Distortion

The elevator doors slowly parted, releasing them into a long, matte intestine of cold stone. Lauren stepped forward first, the click of her heel breaking the silence and overriding the faint hum emanating from the depths of the corridor. Winter froze in place, trying to calm the goosebumps that had washed over her body in a wave from the chill. “What are you interested in?” James’s quiet, strained voice sounded right by her ear, pulling the girl back from her thoughts into reality. He cleared his throat into his fist, and she instinctively put a hand on her hip, as if listening. “I can feel it,” Lauren whispered with her lips alone, heading deeper into the corridor. The click of her heels echoed in her own head like nails being driven firmly into a coffin lid. She pressed down on the door handle but froze, waiting for Barnes to swipe his access card to unlock it. “Space Division?” he smirked, firmly pushing the girl ahead. “You’re more 'icy' than usual today.” “That could have been a good joke,” Lauren looked up at him for a moment, distracted from examining the objects. “But not from you.” “Calling off the tour?” James turned to the girl who had hurried away from him. “Why are you like this?” “Deformation. That should be familiar to you, shouldn’t it?” Lauren tilted her head, pressing her heated fingers to the cold glass. “I managed to let go of the past,” he moved closer, looking into the empty white room where the container stood. “Want me to recommend a psychologist?” “No, thank you,” Lauren didn’t even look at James, watching the black shard slowly floating in the dark mist. “I’m fine with everything. Except this.” She tapped her nail on the thick glass and, turning around, leaned against it. Crossing her arms, she was already thinking of ways to break through it. “What’s your connection to the Dark Shard?” Barnes looked at the subdued Lauren. “Do I ask such personal questions?” she looked at her hands, remembering something. “You don’t need to,” James, realizing their conversation was pointless, moved away to other objects. “The other day you found the blueprint for my arm.” “It’s boring to ask directly,” she shrugged, turning back to the glass. “Can we go inside?” “If you tell me,” Barnes stopped, understanding the situation was in his hands. Would she go further for this goal of hers? “It touched me, if you can call it that,” Lauren exhaled, as if giving herself permission. “I just want to make sure the Shard is safe.” “You can see that perfectly well from here,” he moved closer, his shadow falling over Lauren. “They want to steal it,” she looked up, meeting Bucky’s eyes. For a moment, he even thought this might be the real her—in that brief glance—but the thought that she couldn’t be trusted quickly brought him back. “To finish what they started.” “Why should I have to pry words out of you?” he asked, looming over the girl who, pressed against the glass, could feel its cold through her satin blouse. “This Shard was specifically purified and stabilized to create a new version of the super-soldier serum,” Lauren pressed her lips together, feeling her throat constrict and the air grow thin. “There’s a rat in the company who wants to sell it.” “So that’s why you’re here?” James asked, and she nodded. “I experienced it myself, and I understand what a mistake it would be to use the Shard on unsuitable people,” Lauren moved away from Bucky, unable to withstand the pressure. “Can I go in now?” Without a word, James swiped his card over the reader, unlocking the heavy door. Lauren slipped inside, looking at the shard devouring the light. She moved closer, hearing the growing whisper in her head, which was both calming and instilling dread. Something cracked. Quietly, like a click. It wasn’t 'something'—it was 'everything around.' The space inside the container contracted, as if all the air had been sucked out. The Shard tried to reach for her, to fill all the voids like before, but it couldn’t. Lauren smirked, watching its pathetic attempts to get to her, but the feeling of safety vanished abruptly when a second crack sounded. Not inside the container, but from outside now. Lauren hurried back toward the door, but black shadows rolled across the floor, blocking the exit. James, noticing this, lunged for the door, but Lauren waved him away, pointing to the terminal by the door that separated them. Turning back to the Shard, she could no longer hear the whispers. Voices in her head screamed, choking on hysterical laughter, tearing her head apart from the inside, drowning out thoughts and sounds around her. In an attempt to regain control, Lauren crouched down, wrapping her arms around her knees. She wouldn’t let this happen again. She mustn’t. The shadows around thickened, enveloping every centimeter of the formerly white room, turning it into blackness. A dead vacuum where life had no place. Lauren, nervously tapping a finger on her knee, kept her consciousness anchored on the red nail flickering before her eyes. It was her anchor, drowning in the shadow. A cold wave of darkness engulfed her head to toe, seeping inside, under her skin, taking control. She didn’t immediately realize the mist had cleared—her mind was still foggy. When strong hands lifted her and set her on her feet, Lauren managed to take a breath, feeling her vision regain clarity, but her heart, pounding wildly in her chest, shook her whole body in panic. “Lauren?” a voice, clearly trying to reach her consciousness, finally broke through. She lifted her head, pushing dark hair away from her face. Clutching Barnes’s forearm, she checked herself, pulling down her skirt which had ridden up a little. “Everything’s fine,” Lauren forced out with dry lips, turning to look at the container where the shard still floated softly. “How did you stop it? Activated the stabilization?” “Stop what?” James, supporting the girl, led her out of the room. He left her by the wall to close the heavy door. Lauren, clinging to the wall’s protrusions, stared at the Shard with unconcealed fury. It had fooled her.