In Their Hands ✧･ BARNES ✔

𝟎𝟔|шесть

   THEY DRAGGED THE LITTLE GIRL down the hall and tugged on her wrists even if she wasn't resisting. She cried out in pain when the metal fingers of the man's metal arm dug into her skin and pinched her. Her skin would get caught as the metal bent and would get smashed between the different metal pieces. 

   They entered a large room. She'd never been here. They threw her to the floor and watched her sternly as she struggles to climb to her feet. Zola hated the way that they always watched her and stared down on her when she was simply standing still, sitting down, or talking to her mom. She wondered if a world out there existed where people didn't do that: a world where people didn't stare at you while you spoke with your mother.

   She stood in place as they stared down on her a few moments longer. She turned in a circle and looked up at all of their faces fearfully. From her view, they looked like giants. They towered over her and made her feel completely uncomfortable. She felt so tiny and so useless. In reality, that's exactly what she was. 

   "You learn to fight." The superior man says, taking a step away from her. She stared up at him helplessly as she waited for them to hurt her. She didn't understand why they were solely taking her to learn how to fight alone. Why weren't there other girls? Why only her?

   The man with the conspicuous metal arm stepped forward and looked down on the little girl. Maybe they were punishing Bucky by making him fight the girl on his own. Since he wouldn't obey, they wouldn't let the Winter Soldier beat the little girl up for him this time. Even if he didn't want to, he'd have to hurt the little girl on his own.

   He stared into her eyes nervously. His eyebrows dipped inward in fear because he knew that he had to hurt her. She stared up at him as if she were begging the man with the metal arm to stay away. Hesitantly, he lifted his fists, still staring into her eyes with fear swimming through his own. He didn't want to.  

   "Priyti. Udar' menya." The metal armed man instructs, raising his fists to instead block is face. It wasn't like the little girl would reach his face, but he did it to show her. Come. Hit me.

   Zola walked over slowly and hesitantly but followed the order anyway. She tried to slap his leg, but he jumped away from her. She ran over toward where he now stood and jumped up, aiming to hit him in his chest. However, he jumped back again. As serious and as scary as this situation really was, Zola smiled to herself because she was kind of having fun chasing him. 

   She tried to jab him in the arm but he pulled his arms away and jumped back.  Zola laughed aloud and cheerfully chased after him, this time sliding her legs into his feet in an attempt to knock him over. 

   Bucky tried to hide the smile that was creeping up onto his lips. If the superior saw it, and if the superior could see that he was actually having fun with the girl, he would make him beat her like he had that night. In fact, it wasn't Bucky at all. It was "the other guy" who had done it.

   Zola stopped chasing him for a moment and put her hands up into fists, holding them in front of her face just as Bucky did himself. If he was being honest, he was stalling. He wanted to know why it hurt so much to see this girl in pain, and why it was so hard for him especially to lay a finger on her. 

   "Good." Bucky nods toward her stance. He waits for her to completely imitate the way he stood and held his body, and once she did, Bucky looks up at the superior fearfully. He couldn't stall forever. He had to follow the orders. He would have to fight her now.