Hey, so here's a new chapter! Hope you like it- it took me a really long time for some reason :) 

 Chapter Twenty Three: Escape

~Thea's POV~

Jack and I plan our escape very carefully. While I raid the kitchen (again) to get some supplies, he infiltrates the computer systems, trying to get information on the Imeldi camp's location. I had originally wanted to do the infiltrating, but Jack claimed that he was more experienced in this field. We didn't have much time to debate, so I just let it happen.

Thankfully, Natasha isn't in our room, so I have the whole space to pack up. Jack had found a few duffel bags in storage, so while I wait for him to get back from one of the computer labs, I begin to pack. I had locked the door just in case, although I honestly don't expect anyone to come inside.

As I stuff some first-aid supplies into my bag, I consider Jack's loyalty. He seems reliable enough, but I have to consider the fact that he is Barton's nephew and apparently a very skilled intern. Still, he has seemed enthusiastic so far, but I can't let go of the fact that I am basing my trust in him solely because he seems nice, he has a sister like me, has a nose for trouble, and seems to have something against Loki.

One of the things I have stolen-well, borrowed temporarily- is a location device. If it turn it on, it will allow members of the Nest to be able to track me down. It's not for me: it's for Jack. He might be unwilling to let me go into the Imeldi camp alone, and I am unwilling for him to risk any more for me than he already has. However, I might need his help getting past the S.H.I.E.L.D. guards surrounding the camp. In any case, if I absolutely have to, to protect Jack, I can knock him out (probably) and then attach the location device to him so that someone can find him. I don't want to have to do that, but I might have to.

A knock interrupts my thoughts. I am about to panic when Jack's voice comes floating through the door. "It's me!"

Breathing a sigh of relief, I open the door for him. "What'd you find out?" I look at the collection of papers in his hands curiously.

He grins. "Lots. It was almost too easy- there wasn't even anyone in there. Anyway, I discovered that the Imeldi camp is ten miles from here. Not too far by any standards. I also have the blueprints for two S.H.I.E.L.D. bases. One of them, the base not far from here. It's like a mini place for those fancy S.H.I.E.L.D. agents like Fury to hang out at. It's two miles from here."

"Yeah, Barton mentioned that to me today," I say.

"The other one is the one we want. The one guarding the Imeldi. It's actually pretty small considering it's a place that's guarding some alien force, but what have you."

"And that's going to be where you stop and head back to the Nest," I confirm.

Jack shrugs. "Yep." But the daring look in his eyes tells me that I might have to put that location detector to use.  

I clear my throat. "So you said it was too easy to get these things. What makes you say that?"

"There wasn't anyone in there," he says, tossing me a few blankets, which I try to stuff in each of our packs. "The blueprints for the other S.H.I.E.L.D. base- the one we don't care about- were actually up on the computer screen. It was really odd."

"Yeah..." I say, my thoughts wandering. "Odd."

"Well, then I found a coffee cup and some keys. Someone apparently was on a break. I actually barely got out of there in time before some lady walked in. It scared the bejeezers out of me, I will tell you that."

I nod, slightly relieved.

"So where are you going to hide this?" asks Jack, gesturing to some of the supplies as he begins to help me pack. "You said Natasha doesn't always sleep in here, but we can't rely on her not being in here when you try to sneak out."

"Where do you sleep?"

"That's where I was getting at. I sleep in this closet- thing- but it's a nice size, and I can easily fit everything in there with plenty of extra space. In the morning, I'll just bring it all with me."

I nod a few times. "Okay. What about the security cameras?"

"Not worried about those. Right before we leave, I'm going to rig the three that we pass before we're in the rainforest and home free."

"There's only three that we'll pass?" I ask incredulously.

"Only three they really check. The others are on rotation, so there's about a one sixtieth of a chance that we'll be seen in them. Not enough chance for me to have to go through all the trouble and passwords for them. Besides," he smiles sheepishly. "I don't exactly know the passwords to all of them anyway."

I smirk. "I figured that."

"C'mon now," he says with a smile. "Be nice to me- I'm your way out."

"Oh, brother, I could get out on my own."

"That's rubbish. You know you couldn't."

I don't say anything else, because I'm pretty sure I have lost this argument. Instead, I say, "Do you think we need anything else?" I let him go through the two packs without worry- I have the location detector safely in my pocket.

"Nah," says Jack. "Oh wait, we might need rope. Actually, we definitely will need rope. And you'll need warmer clothes. It might be air conditioned in here, but it's a scorcher out there. There's plenty of room, especially if you take out the coat."

"I thought coats were vital things to pack."

"We're in a rainforest, Thea, not mountains."

I roll my eyes. "Fine. I'll get the clothes. You can get the rope."

He rolls his eyes at me too, mimicking me. "Fine."

*

I walk aimlessly through the hallways, a little on edge. Right now, Jack is moving the packs to his room. He told me he doesn't want me anywhere near him when he does this, so as not to gain suspicion.

As I am nervously swing my hands around, I pass Barton and Loki, who seem to be talking urgently, which is unlike both of them. Before I have time to be suspicious, Barton addresses me with a smile (also unusual). "Been spending time with my nephew a lot lately?" he asks.

"Not really," I lie. "I mean he just showed me how to shoot a few arrows." And is also helping me to escape from the base and surrender myself to the Imeldi, where I will probably die, but you don't need to know that, do you?

Barton shrugs. "Well I'm glad he has a friend, at least."

I nod a few times.

"Where is he anyway?"

"I think he's getting food," I say, because the cafeteria is on the exact opposite of where Jack sleeps. "I'm not sure though."

"All right, thanks," says Barton. I have ignored Loki the entire time, but now I realize that his green eyes haven't left me during my entire conversation with Barton. I glare at him, because that's what I always do. He raises his eyebrows at me and smirks but otherwise says nothing.

When they turn a corner, I lean against a wall. There's tension on both sides of this ordeal.

*

The next morning, I wake up about an hour before sunrise. Natasha had not, in fact, slept in here tonight, meaning that Jack's precautions were useless, but still helpful. I make sure I have the location detector and then stuff it in the pocket of my shorts. I have thick, cameo shorts and a short sleeved, thin shirt on. I had wanted to get a tank top, but Jack warned me against it, because of the harsh sunlight. Apparently, he's also bringing sunscreen.

I sneak out of the room and down the back corridor, the way Jack had told me to go that would avoid almost anyone. A few agents are walking around, but I manage to be able to hide, as this hallway is a sort of dumping place for supplies. I suspect this is one of the reasons Jack had me go this way.

Jack is already waiting at a crossroads, the two backpacks in his hands. He tosses one to me and then shoulders the other one. "I rigged the cameras," he whispers. "They'll be off for a quarter of an hour. That's enough time to get into the rain forest and then some."

As we vanish into the increasingly thick vegetation, the full weight of what I am about to do sets in on me. I push it aside, thinking of Leah and trying not to think about the Imeldi. I finger the location detector in my pocket nervously, then look back. Already the trees and bushes have almost completely blocked the Nest from view, unless I look up.

"Ready?" Jack asks. He has a machete in his hand that makes me nervous, but then I realize he is using it to clear a pathway for us.

I adjust my backpack. "Yep!" I say, mustering as much fake cheerfulness as I can in one little word.

*

~Nobody's POV~

"She will probably make her move soon," says Natasha as she, Barton, Loki, and a couple agents stand around several cameras and computer screens. "I'm surprised she hasn't gone already."

"Have you checked your room?" asks Barton, his eyes not leaving the security camera.

"She's out," says Natasha, shaking her head.

"Well she sure is taking a while," says Barton, his eyebrows raised as he traces his finger along the security footage of the screen.

The five of them wait in silence. Barton taps his fingers on the counter impatiently. Five minutes later, Natasha says, "Oh my god."

"What?" asks Barton.

Natasha traces her finger on the first of the three security panels in front of her. "Look at the time of the frame."

"Wha-" Barton closes his mouth in shock. "Oh my god."

"What is it?" asks Loki impatiently.

"The security feed is live, meaning that the time changes every second." Natasha points to the screen. "The time is frozen to an hour ago. Somebody replaced the feed with a freeze-frame of the area from an hour ago. Which means Thea is probably long gone now."

"But Thea doesn't know how to infiltrate camera feeds," protests Barton.

"What other suggestion do you have?" asks Natasha.

Barton freezes. "Oh crap."

"What?" asks Natasha. Barton shakes his head, then dashes from the room, grabbing his bow as he does so. "Where the heck is he going?" she wonders out loud.

As Natasha and the two agents desperately try to get the camera back online, Loki leans back against the wall, thinking hard. Before Natasha can say anything else, Barton bursts into the room. "Well, this isn't good," he says dejectedly.

"What?" asks Natasha and Loki simoultaneously.

"Jack's gone."

"Your nephew?" asks Natasha incredulously.

"He could easily have hacked into the security cameras. He gets that from me." Barton sits down hard on one of the chairs. "It gets worse. Not only is he gone, but he also took his bow and machete with him. Meaning he was planning on fighting."

Natasha shakes her head grimly, then snaps it back up when the camera feeds turn back live. "I won't be able to rewind them though," she says.

"Agent Romanoff," says one of the agents, the female one with copper hair and deep set eyes. "I've got some bad news."

"What do you got, Cleo?" asks Natasha.

"We went on some of the sixty cameras- the ones that rotate every second- and rewound some of the footage. Take a look at this." Cleo clicks on a few things and then six panels show up, each a second long, in six different locations, but with the same two figures.

Natasha crouches down so she can see better. It was certainly Thea and Jack. "What does this tell us? We need to get going so we can reach them before they get to S.H.I.E.L.D. base. Ho-"

"That's the problem," says Cleo. "They're heading north. S.H.I.E.L.D. base is east. You know what's north, right, agent?"

"Oh my god," says Natasha, standing up.

"What's north?" asks Loki.

"The Imeldi camp," says Natasha hoarsely.

Loki and Barton freeze.

"When I'm done saving her life," Loki hisses, "I am going to kill her."

*

~Thea's POV~

The rainforest is actually a beautiful place, once you get used to the heat and the noise. The heat sticks around me, making me extremely thankful that I had changed clothes. The noise is a collective chatter of birds, monkeys, and probably any other living thing you can think of, all calling from above Jack's and my heads.

"Hey look at that," says Jack, pointing up, "It's a macaw."

I look up just in time to see a flurry of red feathers. "Oh. So... what kind of dangerous animals are there around here?"

"None," says Jack.

"None?" I ask incredulously.

"This area of the rainforest is roped off for S.H.I.E.L.D. work. They removed any dangerous animals."

"They killed them?" I ask, horrified.

"Of course not," says Jack. "They just moved them to another area of the rainforest. Although last year, I think they had to kill a rabid monkey- it was really sad. Honestly, if you're trying to get some research done though, it's nice to know that a python isn't lying in wait for its next meal."

I shiver, thinking of Kafrandi. "Yeah... nice to know."

We walk for a couple more hours, and I say, "How long is this going to take us?"

"Probably only three more hours," says Jack. "Depending on how thick the vegetation is." As if to prove his point, he smacks several leaves aside with his machete so that they fall to the ground.

We reach a plateau, which Jack says leads to a thirty foot waterfall. "The water's deep, but I still wouldn't recommend you jumping off it." he says.

"I don't think I would want to." I assure him.

"Well we might have to climb down the rock face." Jack says, craning his neck to see around the plants. "Which is why I have rope. Hold on one second, I'm going to scout ahead for a little bit. You go down around part of the rock face and see if there's another way down. I'll whistle like this," he makes a cooing sound, like a pigeon. "If I want you to come to me, and you do the same. And we have to make sure we reply to each other- all part of the communication thing. You can whistle, right?"

"I hardly think that cooing counts as whistling," I say.

"Oh, shut up, and remember who brought you this far." He says, pushing me. "See you in a few." He walks off, and soon, the vegetation swallows him up. I take a deep breath and walk towards the left, where he had pointed.

As it turns out, there is a small, etched-out pathway that leads down. I follow it, digging my boots into the ground to try to keep my balance. Fifteen minutes later, the path levels out, and I hear the rushing of water. I crane my neck over the side of the rocks and see the waterfall Jack mentioned, pouring over the side and ending in a relatively large pool. I'm about halfway down to the ground below the waterfall, but the path definitely leads to it.

I make the ridiculous cooing noise, smirking as I do so that I have found a way down before Jack. But my brow furrows when I don't hear a reply. Perhaps I'm too far, but honestly, I haven't gone much distance, just downwards, so he should be able to hear me. I coo again, this time louder. I wait a solid five minutes, but don't hear anything.

I am about to shout his name when a flurry of bright birds takes off from above me, where Jack and I had separated. They are shrieking and calling like mad. Fear hits me when I hear shouting. I recognize Jack's voice and then-

I freeze as a figure stands up on the rocky ledge above me, seemingly looking down around the waterfall. I immediately recognize it as Natasha Romanoff. I swallow, trying not to panic. I know I need to get down to the waterfall and around before they spot me. From what I can guess, they've already gotten Jack, and even though I feel bad, I can't go back for him. I suppose I'll have to thank him though, assuming I get out of the Imeldi camp alive.

My rambling thoughts are actually just a way for me to try to stay calm as I slowly make my way down the crumbling path. Natasha hasn't moved, which I take to be a good sign. Her chances of seeing me are slim anyways, because of the ridge/waterfall rock blocking us.

It takes me ten more minutes to reach the ground, but finally, I hit it with a short jump of relief. I am now on the edge of the pool. I look up- Natasha is gone, which for some reason is not a good sign to me.

The pool is wide, but not clear, telling me it's relatively deep. I'm a pretty good swimmer, and Jack's words about how the dangerous animals are gone comfort me, but I'm really in no mood to swim. However, the pool is too wide for me to walk around in a reasonable amount of time, so I see no choice.

Tentatively, I take off my boots and socks before I step a toe in. The water is warm, although the ground is muddy and soft, which makes me cringe. I am about to re-think my actions when I hear more shouting from up above. That settles it. I dive under.

The water is dark and murky, belying its appearance from the surface, which creeps me out, so I keep my eyes closed. When I can't hold my breath any longer, I surface, spitting up some of the water. There are rocks around, which I will have to be careful to avoid. However, since the water is warm, it's not making me cringe that bad, so I decide to grin and bear it.

I swim carefully to the side of a rock. When I hear voices, however, I know I have to duck. Water fills my ears and eyes. I don't have much breath, so I stay under only for a short time. Five minutes of going under and the surface, I am about halfway across the pool. I tread water for a couple minutes. The water is deep- how deep, I don't know, but deep enough to drown, and that's all I care about. I'm tiring already. I can hold onto the rocks if I have to.

Leaves crackle, and I whirl around. Vegetation is moving as if someone is walking towards me. I gulp and go under, holding onto one of the rocks as an anchor. When I surface, gasping, I look towards back towards the other side of the pool.

I scream.

Loki is walking out from some of the vegetation, and his eyes are fixed on me. His hair seems longer and disheveled, and he is not wearing his armor, but a sort of brownish colored, threadbare pants and shirt. I realize this is because he probably can't run as well with his armor. He is looking at me with the most murderous look anyone could possibly wear, and I feel panic draining every other feeling out of me.

I look towards the other shore- I'm more than halfway there. I might, just might, be able to get to it. Maybe Loki can't even swim.

My last thought is annihilated as I see Loki walk into the water, but stand there, waiting for me to make a move. I make one. I dive underwater and swim for the other side of the shore as fast as possible.

I know he is behind me, but that doesn't stop me. The panic has given me adrenaline, and I surface only long enough to catch a breath. The shore grows closer and closer, but when I look behind me, so is Loki.

The shore. The shore. I can feel the water getting less deep as I approach it. I look for a rock  that I can grab on to pull me up onto the banks of the pool and spot one. I reach for it and then feel relieved as my hand hits the coolness of the granite rock. I look back- I don't see Loki anywhere. Maybe he drowne-

I scream again as someone grabs my leg and pulls me back into the water. I struggle, but gasp as Loki pulls me above the surface. I scream and try to fight him away, but his grip is like steel as he drags me back towards the middle of the pool, towards the other side of the shore. "No!" I howl. "Let me go, Loki! Let me. GO!"

But Loki only stops in the middle of the water, then hisses down at me, "Will you ever learn, you insolent, crafty, foolish idiot?"

"No!" I scream at him, even though my limbs are getting tired. "Let me-"

"So you thought you'd hand yourself in to the Imeldi, did you?" he snarls. "I should have known."

"Well apparently you didn't." I snap.

Loki's eyes widen dangerously, and I realize I shouldn't have spoken. Before I can speak, he plunges me beneath the surface. I don't have any time to take a breath- water fills my throat, burning it. When he pulls me back up, I am rasping for breath, coughing. "Stop talking, or I might need to do that again."

"You...monster..." I gasp.

This time, I choke on the water and he holds me under for longer. I feel light headed when air once again fills my lungs. "What did I just tell you?" he snaps.

"I wasn't listening," I say. When he moves to try to duck me under again, I grab his neck in desperation. "Please stop," I beg frantically. "I can't breathe."

"Then stop talking." His voice quivers with rage.

"I don't-" I gasp in shock as Loki slaps me, hard. I can feel tears smarting, but I try to control them. "Why'd you do that?" I sob, knowing I sound like I'm Leah's age but not really caring.

"You know exactly why," snarls Loki. "Now stop talking, stop moving, and I'd prefer if you'd stop breathing, but that might be a bit inconvenient, wouldn't you say?"

"I hate you," I say, choking on my tears and on the water. "I hate you."

Loki lets this one go as he makes his way back to the other shoreline. He practically drags me onto the shore and then dumps me there- I fall hard to the ground, panting. "Oww..." I moan, hoping that playing weak might win me a few points.

"Oh stop it," he snaps, hauling me back up.

I hear voices and then out from the vegetation comes Natasha, two other agents, Barton, and-my heart sinks- Jack, who is struggling against his uncle's grip. "Sorry, Thea," he says, offering me an easy smile.

"It's not your... fault..." I cough. Loki pushes me roughly towards one of the agents, and the male one grabs my arms. "I'm sorry, too."

"Spare us your apologies," says Loki irritably.

"Spare us your voice," I stammer, but barely get those words out before Loki whirls around and slaps me hard across my cheek again. The air explodes with the sound of Jack yelling. My vision gets fuzzy. Blinking rapidly, I can see Jack struggling against Barton and looking like he wants to kill Loki.

"Don't touch her!" he screams, and I crumble to the ground, crying hysterically. My nerves are shot, and I'm shaking.

"Would everyone please just calm down?" demands Natasha over Jack's yells, Barton's shouts towards his nephew, and my sobs. The male agent pulls me up, and gradually the noise diminishes. Natasha takes a deep breath. "Thank you. Now let's go."

"NO!" I scream, fighting against the agent. But then I feel something pinch my arm and I fall into a troubled slumber.

*

When I wake up, Barton is next to me, as is Jack. I realize that we are almost back at the Nest, and on the bed some sort of truck. Jack looks at me, concerned, "Thea! Are you all right? Are you-"

"She's fine." Snaps Loki, and I realize that he is behind me.

"You shut up!" snarls Jack, and I'm shocked by his words. "You shut up right now, you cowardly bully!"

"My, my," says Loki in a silky voice. "Now I see the attraction between the two of you. A hatred towards me. How lovely."

"I'm okay," I say, smiling at Jack, sitting up slowly and reaching forward to touch his elbow. He smiles at me broadly, and now I notice that he has a scratch and bruise on his face. My heart sinks.

We unload and the male agent comes around to hold me as we walk towards the Nest. We stop in a line as Natasha speaks to several other agents. "Okay. We can head on up."

"You go on," says Loki, walking forward and wrenching me from the agent's arms. "I'm going to take care of this thing." I turn pale.

Natasha nods curtly, but her eyebrows are raised. "I expect to see her at dinner, though."

"You will," says Loki smoothly.

"Don't you dare hurt her!" snarls Jack, fighting against Barton again. Loki ignores him and drags me down a separate path.

"Where are we going?" I stammer as he opens a black door and pushes me inside. This corridor is clearly underground, and it's dark and musty. Fear grips me, as the only light comes from a couple torches lighting the walls.

Loki doesn't answer me as he pushes me down a staircase and finally, we reach a dead end. It's a door that's padlocked. My fingers turn cold. "No," I whisper.

"Oh yes," says Loki with a horrible smile playing on his lips.

"No!" I scream. "Please, please, just no!"

Loki pushes me against the wall and hisses, "You worked your clever way out of the first time. Now, I am not so forgiving."

"Please," I beg, feeling tears on my cheeks. "Please, Loki, I'll do anything. Loki, I'm begging you, and you know...I don't beg."

"Perhaps," says Loki coolly. "But you are now."

"Please," I plead. "Plea-" I scream as Loki wrenches open the door and pushes me inside. The darkness closes around me as he slams the door shut.

I can't move.

I can't breathe.

It's too small!

Images float through my head and I scream again, pounding my fists on the door, trying to get out in any way I can. I fumble with the door, trying to get out, but then realize that there is no doorknob. I scream and shriek, collapsing on the ground as my worst nightmare comes back to me full circle and as the darkness swallows me in its vicious jaws.

Please vote and comment! Thank you very much!

Blue Moon Fact:

The waterfall/pool is inspired by the waterfall/pool that Jack Sparrow jumps into in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (I love that movie, in case you haven't noticed).

Blue Moon Fact: 

In this chapter, Loki has more of the appearnce of Adam in Only Lovers Left Alive, because I'm trying to symbolize his fury. 

Thanks for reading!