Maybe Someday

Training

Charlotte leads me down there and I sense someone already here. "Hello?" I call. I hear a grunt and smile. "You must be the Winter Soldier. It's a pleasure to meet you. I hope you're up for a challenge."

I stand before him and he circles around me. "Are you ready for training?" he asks, his voice low and gruff yet familiar. "There are no breaks and there is no complaining. You do what I say when I say it. Understand?"

"Bucky?" I ask, gasping. I'm happy Charlotte already left. "Bucky, is that you?"

"Who is Bucky?" he asks. "I am the Winter Soldier."

I sigh and turn away. "I'm sorry. You sound like someone I knew. It's not possible, I shouldn't be hopeful." I feel a tear fall down my cheek and wipe it away.

"Let's begin." The Winter Soldier starts to fight me and I can barely block a move. "Sloppy. You need a lot of work."

I scoff. "Can you blame me? I've been blind for my entire life!"

"Now I know where to start. You need to use your senses, specifically hearing and touch. Listen carefully for my movements and you can outwit your opponents and know where they're going to strike." I nod and listen carefully, as he instructed. I hear his footsteps as he sneaks around to a different angle. They become faster, as do his breaths. He throws a punch towards my head and I turn, catching it and using his weight to flip him around. "That's good. Now, you need to be stronger and faster. Be able to do that with noises all around you. Over the next few weeks, you'll learn how to fight no matter the conditions."

"That's great," I say. I feel accomplished and even better about myself. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate you doing this for me."

"Train hard and learn fast," he says. I hear him walking away, my arm in his hand. "Start doing pull ups." He demands. I feel around for the bar and he sighs. "Right, sorry." He grabs my hand and places it on the bar.

"It's alright. You probably don't train any blind girls normally, do you?"

"You're the first I am ever training. You are special to Hydra and they need you in top form and able to fight and defend yourself." I stop for a minute, shocked. "Keep working."

He comes back, daily, training me. I can even beat him in a fight sometimes. Charlotte tells me how impressed Strucker is with my progress. I keep mistaking him for Bucky. Sometimes, he say things that remind me of Bucky and that only he would know or say. The Winter Soldier leaves after two months. Hydra has given him a new mission.

Strucker has me training for computer work. It's really hard but I finally manage to learn how to hack and type. I use a program that reads everything on the screen off into a headset. I'm better than most people here. Workers challenge me to hack-offs and sparing all the time and they almost never win. I am very proud of my abilities.

I hear talk of using the experiment on others who volunteer though nothing is for sure. They've changed the experiment a little to make it stronger and better but it is a lot more dangerous. I know at least one person has tried the experiment and has been killed.

I sit in my room, reading some of the books Charlotte gave me. I hear a knock at the door. "Come in!" I call as I set the book down.

"Hey Annabelle. How are you today?" she asks.

"Great," I reply. Charlotte sits on the bed beside me and give me a light hug.

"Do you ever wish you had your sight?" Charlotte asks.

"I used to all the time. Every day, I felt horrible because my brother had to do a lot for me. Now, I don't feel that way as often, but I do sometimes. Why?"

"There may be a way for you to get your eyesight."

"Really?" I ask.

"Yes, it's a proven method to work for most people. The doctors here are interested in maybe trying it out to see if it will work for you. That way you can help out even more. What would you say to that?"

"I'd love to try," I tell her.

"Remember, even if they decide to, it may not work. And it wouldn't be for a while."

"I've waited twenty-five years. Plus the seventy-one years I was frozen. I can wait longer."

"I'll go inform the scientists and Strucker. Oh, and Strucker said there are more people coming for the experiment. You'll be training and assisting those that are affected."

"Alright. Tell me when he needs me."