April 2014

I was running as fast as my feet would take me. Dozens of widows were running behind me, some I've trained with, some I haven't. I turned into a restricted hallway using a keycard I'd stolen from a guard. None of the girls followed me in but I knew they were waiting outside. I also knew that he was watching me through the hundreds of cameras he had.

Dreykov. The man behind the red room and the thousands of widows around the world.

This has only ever happened once years ago when a widow managed to escape the lies they were fed convincing them that they had free will. And since then he's made sure no one could escape again.

Her name was Natalia Romanova. Rumor has it she was the one who attempted to kill Dreykov and blew up his daughter.

I quickly looked around at my surroundings checking for anything I could use to help myself.

"C'mon cmon," I mumbled to no one, slamming my hands aggressively onto the screen that was in front of me.

Due to this major setback of getting stuck in the room, my well-formulated plan just got thrown out the window. I now have two choices. 1: somehow escape the place Dreykov's kept hidden for years and only one person has ever escaped from with the help of people or 2, die. If I didn't escape and get caught, they would torture and brainwash me till I probably didn't even know my name so If worst came to worst, ill take myself out.

I looked above me and saw a vent. I smiled to myself as an idea formed in my head.

"Alright, let's do this," I whispered to myself.

I quickly took out my gun and swiftly shot the camera before standing myself up on the screen stand. I reached up to unscrew the screws with the tip of my knife and punch the grate. After three hard punches, the vent cover flew up into the vent and fell onto the floor below me.

I jumped from the stand and gripped onto the edge of the vent with my fingers, pulling myself up with a grunt. The vents were narrow and dark as I crawled through them.

I crawled for what felt like an hour and finally dropped down into a hallway I didn't recognize. I looked around quickly for cameras and shot any that stared back at me.

Should I try to find the lab? I asked myself. I decided to just try to make it out of there alive and to find an exit.

I ran straight and turned to my right, coming face to face with a large black door. I wiggled open the lock, becoming suspicious about how easy it was to pick it. Suspicion crept into my mind as I opened it anyway.

"Curiosity is going to kill this cat at one point" I mumbled, walking in.

Inside was what looked to be someone's quarters. The bed was covered in a lilac duvet which I thought was weird considering the sheets in here were only ever white. On the desk were a bunch of papers that looked too complex to comprehend. On the papers was writing about gasses that I didn't have enough time to care about.

I went through the drawers on the dresser and nightstand for anything useful. Other than a few pads I found nothing useful. I lifted a bible from the drawer and shook it. It was a fake. I ripped it open to find a hallowed book with a sort of pen in the middle.

"What the hell is this?" I whispered while holding it close to my eyes for inspection.

On the right of the item was a button. I shrugged and pointed it towards the wall in case it was like a bomb or something. I pushed the button slowly and held my breath.

Out of the pen came a red line. A laser.

"Cool!" I said, keeping the laser in the same position. I continued staring at it before the wall began to smoke. I furrowed my eyebrows and stopped clicking the button.

What? I thought before realizing what its meaning was.

I quickly this time, turned on the lazed and traced a small square on the wall with it. In less than a minute the square has fallen off amid smoke.
I felt myself smile as I clicked off the pen.

"Sweet." I chuckled to myself, stuffing the pen laser thing in my bra, knowing they wouldn't search me there first if I was found.

I walked out of the room with the intent of going to the armory to get at least one bigger weapon before I tried and leave. The only time I've been outside this place was for missions that lasted 5 days at most.

I walked quickly down a hallway that didn't look familiar. I looked at myself right before I stopped suddenly. Something wasn't right. I quickly turned around to be met face-to-face with a widow in all black.

I grunt as I blocked her punch, throwing the counter punch as I held her other hand for a second to buy me time. I ducked down to avoid her retaliation and went for her legs sweeping mine under her's, making her fall.

She hit the floor with a groan before quickly attempting to get up but I had already surged to my right for my escape as soon as my foot left from under her's.

I don't look back as I run, something I learned very young. I didn't get to run very long as two more widows stepped out in front of me. I stopped in the middle looking at both my right and left, seeing no escape.

"Fuck it" I breathe out, my Russian accent coming out thicker than normal. I had absolutely no idea if this would work and it seemed like a horrible plan but I was surrounded.

I bolted forward and attempted to jump for momentum. My plan didn't work. The widow on the left pulled out a taser and shot it at me, hitting me square on my stomach.

I grunted in pain, feeling the electricity surge through my bones. I fell fast, attempting to get up once I was down which only made them taze me harder.

My vision fogged as they started walking towards me. "No..." I whisper as black dots surround my sight. The last thing I felt was the grabbing of my arms before I lost consciousness.

ⴵ

I woke up in a room I once again don't recognize. My eyes slowly opened and once my vision returned I was seeing sideways. I slowly lift my head and turned it around to get a look at my surroundings. I tried and move my hands and legs but I immediately found that they were encased in thick metal shackles.

Smart, we were trained on how to break chairs that we were tied to in level 5 training.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusing before realization slowly crept into my mind.

"Ah, glad to see you awake miss Ivanakof." A voice rang out from behind me.

My blood ran cold. It felt as though ice was coursing through my veins. No. That voice belonged to the most feared man here. General Dreykov, the man behind the red room.

Behind him stood a line of the widows that caught me.

"Tell me, what in your right mind possessed you to commit such acts of treason?" He asked, speaking out his hands in a small shrug.

I put on the best glare I could while I answered. "Because I want to get out of this hell hole," I replied harshly. If words could cut, mine would.

He gave me a look of disapproval, "You know Irena your being quite ungrateful, I've given you food and water, a roof over your head for how many years?" He asked while looking through what looked to be my file. "Ah, thirteen."

I laughed at his words. "You took me from my mother and made me into a weapon, I didn't get a childhood, you didn't give me anything." I countered back.

"I'm going to stop you right there Miss Ivanakof, we're getting off topic." He ordered.

I kept on my scowl as he walked towards me, bending down until his face was only a mere 6 inches from mine.

"You're going to do as I say, in exchange for your life." He whispered.

I smiled once again, I'm really playing with fire here. "I would rather die," I told him.

"That could be arranged," he said looking behind him at the array of guns he had behind him. "But Irena my dear you're much more important to me alive."

" I am not your dear." I snarled. His words made my stomach church. Why was I important?

He only chucked at my outburst. "How are you able to think for yourself again?" He asked, genuinely intrigued.

When I didn't answer for 5 minutes he nodded to one of the widows who stood next to my chair. My eyes shifted to my left when she pulled out a knife and made a cut right along my cheek.

I hissed out in pain but continued to stay silent.

"Again" he ordered.

The girl whose blonde hair was braided into a twisted bun at the back of her head moved the knife down to my arm, piercing it deeper than before.

I scrunched my face as I bit my lip, determined to stay quiet. The truth was I had no idea how I escaped the brainwashing, one day it was there and one day it wasn't.

Dreykov watched the blood roll down my arm and onto the floor for a minute.

"Again."

This time she chose the other arm. Stabbing it and dragging it down about an inch. This time I talked.

"Fuck you!" I yelled out in pain.

"This will end if you just tell me." He told me. "Normally I would just have you killed and not look back but this is extremely concerning as no one has been able to break the washing sequences."

"I do not know how." I seethed through closed teeth.

"I don't believe you." He said in my face. "Again."

Continuing from the last wound she continued to run down it just as deep only about 2 inches this time.

I grunted, I was weighing the options in my head. He's going to let me live for information and studying but do I really want to be alive here? I didn't. I'd be happy to die if it meant not being here.

I stayed quiet after making my decision.

"Go ahead and kill me," I deadpanned.

"Not before you tell me what I was looking for!" He roared.

The blonde stabbed me again in my non-dominant upper arm.

I let out a strained squeal. My chin was against my chest as I let my head down to try and compensate for that pain If I live I can try to escape again and make sure I do it right this time. My head shot up.

"I do not know I swear! I just woke up and it was gone, any information on what this place taught me was right vanished besides my training!" I yelled.

Again he bent down close to my face again."How do I know you're not lying." He questioned

"You do not you suka but I am a 13-year-old girl telling you information so you do not torture her, do you really think I'd lie," I tell him, cursing in Russian, my thick accent and broken english sounding heavily apparent. (Bitch)

He gave me a curt nod and then a nod to the blonde. "Leave us for a moment."  He demanded.

I sucked my lip into in teeth in worry. Why did he want to be alone?

As the widows exited and closed the door, Dreykov pulled up a chair for himself.

"Irena I know you're a bright girl." He began.

"What makes you say that," I question with a smirk. He thinks he knows me, funny

"Because you chose to comply, but I have one more thing for you to do."

"And what is that?" I ask, tilting my head.

"Find who they call Black Widow, once you do wait for backup or kill her." He explained.

I felt my eyes widen slightly but quickly kept them at bay. The Black Widow was an icon here, a role model for all the girls in the academy. Our goal was to be her, they trained us to be another her.

"What do you want with her?" I pressed.

"That's private, the point is you will go in a day not counting today and you will find her. If you cannot catch her, kill her."

"Why are you sending me I am thirteen, there are girls much smarter and stronger," I ask.

This made no sense. Why send me? Yes, I was strong for my age but some girls had already graduated. Not that I'm actually going to kill or catch her when I meet her, I need to talk to her about her time here.

It was odd, this was my first mission to the States since my longest mission and even that took years to qualify for. Missions to the states were as rare as not being deprived of food as a punishment.

"Because my dear, everyone is too scared. She has new friends now, the Avengers and the Iron Man." He explained.

I looked at him for a second before replying. "Ok, fine."

"Excellent!" He exclaims as he grabs both my cheeks with his hands and kissed my head.

I thrash wildly at his gesture. I felt like vomiting. His hand was now bloody from the wound on my cheek but he didn't seem to care.

"Svetlana enter!" He called out for the blonde.

So Svetlana's her name.

She entered the room, looking at Dreykov expectantly.

"Let her go and get her bandaged, then put her in the holding cells with food and water." He ordered before taking a look at me. "And maybe a new suit, she has a big day soon." He smiled.

Svetlana pressed a button to break the shackles as she led me out. I kept my eyes straight, hoping to avoid Dreykov's eyes.

"Oh and Irena?" He said as I almost exited the doors. "Be a good girl for me, don't want this to happen again." He demanded with a wink.

I swallowed hard and left without another word. I was going to be sick.

───˖ ࣪ ˖ ࣪✦: * ˚ ✦ ───
2495 words ~ 1:22 pm
November 12th 2023

Ellie's words!! 

Hope you enjoyed the first chapter!! It's December 9th as I post this and I currently am on chapter 14. I hate this chapter so much bc it was kinda my first time writing in first person. This was deff not my best writing

If you didn't enjoy the first person writing Act II is entirely in third person and also chapter 10 so hold on and you'll see!!

Ty guys sm for reading I hope you enjoyed. Also tmrs my birthday woah 14 is crazy.

anyways until the next chapter guys😘

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