First Light | Steve Rogers (Book Two)

Chapter Twenty-Five: Re-Education

Mitch, Ward, Jemma and I had managed to get to the cultivation centre before anyone caught us. Ward cut a large hole in one of the wire fences, carefully peeling some of it back so that we could climb through.

A loud crash suddenly came from up ahead and we watched as a quinjet sped away. The four of us stared at each other in confusion. Ward's movements became hurried as he stared at the large plume of smoke rising in the distance.

"Stay close, and try not to shoot us" Mitch warned Jemma and I pulled our guns out.

One of the large concrete buildings had a large hole blasted into it, debris crumbling from around it and plummeting to the ground. A man in a beige prison uniform was stood by the door, shouting some instructions to a couple of teenagers.

"Tripp" Jemma gasped.

Mitch shot her a look of confusion before taking a step closer to the man, "Antoine, what happened?"

"The ceiling's caved in, they're trapped inside. I need your help. Come on!"

We followed him into a dark room. Desks and chairs had been shoved aside, toppled by the kids as they tried to escape. There was a whiteboard in the corner with a strange pattern projected on it, like a kaleidoscope. A large portion of the room had caved in, filling the room with a haze of dust.

"Kate, Simmons, get out of here," Phil yelled as he tried to help some of the kids escape, "The whole place is about to come down"

There was a loud rumble and I held onto the doorway for support as the building shook. There were a couple of frantic cries for help and I saw my friend's eyes widen, "Chris? Harry?"

The beam above the ceiling began to crumble and I saw Mace slide down a broken slab of concrete, landing next to the boys and shielding them with his body as large pieces of rubble began to fall on top of them. Jemma let out a desperate scream and I clung onto Mitch as we watched in horror.

"Where's the Patriot?" we all span around to see a Hydra agent run into the room. She was aiming a gun at us, but her hands were trembling and her eyes were full of confusion.

"Put that gun down," Phil snapped, "We need help here. There are kids buried under that pile of rock"

There was another tremor and we staggered to the side, "It's coming down!"

Jemma frowned and leaned forwards slightly to get a better look, "No. It's coming up"

Some of the debris tumbled to the side and we watched in awe as Mace emerged, groaning in pain as he tried to lift the large concrete slabs that had fallen on him. He paused for a moment, "Get them out"

We all rushed towards the two boys, freezing when there was an angry shout. "Nobody move!" the Hydra agent yelled as she pointed her weapon at us again.

"Are you insane? He's trying to save some kids" Mitch screamed over the sound of the ceiling continuing to collapse.

"So was I"

Ward nodded slowly and began to cautiously approach her, "Agent May, he's the only thing keeping this building from falling down on all of us. You shoot him and we all die"

She hesitated and Phil let out an impatient huff. "We don't have time for this. We gotta save these kids. Form a chain. Find something to prop up that beam," he then turned to her with a determined look on his face, "Either shoot us or help, but don't just stand there. Snap out of it, May"

"You guys better hurry" Mace panted as he began to shake under the collossal weight.

We formed a chain, carefully lowering Phil so that he could grab hold of the two boys. Harry paused in the doorway and I gave him a quick nod. It wasn't the right time to say anything.

"This cabinet should hold" Ward yelled as he and Tripp tried to carry it over.

Mace was solemnly silent for a moment, "It won't work. Get out"

Jemma's eyes widened in shock, "No. We're not going to leave you"

"Coulson?"

"I'm right here, Jeffrey. Hang on"

The Patriot was growing weary. His eyes were tired and full of despair, his mouth opened and closed in silent prayer, his limbs trembled. "Go" he choked out, his voice strained and quiet.

"No"

"Go!" he cried. His legs buckled under the weight and he fell to the ground, slowly closing his eyes.

I let Mitch pull me out of the building, barely aware of what was going on anymore. Jemma's devastated screams filled my ears, making me feel dizzy. There was so much noise, everything was deafening.

We sprinted towards the bus, my legs barely carrying me along. Just as we reached the hole in the fence, there was a terrible crash. The building finally crumbled, it's broken remains creating a thick dust cloud that seemed to overwhelm the sky.

I slowly made my way onto the bus, taking a seat next to a young boy. He looked up at me, those same terrified eyes gazing up at me.

Taking a shaky breath, I turned to properly face him. "Harry, I'm so sorry. I let you down, I put you in so much danger. My first responsibility at that school should have been to protect you guys and I failed. It's okay if you don't want to forgive me, I just want you to know that I am so, so sorry"

He sat in silence for a moment before throwing his arms around me. I tensed up slightly but hugged him back, gently hushing him as he began to sob.