Her legs tensed before she sprung across the wooden edge of the otherwise thatched rooftop, and her feet beelined for the next roof.
Meredith paused for a moment, took a breath and grinned up at the stars, before continuing on with her forward dash. Her black locks flew behind her, tamed only by the low ponytail- no head scarf, no faking it. Her eyes, green as the grass that existed only in her memory, squinted to avoid the sand and dust blowing her way, though her slanted bangs helped her as well.
The tattered rag, once her burka, now served as a half-mask, covering her nose and mouth and shielding them from the sand. It smelled like oil and dirty feet, but Meredith didn't care.
What a wonderful thing the night was: She could let her hair out and wear pants, she could speak English, she could raise her voice or stick out her tongue... she could do anything she wanted to.
The night enveloped her, and she squeezed it back even harder. Soon, every day could be like this, and this nightmare could be behind her...
Meredith halted and crouched when the building came into her line of sight. It stood tall and afar, like the light at the end of the tunnel that no one wanted to go towards, or a giant Cyclops rolling the large stone in front of the only exit to the cave.
Meredith felt a calm tingle through her surface, and she relaxed. Over soon- this could all be over soon.
Meredith stuck to the shadows of the night as she approached it, like a cat stalking a wolf. Any uncalculated movement might indicate the presence of the enemy. Any noise might sound an alarm. Anything but the night might-
THUD.
Meredith spun around, slamming her fist into Jon's face. "Ugh.... Johnathan, could you be a little quieter," She shook her hand and held it close to herself. Pain shot up her arm and she glared at him.
"Hey, you're the one that decided to punch a guy of steel's face. Is your hand broken?" Jon chuckled. Meredith flexed her hand to make sure- the pain lingered, but it was beginning to subside.
"No, but my point still stands. You should be quiet, or you'll completely blow our cover, doofus." Her eyes narrowed at him. Did he find this funny?
"Okay, okay.... It's Strongman right now, by the way. I finally decided on my temporary name. Shield wanted to know if you're ready and in position," He gave her a lop-sided smile and puffed his chest out when he mentioned his Codename.
Meredith mentally measured the distance, figuring herself to be less than a quarter mile away. "I'm good. And Strongman? Seriously?"
Jon shrugged and frowned. "Yes, seriously. At least I'm a man, not a songbird. I'll give him the news, Nightingale. Go in when signaled."
Meredith crossed her arms and watched him leave before she could spout out a rant about choosing meaningful and creative names as opposed to blunt statements of superiority and power.
Not that any of it would matter after tonight if they got this right.
Meredith found a new hiding spot and watched the building. It dwarfed all the small hovels around it, standing as a border between the city and the rest of the world.
The night sky, lit up with a thousand stars, cast their light upon the area but left the majority of it in the shadows. Grey, dust, and creeping black with strips of starlight painted the scene of the building and the adjacent area. The structure seemed lonely, yet many smaller tents and cardboard slums surrounded the grey, four-story-tall, stone building.
"Hey! Let him go- LET HIM GO!"
Meredith turned towards the shouting. A woman's voice, probably a no-good woman if she was out this late at night, but...
YOU ARE READING
Lost and Left for Dead <THIS HAS BEEN REWRITTEN>
Fanfiction"Accidently causing everyone to think I'm dead for extended periods of time is a special talent of mine." - It took them a year to find her the first time she was "dead". The second time... well, they still haven't. And this time, she dragged two...
