Animalia // Barnes

Chapter Twenty-Three: Lee

~ANIMALIA~

My feet hit the damp concrete of a New York alleyway, the familiar smells of the city flooding my senses. I look around, making sure nobody saw my entrance. Sure enough, not a single person seems to be in the alley with me. Shoving my hands deep into my pockets, I leave the dark corridor. The busy New York streets enter my view, the bright, dizzying lights revealing me on every angle.

I walk towards a pedestrian crossing. Reds, oranges and purples of a new newborn sunrise bleed across the dark sky. The skyscraper windows gleam in the new light, while busy taxi drivers turn off their headlights. I hear a loud screeching sound, undeniably a driver hitting the brakes to hard. "Get off the road!" They exclaim. I continue my walk throughout the city, avoiding cameras and drawing attention to myself.

I walk further through the city, eventually arriving into an intersection where all of the buildings are covered in screens, each with different objects and people. A blinding pain shoots through my head, causing me to stumble to the ground. I clutch my temples, trying to make the pain go away.

I keep walking, trying not to freak out. I had seen people before, but never this many. There are so many, all wandering about with no idea of the danger they could be in. I see strange things all around me, but I feel like I've seen them before, like the car. I know I've seen these screens displaying faces, letters and weird pictures, the smoking paper rolls hanging out of people's mouths and iron plates in the ground before. It's like I've had the name tags ripped off and thrown away. I can't process what's happening, all the noise and people.

Some things have names, like the restaurant. I see them and then immediately remember what it is. No flashback, just the word and what it does. It's weird. Shoving my hands into pockets, I shuffle further away from the massive screens and sea of cars. I feel so alone in such a busy city, the only people I've ever known dead, kidnapped, or HYDRA. Tears start to spring in my eyes and a rock begins to form in my stomach. What am I supposed to do with the rest of my life? I've got nothing left to-

My thoughts are cut short by a gunshot ringing out from behind me.

I gasp for breath, the raw memory consuming all of my thoughts. I had done this before. I was stuck in New York, trying to remember my past. Why is it that history seems to be repeating itself? I start to notice the small crowd forming around me, a small red-haired woman crouching down in front of me. Her short hair flicks into a bob, golden eyes looking at mine. She has a cut on her lip, and a hopeless look adorning her face. I recognise her as me, making me reel back at the realisation of seeing double. I blink, and the woman's golden eyes disappear, along with the cuts. Her face changes slightly and I realise that this woman is not me.

"Everybody get back! She needs air." The woman yells, sighing. She looks at me strangely for a while before speaking. "I'm going to drive you to the hospital, 'kay sis?" My head spins, preventing me from arguing back at this woman claiming to be my sister. The crowd disperses, leaving me alone with the woman. Despite her small frame and height, she lifts me off of the ground and sling one of my arms around her shoulder.

"Jesus you're heavy." She huffs, blowing a lock of hair out of her face. I manage to clench my fists, but the overwhelming headache prevents me from doing much else. She drags me toward a cab, pulling out some keys from her pocket and putting them in the ignition. She props me up on a seat in the front, buckling me in. "Don't. Move." She warns.

I stare at her, panic coursing through my veins. She enters the drivers side of the clean vehicle, checking behind her for other cars. "My names Lee. What's yours?" She asks, not taking her eyes off the road as she pulls out into the busy street. I groan, trying to avoid answering her question. "Uh-huh." She replies.

Lee presses a button on the steering wheel, turning on some music. "NOW MY NECK IS OPEN WIDE-" The stereo screams, hurting my ears. "Shit!" She exclaims, switching her eyes between the buttons and the road. She changes the song, turning the music down a little bit. "I can hold my breath..." It begins. "No thank you, I do not want depressing songs today." Lee shuns, changing the song once more.

"It might seem crazy, what I'm 'bout to say."

"Fuck it. I'm done."

The music stops, leaving a fuming Lee glaring at the road.

We turn into an abandoned sidestreet, the car moving very slowly. Lee pulls the handbrake, turning to face me. "Clearly this isn't a hospital." She starts. I stare at her blankly, my hand creeping toward the door handle. "But I'm also not an some idiotic New Yorker. So why did I have the opportunity to get a HYDRA assassin in my car with zero struggle after she collapsed on a road without even a simple disguise." Lee's voice escalates with every word, her Australian accent standing out.

My hand bolts for the doorhandle, clicking it and revealing the busy street. I jump out of the car, leaving the door wide open and running as fast as I can with my horrendous headache. A weird ringing noise comes from behind me, followed by the shattering of glass and a blast knocking me forward. A ringing noise echoes through my ears. I groan, trying to get up and walk away, but a pair of hands roll me onto my back. "Really? For an assassin you are shit at being incognito."

I roll my eyes, the pain in my eardrums, head and battered body becoming too much as I pass out.