Daybreak | Steve Rogers

Chapter Twenty: The Winter Soldier

Nat reached for her gun, dropping it when a strong force smashed into the back of the car. I let out a panicked yelp, feeling Steve desperately rab onto both of us. We gasped in shock, watching helplessly as the car was forced forwards, coming closer and closer to the figure.

They jumped over us, landing on the roof of the car. A metal arm reached down, smashing the windshield and ripping the steering wheel out of its place.

Nat finally found her gun, aiming a few shots at the roof. The figure leapt onto the truck behind us, which rammed into us again.

The car moved to the side, slamming against the barrier. "Hang on!" Steve yelled, placing his shield in front of the window on his side as the car veered into another barrier. It began to flip and I heard a loud thunk, feeling the door come out of place and break our fall as it hit the ground.

The door skidded across the road with us on it and I clung onto the others, gasping for breath as we began to slow down.

I got to my feet, staggering slightly as I tried to ignore the pounding in my head and the stabbing pain in my neck. The world seemed to spin and my ears rang, every inch of me was in pain and shock. Someone suddenly yanked me to the side, pushing me against something cold.

My eyes burned as I reopened them, doing my best to see through the haze that seemed to cloud my vision. I looked up, frowning when I saw that Nat and I were hiding behind a van. My fingers fumbled for my gun and I hauled myself up from the ground, aiming a shot at our attackers. 

Nat grabbed my arm and yanked me over the barrier, holding onto me tightly as the van exploded. We landed on the other side of the road, dodging cars and bullets. The two of us began to sprint along the road, trying to stay hidden behind passing cars. Something whistled through the air, crashing into the nearest car and sending us flying over the edge of the bridge. I managed to grab onto Nat's hand as she used a compact grappling hook to ease our fall.

We began to sprint under the bridge, but I managed to stop Nat before we could emerge into the light. I pointed silently to the shadows of people who had gathered at the edge, waiting for us to come into view. We headed to the other side, trying to land as many shots as we could. After a moment, they fell back, giving us enough time to hide behind a truck.

A fusillade of bullets began to pelt the ground around us, only missing us by a metre. I aimed a few shots at them, ducking behind the truck as the hailstorm began again. We waited for a second before moving on, pelting our way down the street.

I crouched down behind a car with her and she looked at me in concern before whispering to me, "Are you feeling okay?" I gave her a small nod, although I knew that moving my head too much would probably result in me passing out. Every sound seemed to cause me pain, every light and every colour was an assault on my eyes. Everything hurt.

Nat placed her phone against the tire of the car, making a recording of her voice play. She then motioned for us to move, grabbing me by the wrist to pull me along. We watched anxiously, seeing the figure roll something under the car we had been near. There was a large bang and a cloud of thick, black smoke as it exploded, making me groan in pain. When my eyes opened, Nat was gone.

I frantically scanned my surroundings, seeing that she was fighting the Winter Soldier. Staggering towards them, I pulled my gun out of my waistband. I aimed a shot at the man, but nothing happened. There were a few quiet clicks, but nothing came from the gun. I was out of bullets.

My hand shakily reached for the inside of my jacket, pulling out a small knife. It took a moment for me to get closer, but I managed to hurl it through the air, watching as it sunk into the man's thigh. There was a yell of pain and I watched in horror as he hurled Nat into a nearby car.

He turned on me, his gun aimed right at me. Something suddenly hurtled towards him, latching onto his metal arm and sending bright bolts of electricity into him, making him shudder and growl in pain. The two of us ran off, our legs carrying us away as fast as possible.

"Get out of the way!" I yelled at the civilians nearby, motioning for them to get as far away as possible.

The sound of shattering glass filled my ears, followed by a yelp. I looked down, seeing Nat lying on the ground with a bloodied shoulder. I helped her to lean against the car, glancing around us to see if anyone was there.

There was a thud and we span around, seeing him standing on a car with a gun aimed at us. Steve raced over to him, holding his shield up just as the man's metal fist connected with it. They both toppled away, quickly recovering from the blow. The Winter Soldier picked up another gun, only to have it kicked away by Steve as he leapt over the car. The two traded blows, each second growing more and more vicious.

The man suddenly grabbed Steve's neck with his metal arm, squeezing tighter and tighter before tossing him away.

There was a moment's pause before they resumed their fight, each move rapid and strong. Steve managed to hurl the man to the ground, watching as his mask clattered away.

Something strange happened. He froze. Steve froze in shock when he saw the man's face, staring at him in horror. The two exchanged a few short words, but I couldn't hear any of it. There was a loud roaring sound as Wilson swooped down, kicking the man away before he could hurt our friend anymore.

There was some movement from next to me and I watched as Nat picked up the bazuka gun from the ground, aiming it at the Winter Soldier. I gasped as the sound of the blast ripped through the air. Steve glanced over at us and I saw Nat nod.

Sirens began to wail, growing closer and closer, the sound making the ringing in my ears worse. Several men emerged from large armoured cars, shouting as they aimed their guns at us. I slowly raised my hands and knelt down, letting them cuff me. My gaze fell on Steve, who was still staring at the place where the Winter Soldier had been.

One of the SHIELD agents rested the muzzle of their gun against the back of his head. My eyes widened despite the pain and I tried to call out, my voice only coming out in a hoarse murmur. I reluctantly got to my feet, wincing when the agent yanked me towards the van.