Running From the Devil

Fever Dreams

Bucky Present Day

He kept screaming.

All I wanted was for him to stop, I just wanted it to stop.

Pressing down on his neck, I watched as the man's eyes bulged out, the veins in his sockets popping. Once the last breath escaped him, I let his body fall to the ground.

Hydra didn't care who you were, brother, father, husband, or even a son.

Once the command was made, nothing could stop me.

Every ounce of my being screamed out for my soul, to stop, bargaining with an absent God.

But there was no God.

Not for a man like me.

The sound of a shattering cup got my attention, turning slowly. At the end of the hallway, a small boy stood there with a puddle of milk at his feet.

He was shaking that he was so terrified.

No.

No.

No!

"No!" My body lifted out of the bed, as if I had been possessed. My room was dark, only the moonlight crept in through the windows. Venus had fallen asleep on the couch, so I took the opportunity to sleep in my own room. I should've just stayed out there. At least the sound of the TV playing would have kept these nightmares away.

That wasn't me anymore.

I wasn't the monster they had made me out to be.

But he still lives here..

"Shut up!" Growling at myself, I balled my hand up to a fist and hit the side of my head.

A small tap of the door pulled me from my self-loathing, the door creaked open, and Venus poked in her head. When she saw me sitting on my bed, she began to sign, regardless of how hard I tried to understand her, I couldn't.

I held out my palm to her. She looked at it with her eyebrow arched and question in her eyes. She finally walked over to my bed and sat down next to me. Her soft, small hands grabbed mine as she began to trace her finger over my open palm.

Are.

You.

Okay.

?

My breath had come out ragged and uneven, I wonder if she had heard me talking in my sleep.

Or screaming in my sleep.

Nodding my head slowly, I could tell she didn't believe me, I could feel her eyes on me, but I was terrified to look at her and expose her to my dark world.

Biting that notorious bottom lip of hers, she began to drag her finger over my palm again.

Me.

Too.

That got my attention.

Looking into those emerald eyes, she gave me a small smile, but it carried a lot of pain behind it.

My blood began to boil at the idea of anyone ever hurting her.

"Loki?" I asked in a hushed tone. I watched her let out a shaky breath, her thumb pressing into my hand.

A small nod from her made my anger skyrocket. But she hesitated that maybe Loki wasn't the only one.

"Who else?" Her eyes flashed in anger at her. Maybe she didn't like my question because her eyes began to turn glassy as her eyebrows furrowed in anger.