BLACK WIDOW

raspacious

raspacious
(adj,)
aggressively or greedily grasping.

•••

"They took everything from me. They took the only three people I ever had the luxury of loving. They took my memories of them. They took my memories of happiness. Sadness. Of all feeling. And my freedom. That was the worst of it. They took my freedom."

•••

James's jaw dropped and began to vibrate in fear. "I-I—"

He had a sick feeling in his stomach that he knew what had happened. Madame B stepped to the side, revealing his Natalia forced opon her knees, head hanging, bruises everywhere, blood stained clothes, tear stained, blood caked, and sweaty. He knew he had done it. He looked down at his hands and saw immediate proof. His hand were absolutely drenched and caked in her blood.

His eyes grew wide in disbelief and his entire face contorted as he stared at his hands in horror.

"N-Natalia?" he asked aloud, eyes still fixated on the tragedy before him. A single tear streamed down his face. "I-I... I didn't—I can't..."

He was shattered. His mind was lost. And so was hers.

"James," she said, now fully crying. She didn't now what was about to happen. But she could let them hold this over him. "James they're tricking you!" she lied in a sob from across the room. "James don't believe it! They changed your memories!"

He tore his gaze from his hands and up at Natalia. His eyes were absolutely terrified. The most horrified she had ever seen them. His own body—his own mind has betrayed him and hurt the person he had sworn to protect.

"Natalia," he repeated, unknowing how to handle any of this. "Natalia, I'm sorry," he finally cried as the guards picked him up again and carried him towards the chair. "I'm sorry."

Natalia only cried harder. "James don't believe it!" she screamed, her voice cracking. The noise echoed off the walls. every inch of her body hurt, but she had to do something. Or it wouldn't be right.

They slammed James into the chair. "Natalia!" He cried. "Look at me!"

Natalia breathed in and looked at James in the eye.

"I gave you everything you need to get out of here! Forget about me and live."

They began to lock him tightly into restraints. "James!" she screamed, trying to wrench her arm away through the pain. "James."

"Promise me you will!" he begged, as his he was pushed violently on the metal headrest. "Promise me."

Natalia nodded, tears rolling down her cheek, not sure what was in store. He turned to Madame B in disgust. "How could you take something so beautiful, and drown it in red?"

Madame scoffed a his terrifyingly true metaphor. "Hardly a bad color."

"You're a good man, James!" Natalia called out hoarsely to him, knowing these may be her last words to James.

He was emotionless. He had given up. And so very brutally at that. He shook his head. "Not really, no. But your the only one who understands that."*