Buzzkill [Winter Soldier]

Chapter 17

That night Ruth was still exhausted, and slept for a couple of hours before being woken up in the morning once again. The rude awakening began with handcuffs being placed on her first thing. Gaining strength, she was able to walk on her own. Ruth was lead through the same hallways, going to the same room. Ruth felt sick, her chest tightened as her heart beat rapidly; but you wouldn't be able to tell what her emotions were by looking at her.

Ruth went back in the chair with restraints being tightened to her forearms and legs once again. Her body was trembling with anxiety and she couldn't control it. She just kept trying to breathe.

Before Dr. Mage brought over the serum, he placed a mask over Ruth's mouth and nose and secured it tight to her face,

    "Just so we don't have as much noise as last time, it ruins the peace of the project."

    Even hearing his voice made anger burn within her.

Another needle was placed in her arm, and once again, the injection process began. Ruth drowned out all the mumblings of Dr. Mage and focused on trying not to feel the pain, but the searing pain seized all of her thoughts.

Once the continuous pain stopped, and the voices that controlled her mind had ended, she was once again exhausted. The handcuffs went back on, but the mask wasn't taken off her face. It wouldn't be taken off till she got back to the room.
As they lifted her out of the chair, Ruth tried to support herself, but only could for a couple steps at a time before stumbling to the ground. Being led out of the room, Ruth saw the Winter Soldier again, standing in the same place behind Pierce with the same lifeless expression.

    When Ruth slowly woke up the next day, she wondered what the Winter Soldier was doing here. Knowing what he did, Ruth knew he wasn't a personal body guard. Maybe he was here to kill her if she tried to leave, maybe they wanted to show him who Ruth was and tell him her weaknesses. Maybe he could see a weakness in her by watching her that others wouldn't see.

    The rest of the day Ruth spent in anticipation for tomorrow, where she would receive another dose. The second dose was worse than the first, and she didn't expect the third to be any better. Ruth observed the people who would walk by as carefully as Hydra observed her. When she would see a couple of them talking or laughing with one another, she felt a resentment at how these people could be content or even comfortable working for a place like this. Ruth was curious to know if there were any others here being experimented on or tortured for information. She knew that in different countries surrounding Russia, Hydra would experiment on volunteers; Ruth wondered if they knew who they were volunteering for.

Mid-day, Dr. Mage appeared outside the cell door once again,

    "How do you feel?"

    "Fine and dandy."

    "Good, good."

    Then he left.

    The next morning was the same as the two injection mornings before. Ruth was woken up by cuffs being placed on her hands, being shoved into the same room, and placed in the chair. Her breathing was already speeding up, her body was trembling, and the memories of the pain were starting along with the anticipation. The suffocating mask was placed on her face, and the injection process began. This time was even more painful than the two times before. Ruth marveled at how her heart hadn't given out yet from the stress.

Getting picked up by the guards, she felt weaker than ever. While being held up and dragged out, Ruth saw the same faces looking at her.

Going down the first hallway to her cell, there was a large open space to the right where Ruth could see more around the building, as if it were a gathering area of some sort. Like the rest of the facility, the area had concrete walls with open hallways on the other side, and a couple of small, round, metal cafeteria tables with stools sat underneath them. She was able to hold herself up for a few steps, scanning around for an exit around the space, but then completely collapsed, her whole body giving out on her. The guards holding her up were fed up, and while she laid on the floor with her hands tied trying to get up, one kicked her straight in the stomach, sending her onto the ground again.

    "Get up! We're not going to carry you any longer," One guard shouted.

    Ruth coughed, trying desperately to gain her breath with the mask over her face, struggling to get up. Her muscles tensed and seized, the serum amplifying the pain from every hit.

    The guard kicked again, this time hitting her shoulder and sending her back onto the ground, "Get up!"

    The pain that was being sent throughout her entire body was excruciating, but the kicks wouldn't stop. Ruth just wondered if anyone else could see, if anyone was going to stop the guards before they killed her.

Loud, steady footsteps were heard rushing over, and the guard who repeatedly kicked Ruth was sent flying across the room. Ruth weakly looked up to see the metal arm of the Winter Soldier holding onto the other guard's neck and shoving him backwards into the concrete wall. Ruth stayed on the ground too hurt to move, looking at the guards who were now laying on the floor.

    The ghost knelt down and took the mask off of Ruth's face,

    "Are you ok?" He asked. His voice was calm, unfazed.

    "Why did you do that?" Ruth asked, finally being able to breathe. She thought all of Hydra were on the same team.

    "Because I'm just like you," he spoke softly. His voice and expression finally gave away some emotion.

    She studied his face, he looked like he was in pain. For the first time, he didn't seem like a ghost. He helped her stand up and kept her as stable as he could, her legs still giving out. Ruth's gut twisted, and the pain in her ribs made it hard to breathe. She figured there was still a mark on her ribs from when they were bruised only a little while ago.

Ruth was thankful that he took the mask off her face, she wouldn't have been able to breathe with it.

Pierce had disappeared, but Dr. Mage and a couple others came over to see what the noise was about. They saw the two guards struggling to get up from the ground, but didn't have the patience to know what had happened. As long as it wasn't Ruth who fought back, Dr. Mage didn't care. He spoke up to the guards,

    "Get up," his words were sharp and demanding, and his smile gone. "Get Ruth to her room and be on your way before someone sees you."

    The guards took Ruth's arms, gently this time, and led her back and into her cell. Ruth could see the Soldier's eyes follow her back, but knew he didn't mean harm anymore.