Outsider

Four

The first night at Hydra was one of the hardest I had to endure.  There was me, screaming and crying out for my Papa.  I was held tightly by him, despite my efforts of clawing and biting.  I had gone completely savage.  We entered a dimly lit basement with stone walls and a concrete floor. At the end of the hall was a steel door. He opened the door and shoved me inside.  As I stumbled and picked myself up from his shove, I was suddenly smothered in a pitch blackness.  I heard the sound of a door locking, and then heavy footsteps walking away.  Being completely blinded by darkness, I grew very scared and anxious.  It was enough to scare me into a complete state of panic.

I pounded on the door fruitlessly.  "I can't see!  I can't see!" I screeched, my throat raw from all the screaming.  "I want my Papa!  Get me out of here!  I can't see!"  But, each time I drew in a breath for more air, it was as if my throat was closing off and I was trying to breathe through a straw.  I thought I was dying, so I screamed, "I can't breathe, I can't breathe..."

My hands were bloody and bruised.  My throat ached, I was cold, and each breath was a struggle.  I sank to the floor and sobbed.  This was all my fault.  Perhaps if I had crawled through the tunnel like Papa told me to, then he could have escaped without worrying about me, and we would be together.  Now, Papa was surely dead.  Curling up into a ball, I cried, "I'm s-sorry, Papa.  Please forgive me.  I-I'm sorry..."

I must've passed out because when I woke up I saw a tiny glimmer of light on the floor in front of me. I looked up and saw a circular window that must have been thirty feet above me! Sure enough, I could make out some of the dull, grey sky.  I drew in a breath- my breathing was normal.  I looked at my hands, they were black and blue with bruises and there was dried up blood at the knuckles.  I stood up and paced around the cell.  Although it was small, it seemed empty and dark, so unlike our cozy little house I called home.  I knew in my heart I would never see our beautiful, wonderful house, and I started to cry.

"Hey,"  A gentle voice saying merely that one word pulled me from my thoughts.  It was a male voice, but it wasn't gruff or harsh like Rumlow's.  This may have been someone from Hydra playing a trick on me, or it could be a friend.  But, I was willing to go with the latter.  Curious, I crawled over to the door of the cell and asked softly, "Who are you?"  

"My name is Oliver.  And you are... Elissa, right?" the voice with the name of Oliver said.

"How do you know my name?" I asked warily.

Oliver replied, "I saw your father last night, he was talking about you."

"Papa?" I exclaimed eagerly.  In an instant, my heart seemed to flutter happily again and I grew hopeful.  Perhaps I was wrong, perhaps Papa wasn't dead as I thought. "I want Papa.  Where's my Papa?" I asked.

I could hear Oliver shuffle outside nervously. I was afraid he was about to leave when he finally asked, "Do you want me to be honest?"

"Okay,"

Oliver drew in a breath and then said, "Your Papa was executed last night. I saw it happen. It was a bullet to the head, quick and painless."

Just as I had predicted. I waited for the tears to come, but they didn't. I felt numb all over.  It was queer to think that the only person I loved was gone.  For some reason I thought of past tenses.  I could no longer say, 'I love my Papa,'  From here on in it would always have to be, 'I loved my Papa,'  Looking back, I could not believe that that was the topic I was thinking about in this scenario.  Papa was dead!  Why wasn't I crying?

Finally I said, voice whiny and weak, "So I'll never see Papa again?  Or my house?  Or my fireplace?"  

Oliver was paitent and kind with me, some of his best qualities. Unbeknownst to me at the time, I was a very demanding kid to look after.  But Oliver did his best, and he did an exceptional job.  In my state of grief, he said to my gently, "Your father is in the land of the angels now.  Although it may seem hard to accept, he is in a better place."

Heaven.  Papa told me all about that place.  It's a paradise with no evil.  No Hydra.  Papa will get to see  my mother, I thought, and they can be happy.

Without me.

One tear slid down my cheek, and another one dribbled down my nose.  Each breath shaking, I cried and cried for I was truly left on my own now.  "I don't want to be alone," I choked, voice quivering.  

"You're not alone,"

I looked up, as if I could see Oliver's face.  Although there was a cell door blocking us, I could practically read his thoughts and emotions.  And with that, I knew Oliver would be someone I could trust.

He would be a friend.