The Black Winter

Chapter 28

Joan's pov
We've been here for about a week now. Thankfully its all been pretty easy, well draining but nothing terrible yet. They've been testing my strength, trying to get me stronger. We've been sparing and doing weaponry. They haven't touched Rose at all, as far as I'm concerned. We were both laying in our cell, Rose always got the bed, meanwhile, I took the floor. I didn't mind though.

"We need to get out of here," Rose says, breaking her stare from the ceiling down to me. I look over to her and let out a sigh.

"That's a lot easier said than done. Look, there's an evaluation tomorrow I can try and map out something, but we can't just break out. We need a plan, a plan that would take months of planing. Besides, if we fail they'll most likely kill you," I explain.

"We can't just sit here!"

"We can and we will!" I shout, sitting up to face her. As I do though, i can't help but let out a wince and grab hold of my right rib cage.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" She asks in a snarky tone.

I lay back down carefully and let out a sigh. "Nothing, I'm fine."

I can hear Rose get off the cot and walk over to me. She goes to place a hand on me but I swat her away.

"Don't. Touch me." I get up and make my way to the other corner.

"I'm just trying to help."

"Oh, trust me, you've helped enough." I slide down the walk and close my eyes. I haven't slept at all since we've gotten here, not only that but I haven't eaten at all since. All my rations have gone to Rose over here.

After about an hour or so passed, Rose was back on the cot and I was still on the floor. My ears peak up at the sound of foot steps outside of the door. I stand up, now hearing the keys rattling and soon enough, the door opens. And who's standing in the doorway? None other than Sergeant Popov. He has been my main guard that has been escorting me.

Sergeant Popov is tall, with a wide frame and full of muscle. He has dull blue eyes with hair shaved down to the skin with one hell of a bread. It's a dark brown full bushy beard. At least my guard looks intimidating. But I feel like anyone who has two cats is anything but intimidating. How do I know this? I stole his wallet and found pictures of him with a white cat with black dots, and an orange tabby cat. Yeah, hella intimidating.

"Get up!" He commands in Russian.

I will say though, that part has been nice. The fact that I can talk in my native tongue and use my real voice, not some fake American accent.
Anyway, I get up from my position and follow him out of the door. As we walk down the maze of hallways we finally stop at a door. This one was different though. It was a cell, the door was a heavy metal with the red Hydra logo in the middle.

"Go in," he commands.

I look to him with a look of confusion. I place my hand on the door handle and turn it, immediately my jaw drops and I can feel my heart drop all the way down to my stomach. In the corner of the room was Anastasia. She was all curled up but the moment I walked in, she jumped to her feet and sprinted towards me, tackling me in a hug.

Anastasia is a six year old girl. She has the most beautiful hair that I have ever seen, bright golden blond with bright blue eyes and freckles that are scattered across her little button nose. She has thin, rosy lips and she always wears the biggest smile, practically going ear to ear. Anastasia always somehow managed to get me to smile. She always made my heart warm up, even on the coldest days.

"Joan!" She yells, embracing me in a hug. She wraps her thin arms around my legs and rests her head on my lower stomach. Ana is small, she always was. I'm 5'7 and she barely comes to my hips. i pull her away and bend down to her level so I could properly hug her back.

"Where were you? Did you finish your mission? Can we play later?" She bombards, but I can't help but laugh. Her Russian accent was always so cute to me, you could tell though that there was also a slight British accent in her voice.

"I was away, and no, I didn't fully finish the mission. The mission had changed. And yes, we can play what ever you want later," I smile. She just looks at me, her lips curling ear to ear.

I turn back around to see that Popov is still in the doorway, watch the two of us interact. What was he doing? I stand up and bend over to whisper into Anastasia's ear. "Go over to your bed ok? I need to talk to this man over here," I whisper.

She does as she's told and goes over to her bed. I walk over to Popov and he pulls me inside the cell over to the corner. There was something in his eyes, pity almost.

"I'm going to help you two escape. She can't be here any longer," he says in a hushed tone.

"Who are you? Why do you care?" I ask.

"I can't see her get hurt. Not like the others. She's the only one that was a true mutant, you know what that's like. All the experiments and 'treatment' that's given to you. I'm afraid that they'll kill her, or worse."

"What do you mean worse?"

"I'm afraid that they'll turn her into you. She can't be here. I know the way in and out of this place. And I know what your capable of, I've seen if first hand. We won't be able to escape for at least another month, maybe two, but you need to make sure that she survives. She needs to have a life. A real one, she can't be stuck here, turning into a monster. Besides, I've read your file, I know about your relationship with 4920," Popov explains.

"Why do you care for her?" I ask.

"She has brought me joy. I know that what I have done is bad, and I know that I'm going to hell no matter what, but this girl has-''

"Changed your heart. Yeah, she does that. I'll get her out, but we also need to get Rose out," I compromise.

"No."

"Yes," I growl.

"You think she'll be able to make that? I've seen what she can do and it's very little. 4920 is more dangerous than her."

"I know, but I have to get her out. Besides, without me they'll just turn her into me," I explain.

"True. Fine, but with her she's gonna need toughen up," he states.

"Don't worry about that. I'll make sure that she get's stronger, besides, she has to listen to me, because if she doesn't it's her life at stake."

We both look back over to Anastasia who is playing with some blocks. He was right, we need to get her out of here. Who knows what Ivan has in-store for someone like her. Screw the Avengers, I'm ending Hydra, once and for all. Once I get the girls to safety, Hydra will burn, and I will be the one with the match.