Girl Erased

The First War 19

I shift the lock and hear it click, the satisfying sound of freedom. I push the door open slowly and start walking in the direction of my dad's room. The first soldier that passes us doesn't even try to stop us but the next few start running to attack as soon as they hear our footsteps. I use my powers to throw a couple of them into the walls and floors, knocking them out. Every soldier I can't get to, I hear Bucky behind me, throwing and punching them out of our way. I get to the door and unlock it, stopping in the doorway to see him sitting there, terrified.

"Dad?" I ask, hoping it will jog his memory

"I'm sorry, should I know who you are?" He asks. I stumble back a bit when Bucky runs up to the door and grabs my side.

"Ruby, you have to hurry up, we're about to be outnumbered."

"Dad, it's me, Ruby."

"I'm sorry, Ruby, I don't think I know you." He says, studying my face

"Dad," I mutter, trying one more time. Then I hear Bucky call my name and I'm thrown to the floor. I start to sit up and I notice blood on the floor and I cough some up, adding to the mess. I feel a hand against the back of my head and I hit the floor again. I feel one of my ribs break, and I'm too miserable to fight back. More hands reach for my bruised wrists and I feel a new set of cuffs hit my arms. They stand me up and one of the soldiers hits me with his baton and just before I'm about to pass out, I catch a glimpse of a star-spangled man running up to me. It was probably just the trauma to my head, right?

Steve knocks a few soldiers out and signals Nat to do the same. He stumbles upon a room with some agents who are already down, and a girl with bright red hair. She's face down with her hands cuffed behind her back, the colors of cuffs lighting up the room. He walks up to her, careful to not wake anyone up and when he rolls her on her side, he realizes it's Ruby.

"Nat! I found her." he yells, "But she doesn't look too good."

"Just bring her to the jet and I'll look at her there," Nat yells back after knocking out the last soldier in the hallway.

I wake up, keeping my eyes closed, and realize I'm in a much more comfortable bed than before and the lights are a lot brighter, but how? Finally, I decide to open my eyes, trying to cover up the view of the bright lights but that's when I realize where I am. A hospital room. Memories flood my mind from the days after the fire. Several doctors fixing my cuts and burns, and lawyers telling me about my dead parents. I felt my heart start pounding and that became the only sound I could hear or focus on. Then it felt like someone deflated my lungs because I couldn't breathe. I shot out of bed, trying really hard to ignore the pain in my side, and I ran to the door which is when I noticed Steve waking up in the chair next to the bed. I slid down so I was sitting on the floor and I tried so hard to calm myself but it was impossible. As soon as Steve saw me, he was up, out of the chair, and by my side. I feel his hands holding my shoulders and I look up at him when he starts talking.

"Hey- hey, you're ok. You're with the Avengers again. You're safe" He smiles at me when he sees that I'm starting to calm down but cringes at the black eye and scratches on my face. He walks me over to the chair and sets me down, wiping my tears.

"I'm sorry," I say, trying to regain my composure. I reach for my side and lean back in the chair when Peter walks into the room.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, picking up my shirt so I can look at my side

"I um, I thought something was wrong."

"What's a Peter-Tingle?" I ask, reading his mind

"Don't- uh, that's nothing. What happened to your face?"

"That's nice."

"You know what I mean." He says, wincing at the sight of the awful bruise on my rib

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"Ruby, you're clearly not fine. Do you want to explain what that was?" Steve says, walking to Peter's side and pointing to the door.

"Do I have to?" I ask, glancing at Peter who eventually gets the hint and walks outside.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to make a big deal about this shit," I say, standing up and leaning on the side of the bed.

"Language- sorry, what happened?"

"I had a panic attack, I would take some of my meds but I didn't remember to take them with me when I got kidnapped."

"Is there something I can get you?"

"No- I just- the last time I was in a hospital room was when my parents died... or when my mom died. I think you can piece it together from there."

"Ruby, I'm sorry, if I had known-"

"Stop, you're fine. Just don't say anything to anyone else, please."