• • •

Pain. Dull and persistent, it pounded behind my eyes, swelled down my neck like hot water and I blinked, a cry escaped my sore lips as I did and I could taste blood. Slowly, I opened my eyes and touched a shaking finger to a fresh cut on my lip. Pulling it back I squinted at the red liquid on my fingertip and touched my lips harder as if I couldn't believe I was bleeding. My right eye felt heavy and as my hands roamed over my face, the skin around both eyes was hot and swollen, tender to the touch and I winced bracing myself. I shot up from laying on my back and doubled over clutching at my stomach as bile surged up my throat.

"Fuck."

Dark spots littered my vision as I blinked down at the liquid that splashed back at me on the floor. I was laying on the concrete, cold, and hard. Lifting my heavy head I looked around the room. It was a cell. A small cell with concrete walls and a heavy-looking door with no window. Where was I? What am I doing here? A thousand questions ran through my mind and I palmed at the concrete, it was cool as I pulled myself up to my feet, not very sturdy, but I was up. Swaying, and swallowing a swell of saliva I lurched towards the door. A heavy fist came up to hit at it.

"Hello? Let me out!"

I was yelling at no one.

"Please, let me go! I'm sick."

It was just dead silence that made the quiet louder after every one of my words. I banged against the door again, crying out, "What do you want from me?!"

With what little energy I had spent and waning I shuffled back to the opposite wall and slid down the hard, cold surface, pulling my knees to my chest. I stared at the door hoping it'd open and that someone would come to get me.

A loud noise startled me, my heart began to race as my mind thought of who might be coming through that door. Were they going to kill me? Hurt me? I wanted to melt into the wall to just disappear and as the door groaned against the lock and lurched open, I yelled at whoever came in to stay away from me.

"Don't come any closer, please! Leave me alone." I hollered, my voice cracking with fresh tears.

"Annie."

"Ben," I gasped, choked on my tears, and shuffled across the concrete floor I reached for him. He met me halfway, pulling me close to him. I clutched at his back as if he was my lifeline. The smell of his sweat was oddly calming as I grabbed at him.

"Did they do this to you?" His eyes were dark as he pulled my face back to assess the fresh bruises on my skin. I nodded and he squinted blowing out air from his nose, his eyes closed momentarily before he opened them, "We've got to get out of here."

Nodding and trusting, I slipped my hand into his and for the first time noticed the gun in his hand, "Ben where did you get that?" 

"They didn't lock my cell and I found it near a security system. There were dozens of cameras, that's how I found you. Come on, we have to go." He stated gripping my hand hard, he pulled me towards the door and I held my breath as I dreaded him opening it. It was loud as it was before but there were no angry eyes, yelling voices, or sounds of boots to greet us. Panic bubbled up in my veins and I reached out to grab Ben's arm with my other hand. The hall was cold and our feet echoed, the halls looked almost tunnel-like. As if someone threw concrete and plywood together to make a sad-looking hallway. The walls were cracked, small piles of debris laid at our feet and my heart were pounding against my chest, I was growing hot with fear but a quick gust of wind ruffled my hair and had me looking back over my shoulder.

"Come on, down this way." Ben led me down three right turns, it almost seemed like we were going in circles and there was no way out when the walls began to have less and fewer cracks, the moldy smell was gone and the floor was even under our feet. It was cleaner and cooler, now there windows looking into labs, and makeshift barracks rooms, but there were no people. Not even a hint of a cult member. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, goosebumps spread across my skin and I snapped my head at the sound of boots. They were coming closer. I gripped Ben's hand and hissed at him, but he had heard the same thing and broke out into a run. The boots behind us picked up speed and I concentrated on keeping one foot in front of the other.

We crashed into a door that was the farthest down the hall. Scared, tired, and out of breath I leaned over, bracing my hands on my knees sucking in air. Behind me Ben shouldered the door, the gun tight in his hands as he told me to be quiet. I clamped a hand over my mouth turning to him, with a few small steps I reached his side.

"Ben?" I whispered.

His face was a taunt and his lips were pressed tight as he raised a finger to his lips, our eyes locked and I stilled as multiple pairs of boots ran past our door and down the hall.

Slumping against the wall, I squeezed my eyes shut as more nausea swelled in my stomach, breathing out of my mouth I opened my eyes and froze. The room was dark and smelt of metal and bleach-like a hospital. I squinted and saw a dull warm light coming from a room in the back. As I moved further into the darkroom I realized there was a whirring sound coming from behind the clear, dirty, plastic blinds that shielded the doorway.

"Ben, come here," I whispered and he quickly made his way over.

"Annie, they left down the hall. We can probably get out if we follow behind them. We need to go," He grabbed my arm, but I pulled it out of his grip and tentatively walked towards the back room.

The whirring was loud, mechanical, and alien. With a quickness, I pulled the plastic to the side and my heart dropped. In front of me, strapped tightly to a table with kryptonite terminating beneath him was Clark, and I rushed to his side. He was pale, his face slick with sweat and his brow was furrowed his eyes squeezed shut. Placing my hands on his cheeks I turned his face to me.

"Clark? Can you open your eyes for me?" My hand slipped to his chest where his heartbeat was slow and light, it was always faster and a heavier feeling against my palm. He was going to die if we didn't get him out of here. As fast as I could I assessed the room and knelt down, ignoring the sluggishness in my head, and squinted at the space rock that glowed beneath. I grabbed at one trying to wretch it free but its jagged glowing edges cut into my palm and I hissed in pain pulling my hand away. A scratch was pulsing on my palm, but no blood- just peeled back skin.

Next, I looked for something to break the Kryptonite, "Ben do you see anything we can use to hit these?" I asked looking back over Clark. It was the worst I've ever seen him and my heart ached. I smoothed down his furrowed brow with my thumb. It slid between his brows and down his nose and Clark immediately calmed, his shoulders relaxed and so did his face. I sighed and leaned down to kiss his slick forehead. Tasting sweat across his skin was something I thought I'd never been able to taste. Nausea slammed through me and I leaned over placing my head on his chest, I closed my eyes to stop the spinning and listened to his heartbeat, slow and dangerous.

"Annie?" I shot up and turned to see Clark's eyes were half-lidded, but slightly open, reaching for his face I pulled close to him.

"Clark? Hi." Smiling down at him, " We're going to get you out of here. I'll drag you out if I have to," I exclaimed, and he strained against his restraints that I just noticed. They were simply just ones used on patients in the hospital so I reached for one and quickly undid it around his wrist. Beneath the heavy leather and rough fabric were a dark bruise. I glanced up at Clark who was glaring past me. My hand settled on his arm, his skin slick beneath my palm, but his eyes shifted over to me.

"We're going to be okay," I told him.

"I highly doubt that," Ben spoke up. His voice was deep and cold and I thought maybe they had found us. Turning to him I was met with a gun. Ben was pointing a gun at me. His blue eyes were dark as he looked at me with so much hate. My blood ran cold and I stilled clutching tightly around Clark's wrist.

I blinked, "Ben? What- what is this?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He barked back, face flushed with anger.

"Ben, I don't-"

"Think, Annie. Use your brain, I know you're not dumb!" He screamed at me.

"Y-you're apart of the cult? That's how you knew where to go?" I frowned, I hoped he'd tell me no, that this was just a ploy, that one of the cult members was in the room and he was maybe acting like this to earn trust to then turn on them, but his lips pulled into a cold smirk and my stomach dropped.

I stared at him then doubled over and heaved. Bile and stomach acid ran up my throat and I wiped at my mouth almost used to the smell of my vomit. I lazily raised my body to look up at him, my feet stumbled a bit and Clark's hand braced against my lower back. With what strength he had he kept me from falling. I placed my hand behind my back and interlaced our fingers. He squeezed back as Ben began to talk.

"It's funny what a little lead over time can do to somebody," His eyes squinted at me, "How's your tea been, Annie?"

"Lead? Why- why would you poison me? I thought you loved me-,"

He seemed to be even angrier that I wasn't getting the whole picture. Bens voice cut me off and I stilled looking at him with bleary vision, my head was pounding trying to make sense of this all.

"Loved you?! I could never love the woman who stands by the man who killed my wife."

"April died in a car accident." I shot back.

"Yes, she did. On the day God over here," he gestured towards Clark," battled Zod in Metropolis. She was coming home from work - was twenty minutes away when I got a call from her screaming."

Ben's eyes grow distant as he remembers April, "She couldn't get out of the car. It had stalled and the alien technology was close. The one that began to terraform our planet." His eyes locked with mine and I immediately knew what he was going to say, "I listened to my wife cry for me on the line. Heard her scream as her car slammed into the ground, crushing her and our unborn child."

I gasped and looked up at the broken man in front of me, his eyes were dark, red, and rimmed with fresh tears. I had welcomed into my home, let him into my heart and soul- my body. I had at one point saw a future with him and it was all a lie.

"Why go to this extent...what is it you want from me?" I yelled at him.

"It's not what I want from you its what I want to take from him." His eyes listed to Clark, "I was just supposed to get you to move on and fall in love with me, my mission was simple: make the Widow the most hated woman on the planet. It was going great, we were happy until the rumors started and Steppenwolf appeared. Then he came back to life and I had to rethink everything. Hence the tea and the upped romance. I just never expected you to break up with me, but then again that was my fault, my hatred for this man came out as jealousy. I should have controlled myself better." He shrugged as if he was admitting to cheating on a test and not infiltrating my life because of a cult.

"We were approached by someone powerful that wanted him to suffer, there was a future we all belonged to and there is only one way to get to it and destroy him and turn him into the evil he skates around," Ben told me. "It'll be a win/win. I get what I want and so does he, the one who will save us from the apocalypse that follows."

"Killing him won't change anything, he's already been brought back once. Ben, I won't let you do this." I stood in front of Clark the best I could, I would take this bullet for him.

"Aw, you're making this easier. I'm not going to kill him, Annie."

Ben pointed the gun towards me and smiled looking me in the eye, "I'm going to kill you."

Clark screamed behind me and I held his hand tighter. I glanced back at Clark - everything seemed to be in slow motion. I could feel the hot tears rolling down my face and he struggled against his restraints banged his head against the table. He tried to pull his hand from mine to reach for his strapped down arm, but I just held his hand tighter and turned back to Ben.

And then the gun went off and I watched the barrel light up as the bullet sped towards me.

• • •

So sorry to be one for so long! I'm back at College for my Senior year praying that these Freshman did not mess it up for us!

Let me know what you think! I'm very excited to read your comments!!!