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GHOST STORIES: PART I

00. prologue

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His footsteps echoed through the empty hallways. The boy kept close to the walls, his eyes focused on the door in front of him. He was barely seventeen years old and he'd already been witness to more horrors than most did in their entire life. Ezran Muller was destined to become a dangerous spy. He would bring empires down, kill kingdoms with his finger on the trigger. Nothing more than a puppet on a string.

But the dark future waiting ahead of him was not on the boy's mind at that very moment as he made his way through the shadows. When he finally reached the door he had to stand on his toes to reach the security code panel. He could basically dream the code by now and typed it flawlessly. The door slid open, revealing another hallway. He knew this one would be abandoned and so dared to pick up his pace. The guards were stupid enough to believe no one of the boys in the program knew the code and so they didn't bother patrolling here.

At the end of the hallway was a staircase, leading to the attic of the west wing. On his tiptoes he climbed the stairs, avoiding the fifth step because it creaked awfully. Finally he entered the small space. Ever since the boxes with all the files had been moved to a more secure place, there was nothing but dust to be found here. And yet it was his favorite place in the whole world. But that hadn't so much to do with the space itself, but more so with who was waiting for him there.

His blue eyes glimmered as he walked towards the window seat. The silver moonlight revealed a girl his age sitting there, waiting for him. Her red hair seemed to glow in the light, calling him to her as if it was a fire he could warm himself to.

Ezran took a seat beside her, looking out of the window to the terrain surrounding the west wing of the base. First there were the training grounds, then a huge fence and after that there were only trees. A forest stretching out as far as the eye could see. The trees were always covered in snow. Here, it was always winter.

'You're late,' Natalia said, smirking.

Ezran rolled his eyes. 'I had to wait for Adrian to fall asleep.'

The boys and girls were kept apart. They lived in different parts of the building, trained in different programs and weren't even allowed to see each other outside of scheduled training hours. Ezran had met Natalia the very first night he'd been brought here. He'd escaped from the bedroom and was sneaking around the hallways, trying to find a way out. She'd been seated on the stairs leading to the very same attic they were sitting in now. He asked her if the stairs lead to a way outside. She'd laughed and called him crazy but showed him the attic anyway.

From that day on, they came here as often as they could. And if one of them couldn't make it, they left each other messages through a secret code they invented. It became a game, the only form of rebellion they could show against this life they were forced into. The days blurred together causing him to forget how long ago it actually was. It felt like a lifetime.

Natalia crossed her legs and played with the sleeve of her white pajamas. 'I'm guessing you had a better day than I did,' she said.

'How so?' he questioned with a frown.

She turned her head and gestured at the bruise starting to form right beneath her eye.

Red, hot, anger flared up inside of him. 'They had you fighting each other again?'

'No, nothing like that,' she sighed. 'Madame B came to watch us practice and Anna tripped me on purpose. So I told her she danced like a cow. Then she punched me.'

'Bitch,' he said matter-of-factly. 'Tell me you at least got her back?'

Natalia grinned. 'Oh she won't be out of the hospital wing for a week.'

Ezran laughed as loudly as he dared in the middle of the night. A flash of satisfaction lit up Natalia's face and his stomach warmed at the sight.

She shifted, stretching her legs out in front of her, resting her feet upon his lap. 'It sucks though. Now I'll have to wait another year to show off to Madame B.'

'I wouldn't be too sure. Maybe she'll recognize your talent to beat people up.'

'Carefull, Ez, or you'll be the next to witness my talent.'

He held up his hands in surrender. 'I wasn't joking. She'd have to be blind not to see you're the best out of all of them, Talia.'

'Thanks,' she muttered but then her smile slowly faded. 'What about you? How's training going?'

He clenched his teeth and turned to look out of the window. He was at the bottom of the class ever since he got here. However, no one, not even Natalia, knew he was trying his very hardest to keep it that way. Because he knew something the others didn't.

Years ago he'd heard his father talking about it. A woman called Dr. Lyudmila Kudrin was trying to recreate the super soldier serum. She hadn't completely succeeded but her variant had much of the same effect. It kept its users young, super humanly healthy and resilient. It was a lot more subtle than the serum handed to the famous Captain America, but being a spy required a lot more subtlety than a soldier.

Once HYDRA, the organization his father worked for, got word of the serum, they started working together with the Red Room. Together they created a program called the Wolf Spider Program. The boys would be trained there, while the girls would be trained in the Black Widow Program. The two who ended up at the very top of their class would be given the serum. The best spies the world had ever seen, forever young, never succumbing to sickness, a perfect weapon without expiration date.

If he would be selected for the serum, his freedom would be truly gone.

'I know I can complete the course,' he finally said, 'I'm just not sure I want to.'

Natalia frowned. 'What's that supposed to mean?'

'I'm not like you,' he said, his eyes meeting hers. 'The thought of hurting someone actually makes me sick.'

She opened her mouth, only to find she didn't have any words and closed it again.

'I know it sounds insane,' he muttered.

'No,' Natalia immediately replied, her voice sharp. 'It doesn't sound insane. It sounds...like you.'

He raised a brow. 'Thanks?'

She laughed, shaking her head. 'I only meant that you're the only one who could end up in a place like this and still be yourself.'

'I guess so,' he mumbled. He took a deep breath and then whispered: 'Promise me something, Talia.'

'Anything,' she said without hesitation.

'Promise you won't let them change me. Kill me if you have to but just don't-' He took a trembling breath. 'Don't let them turn me into someone I'm not.'

Natalia held up her pinky and though her smile was mischievous, her eyes were serious. 'I promise.'

He smiled and shook his head but he grabbed her little finger with his own. The feeling of her skin against his made a shiver crawl down his spine. And instead of letting go, he softly took her hand in his own.

They sat like that for the remainder of the night, together in their safe haven.

While it would last...

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I'm back!

Honestly I couldn't forgive myself if I would just let this story gather dust and never finish it. It took me a while to find the motivation but I finally decided to stop waiting around and just do it. I've got lots of fun things planned.  I want to spend more time with Ezran and Natasha in the Red Room before they got seperated. And I can't wait to share all my ideas with you guys.

This prologue is actually inspired by the scene with Peeta and Katniss on the rooftop before their first Hunger Games. I just felt like it perfectly fit the dynamic Natasha and Ezran have together. I hope you guys enjoyed it!

As always, please leave some comments with your thoughts. I love hearing from you all!

xx Nelly