Silent cries

Voiceless

Setting: Annie's cage in the basement of the Hydra base; the sounds of alarms going off as she awakens from being out cold...

I wake inside my cage to the sound of alarms going off and Hydra agents running around everywhere; this must mean that the Avengers have been spotted, that they're finally here and...I'll see the Captain again! My heart begins to race at the prospect of seeing him again and I soon hear the sound of foot steps coming in my direction. It's Witch...and she does not look happy; she never looks happy-she slams open the cage door-she coils her metal hand around my neck and pulls me out. She slams me into the stone wall as she begins crushing my neck...

"You told them..." she snarls, "you betrayed Hydra didn't you?!"

"He...saved...my life," I chock out

"Your a traitor and a fool!" She growls continuing to crush my throat, ,you want to see them so badly..." she says ripping the chocker off my neck, "fine. See them in the after life."

She throws me at the cage and I feel the blow hard to my back; I may not remember much about my past, but I feel as though being with Hydra is wrong. I go to get up, but she pushes me back down and crushes my throat more...

"See them in the after life once this place is burned to the ground and you will have no voice to call for help with how bad I'm going to crush your throat, no amount of surgery will be able to fix it," Witch says as I try to claw her hand off my neck. I-I c-can't b-breathe...she throws me again, this time into the cage, "Just in case they should find you..." she says pad locking the door.

"..." what? No! She can't leave me here like this, "!" She took my voice...I smell smoke...fire! They already evacuated the base and left me for dead...

The fire is burning through the ceiling, wooden beams being to fall, the smoke become thicker and the metal of the cage becomes very hot; burning my skin-my legs and hands mostly-I cough from the smoke inhalation and tears start to sting my eyes as the raging flames grow bigger as well as get closer, causing the cage to burn hotter. My Red Winter outfit soon starts to catch fire...I need to escape, to get out of hear...but how? How?! As the smoke grows along side the fires and my clothes begin to burn; I desperately look around for an escape route...where? Where? Where? There!

I finally see a way out...now...I...just...need a way out of this cage; coughing from smoke, I rip the leggings off of me and wrap them around one of my hands. I stick my cloth covered hand out into the flames; only pulling back when it caught fire, I tie the burning leggings around the bars...maybe it'll melt the bars, I start ripping the fabric from my riding cape, setting them aflame and tying them on the bars around me. The bars start to melt, as does my skin; I can see my pale skin turning gray-then to black from the smoke, flames and ashes. The moment the cage bars start to clang onto the cement floor, I don't hesitate to jump out. I start to feel dizziness take over as I stumble to stand and continue to stumble over to a small, high placed window.

I let my wings lift me high enough to reach the window; I quickly take what's left of my red riding cape-which was the fabric over the shoulders and the hood-I tear the fabric off the shoulders and wrap it around my fist. I knock the glass out of the window and cram myself through. No time to stop and catch my breath, I roll around on the ground to put out the flames that are on me and what's left of my clothes. I continue to cough and stumble as I inch away from the burning building. My boots were swallowed by the fire, my dress is singed in areas and gone in others and all that's left of the cape now is the hood.

I put the hood up over my head and finally allow myself to collapse in exhaustion and inhalation...I don't know how long I've been out of it, but when I come to its broad daylight and when I look back, the house is completely burnt to ashes. Nothing left but cinders; I feel weak...but not as weak as I felt when I first ran from this God forsaken place the first time....I ran from here before? Images of a diner flash through my mind and of a man; I wonder if I could go there to that diner and that man...I wonder if he knows me, if he can help me. I force my body to get up, I look around my surroundings as images flash through my mind, and start hobbling in the direction the images are taking me. I hobble along the road with my hood up for what feels like hours, but I eventually reach the place in the images of my mind.

The lights are out and the closed sign is up; I peer inside-seeing a figure sitting at the bar area in a hunched over state-the outlining of a bottle sitting out on the counter next to him. Is this the place? I take a step back to read the sign... "The Macabre diner," Macabre...? That name...it sounds familiar...do I know it? With a deep breath, I step forward again and knock on the glass door...

"..." no response I knock again

"Go away," the figure inside growls, I knock once more, "we're closed," the figure says still unmoving so I knock a fourth time, "I said we're closed; go away!" The figure snaps so I knock one last time. This time the figure gets up, seems to storm over, and rip open the door, "look I said..." the man standing before me trails off as I pull down the hood. He pulls me to his chest in a firm hug; I don't hug him back, I don't move as I'm taken aback by this and his words, "Is it really you Annie?" He whispers

He pulls away and looks at me, I just stare at him with frightened purple eyes; he smiles at me warmly and leads me inside. The man sits me down in a booth, turns on the lights and brings me a cup of water-I drink it all in one gulp-he gives me a refill and sits down in the side across from me...

"..." he stares at me for a moment an I stare at the table, "you...don't remember me do you?"

"..." I stay quiet not really able to say anything

"Hang on a sec," he says leaving and coming back with pencil and paper, "here, let's get reacquainted."

"..." I stare at him and the items for a moment then nod and begin writing