Two of a Kind | Wanda Maximoff

Chapter 19: Rescue

Wanda had lost all hope as she sat against the wall in her cell. She had lost track of the days, though she guessed she was only in there for about a week. It was hard to tell; there were no windows, and the guards that came and brought her food came at random hours (she suspected they were scared of her and Claire). Claire laid in her bed, in a peaceful sleep, but Wanda couldn't sleep. She felt nothing; not hunger, not thirst, not exhaustion. She sat on her cot, against the bars that lined the walls of her cell, staring expressionless.

"Wanda, you need to go to sleep," Claire said from her cot. She laid there still with her eyes closed and her right arm resting against her forehead and her left arm under her head and she sounded exhausted.

"What do you mean?" Wanda asked through their mind link, raising an eyebrow. Claire's head rolled over and made eye contact with Wanda. Claire sighed before sitting up on her cot.

"What do I mean? You left the connection open, dummy," she said with a laugh. "I can hear everything rattling around in there." She lifted her cuffed hands as best she could and tapped the side of her head. Wanda's cheeks turned a light shade of pink and she lowered her head down a little, as much as the shock collar would let her.

"Did I wake you?" the Sokovian asked still keeping her head down. Claire laughed at her behavior and shook her head.

"Kinda, but it's not like I was really sleeping," she said. "How are you? You doing okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Wanda lied. Claire stared at her, not believing her words. Anyone who looked at her could see that Wanda was anything but fine. Her brown hair was greasy from not showering, her light skin was paler and her green eyes looked dull and didn't have that familiar shine, and she had large dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep. There was a set of bruises on different spots of her face (and she guessed there were some on the rest of her body, though she couldn't see), some that were old and fading and some that were new and fresh. Claire's heart broke as she stared at the broken girl in front of her. A tear slipped from her purple eyes as Claire laid her forehead against the wall that connected hers and Wanda's.

"Wanda, please. Tell me the truth," she said, a lump forming in her throat as the tears continued to fall. "You're not fine. You're not, so stop saying you are. You don't have to lie to me, okay, now please tell me the truth."

Wanda looked away from Claire's harsh gaze. She knew that if she met her gaze, she too would start crying because Claire was right; she wasn't fine.

"Wanda please, look at me." Wanda lifted her red-rimmed green eyes back to Claire's. "Look, I know everything seems...bleak and hopeless, but it's not, alright? Everything is going to be okay. Just hang on."

"Hang on? Hang on. How am I supposed to hang on?" Wanda's voice started to rise and her brows furrowed. Her stomach let out a deep and painful rumble and Wanda doubled over in pain.

"Hey, you okay?" Claire asked with concern. Wanda forgot about the shock collar for a brief moment.

"Yeah, I'm..." she was cut off by a burning pain in her neck, causing her to scream out in pain. The louder she screamed, the more the pain stung. More tears fell down Claire's face as she watched her new friend in pain. Wanda continued to scream, not bothering to bite her tongue. After a couple of minutes, Wanda stopped screaming and the pain subsided. She threw her head back against the wall and cried. Her quiet whimpers were the only sound to come out of that room.

Claire turned away, giving her privacy and also let her own tears fall without pity. She brought her knees up to her chest and rested her head on her knees and started to cry. After a minute, she stopped and picked her head up, breathing heavy. While she couldn't see, she knew her eyes were glowing a light purple. When I get out of here, you better wish I don't find you, because I'm the last thing you'll ever see.