The Runaway Distance: Life of a Little Stark

22) Life And Death

The thunder was so loud.

Clash after clash... The pouring rain...

Your senses felt numb.

You couldn't see through your tears. You couldn't hear over the bangs. You could barely feel the rain dripping over your skin. You couldn't taste anything except for dry air. You couldn't even smell. Nothing was working as the pain got more and more unbearable.

Eventually, your legs buckled.

It felt like time ceased to exist as your knees smacked the wet ground.

The briefcase slid some distance away when you dropped it to hold your stomach. In a matter of seconds, your hands were drenched in blood.

It hurt...

With squinted eyes you could just about make out your dad. He looked absolutely horrified, pure shock rooting him in place. He was looking at you, stunned, until something else seemingly caught his eye.

A figure was approaching the scene.

It was a man.

He was cloaked in black save for a purple mask covering his features. In his hand was a long gun. A sniper rifle.

He was the shooter.

He dropped the rifle to the ground to take another weapon from behind. This new gun was reminiscent of a bazooka. He raised it up and aimed straight for you. Tony finally found himself time to react.

He dropped beside you, very gently and carefully lifting you into his arms. The second you were secure enough he turned around and headed for the tower entrance.

The HYDRA team leader shot the bazooka.

It hit the car next to Tony and exploded on impact. People started to scream and run and Tony tried his best to shield your body with his own, taking most of the blast with his suit.

Your senses had gone from being numb to suddenly on overload.

The blast felt like a hurricane, the flames looked like giants, and the yells turned into screams of raw terror. You could hear the screeching of brakes as the cars swerved to avoid the explosion. Some stopped and crashed and others sped up to get away.

In the corner of your eye you could see the briefcase.

It was lying on the other side of the street in a puddle. You wanted to say something but when you looked at your dad you noticed the chain of a necklace.

That was the gift you left the day you ran away. It had to be.

He still had it after all this time.

You wanted to speak up but there was an explosion of pain from your new gunshot wound. All you could do was whimper instead.

You could feel your eyelids getting heavy.

Your dad was yelling at people to get out of the way as he carried you inside.

Dr. Cho and her assistant were at the reception when Tony burst through the doors completely drenched in rain and with you bleeding in his arms. At first they didn't realize how bad it was, but soon the sky was alight in orange and red as flames from the bazooka targets spread. Dr. Cho tried to get a look outside as the entire room seemed to shake on impact, like an earthquake.

"Stay inside!" Tony said. "Nobody leaves!"

He was panicked and barely aware of his surroundings or what was going on. For your own safety, he handed you over to the assistant.

"Careful." He warned, a desperate look in his eyes as he turned to Cho.

"Tony, what-" She tried to speak, but he was already explaining.