Leave Me Bleeding [Winter Soldier] I

Hope [Chapter 22]

"Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced."

-James Baldwin

                His pupils dilated.

                His metal fist clenched.

                He looked down as Steve fell into the abyss.

                "O..." His voice was nothing more than a ghost.

                Ophelia smiled, if she was going to die now, at least she knew that she had done something. If Steve was dead, they had failed. No one would be out there to want to bring Bucky back, it had only been their mission. And so she needed to get out of here alive, she needed his help. So she spoke softly, like she always did with him. "That's me, Bucky."

                The hellicarrier shook and rumbled, and the process of them falling into the water below sped up. Within a minute they would be trapped in the debris and rubble, drowning in the depth of the water below. An explosion above caused Ophelia to wince, but she kept her eyes trained on Bucky. If he was coming back to her now, it would be a terrible time, but he could survive. He could get better. He could maybe even save Steve. Maybe even her.

                "Go," she said. The next words she spoke came naturally, they appeared to feel right upon her bloodied lips. "Run, Bucky."

                "Get out of my head," he growled, raising his metal hand to his brown hair.

                Ophelia remembered her power, amidst the chaos she hadn't bothered using it, and now tried to link with him. There was no time to create a strong enough connection, and once again, it failed. But she could see the shift. In the way his expression looked so shattered. She knew enough about him to be able to bring him back, she hoped, given time. Everything he had said to her, done for her, been there with her for, she could remind him of how he had been a good person once. The time was slipping away, and Ophelia had only this chance. Her condition left her wondering if she could save one life in exchange for hers. Bucky for Ophelia; that was a sacrifice she was more than willing to make.

                "You have to go or-" She groaned in pain as the carrier shifted underneath her, rattling her broken bones. "Or we'll both die."

                Bucky looked over the broken glass where Steve had fallen, and then back at Ophelia. He walked over to her and fear shot through her. With his metal arm, he pulled her off of the ground and hoisted her arm over his shoulders, half-carrying her. Her feet touched the ground and she forced herself to balance, leaning on Bucky. 

                Was he saving her? Was he going to toss her into the water below? Was he going to bring her back to HYDRA? She did not understand, but she said nothing as he walked to the edge of the carrier, looking down and then without another moment of hesitation, he jumped. Ophelia wrapped her arms tight around him as best as she could. The water was far closer now that it had been when Steve fell, though everything had happened in a matter of seconds and it had been no longer than half a minute since Steve disappeared from her sight.

                As the water rushed up against her, it filled her mouth and nose, making her cough. Being forced underwater so quickly, she inhaled a good amount of water; above them, the hellicarrier was still crashing down. Bucky still had his arm wrapped around her, this time around her waist, pulling her back up to the surface. When they had breached the surface, she looked over at the carrier falling from the sky, crashing into the water only a few metres away from them. The giant wave pushed Ophelia back, and she struggled to remain above the water. When she looked back at Bucky, he was gone.