The physical torment began. Every day, he woke up early to train with his newly assigned mentor,the woman from that night. Her name was Deepika, she was a mixed race woman with beautifully dark skin and chocolate brown eyes. Everything about her was elegant and precise. He felt inferior next to her just for her physique and natural charm alone. Her capabilities were beyond his comprehension. She had told him that she was born and raised in Germany, it was her home. Her mother was Indian and her father was Nigerian, she had inherited their confidence and witty tongues. She was probably the closest to a sister he would be allowed to have. She reminded him of Mickey but was prettier and more serious.
"Focus." She growled, her wavy hair flying behind her in a loose ponytail and she whizzed past him. They were trying to build his stamina by running around the perimeter but he felt like he'd give out at any moment. She, on the other hand, had already completed three laps and was running her fourth.
"I'm going to die at this rate!" He yelled back at her, regretting it immediately as he began to gasp for a breath.
"Well, that's your fault. You said you wanted to be useful 'now'. Should've just waited till you were older." She replied heartlessly, leaving him behind. Kasey leaned back, trying to stop his heart from jumping out of his throat. His eyes scanned the area. Other than physical training, being allowed to leave the building gave him lots of mental stimulation. He had memorised the routes and shortcuts to try and cheat his way out of running laps, after all, you have to work smarter not harder.
At first, he was sure the plan was fool proof, but as he continued down, his gut began to churn uncomfortably. His stomach flipped, warning him not to do it. As he came out the other end, he looked like he had run more than three laps around the field without a break. Cold sweat dampened his shirt, making it cling onto his skin. His eyes darted around for any signs of his mentor but she was nowhere. He sighed greatfully, still nervous, and rushed towards the dirt path. His heart was beating heavily as he neared the checkpoint and hit the counter button. Suspiciously, he didn't see Deepika for the remainder of his lap. He was too scared to try the shortcut again and ran the full lap for the rest of his training, but when he'd finished, he discovered that his mentor had already ran her laps and went back to the headquarters to grab a coffee, returning ten minutes before his last lap.
The training continued brutally, pushing past his limits until his limbs felt weak. Within three days, he was already regretting agreeing to this. He knew he wouldn't be allowed to back out now but he felt like if it continued he would faint. At night, his dreams would be shallow, a small voice echoing in the bridge of his conscience, whispering terrifying truths into his soul, but by the time he woke up,they'd be gone. The voice would occasionally pop out in some occasions when his body was under immense stress but otherwise never got any louder than a whisper.
During therapy sessions, he'd read books and study to become smarter. He knew that a hero with only brawn was just dead weight. Studying wasn't as difficult as his physical training. It came naturally to him and he found himself immersed in the books that he was allowed to read. He'd never dreamt before, his dreams were just raw primitive instinct to protect himself and others. They weren't something he could take to the real world, but now that he began to study, be realised how much he loved science. Surely he'd become a scientist in the future, once he was released from hydra.
Released? Who would release you? You're trapped here like the rest of them.
The voice returned. It was brief, but it scared him. He rubbed his arms to get rid of the goosebumps, but the shiver wouldn't stop. He looked over at the man sitting on his desk, a residential psychologist of hydra, who was watching something on his computer monitor, grinning to himself. He clearly hadn't heard it.
The boy refocused on his book, trying to shake off the unsettling feeling, but it only grew in the pit of his stomach.
A numb sensation swept through his body and all of a sudden, his mind was going blank. His arms went slack, dropping the book from his hold. The man at the desk stopped and focused on the boy, calling for him.
"Klaus?"
"Yeah?" The voice that responded didn't sound familiar to him. He was sweating heavily, struggling to fight off sleepiness while figuring out what was going on, but it felt useless.
"Are you alright?" The man asked softly. But that was the last thing he heard when he fell into the sweet embrace of darkness.
He'd only closed his eyes for a second. It felt like he'd blinked into the future, because he was somewhere else now. It clearly want a good place but there weren't many good places in the hydra base anyways. Sickness and nausea caught up to him when he noticed the Lumps of freshly burnt meat around him, disfigured faces and limps streched across the room like a red carpet for his feet.
What was going on? He needed to get out of there. What if someone was alive? No, nobody would be able to survive such burns. But the closer he looked, the more he recognised the way their flesh Webbed around their lesser burned skin and the ugly dark bruised tissue that couldn't even bleed. These were electric burns.
There was only one thing he could think of. It was his fault. He'd done this. How else was he unscathed and in a room full of men and women turned to crisp?
The realisation had yet to sink in when he was roughly grabbed by his shirt and restrained. He could hear them yelling, he could feel the vibration on his ear, but he felt drowned. His lungs, heart and throat were squeezing tightly and his head spun. Even as a child, he'd never hurt anyone with his ability, not even accidently.
It was jonahan's name that pulled him out of the water.
"Mr stimmt will be out shortly."
At that moment, he swallowed in air like a fish on land, gulping for a breath but choking on his own shocked tears. This time he wasn't crying because he was a coward. This time he didn't deserve to be comforted. This time, it truly was his fault.
The panic seized his chest before they even noticed and being held down on the cold floor didn't help. All of a sudden, he felt like he couldn't breathe. As if something had stolen his breath. He couldn't even form words now that his panic got worse and worse, squeezing his body for every drop of life.
'i'm going to die.' He thought, 'god has finally decided to punish me.'
Despite his acceptance to the punishment, he still struggled for the very last breath. The gaurds had now become flustered as they surrounded him, not realising what was going on.
"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" An angry voice thundered, warding off the men who were crawling into his personal space. He could cry at how happy he was to hear her voice.
There was his saviour dressed in shining black leather, hair swaying behind her in a neat ponytail. She gently sat him up, rubbing his back to help him calm down.
"Hey hey. I've got you. Take a breath in and let's count to five." She said, tapping her fingers every time she said a number to make sure he was counting with her.
Kasey tried, he really did. He was trying to count with her. Hearing her smooth honeyed voice alone was a remedy. By the time she reached five, the blurriness had gone and he could hear better. There was still a lump in his throat and the guilt in his stomach but he was collecting himself.
"Again." She ordered, rubbing circles on his back. He shook his head at first, struggling to breathe evenly, but found himself counting with her on their fourth repeat.
He couldn't stand on his own, but at least he wasn't going to suffocate to death. He didn't know if he was allowed to feel relieved but he did.
"Take him to the boss." And just like that, his goddess condemned him to hell.
