Thanatophobia

10 | Witch

f e a r

an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat

~~~

Gryffin sat up suddenly, her body feeling as though ice water had been thrown over it. Her brain was numb and tingly, making her feel disoriented and uncoordinated. She blinked a few times, quickly collecting herself and finally noticing where she was.

"Great, a cliche moment where the main character wakes up in an unknown place after being stupid," she groaned, a headache starting to form between her temples. She sighed heavily and stood up, examining her surroundings. She realized she was on the top floor of the Avengers Facility, which wasn't very high, but it would probably hurt a lot to jump.

The window allowed her to look outside and it was dark, indicating the night. The trees overshadowed the field, the moon casting a dark shadow over the landscape. She suddenly found it very hard to breath, the walls seemingly closing in on her. She wanted to go outside but her powers were limited in the cell.

She clutched her pounding head between her shaking hands, her mind a frenzy of thoughts and images of being trapped somewhere she didn't want to be. She blinked, and suddenly she was back in the facility, needles being stuck into her skin. The air was hot and thick, making it hard to breath. She wasn't even tied down, she just layed limply on the floor, limbs heavy with fatigue and pain.

Her mind was muddled with thoughts of pain, agonizing pain, her throat refusing to emit sound after the endless torture it went through. Saliva and blood dripped from her chapped lips, her face stained with salty tears and sweat. Then she realized.

The witch.

The witch was standing in the doorway, watching.

Gryffin blinked again and found herself back in the cell of the Avengers facility, the window still open, the moon still shining and the numbing pain still ringing through her brain. Her eyes grew dark and her fists shook at her sides. "Get out of my head. You won't like what you see."

A barely audible gasp echoed through the room and Gryffin turned, seeing a curious dark eyed girl watching her from outside. "How did you know I was in your head?"

"I saw what you did. From first person point of view," she responded quietly, her hands loosening unwillingly. She was still in there. "Get out of my head!"

Wanda's eyes widened and she took a step back, frightened. Vision, seemingly alerted of her fear, came up through the floor beside her, taking her shoulders into his hands carefully. The witch looked up, startled, before looking back to Gryffin who was seething in the cell.

"Is everything alright?" Vision asked quietly, his voice echoing through Wanda's mind. She nodded, and replied, "Yes. She isn't very welcoming, though."

"Well, I would suppose not. After all, we did take her captive."

"When you two lovebirds quit looking into each other's eyes, I would like to know why I'm here and not dead." Wanda and Vision looked at her then shared a knowing look. Vision left quietly. Wanda approached the cell slowly, her hands clasped in front of her cautiously.

"Why would we kill you?" she asked carefully, her eyes calculating your every move like Natasha had taught her. Gryffin's hands were still clenched, her eyes flickering from object to object, blinking hard every now and then, as though blinking away a headache.

"Well," she scoffed, rubbing her palms together, "maybe because I nearly killed your teammate." Wanda smiled lightly, then noticed two presences coming near them.

"Natasha is fine. You didn't hurt her much. She's just a little, shaken up," Wanda replied, then stepped back just as Steve and Sam walked in, their steps heavy and supposedly intimidating. Gryffin's eyes flickered with fear before she looked away and sat on the bed heavily, seemingly in defeat.

"Gryffin Rumlow," Steve's deep voice filled the room, "a traitor to both sides."

She smirked, "I like to think of myself as more of a freelance-"

"Murderer?" Sam cut in, and Gryffin grimaced. She lost him.

"Sure. Are you going to ask me all of the basic questions? I'm pretty sure you know half of the answers since I never lied on any of my papers."

"You are a HYDRA experiment. You were trying to live a normal life, while watching over Sam, making sure he didn't join anyone like me-"

"I have no clue where you got that idea, Captain. I didn't know Sam was a flyer," Gryffin spoke over him, her gaze still aimed to the ground. Steve casted her a wary glance, then looked back at the papers in his hands.

"Fine. Then you were living a normal life as a HYDRA operative, and when HYDRA fell, you tried to hide, only to be found by your brother and others, leading you to become one of their prized toys," Sam continued, talking over Steve.

"Yes."

The room went silent, and Steve pulled Wanda out of the room, leaving Gryffin with Sam. She closed her eyes, leaning back against the cell wall. Sam watched her, his brows furrowed slightly, and a deep frown set on his lips.

"I really did hope you got out alive, Sam." Sam's eyes widened as she spoke and she opened her eyes slowly, staring at the ceiling. "I hope you realize how much I was putting at risk. I could've taken you out, as a HYDRA operative should have, and you would have died, and my brother and I would have gotten out without a scratch."

Sam opened his mouth to say something but she looked at him slightly, not moving her head. "Now I'm not asking you to thank me, absolutely not. I just wanted to clear everything up before you decided to grill me for being a wimp. So let me talk, 'kay?"

He nodded, and leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. She sighed slightly before closing her eyes again.

"I was scared. I still am. I'm terrified of so many things, and that makes me do stupid things. Like stay at HYDRA with my br- Brock after he signed me up for the experimental program when I was twelve. I'm a coward. The day before you brought down HYDRA, I knew you had a plan, because of the highway incident with the So-Bucky. They wiped him clean because he felt some sort of connection with Steve, but I brought him back. It was a painful process, for him, I admit. Gaining so much of his past self so suddenly. Pierce thought I was his right hand woman, always there to agree with him, protect him, fight for him. But that day, I abandoned him. I knew Fury and Romanoff would get out of it, so I left. Then I dragged my brother under the building, letting you run. I was planning on disappearing, then finding Bucky and helping him with his memories. But it didn't all go to plan."

She finished in a mumble, her words slowly getting quieter. She sat there, waiting for Sam to respond. She was shaking. She was scared. She was afraid.

She was terrified.

~Sarah