Heathens ⇒ B. Barnes

⇒Prologue

⇒Prologue

The stone was cool under her skin. The only light was dim and swung from the ceiling; it casted shadows that danced along the walls. She was the lightest thing in the room, her blonde hair askew and tangled, her blue eyes still glowed even though she had no hope remaining. Bruises stain her skin like paint splatters, cuts along her body create a picture of who she is becoming.

What was once her hope was now anger, fear, dread. She was broken, a fragment of what she once was. She was beaten, abused, and her pieces now shattered, never to be placed together again.

Her memory was faded, bits and pieces floating around with no beginning nor end. She tried to think, remember, anything, but she was searching for something that wasn't there. She was chasing her shadow.

She swallowed, staring up at the ceiling on her concrete bed. She didn't move, she didn't think of escape. Her mind was blank. She knew that in a couple minutes, she would be beaten. Broken even more than she already was. But, they would just erase her memory again; her concept time was just a blur now.

"Elizabeth?" A voice echoed through her empty thoughts. A light turns on, erupting the dim light in a neon blue-white.

She didn't know who the voice was talking to, but she sat up anyway. She blinked and pushed her hair out of her face. Her eyes adjusted to the new light.

A figure she had seen many times stood in front of her. His long hair swept in front of his face.

"Elizabeth?" The voice said again. "Let's go, we're leaving."

She swallowed again, but stood up weakly. He hesitantly took her hand, the cool metal against her warm, bruised skin, and guided her with him out.

Her name was Elizabeth; she wasn't an assassin, or a toy you could throw out. She was leaving the place that left her broken. She was leaving with the man who used to beat her. She was no longer a Winter Soldier, and neither was he.

⇒⇒⇒

Tell me what you think! Don't forget to vote and comment!