Everly || Steve Rogers

16. Breaking Point

"How is everyone today?" Dr. Zola beamed as he entered the room, clipboard hugged tight to his chest. 

"We're ready when you are, sir." The guard behind Everly returned, ignoring the doctor's previous question. 

"Wonderful." Zola glanced at Bucky as he walked by, then stopped before Everly. "Project Rebirth?" He asked curiously, hoping that perhaps today she would decide to spill.

"Screw you." Everly whispered, not able to look him in the eye. She peeked up at Bucky and his expression began to soften, as if he was piecing things together. Zola shook his head and pulled the small controller from his pocket. With a 'click' she fell to her knees and cried out at the pain that raked through her body. 

"You see, Miss Walker, you suffered a serious injury." Zola watched with a grin. "The bullet grazed your spine." He paused. "You were paralyzed." He clicked the button again, and Everly's chest heaved for air. The guard yanked her to her feet.

"And yet, you walk." Zola smiled up at her. "We've supplied you with a... prosthetic of sorts." Her eyes widened in fear and confusion.

"We saved your life. Your payment's come due." 

"You should've let me die." She said through gritted teeth. Part of her was still trying to take in what he had just told her. Her mind was sent into a spinning frenzy of fear.

"Evelyn?" Everyone turned to look at Bucky, whose head was cocked to the side, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked up at the girl. Zola also snapped his attention to her and his face contorted in anger. He nodded to a man in a lab coat who stood beside some of the monitors. The man spun around and pressed a button that lowered a pair of mechanical arms to Bucky's head. Another man held out a mouth guard, which Bucky took as if it were an everyday occurrence. He leaned back in the chair and took a shaky breath, his eyes meeting Everly's. 

Panic overcame her as she began to squirm in the guard's hold. "What are you doing? Leave him alone." She pleaded. Bucky tensed and squeezed his eyes shut as he began to cry out in agony. 

"Stop! Please stop!" Everly screamed, almost feeling the pain radiating off of her friend. He didn't do anything wrong, he didn't deserve this. Zola grinned as he looked between the frantic Everly and the pain-ridden Bucky.

"Miss Walker, I believe we've found your breaking point." Bucky's pain-filled screams bounced off the walls of the small room and echoed in Everly's ears. Tears stained her face as she continued to struggle against the men restraining her. 

"Please!" She begged, desperate for Bucky's relief. "I don't know anything!" She hung her head, no longer able to watch on helplessly. Suddenly the screams stopped. She quickly looked up at Zola who was scowling at her. Two men helped Bucky from the chair and carried him off, his feet dragging along the floor. His head sagged to his chest as his chest heaved.

Zola seemed to think on her words for a moment before turning to leave. "Wipe her." He threw over his shoulder, the heavy metal door slamming shut behind him. Everly's eyes widened as she began to shake her head. Though she didn't want to go through the same torment as Bucky had, she would much rather endure the pain herself than watch it inflicted upon him. She was forced into the chair where metal cuffs clamped her raw wrists to the arm rests. A slim man in a lab coat shoved a mouth piece in her face and she bit down hesitantly. She shut her eyes as a hand pressed her head against the back of the chair. The two arms of the machine moved to rest on both sides of her head. 

Her entire body went rigid as an electric current was sent coursing through her. She couldn't move, for her muscles had all tensed. She couldn't breathe, for her chest had grown tight. She couldn't think, for her mind was suspended in a state of fear and pain. All she could do was scream. When the current stopped, she couldn't seem to cease the trembling in her body. A man stepped in front of her and her heart skipped a beat at the sight of what he held in his hand. Her locket hung from his fingers. He popped it open and held the photo of Steve before her. She never thought she would see his face again. She blinked a few times trying to understand what he was doing. A bead of sweat dripped down the side of her face. 

"Do you know this man?"

How couldn't she? She froze. Was this a trick question? She settled on remaining silent, though her response to seeing the locket in the first place was enough to give away her answer. The man nodded to another standing at the monitors and more electricity flowed through her. After a few moments of agonizing pain, it stopped. Everly hung her head and struggled to catch her breath. 

A man walked over to her and held a necklace in his hand. It was a silver locket with small floral engravings carved into its cover. She furrowed her eyebrows, feeling as though she'd seen it somewhere.

"Do you know this man?" He asked, opening the locket to show a photo of a man. His eyes were a bright shade of blue and his blond hair was swept neatly off to the side. Everly looked from the man to the locket. The man in the picture looked so familiar. She was almost sure she had seen him somewhere. The lab coat clad man sighed in frustration upon seeing her confused state. He motioned to someone behind her and she turned her head to see a second doctor standing beside a pair of monitors. He tilted her head back and pressed a button.

This time was the longest by far.

As he switched the current off, he looked at Everly expectantly. She sat up straight and stared blankly ahead of her. A man dangled a locket in front of her.

"Do you know this man?" Everly's gaze didn't even flicker to the photo. She simply stared ahead, her face void of emotion as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"She's clean."

~~~

Everly sat leaning her back against the cool concrete wall behind her. She fiddled with her fingers and sighed. The room was dark, though she didn't mind. It was just nice to be alone. She thought it strange that she couldn't remember anything outside of this dark room. Normal people have years worth of memories, yet no matter how hard she tried, there was nothing to remember. It was almost as if she just randomly appeared here. Like this was where her life had begun. Most people at least had a name, what person forgets their own name?

A soldier rushed past the small square window in the metal door of the room. She thought nothing of it, she watched day after day as strangers passed. Sometimes she wondered if they were even aware of her existence. A few more soldiers ran in the same direction as the first and she scrunched her face in confusion, her heart speeding up. Slowly, she made her way to her feet and placed her palms against the door as she peered out into the narrow corridor. 

A face suddenly appeared in the window and the door flew open. She jumped backwards and fell to the ground, backing away as fast as possible. A soldier latched onto her arm and pulled her to her feet, then down the hallway. She looked around with wide eyes as people scurried about frantically. Some were destroying files, others were collecting as much of their work as possible before fleeing

"What's going on?" Everly asked, not even recognizing her own voice.

"Don't worry about it." The soldier growled, tugging her arm harder. She flinched at the sound of distant gunshots and looked to the man with wide eyes. He seemed more frantic now, dragging her down a flight of stairs before stopping at a brick wall. A rumbling filled her ears as the bricks parted, revealing a room behind the wall. She stared in awe, her mouth slightly agape as she watched a few doctors scurry around a chamber of some sort. The soldier dragged her over to the pod and pressed a button. The door swung open and the man glanced over at a few monitors before looking to one of the doctors. The doctor adjusted his glasses and took a step forward. 

"It's ready." He gave a small nod.

Everly pulled desperately against the soldier's grasp as he began pushing her toward the machine. Fear flooded her every inch, she could not go in there. She kicked and fought, but was soon met by three more soldiers who forced her inside. Before she could leap out, the door was slammed shut in her face. A small window gave her a view of the outside where people continued to rush around in a frenzy. 

Her breathing became rapid and her heart pounded in her chest. She banged her hands against the sides of the pod, feeling as though the walls were closing in on her. Her wild eyes met Zola's for a split second before a gust of freezing air filled the chamber. Each breath became harder to manage and she pressed her palms against the door as the world around her faded into darkness.

A/N

Sorry this one is so short :(

~Haley