The Break of Winter ▸B. Barnes

Chapter 3

Olivia's POV
Unknown Military Base
        The first few weeks of training were tough, but we got through them. We were half way through week seven when we were given a mission. Invade and take down a HYDRA base. I had studied HYDRA. They were a science division associated with the Nazi's, lead by Johann Schmidt.

        When we arrived at the base, things seemed to be in our favor. However, we quickly learned that was not the case. I was able to take out several soldiers before I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen. I looked down to see blood starting to stain my shirt. The last thing I saw was a look of panic on Bucky's face before everything went black.
•••
        When I woke up, everything was darker than before and everything around me sounded muffled. Once my eyes adjusted and I was fully awake, I could see that my head was resting on Bucky's lap and we were in some kind of cage. Shit. They caught us. I tried to sit up but pain shot through my stomach. "Lay still, doll. You don't want to hurt yourself further." He smiled down at me but I could tell it was forced. He was terrified.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"A HYDRA base. They captured us." Realization hit me. We can't die here. We have to get back to Steve. He had been sending us letters about an experiment he was in that made him bigger and stronger than before. We can't die without knowing he's okay. We can't leave him alone.

        I was pulled from my thoughts when I heard keys rattling. The door to the cage was pulled open and 3 soldiers walked in. 2 grabbed me while the other stayed by the door. "Wait, no!" I started screaming and kicking at the soldiers, ignoring the pain in my core. I heard Bucky yelling too, begging them to take him instead. The guards dragged me down a hall, until Bucky's screams could no longer be heard. I kept fighting them until I was dragged into what looked like a lab and was strapped into a chair. The guards left and I was alone, until a girl, who couldn't be over 30, came in. She bandaged up my gunshot wound. "Please you have to let me go," I pleaded. She didn't even look up at me. She finished bandaging me up and left. Things only went down hill from there. 
•••
       Over the course of a few hours, HYDRA had made me their lab rat and injected me with several different serums that I knew nothing about. All I knew was that the pain was excruciating. With each new serum, my entire body felt like it was on fire. My voice had faded from the hours of screaming. The doctors were between serums, when I saw a glimpse of a brunette boy being dragged down the hall, kicking and screaming my name. "Bucky," my voice cracked. My heart shattered at the thought of him going through this torture. I eventually went numb to the pain of the injections. I gave up hope of escaping from this prison. I let HYDRA inject me with their mysterious serums, and prayed that one day soon, it would kill me.
•••
        I was sadly mistaken when I thought that the serums were the worst thing HYDRA would put me through. No, the worst part came after the serums. Apparently, one of the serums made me heal faster. HYDRA spent hours cutting and stabbing me to see how fast I would heal. At one point, they even cut me open, while I was awake, to see how the serums were affecting my organs. I was still healing from this when I heard shouting in the hallways. It wasn't long after that when Steve came into the lab, assisting Bucky. I wanted so badly to believe it was them, but after everything HYDRA put me through, it was so hard to trust that it truly was my boys.

"Stevie? Bucky?" I mumbled.

"Hey, doll," Bucky slurred, clearly out of it. "You should've known we weren't going to abandon you here."

"It's really you?" I asked in disbelief.

"It's us, Liv," Steve assured as he tried to unstrap me from the chair. I was taken aback by his appearance. I knew the serum had changed him, but not this much. He seemed to be about a foot taller and had gained much more muscle. The weak boy that I stood up for all those years ago, was now saving me. What really caught my attention, however, was the outfit he was wearing. He was dressed in a red, white, and blue outfit with a mask.

"Well someone's looking awfully patriotic these days," I smirked.

"Do you want me to free you or not?" Steve rolled his eyes.

We swiftly walked through the halls of HYDRA, with Bucky's arm around me basically holding me up, even though he wasn't in a great condition either, so we were basically leaning on each other. Suddenly, the ground started shaking. "Please tell me there was just a sudden earthquake," I sighed.

"I don't think so," Bucky replied, picking up his pace slightly. We came up to a railing that overlooked where the building was beginning to explode, causing us the take a step back before continuing to find our way out.

"Captain America! How exciting," a voice rang out. A voice I recognized as Johann Schmidt, accompanied by Dr. Zola, whose presence sent chills down my spine. "I'm a great fan of your films."

"Shit." I muttered under my breath. Bucky tightened his grip around my waist, protectively pulling me closer to him.

Schmidt walked out on a platform, and Steve met him halfway. "So, Dr. Erskine managed it after all. Not exactly an improvement, but still impressive."

"Bucky... this guy is bad news. I don't like this," I looked up at him.

"I know, doll," he replied and kissed my forehead softly. My attention was brought back to the platform when I heard the sound of Schmidt's fist hitting Steve's shield. I swore for a second that I saw a glimpse of bright red around his eyes, but dismissed it. I gasped as Steve was thrown back. Steve retaliated with a kick that knocked Schmidt back, causing Zola to pull a lever that divided the walkway. By the time it had stopped moving, both men were back on their feet.

"No matter what lies Erskine told you, you see I was his greatest success," Schmidt said, then proceeded to pull off his... face? He dropped his face... mask.. whatever it was into the flames below us, leaving a red skull in its place.

"You don't have one of those, do you?" Bucky asked.

"You are deluded, Captain. You pretend to be a simple soldier, but in reality you are just afraid to admit that we have left humanity behind! Unlike you, I embrace it proudly!" Schmidt finished before stepping into the elevator with Zola.

"Then how come you're running?" I called out.

"Oh, Olivia. We'll see you soon, my little experiment," Zola spoke for the first time, causing me to shudder.