Chapter 1
In the dead of night, a gunshot sounded. Someone was in the room with us. They had a gun, and they were a threat. It didn’t seem as if anyone else had woken to the sound. The room was quiet again, except for the soft footsteps of whoever the threat was. I could only assume this was a man based on the weight and stride that was apparent in each step. I opened my eyes but stayed completely still. Another shot rang out, but there was no sign of distress from anyone else in the room. Perhaps this was a test. They wanted to check on our reactions to a gun firing so close to our resting bodies. I almost believed that when the man’s steps drew closer to the door. The hinges squeaked with every inch of its opening. That was when we heard the click of a grenade pin being pulled and the thud it made against the floor. That’s when we decide to make our consciousness known. We simultaneously shot up and out of our beds. The man had already exited the room and many began to rip and tear through each other. The grenade was getting ready to go off.
The others crowded the door, attempting to escape an imminent death. The smell of blood quickly filled the room as the people near the back started to claw their way through. Many tore limbs off the soldiers in front of them. I stayed in the back. I wasn’t going to make it through the door, not without losing an arm and leg. I needed another way out. The walls of our barracks were thick, to prevent any of us from getting out without orders. If we weren’t regularly programmed we would have too much free-thinking. That’s why I stayed in the back. I hadn’t been programmed in roughly a week and I knew that I might be able to tear the walls apart enough to get out.
I curled my hands into fists and began to slam them against the wall near my bed. The walls were filled with heavy tungsten surrounded by concrete. The concrete was easy to get through, but as I got to the center, my fists began to hurt. I couldn’t stop though. It had been five seconds since the pin was pulled, and I didn’t have the time to stop. I had at most five more seconds until detonation. I pulled back and punched as fast as I could, watching as my knuckles turned bloody. The tungsten started to crack underneath the pressure. That was when I began to kick at the wall. I only had two more seconds. I pulled myself back and ran as fast as I could at the wall. I managed to push through as soon as the bomb went off.
I could feel the heat along my back as I was swept off my feet and through the air. I rolled into the nearby field and as I lay there I could hear gunshots and screams. Whoever did this wanted to kill us, and was picking us off one by one. I didn’t have time to stay in the field. As soon as I stood up, my head began to pound. I needed to run. I needed to go now before the man got to me. I was vulnerable and he a threat to me. If I could not kill him I would have to run. I allowed my head to adjust to the pain and began to jog away into the forest on the edge of the field. I could hear a man behind me, but I kept running. He attempted to shoot me, but all the rounds he fired ended up on the ground.
When I made it to the first tree, I climbed. I climbed to the very top. The man’s gunshots followed me all the way up. It was dark, however, and he could not see me. I peeked my head to the ground in time to see him throw his gun to the ground.
“I know you can hear me, soldier!” He had a thick German accent. “And I will not stop until I have killed you! Until I’ve killed all of you!.”
I leaned back and took deep, quiet breaths. I would just have to hide, but not until I caught my breath. I heard the man walking away and back to the wreckage he had caused. That’s when I began to dose off into a very light sleep.
_______________***Time Skip***_______________
I walked into work at precisely 6 pm, just as I always do. The club was always busy, even this early in the evening, which made for a fantastic hiding place. The bright lights, loud bands, and good food pretty much filled all of your senses, leaving no room for thought. It was an amazing job, being able to sing here. I often find myself drowning in memories at night of my life before HYDRA. I was always singing. I don’t really know any of the songs I was singing, but in this day and age, there’s plenty to sing. I found that I still love to sing as well.
I made it through the crowd and into the back room to get ready. I gave a short greeting to everyone I ran into, but didn’t stop for a conversation. In the last few years that I’ve been hiding here, I’ve never made a friend. Those kinds of connections were just too dangerous with that man who was probably still out there.
Once I was finished getting ready, I went to the list by the stage for the songs I would be singing. It was a pretty good lineup for a Thursday night. I went out and switched with the current singer. I think her name was Shelby, but I’m not sure since she was just a filler until I got here. I stood up there on the stage and sang for hours. It was the only place that made me feel normal. Oftentimes, it occurred to me that I wasn’t normal. I was still a Winter Soldier, just one that hadn’t had a mission in a long time. I’ve kept those same habits I was taught, and the second somebody said those words I would be 100% compliant. I didn’t have to worry about that here, though. I was safe here.
Once the night was over I packed up my things and headed out the back door. My apartment wasn’t far from the club and even if I did get attacked, I wasn’t defenseless. I have proved that many times over the last couple of years. Sometimes I wonder if killing people, or rather predators, was something I should do. It didn’t matter to me either way. Some people need to die and that’s just the way it has to be.
I began my walk home when I noticed a presence behind me. I always took the back roads home, to avoid people, and this person seemed to have the same idea. I wanted to rule out being followed, so I took a few extra turns so that I could make it to a larger caged area. After the second turn, the person got faster. This was a woman. She was thin, agile, and gaining on me. I began to run. If I could make it to the cages I could make it out without being followed. She was, obviously, slower than I was so I lost her pretty fast. Once I arrived, I began to climb up the cages, but not before a man in a metal suit grabbed my arm and lifted me into the sky. I recognized the suit to be the famous Iron Man suit. I used my legs to flip myself upside down and twist myself out of his grip effortlessly. I started to fall to the ground but caught myself on a nearby cage and pulled myself up onto it.
I looked back to see more people joining the scene. The nice part of being a Winter Soldier was that I didn’t experience fear or worry. I would either succeed or fail and that’s just the way it was. The Iron Man lowered himself to the ground as the woman caught up to him. Captain America came from a different alleyway followed by another man who could fly. Clearly, the Avengers wanted me for some reason. I stood up straight and narrowed my eyes at them all.
“I would ask for your name, but I’m afraid I can already tell who you are.” Iron Man spoke.
I said nothing in return.
“Miss L/N, if you would come with us it would make things much easier.” I turned my head to the star-spangled man.
I turned away and got ready to jump away to the next building when I heard one of them. They were speaking quietly, but I could tell what they were saying. They were activating the Winter Soldier. I turned back around to look the person in the eyes. It was the woman. The Black Widow, I believe. I couldn’t tell her to stop, because with each and every word my mind got foggier. Once she had finished, I completely blacked out.