Winter's End [winter soldier//Bucky Barnes AU]

Chapter Eleven

*Bucky's POV*

Once we had made it a safe distance from the Hydra prison, we decided to make camp. Half the team was struggling immensely, due to both pain and fatigue, and the other half was growing tired and couldn't support everyone.

Steve and Natasha found us a spot on the edge of a clearing, that had dense foliage that would definitely cover us up. And no one would expect us to make camp right next to the biggest hole in the forest, so I'd say that we were pretty well hidden, at least for a night. Possibly two.

Steve and Nat offered to take first watch, and they sat with each other against a tree. Steve's arm was around Nat's shoulders and her head was on his. Bruce, Tony and Clint had all spread out to the right, under an outcropping of dark, heavy bushes. Cara and Peter lay to the left, quietly talking to themselves. They had become quite close lately, but it made sense; they were the youngest ones here. They had found a coping mechanism within themselves.

John lay by himself, between Cara and Steve. He didn't have a place where he belonged, and I could tell he felt out of it. I felt bad, but at least he wasn't dead. Time began to pass by quickly as the moon rose to it's full height in the sky.

Me and Sarah lay across the area from Steve and Natasha. Sarah was laying with her head on my lap, asleep. In fact, for the most part, everyone was asleep besides Steve and Nat. I was the only one who couldn't sleep.

I absentmindedly stroked Sarah's hair lightly, untangling the soft curls. Her hair shone in the moonlight.

Her skin was cold, just like it normally was, but she was shivering. I did what I could and covered her with my jacket, but it was no blanket. I couldn't make her as warm as I wanted to.

I sighed as I stared into the distance, not looking at anything in particular. I wished, like I pretty much wished every night now, that I could be safe for once. That I could focus on something other than desperately trying to cling onto the people I loved 24/7. I knew that wishing wouldn't solve anything, but a man could dream.

--

"Hey," I called an hour or so later, glancing at Steve and Nat, who were barely keeping their eyes open. "You guys go to sleep, I'll take the next shift."

They blinked and then nodded, relief spreading across Nat's face. Steve looked at me with a frown.

"But you didn't sleep at all, Bucky. Are you sure?" He asked, and I shrugged.

"I'm fine. I hardly ever sleep." I replied. Steve looked skeptical but eventually nodded, shifting to lay next to Natasha. I watched them get comfortable and before I knew it, their chests were rising up and down in a pattern that suggested they were asleep.

--

A few hours later, a little after the sun rose, I was still awake, sleep completely eluding me. I wanted to wake someone up to take the next shift, but everyone looked so peaceful. And it's not like I would sleep anyway.

It was then that I officially gave up any chance of sleep, and decided to find something to eat. I untangled myself from Sarah, who gave a half hearted groan of protest, and I stepped away just for a moment to try and catch something.

I stepped through the underbrush, staying close enough to see the camp we made, and searched for any animals that I could catch.

However after about ten minutes, I heard voices. I rushed to cover myself up immediately. I looked through the bushes and, soon enough, saw the source of the sound.

A group of Hydra agents were walking through the forest with several weapons.

"I don't think they went this way." One of the men said. "We should've gone South, towards a town."

Another man then spoke up. "Yeah! Why would they have headed this way? There's no town for five miles if they kept going this way."

Suddenly the man in the front, who I guessed was the leader, turned around and snapped at them.

"You morons! The Avengers are smart, and they would go the trail that seems like the least likely choice, so idiots like you wouldn't ever guess to follow them."

The men all went quiet, as the leader stormed ahead. They followed and continued on. Thankfully, if they kept going straight, they wouldn't come across the team.

Once they left I hurried to get back to camp. I made it back to everyone quickly to see that they were still asleep, so I shook them all awake, starting with Sarah.

"Why do we need to get up?" Steve asked, rubbing his eyes tiredly. I waited until everyone was looking at me.

"I went out to search for breakfast, and came across a team of Hydra agents. They're looking for us. We need to move, and not keep going straight, or else we'll run into them. We need to head East." I explained, pointing my finger to the right of where we were supposed to have gone.

"Why east?" Cara asked.

"Because we can't go North or we'll run into Hydra, we can't go the way we came, South, so we can go West or East. I just picked one."

The team nodded tiredly and stood up, grabbing their various weapons and shouldering their back packs. Sarah walked up to me.

"Hey, thanks for the jacket last night." She said, holding up the coat I had given her. I smiled.

"You're welcome, and you don't have to return it. I hardly ever need it and you're body temperature is like fifty degrees." I replied, and she smiled back, sliding it on. It looked good on her. But then again, she could make anything look good.

We made our way to the front of the group and started moving, leading everyone to the East, and hopefully away from Hydra.

Little did I know that those men were a distraction..

And we were walking right into their trap.

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