Radioactive | Bucky Barnes

THE FIRST AVENGER: CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Rhiley's legs felt like lead. Her body screamed in protest as she walked forward, the weight of the gun pressing against the back of her head a constant reminder that she was no longer in control. Dylan was in charge now. She knew it, he knew it, and as much as she fought against it, she could do nothing but move at his will. He could pull the trigger at any moment, and that would be the end of her story.

"It should have been me," Dylan muttered, his voice bitter, laced with something dark and twisted. "I don't know why he chose you."

Rhiley remained silent. She didn't respond, not because she didn't have words, but because any words she could say would fall on deaf ears. Dylan wasn't interested in her side of the story. He wasn't interested in anything other than his own twisted reality. Whatever she said, however she tried to explain, it wouldn't change a thing. He had already made up his mind.

"Then you came around and messed everything up," Dylan continued, his voice low, filled with venom.

The cold barrel of the gun pressed harder against her neck, the metal biting into her skin, but Rhiley couldn't bring herself to flinch. She had learned long ago that showing fear, even the slightest tremor, only gave him more power. His words, though, were the ones that hit harder.

"You don't deserve it," he spat.

Rhiley wished, more than anything, that she didn't know exactly what he meant. But she did. She knew what he was talking about. The power he thought should have been his. The gift that had been hers. The one thing that set her apart from everyone else. She hated him for making her feel this way, but she hated herself more for knowing he was right in some twisted sense. She had been chosen for something greater. And he couldn't stand it.

"Stop."

His command echoed in her mind, a voice she had long since learned to obey. She didn't want to. She couldn't stand it, but she did. Her feet came to a grinding halt, stopping just before a large window that overlooked a snow-covered landscape. Below, frozen water stretched for miles, its surface untouched, just like the peace she had once known.

"Rhiley!" Howard's voice cracked through the earpiece, frantic, panicked. It sent a chill down her spine. He had to be close. He had to be.

But Dylan knew exactly how to keep her in check. He'd left the earpiece in, adding a cruel layer of torture to her already unbearable situation. He didn't care that Howard was screaming for her, begging for any sign of life. Dylan thrived on the power he held over her, the control he had.

"I need to know you're okay," Howard's voice continued, desperate. It was all Rhiley could do to keep herself from answering him. He didn't deserve to hear what she couldn't give.

The gunshot rang out like a thunderclap. Rhiley didn't flinch. She didn't even blink. She didn't allow herself to feel anything as the glass shattered behind her, the cold, sharp sting of it an almost welcome distraction. Dylan was just getting started.

"It was supposed to be mine!" he screamed, his voice cracking with rage as he spun her around to face him.

Rhiley's heart skipped a beat as her eyes met the barrel of the gun. He was close now, his anger palpable, and for the first time in her life, Rhiley didn't feel a thing. She couldn't. She wouldn't allow herself to.

"Goddammit, Rhiley!" Howard's voice came through the earpiece, his frustration and fear cutting through the static. "Just let me know you're okay."

Rhiley's chest tightened. She wanted to tell him that she was right. That it wasn't too late. That she could still make it out of this. But she couldn't. Dylan's grip on her was suffocating. She couldn't move. She couldn't speak. She couldn't breathe without his command.

The building shook. It was brief and disorienting, but it threw Dylan off balance for just a second. Just enough time for Rhiley to feel a flicker of hope—only for it to be extinguished as quickly as it had come. She twitched her finger in an attempt to break free, but the pressure in her head slammed down on her again, crushing any chance of freedom.

"Your friends are making quite the ruckus," Dylan remarked, his voice full of dark amusement as he tightened his grip around her throat, pressing the gun to her temple. His breath was hot against her ear, the words coming out like poison. "I'm taking what's mine."

And then, he fired. The pain was instantaneous, excruciating. A ripping sensation tore through her chest. She didn't scream, though. She couldn't. The glass shattered behind her as the bullet hit, and all she could feel was the burning in her body as her vision blurred.

"Was that a gun? Rhiley! What the hell is going on?" Howard's voice trembled through the earpiece. But it was too late for her to answer. The words wouldn't come.

Dylan laughed, a low, mocking chuckle that reverberated in her skull. She could hear her brother's voice, strained with panic, begging her to be okay. But Rhiley couldn't respond. She couldn't even move. Her body was frozen, locked in place by the sickening power he had over her.

"I'm sorry," Howard spoke through the earpiece, "I was just afraid to lose you." He paused. "I trust you. I've always trusted you. I need you to come back to me, okay? I need you to keep your promises. I can't live without you, Rhiley."

Her world swayed. She felt herself beginning to crumble. But she couldn't let him see it. She wouldn't let him win.

"And he said you were more powerful than I could ever be," Dylan sneered. "And yet, here you are."

He fired again. This time, the bullet tore through her shoulder, the pain blinding, sharp, as if someone had set her on fire. Her knees buckled, but Dylan's hand on her mind kept her standing.

"Rhiley," Howard's voice crackled, sounding defeated now. "Please."

The words sent a jolt of agony through her, and Rhiley's heart cracked. The world tilted, and just for a moment, she felt herself break.

But then, something deep inside her stirred. A spark. A flame.

And in that moment, when everything felt like it was slipping away, Rhiley finally let go.

A pulse rippled through her, an explosion of energy that tore through her like a bomb. It sent her flying backward, the impact of her fall knocking the breath from her lungs.

And as she fell, as her world went dark, all she could hear was her brother's desperate voice—begging her to be right.

"Rhiley... you promised."

The words echoed in the silence, a haunting reminder of everything she couldn't keep. And in the end, it wasn't the gunfire that broke her. It was the broken promises she couldn't escape.

As the world faded to black, the last breath she took was not a cry for help, not a scream of desperation. It was the silence of a heart that had given everything it had. And with that silence, Rhiley Stark was gone.

Her final thought was of her brother. I'm sorry, Howie. I couldn't keep my promise.

And then... There was nothing.