Unexpected

Russian Ransom

Within the hour, Steve, Rumlow, and the rest of their crew were off to Russia and I felt strangely alone in the huge, teaming Triskelion building. Everyone I actually knew were off on some sort of dangerous mission, and here I was, back in my office, Panini cold and computer overfilled with backlogged translations I had to perform. Sighing I got back to work, trying to focus my mind solely on the job at hand writing to correspondents in Greece and Argentina, translating logs and working with foreign alphabets until long after I should have gone home for the day. Mandarin characters swirled in my head as I drove home and threw on my pajamas, before settling myself in front of my laptop at my home office desk to continue my work long into the evening, only breaking for a mug of hot chocolate and to whip up a quick dinner for myself since I had ended up skipping lunch.

Brain dead near midnight I took a quick, hot shower and curled up in bed. It seemed like an eternity before I finally drifted off into a fitful dream. I was in the dark, alone, feeling rough walls trying to find my way out, back to the sun when I heard a dry, cracked moan. I paused, flat against the damp wall, waiting for the sound again. What was it? Some sort of specter? A monster? The shadow men? I could be swarming in them now and I wouldn't know. The wall slowly grew warm underneath my fingers and back. Why was it so sticky? A rotten, metallic smell grabbed my senses as I put my hand up under my nose. Oh Lord! Blood! The walls... they were covered in... I stumbled away, the moaning growing louder no matter which way I went until, off in the distance, I saw a small speck of dim light. Any light was better than no lights! I flung myself across the stalactites and stalagmites that created jack-o-lantern teeth-like prison bars, cutting my feet and arms open as I scrambled and fell, my blood mixing with what already caked the stone, then I burst into the nook where the light glowed slowly like through syrup.

There was Loki in ragged dark clothing chained down to the floor of the dark, damp cave chamber, writhing against his shackles as a poisonous green viper hung over him, it's jaws unhinged, hanging wide open and its syringe-like fags dripping yellow venom slowly into his pale face that was covered in blistering pustules. His eyes were swollen shut from venom and tears and his lips bled from his cries and the corroding snake venom, his hair was gone in chunks, revealing burnt, raw flesh.

"Loki!" I cried, haphazardly running towards him, forgetting the blood that dripped across my skin. I had hardly taken a few steps before the snake, like a flash of neon green lightning shot out at me, snapping at me. Jumping back, I dodged another attempt to bite me, be but I wasn't quick enough for the third snap of its jaws and it latched onto my shoulder. I crumbled to the floor crying out in shock, grabbing the scaly neck and trying to pry it off me. It was too strong, its teeth like nails digging into my flesh.

"Shh." A malicious voice, toxic and raspy, whispered in my ear, forcing me to open my eyes through the pain to see who was speaking. "Just relax." Was it the snake? How? But no, the asp had disappeared and instead the face of Ed, though it wasn't Ed, leered darkly down at me, his thighs spread on either side of my hips as he dug his one hand harder into my shoulder, holding me down as his other hand started exploring my body.

I screeched Ed's name, only making the licentious grin widen as he lowered his mouth right beside my ear, "I love it when you call my name. Scream louder." The nails dug deeper into me, making my whole arm numb as I squealed again, trying with all my might to push him away, furiously kicking my legs as I felt his hands trying to undo the ties of my baggy pajama pants. "Get off! Get off please! Help!"

Balling my fists up I pounded on his chest, tears blinding my vision until suddenly my hand started to glow a bright yellow from under my skin and when I punched him he flew off me, ramming into the cave was and crumbling into a heap. Standing up, I slipped on the sticky floor trying to wipe the grimy crimson from my pajamas and running into the darkness again, away from the glowing turquoise eyes that stared blankly from the not-quite-Ed's broken face. I ran and ran for who knows how long, tripping and stumbling over the uneven ground until there was no ground abruptly. There wasn't anything but darkness and my own reverberated shrieks as I was tumbling into an abyss and back onto my pillow