UNKNOWN GUEST

#133 Breaking The Restraints

I had no idea how many hours or days had slipped by, trapped in that relentless darkness. My body ached, every muscle, every bone reminding me of the torment I'd endured. When I opened my eyes, the dim, stale air around me felt just as suffocating as before.

The chains around my wrists and ankles dug into my skin, cold and unyielding, the metal bruising and biting, but I barely registered the pain anymore. My mind was racing, trying to piece together everything Sharon had revealed.

Sharon—Agent Sharon Carter—from my time in 2042, had come back here. She was after the Red Hulk, planning to unleash a nightmare upon everyone I held dear, to annihilate my family, my friends, and every Avenger who dared stand in her way. But it wasn't just her; there was also a Sharon in this time, in 2024, who knew about her future self. 

Somehow, both versions of her existed here, and they had plotted together, woven this web of terror in two timelines, feeding each other information, sharing goals. If I didn't figure out a way out soon, I'd never stop them. This nightmare I'd been running from would become real, an unstoppable storm crashing over everything I'd fought to protect.

I took a slow, ragged breath, my thoughts sharpening. I couldn't let them win. No matter how bruised, how broken, I had to find a way out of here.

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I noticed a faint, solitary glimmer of light—a tiny ray of sunlight slipping through a small hole. Squinting, I tried to focus, and after a moment, I realized it looked like a bullet hole in the metal wall. Hope flared in me, fragile and small, but enough to spark determination.

Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to move, dragging my body across the rough, cold floor. The chains around my wrists and ankles clinked and rattled, the metal chafing against raw skin.

Every inch forward was agony—my muscles burned, my bones felt like they were grinding against each other—but I ignored the pain, every fiber of my being focused on reaching that one sliver of light.

Breath hitching, I rolled onto my side and stretched, straining to get closer to the small beam that seemed just out of reach. With another grimace, I pushed my foot against the floor, sliding my body a bit farther. The light grew closer, the faint warmth of it brushing against my skin, and with one last effort, I reached the bullet hole, pressing myself against the wall.

My eyes widened as I peered through that tiny gap. Outside, all I could see was water—endless, dark, churning water stretching in every direction. It looked black, tainted and foreboding, as if it belonged to some bottomless abyss. My stomach twisted. Was I... underwater? Trapped in some kind of floating prison, surrounded by nothing but miles of water?

Taking a deep breath, I steadied myself, willing my body to stay strong despite the relentless throbbing in my ankles and wrists.

The bullet hole in the metal wall was barely wide enough, but it was all I had—a narrow shot at freedom. I raised my legs, positioning my feet against the cold, unyielding metal, and kicked with every ounce of strength I had left. The metal only groaned under the impact, refusing to give.

I gritted my teeth and kicked again, harder, each strike sending a jarring echo through the room, until my muscles ached and my feet began to sting through my shoes. But then, finally, the metal around the hole began to weaken, widening just slightly with each desperate kick.

A glimmer of hope sparked in my chest. I kicked harder, ignoring the sting of pain, until the hole stretched to about ten inches wide, a circle just big enough to see outside. I peered through it, heart sinking as I took in the endless dark waters on the other side, cold and ominous. But I didn't have a choice—I had to keep going.