Monsters Inside Us (Winter Soldier)

Unstable

"AAAAAHAHAHAHA!"

"That's was some great stuff, pudding!"

"The fun's not over yet! The Batman is close behind."

"Well what are we waitin for?"

He cackled out loud, arching his back, "Ooooh, sweet face!" A little girl gasped, turning around and running as fast as her little legs could carry her. She looked back for a second to see her father standing at the end of the hall with a gaping smile.

"Come to daddy," he chimed, holding a knife up.

"No,' whined the girl, turning down one of the halls as she ran.

"P-Puddin, do we have to mark her up? Isn't she a bit young?"

"Isn't she the daughter of Gotham's infamous Joker? Isn't she the next to sit on the thrown of chaos?" The little girl ran into her room, closing the door behind her. Her eyes scanned quickly over the room, landing on the bed. Without a second thought she ran across the room, dropping to her stomach and pulling herself underneath the bed. She watched the door as she tried to catch her breath. The girl jumped at the door slamming open. She put her small hand over her mouth to keep from screaming.

"Oh Jester..."

The girl watched as fingers closed around the edge of the bed frame. Her heart was pounding at the sight and seemed to echo when things got quiet. With a swift move, the Joker ripped the bed up, flipping it over to reveal the small girl beneath it. She screamed out, pushing herself up against the wall behind her. Tears streamed her face as she shook her head at the man.

"Awh, why the long face?" He asked, bending down to her level. His arm stretched out, snatching her by the throat and pulling her up to meet his gaze.

"Now," he placed the knife at the corner of her cheek, "Let's put a smile on that face."

~

     I jolted up from my sleep, breathing hard as sweat seemed to collect at my forehead. The sight of the cabin brought me back to reality, washing a sensation of relaxation over me. I breathed out, dropping my head into the palm of my hands. I traced the scar that ran from the right corner of my lips. I dropped my hands, grabbing the covers and tossing them from my leg. I went straight to the bathroom and looked at my neck in the mirror. The bruises formed almost a perfect hand around my neck. I walked back out and went to Bucky's door, lightly knocking on the outside.

     "Bucky? What do you want for breakfast," I asked. I waited a moment but got no response.

      "Bucky," I called once more. When I heard no reply, I opened the door and looked inside.

      "Hey," I pushed the door open further and saw that Bucky's bed was empty. I turned away from his room and walked to the other side of the house. I checked every single room, still no sign of Bucky. I started to panic a bit. It wasn't like him to just up and leave the house without letting me know. Did he ditch me again? I walked back into the kitchen, opening the drawers. With each drawer, I searched the roof of it for a weapon holster. Knowing Bucky, he would've kept one hidden in each room for an emergency. When I got to the seventh drawer, I felt the holster, my fingers wrapping around it and jerking it out of place. When I looked down in my hands, all I had was an empty holster. I pursed my lips, really feeling that something was off about this. I dropped the holster into the drawer and went out to the front porch.