TARGET [Tom Hiddleston Fanfiction]

Chapter 14 : Red Sky in the Morning

It was unusual for Tina to wake up to the sound of birds, but somehow she found herself gently stirring awake, their tuneful call slowly waking her. She began to relax from the tight knot she'd managed to curl herself up into, and inch by inch, allowed herself to uncurl and stretch from the warmth of her bed covers. She moaned as her hand gently brushed her untamed hair from her eyes, rubbing them as she slowly opened them. Although her room was still in semi darkness, the sky outside was a grey tint of blue, a fading shade of purple chasing across the sky. "Dawn?", Tina murmured, as almost like a ghost, rose up from the bed and glided towards the window soundlessly. 

In that moment, as she brushed her hair to the side of her head, the golden orb of the sun began to peak over the top of the crescent hill in the distance many miles away, the surrounding sky bleeding to a vivid crimson. Watching transfixed, almost holding her breath, Tina witness the coming of the sunrise, the warm glow gently casting across her pale skin. In that single moment, just for a second, Tina completely forgot about the world, and all the stress and worries of the night before. Here and now, standing alone, looking at the sunrise through the bars of her bedroom window, she felt for the first time in a very long time, at peace. 

The crimson, blood filled sky continued to grow and darken as the sun grew steadily higher into the morning sky, the trees outside beginning to waft and creak in the increasing wind. The golden orb of the sun filled her with this strange feeling of strength, of hope, and a feeling of safety and security, despite her feeling so small against the wide world, almost believing herself to be like a life being blown on the breeze. Red sky in the morning ... shepherds warning. That's when it hit her; the realisation, the memories, the night before ...

Tina staggered back, a powerful jolt jumping through her heart as her pulse raced in a growing sense of panic. The note thrown through the window, the police questions, the explosion, screams, smoke, fire .... and him. The gunman. Tears pricked at her eyes as she clutched her mouth in horror to try and suppress the cry of horror as reality caught back up with her, the vivid memories flashing before her. Tina's knees gave way underneath her and she crumpled to the floor in shock, before she glanced something in the corner of her room which made her scream in terror. A man dressed in dark clothes was sat in the corner on a chair, asleep, with a gun in his lap. Immediately the man woke up in alarm at hearing her scream, his sleepy eyes quickly searching the room as his hand grabbed his gun.  Tina grabbed the closest thing to her, the cricket bat from underneath her bed, and hurled it towards him. 

In the split second she heard the man yelp with the sound of bone breaking, she'd leapt towards the bedroom door, pulling at the door handle with all her might. The wooden door creaked but it remained shut. A cold sweat ran down Tina's spine. Locked!? No, not now. Oh god no, please no, she though as she desperately pulled at the door, frantically banging on it. "Help me please, HELP!", she screamed as she heard the man's movements behind her. Refusing to give up without a fight, she swung around with all her might, her fist connecting with the side of his jaw. "FUCK!", the man screamed, clutching at his cheek, staggering slightly dazed as the fountain of blood spurted from his nose, his gun clattering to the floor. 

Pumped up on adrenaline, Tina sharply kneed him in the groin, throwing her other fist towards his head in a scream of anger and fear. His motions where quicker however, dodging her punch, tightly grasping her wrist as she tried to strike at him again. Through the commotion of their screaming and the tussle of limbs, the hurried sound of footsteps trampled down the hallway, the frantic rattling of keys in the doors lock before the door was flung open. Both Tina and the unknown man stopped fighting, Tina successfully having managed to half pin her attacked down under her own bodyweight, taking full advantage of his limited eyesight with all the blood to punch his face even more, both frozen in shock, just as much as the people standing in the doorway looking down at them.