The Soldier of Summer: Book 1

Chapter 26

Hey you guys I'm so sorry I haven't updated. I started school and volleyball and my days have been pretty hectic. I'm tired and I'm trying to get the rest of this or to you ASAP. Hope you enjoy this!

She fell to the ground, and she breathed heavily. I again jumped to my feet, ready to give all my strength to get to her. But she wasn't in pain.
She was sobbing. It was a dry sob, she wasn't crying. She was in shock and pain, and all of that together created this mess.
Eventually she slowed down, but she never let one tear drop. She shakily stood up and scanned the room, never making eye contact with any of us.
"Alright," she projected her voice so that everyone in the circle could hear her. "When I break out of these chains, the entire facility is going into lockdown. As soon as I get out, I'm going to the control panel and opening the cages. Then you have to do exactly as I say if we're going to get out of here, got it?"
She waited for everyone to nod.
"What about Clara?" Peter asked.
"She's helping us. Any more questions?"
Nobody opened their mouths. They didn't question why Auriana didn't answer Peter, at least not out loud.
"Great."
She then grabbed the left chain with her metal arm, and put all of her strength into pulling out of them. They snapped, and she gave a yelp in surprise and fell backward.
Red lights flashed as an alarm went off. The windows suddenly went dark as gates dropped.
"Auriana, you gotta move!"Steve yelled, starting to fight the chains again.
"I know!"
   Auriana got up and sprinted toward the control panel. Inputting a security code, she screamed, "Get ready, I'm opening them."
I got ready to jump, and braced myself. Just as I did, the chains became limp, and I ran out, along with Steve. Parker was caught tangled up, and Sam ran in to help him out.
   Auriana ran past us and to the door that Clara had just run through.
   "Get ready to run," she breathed. I nodded. She burst through the door with her metal shoulder, and sprinted down the hall. I stopped, surprised to see no one there.
   Why wasn't anyone there to stop us? Where were they?
   "Auriana, where is everyone?" Steve asked as we ran after her. He knew something was wrong, and so did everyone else.
   "They're outside, hopefully," she responded.
   "What do you mean hopefully?" Peter huffed.
   "I mean hopefully, Clara lead the bulk of the guard outside and away from us. The only thing we should have to do is get to the hangar."
   This girl was impressing me more and more. How did they figure all of this out in those couple minutes they spoke to each other back in the Ring? Unless they didn't.
   Maybe this was one of their alternative plans. The ones where one of them is caught, and they know exactly what to do because they're geniuses.
   The more I thought about it, the more sure I was that it was true.
   We ran through the maze of hallways that was HYDRA, and just when I thought that she would bever stop, Auriana halted, and held her hand in the air.
   She had stopped by a door, and looked through the small window.
   "Okay, this is the air hangar. I need you guys to go and hijack one of the planes. I'm going to go find Clara. If I'm not back in ten minutes, go without me."
   "Oh no you don't," I said. I had to raise my voice so that I could hear myself over the alarm. "If you're going anywhere by yourself, someone's coming with you."
   She shook her head. "No, I have to do this alone. It will be so much easier to find her with one person, and I can't lose anyone else."
   I took note of how she said "I" instead of "We". She said that she couldn't lose anyone else.
   "No, I won't let you do that,"I said.
   "Buck," Steve put his hand on my shoulder. "She's right. If she can do this, which I think she will, we'll get Clara too. They both have crucial information."
   I didn't want to leave her. I didn't want her to leave. Not even for her best friend. But she would do for Clara what I would do for Steve: Anything. I wouldn't be able to convince her.
   "Steve, you're in charge until I get back."
She directed Parker, Steve, and Sam into the hangar. Natasha and I stayed.
   "Are you sure you want to do this?" Natasha asked her. "You could die."
   Auriana looked away. "I know, but it's the job right?"
   Natasha nodded and hugged our daughter. At first she was surprised, but then embraced it, and hugged her back, with both arms. Natasha broke the hug and ran out into the hangar to Steve and the others.
   I turned to Auriana. She was still a little dazed and out of breath from losing all that blood.
   "Are you sure you can do this?" I asked her. "I can find her, I can do it for you. You're not on your own here."
   She looked me straight in the eye. "I know, but if I don't do this, I'll never be able to get out of this place," she lowered her voice, I could barely hear her.
   "I did, I'm okay now!" I pleaded for her to stay.
   "No you're not. It's in your mind everyday. You've killed people, and you can't let that go. It's not your fault, but it's always been my fault. I chose to kill them."
   "No you didn't have a choice."
   "Yes I did." She smiled in reassurance. I took a step close to her; she was only a few inches shorter than me.
   I leaned my forehead onto hers, and let a tear fall.
   "You better come back, I won't let them leave." I closed my eyes for the brief moment that we were here. At this moment, we were father and daughter. We were family.