Insider

Two

Day turned to night, which also welcomed a thunderstorm.  Watching the rain slosh down against the window was depressing, recalling how Ollie died in a storm.  A dinner was served to me through a hatch in the door, which remained locked, but I didn't bother eating.  The food was probably shit, anyway.  How I longed to be back at the apartment watching a movie huddled in blankets by the fireplace.  

My hands trembled, blue veins pulsing.  Without the drugs, my emotions were becoming more real and raw.  Crying became more difficult to conceal or bury, my heart raced with anger.  Physical pain was shooting through my body, as well.

But, maybe I could get back home.  I only needed a weapon- how the blade of a knife and the verbal threats of Crimson Night could get me far!  Swiftly, I hopped out of the bed to be met with horrid pains stretching across my torso.  Fuck, I thought, broken ribs.  Sure enough, when I lifted the nightgown I saw that my chest was black and blue, confirming the diagnosis.  But, maybe when I get back to Crimson Night I could care for my injuries there, and get some Criz too.

For the first time in forever, I decided to throw a tantrum.  Merely acting, I tore at the bed sheets and kicked the pillows, screaming while I did it.  It hurt like hell, but I was also having the time of my life.  Through my howls, I was laughing.  But, a security guard entered the room, so I moved onto the second part of my plan.  With a needle full of anesthesia, the guard tried to grab hold of me.  However, I turned into a wild animal and ended up weilding the needle at her, like a knife.  I dragged her through the hallway, which was full of steel doors; a prison.  The whole time she gargled beneath my choking hold, so eventually I just knocked her out with the drug in the needle.  

She wore a black suit of bulletproof armour.  I put on the heavy shit, locked her in my cell, and grabbed her weapons.  A regular gun and a stun gun, but no knife.  The stupid helmet squeezed my brain, but at least it disguised me.  Somehow, I found my way to the main hallway, stunning whoever was in my path.  My laughter subsided, and I grew cold inside and out.  Upon the main hall, I found computers.  One of them had a prisoner's log, so I typed up my real name.  I was in the Triskelion, and- 

All my belongings were in the archives!  My heart swelled with excitement, maybe I didn't lose everything!  The cell block was on the forty-second floor, and the fastest and most secretive way to get down there would be through the vents.  

Down I went to the thirty-seventh floor, counting each drop I made to make sure I was correct.  Somehow, with muscle memory and accurate counting, I dropped onto the thirty-seventh floor.  In a swift motion, I stunned the guards on duty before they even saw it coming.  A brick wall, I had only one mission:  To get my stuff and get the fuck out of there.

Pain ached through my stomach, but it wasn't because I had broken ribs.  Something bad ought to happen, last time I escaped somewhere on my own I was sterilized.  Luck was never on my fucking side. 

Somehow, I found a box of my belongings.  Neatly folded were my clothes, on top were my shoes and my knife.  Its blade glittered in the darkness, I held its cool touch to my cheek and sighed.  Surely if my knife was found, then-

Vigorous digging found no necklace.  Those assholes took it!  S.H.I.E.L.D. had my necklace, it was probably destroyed or being used as evidence; I would never see it again.  Tears sprung to my eyes, but I still found the strength to change back into my original clothes and set out through the vent.  "I'll make S.H.I.E.L.D. pay," I muttered to myself, clutching my knife against my chest.  That thought made me smile, but only a little bit.

I'd swim across the river if I had to, the cold would somehow become bearable.  I took an empty freight elevator down to the main floor, where I had the biggest surprise of my life.  

Amongst the crowd of people filing out of the closing Triskelion, I caught bright red hair.  Could it be?  I doubted my thoughts- how would've Matt known to come here?  Did he even know I was alive?  But, the owner of the hair turned, and I saw the inquisitive hazel eyes.  My throat swelled, and I choked, "Matt!"

He turned and ran towards me.  In his arms, Matt spun me around just like Oliver did.  We kissed and he ran his hands through my hair.  "I saw you fucking jump on the news!" exclaimed Matt, caressing my cheeks.  "Why'd you do it?  I can't live without you!"

Resting my head on his shoulder, I whispered, "And I can't live as a prisoner,"