SANCTUM | Avengers

5

- FIVE -

Closing the computer, I turn to the wall next to me. I grab a backpack off a hook on the wall and quickly fill it with all the things I'll need- weapons, food, and the package of information.

I pick up some bullets and move them around in my hand, feeling the cold metal. Looking around, I see a small hand gun and pick it off the shelves.

Loading it, I stuff it into the bag, too.

Opening a drawer, a smile creeps across my face. The inside of the box is laden with passports; from Spanish to British, Canadian or Norwegian. Each of them has different names and birthdays.

Quickly, I stuff the American passport into the bag walk to the back door of the room.

Pulling open the heavy door, I'm greeted with a pitch black tunnel. The tunnel goes on for who knows how long, but after only a few short seconds, I hear a train running in the distance. It comes closer and closer before I hear the deafening screech of brakes against the tracks. Lights appear in the distance, and it get louder and louder. The lights shine at my feet now, showcasing a kind of platform. Seconds later, the train stops and the doors open. Getting on, I find a seat, which is not hard to do when the train is completely empty.

The train runs for an hour before it stops again. Lights begin to filter through the tunnel and graffiti layers the concrete walls. The brakes screech again and when the it comes to a stop, its doors open and people file in. This happens again five times before a board at front of the train cab reads:

"YAKUSK AIRPORT"

The wheels screech loudly yet again, and I stay sitting until after the train comes lurching to a stop. Patiently waiting for the crowd of people to move, I slip out of the mess and make my way up the staircase to the huge building.

For the first time, I have left my cavernous hole of a home. Never did I imagine that I would leave that place. Not only was training the only thing I have ever known, the Red Room is the only place I could ever remember living.

But now, as I stand on the airport platform, I take a deep breath. Tying my hair up into a bun, I tuck the loose strands behind my ear. I remember teacher telling to look casual. Looking around, I inspect the tall walls that envelop the huge space, their surfaces decorated in everything from adverts to boards displaying flight times.

A breath almost hitches in my throat when I look up at the ceiling to see a huge window, opening up the airport to the early morning sky. My mind reals at the possibilities that come from a place like this. People cross my path left and right, all on their own journey. Every single one of them not even sparing a glance at one another, they're absorbed in the thoughts of the family they will see, the business deals they will make, or something else the was so important that they can't even look up.

I keep my small bag on my back and walk briskly to security. The files regarding my mission are still tucked in the largest pocket of the carry-on bag.

My new clothes are stiff, too. The skinny blue jeans hug my body unlike any clothing I had ever been offered during my training. The large winter coat does well at making me look like everybody else, but the overall size of it makes it harder to maneuver my body through the mass of people.

I approach the security booths with confidence. I belong here, I tell myself. I place my bag, my shoes, and I.D., in a small box on the table. If I do this correctly, nothing should beep when I go through the full body scanner.

Quickly, I trip and fall, sprawling onto the floor. On my way to the ground, I "accidentally" hit my arm against a button on the side of the scanning machine. Both of the machines shut off completely, rendering them unable to beep or show an image of the contents of my bag.