Winter's Sister

2

It's been a year already since Steve left for the army. I turned thirteen a few days ago, but I didn't have anyone to celebrate with. What reason was there to celebrate anyway? Monday, when I checked the mail, there was a handwritten letter from Steve, saying my brother had fallen off a moving train. He was gone. Steve said he was sorry, but there was no way Bucky could have survived. I sighed as I walked away from the school. It was Friday now. I stepped into an alley, leaning against a wall as I began to cry.

"Maureen Janette Barnes," asked a voice with a heavy accent. I looked up to see a man with a gun wearing a strange uniform. It had a patch of a skull with octopus tentacles on the arm. "Hail Hydra," he said, before slamming the butt of his gun down on my temple.

When I awoke, I was sitting in a chair, my wrists tied beside me, to the back of the seat. My ankles were also tied to the legs of the chair. I was still in my school uniform, thankfully. The room I was in appeared to be empty, and I was almost certain the door was locked. Down what I assumed was a hall outside the door, yelling could be heard. And what sounded like someone getting beaten up.

"Here, let me show you why you should cooperate, Soldier," a voice snarled.

My heart started pounding as I heard the door being unlocked. A one-armed man was pushed in, being held back by two burly men in uniforms similar to that of my kidnapper's. The soldier looked up at me, squinting through a black eye, and my face paled. So did his.

"Ree," Bucky said brokenly, a tear trailing down his face. It's the first time I've seen him cry. Suddenly, he was fighting to get to me, thrashing against his captors.

Another man came beside me, holding an electrical prod. He pressed it to my arm, and I screamed in pain. Bucky stopped fighting. Tears fell down my face as I gasped for air. My brother watched me hopelessly.

"If you do not obey our every command, she will pay the price, Soldier," the man smiled. I hated that smile.

Weeks seemed to pass, and I began to pick up the language the men here were speaking, Russian. Every time I saw my brother, he was more and more different. He wasn't the Bucky that I knew and loved, and not just because of the new metal arm. Most of the time, he didn't seem to recognize me. But when he did, I would be beaten, and they would 'wipe' him again, whatever that meant.

Then, one day, the men who were holding us captive seemed happier than ever, which wasn't necessarily saying much. They brought me to watch as they said random, mismatched Russian words to my brother. At the end, my brother replied. It seemed as though they had brainwashed him. They said something else, that I couldn't hear. An order, I think. Bucky looked at me, and all I could see in his eyes was hatred. I gasped, stumbling back.

I tried to run as Bucky chased me down, but he had always been faster than me. He caught me easily, grabbing my hair and throwing me to the ground. He punched and kicked me over and over. I screamed and cried. I had never been beaten so bad, not by the men here, or even Dad.

"Bucky, please!" I begged. "Please, stop! Bucky, it's me, Ree! Maureen!"

"Stop," a man commanded, and the tirade of punches ended immediately.

"My name is James," Bucky said coldly, before turning to face the man.

I cried harder, and another man yanked me to my feet, throwing me back in my cell and locking the door. I could hardly even walk.

Another month passed, and Bucky never once recognized me. He hardly even looked at me. He never fought against his orders, whether they were to hurt me, or go on some unknown mission. They had started calling him the Winter Soldier. But he was still just Bucky to me. Sort of.