Pandora

10

Men, women, and children ran for cover, their terrified screams cut short as gunshots rained down on them. Smoke hung heavy in the night and filled the 16 year old's lungs while a fire consumed the small town around her. Sweat clung to Pandora as the heat from the flames grew, and soot stained her skin.

       Arms pumping by her sides, she ran past vacant clay and brick homes. Their doors were wide open, revealing overturned and broken furniture that would eventually engulfed by fire. Glancing behind her, Pandora inhaled sharply at how close the Hydra agents were, their dark silhouette emerging from the smoke and destruction that followed her.

       Foot catching hold of something, Pandora tripped with a yelp and her hand hit the ground, catching herself. Peering down at what, or rather who, she lay on, she whimpered and recoiled from the lifeless body. Pus-filled boils were scattered over the man and gos bloodshot eyes blankly stared back at her.

        Tears rolling down her cheeks, Pandora winced, crying out as a hand roughly gripped her hair. Forced to look up at the furious face of her tainted saint, she gulped and flinched as his cold stare could be felt behind his mask.

       "Look at what you've done," Strucker growled, shoving her face close to the dead man. "This is what happens when you try to leave me. If I weren't here, the infection could have spread!" Hauling Pandora to her feet, he released her hair and took her hand, harshly squeezing it.

       Trembling, Pandora gazed at the town as the smoke began to clear, showcasing the piles of diseased bodies. Some had already shown signs of smallpox and died shortly after, the others were killed on sight as a precaution. Hydra agents in hazmat suits dowsed pile in gasoline before lighting it on fire, and the homes were burned to the ground, ensuring the virus Pandora accidentally released wouldn't affect anyone else who stumbled upon the aftermath.

       "I'm — I'm sorry," she stammered while Strucker dragged her away.

       Pausing, he loosened his hold on her hand and pulled her into an embrace. Tensing, Pandora felt him tightly press a hand against her back where she was recently branded, a reminder that she didn't belong to herself, but to Hydra, to Strucker. Pulling away, He smoothed out her long matted hair and noticed the uncertainty in her eyes at his touch.

       Malice laced smile on his lips, Strucker returned to holding her hand and gently pulling her along. "You're nothing without me, Pandora. Pray you never forget that again."

       The stench of burning bodies whirled in the air and she wrinkled her nose. Then, the smell started to fade and they something much more pleasant swarmed her senses.

Stomach growling, Pandora abruptly woke from her nightmare and sat upright from her spot in the corner of a new cell. Chest heaving, she frantically searched the area and reminded herself that she wasn't trapped with Hydra anymore.

A few hours after being knocked out last night, Pandora had woken up in the third cell on the other side of her old one. This cell was nearly identical except for its thick metal walls smaller space. Attempting to stay awake, she has moved to the far back corner and should, watching the agents outside the glass wall. Eventually, Pandora had slid to the ground, exhausted from using a part of her powers she rarely tapped into, mostly because she didn't know how to.

Heart rate settling, she currently focused on the source of the smell that woke her up in the first place. In the center of the cell, Bruce sat beside the camper stove and looked over to Pandora with a sympathetic clean in his brown eyes. Behind him, Natasha casually leaned against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest while her crossbow rested by her feet. Both of them appeared rather relaxed, despite Pandora's fourth attempt at escaping.