Phoenix Fire (Book 2 in the Winter's Series)

Chapter Five: The Dam Base

After about 35 miles I finally see it as the first rays of morning peak over the horizon. "We're almost there, just a little longer." I say planning my decent. I start tilting us down at an angle using the weight I'm carrying as extra help for gravity to pull us down. As we get closer I pull us to where we are in a standing position, flapping my wings furiously in front of us in order to soften our landing as best as I can. "You're going to have to take off running, It's like coming down with a parachute okay?" I say as he comes in for our landing. I unwrap my legs from his and he starts running in the air just before his feet touch the ground. I release him and land with a thud and stumble. My lower back starts to cramp from the constant strain, and I stretch to loosen the muscles. If he wasn't so heavy I wouldn't be having cramps right now. Why'd he have to bring the stupid bag, what's in it anyway?

"What is this place?" He asks turning to me as he slings his bag over his shoulder.

"This is an old SHIELD base, I came here with Steve, Sam and Natasha before our final mission. We should be safe here, but I don't know how they found me so fast. Something is amiss." I say confused as I ponder all the possible causes, then something clicks. I remember the first time I met Steve and Natasha. They put a tracker on me and I didn't know it until it was too late. This whole situation seems vaguely familiar, Bucky and I together on a mission while all along I was leading the enemy to us. "I need you to check me for any kind of tracking device, hurry please I don't know where it could be. I remember they grabbed my wrist and my hair, check there." I say desperately as I check my own wrists. I feel his hands run through my hair, feeling around on my scalp.

"I found something, but this may hurt." He says before ripping out the tracker from my scalp.

"OW! DID YOU HAVE TO BE SO ROUGH?!" I say angrily because of the burning pain of my already tender scalp.

" I warned you." He shrugs before putting the tracker on the ground and smashing it with the heel of his shoe. "There, it's taken care of. Can we go inside now?"

"Yeah yeah follow me." I say rubbing the back of my head where the tracker was. I pull open the metal gate and walk through the threshold. My and Bucky's footsteps echo in the vacant tunnels. I see doctors and staff bustling around, then my eyes land on Steve and Sam. I start grinning and pick up my pace, but when I blink... It's all gone. "It was just a memory." I whisper to myself in disappointment.

"What was just a memory?" Bucky chimes in from behind me.

"Don't worry about it, it's not important." I snap at him. It's not his fault it's just a memory, well actually it kind of is. "I don't know if they still have the beds but there used to be some right through here." I say leading us to the plastic flaps that hang on the door's entrance. Pushing them aside as I walk in I see that the hospital bed is still in the room. "Here you can sleep in this one, I'll find another one." I say turning and walking past him, ignoring any reply he may have made. I walk into the meeting room where I had met Fury, but the table and chair were gone. There was nothing in the room except for a deafening silence and the sound of my pounding heart. I missed them, even Natasha the brat who hated me. I missed the closeness I was JUST beginning to build. I sigh and blink away the tears that begin to form in the corners of my eyes, before leaving the room in a hurry. I head down the tunnel in search for another room to stay in, but they're all either damp, or littered with rubble. Having no other choice I enter the room where Bucky is sleeping and sit in a corner with my knees against my chest. I rest my forehead against my knees and close heavy eyelids.

~~~~

I'm back on the cold, metal operating table. My appendages are once again restrained to the sides of the table. However, this time my head is free to move. The lights flicker every three or so seconds creating an uncomfortable anxiety to overtake my mind. I look around the room wildly, trying to figure out what's going on. There's a large sized overhead light above my head that isn't turned on yet. There's a small, movable, raised table filled with operating tools to my left. The room is bigger than the one from my previous memory/dream. There are three chairs to my right against the wall. I'm alone in the room, unable to get out. Or at least I thought I was alone.

"G'day Eden. I hope you're recovered from our last session." A familiar Australian male voice, who I've come to know as Dr.Connally, whispers in my ear. I snap my head and lock my violet eyes onto his lifeless blue ones.

"What are yo-" I start to say before his hand clasps over my mouth tightly, preventing me from speaking.

"Hush, it's time to begin." He says replacing his hand with a gag. "What are we going to explore this time." He snickers to himself before moving to my left side where the table of operating instruments are. "This may hurt ." He says before taking a scalpel and lifting up my hospital gown. "Seems it's time to take care of any possible future threats. If ya know what I mean." He chuckles before pressing on my lower abdomen with his gloved fingers. Then he presses the scalpel down on my skin, cutting it open. He takes forceps to hold it open while he cuts my fallopian tubes and puts a clamp on them. I scream against the gag in agony and sadness. I can feel my skin knitting itself back together and the wound is sealed shut, leaving behind a small scar. Tears fall from the corners of my eyes as I stare up at the ceiling in anguish.

Dr. Connally pulls away with bloodied gloved hands. He put the tools down before removing and disposing of his messy gloves. Then he returns to me and pulls my hospital gown down. He's talking to me but I can't hear him, it's as if I'm underwater, drowning.

~~~~

"Eden wake up." A familiar voice says while roughly shaking me. "Wake up Eden, come on open your eyes." He continues his assault on my crumpled figure. I open my eyes and shove him away. In my disorientation I throttle him, as he resists under me. "Eden stop!" He chokes out. I release him as soon as I snap back into reality. I scramble to get off of him and back away as far as I can.

"I'm so sorry, I.. I thought you were someone else." I stammer, rubbing my face with my hands. My hands become wet and I draw them away from me quickly, looking at them in confusion. Was I crying?

"Yeah, your sniffling woke me up so I went to see what was wrong. You wouldn't wake up so I shook you." He answers my question that I didn't realize I had voiced.

"Did I hurt you?" I ask, afraid of the damage I had inflicted on him. After all he was just trying to help me.

"No, not too bad. I've had worse."

"I'm sorry."

"I know."

"Wait, you remembered my name."

"Yeah, It's just a small memory, nothing significant. And you did say it earlier when you barged into my apartment."

"Okay, if you say so. I told you, you would remember things with me. I clearly remember stating that fact earlier." I say standing up straight.

"Mmhmm. You can have the cot, I'll take the floor." He says sitting down on the cold concrete floor.

"Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?" I ask cautiously.

"I don't know. Just lay down before I change my mind."

"Fine." I say as I crawl unto the warm small bed. Closing my eyes the second time, and surrounded by the scent of his masculine musk, fall into a peaceful dreamless sleep.