Haunted || Bucky Barnes

Chapter 4

Something felt off as soon as Thanos snapped his fingers. They had been fighting for their lives for what felt like days but in reality was only a few hours. Bucky and Alyssa had been fighting side by side through it all, always having each other's back. Now it was quiet, but in an unsettling way.

She looked around confused, slowly lowering her gun. Thanos had disappeared into some sort of portal after Thor had stabbed him with his axe. Everyone looked around in disbelief not knowing what happened. Alyssa walked towards Bucky to check on him when it happened.

"Aly? Steve?" He asked as he took a step forward. His body had started to turn to dust. She immediately picked up her pace but it was too late. His gun hit the ground and the rest of his body was dust slowly falling to the ground after it.

Alyssa dropped to her knees in shock in front of where his body had been. Steve was next to her soon after. Nothing felt real. One second he was there and the next he was gone. Around them more people were dusting away, not that she noticed as she was so wrapped up in her own world.

"Where did he go?" She managed to squeak out despite the panic setting in. She looked up at Steve with tears in her eyes. It felt like her world was crumbling. The one person who was always there for her, that she could alway depend on, was suddenly gone.

"I don't know." He replied, sitting down on the ground as the reality of the situation hit him. They had lost.

"There's got to be something we can do. We have to get him back. There has to be a way to do that. Right? Right!?" Alyssa started rambling as she felt herself starting to hyperventilate and tears starting to stream down her face. This couldn't be happening.

Nat crouched next to her and tried to calm her down slightly, placing a hand on her shoulder in comfort.

Alyssa jolted awake at the feeling of a hand on her shoulder. She must have drifted off without realizing it. Looking over, an older lady was sitting in the seat next to her and gave her a worried look.

"Sorry, dear, I didn't mean to startle you. You just seemed to be having a bad dream and I noticed your stop is coming up." She explained.

Alyssa smiled slightly and quietly thanked her as she collected her things. As the train started to slow down, announcing that New York City was the upcoming stop, she slipped past the older woman. She kept her head low and her hat pulled down over her face as she felt tears welling up in her eyes. That had been years ago, yet the memory still haunted her dreams. The feelings came back so easily sometimes. The loss. The fear. The panic. The feeling of having no control. She hated it.

Walking off she was instantly swept into the crowd, but she didn't mind. She liked New York City. Before everything had happened she and Bucky had talked about moving to Brooklyn someday. Now it seemed like a distant dream as she walked the streets. Her body went on autopilot and she soon found herself in front of a familiar apartment building in Brooklyn she hadn't seen in months.

Walking in she made her way to the second floor. Her hand hovered in front of the door about to knock when it suddenly swung open. Steve greeted her with a small smile, quickly moving out of the way so she could walk through the door.

It wasn't a big apartment, but he made do with it. It was clean and felt homey. The walls were covered in framed photos. The whole place looked like it was straight out of a catalogue, but with a bit of a personal touch. Retirement was clearly treating Steve well. Alyssa felt happy for him, but at the same time she was wishing she could have the same thing.

"I had a feeling I'd be seeing you soon." He commented as Alyssa sat down on the couch, frowning at him.

"So you did have something to do with my unwanted visitors running me out of town." She accused him. He simply raised his hands in defeat as he sat down on the opposite end of the couch. "How is it that everyone can accept that you're retired yet they can't do the same for me? I mean, you've been off the grid for months and no one's batted an eye."
"They need you, Aly." Steve told her sympathetically. "Believe me, if I could step in and do this for you I would."