A Tortured Soul

Chapter 7

He awoke to excruciating pain. Hands everywhere held him down. A mask was put over his face.

People were yelling, calling for more drugs.

His brain wouldn't function. Someone was cutting into him. He could feel the blade slipping deeper into his flesh. Fingers pressed inside of him.

He let out a scream, jerking away in a fevered haze. He couldn't raise his arms or legs, they were met with cold metal.

More voices.

Pressure everywhere.

"Knock him out?"

"Can't operate-"

"Going to damage something-"

"Not be happy if-"

"We need the organs- "

"Keep him down!"

The air became thick and Steve began to choke on it. Then blessed darkness.

~A~

"How was that Captain?" The voice said from over him. "Are we still having fun, hm?"

Steve blearily blinked his eyes open. Everything hurt. His mind didn't seem to want to focus.

"Wha-?" He jerked up, realizing a moment too late that large chains held down his arms. It pulled him back against the hard table. He gasped feeling the pain multiply.

The Examiner laughed, "Certainly not your smartest idea."

"I-I don't understand," Steve whispered

"Of course you don't. You're too stupid," the man spat out, "you've been in surgery. It should have been fairly quick, but you had to wake up in the middle of it!"

Screams.
Shouts.
Pain.

The Captain shuttered at the memory.

"Ah, I see you are remembering. Very good. We needed to see how your body worked. There's nothing special. You're much like the frog I dissected in the eighth grade. Unfortunately, I couldn't have as much fun as I wished. Some organs need to remain intact if you are to survive. My initial thought was just to let you bleed out on the table. Then it occurred to me, you have one more thing that is useful to me."

Steve was struggling to stay awake. He felt like he should be angry. He didn't. He felt oddly detached. Maybe it was the realization that no one was coming. There was no more talk of Avengers or ransom. No more videos. That part was over. Sygma was having fun with its prize.

"Your blood." The two words snapped him back into awareness.

"B-blood?" He hated how week he sounded. Hated it.

"Mmm," the leader smiled, "your blood holds the secret to the serum. Not even the great Tony Stark has been able to figure it out for us!"

Steve flinched involuntarily.

"But since you survived your little surgery, there is one more thing we'd like to try. We stopped counteracting the serum, so it should bring you back to full healing capacities. Heal tonight, we'll begin tomorrow."

Even as the Examiner left, the strange apathy was still there. Steve drifted off to sleep.

~A~

When he awoke again, he was already in the "gas chamber." This time was probably more painful than any of the others. Hanging from his wrists pulled at all of his injuries, especially the new ones. Someone had been messing around inside him. It still didn't feel right.