Tigress ➳ An Avengers Fanfic (Book 1 of the Scepter Chronicles)

3

I woke up to silence.

No running children.

No screaming Headmistress.

No loud clanging or yelling from downstairs.

What?

I sat up, taking in my surroundings. I was in a room with simple white walls and wood floors. A fluffy gray carpet was placed underneath the bed I was lying on. The sheets and pillows were a plain white color.

I threw back the blankets and stood up. My feet sunk into the fluffy carpet as I padded towards the door. I carefully opened it and poked my head out into a large hallway. I stepped out, closing the door behind me with a soft click.

The hallway was eerily silent, and I seemed to be the only person around. Slowly, I began to walk down the hall, seeing doors with different labels  on either side of me. I stopped at one similar to mine that didn't have a label. I pressed my ear to the door, listening.

Nothing.

Carefully, I turned the handle and pushed the door. It swung open, revealing another bedroom. A large white bed leaned against the far wall, and a closet with sliding mirror doors was to the left of the bed. On the right was another door. I crossed the soft white carpet and laid my hand on the doorknob. The sound of running water came from the other side. I froze, staring at the door. Then, I ran out of the room, closing the door as softly as I could while shaking madly.

I had been kidnapped.

I was sure of it. I couldn't believe I had fallen for the whole "you're getting out of here and it's going to be okay" thing. I was such an idiot.

I sprinted down the hall, not knowing or caring which way I was going. I reached the end of the hallway and turned the corner, smacking straight into something. More like someone, actually. Great job, Caly. I stared up into a pair of blue eyes.

"Hey, you're awake," the brown-haired man said. What was his name again? Kent? Oh, well. He smiled at me, and I booked it in the opposite direction. "Wait!" he called. "What did I do this time?"

My feet thudded on the tile floor as I ran past more halls and doors and people, dodging everything in my path.

"Hey, girl, wait up!" the man called from behind me, his footsteps echoing off the tiles.

I ducked under a few people's arms and threw myself under a desk. The man ran right past me, yelling ahead and looking for me.

As soon as he disappeared, I scrambled to my feet and retraced my steps. I kept my head down, smoothing my hair with my hand and walking casually, shoulders down, hands in my pockets.

I had picked up a few things at the orphanage.

Turning a few corners, I shouldered through a door and looked up to see a room full of powerful-looking people staring at me.

Curses ran through my head as I gave them a weak smile and hightailed it out of there.

"Girl! Wait!"

Voices called after me as I sprinted back down the hall, the Mission Impossible theme song playing in my head.

I found myself running back down the hall from earlier, and I decided that my room would be a good place to hide.

Bad idea.

As soon as I passed the strange door I had opened, a figure sprung out and tackled me to the floor. My head smacked into the tile floor.

Groaning, I sat up abruptly, slamming my head into the other person's. They fell back, and I got up to run. But something swept my legs out from under me, and I landed on my face.

The figure sat on my back as I wriggled and twisted in a weak attempt to get free.

"Are you finished yet?" a bored female voice asked, and I stopped, recognizing it. I turned my head as best as I could and stared up and the redhead. Great, Caly, you forgot her name too. Way to go.

"Who are you, and where are we?" I demanded, giving her my best intimidating stare.

She smirked, making me frown. "Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D," she said.

"Huh?"

"Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division," another voice answered.

Eye-patch man appeared over the woman's head. I scowled at him.

"English, please," I snapped, twisting under the woman.

"Ooh, she's feisty. I like her," another voice said.

"Who are you people? And what could you possibly want from me?" I continued squirming, getting absolutely nowhere.

"My name's Natasha, and I already told you that," the woman said. "Fury is the man with the eye patch, and the other idiot is Clint." Both men nodded at me, and Clint's jaw dropped in offense when he registered what Natasha had said.

"Great. Can you get off now?" I asked, kicking at her, and she shook her head.

"Not until I know you won't run."

I frowned. "Why am I here?" I whined, still wiggling.

"Because you're special," Fury answered. "Like all of the others here like you."

I laughed humorlessly. "Seriously? Special? I'm a sixteen year old girl who's parents died and was in an orphanage for eight years, waiting for someone to want me. You think that's special?" I yelled, my voice cracking.

The woman slackened on top of me. I shoved her off and stood up, shaking my head.

"I'm probably the least special person in the world," I whispered. "You've got the wrong person."

With that, I walked away. They began to whisper, but I couldn't care less.

Had I just told a bunch of random strangers my past? I hadn't told anyone about it, not even Leah, yet here I am, pouring out my life story like there's no tomorrow.

I shoved open what I hoped was the door to my room and collapsed on the bed, sobs finally breaking out. I lay there for a while, crying until the tears wouldn't come.

A knock on my door made me jump five feet into the air. Clutching my chest and trying to steady my breathing, I called, "Come in."

The man who had been chasing me stepped through the threshold and silently shut the door. Right, his name was Clint.

"Hi," he said. I didn't reply. He walked towards me slowly.

"What's your name?" I stared blankly at him, hesitant to tell him.

"It's okay, you don't have to tell me," he said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

I scrambled backwards until my back hit the headboard. He smiled sadly at me.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry we scared you and I was just wondering if you wanted to meet the others..." He trailed off at the end, looking up at me. I played with the hem of my shirt, not meeting his eyes.

"I guess that's a no," he said, getting up and looking disappointed. He walked to the door and opened it.

Turning back towards me, he gave me a pleading look. "Please don't be scared of us. We just want to help."

And with that, he was gone.