The Red Room

𝔽𝕆𝕌ℝ𝕋𝔼𝔼ℕ

My chest swelled with fear. This would be it. I would die right here and right now. It all seemed unreal. I would never again walk the halls of the Red Room or get to say goodbye to Morgan. I could have done a number of things wrong. Maybe I just simply forgot about some of the rules from being away so long. Maybe I had eaten my dinner to slowly and she found out I had eaten American food. Or maybe she found out that I helped sneak food to the girl years ago and was waiting until I got back from the mission to confront me. That made the most sense.

Madame and I stood facing each other, both of us with perfect posture. "Your friend, Morgan, is being very unhelpful. He refuses to answer any questions until he talks to you. So you will follow me to the questioning room and ask him the questions we have written down for you." Relief filled me from head to toe but I didn't show it. She handed me a piece of paper with several questions on it.

She then left the room and I followed in step behind her. We marched through the maze of hallways until we got to a wall with two doors on it. I went in the door on the right, as instructed, and Madame went through the door on the left.

Inside the room there were all plain white walls with a mirror on the left wall. They were watching us through a double mirror. Morgan was sitting in a wooden chair in the center of the room. He looked awful. He was sweating, tired, and most of all depressed. He glanced up at me through his broken eyes and I found them difficult to meet.

"What's happening, Iz?" There were no more tears, only confusion and distraught in his beautiful green eyes. "This morning my biggest problem was fighting with you and we finally made up, but then I'm taken here and no one will tell me what's going on." Why did he have to beg like that?

I looked at the question sheet Madame had given me before I entered the room, "What did you know about your mother?"

"So that's what this is about?" He shook his head. "I already told you everything I know about my mom."

"What did you know about your mother?" I repeated.

"I already told you."

Again, "What did you know about you mother?"

"I already told you everything!" He screamed; he was agitated.

"Tell me again! And do not raise your voice at me. You are in a very dangerous situation, you don't get to have attitude." The words hurt me to say but I was sending him a secret message.
Stay calm or be executed.

He didn't seem to get it, "My mom was the Black Widow. I didn't know her. Her relationship with my dad was short. She died saving the world. She was famous. Her name was Natasha Romanoff. That's all I know."

My eyes moved to the next question, "What was your relationship with your mother like?"

"There was no relationship. She sent me a letter once explaining everything but that's it. I never actually spoke to her."

"How did you view your mother?" My eyes pleaded with him to lie. If he said he admired her, he'd be dead by morning.

"In a sense I resented her. She left me with my maniac of a dad," I was relieved, he had gotten my message. "but as I grew older I idolized her." No. "I mean, how many guys get to tell themselves their mom is an Avenger? None but me. It made me feel special, like if my mom could do it, so could I." He said all of the wrong things.

I began the next question but he cut me off, "My turn. Did you ever really love me or even mildly like me?" The look in his eyes was luring. I wanted to run to him and tell him that of course I had, it was all real. I didn't want him to die thinking no one had ever truly loved him.

"You don't get to ask questions, I do." I snapped.

"Answer it. Why are you so scared?"

He hit a soft spot. "I am not scared." I growled at him.

"Then answer the question! Did you ever like me?" He was yelling now, I needed him to stop.

"No! I didn't. Our relationship was only real to you. I never felt anything towards you. Is that what you wanted?" I was angry at him. Angry he made me say such false things to him, angry that he was the first person I'd ever loved and he practically killed himself. Just like Amy. How could they both be so selfish?

"Yes, thank you." His eyes looked so pained. I wished he would stop that.

"Will you answer all of my questions now?"

"Yes."

"Great. If you could, would you follow in your mother's footsteps?"

"Of course, she was awesome. I would follow in her footsteps any day."

"That will be all." Madame's voice echoed in the room as she entered. "We will deal with Morgan in the morning."

We walked out of the room and stopped in the hallway outside of it. "Tomorrow morning he will be killed, but you are to do it. If you liked the boy at all, those feelings have to be eliminated or you will never graduate. To graduate you can't care for anyone, do you understand?" She whispered it in a harsh tone.

"Yes ma'am." I said even though her words shattered the pieces of my already broken heart. I kept my posture even though the room was spinning and I felt as though I would pass out at any second. But I couldn't, so I held on. I fought tears back and held on.

I would have to kill him. I would be the reason for his extinction.

A thought dawned on me. What were the girls thinking? The football team? Coach? We hadn't come back. They must think we're dead. They would all surely expect a call or text from us saying we are alright. They would be worried out of their minds.

I walked off to ballet class as ordered. My mind was elsewhere during the whole of the pirouette. I missed the girls, I missed the guys, I missed Mrs. Goodnew, I missed school, I missed football, I missed my parents, I missed Percy Jackson, I missed Amy, I missed Trey, I even missed Coach. Most of all, though, I missed Iz. I was assassin girl again and it would be seven years until I could be Iz again, and by then I might have forgotten her.

At least they are safe. I told myself. At least I know my friends are safe in Ohio and not a part of this. They would be sad, but they would be alive, and that's all that really mattered.

In the morning I would kill the boy I fell in love with, unless I found a way out. But I knew it was hopeless, the only way to escape the academy was to graduate or die. There was no other way, it's what they had told us from day one.

I was stuck between the two. I could mess up now and just die. This way everything would be over and I wouldn't have to worry. I would go to Heaven and be happy with Morgan who would be killed shortly after. This seemed like a good option but it was the cowards way out. I would graduate. I would kill Morgan and then live the next seven years as a mindless soldier. Then, I would graduate and never think about the academy again. I would rejoin up with the girls and find another guy and have a family. I would be happy. But first I had to get through the suffering.