The Seventh Avenger: Memories Never Die// Bucky Barnes

TEN: SNITCHES END UP IN DITCHES

I wouldn't find out the answer to this question for the rest of the day. Sara decided not to show up for breakfast and had spent the entirety of the day in the infirmary. I couldn't sneak out of the cafeteria during breakfast, nor could I skip training to go and see her. Both of these actions would draw unwanted attention from both Jasper and the rest of the guards, meaning that we couldn't carry out the plan at this point. Under different circumstances, I would have been frustrated with having to wait. But my first training session with the Winter Soldier currently distracts my thoughts from thinking of the plan.

I say nothing as the nameless guard leads me down the empty hall, the sound of her boots slapping against the floor bouncing off the grey walls. She hasn't said a word since she first collected me from the main training room, while Riley and the other prisoners had been lead to their experiment rooms. She had only gestured to follow her, and the Winter Soldier had also been quick to follow.

My companion on my right is as silent as the guard in front, his face stoic as he stares straight ahead. He hasn't looked at me since he had first joined us, but I can't help but sneak glances at him from the corner of my eyes. I want to see if I could discern his feelings about having me as a training partner, as he hadn't explicitly stated his opinion on the matter when we had last discussed it. Is he just as curious as I am about the decision? Or is he annoyed about being forced to work me, preferring to work alone instead?

My many questions are left unanswered, as his face gives nothing away.

We are walking through a part of the facility that I have never seen, nor been in before. We are heading in the complete opposite direction from my cell, the training room and the cafeteria, and we passed the infirmary several halls back. This side of the facility is foreign to me, and it suddenly dawns on me that this place is much bigger than I have perceived it to be thus far. Wandering through the many halls, I can't help but feel like a small mouse trapped in a maze. Finding a way out may be difficult, just as Riley and Sara had made it out to be.

Stop, I can't help but silently scold myself. Negative thoughts like that aren't going to help. You have a plan. Stick to it, and you'll find yourself one step closer to freedom.

I exhale slowly at this, but not silent enough to go unnoticed by the soldier beside me. For the first time in what feels like forever, he turns his gaze on me. But as usual, his face gives nothing away about what it is that he's thinking. I lock my eyes with his regardless of this and wonder whether or not he would say anything. But before he has the chance to, the guard stops and recaptures his attention once more.

Not dwelling on this, I divert my attention back to the guard and see that we have stopped in front of a grey door. Deducing that this must lead to the area in which we are supposed to train, I don't ask why it is that we have stopped. I only watch as the guard barks something in a different language- Russian, I think- to the soldier before turning on her heel. Then, without so much as another word or second glance, she retreats down the hall from which we came.

I blink, startled at her abrupt exit. But whatever she said to the soldier spurs him into action, as he strides forward and wrenches the door open with his metal arm, which whirs with the movement. I can't help but stare at it with fascination, wondering just exactly how it works. If my friend Ava Quill was here, she could probably tell me how after having a look at it. She is a genius when it comes to anything involving technology. But despite this, I highly doubt that she would be able to get close enough to examine it properly. Something tells me that the Winter Soldier wouldn't appreciate the invasion of his personal space, and would react in a not so friendly manner.

He doesn't bother to hold the door open for me, and he doesn't turn to see if I am still standing behind him. He only stalks forward, disappearing into the room in front of him. Whatever the guard had said to him, clearly it had struck a nerve.