𝘼𝙪𝙜𝙪𝙨𝙩 [𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙤𝙣]

[Desperate Measures]

The three were left tied up in the room again, the oppressive silence only broken by their heavy breathing. This time, their mouths were uncovered, but the absence of tape did little to alleviate the terror gripping them. "Help!" Robin's voice rang out, desperate and echoing off the cold, sterile walls. "Help!" Cherry twisted in her chair, her eyes locked on Steve's back. Despite her own fear, her concern was solely for him. She strained against the ropes, her wrists aching as she tried in vain to reach him.

Her breath hitched as she noticed the blood pooling on the tiled floor beneath him, dripping steadily from what she feared was a wound on his face. "Steve! Oh, my God!" she cried, her voice thick with panic. Robin kept shouting, her cries for help growing louder, more frantic. The tension in the room was suffocating, each second stretching into an eternity. Finally, a low groan escaped Steve's lips, cutting through the chaos. "Will you stop yelling?" he muttered, his voice a whisper, but enough to halt Robin's cries.

Robin immediately stopped, her attention snapping to him. "Steve..." she whispered, her voice trembling with worry. Cherry's heart broke at Robin's reaction of him, only imagining how he must look, slumped and bloodied. She hated how helpless she felt, tied up and unable to do anything but watch him suffer. "Are... Are you okay?" she asked, her voice shaking as she blinked back tears. Steve managed a shrug, trying to keep his tone casual despite the evident pain pulsing through his face and jaw.

"My ears are ringing, and I can't really breathe. My eye feels like it's about to pop out of my skull, but, you know, apart from that, I'm doing pretty good." Cherry's frown deepened, her eyes brimming with tears. She wanted nothing more than to reach out, to hold him, to do something—anything—to help. But all she could do was sit there, looking down like a punished child in time out. Robin sighed, "Well, the good news is that they're calling you a doctor," she said, her voice attempting to mask her fear with a forced lightness.

Steve looked around the room, his gaze taking in the harsh lighting and the cold, unfeeling walls once more. "Is this his place of work?" he quipped. "I love the vibe." Robin chuckled. "Charming," she replied, though her eyes betrayed the fear she felt deep inside. "Yeah, tell me about it." The room fell into silence, the weight of their situation pressing down on them like a heavy shroud. Steve broke the silence, his tone more serious now. "So, okay, do you see that table over there to your right?" Robin, still a bit dazed, looked towards Cherry.

Steve sighed. "No, your other right." "Oh," Robin corrected, turning to the correct side. "Yeah, okay." "And do you see those scissors?" Robin squinted, finally noticing the pair of scissors on the edge of the table. "Uh-huh." "Yeah, well, I think that if we move at the same time, we could get over there, and then maybe I could kick the table and knock them into your lap," Steve suggested, a spark of hope lighting his voice. "And I could cut the binds," Robin continued, the idea starting to sound more plausible in her mind.

Cherry attempted to spot the table, but tied up, she couldn't turn to look. "Yeah, and we could get out of here," Steve finished. "Gotcha. Okay, yeah, we can do that," Robin agreed, the plan forming in her head. She looked at Cherry, who nodded silently, her eyes filled with nervous anticipation despite not even seeing the table. "Those morons. They left scissors in here?" Robin smirked, Steve grinning at her words, "Yeah, morons." "Total morons," Robin echoed, a hint of a smile tugging at her lips. "Okay," Steve said, his voice firm now. "Okay, so, on the count of three, we're gonna hop."