Frostbite: Blood in the Winter// Third Book of The Frost Bite Series.

Prologue

The room was dark, all except for one little beam of light coming from the bottom of the door, and a blue light emitting from the far wall. The blue light glowed from a round window of a tall vessel that stood upright on the wall. Next to the vessel was a panel of switches and buttons, one large rectangular button read the word "DEFROST".

The room was silent as well, all except for a low humming noise coming from the vessel. This just meant that it was running at the moment, and it had been for 10 years.

Footsteps were heard coming towards the door. The lights turned on and the entire room was now fully visible. Earlier the darkness had hidden a large chair, one that you would find in a dentist's office, except, this chair had restraints on the armrests and at the foot of the chair. Next to it was a metal table, at the moment it was empty.

The door opened and a group of men walked in. One of them was shorter than the others and rather stout. He wore round glasses and a lab coat, and with him, he had a briefcase. This man was Arnim Zola. 

Three other men were in army uniform, all three were armed with handguns at their belts. There were two more men as well, both of them were wearing lab coats. 

Arnim Zola turned behind him. "Close it." He ordered and a soldier went back to close the door.

Zola walked to the panel next to the vessel and flipped a few switches. 

"Stand by." He said and two of the other men in lab coats stood by the door to the vessel. Zola then pressed the button that read 'DEFROST'. 

"Today, gentlemen, we gain a new Winter Soldier."

The blue light was replaced with warm yellow light, the low humming noise became louder and after a few minutes, the hum stopped altogether. The room was completely silent, and Zola pressed another button on the panel and the vessel door released its pressure and steam seeped out the sides. Then the door completely opened, revealing a woman inside strapped to the vessel wall. She was unconscious and unaware that she had been defrosted out of Cryo-Freeze.

The two scientists unstrapped her while the third rolled over the medical chair. The woman was unstrapped from the vessel and set on the chair, then rolled back next to the metal table. Her wrists were strapped to the armrest and her ankles to the foot of the chair. 

Arnim Zola set his briefcase on the metal table and opened it, revealing two small vials filled with liquids and a syringe. Zola took one vial, placed it into the syringe compartment, tapped the vial with his finger, then poked the needle into the side of the woman's neck. The liquid left the syringe and entered into the woman's vein system, and soon, her brain. Zola waited for a moment before removing the empty vial from the syringe and replacing it with the second one. He looked to the three soldiers and nodded. The soldiers placed their hands on their guns as Zola inserted the needle into the woman's neck and the liquid entered her system.

The woman gasped as soon as the needle was taken out, her eyes opened and she looked around the room. Her breathing was quick and uneven, but soon, it slowed down and she sat still in the chair.

"Soldier," Zola spoke and she looked at him. "What do you remember?" 

She looked down for a moment, then looked back up at Zola. She didn't answer. 

"Do you know why you are here?" Zola asked. 

"To do as you command." The woman answered.