Kate knew it would only be brutal obedience from them.

And the worst part was that Kate knew there was no way out, not like this. Solitary confinement, constant surveillance, and every bit of discipline they deemed necessary. She could do nothing as they'd walked her back to her cell, in a labyrinth of hallways, accepting her current circumstances.

Silent tears slipped down her cheeks as she felt her life fading away from her.

Her mother: Louise Alden, head instructor of the College of New York, would never see her face again. There would be no late-night coffee conversations. There would be no lessons taught over the dinner table. And she would never know what had happened to her daughter.

Her father: Charles Alden, lead engineer underneath American innovators, would never hear Kate's voice. There would be no surprise trips to engineering expositions. There would be no out-of-hand gifts within the industry. He wouldn't ever stop worrying about his daughter, only to never see her again.

And her siblings. Her older sister with the most beautiful set of twins. Her older brother had flown across seas, serving the country he was proud to be a part of. And her baby sister, who had only just graduated high school. They would never know where she was, never know that she was forced against her will to abandon her family.

Kate thought of her boyfriend: Roman Pearce. Of the plans they'd made after they would be married. The pact to seal the deal at twenty-five. Every moment spent with him: was gone. Each time he'd bring her a batch of freshly made muffins from his mother. The ideas to change the world that they'd spend hours late into the night talking about. The love he'd never get to give her wasted away into nothing.

And then Kate thought of her best friend. Only having her siblings as her friends growing up, she instantly connected with Howard Stark. Every innovation they'd created to change the world, every idea that spurred itself from their heads to a page. All of it would be gone. She knew the late nights in the lab that were with her would only be silence from then on.

Kate knew she could very well spend the rest of her life in that cell. She knew that despite Howard's best efforts, it could be impossible to find her. That even across the world, no one could do anything to get her back.

Kate was sobbing quietly, worried if she got too loud, she'd receive another warning shot. But it was made up for in tears. Her pillow was wet, her hair sticking to her cheeks as she repeatedly wiped at her eyes.

The cold was remorseless as Kate cried over her family, hunched over herself beneath her blanket. Over the loss, she'd realized.

Eventually, Kate fell back asleep, her fear enclosing her into a warmth of darkness that eased her nerves.