Winters War Phase 3: Some Kind of Monster

Chapter 9

She pressed into the wall as firmly as she held her hand to the bloodied wound in her side and stared down the gun pointed at her face. To one side, she saw a man with long hair. He was screaming, but she couldn't hear him over the bang that jolted pain through her shoulder. Old and fierce blue eyes glared at her from behind the smoking barrel before he stepped aside and the green blur she'd seen behind him resolved into a giant monster. Without stopping, the giant scooped her up by the waist and suddenly she was flying out through the shattered window and falling, falling through the cold, snowy sky.

With a scream, Julia jolted awake. The heart machine beeped rapidly as it measured an elevated heartbeat. Daisy rose quickly from the couch and came to where Julia lay panting.

"Hey, everything okay?"

With a gloved hand, Daisy rubbed Julia's back to calm her down.

"You're okay. Just breathe."

"Where am I?" Julia asked shakily while she looked around.

"In a SHIELD facility. You're safe."

She pulled down the collar of her hospital gown and looked at her shoulder. There was a scar.

"Who did that to you?" Daisy questioned.

"A man from HYDRA," Julia answered while she tried to control her breathing. "And a green giant threw me outside, through a huge hole in a wall."

"The man from HYDRA, do you mean the British man?"

Julia shook her head, still recovering from the nightmare.

"No. Another man."

"Can you describe him?" Daisy asked.

"He was old. Not so tall as The Sir. Blond hair, blue eyes. Like The Sir, he's wearing a suit."

Then the door of the room opened and Jemma appeared with a tray of food in her hands.

"Good morning," she greeted Julia with a smile. "I saw by the security camera you were awake, so I brought you some breakfast."

She placed the tray on the table. Then she walked to the bed and glanced at the monitor.

"Oh my," she said as she saw the high heart rate.

"She just had a nightmare," Daisy said.

"Oh you poor girl. Don't worry." Jemma' hand went into the pocket of her coat and took out a set of rubber gloves. "I'll take you off the monitor, the IV and the oxygen tube. I don't think it's necessary any longer and your body absorbed all the vitamins and minerals we gave you," she explained as she pulled on the gloves.

Julia flinched a little at the first touch of her gloved hands as Jemma removed the sensors and the IV tube. Jemma turned off the monitor with a click and for the first time in days it was silent. After that she removed the tube from her nose.

"There, you're now free to have your breakfast."

Julia cautiously made her way to the table. On the tray were two glasses of fresh orange juice and two bowls of cereal with milk, as well as a small plate of cubed watermelon.

"Looks good, Jemma," Daisy complimented her.

"Would you like to have coffee or tea, Julia?"

Julia glanced between the food and the doctor.

"Uhm, I guess this is enough," she answered with a smile.

With a smile, Jemma left the room. The two women took a seat and started eating. Julia cut the melon into smaller pieces, stabbed her fork into a piece, and took a small bite. The fruit was soft in her mouth. Slowly she ate more of the fruit.

Jemma came back with a mug of coffee for Daisy and a pile of clothes for Julia.

Julia took a spoonful of milk and cereal. "It tastes good," she said around the mouthful.

Jemma and Daisy smiled and Jemma nodded at the pile. "I have some clean clothes here for you. I think you could use a warm shower."

Julia was still chewing while Jemma talked. She was having difficulty swallowing her food. Jemma and Daisy looked concerned as she started to gag. Suddenly she spat out her food in a nearby trashcan and started to cough. When the cough ended she released a relieved sigh.

"Are you okay?" Daisy asked worriedly.

Julia nodded.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just difficulty with swallowing my food," she explained, embarrassed, moving back to the table.

"I think it has something to do with stress and anxiety," Jemma explained. "Take your time eating and have smaller bites. Okay?"

Julia nodded as she took a small bite of the watermelon and chewed carefully. She swallowed it easily after a moment.