Unknowing - Matthew Murdock

Chapter 2

Pain.

Just as the clock peered past 8 o'clock, a muted pain kissed at her exhausted mind and a sharp stinging sensation seduced the wound on her palm – effectively arousing her from the sheltered comfort of slumber.

As the memories of last night flooded into her brain in the most ungraceful manner, a groan made its way out her lips. She was exhausted. Physically, her body had used its hours of unconsciousness wisely and made a start on repairing the damage inflicted and healing the affected areas. Mentally, however, sleep was just an excuse to explore the playground of anguish and turmoil.

It wasn't that Elizabeth thought that Daredevil was the villain, she knew who the real bad guys were and he seemed to tackle and deal with them himself. It was just his unique method of eliminating the threats and his ability of knowing everything that was going on within the city. Maybe in some perspectives he was the good guy?

She sighed. This was way too complex to be thinking about first thing in the morning.

Swiping the screen on her phone, she silenced her alarm and forced her legs out into the cold, dragging herself into the bathroom. Her body instantly recoiled from the blast of bitter air that immediately attacked her skin.

Her dirty blonde hair, that usually had a natural radiance to it, stood at crooked angles resembling a bird's nest. Dark bags hung beneath her stormy eyes; murky water marked by inky clouds. She pursued her lips. She hadn't expected her physical appearance to mirror her shaken mental state so accurately.

She peeled off her pyjamas and slipped into the shower. For blissfully short minutes, Elizabeth allowed the hot, scalding water to run over her soothingly. She used her tropical scented shampoo and lathered it into her hair to wash out all the dirt from yesterday. Keeping her electricity and water bills in mind, she prised herself out of the comfort of the water.

Padding of the excess water from her body with a towel, she readied herself for work. Elizabeth tended to her wound, expertly cleaning it and looking for any signs of infection. Her mother had passed down some clever nursing knowledge onto her, but she had always thought of it as a background information, never something she would actively rely upon. She bandaged up her hand again, flinching at every wrap that was applied with too much pressure. It wasn't bleeding as much, which was a good sign.

She bit her lip in wonder, teeth gently digging into her flesh. She briefly recognised that the Vortex was left in a bad shape yesterday but her state of shock concealed how hectic everything had truly been. She exited her apartment and locked the door as she left.

Elizabeth watched as the trees that should've branched out with blankets of lush green now ran barren and sickly grey like a stained watercolour painting, crafted by the harsh hand of the oncoming winter, a seal of the impending froid winds and icy nature.

As she walked, the cool air massaging her hair, her mind wandered to the financial side of her life. A side that wasn't so colourful. With the damage done on the Vortex she would be wise to expect her pay deteriorating for a good few weeks. Sure, she could just about afford basic necessities and her tacky apartment but the large proportion of her wages were redirected elsewhere - to a company that ruined her life.

She sighed and crossed the road. This is not the time nor place to be thinking about this. She reminded herself mentally.

Entering the building, Elizabeth was greeted with her co-workers darting from one corner of the room to another manically. The place didn't look as bad as it did last night, clearly thanks to the work done by her colleagues now, but there were still evident tell tale signs of the event that had taken place such as the marks of blood and destroyed furniture. And the amass of shattered windows, tarp vining around the shot up frames. An improvement, she figured.