Hell of a day

7/27/2019 Hell of a day

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/hell-of-a-day 1/40

1

One is for envy And one just for spite The cuts in my

heart They show in your eyes Don’t make it better The

twisting knife Turns all by itself On to someone else Your

self-liberation Will leave this behind Beyond slings andarrows That rain on our minds You’ll make it better

Shake it off It never mattered anyway If we don’t make it

alive Well it’s a hell of a good day to die All our light that

shines strong Only lasts for so long And it’s ashes to

ashes again Should we even try to pretend? All our light

that shines strong Only lasts for so long The banner

you’re waving Is burning and red It’s blocking thesunlight That shines overhead You against the world

Diamonds and pearls Voices inside you churn Watch the

city burn Your own liberation Will leave them behind All

the slings and arrows That rain on your mind Don’t make

it better Break it cause It never mattered anyway If we

don’t make it alive Well it’s a hell of a good day to die All

our light that shines strong Only lasts for so long And it’s

ashes to ashes again Should we even try to pretend? All

our light that shines strong

Only lasts for so long I Won't Calm Down The banner

you're waving Is burning and red You against the world

Diamonds and pearls It never mattered Mattered

Mattered anyway If we don’t make it alive Well it’s a hell

of a good day to die All our light that shines strong Only

lasts for so long And it’s ashes to ashes again Should we

even try to pretend? All our light that shines strong only

lasts for so long all our light that shines strong only lasts

for so long

HellOf

ADay



2

-Chapter One-

“Dude, what happened to your back? It‟s all messed up and scarred and

shit,” I say. Tyler and I have been hanging out 24/7 , and I really don‟t know why.We were in the middle of playing COD when Tyler spilled Dr. Pepper all over his

shirt. So he decided to take his shirt off (undershirt on underneath). His undershirt

stuck to his outer shirt showing the world his bruises.

“It‟s not my family, I can tell you that.”

“Okay, Tyler I‟m not stupid, I know it‟s not your family. Now seriously, what

happened?”

Tyler sits there for a couple seconds, debating whether or not he shouldtell me what‟s going on. “You know how Stark refused to tell you anything about

his personal life until he adopted you?”

“He still hasn‟t.” I‟m curious but concerned.

“Well, a while back ago, Stark was like my dad. But we didn‟t have those

super close bonds that other father/son bonds are like. Anyway, one day, he

told me about another life you wouldn‟t expect him to have. He didn‟t want to

tell you because he didn‟t want you to get beat like I did.”

“How am I supposed to know this isn‟t going to happen to me?” My heart

rate picks up because I know that this isn‟t going to end well for me, Stark, or

Tyler.

“We-”

“We?” I ask.

“Okay, fine. Stark doesn‟t know if what happened to me is gonna happen

to you or not, which is why he hasn‟t told you anything.”

“Told you what, Em?” I whip around to see Stark standing in the doorway

of the basement, arms crossed.

“So, the story of the real iron man is a complete secret?” I say.

“Tyler, why did you tell her?” Stark says, a little attitude thrown in there.



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“She asked about it!” Tyler yelled back, throwing his hand in my direction.

“Someone please tell me what is going on!” I yell.

There was a long and dreadful pause, then Stark talks. “Okay. You know

Iron Man started, right?”

“Yeah, from that kidnapping in Afghanistan or whatever, right?” I say.

“Right. Anyway, they didn‟t want anyone to know what went on, so they

made this whole story for the media while all this shit was going on. I told Pepper

about it, and it‟s amazing she didn‟t get hurt.”

“Wait. So you‟re saying that everyone you tell they hurt?” I ask, looking at

Tyler. “So that‟s why you have so many scars,” I mutter. “And it never occurred

to you that they may or may not come and get us?” I ask.

“There‟s the dreaded question,” Stark says.

“So you knew about this?” I almost yell, getting up from my seat. I walk up

the stairs, knowing that it isn‟t safe for me here anymore.

“C‟mon, Emily. Nothing is gonna happen to you!” Stark yells behind me,

chasing me up the stair. He bumps into me, though, because I‟m standing

halfway up the stairs, quiet.

“Ssshhh,” I say. “Go back downstairs and open the safe. Get the pistoland my AK-47 out.” I push Stark and Tyler back down the stairs.

“Wh-”

“Someone broke in, and I don‟t think it‟s a coincidence that we were

talking about your little back story when they came in,” I hiss. “Now shut up and

be quiet.”

When I shove my pistol in the back of my pants and head upstairs, a gun

touches my forehead.

“Hi,” I say, walking forward with my hands up. “Can I ask wh-?”

“Silence!” the man with the gun pressed to my head shouts. He seems to

be a little taller than me, about 5‟7” with darker skin. No hair, just skin. “What do

you know?”



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“What do you mean „what do I know‟? I‟ll tell you what I know when you

ask what information you‟r e looking for,” I say. I‟m trying to keep cool, knowing

that‟s the only way I can make it out of this alive.

“Who are they, your friends?” the man asks, looking over my shoulder.

“Uh, the one with the dark hair is my friend, the taller one is my dad,” I

respond, hands still in the air.

“Ah, Mr. Stark,” the man says, walking toward him. “It‟s nice to see you

again.”

“Nice to see you, too, Suñero,” Stark responds. One of Suñero‟s men puts

both me and Tyler into handcuffs: one on his left hand, the other on my right

hand. He shoves us onto the sofa and tells us to stay there.

“So, tell me, Mr. Stark. How much have you told Ms…?”

“Elizabeth,” I say.

“Elizabeth?” Tyler questions.

“Yes, Elizabeth, remember?” I hiss under my breath. “You‟re used to

calling me by my middle name, Emily.”

“Silence, you two!” Suñero shouts. “Now, tell me, Mr. Stark. How much

information have you told Ms. Elizabeth?”

“Nothing,” Stark says. There‟s a smack and I see Stark go down. I

immediately stand up, bringing Tyler up with me. I pull the pistol that was hidden

between my shirt and pants.

“Tell me. Who are you and what do you want with us?” I growl.

Suñero nods his head toward our guard, who unlocks the handcuff. Within

milliseconds after letting us go, I karate kick our guard down, sending him to the

floor.

“Now tell me, Mr. Suñero, who are you working for and what do you want

with us?” I repeat.

“I would tell you, but then I would have to take you and your friends and

kill you.” With that being said, he charges at me and Tyler. I toss my gun to Tyler,



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who takes it and gets ready to shoot it, 911 pre-dialed into his phone. I prepare

myself for the fight of what‟s to come.

Come on, Emily. Don’t back out of this. You’ve been training for this all

your life, don’t back down now.

Once Suñero is close enough, I thrust myself to the left, hop off the couch,

and launch myself off the back of it to bring myself nose diving into the ground,

grabbing Suñero in the process. I get up and back away far enough where I

have time to think.

“Tyler, help Stark, I got it.” I look at him. Tyler has a worried look on his face.

“Do it! Go!” I shout. I look back at Suñero to see where he is. I run forward and

slide between his legs. Standing back up, I wait for his move. He turns around

and punches me in the face. With his second attempt, I duck down and come

back up to punch him under the chin. A blow to Suñero‟s right cheek follows.

“Smart girl,” Suñero says between breaths. I back up, heaving hard for air.

I put my hair up real quick and get ready.

“Jarvis, 6-0-9-5-911!” I shout as I jump into the air. I land and turn around to

find Suñero nowhere to be found. I soon find a shock on my right side. I scream

in pain, but get over it just in time to have my claws- yes, claws- come out. I form

my hand into a fist and my claws go digging into Suñero‟s skull.

I fall to the ground, all energy seeming to leave my body like a ghost.

“How in the world did you turn into Wolverine?” Tyler says, helping me off

the ground.

“Long story,” I respond.

“We can‟t stay here,” Stark says. “C‟mon, we gotta go.”

“Where are we going?” I ask, limping out of the house with the help of

Tyler.

“Remember that lake house?” Stark asks.

“Yeah,” both Tyler and I say.

“Bring a charger and something to do. We‟re gonna be up there for a

while.”



6

-Chapter 2-

“Onlar burada olduğunuz, they‟ve been here,” the general states ,

observing the damage. He walks past the sofa to find Suñero lying on the

ground, a pool of blood formed around his head. The general bends down to

look at the damage to find three holes on the side of Suñero‟s head.

“What is this!?” the general yelled at his assistant.

“The girl, she… she…”

“She what?” the general demanded.

“She was… smarter than we expected, sir.”

“And they got away?”

“Ye… yes, general.” When the assistant responded, the general punched

him in the face, causing the servant to fall to the ground. The general pulled out

his gun and pointed it at the servant‟s head when they heard the sirens of the

police. Quickly reacting, the general shot the assistant, dropped the gun and

ran to the window and jumped off the cliff.

“Police!” an officer shouted, the rest of his crew flooding the living room.

The only thing they found was the servant lying on the ground, quickly dying.

“Siz nədir ? Are you okay?” the officer asked. The only response theassistant gave was a finger point to the window and the gun.

“Take him to the hospital,” the officer quickly said. He picked up the gun

and put it in a bag to take for further investigation. “This is going to be an

interesting case.”

“I can‟t believe you morons made the injured one drive,” I snap. Stark is

sitting in the front seat with me, and I could see Tyler‟s dark hair and blue eyes

staring back at me in the rearview mirror.

“You know, this wouldn‟t have started if you didn‟t ask about the scars,

Emily,” Tyler remarks.

“Uh, I think they would‟ve come and got us either way, so we were

basically fucked from the start,” I say.

“If you didn‟t ask a million questions, then they might‟ve thought-”



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“You know what, Tyler? I‟m starting to wonder why I let you come in the

first place. You‟re getting on my nerves so much right now.”

“We could‟ve gotten away and none of this were to-”

“Tyler, save it. I‟m done talking to you.”

“Thank you, Emily. But you two are star ting to turn into me and Steve,”

Stark says.

I look at Stark, then the rearview mirror at Tyler, then back on the road.

We‟re cruising on the highway at about 80 miles an hour, engine from the Ferrari

becoming a part of the everyday noise.

“So, uh, don‟t want to sound all five year old like, but how much longer

until we get up to the cabin?” Tyler asks.

The only thing I give in response is a glare in the rearview mirror. The only

thing blocking Tyler from seeing my eyes are my aviators.

“Oh, so you‟re holding a grudge now, I see how it is,” Tyler smirks.

“Tyler, we‟re talking about Emily. You‟re bound-”

I look at Stark, who immediately shuts up knowing the outcome if he

finishes his sentence.

“Minocqua is pretty close, Tyler. Chances are, we‟re gonna stop there.

After we hit Minocqua, there aren‟t a lot of options to stop and eat,” Stark

continues, answering Tyler‟s question.

We ride in silence to Minocqua. I pull into the parking lot of the local

brewery/restaurant and get out.

“Well, you are coming, right?” I ask, peering into the car. “We aren‟t

stopping after this.”

“Do us re-”

“Tyler, stop being an asshole and come eat. I‟m not stopping after this.”

Stark gets out of the car and Tyler follows. We get inside, get a table and order.

The three of us sit there in more silence for a little while longer, then Stark pipes

up.



8

“So, what exactly are we gonna do once we get up to the cabin ,

captain?”

“We probably won‟t get up there until close to midnight, so tomorrow

morning I‟m probably going to go shopping like it‟s the zombie apocalypse. And

after that, we just wait until they come for us,” I say, completely ignoring Tyler‟s

gaze.

“Um, problem. We can‟t just sit around and wait for them to come get

us,” Tyler says.

“Then what‟s your plan, Mr. Let‟s-pick-out-every-flaw?” I look up to look at

him, but I look past him to find some guys similar to the guys that broke into our

house earlier today standing at the front of the restaurant.

“Pretend like we‟re talking,” I whisper, putting my head down. “Andwhatever you do, Tyler, don’t turn around. There are a couple of guys here that

look suspicious.”

“But we are talking,” Tyler says. We get our food quickly after he says that

and we all dig in. The three of us have this thing where we take a bite and pass

our course to the next person. I keep an eye on our suspects, who seem to be

watching us as well.

Our target soon finds us and heads our way. Before he makes it over to

our table, I get up from the table. When I pass him, he grabs my wrist and drags

to the bar. He holds me down by my neck, back against the table top.

“We‟ve been looking for you, Ms. Elizabeth,” the man says. “Is there

anything you want to tell us?”

“Yeah, actually,” I respond. “It‟s a message from your old friend, Steve. He

told me to tell you to fuck off.” I send my left foot forward which makes contact

with the man‟s stomach. I get off the bar top and run outside. I‟m stopped by a

million agents ready for my arrival. I turn around to see if Stark and Tyler made it

to join me, but I can only see Tyler then another group of agents.

“Tyler, if we‟re gonna make it out alive, we gotta work together,” I say

over my shoulder. We‟re back to back, circling around to observe how many

we‟re gonna have to fight off.



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“Agreed. On my count, I need you to do whatever you did to get those

claws out earlier and just tear the bastards to shreds. Got it?”

“Had me at claws and tearing people apart,” I respond.

“One… two… three.” And off I go to tear the bastards to shreds.

Each move is swift. When each one is dead, I move to my next match,

and then the next. Tyler seems to stay close to me, fighting off anyone who has

caught our tail.

“Tyler, we‟re gonna need some help. I can‟t do this myself. And you can‟t

handle as much as I can. You‟re probably gonna get hurt faster than me.”

“I‟ve been jabbed at more than you can imagine, trust me; I need to take

a break. Switch spots in three, two, one.” I turn so now I‟m facing the brewerywith a million people running out of it. I frantically scan to find Stark. When I spot

him, he‟s being dragged buy the guy who pinned me down on the bar. When

the guy spots me, a smirk appears on his face. He pulls out a gun and points it at

Stark‟s head.

I stand there shocked which turns into rage. I pick up my momentum to

fight. Each swipe is fiercer, each jab more intense than the last. I quickly make

my way toward Stark. Tyler somehow keeps up behind me, picking up any

leftovers I missed.

Once I reach Stark and his hostage holder, I tackle hostage holder down

at the waist, freeing Stark. Once I have Stark‟s holder pinned down, I put my

claws on his chest, hand forming a fist.

“You‟re the second person today who tried to kill me and Stark. Tell me,

who are you working for and what do they want?” I hiss. I can hear Stark

coughing in the back among the screaming, fleeing customers.

“Stand down!” my prisoner yells, which is followed by the sound of a

million guns being put down. “And for you, Ms. Elizabeth, I will tell you what Ik now.”

“Spill,” I growl.



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“Your father, Mr. Stark, was told not to tell anyone of how the real iron

man came to be. He was allowed to tell one person, and he chose Ms. Pepper.

The reason I cannot tell you.”

“Tell me!” I yell, pushing my claws into his chest.

“Okay, okay, I‟ll tell you. But not out here; it‟s too dangerous.”

I help him up and we get into the car. We get out of town before any of

the cops can catch us, knowing that we can never go back again.

“You, what‟s your name?” I ask, looking in the rearview mirror.

“Sunjit,” Sunjit responded.

“So, what‟s going on? Why are people coming to us?” I ask .

“Well, the company I work for, ALS, wants to take Mr. Stark to use his

knowledge to build suits like his. The general said that Mr. Stark could only tell

one person. Because the general was afraid that because Mr. Stark was going

to tell everyone, he promised to beat anyone to the point of death.”

“So let me get this straight,” I say. “Your company, ALS or whatever, wants

to basically exploit my father and maybe me because they want to rule the

world or whatever .”

“Don‟t give the enemy ideas, Emily,” Tyler chimes.

“Save it, Tyler! Stark, answer me. I was bound to know and these guys

were bound to come get us. Why didn‟t you tell me earlier?”

“I was trying to avoid all of this so then no one would get hurt. I told Tyler

thinking I would be okay, and he got beat. The only way to make sure that no

one else got hurt was to not take in a foster kid.”

“Is this why you acted all asshole like?” I ask, glancing at Stark.

“Basically.”

“I have one question for you, Sunjit,” I comment. “Can we trust you?”

A silence, then, “Yes, you can trust me. But no one is to know that I‟m

helping you or that I‟m with you.”



11

“Well, you‟re a hell of an actor. And be prepared to fight, Sunjit. We‟re

gonna need every fighting hand we have.”

-Chapter 3-

“Do you think they know we‟re onto them?” The general‟s new assistantasked. The two of them have been following Stark‟s trail ever since Suñero put

the GPS in Elizabeth‟s side.

“Heç bir. No, I don‟t think they are. Unless one of the three knows about

Sunjit or the tracker in Ms. Elizabeth, they will never know,” the general

responded. “Come. We must find where they are at.”

“So, how is it that a rich man like you, Mr. Stark, has such a small cabin?”

Sunjit asks. The four of us- Sunjit, Tyler, Stark, and I- are standing in the heart of the

cabin, which isn‟t big.

“Um, it‟s been in the family for a couple generations. Okay, we are to

keep most, if not all, lights off at night. During the day, we find something to do

out of the house so they don‟t come here. We need the public attention to get

these guys into trouble,” Stark says.

“Wait. There are four of us and three bedrooms. Who-?”

“I‟ll take the bed out here. Don‟t worry about it,” I say, already in

pajamas. “Sunjit, you can take the room on the right, first door. I usually sleep inthere, but you can take it. If any of the posters scare you or whatever, you‟re

more than welcome to take them down.”

“Thank you, Ms. Elizabeth.”

“No, please, Sunjit. Call me Emily,” I say, looking around. “Hey, does

anyone know where Tyler went?”

“He I think went to change,” Stark responds.

All of us stream into bedrooms and fall asleep. But I couldn‟t if it killed me. I

just sat there in bed, staring outside the patio windows to the lake. I could hear

the wolves howling in the far distance.

Am I going to be okay? Am I going to die, am I going to live? What if the

same thing that happened to Tyler happens to me? Who am I going to be able



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to trust? Am I going to be able to stay with Stark after this? Thoughts like these

buzzed within my head for what seemed like hours.

“Couldn‟t sleep?” Stark asks, sitting down next to me.

“Thoughts are keeping me awake,” I respond.

“If there‟s one thing I learned about you, it‟s that you think way too much,

Emily.”

“Stark, am I going to be okay? Are we going to be okay?” I ask.

“Em, we‟ll be fine. I‟ll do anything to keep you alive, even if it means me

dying.” I put my head on Stark‟s shoulder . The two of us just stare outside and

look at the lake. We just stay like that until I fall asleep at last.

“G‟night, Em. You‟ll be okay, I promise,” Stark whispers, laying me down

onto the bed.

The next day I go shopping as if the zombie apocalypse were to come

upon us at any moment. Tyler asked to come with, and after some major

debating, I allowed him to.

“So, how long do you plan on staying here, Ms. Elizabeth?” Tyler asks in

the car. I give him no response, I just ignore him.

“So you aren‟t talking to me?” Tyler asks, still getting the silent treatmentfrom me.

“Oh, okay. We can role with it.”

Needless to say, the trip was completely uneventful and completely quiet.

Just the way I wanted it to be.

Once we get back to the cabin, I change into my bikini, shorts, my

sunglasses, and throw my hair into a messy ponytail. The four of us head outside

onto the deck and get some poker going. By this time, it‟s about ten o‟clock inthe morning, the June sun shining bright as ever.

“How do you have so many chips now, Emily?” Tyler asks with a hint of

anger in his voice.

“I know how you play, Tyler. I‟m just using it to my advantage.”



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“No, you‟re cheating.”

“I am not! I can‟t believe that you would go that low to think that! You

know, every time you talk to me, the more I wish you didn‟t come,” I snicker,

leaning back in my chair.

“Emily, please, calm down,” Sunjit pipes. “It‟s just a game of poker.”

“Well, if you didn‟t turn into a complete bitch, maybe I wouldn‟t be a

complete asshole,” Tyler shouts, getting up from his chair.

“You don‟t know one thing about being chased down by people, do

you?” I ask, getting up from my chair to meet Tyler‟s gaze. “You probably have

no idea how it‟s like to be constantly worrying about how long you‟re gonna

live, how and when you‟re gonna die. You ask why I‟m being a complete bitch.

Well, I‟ll tell you what, Tyler. You worry about being killed at any moment, seeyour friends die, have a couple near death experiences, then we‟ll talk.” With

that being said, I walk off the deck and sit down at the end of the pier.

Ever since I got back from the tour with Steve, Tyler hasn‟t been exactly

him. I‟ll admit, I haven‟t either, but war changes you. It messes with your mind; it

keeps you on your toes. I never thought I personally changed, but I never got to

compare myself.

Minutes after the mini blowout, I hear footsteps on the pier and I look to

see who it is.

“Hello,” Sunjit says, sitting down next to me.

“Sorry you had to hear that, Sunjit. After what happened a little while

back, Tyler never seemed to be the same,” I say.

“Tell me, Emily, what exactly happened to you a little while back? You

said something about a tour?”

I sit there, trying to gather all my thoughts about the war tour with Steve

and the rest of the guys. “Well, after the whole Avengers scene, Steve thought it

would be a good idea to go back to war to see how it‟ll turn out. I don‟t know

how, but I managed to get there with him and the next thing I know, I‟m in the

middle of a firefight, watching I‟ve grown to know and love die.”



14

“You know, Ms. Emily, I was in war myself, and I know exactly what you

mean. And like you said, war does change you,” Sunjit responds and then

continues. “May I ask you a question, Ms. Emily?”

“Yeah, ask away.”

“Do you think that because of the tour and your change of attitude, this

could‟ve caused Tyler to act the way he is?”

I sit there, pondering on the question. “You know, it might, actually,” I say,

after giving it some thought. “And it wasn‟t until all of this chaos started

happening where Tyler started acting like this. And it wasn‟t until this happened

that I started acting like this.” I move my legs in the water, causing ripples in the

water. I watch them, and I gain more focus to look at the seaweed.

“Well, Ms. Emily, if there‟s thing I would do, it would apologize,” Sunjit says,getting up to back to the cabin.

“I‟ll apologize when Tyler does,” I respond, still staring at the water weed. I

stay there for what feels like forever when Tyler comes and joins me.

“I‟m still not talking to you,” I say.

“I know you aren‟t. And I‟m not sure if we ever will again. But just, just hear

me out, okay?”

“If you heard-”

“Look, I‟m sorry if I was a butthead. I was just reacting to you, and you

seemed all bitchy, and I fought back to resentment. Truth is, you‟re one of the

most independent, confident, fighting type person I‟ve ever met.”

“Fighting type person?” I ask between chuckles.

“You know what I mean,” Tyler responds, punching me in the arm.

“Anyway, you know my reputation at school. I‟ve been meaning to change it

for a long time, and you were the perfect person to shadow.”

“Well, Tyler, I can tell you that you shouldn‟t shadow me now, because

this is not how you want to end up. I‟m all crabby and stuff because of what‟s

going on. I lie awake at night, listening for signals of fighters. I don‟t know if we‟re

going to live, how much longer we have. So if you want to act more like me,

now isn‟t the time to observe,” I say.



15

“Well, we can‟t sit here all day, and you‟re sweating pretty badly. So I say

we get the boat out and see how much better your knee boarding has gotten.”

Tyler gets up and goes to the boat house. I run inside and get the boat keys

while Stark and Sunjit change into bathing suits. I start up the speed boat and

get it in the water, then myself, and off we go.

“How fast do you want me to go?” Tyler shouts from the steering wheel. I

have Sunjit as my spotter and Stark as Tyler‟s guide on where to go and what to

do. Putting Tyler and Stark together probably wasn‟t a good idea on my part,

but you know, YOLOUYHH (you only live once unless you have hocrouxes).

“Give me all you got!” I shout back.

The engine revs up, the line snaps into place, and within seconds after

starting, I‟m up and knee-boarding. I‟m flung into the air probably thirty times a

minute, almost falling off once every five times. Sooner or later, I start doing 360‟s

after hitting every other wave, which throws Tyler into a rage, causing him to try

to get me off even more. This causes me to hold on even more, and this causes

a never-ending cycle.

After a while, I start observe the weather because it has gotten colder

since we got on the water about half an hour beforehand. I look up at the sky to

see giant grey cotton ball clouds rolling in. I let go of the rope and get the

kneeboard off.

“Why‟d you bail? You could‟ve beaten the family record,” Stark says while

I get on the boat.

“The skies aren‟t too promising. Chances are there‟s a storm coming in

and I want to give us some time before it starts,” I respond.

We head back, get the boat docked, and head inside. And as our luck

would have it, it starts raining. So we all grab an Xbox controller and start a

couple rounds of COD: MW3.

“Hey, we poker-ing this one, guys?” Tyler asks.

“Bitch, please. When I‟m here, we always poker it,” I smirk. “Losers owe a

nickel to the winner each round,” I say, getting the Xbox ready and going.

“Is this a tradition that you have, Mr. Stark?” Sunjit asks.



16

“Very much indeed, and call me Tony. Emily won close to $400 once. So

it‟s pretty intense. Care to join?” Stark responds.

We spend the night killing each other on a TV and start paying up. Sunjit

joins in at one point and it turns into an all-out “war.” It started as every man for

himself, then teams (Stark and Tyler vs. me and Sunjit, Tyler and me vs. Sunjit and

Stark), and at one point, all three guys were against me. In the end, I ended up

getting close to $500 after giving Stark $300, Tyler $250.35, and Sunjit pretty close

to $350 (he was better than I thought). By the time we were done, it was close to

midnight, so everyone passed out pretty quickly.

What we didn‟t know that all of us could use all the sleep we could get for

the next few days.

-Chapter 4-

“What have you found out so far, officer?” Officer Jerry Parks has been

studying the “Stark industries” case from day one. Officer Parks couldn‟t draw a

lot of conclusions at the moment because of the lack of evidence at his

dispense.

“That the killer wasn‟t after him. After talking to the victim, his name is

Suñero. He had a brother who originally attacked the house. This Suñero worked

as the „commander‟s‟ assistant. This commander has a plan to get a hold of

Tony Stark and his daughter, Elizabeth,” Parks explains, deep voice filling the

small office. He slouches in his chair, legs crossed.

“Well, if that‟s all you have so far, there‟s nothing we can really do but

wait until we get more information,” Parks‟ colleague responds. “Unless you can

get Ms. Elizabeth‟s or Tony Stark‟s phone number to get everything we need.”

“Yes, sir ,” Parks says, standing up to follow his colleuge. “But that would

require getting into personal files, and I don‟t have the authorization to do that.”

The man in charge turns around to look at a man a solid foot taller than him. He

stares at Parks with cold, piercing eyes.

“Get me that information, whatever you have to do, Parks” the sheriff

hisses and walks away. Parks, after remaining still until the sheriff leaves, then

goes back to finish his work.



17

“What have I gotten myself into?” Parks mumbles under his breath,

breaking into the system to get Tony Stark‟s and his daughter‟s phone number.

It‟s been a week since the commander has made a move to attack Stark

and his daughter, Elizabeth. He quickly grows impatient, but realizes that the

longer they wait, the longer Stark and his daughter become off guard.

“How much longer are we going to wait, sir? Don‟t you think they will

become suspicious because we haven‟t come?” the servant asks, breaking the

silence. They sit at a table in Polecat and Lace mid-afternoon; they are the only

two there.

“Don‟t you worry, my dear Pasitó, I have it worked out.” The commander

leans back in his chair, sipping on his martini. “If we go now, they will be ready. If

we wait another week, they won‟t suspect a thing. They would think that this

was a one-time thing and will go on their „merry way,‟ as Americans say.”

“Ah, good plan, master,” the assistant says, smile creeping onto his face.

The general does the same and starts to laugh, which fills up the room.

“So, tell me sir. What do you plan to do after you kidnap Mr. Stark and his

daughter, Elizabeth?” the assistant continues.

“Well, apparently Ms. Elizabeth has the same powers as „wolverine‟ from

the famous comic book series „X-Men.‟ With her immortality and Mr. Stark‟s

knowledge to make the suits, our company will be so powerful, so great, no one

will stand a chance,” the general replies.

The assistant ponders on that plan for a little while, slightly confused on

what the general has said. After thinking about it, the assistant smiles and says,

“Very good plan, general.”

The general and his assistant, Pasitó, head back to their hotel rooms to

finalize their plan to take Stark and Elizabeth.

“How much longer is the rain going to hold out?” Sunjit politely asks. The

four of us have been stuck in the cabin for what seems like years, but only for

about 3 days. It‟s been raining non-stop, which means that we haven‟t been

able to get out of the house to do anything. At this point, I think all of us are

coming down with cabin fever.



18

“For a while, it looks like,” Tyler responds, looking at the weather forecast.

“It‟s supposed to rain for another two days.”

We all sit there and groan, knowing the fact that we all need to get out.

I‟m lying on my bed on the porch reading Harry Potter for the millionth time,

Tyler‟s sitting on the big comfy seat next to my bed, flipping through people

magazine, Stark may or may not be making business calls, and Sunjit is observing

the rain, and has been for the last fifteen minutes.

“You know, I‟m getting kind of suspicious,” I say, getting up from my bed.

My stomach growls, indicating that I need to start on lunch.

“Let me guess. You‟re suspicious because food hasn‟t entered your

system in half an hour?” Stark says.

“No, I‟m suspicious because we haven‟t gotten threatened or anythingalong those lines in a while, and getting attacked once isn‟t just an „oops, sorry

man, didn‟t mean to be you.‟” With that, my phone buzzed. I picked it up, but

got no answer from the other line.

“That was weird,” I say, putting my phone in my back pocket as I get up

to boil some water.

“Who was that?” Sunjit asks.

“I don‟t know. I picked up and no one said anything.”

Maybe it‟s too early to come to this conclusion, but Sunjit has been acting

a little off since he got a phone call yesterday, which started my suspicion. I

continue to heat up leftovers for lunch when my phone goes off again. I pick it

up, again, and no one answers, again. This happens all day long, and it doesn‟t

quit until seven thirty at night.

“Who the heck wants to spam me with calls?” I say after hanging up the

phone again. “I have very few friends, and everyone else hates me. I don‟t think

that they would want to not talk to me when they pick up the phone.”

“You know, Ms. Emily, the people could be calling from ALS,” Sunjit

comments, looking away from his book. His brown eyes bore into me while I sit

there trying to figure out what‟s going on.



19

“Well, unless they found a way to override Jarvis and get past the firewall,

I‟m sure it‟s not them,” I reply, getting back to Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of

Baskerville. Who knew? Maybe Sunjit was right.

-Chapter 5-

Days go by, and my suspicion grows with each passing minute. It has

been two weeks since our last attack, which means that I am on my toes. I‟m on

the boat, reading, when I get a call from someone.

“Hello?” I say.

“Hello, this is Officer Parks. Is this Elizabeth?”

“Yeah. Are you calling in regards to what happened about two weeks

ago at our house? Because if you‟re looking for us,-”

“It‟s about your friend, Steve.”

I immediately freeze. My heart rate picks up and the world around me

seems to twists and turns. “Is he okay?” I ask.

“No, actually, he isn‟t. We went to ask him a couple questions in regards

of what happened to you and your father, but he didn‟t pick up. We went to his

apartment and found the door unlocked with no one in there. There was a notein the kitchen.”

“And what did it say?” I shriek, getting up from my spot.

“It said… um… we have Steve. You will only find him and get him if you

give us Elizabeth and Mr. Tony Stark .”

My throat tightens as I feel my chest ache. I lean forward and lean on the

table on the boat for support. It gets hard to breathe as I drop my phone so I

can use both arms for support. My mind goes bizzerk as I could feel myselfshake. I sit down again on the ground, tears magnifying my vision.

Why? Why Steve? Is he okay? What are they doing to him? Are they

beating him? Are they going to kill him? Are they treating him okay? Where is

he? How am I going to get there? Is this even real?

“Hello? Elizabeth? Are you okay?” Officer Parks says through the phone.



20

“Yeah, this is her friend, Tyler,” Tyler says, picking up the phone. “Emily‟s…

not sure if she‟s okay or not.”

“No, she isn‟t,” Stark says, helping me out of the boat. I could feel my

muscles tense with each passing second. “Panic attack.”

“What did you tell her?” Tyler asks, getting out of the boat himself and

watching me from behind.

“I told her that the general has Steve. Apparently they‟re closer than I

thought if she got a panic attack. She okay?” officer Parks asks.

“I think she‟ll be okay.”

Stark finally got me inside, away from the sun. I sit down on the couch in

front of the door. I‟m hyperventilating at this point and I could feel myself stillsweating. My mind is racing, thoughts still rushing through my head.

No. They couldn’t have taken Steve. It can’t be real. That didn’t happen.

There’s no way it could. But what if it did? How did they find him? How did they

get him? Is he okay? Why did they take Steve, out of all people?

“Emily, look at me,” Stark says. He‟s crouched so he‟s at my eye level.

Stark has his hands on my cheeks so I‟m looking straight at him. “Calm down,

take a couple breaths.”

I close my eyes and try to relax. The more I relax, the more reality hits me.

Soon, I could feel tears streaming down my face.

“Th… they have…” I sob.

“They have who?” I could tell Stark is trying his best to stay calm to help

me. He seems worried because of me.

“They have Steve,” I finally get out, wiping away the tears.

The look on Stark‟s face expressed every single emotion I had: fear,sadness, helplessness, and so much more. Steve and Stark don‟t really get

along, but he knows that Steve was like a brother to me.

“Ah, honey. I‟m so sorry. I know how much Steve was to you.” I just keep

sobbing because that‟s the only thing I could do right now. Tyler and Sunjit



21

made the right decision to wait outside knowing that this was one of those things

that you just stay out of.

“We need to find him. We need to track these guys down, take them out,

and get them arrested. Now,” I say, getting up to go get my notebook of plot

outlines from my suitcase.

“That‟s gonna take a lot to do,” Stark says, following me.

“Then I‟ll do it.” I was ready for the worst. So bring it.

“So, is the plan set, general?” Pasitó asks. “It seems rather simple for taking

them.”

“That is the plan, my dear assistant. Complex plans make things difficult.

They are hard to carry out,” the general replies.

“So when shall we carry out the plan?” Pasitó asks.

“As soon as possible. Preferably tomorrow,” the general says.

“Tomorrow it is, sir.”

“Get enough sleep, Pasitó. You‟ll need it. These people are fighters, and

you‟ll need all the energy you can get.”

-Chapter Six-

I‟m alone in a giant maze, running. I turn right, then left, then keep going.

My heart is pounding in my ears, trying hard to take in air. I could hear a whip

lash in the near distance, then a shout of pain. Another cry of pain comes , I‟m

not sure why, but all of them pierce me, attack me. They keep me going, but

yet scaring me to see what is at the finish line.

I stop to catch my breath. “Steve! Steve!” I yell, panting. I soon feel a

shock go through my body, and I keep running. Every time I stop and I feel the

shock from the ground, I could hear Steve shout out in pain one more time.

“Hold on, Steve. I‟m coming. I‟ll get you. Just hold on,” I whisper. I

continue running, making my way toward the middle of the maze, the place

where I suspect where they‟re holding my brother like friend.



22

I soon make to the middle just in time to see a man holding a gun to

Steve‟s head, other hand blocking Steve‟s air flow. I could see a glimpse of

worry, hopelessness, and helplessness on his face.

“It‟s nice of you to make it, Ms. Emily,” the man says, a sinister smile on his

face. “You‟re just in time for the execution of Steve Rogers.” Not a second later,

the trigger is pulled. I scream, then jolt awake to find myself in my bed. I take a

second to look around to observe where I am and what time it is. I lean back

onto the wall that the bed is propped up against, close my eyes, and take a

couple breaths.

“Calm down, Em. It was only a dream. Sure, the third one this week, but

only a dream. He‟s okay, Em. Steve will be okay. He isn‟t dead.” I feel a tear run

down my cheek, and I lean forward to put my forehead in the palms of my

hands.

“You okay, Em?” Tyler‟s voice breaks the midnight silence. I keep staring

at the comforter as Tyler takes a seat next to me.

“Third time this week, Tyler. Something‟s up, Tyler, and it isn‟t good. I can‟t

control my dreams, either.”

“Can you look at me, Em?” I look up and meet Tyler‟s gaze. “I‟m not sure

if Steve is in the best condition, but he‟s alive; trust me on this one. These people

work where they take the people closest to you and use them against you.”

“You sure he‟s okay, Tyler? He‟s not dead? Didn‟t die from a shot to the

head?” I ask.

“Positive.” I look out to the lake again. I can hear the water lapse against

the rocks. The smell of the water takes me back to old times.

“Steve and I used to go to Miami Beach all the time during the summer.

The weekdays, of course, it wasn‟t as crowded then. We would spend all day

there. Sometimes, we would walk around and go to the stores. Every now and

then I would get myself another fedora or a pair of sunglasses. Steve would

always try to buy them for me, but I always did. For lunch, the two of us would

always go downtown and find a small little place because they always had the

best food.”

“Did you guys get schwarma?” Tyler asks, fully listening to me.



23

“Sometimes, yeah, but not all the time, though. We had a lot of places

that we went to. When five rolled around, we would go back to his place. I

would always make dinner. Sometimes, we had salad, other times steak,

burgers, it really depended on what we had for lunch that day. I always made

Steve clean it up, but there would never be a lot. I would take my shower andcome back out.”

“Did you go home or did you stay there? Because I know that sometimes

you‟re home and other times you‟re not.”

“Usually I just stay there,” I answer. “The two of us, depending on what day

it was, would watch The Following. But most of the time we just put a movie in

and watch it until I fell asleep. The last time I was over there we were watching

Moulin Rouge.”

“You like that movie? Thought you hated romance movies,” Tyler says,

looking at me.

“Yeah, I do. But Moulin Rouge is different. It‟s a little bit of comedy, too.

And it‟s not your typical romance, either. 1800 France or something like that. A

journalist falls in love with a woman, Satine, from the popular Moulin Rouge. But

the duke was supposed to marry her. But Satine was, like, super sick. Throughout

the movie, Satine and Christian, the journalist, fall in love. The duke hears about

it, gets super pissed, and tries to kill Christian. At the finale of both the play that

the Moulin Rouge put on and the movie, the duke is about to kill Christian, butfails. Satine then goes into another uncontrollable coughing attack and dies.

Christian freak s out, and that ends the movie.”

“You‟re not going to make me watch it, right? Because I feel like I just

watched it,” Tyler chuckles.

“Yeah, I‟m not. But they have some good songs. Sparkling Diamonds is in

it. Nature boy, Come What May, Your Song, a bunch of remakes. And they‟re

pretty good too.”

The two of us converse for another hour before I pass out again and fall

asleep again.

“Em, you awake? Did you like, fall asleep again?” He looks over to find my

head on his shoulder, passed out. He smiles, looks out the window, leans his

head on mine, takes one more deep breath, and falls asleep.



24

Four in the morning, I hear a knock on the door. I get up to make sure it

wasn‟t just my head, and then I hear it again. I get up from my bed, grab my

black sweater and my weapon and go to the door. I put Officer Park‟s number

in and press call, just in case this might help him get us.

Just as I open the door and hold the gun up, our “guests” come in and

hold me down.

“Hello to you too. Would you like a drink or something?” I say, getting

shoved into the main area of the cabin. Tyler by this point is awake and has

gotten Stark and Sunjit as well.

“Hello, Ms. Elizabeth.” I feel something cold and round touch my head

and realize it‟s the barrel of a gun. “We are here for both you and your father,

Mr. Tony Stark.”

“Quick question,” I say. “How do you know we were here? I mean, it‟s not

like Sunjit…” Two and two quickly come together as I realize that Sunjit wasn‟t

who we thought. “You lied to us, didn‟t you, Sunjit?” No response.

“Answer me, Sunjit!” Sunjit slowly nods.

“Sunjit wasn‟t the only way we were able to track you. On the first day, as

you may remember, Ms. Elizabeth, you were tazored on the right side, I

believe?” The man holding me hostage asks.

“Yeah, why?”

“Well, when you were tazored, there was a little microchip that was

inserted.”

“Well, shit,” I whisper.

“Not only could we track you down, but this microchip allowed me to

control your dreams. So those dreams of your friend, Steve, have been

controlled by us.”

“Take it out. Now.” I look over to see Stark hiding within the shadows of the

bathroom. I sign to him that he needs to get out and help me.

“We can do that if you cooperate.”



25

“Well then. That might be a problem, won‟t it?” I send my elbow back

with all force I allow. I turn around, grab the gun, and point it at him. What I hear

behind me is a million more triggers getting ready to fire at me.

“Shit,” I say, turning around to find five more men, two of which are

holding Stark and Tyler, armed and ready to fire. “Just tell me what you want

from us, then I‟ll give it to you and we‟ll be on our merry ways.”

“It‟s not an object we‟re looking for, Ms. Elizabeth. What we want are you

and your father.” I feel an arm come around and choke me with chlorophyll,

turning my world slowly back.

-Chapter 7-

“Where was the call from?”

“It was from Emily‟s phone. And it wasn‟t just her.” Officer Parks has been

replaying the call that came in from Emily nonstop. He was determined to figure

out what was going on and this was part of the very little evidence that he

could use.

“And the voices?” the head of police asks.

“Well, I can tell you that one was Emily. The other one seemed like he was

or was working for „the general.‟ It wasn‟t until they got to an airport that they

realized Ms. Emily‟s phone was still picking everything up. This is what the guy

said before he hung up.” Parks plays the tape for everyone to hear.

“This is the general. You haven‟t found Mr. Stark and Ms. Elizabeth yet, and

you never will. They are now ours and you will never see them again. Of course,

we will give back Mr. Tyler and the famous Steve Rogers, but just assume that

the important two are dead.” Then dead silence.

“Where are they now?” a colleague asks.

“As far as I know, on a plane to India,” Parks replies.

“Then off to India we go.”



26

I wake up with dull senses. Once I quickly realize where I am, I start

moving, but I‟m held down. I lift up my head to find all four limbs tied down to

the table. I put my head back down and groan. “Why?” I shout.

“Ah, Ms. Elizabeth, you‟re up.” The gener al steps into the room and makes

his way toward the table, but stops halfway.

“Yeah, I am. Now, are you gonna tell me where Steve is or am I gonna

have to kill a couple people to get my answer?” I ask. I don‟t move, but ready

to bring out my claws in case anything happens.

“I figured you were going to ask that question, Ms. Elizabeth.” The general

makes his way around the room. “Yes, I will show you where your friend Steve is if

you want.”

“Then take me,” I shout.

“Under one condition.”

I hold my breath knowing that what they want from us may not be the

best. “What do you want?” I ask.

“You see the reason why I brought you and Mr. Stark is because with his

knowledge and your wolverine like ways, our company could be invincible,” the

general divulges.

“Yeah, and? Why do you need us?” I demand.

“I need your genes to make the wolverine like skills and Mr. Stark to get his

knowledge to make the suits. Only then will I let you free.”

I ponder on that for a couple seconds and then agree.

“Here you are, Ms. Elizabeth. Your friend.” I look to see Steve in the worst

condition possible.

“Steve!” I shout, pounding on the glass. “Steve! C‟mon, I know you canhear me! Look up idiot! I‟m right here!”

“Actually, Ms. Elizabeth, he can’t hear you. Sound proof glass popularly

used in recording studios. I would expect you to know, since you‟re so big in the

music industry,” the general says behind me.

“Let me in there. Now,” I growl, turning around.



27

“I can do that. But-”

“But what? What else do you want from us?” I shout.

“Your friend may come out and we will properly care for him as long as

you stay in there.” The general nods toward the cell where Steve is being heldcaptive.

“Deal,” I say. “Now let me in.”

The general gets the key and opens the door. “You have ten minutes.”

Steve looks up. His green eyes look at me and I immediately start to choke

up. “Steve, you‟re okay,” I whisper, running to meet him on the ground.

“Why are you here?”

“They were able to control my dreams. Three times this week I had dreams

you were killed. I didn‟t want that to happen to you, I just had to come to make

sure you‟re okay.”

“Well, it‟s not gonna be any better here, you know that?” Steve asks.

“I know. Which is why I‟m taking your place. Steve, they‟re gonna help

you. While you‟re going back home I hope, I‟m going to stay here. I‟d rather

have it be me than you. I know how to deal with it,” I spill.

“Em, no I‟m not letting you do this.”

“No, Steve you‟ve done so much for me. It‟s time to return the favor. I

know how these people work. I‟ve done this before. Trust me, Steve. I‟ll take this

one.”

The general walks in. “Time‟s up, Ms. Elizabeth. Say goodbye.”

“No, you said ten minutes.” But I‟m completely ignored. They take Steve

right out the door.

“No. No. No!!!” I shout, banging on the glass. Tears are streaming down

my face. “No! Don‟t go, Steve! Don‟t leave me!” I could see Steve‟s eyes full of

emotion. They told a story of regret, hopelessness, helplessness, and sadness in a

matter of seconds. “Don‟t go, Steve,” I whisper between sobs. I slide down and

lean against the wall, weeping, knowing that‟s the last time I‟m going to see



28

Steve, or any of my loved ones. Because once I stepped into that cell, I was

bound to death.

Save them now. Steve, Stark, Tyler, everyone. Let me die alone. I caused

this, don’t let them suffer. Just let me die here alone. Just save them. Please.

-Chapter 8-

“Hey, Emily, it‟s Officer Parks calling. Let me know if you‟ve gotten any of

my calls. Thanks.” Parks hangs up the phone for the twentieth time within the

hour. He‟s been trying to call all day, but hasn‟t gotten any response.

“Parks, your shift was over three hours ago,” his friend says, peeking into his

office.

“I know. This case is more complicated than I thought and I need theextra time.”

“You‟ve been at it all day, Parks. I think you need to go home and see

your kids. I‟ll take it from here, Parks. I‟ll work on it.”

“Thanks, bud.” The officer heads home, still considering what happened,

concerned about Ms. Elizabeth and her crew.

“I‟m telling you, it‟s funny what they come up with to argue about,” I say,

chuckling. The general and I have been watching Steve and Stark argue about

anything and everything for the last hour and a half. The general sent Tyler

home because they didn‟t need him.

“And they do this often?”

“Whenever they‟re in the same room. Sometimes, it gets to the point

where they start throwing a couple punches. By that point, though, I step in and

break it up because that doesn‟t end well.”

“Well, Ms. Elizabeth, your days are limited. Soon, you‟re going to be part of

the new and improved ALS Company. Of course, we will only need you for so

long. Then, of course, we usually make sure you don‟t know about it,” the

general states, talking into the microphone so I could hear him.

“Which is why you beat Tyler , isn‟t it?” I question.



29

“Precisely.” Minutes later, Sunjit comes and talks to the general. What they

talk about I‟m not aware of because of the soundproof glass. The general

leaves and Sunjit opens the door.

“Sunjit, what are you doing?” I ask once the door is open.

“Go, run. Go get your friends. You do not deserve to be treated like this,

Ms. Emily. I‟ve talked to you enough to know that your intentions aren‟t bad.

Now go, run. Get out of here!”

“Thank you, Sunjit,” I say. I then make a mad dash to the little argument

cell. Sirens start to sound and I realize that the general figured out.

“Crap,” I mutter. I take a right into a hallway to where all the extra stuff no

one ever uses. I crawl through the jungle like mess then end up right back where

I started. I turn left and run to find guards coming my way. I turn right, then see amirror of the left. The only thing I‟m able to do is jump twenty feet to make it to

the other side. I look down to see twelve floors then floor. I back up, get a

running start, and jump.

Once I land, I could hear the shouts of Steve and Stark.

“I‟m coming, guys! Just, just hold on a second!” I turn right and start

running, claws out and ready. My first opponent approaches, throwing a mean

swing to the right. It hits me on the cheek. He comes at me again, but I dodge.

A quick swipe at the throat and another jab at the stomach leaves him dead

and me running to the cell.

“Hey, guys. Nice argument today. It was pretty funny what you guys

came up with,” I say, unlocking the door. I swing it open and now the three of us

are running for our lives.

The more we run, the faster I keep going, afraid of being shocked from my

feet up. I‟m running in my bare feet because I took my shoes off while I was

being held captive. The other two are barely keeping up behind me. It takes

forever to get out because of how many twists and turns we took, but we

quickly made it out.

“Whoa,” I say, making it outside. I shield my eyes as I look around to figure

out where we are. I feel like Steve once he first woke up for the first time in 70

years: clueless and confused on where we are. “Where the fuck are we?”



30

“India I believe,” Steve replies. “I‟ve been here once. Some of the people

aren‟t exactly nice.” Shouts from the building start to form within the midst of the

clamor.

“Don‟t have much time. C‟mon, can‟t stay,” I say.

“And why should we listen to you?” Stark asks, running after me.

“Last time I trusted you, we ended up in this mess. What‟s your

argument?” I shout behind me. We continue running through the streets of India,

trying to get lost so the guards can‟t get us. Soon, we veer off into an alley to

catch our breath.

“We need a plan. And if any of you start reenact the plane scene from

our little Loki incident, I‟m gonna kill you,” I say , looking at them. “We can‟t stay

here.”

“Well, you can come with us and you can save both of us the hassle,” I

hear a voice say from behind me. And before I could think of a plan of attack, I

get knocked out off to another branch of ALS Company.

“Hey, Emily. Not sure if you heard or not, but I managed to get home

okay. Stay safe. Wait, what am I saying? Anyway, I hope you‟re okay. Miss you

lots, call me back. Bye.” Tyler hangs up the phone again.

“Who was that?” Tyler‟s younger brother asks.

“Emily. Haven‟t talked to her in about a week, and knowing what‟s going

on, a week isn‟t good, Josh,” Tyler responds.

“You know, you told me that when life gets bad, you should be happy. So,

you should be happy that you got to meet Emily. You tell me a lot about how

cool she is and stuff. Who knows? Maybe she‟s okay.” Josh looks at Tyler with his

seven year old eyes.

“You‟re right, Josh. I shouldn‟t be scared. She‟ll be okay.” Tyler thinks, andthen realizes it‟s pretty close to 10 at night. “Wait, aren‟t you supposed to be in

bed?” Josh giggles then runs out of the room. Tyler follows him, tucks him into

bed, which is followed by Tyler going to bed himself.

“Night, Temler!” Josh shouts. Tyler chuckles under his breath, shaking his

head as he makes his way to his own room.



31

Temper. Kinda like that name. Tyler thinks. Emily will be okay. Don’t worry.

-Chapter 9-

“Now, Mr. Sunjit, you were personally sent out to follow Mr. Stark and his

daughter, correct?” Once Officer Parks hit India, the general already took Stark,Steve, and Elizabeth to what everyone is saying New Orleans.

“Correct, officer. I was sent because they needed someone to personally

connect with both of them. Each night I would report to the general and say

what we did and what we talked about. I told him about Mr. Steve Rogers and

that‟s why the general took him,” Sunjit responds.

“Do you know where the general took them?” Officer Parks responds.

“I believe he was going to take the three of them to New Orleans. Here‟sthe paperwork.” Sunjit takes a couple sheets of paper out of his back pocket

and hands it to Officer Parks. Parks looks it over very carefully.

“Thank you very much, Sunjit. You have cooperated very well with us

today,” Parks says after looking at the paperwork. “Do you mind if we keep

these in case we need to refer to them?”

“Please do, Officer, anything to help Mr. Stark and Ms. Elizabeth. After

realizing what the general was going to do to the two of them, I realized that I

had to take action. And Ms. Elizabeth‟s friend, Tyler, made it back okay?”

“Very much so,” Parks says. “Now, what is the general going to do with

Tony and Elizabeth?”

“Last time I heard, the general was going to extract the genes that made

Ms. Elizabeth have the claws like Edward Scissorhands and use Tony Stark‟s

knowledge on technology to make the suits. With those two, the general

believes that our company would be the most powerful company in the world.”

“What I don‟t understand, Mr. Sunjit, is that Elizabeth told me tha t they

were being hunted down because she knew the real story of Iron Man. How

does that connect with what the general wants to do with the two of them?”

Parks sits down in his chair so now he is eye to eye with Sunjit.

“Well, like Elizabeth said, Tony Stark is only allowed to tell one person

about how the real Iron Man came to be. After he told another person, they



32

were going to use him for exploitation. The fact that Ms. Elizabeth had some

special power was a bonus for them and decided that they were going to

exploitation as well. It‟s now a matter of time before Elizabeth gets seriously

hurt.”

“Well, that‟s all I need,” Officer Parks says, getting up. “Thank you for your

cooperation. You are free to go, Mr. Sunjit.”

“You‟re very welcome, Officer.”

My eyesight slowly comes to me as I wake up. Once I realize where I am, I

jolt up to hit my head on something above me. I groan and lay back down,

rubbing my forehead.

“Which one of you idiots decided to put me down here?” I shout.

“Steve‟s idea, not mine,” Stark says, pacing back and forth. Steve is sitting

on the ground, thinking about something, probably a way to get out.

“Where are we?” I ask, sitting up.

“New Orleans,” Steve responds.

“Well, I wanna get out so I can, I don‟t know, actually listen to the music.

I‟ve always wanted to come and listen to the jazz,” I say.

“Yeah, good luck reasoning with them,” Steve snickers. The door unlocksand the general, once again, walks in.

“What do you want from us? Can we, like, go outside? You don‟t bring us

to New Orleans and not let us walk around,” I rant.

“Ms. Elizabeth, I hope you know I‟m not letting any of you out.”

“Well, if you aren‟t, don‟t exploit us for longer. If you have a certa in date

in which you‟re going to basically turn me into an actual human, let us out

because maybe we‟ll get some better food so the genes can actually, I don‟tknow, look okay and you‟re not stuck with crappy ones. And if you want Stark to

think straight, having him stuck in here all day every day isn‟t going to help you

case. So-”

“Oh my god, Emily, shut up!” Stark shouts.

“Thank you, Tony!” Steve says.



33

“Okay, Ms. Elizabeth, we will let you and your friends out. You are allowed

out from 9 AM to 5 PM every day. Stay within the downtown New Orleans area.

If you go anywhere else, bad things will happen to you. Each of you is allowed

$100 each day. Don‟t waste it. Go enjoy New Orleans.” The general turns to

leave, but then comes back. “Oh, yes, Ms. Elizabeth. Here are your heels you leftin India.”

“Thank you, general,” I say, running to grab them and put them on.

Minutes later, the three of us are out on the streets of New Orleans.

“Our next and last song is Bernie‟s Tune.” Steve, Stark, and I are listening to

the Christian McBride band, who are amazing right now. We‟re standing behind

the drummer because I‟m a jazz drummer and I learn best from observing.

“Hey, we played that song! I rocked the drumset!” I exclaim.

“Hey guys, hold up a sec,” the drummer says, turning around. “You wanna

play this song, Ms.? I kinda need a break anyway.” I stand there, a giant smile

on my face, eyes wide.

“Heck yeah!” I shout, grabbing the drummer‟s sticks and setting myself up

on the drumset. “How fast do you guys take this?” I ask.

“Bout 105 bpm.” I calculate that in my head, then click off and start.

Playing with these guys was my jazz dream come true. Ever since I started jazz

band in the beginning of middle school, I was always fascinated with some sort

of jazz, especially Count Boise. And these guys are professionals, too, so I felt

pretty proud of myself.

Everything ended all too soon for me, even with the shah seemed to be

super long solos from every member of the group, including me. We stand up

and bow.

“And our surprise guest, Ms….”

“Emily!” I shout.

After packing up, the three of us find a place to eat, settling for a

Mediterranean place.



34

“So it‟s just the three of us now stuck in a room I guess,” I say, digging into

my Mediterranean tuna steak. “Damn, that‟s really good. I haven‟t had

Mediterranean like that since I was like, ten.”

“You haven‟t eaten Mediterranean since you were ten? Seems a little

unlike you, considering how bad your Schwarma phase is right now,” Stark says.

“Hey, in my defense, with my brother off wherever, I think I can use the

extra little things to remember what we did together, okay?” I say. “Oh my god,

Tyler was right, I have turned into a bitch,” I comment, wide eyed.

“First step is realizing it,” Steve says, patting me on the back. “Now finish

your dead fish.”

We do our usual pass around the plates after I inhale about half of my

order because of how poorly we‟ve been fed. Then again, I haven‟t eaten atall. I‟ve been surviving on water, so I needed to eat. We head back after our

long but eventful day and prepare ourselves for some sort of torture. Five

minutes before we go inside, I get another call for Officer Parks.

“Hey, you‟re not dead,” Officer Parks says.

“Yeah, I‟m alive. Whether or not I‟m well is debatable,” I respond.

“Anyway, what‟s up?”

“I did some interviews, and is it true that you guys are in New Orleans?”

“Yeah, but we might not be here for long. We‟ve been here in New

Orleans for about a week now. The three of us-”

“Wait, three?” Parks asks. “I thought Tyler was sent home.”

“He was. Me, Steve, and Stark. Anyway, the three of us are allowed to be

out from nine to five every day. The three of us have been trying to survive on

the $300 they give us every day for food and whatever else, but I‟m sure they

have-”

“Who‟s they?” Parks asks.

“Take a guess. Look, I don‟t have much time. If you‟re coming to save us,

you better do it soon because we may not be alive by the time you get here.

And I need to go. If we‟re late, I don‟t want to know what happens.” I hang up



35

and make my way into the building in which I will be locked in and will possibly

be the place of death.

-Chapter 11-

It takes me a little while to realize to figure out where I am while I wake up.I try to move my hands away, but something restrains them. I try to do the same

thing with my feet to get the same results.

Great, I think. I’m tied down to yet another table. Here I am, meeting my

death, only 15 years old, going to get genes extracted because some evil

scientist thinks that they can rule the world with them. Thanks, world! It’s nice to

know you hate me, too!

“It‟s nice to see you awake, Elizabeth,” I hear the general say.

“Hey. Can I like be told who is where?” I ask.

“Well, Mr. Stark is in the lab right now, showing everyone how to create

the famous Iron Man suits. Mr. Steve Rogers is being experimented on, seeing

how his body is reacting to the serum. In addition, our scientists are working on

duplicating the serum. But not to the point of Dr. Banner, of course.”

“What about me?” I ask, craning my head up to attempt to look at the

general.

There‟s a pause as if the general is figuring out whether to tell me the truth

or not. Then: “We have started extracting your genes last night. You‟ve been out

for about three days. Each morning, we will see how the claws work through

you. After an hour break for lunch, we will again extract your genes.”

“Wait,” I say. “Wouldn‟t it be easier just to take some of them and just

make them rapidly go through mitosis, like a virus or cancer?”

“Yes, we can do that. But that may take a while, and we need multiple;

which is why we are extracting many.” The general comes in and unstraps me. I

get off of the bed (if you actually call it a bed) and stretch.

“There are workout clothes hanging on the door for you, Ms. Elizabeth. I

will be back in 10 minutes.”



36

This is it, Em. I think to myself. Your days are limited, these guys aren’t going

to show any mercy. You gotta fight until help comes if help comes at all. Train a

soldier, fight a soldier, die a hero, leave a legacy worth remembering

-Chapter 12-

Train a soldier, fight a soldier, die a hero, leave a legacy worth

remembering. That‟s the only thing that had been going through my head for

the last week. Every morning from 6 AM to noon, I turn into a lab rat, every move

being watched. I‟m forced against my will to tear into innocent people as

scientists silently and closely observe my every move. Train a soldier, fight a

soldier, die a hero, leave a legacy worth remembering. Is this really worth

remembering?

Train a soldier, fight a soldier, die a hero, leave a legacy worth

remembering. Every day from 1 PM to 5 PM, my genes that code for my

Scissorhands are extracted, and mitosis can‟t keep up with replacing what was

lost. Train a soldier, fight a soldier, die a hero, leave a legacy worth

remembering. Is this legacy I‟m taking a part of, this legacy that Steve, Tony,

and I, are leaving. Is this really worth remembering?

And the worst part is, none of us get to see each other. The last memories I

have of Stark are the arguments that we constantly had. They occurred almost

every night for months. Then after the one time I say something meaningful to

someone, I get laughed at, changing Stark‟s attitude.

As for Steve, I remember him being my not genetically related brother.

He‟s been there for me thick and thin. He‟s been the one I went to when Stark

got upset, the one that helped me with training, he‟s the one that whipped me

into shape.

Now all of us are taking part in a legacy that we all hate. The band of

three have been broken and shattered and now dust in the wind, unable to

reunite.

Fight like a soldier, be a hero of soldiers, leave a legacy worth

remembering. All of us have been fighting like soldiers, each one being a hero

for the other two fighting soldiers. And all three of us are leaving a legacy that‟s

worth remembering, but not as we hoped.



37

“Again!” I hear over the inter com. I have killed my 50th victim, and it‟s now

only 7:30 in the morning. Fight like a soldier . I have become swifter with fighting,

and now they are scrambling for more people for me to fight. I‟ve been doing

this for a solid week now, marking an approximate month since this whole mess

began.

“How many more people do you have planned?” I ask, pacing back and

forth, avoiding the blood of the fallen angel (that‟s what I call the victims I fight

now).

“We were shooting for 150 today, just to give you a break.” The scientists

make no eye contact with me. They completely avoid my gaze. I wouldn‟t be

too suspicious, but these wack-a-doos watch everything, including what I do to

recover.

I scan to see who is observing me when I see the familiar black hair that I

used to see every day. Tyler ? Seconds later, he sends a foot forward, knocking

one of the science nerds down to the ground. Before anyone else could attack,

I break the weak glass barrier holding me from the rest of the world and help

out.

I turn ar ound, ready to lunge, but something stops me. I‟ve seen those

eyes before, peeking out behind the black hair.

“It‟s nice to see that you‟re alive, Em.”

“Oh, my god. It is you. I thought I was hallucinating,” I say, relaxing a little

too much. Stumbling forward, I hear gunshots being fired and a vaguely familiar

voice shouting, “Down on your knees, this is the police!” Officer Parks.

“Emily, c‟mon, stay with me,” I hear Tyler say. I can‟t seem to hold it

together. All the sounds are blurring together into one sound. The only thing I

can make out is Tyler‟s face against the dull grey ceiling and his voice,

continually saying “C‟mon, Em. Stay with me.”

The events that follow seem to be mushed together. I remember being

carried out of the building by Tyler, the bright August sun blinding me. The

general is hauled away into a cop car, lights flashing, getting dimmer on the

distance with its sirens blending into the clamor.

Being put into a stretcher, everything seems to become a blur of colors. I

can barely see Stark‟s face and hear him say, “Hold on, Emily. You‟ll be okay.”



38

Being lifted into the ambulance, I look to see if I can make out any faces

from the blurs. Tyler‟s district black hair and ice blue eyes and Steve‟s amazing

figure are the only two things I needed and wanted to see. The last thing I hear

Stark say is “I‟m sorry” before blacking out.

-Chapter 13-

“Can‟t believe she‟s still alive,” Steve says, listening to the fatally slow

beeping, indicating Emily‟s heart rate.

“Well, she‟s a trooper,” Tyler responds. After getting Emily safe to the s

hospital, Steve said he would watch over Emily so Stark could get some rest. Tyler

has been coming every day to watch over her as well.

Not able to bare it any longer, Steve gets up to leave, leaving Tyler alone

with Emily.

“Hey, Em. Not sure if you‟re at that state where you can hear me and

you‟re just unconscious, which is unlikely,” Tyler starts. He pauses to think of what

to say. Then: “I just wanted to say sorry for getting you into this mess and if you

die here and now, you have been probably one of the best friends I‟ve ever

had. I was reluctant at first because you seemed a little intimidating, but after

talking to you, you were, like, an amazing chick. You‟re like that perfect sister

that isn‟t really related to me. I miss you, Em. Please, just have a miracle happen

and live.” That‟s all he could say before a tear runs down his face. Tyler puts his

hands on his forehead and watches the floor magnify as the tears roll down his

pale face and drop to the cold, white tiles.

C’mon Emily. We all know you can power through this. You’ve survived

everything else up to this point. Just wake up and relieve us of this anxiety.

Stark‟s mind is racing with thoughts. He felt bad after seeing what happened to

her being carried out of the facility. The heart monitor has been beeping at a

slow, almost fatal, rate. Tyler and Steve sit side by side, both of their heads

bowed. Steve mumbles under his breath, probably saying a prayer. Stark is

pacing back and forth, listening to the beeping.

The beeping stops, becoming one long buzzing noise, and all three look

up. A tear runs down Stark‟s face, and then one from Steve and Tyler.

“Emily, don‟t die on me. Tell me this is a trick, something. Come on, Emily.

We know you‟re there. Say something, do something!” Stark shouts. Steve



39

restrains him from doing any harm. Not only is Stark sobbing, Tyler is silently crying

as well, getting up to look out the window.

“She‟s gone, Stark,” Steve says, voice quivering. “The sooner you embrace

it, the better.”

“No, she can‟t be,” is the only thing Tony Stark is able to say. Steve Rogers,

Tony Stark, and Tyler Evans all stand a room, mourning Emily Stark‟s short 15 year

life.

Everything slowly comes back to me. The first thing I hear is an annoying,

long beep from the heart monitor. I get up to look at it, look at myself to make

sure I‟m alive, then back at then back to the monitor. I start hitting it to make

sure I‟m alive and to see if it‟s malfunctioning.

“God dammit now I‟m seeing things,” Stark says, watching me.

“Nah, it‟s either I‟m alive or I‟m a really smart zombie, and in that case,

get everyone out and burn this building down. How long have I been out?” I

ask, looking everyone.

“About a week,” Tyler says, still looking out the window.

“Yeah, I‟m not a zombie. Takes 6 hours to reanimate to one. And they

don‟t have the brain capacity to talk and stuff. So yeah, I‟m alive.”

“If you were out any longer, we would‟ve had to check Stark into a

mental hospital because he was going so insane,” Steve responds, leaning on

the foot of my bed.

“Well, it‟s been a hell of a day, hasn‟t it?” I ask.

“Try hell of a month and a half,” Tyler says, making his way back. “But yes,

it has definitely been a hell of a day.”

Leave a legacy

“New house for a new life,” I say, blasting Twenty One Pilot‟s‟ House of

Gold in the background. After coming back from New Orleans and making a



whole trip out of it, Stark came home to a new house, built into the cliff, as well

on top.

Steve made it back okay, now living in a bungalow on the beach about

half an hour away from Stark . I‟ll soon be living with Steve because DCFS doesn‟t

believe that Tony Stark‟s house is a “safe environment for children.” I told them I

wanted to live with Steve and I really stood my ground. All of the essentials are

already there for both me and Steve, and now the two of us are working on

transforming part of the basement to a recording studio.

Tyler became the hero of all of this. He was the one who saved us all from

this giant mess. He made it back from India just fine, although his mother

seemed a little concerned on where he was.

As for the general, he has to serve a life sentence in prison or exploitation.

It turns out that his name is John. And apparen tly he‟s been at this for a while.

Just goes to show you, you may not get away with everything.

“Last item, Em,” Steve says, picking up the mirror must always have with

me when I move. “Care to put it up?”

I take the mirror out of Steve‟s hands and put it up right next to the closet

in my new room. Once the mirror is hung up, I saw myself and Steve. But a

different version of us. I saw a stronger me, a more brave, courageous, valiant

me.

So yes, this last month and a half made me scared, upset, angry, but most

of all, proud. Proud to know that I had people who cared and would help me

and put their life in danger for mine.

“The future looks pretty bright.”- Michael P. Anderson,

Documents

Hell of a day