The Avengers: Next Generation

Escape (Part One) (37)

Zoë's POV

I can hear his screaming.

I can hear my blood pounding in my ears.

I can feel the choppy, uneven breathes vibrate through me as I begin to slowly enter a star of panic. I can feel each nervous habit beginning to overtake my system. My fingernails start to scratch across my palms, and I naw at the inside of my cheek until I taste the metallic sharpness of blood. "Zoë," Caleb whispers next to me, putting one of his hands on my shoulder. "You need to stop. You've scratched yourself." I look down and see red lines across my palms, and fingernails caked in my own blood. I fold my hands underneath my arms, and start to gently rock back and forth.

"I want to leave," I gulp, and try to shake the panicked feeling away. I can't give in to it, I have to stay.... To stay.... To stay sane.

Caleb gently grabs my arms and pulls so my hands become exposed. He takes them both and kisses the backs of them, then rubs his thumb across the backs of my hands. "We're going to get out of here soon," his voice holds a comfort that has grown absent in our situation. "You're going to be okay."

I shudder. I'll never be okay, never again.

"Please, please don't leave," I feel a tear fall from my eye, and I try to stop myself from becoming a emotional wreck. Caleb lets go of my hand, and soon I'm curled up next to him, and he rubs my back and runs his fingers through my hair. "I-I-I can't d-ddd-do this any- anymore," I blubber, and he starts shushing into my ear.

"You'll be okay," he whispers as a warm set of lips brush against my temple. "I've got you."

The door suddenly opens and the rat Ward walks back in, looking around. He looks at Roy and sneers, "come here. Now."

Roy stands slowly and walks over. Run, I hear and look up to see Roy making direct eye contact with me. Run and run faster.

Roy? What are you doing? I jump as Roy lunges out and wraps a hand around Wards neck, choking him. Then I grab Caleb's hand and call out to Meghan. "Run!" I stumble and I can hear the pitter patter of my three other friends feet as we run down a long hallway. "Which way?" I ask, and Roy shouts to turn left.

"You need to find Leo," Roy orders. "Meghan, help me hold off any Hydra snakes that guard the door. Caleb, grab the girls necks."

"Wait why!?" Meghan shrieks as Caleb's hand touch my neck and he zaps the necklace. It sends a single shock through me, then stops quickly after. Meghan scoffs, "why didn't you do that earlier? And a little warning next time! Please!"

"Focus!" Yells Roy, and I close my eyes and try to locate Leo.

"He's over here!" I yell and run off, but as I turn around the corner I feel a yank on my arm. I turn around and see Caleb standing behind me. "Let go! Leo's in a room over-"

Caleb's eyes are soft as he whispers, "wait a moment," and we stand face to face in silence. "Be careful, please," Caleb steps forward and places a hand behind my neck, "be careful." He leans forward and in a short moment our lips are molded together in a sweet, blissful moment that lingers when we part.

"You too," I reply when he brakes away and runs down to join Meghan and Roy. I then open a door that leads to where Leo is laying on a hospital looking bed, passed out. Walking over I see that his tanned face is pale, his lips chapped. "Leo," I whisper, and when there's no response I touch his temple with my hand and send a telepathic wave at him. His eyes flutter, and his voice cracks as he speaks.

"I can't get up by myself," he croaks and I help him off the bed and we hobble to the door.

"I've got you, we're getting out of here."

Leo lets out a groan, "how the heck are we," a cough interrupts him, "getting out?"

I yelp as two rough hands grab me and hold me in captivity. "It's simple," Wards nasty grin plastered across his face as another creep grabs Leo and makes it so he can't fight back. "You're not getting out."

Caleb's POV

"I can't hold them off!" Meghan yells as more Hydra soldiers come at us. "We need to get out!"

Roy grunts as he flies his fist into another jaw. "Just hold them off a little longer!"

I shock a few more guys until it becomes to overpowering. "Roy, we need to get out!" I yell and I watch as Roy is knocked to the floor and Meghan is picked up by a Hydra agent, flailing and screaming. I feel something hard hit me across my back, and I crumple to my knees in agony. I can't help but cry out as my back burns in pain.

My vision blurs as I see the head honcho, John Garret come into view. "Take this one and the one girl to a separate cell," he orders and he stops right in front of me. "They're the ones we need the most." I cringe as someone lifts me off the ground, and I can barely make out a man walking towards us, Zoë trying to fight to loosen his grip on her.

"Let go!" She screams and kicks him as hard as she can in the shins, "let go!"

Garret slaps her across the face and he hisses, "stop struggling." I can see that a bright red hand mark is now left on Zoë's face.

"Don't... Touch her," I slowly get out, and I can hear his dark chuckle.

"Take the boy to a cell, the girl to Raina. I don't care what happens to him, I just need a blood sample," Garret dead pans, and I can feel myself being dragged across the floor.

"Don't hurt her," I croak and I stopped getting dragged.

"What did you say?" Garret grabs me by the hair and brings my head back and I'm looking into his cold, dark eyes.

"Don't. Hurt. Her," I manage to get out.

Garret smirks, "then you won't care if we have a change in plans, will you? Take the girl to a cell, the boy to Raina."

Zoë starts to kick and scream as she goes in the opposite direction. "Caleb! Caleb don't!" She screams, and the painful sound rings in my ears as I'm lead to another room and thrown on the floor.

"You," Garret hisses as I watch him lift a metal bar off a table, that happens to be filed with multiple tools of torture, "are going to wish you were dead."

I cry out louder than I ever have before in pain as he hits me across the back. When he strikes me again I feel myself drift.

And I drift,

Into.

Nothing.