eight - gone
восемь - уведенный
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bucky's pov:
SHE WAS GONE, and I was freaking out. I have no clue why, but my entire body and mind felt like it was shutting down.
I wondered the long halls thinking about her, where the hell was she? I looked down halls, into rooms, checked torture chambers, and even went outside to a stroll around the winter setting. I furrowed my brow when I was completely stumped, I went to the only place I knew I should go.
To her cell.
I arrived quickly as I gently opened the door, light slowly dragging itself up the walls to light up the empty room. I felt a dropping feeling in my stomach - just like if you were in plane either taking off or landing. The sketches on the walls seem to have faded and lost their meaning since their original owner was gone, the bed was gone including the sheets and pillow, and her small stack of clothes had vanished. I walked inside to try and find any evidence of her disappearment, but found it completely ransacked.
What had he done to her?
Shivers ran up my spine as I quickly exited, my body rattling with aggression and anguish towards the man who caused such a broken girl pain. I ground my teeth together as I found a guard at the end of the hallway, he was asleep on the desk and he seemed to be completely out. I furiously flicked him on the back of the head to wake him up. He flinched then growled.
"What do you want?" He snarled, his voice still sounded sleepy and deep. His hair was disheveled and his green eyes were fierce and laced with hate.
"Where is the girl who resides in seventeen?" I questioned, my voice sharp and short. I leaned against the desk with a deadly gaze in my eyes; the man seemed to noticed my demanding attitude and cleared his throat.
He shifted through some papers before taking one out, "Uh, Sergeant Major took her a few hours ago. She was knocked out cold, tied to a chair - bitch got what she deserved. The only thing it says in her file is she was taken for a mission, that's all I know. Sorry, maybe the truck left without you." He threw harshly back at me, his hand slamming on the table with the paper. "So sorry soldier had some relations with her or something?"
I leaned forward and grabbed his throat roughly before squeezing it hard, "Location, now." My metal arm hissed as the wires shifted around in the underbody of the material, the chambers moving together to make a fluent motion with the added pressure in the fingers.
His eyes grew to the size of platters, his eyes weakly glancing down at my gloved hand that gripped his throat. He gently took out a file from under his desk and tried to hand it to me, his face growing bright red from my suffocation. I dropped him as he hit his head on the chair before he fell unconscious on the ground, my eyes dragging over his limp body then to the file.
I snatched it up before grabbing the phone that was right next to his coffee. I turned as I quickly rushed down the corridors before going into a small room I was residing in while I worked undercover. Maybe I was here for more than just the girl, but now, my heart and soul was into just helping her.
What was she doing to me?
My mind went back to her. She was beautiful, let's not get that wrong. But she looked so shattered that barley any pieces were left to fix her. Her eyes told the story. They had a longing for something, but her emotions were encased and masked so much it would take years to break down all the barriers she had over her feelings - her heart. I wondered why... I recognized her, was it because of me? Did I do something to break her?
She was a puzzle, that was obvious. It was just so many pieces were lost.
She was like a cigarette - intoxicating and deadly, but sweet and addicting. She was smoke that many longed for and wanted; once you got to know a little bit about her, you could never stop coming back. Why? I'm not sure. She was a beautiful, beautiful drug.
Wait, did I have feelings towards her?
No, pssh. She was Steve's friend, that's why I'm here. It is for Steve and that's it. Not for me, or my mushy brain, or my metal arm.
I was getting so sidetracked of thinking about this puzzle that I almost forgot about the file that darkened my lap. It was a black file with the red HYDRA symbol and on the bottom had SEVENTEEN embedded into it. It was so void of color that this file seemed like a black hole.
I gingerly opened the file with my metal arm as I saw the pictures on the left and the documents on the right. I gently took out a picture of her smiling, it was so bright and so genuine that it lit up the room she was in. She was hugging someone but the person was cut out of the photograph so the main focus was on her. I looked at the bigger pictures and saw each one of the Sergeant's grotesque forms of torture.
One depicted of her when she was completely cut open and slaughtered to the brim, her skin being masked with all of her blood. Tubes ran into her pumping some kind of dim liquid which made me shudder, what did they do to her? I couldn't look at the sickly picture much longer before flipping to the next. It was of her in ice (almost like me) but she seemed to be... screaming. Her eyes were closed but her mouth was wide open and she looked stiff from the ice, the only this she was wearing was a tank top and shorts. She looked cold, just like my heart.
I turned away from the left side of the file, my mind bringing back images of my time under the wing of HYDRA. It wasn't a nurturing wing, it was a more like being under a wing of pain and torture. HYDRA was just an organization that needed to disappear, but it was an ongoing virus. It was one of those viruses that once you cut off one section of it, three more grew back.
Ah, that brings me back to an older memory of when I was trying to escape their grasps. Ever wonder why they may be called HYDRA? It's just like the mythical beast, a hydra, once you cut off one head of the dragon-like creature three more heads would grow back. It was a venomous monster that was vile and cynical, bringing monstrosities wherever the beast went. Just like the organization. Damn what an analogy.
I unclipped the stack of documents on the right side and set the empty file aside, I brought my feet onto the bed as I laid the documents down in front of me.
I picked up the first sheet, scanning over once, twice, three times, eight times...
It didn't make any sense:
FIRST NAME: UNIDENTIFIED
LAST NAME: UNIDENTIFIED
NUMBER: SEVENTEEN
GENDER: FEMALE
HEIGHT: 5'8
WEIGHT: 147 LBS
EYE COLOR: BLUE
HAIR COLOR: PLATINUM BLONDE
ETHNICITY: WHITE
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UNKNOWN
INFO:
LONGING AT THE DAYBREAK OF HOMECOMING ON THE NINTH
A BENIGN BEING WHO HAS THE MISSION TO FOLLOW ORDERS
SHE WILL FOREVER BE CAPTIVE.
What the actual hell did that mean. That didn't give me any information, what was I supposed to do with a riddle? Decipher it -
"They're heading out, lock up the corridors!" I heard a soldier yell. Instantly, I shot up as I shoved all the papers into the file before putting in under my bullet proof vest. I quickly set on my hat before putting an ear on the door.
No noise was heard as I quickly exited before following the echoing of the soldier's feet. I caught up, watching the shadows as they moved and softly chatted. I looked to my left before seeing a huge ramp that some soldiers were going up, my mind racking with which was to go. Left or straight?
I did what my gut told me and tiptoed up the ramp, my feet making no noise. I caught in line with the soldiers before I saw the giant, metal garage-like door opening. I looked to my right and saw a stoic man winding up the huge door while another man beside him had to click in a code and hold a button. Snow gently fell through as the harsh light blinded me a bit.
I never noticed how dark it was down here, until I saw the sun shinning through the thick clouds. It was a white blinding color, but it gave me a sense of safety to finally see something I've been yearning to see.
My eyes slowly adjusted to the blinding light before I moved up the ramp with the other soldiers. I was lucky I still had my gun as I set my hand on it - just like all the other soldiers. We all marched in sync before I noticed a white truck in the corner of my eye.
The snow swirled around the lights as the lines of soldiers stopped, then turned towards the forest line and aka the truck. Scientists were around it as I craned my neck the tiniest bit inside. I saw a leg, a chair, guns, and a lot of other random things that didn't matter. But I knew that was her leg. I could feel it in my bones, or most importantly, my heart.
"Soldiers!" I heard a man shout, my entire body freezing up. My breath came out in short wisps. "Load, draw, stand!" All at once, the soldiers took out their gun, unlocked the bullet holder, watched it fall to the ground, and then reload in a swift motion. I almost forget the order thinking of her, but I stayed in line.
This had never been so hard for me. Stay in line soldier.
A captain of walked in front of all of us, yelling in our faces as he looked into our emotionless eyes. "Soldiers, we have an experiment leaving today. Who shall go with?" He harshly spat in somebody's face before moving on. "Step up." I noticed how everyone stepped up at once, why?
He smirked, "Good, you," he pointed as the soldier came forward. "You, you, you..." he went on five times before he looked around. "You." I stepped forward, my heart clambering in my chest. "You six load up, the rest get in order!" He screamed before the soldiers started to go back underground, the snow beating against the six soldiers as we moved forward.
I had luck, but this was just strange. I looked at the other soldiers and it hit me - he picked the biggest, the strongest, the toughest, the most hated. But how was I on this list?
I looked at the captain as he just watched us go before making the scientists go back inside, I looked over my shoulder as I saw him smile at me before walking back under. I looked away as I loaded up onto one of the army Jeeps. I gently set my gun down before the others soldiers started a conversation. I looked through the opening between the two flaps of fabric to see the back of the white truck.
With each hard bump we hit, the soldiers would simply laugh. I didn't make any contact, but heard one speak to me. The others ignored him and I, but I finally looked up to meet the hollow piercing green eyes of the man.
He was a colored man, green eyes, and very sculpted face. His jaw was piercing and small stubble was on it, while his nose was a bit crooked from what seemed like a punch to the face. His stature was pretty big - thick shoulders, lean torso, long legs, colossal arms. Defiantly didn't want to be on his bad side.
"What's your name, soldier?" He seemed to have repeated the question since one of his brows was raising in a strange fashion.
I cleared my throat before looking away from his eyes that seemed to dig into my soul. "James."
"Nice to meet you, James, that names Thai," he explained before popping his knuckles. His head turned away as he looked to the other soldiers before turning to me. "You seem like a guy who doesn't want to be here." I didn't notice that he had a thick accent, where was he from? I hadn't met much people except for those in the United States.
I didn't respond, just held my breath as he put an arm around my shoulder. He leaned in to my ear before whispering, "Honesty, I don't want to be here either. I've been trying to escape for six years, didn't work. Suggest not trying it," I slowly looked over as he pointed to a thin scar above his left eyebrow. "They don't take escaping lightly. Have some scars on my chest too." He looked away before leaning back, I wondered why this man was even here.
Thai hummed then looked at the other soldiers, he breathed out a long breath as a white smoke came out of his lips. Symbolizing how cold it was getting. The others played a game of cards as he looked over to me, "Look James, I don't trust many people, but if I want to make it out of here, I need backup." Thai looked trough the flaps, glancing at two men driving. "You in or out?"
I held my breath, looking at him before slowly nodding. A smile spread across his thin lips, before he crossed his arms. "But there's a catch, isn't there?" He looked at me, knowing there was something I needed too.
We hit a bump as the man chuckled, my head banging against the truck walls. "We need the girl too." I whispered under my breath as his eyes widened, before he looked at the wall. He rubbed his jaw, thinking before looking at me.
"The experiment?"
I nodded, my breath catching.
"You're in luck, James. I've got some tricks up my sleeve, and I've got some access codes that'll help. I can't believe I'm saying this, but deal."
With a shake of our hands, it symbolized not only a relationship forming, but also a thin form of trust too.
We are coming 17. Watch your back HYDRA.