The Cursed One

[chapter 03]

Chapter Three: New Mexico

"You little rat!"

"You killed her!"

"It's all your fault!"

Claire jolted awake, gasping for breath as she listened to the gentle patter of the rain against her window. She climbed out of bed and put her glasses on before heading into the kitchen. Her large t-shirt hung over her hips and she wore a pair of white colored shorts to match. Her blonde hair was slightly messy. She headed into the kitchen and began to make herself a cup of coffee.

"She's dead because of you!"

Claire hugged herself as she stood in the kitchen, waiting for the coffee. The angry voices of her family yelling in her mind. Those memories of that horrid day when her abilities got out of control. The memories she had nightmares about. The screams of her sister. The crying. The yelling.

"Monster"

That one word. She was a monster. She collapsed to the floor, crying softly. She held her face in her hands and sobbed quietly. Her cries echoing through her empty apartment. She wiped at her face and looked up hearing a beep. The coffee was done. She sighed and swallowed a little before looking down at the floor below her. She stood up slowly and took the coffee out, pouring it into her favorite mug.

After a few hours, Claire arrived in New Mexico. She looked at the large facility in shock, swallowing slightly at the size of the building. So many guards and people with weapons surrounded it as she was led inside by a man who introduced himself as Agent Coulson. She didn't know what to do. She just followed behind the man, keeping her distance. She was afraid her abilities would surface.

After she had been given a tour, she found herself in the cafeteria. Her book open wide as she started working on her homework for school. She put the pencil eraser to her forehead as a headache grew. She closed her book and huffed, giving up on finishing the overdue assignment. She looked up slightly as someone sat down in front of her. She raised an eyebrow slightly as she looked at the man.

"Hi," he said as he looked at her. He glanced at all the books that were scattered about on the table. He looked at her and sighed softly before he moved his lunch tray and moved one of her books toward him. He stuck his fork in a piece of meat before taking it into his mouth, taking it off the fork.

"Hi," Claire said softly as she studied him. She swallowed a little and looked down at the floor. She glanced up to see that the man was watching her. He set his fork down and sighed softly.

"My name is Clint. Nat said a newbie would be coming today. I'm guessing you're Claire?" The man asked gently before he swallowed his food. He set his elbows on the table and looked at her, tilting his head slightly as he looked at her.

"That's me," Claire said softly as her hands found their way back onto her lap, fumbling with her fingers a little. She looked down at her shoes and sighed before she looked at him and swallowed a little.

"Welcome to SHIELD," he said softly before he stood up, picking up his tray and leaving the table. Claire sat there alone with her books and her cup of noodles. She had brought some food from home so cups of noodles were mostly what she packed. She huffed and took off her glasses, pinching the bridge of her nose slightly.

Claire sat up in her room, looking at the picture of her sister. Tears rolled down her pale cheeks as she let out a strangled sob. Her sister was dead because of her. She was gone. She hid her face in her hands and cried softly to herself in the dark room. She pulled her knees to her chest and cried. It was nonstop. She was cursed. The last of a cursed blood line. A monster.

After the small flashback, Claire sat there in her room that she had been given. It was small but it would do. She set her bag on the desk and looked down at the floor before sitting upon the bed. She was cursed. Claire had been born into a cursed family. Her powers passed down from her mother to her. When her birth family died, she was adopted into a new one. A family that gave her love and hope. They treated her like normal people. The even knew of the curse but didn't care.

Well that was until the incident. Claire had lost control of her powers. Her adopted sister had met a horrible demise in the end. The family was cruel to the monster they had brought into their house. They abandoned her. They left her. They feared her and hated her. The girl was left alone to die. All alone. She had been mistreated. The curse was ripping her apart on the inside. She had tried to kill herself but something would make her stop. A force telling her not to do it. Suicide wasn't the answer.

Drip

Claire's head snapped over to the attached bathroom, watching as water dropped from the faucet. She sighed softly and looked down at the floor before she looked at her hands. She clenched her fist and closed her eyes before laying down on the bed. She got up and grabbed some clothes before heading into the bathroom. She started up the shower and leaned against the wall, waiting for the water to warm up. She sniffled softly and wiped at her nose gently before she stepped into the nice warm shower. She laid her forehead against the shower wall and sucked in a deep breath.

Claire missed feeling loved. Her heart ached so much. She missed being loved by her sister. Her sister had loved her. Now... No one loved her. She clenched her fist and let out a soft sob before biting her bottom lip. She turned off the shower and stepped out, slipping on the shorts and t-shirt. She sat down on the bed and looked down at the floor beneath her.

A tear rolled down her cheek and hit the floor. She wiped at her face and sighed before laying down on the bed. She looked up at the ceiling and her lip quivered before tears started rolling down her pale cheeks. She rolled over and buried her face into her pillow as she cried.

She was cursed. She was...

A monster