Angel Of Darkness

18:Sanity crack

{After a lengthy quinjet ride we arrive at SHIELDS head quarters and I find my self shifting my weight impatiently in the elevator as the number sinks down to sub levels and the subtle dings become annoying and taunting.

"Well at least now we know why he said that they're polar opposites on most things." Stark mumbles over to Steve causing my nerves to increase. We arrive On sub level 14 and the doors swish open I find my self eyeing the surprisingly empty corridors warily, this doesn't feel right. 'But what if they're telling the truth...?' I think as my feet follow after Steve on their own accord, we come to a strange looking room and I find myself hazily thinking that it looks weird but the thought leaves my head just as soon as It enters when the doors open and I find my self staring at the back of Alexs head.}

He turns around wearing this stupidly goofy grin and I race towards him not even hearing the doors shut firmly behind me. When I get close enough I go to wrap him in a hug only to go right through him 'Its a hologram...' I think numbly as everything seems to freeze, I try to teleport away only to realize that this room has the same technology as Starks collar and fall to my knees screaming and holding my head in pain. I attempt to form a blade and find that while the blade does form it leaves my arm feeling numb and rubbery. 'Ok so no teleporting,' I note as the doors swish open to reveal Hawkeye with some sort of dart thing. I dodge to the left and hear the dart thunk against the wall behind me before I go racing at him screaming all sorts of insults. I dodge a few more darts and see a mellow panic in his eyes as my dagger goes sailing at him he ducks and shoots another dart nailing me in the thigh, I rip the dart out and try to ignore the fact that unconsciousness is closing in on me. The doors swish shut and I continue running and slam into the doors numbly before sliding my back down them in defeat and letting my self fall into the grasp of cold nothingness.

One hour later

I wake up to find my self in a simple looking room with a collar around my throat once again. After a moment everything that happened in the past hour comes crashing into me causing tears to slowly stream down my face silently. I stare at the wall in front of me blankly as I feel my sanity slowly slipping away from me, the reason I ran to small midwest towns hitting me in the face. My sanity is fragile, easy to break, I've been avoiding unnecessary stress, and this just took what I had left and smashed it to thousands of pieces with a sledge hammer. I hear the door swish open but can't find my self to care, I simply continue to stare straight ahead as the tears that I can no longer stop flood my face and start to make my shirt wet.

"Ashley? Hey, Ash? Hello anyone home?" Some one steps in front of me and starts trying to sign to me but I simply stare blankly at their face.

I stare at there face and start to whisper the rules quickly, to distant to see the look of hope briefly cross over the mans face before it turns to fear. "You look familiar why do you look familiar? Lies. Lies. Lies. Lies. You're not real, this isn't real, nightmare, this is a nightmare, hallucination. I'm back, they're back. Pain. Pain is soon. Yes. No. Yes. Pain. Quiet or the guards will hear. Hush or they'll look, they might harm you if you're to loud. We must be quiet, no eye contact. Eye contact is bad, it's resistance, we must not look them in the eyes. Always walk never run, running is for those who have something to hide, they don't like hiding. No running. No tears, tears are for weaklings, if you cry they'll give you a worse reason to cry. A knife slice for every tear, no tears, crying is for the weak." I mumble faster now and notice that the man is walking out of the room quietly, even after the door clicks shut I continue my hysterics.