Winter's Redemption [winter soldier//Bucky Barnes AU]

Chapter Twenty

BUCKY'S POV

"Sarah, come on. You've been training for hours. You need to eat something and sleep before we get there, or none of this training will even matter." I tried again. She shook her head stubbornly for the millionth time, and I walked closer, trying to get her to look at me. The poor dummy was being pummeled.

"Last warning," I said, and she completely ignored me, punching the dummy again with all her might. I rolled my eyes at her stubbornness and grabbed her arm, yanking her back to me and scooping her up bridal style. She immediately let out a huff of protest, squirming to escape my grip but with little success.

"I gave you a warning," I commented, leaving the caboose and heading towards the main living area. Her eyebrows knotted together in a frown.

"I need to be able to defend myself, Bucky," she muttered.

"I know, but you can't run yourself into the ground. You'll be sore the next day and not be able to do anything," I said softly, and she kept her mouth shut. I rolled my eyes again.

I carried her into the main living car and put her on the couch next to Natasha, who gave me a smirk.

"Training?" She asked, and I grinned.

"Yep."

Sarah glared at the TV while Natasha shook her head, amused.

"Has the chef made dinner yet?" Nat asked a second later, and I shrugged.

"Not sure. I'll go check."

My feet carried me to the kitchen, about three cars down from the main living area on the other side of the bunks. I could smell burgers cooking on the other side of the door, and after waiting a few minutes, trays full of food slid out of the small window. I thanked the chef and took three with me.

We dug in moments after I returned, thankful to have full stomachs and a little bit of peace.

A few minutes later Steve and Sam came in, carrying their own trays of food, and ten minutes later Tony followed without any food. He held only a laptop, and promptly sat down next to Steve and turned it on.

"Message from Coulson," he announced. "He said that the building we are heading towards used to be used for nuclear particle testing, back in 1963. It was closed down in 1977 due to unnatural nuclear experiments on human beings. On top of that, all the original nuclear equipment, documents and records were never removed from the compounds, so Hydra has access to everything."

The temperature of the room seemed to drop ten degrees.

"Hydra is trying to raise an army by turning humans into mindless killing machines," Tony finished. Natasha leaned forward.

"They've got to be getting their supplies from somewhere. There's no way the stuff that was already there is modern enough for what they need. Stark, can you track any recent shipments of medical supplies into the area? We need to know what was sent, how much it cost, and who they got it from," said Natasha, and Tony nodded, beginning to type. 

"Give me two hours. I'll get everything we need."

We drifted out out of the room once we finished our meals, allowing Tony to research in peace. Almost everyone ended up in the sleeping car soon after, determined to get in a few hours of sleep before we arrived tonight.

I made my way to my bunk, right under Sarah's, and pulled the comforter over me. I tried to slow my breathing, but my mind was racing and my skin was crawling. Hydra had me in their grasp for almost a century. While they had me I was subjected to things I can't even think about without my entire body falling into shock. The thought of anyone else sharing a similar fate as mine, or even the thought of walking into a facility I may or may not have been trapped in before, was enough to make me panic. I started trembling as my mind shifted to a darker place.

I tossed and turned and tried to fight the nightmares for what seemed like years, but at some point I finally drifted off. When I woke up it 12:33 in the morning. We'd be arriving in the town of Harrison in about fifteen minutes, so I rubbed my eyes and stood, shaking Sarah awake. One of her eyes pop open as she growled at me.

"What?" she muttered, sounding less than thrilled at the rude awakening.

"We are about to arrive, I thought you might want to be concious." I said, and she sighed before slowly sitting up, rubbing her eyes. 

I turned around and shook Steve, but he didn't budge either. I landed a solid punch on his shoulder and he shot up, launching into defensive mode before catching sight of me trying to hold in my laughter.

"Bucky jesus christ," He breathed. I smiled, and took his hand in my metal one to pull him to his feet. Sarah, who'd finally dragged herself out of bed, woke up Tony, who started grumbling and whining immediately. Sam groaned from his bunk under Tony. The only one who was still asleep was Natasha, but there was no way in hell I'd subject myself to that.

"I call not waking up Natasha," I said immediately, glancing around at everyone else. Sarah straight up ran into the next car when I locked eyes with her, Tony pretended to go back to sleep, and Steve shook his head adamantly. 

"Steve, come on. You're the least likely to die while waking her up. Can't you do it?" Sam asked, giving him a bewildered look. Steve continued shaking his head.

"Not worth the risk, nope."

Sam seemed to realize that that left the job to him, and he looked dumbfounded as to how this fell on him. He shot a betrayed glare at Steve before taking a deep breath and glancing at Nat.

"She's going to kill me," he muttered, reluctantly turning towards her bunk after shooting another glare our way. If looks could kill, Steve and I would be without a doubt be dead. 

Sam was hardly able to land a hand on her before Natasha jumped up and swung her legs around him, yanking him the ground and pinning him down. In a matter of seconds, Sam was trapped, and Natasha was pissed.

"I don't recommend doing that again," she hissed in his ear, and he swallowed. She left him in a heap on the floor as she stalked to the bathroom, muttering Russian obscenities under her breath.

"What the hell, guys! I need new friends!" Sam yelled once she was gone, standing up and trying to cling his last shred of dignity. He dramatically wiped off his t-shirt with a scowl.

Me and Steve were busy cackling when the door behind us opened, revealing Tony.

"Time to get off the- oh god. I don't even want to know." Tony started, peering into the room briefly before catching sight of us and shaking his head. 

I laughed harder than I have in a while.

--