𝚂𝚑𝚒𝚎𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚈𝚘𝚞, 𝚂𝚑𝚒𝚎𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙼𝚎 [𝚂.𝚁.] ➊ ✔

15. Lightning Strikes

Hydra base after Hydra base they were going down like a storm. Every single attempt at taking down a base was a success. Hydra wasn't standing a chance against Cap. Snow or not these bases just kept being blown to pieces.

But all the fun must come to an end sometime.

Falsworth sat at the waiting point as he waited for his fellow Howling Commandos to arrive back as it poured down with rain. They had just taken another Hydra base out successfully without a single death on their side.

Before Falsworth could get worried about anyone Rachel came into view as she jogged up to him with her pistol in hand.

"Hey." She greeted as she came to a halt.

"You okay darling? That was a tough battle." Falsworth asks in his normal tone. He had made sure that Rachel had been fine after every mission if Bucky and Steve hadn't made it back before her.

"I'm alright. Tired though? Yes." Rachel admitted placing the pistol back it's holster sighing. She had gained a few scratches from none other than pocket knives. Stark was gonna pay for telling Rachel to not worry about pocket knives.

"How far behind are the rest?" Falsworth asked leaning his head to the side to see over Rachel's shoulder.

"Not too far. They're just clearing up the strays-" Rachel pauses as she hears machinery approaching. "Get down." She whispers as they come into view and the to duck down instantly.

They could hear people yelling at each other as they drove by and the two looked at each other nervously before keeping themselves as still as possible. After awhile the sounds of machinery began to quiet down and at the same time Rachel and Falsworth checked over the top of the small ditch they had hidden in.

"Are we clear? I can't tell..." Falsworth asked through the silence. Rachel looked at Falsworth as he kept on peeking ahead as Rachel noticed a Hydra guard a few meters away from Falsworth.

"James!" She yelled as she grabbed her pistol and shot the agent in the chest but then came an issue. There was no silencer. "Uh oh..." she muttered.

"Thanks sweetheart." Falsworth thanked before he noticed her expression. "What is it?"

"We gotta move." Rachel told him as she stood.

"What? What do you mean?" Falsworth asks confused as he begins to follow her anyway.

"No silencer. If Hydra heard it..." Rachel explained simply as she twirled her pistol once.

"They'd come back..." Falsworth figures. "But what of the Captain and the rest...?"

"They'll find us..." Rachel replied unconfidently as the first bolt of lighting made the sky above them light up right before the sound of thunder became clear.

"This is risky Rach." Falsworth admits grabbing her by the shoulder to stop her from walking. "What if we get caught?"

"Then we'll find a way out of the situation. If we get caught. Drop your hat or something to signify that we were taken." Rachel tells him letting her MI6 experiences take a good hand in this scenario. "I've done it dozens of times. It works."

"How long did it take to find you?" Falsworth asked.

"A month but that's not the point..." Rachel admitted before walking onward before hearing yells from afar. "And that's our cue..." Rachel said with a worried tone.

"To do what?" Falsworth asked.

"Run." Is all Rachel says before she started to run back towards where she had come from and the base they had just taken down.

Rachel was already tired from having to deal with the base and all the stupid pocket knives. To have to run back again was going to be difficult, but Falsworth seemed to be doing worse. He must've had a bad run in as he was slightly behind.

Rachel knew the consequences of stopping so she wouldn't stop unless it was truly necessary.

And that wasn't the only problem. The storm was getting worse. As was the rain making it even harder to run without tripping up. But Rachel was used to it as was Falsworth as rain was very common in Britain.

Rachel jumped over a log on the floor as lightning struck the ground a good hundred yards away making Rachel's eyes widen. They just ran into the storm.

They were getting closer to the clearing as Rachel and Falsworth could see the smoke rising in the distance but it felt like forever but Rachel just kept on running.

Finding another ditch Rachel jumped down slipping in the process and landed harshly on her back and into the muddy ground. Not her favourite scenario. She groaned as she sat up carefully.

"Bloody hell..." Rachel got up before starting to run again to only realise that she was on her own. Not even a Hydra soldier nearby. But she kept on running towards the base. She didn't know where Falsworth was she just hoped (as weird as it was to say it) her great uncle was okay.

Her hopes lifted as she began recognise the route she was on and smiled to herself as thunder rumbled all around her but then everything went wrong.

She could see Falsworth running through the trees many many meters away shooting down the Hydra agents as he kept running. At one point Falsworth saw Rachel running along covered in mud and rain and knew that whatever happened there was the reason she was now behind him instead in front.

Rachel felt herself beginning to panic as Falsworth came in and out of view. The panic didn't stop for James Falsworth either. And it didn't stop when the lightning struck a final time.

Rachel took only a couple strides forward before everything around her turned white and all she could feel was pain. Volts coursing through her veins as she screamed and as Falsworth took down the final agent.

"Rachel!"

-

Steve and Bucky's heads snapped toward the forest as they heard Rachel's scream as the lightning struck the ground making the two panic.

"Oh god, no..." Steve mumbled before racing away with Bucky following close behind.

-

James Falsworth ran as fast as he could past the trees as he tried to find Rachel as the rain continued to pour but the lightning and thunder ceasing to exist.

He soon noticed the outline of Rachel's form on the ground and his eyes widened in fear when he noticed that she wasn't moving a muscle.

"Rachel!" He yelled again in hopes she would move even if it was just a twitch.

He slid on his knees as he reached her side pulling her shoulder towards the ground so she would lay flat on the muddy ground below her.

"Oh bloody hell Rachel..." he mumbled as Steve and Bucky came into view.

"What happened?!" Bucky asked as Steve says panicking as he saw Rachel in that state.

"Well unless I'm going crazy I'm pretty sure she was struck by lightning." James told the boys with a concerned look. "It'll be a miracle if she survived-" James was interrupted as Steve kneeled beside Rachel to only see her launch herself forward gasping for air out of panic.

"Miracle huh?" Bucky glances at James who was staring at Rachel with wide eyes.

"How-?" James almost yelled as Steve wrapped an arms around Rachel and pulled her close so she could warm up.

"Steve...?" Rachel's voice was coarse and weak and her eyes were barely open as she looked up at Steve who held a worried look.

"We need to get her back to base..." Bucky concludes. "She's probably in shock."

"You got it." Steve assures holding Rachel bridal style as comfortably as possible.