Silent cries

Hide & Seek

Setting: Middle of the night: Avengers Tower- living room couch; main character (Annie) is just waking up...

I feel something soft under me, it's cozy...wait! I snap straight up and observe my surroundings...where am I? It looks vaguely familiar. I slowly rise from where I lay and cautiously look around; with noiseless foot steps I walk to the next room and find it to bed vaguely familiar as well. That's when I see it; on the the giant silver box...the drawling I did of William five years ago when...I was...in...Stark Tower...I'm in Stark Tower!! Panic rushes over me...I've gotta get outta here, this is the first place 007 will come! She'll attack Tony and Pepper! I can't do that to them when they were so nice to me all those years ago...

Wait...I'm clean? My hair is soft...my claws are clean too...ah! What's this stinging in my arm? What's this red strip on my arm? Ow! Why does taking it off hurt? Son of...the needled me. I have to leave; I can't put them in harms way, besides...I should really be looking for my father...a place to hide and...I glance at my reflection in some glass...I need a new look first. I glance down at my sharp claw like nails for a moment and then at the reflection of my long dark wavy hair, I run my hand over the softness of it...I'm going to miss it. I then grasp the lot of it in my left hand and with one of my nails on my right hand, I make a clean cut. I let the cut hair fall from my hands to the floor and look at my reflection of my hair that now rests to the point of just covering my ears.

Without looking back I open a window and jump out; spreading my invisible wings, I soar in the sky feeling free and happy as the wind rushes through my short hair. I land near a window that looks in on what I assume is what a proper family looks like. The mother reading the kid to sleep after (I assume) having a nightmare seeing as most of the...city?...is asleep, or at least they are in where I landed it would seem anyway. As I walk along the road side and the sun starts to rise, I peek into windows and see all sorts of families. Some with two fathers, some with two mothers, others with one of each or just one or the other. I see some with old people, some with small people, others with people about my age or some with really tiny-small people and each one all share the one thing I want-I yearn for- and crave...

"Hey girly," I hear a voice, "you look lost; if you want I could show you a good time."

"..." this guys giving me a weird feeling

"The hecks with your eyes?!" He freaks out, "they're purple!"

He runs away the moment he sees my claws-nails-whatever...I need to keep moving; I pass by more homes with various types of family, they all look happy...I miss William, I wish he was here with me now...he could always make me smile. I brush my thumb over my necklace as I few tears slip down my face. Eventually as I accidentally stumble into someone...

"Hey are you okay?" a male voice ask

"..." I nod

"Are you lost or something? It's kind of late to be out on the streets," he says

"..." I gesture tapping to my throat

"..." he stares at me confused for a moment

"..." I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out

"Oh you can't talk," he says finally understanding

"..." I nod

"Sorry," he says, "are you lost?"

"..."I shake my head no