Search for the Soul Gem

Chapter Nineteen

     "Lucy!" Tony's voice echoed off the walls as I was pulled along after the soldiers. 

     "Tony! Tony help!" I screamed back, my voice breaking with the strain. I tried uselessly to get away from the soldiers. Their grips on my arms were like iron and nothing that I did seemed to loosen them at all, "Help me!" I screamed again.

     "Quit screaming," the soldier demanded from beside me. I ignored his demands and continued to scream for help and for Tony. We reached the elevator and the soldier yanked me around to face him. My back slammed against the wall next to the elevator and pressed his elbow to my throat. The impact made me dizzy and the pressure choked out a gasp from my throat. The remaining soldiers made a semicircle wall around us, standing still and silent around me and the soldier. He leaned close to my face, his mouth pulled in a tight line, "I told you to quit screaming. I don't know what you've done, but you don't wanna test me" the soldier threatened. I swallowed hard as I looked up into his cold, emotionless eyes. Off down the hall I heard an explosion of shouting. Tony's voice floated down the hall toward me. I couldn't make out any of his words except my name but I could tell he was anything but happy. The elevator dinged behind me and I was shoved backward into it. I stumbled back into the back of the elevator, trying to keep from falling on my butt. The rest of the soldiers filed into the elevator after. The number for the 84th floor light up and the doors started to slide closed again. From the end of the hallway the sight of Tony sprinting toward the elevator was the last thing I saw before the doors closed. My throat tightened and tears raised up from my chest, into my throat, and threatened to pour down my face. I pushed them back, determined not to cry in front of all these soldiers. The numbers ticked by agonizingly slow. It felt like a million years before the doors started to slide open. They were only open about a foot when they jerked to a stop. The soldier gripping my arm looked around. 

     "Stark must have shut down the elevators," he said. He pushed me up through the opening quickly and followed close behind. Two more soldiers made it through the elevator before it dropped a few feet. 

     "Sorry sirs but I have orders," JARVIS's voice broke through the speakers in the elevator. 

     "Keep going Ace, we're fine here!" one of the soldiers called out from the elevator. Ace-the solider holding onto my arm-looked at the other two soldiers. 

     "Charlie, Sal, on my six," Ace said and yanked my after him. He made his way down the hall quickly, me tripping after. The two other men with us followed close behind with their guns drawn and aimed at everything and anything that moved. A glass door at the end of the hallway lead out to a landing pad. Resting on the lading pad with rotors still spinning was a helicopter. The fear in my chest swelled again. I stopped walking and tried to pull myself away from Ace. 

     "Please, please don't do this," I begged, the tears were flooding my eyes. Ace's fingers bit into my skin as he yanked me after him. We got to the glass door but instead of pushing open like most of the doors here, the lock engaged and the door wouldn't budge. 

     "I am unable to let you leave," JARVIS's voice came back again. Ace swore. 

     "Charlie get the door," Ace demanded. A man pushed by me and brought his leg up to kick through the glass. As soon as the glass shattered, a deafening alarm tore through the air. A flashing red light over took the hallway as the alarm continued to blare through the building, "Come on, hurry!" Ace yelled back as he pulled me toward the helicopter. I was thrown into the back of the helicopter and followed closely by Charlie and Sal. Ace quickly buckled himself into the pilot's chair and started messing with the controls. The two other each grabbed an arm and tried to wrestle me into the seat. I struggled against the soldiers pointlessly. They fought against me, trying to secure me into the seat. I wouldn't let them get my arms into the restrains on the seat, I'd pull my arm out of their grasp just before.