Endless Winter (Bucky Barnes)

Chapter Four

Chapter four: Let me die
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That night, Jacklyn didn't have a problem sleeping like she usually did, she was usually lying awake in pain, wishing she could sleep but too many drugs were in her system. That night, she was drowsy from blood loss and it didn't take her long to drift into a much needed sleep.

While her faint breaths softly echoed in the room, James Buchanan Barnes was wide awake, drugs still bouncing around in his veins and his mind felt jumbled. He knew little about the girl sleeping to the left side of the cell, but it didn't take him long to realize she wasn't an enemy. He couldn't focus on one subject for long, all he could focus on was the painful feeling in his brain.

He threw his hands over his face, clearly in agony. A groan escaped his lips as he rolled over on his side, he was having vague flashbacks of the torture that took place not long before. Bucky had no sense of time,he had no idea how long he had been there or how long he had been in the cell. He couldn't imagine going through fifteen years of this. With that thought his mind wandered back to the brunette sleeping in the same room. Had they been doing the same thing to her all these years? Did she remember anything about life outside if Hydra? She said she was from Brooklyn. He thought to himself. He reprimanded himself silently, how the hell did he know she was telling the truth? For all he knew, she could be one of them. She could be there to monitor him, to kill him while he slept, to- He started to overwhelm himself with questions and moaned through his teeth at the sudden pain in his brain.

Bucky was to distraught to notice Jacklyn had awoken. Jacklyn looked around for the source of the noise, she saw Bucky laying on the cot on the other side of the room and he moved around frequently, indicating that he was not asleep. She knew all to well what he was going through, so she stood up and nervously limped her way to him,  still hesitant to associate herself with him. But he look like he needed help.

"Hey, Bucky, you alright?" She rasped, weak from the bleeding wound. He flipped himself over and looked at her with a confused and wild expression. "Do I look alright?" He groaned. "Try and focus on one thing, don't put to much pressure on your brain. Trust me." Jack said softly. She had no idea where this kindness in her was coming from, it definitely wasn't from Hydra.

He looked at Jacklyn in the dim lighting, he could barely see her but could make her features barely. His choice of focused made her flinch, but she didn't say anything. He listened to her, he didn't know why, but he trusted her. It didn't work completely, but focusing soully on making out Jack's features made the pain subside slightly, making it somewhat bearable. "Experience?" He questioned, making her nod. "Almost every day." She said, turning to go back to her cot. "What makes tonight different?" Bucky asked, shifting his weight so he sat on his cot across from her. "Less drugs, more blood loss, haven't slept in days. It all adds up." She said, smiling weakly. "Well, Jack, that must suck." He said, ignoring the pain took every fiber of his being. She grinned smally, wrapping her arms around her torso. "Yeah. You never get used to it." She said quietly. The door of the cell jolts open and caused Jacklyn to jump, she didn't expect it since Hydra never bothers her at night.

Jacklyn hops up, causing herself to hiss in pain as she backs up as far away from the door as possible. Two men were standing there, both with guns in their hands. "Jacklyn." One said, "Red Skull will see you now." He finished. "No, please I'm sorry. I did what he wanted I didn't mean to hurt him-" Jacklyn begged, backing up against the wall. The man treads forward and grabs her arm. "Actions have consequences, you've lived within Hydra long enough to realize this." He snarls. Bucky didn't know what to do, he knew he couldn't stand, he watched in confusion and horror as they inched toward her. He saw the sheer look of terror on her pale face and his stomach twisted.

Jacklyn knew what was in store for her, she tried with what little strength she had left to wry from his grip but with her wounds and very little energy it was amounted to nothing.
"Please, it was an accident I swear! I lost control I didn't mean to!" Jacklyn gasped as she's pulled out of the cell, the door slammed behind her and the men continue to pull her through the halls. She kicked and struggled and sometimes she would get loose, only for them to grab her again.

Not even the serum in her veins could save her, she had lost to much blood and was weak. "Please.." A sob racked her chest but she refused to cry, she bit her lip until the all familiar room came into sight. One man pulled the metal door open as the other changed me into it, they both left moments after and left her on the floor. She looked around the room, the metal chair in the center with the device hanging over it that was to be attached to her head. To her surprise, it wasn't powered on yet, they usually had it ready to zap but she didn't question it further, that didn't mean that she was off the hook. She searched the rest of the room with her eyes, finding the panel that controlled it, lights littering the ceiling, and the walls were cinder block.  She realized that the door didn't have a lock on it, but before she could pursue any actions it comes open. The Red Skull walks in, his disguise not on and a smile on his face. She whimpered and ran her hands over her face, her heart pumping in her chest.

"Jacklyn Roberts." He said, her eyes dart to the floor at the mention of her name and she quickly stands up. "Sir, I'm sorry it was an accident-" She started to say, but he held up a hand and cut her off. "You did what we wanted, exposed your true self." He said maliciously. She looked at him wearily. "So.. I'm not being punished?" She asked cautiously. He grinned, pacing over to the panel and running his finger over the buttons tauntingly.

"Not necessarily." He said. "Actions have consequences, my dear. And while your epitome is beneficial to us, you still have harmed a Hydra agent, one of our best field agents." He said, staring down at her as the color drained from her cheeks. "Bring him in." Red Skull barks. Moments later, Albert is being wheeled in on a wheelchair, the lower half of both his legs missing. Jacklyn throws a hand over her mouth, tears brimming her eyes. I did this? She thought, Albert looked at her with hatred and terror.

"Every bone in his lower legs were broken, some sticking through the skin, unsalvagable." He said, Albert's legs stopped at his knees, there were bruises on his face and neck, one of his eyes we're bandaged over with red staining it. Jacklyn didn't believe that she could manage something so terrible, so inhumane, but Albert was living proof. "Now, Albert, you shall decide her punishment." Red Skull said, Jacklyn could've sworn her heart stopped.

Albert looked at Jacklyn and a grin spread across his face. "Two hours in the chair." He said after a moment of pondering. Jacklyn shook her head, she didn't think that she could handle it. She knew that she couldn't handle it. She didn't know the exact time she usually spends in that chair, but it's nowhere near two hours.

"Please, I'm sorry Albert, I can't control it. I never meant to hurt you," She begged, her chest racking with her sobs. But the two men from before drag her over as Red Skull prepared the device. "It could kill me!" She begged, not holding in her sobs. Red Skull grinned maniacally. "You'll only wish you were dead." He said. And she knew it was true. She didn't struggle as they strapped her down, fastening the device so it settles just above her hair.  She bites down on the rubber piece that was stuck in her face to prevent her from biting her tongue off.

They back up, and Red Skull presses the button. A searing pain enters through all angles of her skull and she tries to hold in her scream, but it escapes through her lips and is barely muffled by the rubber piece.

Red Skull was right, she wanted to die.