Winter Soldier (Book One)

Chapter: 5

DAY: 5
Lark

The dream kept repeating itself. Over and over again. It was always the same dream and nothing about it ever changed.

I could always remember it starting from a chair in the center of a darkened room with a spotlight shining down on it. No one sat in the chair, or looked like anyone ever had. The chair always came closer, as if I were walking towards it. Then I'd find myself staring up at a bright light, but it'd look faded out and yellowed as if I were looking through old film. I'd raise my hands, lift them to my face to see; but they wouldn't be mine. I didn't recognize them. They had blood stains all over them, dirt caked under the chewed off nails. It wasn't ever my hands that I saw.

The dream would continue to show me more through the yellowed film; the outline of someone against the moonlight or a bright whiteness, standing firm without fault. The shadowy figure would turn around, revealing a hollowed face and then scream. Then I'd wake up.

It used to terrify me the point where I had to leave whatever room I was in when it happened; it didn't do anything to hinder the fear of falling asleep afterwards. I'd keep repeating to myself every night that I'd be fine when I woke up. And I was. I always was.

I dreamed the dream again that night. But I woke up sweating and anxious on the couch in Marie's living room. The windows on both sides of the fireplace were open, letting in a cold breeze through the room. I stood quickly and closed it. I turned around, Braxton stood behind the couch looking at me oddly. As if there was something he was hiding through his eyes or as if something was there that he didn't want me know about.

"Braxton? You alright?" I asked him. He said nothing and did nothing. "What's going on, Braxton? Why are you so quiet?" 

I began to walk towards him cautiously, feeling some sort of guilt or fear creep up my spine and into my stomach. Then, something clicked over by the door and I spun to look at what it was. Someone was hunched there pointing a gun directly at the back of Braxton.

"I wouldn't do that." the person holding it said. I stepped back and held up my free arm above my head.

"The other arm too, missy." the person ordered. I tried to raise up my arm up as much as I could but I couldn't lift it any higher than just below my shoulder. They rose from their crouched position by the door, revealing exactly who they were. Black Widow. 

"So this is where he holed you up?" she asked. "Nice place." She began walking closer until she was just behind Braxton.

"You here to make fun of the situation or throw me in cuffs?" I asked her, dropping my hands down. The Black Widow may be dangerous but she's not a major threat to me, worst she could do was momentarily immobilize me.

"I'd poke jokes at you if I could, but I'm working." she answered with a cocky smile. I ignored it.

"Wanna let my brother go? He's not a part of this manhunt."

"Speaking of which, where is your little bionic friend?" she asked. "Have any ideas?"

"I don't know where he is either." I answered. I heard another click and Black Widow froze. Behind her stood Bucky, a gun pointed at the back of her head. I almost felt proud that he was that sneaky but I was worried that he'd fire the gun, we'd have more blood on our hands and more trouble to dodge.

"I'd drop the gun if I were you." Bucky said. He was wearing the mask again, his sleeve was rolled up to his elbow to show his bionic arm and his hair was down in his eyes.

Black Widow pulled her gun back from Braxton and raised it into the air just beside her head. Bucky grabbed the gun quickly and tossed it over in my direction, I caught it and held it in my free hand.

"Tell all of your men to back off from the apartment." Bucky ordered.

"It's not that easy." Black Widow mumbled. Bucky looked up at me and gestured towards the door behind him. I nodded and crossed the room, walking down a few of the steps until I could see out the window. There were five men guarding the door.

"Five, just outside." I called over to him. I backed up the stairs to the second to the last step and stood by, waiting to see what happened. I don't know why Black Widow was being so easy with this, she'd normally spare no time in getting things done and over with. It surprised me.

"You fire that gun and all of those men that stand outside that door will charge in here." Black Widow said. "Think twice."

"Don't worry, you won't die here. Not in this place." Bucky seemed to tease her  with freedom, but spared every detail on letting her go.

Just then, the door broke down and a man stepped in, aiming a gun at me. I fell backwards as I tried to back away. The man trained the gun directly at my head, keeping his finger just above the trigger.

"Got a plan now, Bucky?" I called up, lifting my hands into the air. It looked like there was no getting out of this at all, as if any move we made would make it all worse for us in the end.

Silence came from Bucky, though he still kept the gun against Black Widow's head he turned and looked at my situation. Through his eyes I could see his mind racing and his thoughts clashing together, he was trying to figure out a way to get us both out. I knew that anything we tried would fail. But it was inevitable that we would be thrown into chains and stuffed into the back of a thick walled trucked to hold us until we got to Fury.

"Looks like you both are out of options aren't you?" the man in front of me asked. He nudged the gun against my forehead and grinned, flashing his hideously grey and yellow teeth.

Just as he was about to open his mouth again, I pulled out the gun from my jacket and tossed it up back towards Bucky, pulling out the other from my belt and pointing it at the man in front of me. Black Widow turned around and I watched as she hit the gun away. Bucky turned around and pointed it back at Black Widow but she was gone, ducked around him and kicked him down. I climbed back up the steps, but the man pulled on my leg, dropping his gun and grabbing my bad arm. At that moment I thought it was all over, that I'd be stuffed away in a prison.

"Let go of my sister!" Braxton appeared above me on the upper level, he jumped down the steps and punched the guy's nose. That man quickly released me and I pulled free, scrambling up the stairs out of the way. 

"My bike's just outside, take it and go." Braxton said.

"Thank you." I said to him. I threw my arm around him for a quick hug and then ran. Bucky was already at the sliding glass doors in the kitchen, he pulled them open and jumped out.

I took one last look into the house at Marie and Braxton saving our skins. They were brave to help us, but they risked everything too. By doing what they did they'd nearly share the same fate as Bucky and I.

I turned away and jumped over the wooden railing down to the ground. I landed on my feet and rolled forward. Bucky was on the bike and he stood, slammed his foot down to start before it roared to life. I quickly climbed onto the back and wrapped my arm around his waist tightly as he turned the bike to the left and drove recklessly over the train tracks towards the outside of town.

I looked back, and I don't think I should have. I watched as the men pulled Marie and Braxton out of the apartment and shoved them to their knees. They pointed guns to their heads and my heart sank. I turned away and shut my eyes, burying my head in the back of Bucky, the roaring of the motorcycle being too loud to hear if they ever fired the shot. The panic of not knowing killed me, and I looked back one more time when I shouldn't have moved at all. Two men carried a body towards the back of a large truck, the other was slumped to the ground. I turned around and buried my face into Bucky's back.