Everly || Steve Rogers

36. Haunting Memories

Steve smiled amusedly down at Everly who laid on the floor staring up at the ceiling. He'd learned not to question her spontaneity.

"So, these...nightmares," He began.  She scrunched up her face and rolled onto her stomach, propping her head up with her hands. All of her hair flopped over to one side of her head and she blew a few strands from her face.

"What about them?" She asked hesitantly.

"Are they all the same?" He returned from where he sat on the couch.

"Sort of." She sat up, crisscrossing her legs. "I mean, there's always this song... it drives me crazy." She groaned.

He rose an eyebrow and looked at her oddly. "A song?"

"Yeah. But I've only ever heard it in these dreams."

"And you don't fall asleep? How does that work?" Everly frowned and fiddled with her hands in her lap. Of course none of it made any sense, but she didn't know any other way to explain to him.

She shrugged, "I don't know. It feels like it's actually happening, like I'm actually there. But if they're not nightmares, what are they?"

Steve huffed and ran a hand through his hair before cocking his head to the side. His eyebrows knitted together. "What if they're memories?"

She peered up from her hands to meet his bright blue eyes. Though she never knew what they meant, it hadn't even crossed her mind that perhaps they were fragments of what had already passed. Everyday she remembered more, the bad was bound to come up eventually. Her eyes widened in realization and she hopped to her feet. She hurried to roll up the right leg of her pants to see a scar that ran across her thigh, like it had been grazed by a bullet. Steve watched in confusion at the fear that filled her eyes. She rolled up the sleeve of her shirt to find yet another scar where she'd been injured in her 'dream.' Finally, with shaky hands, she pulled up her shirt just a bit to reveal a third scar on her side.

"I'm not so sure I want to remember." She said quietly, a lost look in her eyes.

~~~

"I'll never smile again." 

Everly jolted up straight and flung the bedsheets aside.

"Testing, phase two: conflict."

Her feet fell to the floor, where they stayed planted firmly in place. Suddenly, her arms flew in front of her face. Her eyes widened in shock when she realized that she'd blocked a punch she hadn't even seen coming. When she lowered her arms, she was standing in a cage-like room. Built inside a larger room. The cage was made of metal bars that surrounded her on four sides. There were a few concrete benches along one of the sides of the giant cage. A man in uniform stood in one corner, a man with a clipboard in another. 

"Until I smile at you."

Everly ducked just on time to dodge yet another fist, this one was metal. She gasped and jumped back against the bars. She followed the metal arm up to its owner, a man with long brown hair that hung around his face. His expression changed to what appeared to be anger and he lunged forward, only for her to roll aside. Her heart raced in her chest and fear coursed through her mind, though she swung at the man regardless. For a while, each of them dealt and dodged a fair amount of hits. Finally, she swung again and her fist landed in his clenched metal hand. She winced as he began crushing her hand in his, before swinging his opposite. Somehow, she was able to catch it, and there they stood for a few seconds in a stalemate. 

Before she knew what she was doing, she smashed her head into his, sending him stumbling backwards a few steps. With the same straight face, he rolled his shoulders and pulled a knife seemingly out of nowhere. Everly felt panic settle deep in her chest as she shifted her weight from foot to foot, just waiting for his attack. He spun the blade in his gloved hand and sent it barreling toward her face. Her hands grabbed onto his, keeping the knife from drawing nearer. It took all her strength, and still, his hands came closer. Her feet slid backwards as she was slowly pushed across the concrete floor.