The first day was always the hardest to endure.
If the life of drifting from place to place since childhood had taught Skye anything, this was definitely at the top of the list. She had always been constantly moving from one place to another, and so far, S.H.I.E.L.D. was the place where she had stayed the longest. Still, that way of life had one advantage: it helped her adapt quickly to unfamiliar environments.
By the time night fell, Skye no longer felt quite as awful about this cabin that was like a prison to her. Looking on the bright side, at least she could temporarily step away from all that crap involving terrorist organizations and supervillains and relax. The scenery here was nice, and it was isolated from the world. Besides, neither terrorists nor aliens were likely to come after her here.
Probably.
Skye sat sideways against the armrest of the living room sofa, listening absently to a talk show on the radio as growing drowsiness made her yawn repeatedly.
Until she became certain she had heard something rustling through the bushes.
Maybe it was a deer from the mountains or something? No, that was impossible. Coulson had said there was a layer of laser fencing around the cabin, enclosing it like some high-tech cage. Even if there really were animals nearby, they could not possibly get in.
Skye instantly lost all sleepiness. She swallowed, got up, and walked outside, circling halfway around the cabin as she followed the sound.
As she rounded the corner, she actually found someone there. A tall, pitch-black silhouette stood motionless in the darkness like a wooden post, startling her so badly that she nearly cried out.
"Who are you? How did you get through the laser fence?" she asked instinctively.
There was no answer.