Barely 20 when I still had my whole life ahead of me, I was taken away while walking home from a late shift at the café I worked at. The men just came at me and they just took my life away from me, what I had, what I could have had.
I was brought into some kind of military typed base. I saw soldiers all over the place. I was brought to a cell, left there alone. I was so confused as to why I was brought in here. I hadn't done anything wrong. I was a perfectly good citizen, a good person.
Someone came to my room later that night, told me who they were and why they took me in. HYDRA, as I learned the evil organization was called, had heard about my powers and decided that taking me in would benefit them.
Apparently my healing powers were something they thought they needed.
Case in point, if someone had a wound on their arm, I'd be able to heal it with a touch. I just press my hand on the person's arm and it will heal in mere seconds if it was a small, nonfatal wound.
I hadn't had much practice when they took me in and they have not made me do anything yet, but I know small wounds are no problem for me.
The first time I discovered my powers was in school when I was still very young. My classmates were running around the school yard and one boy accidentally fell on the ground and got a scrape on his knee. He sat up, saw his bleeding knee and started crying while hugging the knee to his chest.
Of course I ran over to him, asked if he was alright to which he only shook his head, tears streaming from his eyes as his bottom lip quivered while he looked up at me. I sat down on the ground with him and looked at his knee. It wasn't a big wound but I was sure he was still hurt. I just wished the wound would disappear so my classmate would stop crying.
I placed my hand right under his knee and leaned towards the wound to get a closer look only to discover that it was slowly fading.
I remember staring at the healing wound with wide eyes, my mouth hanging wide. When the wound was finally gone, I quickly pulled my hand away, turning my palm towards me, as if I could have found the answer to what the hell had just happened from my palm. The boy sent me a confused look and glanced at his wound only to find it gone. He quickly wiped his eyes from tears and looked up at me.
I waited for the worst, I waited for him to start screaming and run around telling everyone I was inhumanly. I was ready to run away but the boy just stood up, sent me a smile and thanked me before running off to his friends.
Now I am sat on a cold bed in a prison-like cell, my hands wrapped around my legs, my head pressed to my knees as I look back on that day, wishing I had never found out about my powers. My powers are the reason I was brought to this hellish place. I was taken away from my life. My family.
My mom, Susanne, and my little siblings, John and Betty. My poor baby siblings.
I feel my eyes watering at the thought of them, John and Betty asking mom where their big sister is, my mom having no explanation for what happened to me because she has no idea.
I know they are safe for as long as I obey the orders HYDRA gives me. They're keeping an eye on my family members, there is always someone in the vicinity, ready to hurt them if I as much as think about disobeying their commands.
They haven't made me do much yet but I know sooner or later they will.
I'm scared, terrified. I hear shouts, screams and moans of pain late every night and I can't help but wonder what they are doing to the hostages. I can only imagine what horrible things they are making all the people go through.
The people in the cells next to mine who used to keep me company are either gone or they just sit in silence. It's like the people are all brainwashed because whenever a HYDRA soldier comes to get them, they reply with, "Ya gotov otvechat'," And follow wherever the HYDRA soldiers take them.
Ready to comply.
That's the only thing I've ever heard them say after being tortured. It's odd, really. I just wonder why they haven't done anything to me yet.
A rattling of the cell door next to mine wakes me up from my train of thoughts. It startles me and I back away towards the cold wall behind me in the hopes of disappearing into it. I turn towards the cell and see someone being swung into the room. The door quickly closes with a loud thump and a rattle.
From the quiet moans of pain that can be heard from the cell next to mine, I recognize the voice belonging to a man. I move over to the bars between the rooms and lean forward to get a better look. I see the man trying to sit up with much difficulty. He places one of his hands on the floor and tries to push himself up. I frown but as I see that one of his arms is missing and I can't help but gasp. "Oh, my God!" I exclaim and the man quickly rolls up to his other side, staring at me with fear in his eyes.
The man quickly sits up and backs away to the other side of the room, as far from me as possible.
"I-I'm sorry," I apologize quietly, trying not to startle him any more. "I didn't mean to scare you," I say and send him a small smile. I bring my hand to his side of the cell through the bars and pat the bed that was in his cell. Our beds are almost right next to each other, only the bars are in the way. "I'm not going to hurt you," I assure him as I see his hesitant gaze.
Thanks to the sincerity in my voice, he decides to trust me. I watch him as he crawls over to the bed, places his hand on the cold mattress and lifts himself up to sit down. He lets out a long sigh and he turns to look at me. I feel my breath hitch in my throat as I see his face up close. His face is covered in scars and bruises but still he manages to be the most handsome man I've ever seen. I see a smirk forming on his lips as he catches me drooling over him and I turn away, hiding my reddened cheeks.
I turn back to him and I find my gaze falling on his missing limb. I just can't help but stare at the missing arm. I haven't really seen anything like this up close before.
"You don't happen to have an extra arm to spare?" He asks with a chuckle, noticing my stare.
I lift my head up to look at him fast as I hear his voice. Both his voice and his laugh sound delightful, even though the weariness can be detected very easily.
"No, sorry."
A small smile makes its way onto his lips and he turns his head away to look down at his lap. I scoot closer to the bars, almost leaning up against them as I inspect the scars more closely. He looks like he's went through hell and I really want to do something to make him feel better.
"I do not have the power to make your arm appear again but there is something I can do to help," I say and motion for him to scoot closer to the bars as well. He sends me a confused look but decides to do as I say. He swings his legs on the bed and turns his body fully towards me, his legs folded in front of him. He leans forward and I can feel his eyes watching me intently as I reach my hand to his cheek. I can feel his heavy breaths against my wrist but I still keep my hand on his cheek. The wounds on his cheek start slowly disappearing and I move my hand to his forehead, another wound disappears under my palm.
I can feel his gaze on me but I don't dare to look because I know I'll blush and start feeling embarrassed. So, instead I just focus all my attention on the wounds I'm trying to heal.
After finishing, I pull away from him and scoot away slightly. I don't say anything, I just send a smile in his direction.
He brings his hand to his face, feeling the wounds and scars he can no longer find. "T-that's amazing!" He exclaims, still running his hand all over his face. "How did you do that?"
"I just place my hand near a wound and wish it to be gone. Slowly, it starts healing."
He looks at me in pure amazement and I feel my heart flutter. I already know I'm harbouring a bit of a crush on this man in front of me and I don't even know anything about him, except for the fact that he is gorgeous and is also missing an arm.
I don't even know his name.
He continues to look at me, his eyes sparkling as bright as millions of stars in the midnight sky, the smile on his lips is small but that doesn't mean it's not wonderful to look at.
"We could have gotten a lot of use of you in Europe," he says and chuckles lightly. "You could have done the nurses' work a lot faster."
I feel my eyebrows knitting together and I tilt my head slightly, "You're a soldier?"
"Yes, a sergeant. From 107th."
I freeze, 107th. "Oh, uhh... Did you happen to know a man called Jack Ankins?"
"Ankins?" He asks, I nod. "Yes, he was a great man. I assume you knew him?"
I nod, not trusting myself to form a reply without my voice cracking. "So did you lose your arm in battle?" I ask to change the subject.
He sighs, leaning back against the wall behind him. "Fell off a train," he says and I gasp. "My friend tried to reach out to me but it was too late," he says and looks down at his lap, his head hanging low.
"How did you survive?"
He turns his head towards me again and looks into my eyes. He stares so intently as if he could find the answers in them. "I'm not sure," he says with a whisper. "I remember lab coats and being trapped to a table. And of course, Steve saving me." He smiles at the mention of the name. "I guess they did some experiments on me and that's why I survived the fall."
"I assume this is the friend of yours who tried to save you from falling as well?"
He nods, "You know, it's funny how I used to be the one saving him from fights. While I was held captive I tried to think about little Stevie getting beaten in the alleys, always standing up to men twice his size even though he knew he had no chance in winning." He laughs.
His laugh echoes around the room, sending shivers through my body, the good kind. The sound of his laugh is an instant mood lift. It makes me feel better than I have felt since I was brought into this place. I didn't think anyone could even feel that way, feel good, in a place like this.
"That's how I remembered him. By then I had been held captive for a while so I was starting to lose hope in ever getting out but then suddenly there he was, taller, stronger, way bigger than I remembered. At first I thought I was having some kind of a weird dream but I'm glad I wasn't."
I find myself smiling as he goes on and on about his friend. I don't mind listening. I haven't talked to anyone, other than myself, in weeks. All this listening is worth seeing the smile on his face.
"You must really miss him," I whisper.
He turns to look at me again, the smile now fades from his lips. "What about you? Do you have anyone you miss?"
As he asks me that question, I can feel a frown making its way onto my face. I drop my gaze to my lap and pick at my fingernails. "Yes, I do. I really miss my family. They were all I had."
"What about your friends?"
"I, uhh—," I start stammering. "I didn't really have friends."
His brows arch. "Really? None?"
I only shake my head.
"Well, maybe I could be your friend," he says with a chuckle. "What's your name?"
"Marie," I say and offer my hand for him to shake.
"I'm James but you can call me Bucky. Nice to meet you." He takes my hand in his and kisses my knuckles lightly. I can't help the blush heating up my cheeks.
"It's very nice to meet you, too," I say, sincerely meaning it.
I decided to publish this now, since it is time for the Wattys. I need to publish five chapters before I can add the tag #Wattys2017 but I have time until the beginning of August. Let's hope my lazy, procrastinating ass doesn't mess this up.
Thank you for giving this book a chance. I can't wait to continue this story. Hopefully it will reach my expectations. I'm a bit scared, to be honest.
Thank you, again. Hopefully you like what you've just read. I hope this interested you enough to check out the next chapter. Tell me what you think! I welcome all kinds of feedback. Criticism is welcomed as well, as long as it's constructive.