Saving Bucky (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

Chapter 74 - Choose Your Words

"Calm, child."

"G-Gabe...I can't...can't b-breathe. M-my head hurts, Gabe, I...I can't see!"

"Hush, child. Do not panic."

"It hurts, Gabe, p-please. H-help me."

"Shh, child. There is nothing I can do. Until the scientists know more we...we must simply remain calm. Embrace the pain, and allow it to coexist. Do not fight it."

"I-I can't , Gabe."

"You must, Y/n. You must coexist."

You inhale sharply as this early memory of Gabe flashes through your head. 

You were so small in his arms - trembling as you are right now. Begging for relief from one of your very first headaches - like the one you have right now. But the pain in your head is nothing compared to the fear that sits like a stone in your chest - immovable and utterly solid. 

A tear tumbles down your cheek as the metal panel resting on your face sinks down further, sealing itself to your flesh. You let out a small whimper as a sharp sting across the left side of your cheek secures the panel in place, slicing your skin and settling beneath the muscle of your face. 

And the buzzing grows louder, rattling the bones of your skull.

"Obey, 7124," Vex croons from above you. "And you may return to us yet."

James' muffled cries of anguish get louder from across the room. Metal hinges scream as he tries desperately to break from his restraints. But you know there's no hope. So you take a deep breath as the chair begins to vibrate.

Then, without warning, a strong pulse of electricity is sent through your body. 

It fills your head with all the intensity and pulsing heat of a lightning strike. Your back arches off the chair as your eyes roll back in your head as your screams fill the room.

Gabe. Lulu. The Hold. Kentay.

Blinding pain pulls names and places to the surface of your mind before chasing them away. The pressure in your head squeezes them into shattered porcelain bits, unreadable as they fall to the empty abyss of your mind.

The safe house. A fire. Ramirez. Steve. The tunnels. Tea shops.

More memories. Gone. More screams. More pain.

James. James. James. James.

Your screams get louder and more intense as you cling desperately to that one word.

James.

When the humming of the machine finally stops your mind is left muddled. Like radio stations at an intersection. Noisy, but incoherent. Layers of competing static.

"State your designation."

A woman speaks. 

Her voice is cold and cruel. Fear quiets the noise in a way that makes one thing perfectly clear - this voice is to be obeyed.

"State your designation," the cruel voice says again.

"J...James," you whimper, saying the first words that comes to mind, the one that is for some reason already on your lips as tears run down your face.

Another lightning strike.

More screams. 

More pain.

"State your designation," the woman commands again.

"James," you sob. You don't know why. You don't know what it means. But the pain is loud, and it's the only word you can hear in your own head. "James," you cry again. It's the only word you know. The only one you can say. It has to be the right one. "J-James," you whimper again, pleading with the woman.