Prisoner #1.

Chapter 6: Well, that worked out.

     Bucky awoke to a splitting headache. He groaned as he sat up. He began to rub his head with his left hand, but yanked it away immediately. It wasn't his hand. What he saw was a metal contraption with wires attached to it. He let out a gasp of surprise, and began trying to get it off. He couldn't make it budge from his shoulder, though. It wasn't killing him, though, so he started to calm down.
     He looked around him and saw he was in a cabin like place. The walls were made of logs, and there was a fireplace. It had cobwebs in every corner, though. It seemed abandoned.
     Suddenly, a door nearby opened, letting in a tired looking man in denim pants and an old shirt with a hood. He looked at Bucky with a look of surprise.
     "Oh, you're awake! Are you alright?" He carried in a plate of food.
     "I...guess..." Said Bucky. "Where am I?"
     "Canada." He said. "I brought you to my little safe house. Only safe place for me, really." He set the food down in front of Bucky. "Go ahead and eat. You must be starving."
     Bucky looked at the food, and resisted the urge to dig in as quickly as possible. Instead, he picked up the fork and began to eat what he assumed was mashed potatoes. His mind flitted back to K.P. duty back at camp Lehigh. He shuddered inwardly, remembering all those spuds that had needed peeling. Once he was done, he handed his dishes to the man.
     "So," Bucky said. "who are you?"
     The man looked at him as if he had said something crazy. "Are you okay, Rick?"
     Bucky stared back at him in surprise. "I- I'm not Rick." He said.
     The man was equally surprised. Then his face took on one of amusement. "Nice try, kid. You're not fooling me with that one."
     "I'm not trying to fool you with anything. My name is Bucky."
     He stared into Bucky's earnest eyes, realizing what he was saying was true. "Good Lord. I... You're not?"
     Bucky shook his head.
     "Then...this means...Rick's still out there."
     Bucky thought for a second. "Wait!"
     "What?"
     "Does he look like me?"
     He nodded.
     "I saw him! He escaped...I think... He was going to help me escape, but...I got caught. He's not their prisoner anymore. I know that much."
    The man looked relieved. "Thank the Lord!" His face took on a look of question then. "Wait, how did he escape?"
     "I don't exactly know, but he had this giant wolf thing with him. Maybe it helped him."
     "Probably another prisoner. At least I know he's safe." He decided to change the subject. "So, are you alright? Nothing seems out of place? That was a dangerous form of gamma radiation they used. Very experimental. I need to know if it caused any irreparable damage."
     "Um, I don't know. I feel okay. I'm not going to die, am I?"
     "No no! Not as far as I can tell." He checked Bucky over. "It seems that the radiation healed any and all injuries you had. By the way, were you missing an arm before, or is this just covering the one you had?"
     Bucky stared at his left arm."N- no. I didn't have it." He turned back to the man. "What was your name again?"
     "Oh, sorry. My name is Bruce Banner. What was your full name?"
     Bucky didn't want to give him his actual full name. "Bucky Barnes, sir."
     His eyes narrowed at this, but he shook his head, going back to the conversation. "You look like you need a bath and fresh air. Get up and I'll get you some water running."
     Bucky did this. The bath was refreshing. He could hardly remember the last time he'd taken one that relaxing. Afterward, he walked outside, sitting in the sunlight, letting it bath his skin in warmth.
     Bruce walked out with something that looked almost like a gun. It had a needle on the end of it. He walked up to Bucky with it, sitting down with him.
     "Whatcha doing with that?" Bucky asked.
     "Well, the thing is, I gave you a dose of something that would inhibit the effects of the radiation. But, as it turns out, you need a second shot. I hope you don't mind." He held out his hand. "Could I see your right arm?"
     "Alright." Bucky said. Truthfully, he hated needles, but he just sucked it up and lent his hand to Bruce. He injected it into Bucky's arm and Bucky immediately felt lethargic. Like he had been drugged heavily. The feeling came and went in the span of about two minutes. When it was gone, Bucky felt weak.
     "You'll feel pretty bad for a while, but you'll be feeling okay afterward." Said Bruce.

     At this time, Rick and Star-Thief still sped away. They soon came to a halt, though. Star let the kid off her back, then turned into Sally again. She hopped into Rick's arms, purring and rubbing his chin with her back.
     "Cut it out, Sal." He said. "You're getting fur in my face."
     "We here." She said. "We in Yew Nork!"
     He chuckled. "It's New York, girl. Where are we exactly?" He looked around. Downtown. He could find his way around there, but it would take a while. He stared up at the night sky, wondering when day would come.
     They started on their long trek through the streets of downtown New York. They needed to get there before Hydra somehow found them. Maybe Stark would be able to help them with Bucky's escape. They hoped as they walked.