Breathless ~A Romanogers FanFiction

Chapter 1- Run

*Natasha's point of view*

The rickety floorboards squeaked as I tiptoed around the eerie room. 11 other girls lay in identical beds in rows across the room, all fast asleep. Why can't I sleep as peaceful as they do? Why do I have a tendency to suffer? Why can't I be a normal teenager?

I can't stand being here any longer. Too many memories. Too much bloodshed. Too much guilt. I opened the small ottoman on the edge of my own identical wooden bed, and pulled out all my clothes - mainly tank tops, jeans and leggings - and shoved them all into my black backpack that I've kept hidden under my bed for over 10 years. I picked up the Hair Brush I keep on the weak wooden structure by the side of my rotting bed.

The metal door starts to open, the metal clanging against one another. I scramble to my bed, tucking the backpack under my bed and use my acting skills to act asleep. I keep one eyes slightly open so I can see who is coming in and whether they are heading for me. The Madam walks in wearing her usual blue blazer surrounding her black patterned shirt, all accompanied by a matching blue skirt and two muscle-bound guards in their usual black attire.

"Check they're all asleep. Any of them who aren't, make them asleep. You know what to do." Her russian accent sent shivers up my spine. She is in my nightmares. She is in my day to day life. She has cameras that watch my every move and she can control whether I live or die. She decides.

The echo of each dense footsteps filled the shadowy room. The lack of windows made it hard to tell where they were, who they were standing over. A slap and an innocent cry closed my eyes tighter, please don't notice me. Each night, at least one person gets either slapped, punched or dragged away till morning. I have never been dragged away, I've been slapped and punched at least once a week due to my insomnia but never dragged away. The girls leave kicking and screaming until they are only a slight echo coming from the opposite side of the compound. They return battered and bruised, we've all learned not to ask about what happened, it only sparks hallucinations.

Footsteps approach. Closer. Closer. Closer. They stop. A warm breath is shot in my direction, the smell of stale beer overload my nostrils. I can't sneeze. I can't cough. Only silence must leave my body.
"How's our little Insomniac? Is she worth a beating?" The resounding noise of her heals against the wooden floorboards reflects around the damp-filled cell. The Russian accent spilling into her voice again.

A pause. A silence. I hold my breath. The stale beer scent approaches, the heat from his breath making me sweat under my duvet.
"No, Red Head is out." Phew. The European man leaves my side and start walking towards the metal door.
"Goodnight, my murderers!" Her voice portrays an unsettling niceness. She says that every night. Every night the word bounces around my head, filling my mind with the cruel truth.
Murderer! Murderer!

The door slams, unleashing the same awkward silence. All of us do not dare to speak. We are their prisoners. They are our masters. That is the way of life in the Red Room. Small wimpers from the opposite side of the room just makes me want to go over and hug whoever was faced with the hand tonight but I know if I do that, I'm next.

The camera's do not cover my end of the room, which is great! Because I have been here the longest, they put me in the furthest bed as they can "Trust me". I can't trust anyone. No one. Everyone is an enemy. Everyone. A positive of being out of the camera range is that I can get out of bed and they will not see me! It also means i have a chance of escape.

I have been planning this escape ever since they moved us from the other room, which is now the ballet studio. This room actually has windows! There are only two and they are quite small, But thanks to my skinny figure, I can fit through those windows!