It's Not A Gift

Chapter 4

     Dr. Connors hadn't even blinked. He had been in the same position for eleven hours. Peter Parker's body hadn't improved. His skin was the color of a dead body and it was cold and lifeless. Every breath he took, Connors feared was the last. But he was still very much... alive.

Although that didn't mean he would stay alive for very much longer. He dreaded the moment Peter would finally stop breathing. Dr. Connors denied any hope of him living through the twelve hours. It was one thing to be hopeful for something and another to be lying to yourself.

Dr. Emerson was standing outside looking through the one sided window. Her bright eyes were anything, but fearful.

All she ever wanted was to be recognized. She wanted to be worth something to Hydra. When she was assigned to finding a way to transmit the venom into a human, she accepted immediately. The entire experiment could get her killed, but the chance was worth it.

Her wishes of becoming one of the world's greatest scientists were thinning by the hour. Because every hour that passed, the test subject became weaker.

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Peter liked the darkness. The darkness was good. Because when he was in the dark, no one could hurt him. No people in white coats, or metal tables, or pointy needles.

He knew he was asleep. And he didn't want to wake up, because he wasn't sure where he would wake up. He wasn't even sure where he was anymore. But that was okay, because he just let himself float into the peaceful darkness.

But as soon as the darkness came, it was gone. Suddenly he was standing in the snow, holding each of his parents hands. They were walking to their car, after eating ice cream. Everything felt so familiar to Peter. He felt he was having some major déjà vu!

But he knew what would happen next. There would be a man. But he couldn't remember what the man was there for! And as soon as they turned the corner, there he was.

His parents immediately tensed. Peter's dad placed a protective hand in front of him and his Mom, "What do you want?"

The man smiled slightly, "Richard you know what we want. Don't play dumb." It was then Peter noticed the gun. And everything came back. The silent bullets, the blood, and the screaming. His parents were going to die!

Though everything moved on as it had the first time. He had to stop this! He had to save them before they were shot! He tugged at his parents arms, trying to pull them away. "Mom! Dad! Stop talking, we need to leave! He's going to shoot you!" Then the scene changed. And they were on the ground, dead.  This wasn't a dream, it was a memory.

His parents were dead and he was stuck in a torturous hospital. Alone.

"Peter..." He looked down to see his Dad, reaching to hold his hand. When he touched Peter, his hand was freezing cold. Like a dead man's hand. Or was it Peter's hand that was cold? He couldn't tell anymore.

"Peter you have to wake up." Peter felt tears streaming down his cheeks. "N-n-no! When I wake up you won't be there! I don't want to wake up alone." 

"Peter you have to get up now." Peter shook his head, "I don't want to be alive if your dead. Your dead Dad! Why did you die and leave me alone with these people?"

"I'm sorry that your hurting Peter, but if you don't wake up now, you'll die. You don't want to die."

"No... but I don't want to be alive either." Peter whispered. "I just want to stay asleep."