Crimson Love

Chapter Fifteen | 2014

Today is the first day I've smiled in 34 years. I laughed so hard till I had tears in my eyes. I laughed in Hydra's face and I welcomed the punishment. I welcomed the beating I received because it's fucking worth it.

The Soldier escaped. Winter's a free man.

He'll come for me and when he does, these assholes will be sorry they ever messed with our minds.

____________

He didn't come back.

Not after a month. Not after six months. Not after a year. He didn't save me the second year, nor did he come back for me the third year.

When I was turned into the Crimson Assassin, I wasn't very good at following directions. My mind was changed not a week after the Winter Soldier escaped Hydra's clutches. My mind is an empty canvas. I have no former memories of the Soldier. I know nothing but the people I've killed and the torture I've endured. I was the perfect Asset. Until I wasn't.

"I'll kill you all!" I scream as I pound on the door.

I'm back in the room. The one with four perfectly symmetrical white walls. I was in this room for 34 years 1,095 days ago. I won't spend another second in this box.

"Let me out!" I shout as I punch the metal door until I turn my knuckles bloody.

"Open the door! Open the door! Open the door!" I scream bloody murder as I pound and kick at the steel.

My head snaps around when I hear the rattle of the vent in the very center of the ceiling. A green gas is ghosting down from the vent like a deadly fog. No. No. They've used this gas before. It's a slow and painful death that lasts hours full of agonizing pain. It forces my own mind to turn against me and fills my head with unimaginable horrors.

"No! No! LET ME OUT! LET ME THE FUCK OUT! PLEASE, OPEN THE DOOR! OPEN THE DOOR!" I sob as I collapse to the ground as I inhale the gas.

The convulsions start immediately and all I can do is cry and sob and scream for it to be over. It feels like my blood is on fire. Like I'm being boiled alive from the inside out. I feel the liquid escape my eyes, tears of blood marking my cheeks. I feel the crimson color trickle from my nose, from my ears.

"Please." I whisper, tears and blood falling from my face.

________

When I come back, the door's open.

Someone must have come into the room and forgot to lock the door.

With trembling limbs, I muster the strength to rise from the ground, my heart pounding in my chest like an erratic drumbeat. Leaning against the wall for support, I cast a wary glance up and down the dimly lit hallway, my eyes darting to every shadow, fearing someone will come along and spot me.

Summoning whatever courage remains within me, I run down the hall and push open the nearest exit, and in an instant, the searing blaze of the sun assaults my senses. I haven't seen the sun in so long. Blinking back tears, my vision hazy and unaccustomed to daylight, I shield my eyes from its blinding brilliance.

Suddenly, sirens pierce the air, their deafening wails echoing in my ears. They know I've escaped. Disregarding my disorientation, I launch into a desperate sprint, my legs moving fluidly despite their unsteady nature. I stumble and falter, but I refuse to yield.

Pounding footsteps hit the earth behind me and I feel the tears build. I can't go back. I won't. I'm so close. I'm so fucking close to freedom. I cry as I stagger, knowing I don't have much in me to keep going aside from pure adrenaline. A voice, authoritative and male, commands me to stop. Ignoring the demand, I press on, my feet carrying me with an unyielding determination. Each step feels like a struggle against invisible forces, as if I'm navigating through a surreal underwater realm. Blurred shapes and fleeting colors blur my surroundings.

Desperation claws at my chest, threatening to consume me entirely. Unseen obstacles betray my progress, causing me to trip, but I scramble back to my feet, propelled by sheer willpower. Tears stream down my face, mingling with sweat, as the weight of my future beats down on me. I fall to my knees, gasping for breath, my body trembling with exhaustion.

Suddenly, a pair of firm hands seize my arms, wrenching me backward. I fall onto my back. Panic surges through me, intensifying my resistance as I thrash and kick against my captors. I desperately try to push them away, sobbing as the men tighten their grips on my wrists and attempt to subdue me.

"I can't go back, I can't go back." I cry as I kick at the men.

"That's just too bad sweet—" A shield materializes out of thin air, striking one of the men with a resounding force, sending him sprawling to the ground.

In mere moments, the assailants are incapacitated, felled by an unknown savior. Gazing up through tear-streaked eyes, I find myself confronted by a man whose presence eclipses the blinding sun, casting a protective shadow over me. He kneels beside me, extending a reassuring hand.

Fear and caution war within me, but his gentle voice breaks through the haze of my distress. "I won't harm you," he assures, his voice a soothing balm to my shattered nerves. "My name is Steve Rogers. I can help you."