For The Sake of Revenge

II~Chapter 6: Airborne

My favorite part of the day was my History lecture, even though I had it once a week. Many could guess why. Most of the time, Ivar had his back turned to the class, doing stuff next to the professor's desk. His back was just as beautiful as his front and it seemed all the girls in my class acknowledged that.

I really did try to focus on my studies because I knew our Professor let Ivar score some tests. A large part of me wanted to impress Ivar, to make him notice me, even though I wasn't the smartest around. I prayed he'd notice me. I needed more time with him.

A small, rather annoying part of me also acknowledged that it was technically cheating. I had a fiancé in another world who I actually felt something for, after all that we went through. This Ivar was just the exact replica of a stranger that I might have known.

But that didn't matter when I saw girls gaggle around him every day after the lecture, giggling and laughing. Not quite so ridiculously as they would have in high school. They giggled endearingly, with grace. I never flirted before, I never had many guy friends in high school outside of my partner projects and tutoring sessions.

I fumed on the inside and I tried not to seem affected. It was silly. I hardly knew him, even though he was very much like the Ivar I know. But despite my efforts, they were for nothing. Sometimes I would contemplate plucking up the courage and force myself through the girls...which led to other fantasies, like me grabbing his collar and kissing him.

I shook my head. I didn't want to be sitting there dumbly and staring at the Professor's TA. It was weird. So instead, disappointingly, for what felt like the billionth time, I walked away from the lecture hall.

The light snow had begun to fall, melting on the ground, bound to form slush and cancel all public transportation. This is unfortunate for university students because professors didn't move their courses forward or backward for anything, even God's wrath.

I remember, in one of my plights to self-discovery and distraction, reading an article about how snow drowned out sounds. I wasn't sure about the reason why. But it must have explained how I couldn't have possibly heard that efficient engine slam into me and sweep me off my feet.

I wasn't sure what happened. But one moment I was crossing the road, the next I felt myself slipping and then I felt something collide against my side so hard and so fast, I thought it was a car. But it wasn't. I didn't know what it was, only that I could hear the faint screams of people growing fainter and fainter. 

Fainter because I was going higher up in the air.

I knew I was screaming and whimpering because I could hear myself. I could feel my body lose its temperature the higher we went. I could feel the blood rush to my head and then my ears get blocked. So many sounds were happening; my terrified shrieks, the terrifying sounds of the smooth engine against my back, and the wind in my ears. The robotic voice in my ear was repeating the Neville Chamberlain's infamous words; "Peace in Our Time," like a broken record. Even though my eyes were firmly shut, I could also make out other screams. I wasn't the only one.

All of a sudden, something collided with that machine and I, and it jolted me nearly into the air. My stomach curled in on itself with a worrying pain when the machine nearly let go of me.

"No please!" I could hear myself begging, "Don't let go!"

I wasn't sure who I was pleading to. But clearly, they weren't listening because another collision and the metal brace around my middle let go. My eyes flew open in shock and my voice died in my mouth. 

I was free-falling from a thousand feet.

Everything was happening too fast. The freezing hair bit at my skin, my hair whipped in my face, and my eyes watered even though I wasn't able to close them. My call for help died in my mouth because there was no way anyone could save me.

Then, a metal face appeared in front of me, pitch black with silver accents and flashing eyes. Spittle of spit came out of my mouth and narrowly missed the metal face. Maybe I would be embarrassed about that under normal circumstances but right now, I couldn't afford to feel anything but fear.

"Hold on!" It was a man's voice that came from the mask and even with the loud wind in my ears, I could hear it as clearly as a gunshot. I forced my frozen arms to move and I wrapped them around the metal man's neck. Everything felt mind-numbingly grounded all of a sudden and I sobbed in his ear.

"It is alright," the man said in my ear, almost in a murmur. But I could hear him loud and clear, even though the wind was infinitely louder. "I'm holding you. You are safe."

To reinforce his words, his hard, metal arm wrapped around me and I hugged him tighter, feeling airborne. His body was grounding even though we were still...flying.

I looked over his shoulder, just as three things exploded in the air above us, ripping apart the snow clouds. Three other metal figures, presumably like my savior, flew away with flailing civilians.

"Oh god," I breathed watching as frost whitened my hair. Immediately, the metal against me warmed, heating my entire body up until we reached the ground. I hugged my savior tighter, trying to steal the precious warmth.

I felt our momentum slow and then my feet touched solid ground. I whimpered in pleasant shock. However, when I released his shoulders, my knees gave out and it was by sheer luck that the metal arms around me held me up on my feet.

"Thank you," my voice trembled. "What was that?"

"Just an everyday occurrence ya know--using civilians as hostages," the metal man shrugged and it was such a human thing to do that I stared at him. His sarcasm was like venom.

Not to mention, his alarming height only added to the impressive physique the metal...costume gave off.

"Hostages for what?"

"Stay safe, woman," the man stepped back and I frowned at him.

"I didn't ask to be dropped from a thousand feet."

"Does anybody?" the man asked and I could imagine, if he had a dynamic face, he would be giving me a wolfish grin. A loud blast and the man, as though he were a rocket flew away. I had shrieked in shock and jumped back, only to see a black spot where he landed and took off.

It was such an anticlimactic end to my unconventional tribulations that I could only stare up at the shrinking figure of the metal man in the sky. What did I expect? I sort of expected more impressive responses, less sarcastic...more heroic speech.

"Yasmeen!" my mother's terrified shrieks sounded behind me and I turned around quickly, surprised to find that I was in my own neighborhood. How did he know?

"Mama," I gasped, my heart beating furiously in the chest. She was sobbing, her eyes were red and her face was a mess. When I looked around, everyone was looking. The entire neighborhood was out, watching.

"The news, baby!" she shrieked in Arabic, engulfing me in her arms and dragging me inside, peppering my face with kisses and tears. I was sobbing too because the relief of being alive actually made me collapse a few feet away from the couch.

I hadn't realized I had lost my bag until I saw it laying on my window sill that night with everything inside it. A note sat on the bag, with perfect cursive script, the logo of SHEILD written on the back of it.

Keep up the hard work,

-S.A.

I stared at it. Who could S.A. be?

I remember putting away the note, keeping it in my drawer because I couldn't the recycling bin and was too lazy to go downstairs.

I remember the golden bracelet that my Ivar had given me also at the bottom of my pack. I was still there. I put it on, thinking it looked large and manly on my small wrist but it felt just right. 

I collapsed on the floor in relief. 

Who was S.A.?