The Collector

10

A few days later and Emma was still in her entranced state. She still saw his face in her memories. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw his pale dead face and those eyes... They plagued her mind, they haunted her. She barely slept at night, and she had nothing that could help her. She spent most of her time in her room staring at the ceiling or wall. And when she did go to the main area it was for food and that was about it. She would arrive first and leave last.

Pauling had been there a few times to check up on everyone especially Emma and continued with the mission, but most of the time Emma only stared blankly, listening slightly. The files consisted of information regarding a chemical to power weapons without it running out or needing to waste money on bullets. And what made it more dangerous was that if it came in contact with any sort of flesh, it would melt or burn instantly. The weapons that came with the serum were just as dangerous making the owner of that said technology extremely dangerous. The rest of the team feared for what was to come but Emma wasn't with them, or at least her mind wasn't. 

She hated it, she hated every part of feeling that way. She wanted to be happy again, laugh with all of them, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She knew it would be easy to work through it by just talking to someone but every time she tried she broke down into tears and couldn't utter a word. She wanted to be free from that nightmare, that trance, but her mind kept her locked up and pushed her away from everyone. She barely spoke and when she did speak it was none related to that night. Get out of your head. She wanted someone to comfort her, tell her everything was going to be alright and that she'll have a normal life again. But she knew very well that that was not going to happen and that she needed to take action herself.

She had many sleepless nights but that night she couldn't take it. Standing up she made her way into the hallway. She had no destination – she just wondered the empty halls. Her mind wanted to find a way to face her fear, to face her problem. Subconsciously her mind thought of only one person. Mundy. Walking outside she took a deep breath of fresh air – her body enjoyed it instead of her stuffy room she spent most of her time in. Reaching the van, she stood for a few seconds unsure how she ended up there, but she also knew. Lifting her hand to knock she hesitated, scared that she might lock up again. Sighing and scolding herself she retracted her hand, turning to leave, mumbling to herself. "What am I doing here?" The door opened. Frozen in place she didn't know if to turn around or leave – she was leaning more on the leaving side. "Hey." His sleepy gruff voice greeted her. 

They haven't seen each other since that night, let alone talk to each other. She missed him, she really missed him. She was just unsure if he missed her, but she'll never know what he went through. He had a whirlwind of emotions that night and a few days after that. He felt responsible for what had happened, but he also knew there was nothing he could do unless that Pyro didn't find him. However, he was also furious that he did not protect her better or warned her about what she would do if things turned south. Or warned her not to take the job and just go back to her civilian live where she would be safe. 

Slowly turning around, he stood in the doorway leaning against the frame with the door slightly open. Standing in his briefs and white tank, his eyes were sleepy, but they searched her face and eyes for answers. "Hey..." She whispered back, raising her hands in front of her chest – in an attempt to block the view from her V-shaped rip knot blouse – fiddling with her fingers and nails swallowing thickly. Parting her lips to speak, nothing came out, but Mundy knew, opening the door more, "Come in." He stepped inside to clean a bit. She saw how he moved a few jars around the room and stuffed them into a cabinet under the sink. Also throwing a cloth over the dishes in the sink. Throwing clothes, that were on the table, up onto his bed that sat at the back above the two seats in the front.