Hidden: In the Dark

Bracken and Bramble

"Listen kid, I'm just trying to help. Where are your parents?" Mitch walks closer to a kid in the back alleyway. He's young, around 12 years old, dark hair, about the same length as Mitch's, maybe even a little shorter and has a-

"Stop it!" Vera walks down the alley, carrying a baseball bat. "Can't you see he's scared?" 

"He's lost." Mitch carries on.

She steps out in front of the kid, protecting him like she would the alley kids in Albany. With that green jacket she used to always wear in the cold, always getting into fights and coming home with bruises and bloody noses to match her red dyed hair. It was a symbol of rebellion.

"I've been thinking, I will be someone different for you, someone you'll like, I'll change however you want." Mitch is willing to give up his identity to be with her, to follow along with her lifestyle. "There's no version of you that would make this different. People don't change for people, they change for themselves." Vera throws back.

He slaps her across the face. He does it again. Just like their break-up. SMACK. 

Through it all, Vera stands there and takes it. He goes to do it one last time but stops short, she doesn't flinch anymore, just stares. "Say you love me." He's getting worked up like he was back at the base. "Say you miss me, say something! I miss you." 

Vera ignores him, she never liked empty words, they always felt like a threat, did he actually miss her or was it something else, something Steve can agree with considering his past with his biological father.

"I know you're into it." Mitch puts his thumb on the edge of her jawline and his two front fingers on the other side, inching her face closer to him. He moves his thumb to her lips and hesitates, she sees this, still acting stunned, almost hypnotized, drawing closer, slipping her foot behind both of his and WHAM! He trips backwards, having just enough time to catch himself from hitting his head on the concrete. Vera takes the bat from behind her back and points it at his face, smacking him with it as if his head were a golf ball. He turns his face again to look at her but not before she shoves the bat into his mouth and down his throat, preventing him from even saying a word. 

He struggles as if he's paralyzed, there's no escape. "You know that saying 'put it through your thick skull'? I never thought it was literal." He gags but can't push anything out, now gaining enough strength to lift his arms and grab the bat, he desperately tries to lift it. Vera shows no resistance and pulls it out of his mouth. Mitch rolls over on his side, coughing, gasping, and spitting. He again looks at her, this time with different eyes, almost a different look entirely. She looks at his mouth, still drooling, he grits his teeth, seething. His front tooth is chipped.

"Why-" *breath* "are you-" *breath* "-angry?" 

"It's not anger, it's passion. Now where's Steve?" She picks his head up off the pavement by his hair.

"How am I supposed to know? I told you I'm out of the loop."

"You alright?" Vera asks the kid, turning around, pulling up her pants. "Um...I might be able to help." The dark-haired kid says. She gives a curious look. He swallows hard. "This is a bit weird but-" He holds out his hand. She grabs it as he closes his eyes and puts his other hand on his chest. 

She waits a moment.

"It's a place called the Battery." he says, finally. She's awestruck, taking her phone out and texting the others. Suddenly her body stiffens and she falls to the floor, taking the kid by surprise. Behind her is Mitch holding a gun that he grabbed from Vera's backside. He shot her! 

He stands up properly and picks her up. "Where are you going?!" The kid says. "Come on, I'll take you home too." Mitch responds. 

~