Vengeance [Avengers Fanfiction]

[Chapter 31]

[Steve]

    My boots crunched against the snow dusted concrete as I walked through the empty amusement park of Coney Island, leaving footprints in my wake. Frost coated the glinting metal of my shield and a thin fog rose from my breath into the crisp, winter air.

    I had been wandering the alleys of the city, finding few demons when Coulson had informed me that a demon attack had been reported near the amusement park and I went to investigate.   

    As I approached Coney, I had been attacked by more and more demons, leading me to the dark corners of the empty, hollow park that I was currently creeping throughout.

    Deserted machinery creaked around me in the brisk winter wind. I sharply turned to the left, shield raised as the chains of a faded red and green swing ride rattled in the breeze. Seeing nothing, I sighed and continued my trek.

    A dark lighthouse was ahead of me on the edge of a small boardwalk that wrapped around the side of the amusement park. Its dark, stately figure towered above the attractions and booths, the moon briefly illuminating its rusted and peeling while paint.

    Stylized, faded, cartoon faces loomed from the rides surrounding me, smiling from their perches on the tops of carousels and fun houses. Their cheerful, painted faces appeared creepy in the dark, their bugging eyes following my every movement.

    "What are we doing here?" a warm breath hissed in my air.

    Turning sharply, I instinctively swung my shield at my unexpected guest, realizing too late that it was Quinn. The Phantom ducked easily, her fingers wrapping around my wrist tightly.

    "Take it easy, Spandex." she growled, removing her hand. "You don't want to rip a stitch."

    My wrist was warm from her touch, the tingling heat fading quickly in the cold air and leaving nothing but the memory of her skin. I was glad she couldn't see the embarrassed blush creeping across my cheeks in the darkness.

    "Sorry." I apologized, letting out a half relieved and half nervous breath, a sheepish expression on my face.

    "Not scared of clowns, are you?" Quinn inquired dryly, nodding to a statue of a clown dressed in its usual colorful and exaggerated attire leaning against the entrance to a ride. Its painted face was stretched into an unnaturally wide and strained grin, the dark shadows cast across its face making it even more inhuman in appearance.

    "Maybe a bit." I replied easily, glancing around the surroundings. "The last time I was here was before the war. Everything's changed so much." I muttered to myself.

    "That's what time does. Changes things." Quinn said, silently pacing across the icy concrete to examine a white, plastic horse that seemed like it was attempting to leap off of the golden, twisted pole protruding from the center of its body.

    Suddenly I realized that I hadn't answered her earlier question about why I had called her down here to the park.

    "A demon attack was reported near here on the boardwalk about an hour ago. Since I didn't think that many demons would hang around the large groups of people and the lights, the amusement park was a possible hot spot for the demons to nest."

    A howl ripped through the darkness, echoing around us. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled and I saw Quinn tense from the corner of my eye.

    "I think you're right." she said, freezing and tilting her head to the side slightly as she sensed the immediate area for demons. Her hood was up, making her porcelain white skin stand out against the stark contrast of the dark material.