Lost

Chapter 2

Tony was somewhat hesitant at first, but after promises from Wanda and Bruce that I am not a threat, he agreed to let me stay in one of the bedrooms in the compound. Wanda was kind enough to borrow some of her clothes to me until we could go shopping since no one knew how long I would be staying.

The room was beautiful with floor to ceiling windows covering one wall and the others painted a light grey, there was a plush cream carpet on the floor and a king-sized bed with charcoal sheets, it even had its own walk-in closet and ensuite bathroom. After a warm bath and changing into a comfortable pair of black leggings and a chunky knit red sweater Wanda led me to the common room for dinner with the rest of the inhabitants of the compound.

The moment I set foot into the common room the noise at the dining room table died down. Trying my best to control every impulse that screamed at me to run and hide, I give a small, shy smile and a little wave to the stunned faces around the mahogany table before ducking my head and sitting down between Wanda and Bruce.

The awkwardness is broken when a petite redhead smiles at me coyly and says, "Hi, I'm Natasha, I'm glad to see you're looking better this evening. This is Clint, Steve, Bucky, Thor, Tony, and Vision," she introduces the other people at the table. Despite her calm and friendly smile, I get an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach, like I know this is not someone to mess with. Dinner goes by about as smoothly as eating with a bunch of strangers can go and afterward I excuse myself to go back to my room, unaware of the eyes following my movements.

I'm wandering through a strange building. The smell of mold is thick in the air with only a light breeze wafting through on occasion. The floor, walls, and ceiling are all exposed concrete and the emergency lights cast an eery red glow over the scene. No matter which turns I take, the corridors still all look identical; a never-ending maze of monotony. I realize that there is no way out as a strangely familiar, yet foreign laugh echoes from the speakers and the corridor fills with a gas that burns my lungs and airways as I struggle to breathe. Black spots start dancing in front of me like fireflies, beautifully hypnotic and always just out of reach. They grow in size until they cover my eyes completely, shroud me in a blanket as heavy and unyielding as wrought iron. As the darkness claims me, willing me to stop fighting and accept my inevitable fate, I can make out the sound of heavy boots strolling closer, ever closer...

I bolt upright, my body covered in a sticky sheen of sweat, my hair plastered to my skin in ropes and my ears ringing like the tolling bells of Notre Dame. I can feel my heart thundering in my ribcage, trying desperately to claw its way up my throat as sobs rack through my body in unrelenting waves. What the hell did I just dream?