𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓 ✘ 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐀 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐅𝐅

{2¹⁰} {AND SMILE}

∆ {2¹⁰} {AND SMILE} ∆

THE NUMBNESS THAT Roxi felt as she sat there, curled against the wall, was worse than any other emotion that she could think of. Even nothing would be a blessing in that moment. Words were still jumbling through the comms, from various people, but Roxi couldn't make out any of them. The broken electrical systems showered the corridor in sparks, lighting up her eyes slightly as she started blankly at the floor. Her head was pounding, her body was aching and her hands were shaking fiercely. Thoughts buzzed through her head, but much more quietly than normal. Quiet whispers haunted the back of her mind in the semi-darkness, the lights that were still on just down the hall casting long, twisted shadows that seemed to beckon her closer. Doubts peppered her mind, and the voices through the comms - which were becoming louder and more insistent - were making her head hurt more, so she pulled it out of her ear. It took her a moment, with fingers trembling and hands sweating, but she managed it, and immediately, everything seemed calmer, even if it was ever so slightly. The crashing waves became slightly smaller, but the storm still raged on inside her skull.

It was Sam who found her, hunched in the metal corridor, shaking and looking at the floor, but as if she wasn't seeing anything. The man hurried to her side and bent down next to her, glancing from the woman to the caved in corridor. After a second of staring and figuring out what was going on, he knelt down in front of her and tried to catch her eye, but she didn't seem to register it.

"Hey, Ryder?" He asked, softly, trying to get her to focus on him. It didn't work. He tried again, this time, more loudly. Something in her eyes flickered, as if she'd heard this time, but hadn't really recognised what he was saying.

"Hey, scary lady," Sam asked more forcefully, putting one of his hands on her shoulder. The effect was almost instant. Her eyes, flashed up to his face so fast that he barely registered it, and at the same time she pushed herself off the floor and twisted Sam's arm around behind his back, her quarterstaff extending in front of his throat with a quiet whoosh. It happened so quickly that Sam couldn't fight it, and was now in a rather difficult position.

"Okay, scary lady is back, scary lady is back," Sam rushed his words, but it was enough for Roxi to recognise his voice. Almost immediately, she let go of Sam's arm and took a swift step back, retracting the quarterstaff again. She cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Uh, sorry."

"It's alright," Sam said, rolling his shoulder slightly and shaking out his arm, "Just glad you're back again."

"Yeah, they might not be though," Roxi replied, waving her arm at a couple of the HYDRA men's bodies that still lay on the floor. Sam looked at them for a second before turning back to her.

"Remind me not to get on you bad side."

"Sure thing," she agreed, her grip on the handle of her quarterstaff tightening. She picked up her comms device, which was whining because it hadn't been turned off, until she pushed it back into her ear. It took her a moment to realise what people were saying with the overload of sound.

"Hey, he did it. Steve did it," Sam told her as she shook out her hands and then fixed her icy eyes on his face.

"Well. He may be old, but he certainly doesn't fight like it," Roxi commented, a flicker of amusement flashing through her eyes. It vanished a split-second later, so fast that Sam wasn't sure he'd seen it. He smiled at her for a moment before he realised why he was there.