Rogue Shadow

Chapter 13 - Allegiance

Chapter 13 – Allegiance

04:50 Wednesday, 11th October 2017

Closing the door silently behind her, Nat turned around to stare down the dark corridor. There was something strangely familiar about dark, decollate, grey hallways. Nat supposed the last time she'd been in halls like that was months and months ago – the same night she had escaped from Hell.

Nat shook her head. She needed to stop thinking about that stuff. Biting down on the inside of her lip to bring her mind back, she checked for a glimmer of light at the end of the dark halls.

What the hell was she doing? It wasn't even five in the morning.

Her hand found its way to the wall, fingers running along the cool, smooth surface as she crept down the hall. A dim light caught her attention as she rounded the corner. It was coming from the kitchen.

Eventually, she was close enough to peek her head in; Wilson was hunched over a mug, the white light of his computer screen illuminating his face.

Not wanting to interrupt the man, Nat hovered by the entrance, feeling out of place. She had half a mind to turn back, but then, just as she decided to walk away, she heard her name called out in an undertone.

"Tash..." she bit down on the skin between her teeth when she realised that she'd been caught. There was no way out. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Her head bobbed up and down once automatically, that's what she was supposed to say... wasn't it? Wasn't she always supposed to be okay? Cause no one wanted a broken kid. Adults were all the same. It didn't matter what she was dealing with, as long as they had nothing to do with it. You couldn't trust them. Nat stood one foot in the room, ready to turn on her heel and run at the first sign of danger.

"You can come in, kid. No need to stand at the door." Nat's eyes darted between the table where Wilson sat and back down to her feet. She took her hands away from the wall, heading towards the closest chair, which, coincidentally, just so happened to be the furthest away from the man.

"Did you need something?"

She responded mutely. Her fingers twisting her spare hairband into knots, before pulling it loose and starting again.

"What are you doing up?"

A shrug.

Wilson was studying the child, searching her for any sign of injury. He stared at her a while longer, hoping to see some sort of clue as to what was going on inside her head. But her eyes remained firmly locked on her fidgeting hands. He reached forward to shut the lid of his laptop. Resting his elbows on the table, he interlocked his fingers and considered the child they called Natasha Turner.

There was something strange about her. Not her past or her behaviour – they were explainable – it was her whole attitude towards just about everything, and how her entire demeanour could change in the blink of an eye. It was like she was hiding who she was, not just from the people around her, but from herself as well. She had buried her emotions so deep within herself. He wondered how many years she had been forced to live like that. How many habits would he have to undo?

He blinked himself out of his daze, "you've gotta give me something to work with, kid."

He could see the internal war she'd waged against herself, debating whether or not it was safe to speak out. She could tell that the man wanted answers and she didn't want to risk angering him by refusing. There would be a point where he would snap, there always was, and Nat was hoping to hold it off for as long as she could.