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

Chapter Twenty Three

AN

^^another picture of my vision of Sarah!

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*Sarah's POV*

Life couldn't possibly be any worse right now. And it was all my fault.

Bucky was angry- he was livid with me for not telling him. For making the deal in general. I know that I had hurt him, and I know it was stupid- I have known that ever since I made the deal. But even if I could do it again, I wouldn't take it back. Because at least I had Bucky back for a few months of happiness.

Now, I may have lost him.

If I don't get this scepter back soon, Bucky and all my friends would be dead within fifteen minutes, and the world would be taken over by Hydra.

This was it- my final test. Was I strong enough for this? Was I ready to face the horrors I would find down there, and fight Hydra for everything I know and love?

I sighed deeply and wiped the tears from my face, checking my guns and praying with all my might that I could do this. I can save my friends and the world. I have to redeem myself- I made this mess, I have to get us out of it.

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened, throwing me into chaos.

Mutants stood there, crowding the hallway and reeking of rotting flesh and blood, their mutilated features standing out grotesquely from the plain white walls. It made me gag as all eyes turned towards me- several pairs of bloodshot corneas.

In an instant they all rushed to get inside the elevator and escape. I hurried to push through the crowd, slapping the hands that grabbed at my clothes and hair. Some were dragging others towards the doors; some were holding dead ones, not realizing that they were gone. It was insanely hard to believe that these creatures were even related to humans.

I got through the crowd and ran down the long corridor, passing several doors and searching for the last hallway. Blood was smeared on the walls; whether it was from the mutants or Hydra guards, I couldn't tell.

The stench of it filled my nostrils, and no matter how hard I ran or where I went, it stayed just as strong. No wonder Bucky and Steve had seemed a bit off since they were down here. The last level was hell. My heart pounded as I turned the last corner, and stopped dead in my tracks, my leg in a huge amount of pain.

I had no idea what the 'last hallway' looked like, until I got to it.

It was a rectangular room, with four doors on each side. It looked like it used to be a lab- there were tables, chairs, beakers, and test tubes scattered around in pieces on the floor, a few Hydra guards laying dead. They were clearly killed by Bucky and Steve, but the doors looked untouched. Immediately I was wary. There was a reason Bucky and Steve didn't open them, and judging from the lack of a scepter in the current room, I was going to have to go in them to find it.

I swallowed my fear and pushed open the first door, the smell of rotting flesh smacking my face and overwhelming my senses. I stumbled back, my hand flying up to my mouth, and swallowed the bile that was already rising up.

I hadn't looked yet, but I had a guess as to the source of the putrefying smell.

When I peeled open my eyes, the sight made me want to bolt. But I couldn't seem to move my feet.

An operating table sat in the middle of the room, the light on the ceiling still flickering off and on, making the sight underneath it even worse. There was a person laying on the operating table, surrounded by a pool of dark crimson blood. The whites of his eyes were showing as he stared blankly at the ceiling. So many cuts and stitches covered his body that I could hardly tell what the man used to look like; or if it was in fact a man.

Hydra experimenting on people, to try and create super soldiers, was far enough. This...this is the most inhumane thing I have ever witnessed. This wasn't experimentation- this was torture.

I quickly aimed my gun at the man's temple and fired, ending his suffering. I spun around and ran out, shoving the next door open to a similar sight. I ended their suffering as well.

I struggled to breath after the things I had just seen. I had no words to describe the horror.

The next door I pushed open had scientific equipment of all kinds, and several different machines. A little bit of hope rose inside of me, and I hoped to God that the scepter was in here. Realizing how low I was on time, I quickened my pace, rushing around the room and tearing the place apart just to find it. I pushed through papers, metal, beakers, test tubes and furniture, searching for the blue glow that Loki's scepter has. My heart raced faster as the minutes ticked away.

Suddenly, my prayers were answered- I spotted it in a box across the room, it's glow escaping out of the lid. I breathed a sigh of relief and bolted over, unlatching the box and seizing the scepter. I clutched it tightly and immediately headed straight towards the elevator, pushing my body as far as it could go, the time running out. I pushed through the crowd of mutants and hopped on, slamming the button for the first level. My leg wound burned in excruciating pain from all the running, but at least I had the scepter.

After a heart pounding ride to the top floor, the doors finally pulled apart and revealed the team, still alive. Bucky was still pinned to the wall, but smiled in relief when he saw me. I tried to return a grin. But then the horrific sights from downstairs appeared in my mind- wiping any trace of a smile from my lips.

"Hand me the scepter, my dear, and your friends can keep their lives." Loki snarled, and I muttered a few obscenities as I made my way towards the God. I handed him the scepter and he gripped it tightly, an evil smirk settling on his features.

"There. I honored the deal. Now let Bucky go and leave." I said, narrowing my eyes. Loki flicked his hand without even looking up, and the remnants of the metal door moved from in front of Bucky, releasing him. I sprinted towards him and grasped his waist tightly, squeezing him closer. His muscular arms enveloped me, and I closed my eyes, finally feeling safe. This hell was almost over.

Bucky let go after a few seconds, the absence of his warmth making me shiver, and I turned to find Loki gone.

"Sarah, what was down there?" Steve asked me, and I looked down, the images flashing in my mind. I've seen terrible things before, but human torture was on a whole other level. It was something I'm always going to remember- because some things are just too horrible to forget.

"I'm not going to go into detail. But it's the worst thing I've ever seen in my life." I replied quietly. Steve nodded immediately, understanding that I didn't want to talk.

Sirens were wailing loudly throughout the whole building, and red lights flashed as well, as all of Hydra was starting to evacuate. After a small minute of silence we quickly remembered what was next- we had to get out, then blow this place sky high, to ensure that no piece of Hydra from this place would ever be recovered. We hurried to the last working elevator, and after what seemed like an eternity of watching our backs and waiting for someone to pop out and ruin everything (as usual), the doors finally dinged open and we hopped on.

Since everyone left in this place was now evacuating, we knew that when we got off there would be a huge amount of guards ready to kill us. So I iced the wound on my leg and covered the tourniquet in frost, ensuring it wouldn't come undone, and loaded my guns up once again. Thank god I brought a ton of ammunition.

Steve stood at the front of the elevator, his shield ready on his arm. We had positioned Bruce in the back of the elevator, hoping to avoid another appearance of the hulk, and Peter was hanging from the ceiling on his webs. The rest of us, which weren't that many, stood battered and bruised in the middle. It had been hours since we got here, and we were beyond exhausted.

But we had another battle to fight, and we were heading into a war that one of us wasn't going to come out of.

And none of us saw it coming.

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