Trial and Triumph (A winterwitch story)

Waking Up

11:56

The clock shined it's bright light cascading over the pillows. Wanda rolled over to cover her eyes. She couldn't sleep, if she slept the dreams would come. The torture, the loss, her brother. No, she thought, she wouldn't look at Pietro's crumpled body one more time. She shivered, she got up and crept over to the windowsill, she on the ledge and pressed her forehead against the cool glass. She gazed down out the calm woods. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes, suddenly her brother's limp body flashed before her eyes, thousands of dead bodies surrounded him. She turned around and there stood Steve, Nat and Clint. They stood with terror in their eyes "You did this." They said "You killed them." No, she screamed, no. She got up and slipped out of her room. She glided down the stairs without making a sound. She stepped out into the grass, the crisp September air filled her lungs. She walked, past the lawn of the great training facility into the woods. Surrounded by darkness and the sound of the wind and the trees she finally let the memories come. They flooded her, poured over like an ocean, drowning her. The blood, the bodies, the pain, the years spent in that cell and now the loneliness. She screamed a mournful, lonely cry and collapsed onto the ground sobbing. Tomorrow she would smile, Vision would tell her how well she handling everything. She was handling everything, just not as well as he would have liked. She lay there for what seemed like ages, her hair mixing with the pine needles on the ground and her body stretched out among the forest debris. It wasn't until the sky turned a watery pale blue and the sun began to peak out that she made her way home.

11:56

He jolted awake. Shaking, sweat rolling down his skin. He turned and looked at the clock before sighing and collapsing back into the pillow. The bed, which had once been his refuge, was now his prison. The memories came in waves, Steve had said they would. They weren't all bad, sometimes he saw good things too, but mostly bad. He closed his eyes and saw the countless faces of the people he had killed. He tried to make their screams go away but they just got louder and louder with every attempt. Finally he couldn't take it and climbed out of bed. He walked in circles around his room, restlessly pacing the floor. Finally, he stopped and turned towards the window. He didn't know why, he had seen the same trees of that same forest before but he still walked over and looked out, as if something was calling him. He looked down and saw the girl, Wanda, was that what Steve called her? He couldn't remember. She was walking, no that wasn't the right word, more like floating through field, as if in a trance. He could feel the energy radiating off her. He had no idea where she was going but he felt himself being pulled out the door, racing after her. Suddenly he was sprinting through the field trying to catch up with her. She stepped into the woods. He waited a moment before following her, ducking behind trees and bushes so as not to be seen. Then a bright light blinded him, an explosion of red energy and a deafening scream threw him to the ground, his head hit a rock and started to bleed. Still, he didn't leave and instead stood up and looked at the tiny girl on the ground shaking with sobs. She looked almost like a baby bird, too small and too vulnerable. He wanted to reach out, to comfort her. Suddenly he snapped out of it, what am I doing? I don't even know her he thought. With that he made his way back to the facility and crawled into bed. This time the faces of his victims didn't fill his head but the sound of anguish from the girl echoed in his ears.