Broken Soldier [#Wattys2015]

Chapter Seventeen

Sokovia, Eastern Europe, 2015

Maria

I bolted out of the lean-to, Barnes trailing closely behind me. So many thoughts were running around in my mind about what might be happening. Why would Valerie scream like that? What's going on?

I ran towards where I heard her scream and spotted her in a small clearing. She held tightly onto the rope that was tied to the horse. Hovering above her was a black jet of some sort with it's weapons aimed and ready.

"No!" I screamed and ran into the commotion.

The weapons on the jet suddenly locked onto me and I froze.

Shit...

Before I knew it, bullets began to rail hell on me. I fell of the ground when I got hit by a few. Obviously who ever was in that jet wanted my daughter.

"Mum!" Valerie screamed.

The sound of the bullets suddenly dimmed, as if they were hitting bullet proof glass or something. I opened my eyes to see a transparent, silver ball around me - a force field - being created by Valerie, who was standing on the outside of it.

I felt someone touch me and snapped my head towards them. Barnes was next to where I lay, moving close to pick me up and move me. When he grabbed me I shrugged him off and pulled myself up, pain overwhelming me.

"Let the field down Valerie! You'll get shot!" I yelled.

She didn't let it down.

"Valerie!" I screamed at her when I saw two men dressed in black Hydra uniform running towards her. I began to hit my fists on the field.

The men quickly reached Valerie and grabbed her. My heart stopped.

Not again...

But she suddenly disappears before my eyes. Just like that, she was gone. The men glanced at each other, clearly confused when they noticed the field that was protecting me had also disappears. They lunged at me and I tried to fend them off but the pain from my wounds was still too much.

"Duck!" I heard Barnes yell behind me.

I ducked just as he gunned the two men down and began to fend off others that were approaching. Standing up, I remembered the jet and looked up. It was no where in sight.

"Maria, find Valerie and get out of here!" Barnes said to me.

I nodded without dispute and ran in the opposite direction of the fight. My wounds had started to heal and I was able to move a lot easier. Which was lucky because there were men popping up everywhere and using my powers didn't hurt, so I threw golden balls of power at all of them, causing them to evaporate.

When I thought I might be where Valerie was hiding, I stopped and listened. In the distance was the sound of gun fire and yelling men. Directly around me was the singing of native birds that didn't seem affected by the fight. But there was no sound of my daughter, that is until I heard a twig snap on my right and I saw her hiding behind a tree.

"Hey," I whispered as I walked over to her.

She popped her head out to check who I was before stepping out completely and taking my outstretched hand.

"Where's the horse?" I asked her.

She looked up at me, tears in her eyes and I knew.

"They'll pay for what they did to her," she said with fire in her voice.

I wiped the tears off her cheeks and picked her up instead of dragging her behind me. My wounds had healed almost completely and didn't affect me at all.

"Hold on to me," I said as I moved her around so she was on my back.

She wrapped her little arms around the front of me; over my collar bones and in front of my chest. When she was secure, I ran back in the direction of Barnes. We came into view of him quickly and saw that he was fighting quite a group of armed soldiers.

"Help me," I said to Valerie as I let go of one of her legs.

Holding my hand out in front of me, I let my golden power swirl down my veins and into my palm. Valerie mimicked my actions with her own silver power. Together, we combined our powers and hit the armed soldiers, making then either evaporate or fly backwards. I continued to run; in the direction of the small airport. Barnes saw me and followed closely. We didn't stop until we could see our destination.

"Mum, stop," Valerie said as the airport came into view.

I slower at her request, eventually stopping. My heaving breaths was the only thing to be heard but my own head was filled with the sound of my rapidly beating heart. I needed to stop.

Valerie climbed off my back and walked around to my front, inspecting my bullet wounds. They were now only small red dots but she knew that the bullets were in there still, and they needed to come out.

"Sit down," she instructed.

Barnes watched intently as I did what Valerie told me to do. After I sat down, she put he small hand on a red dot and closed her eyes. Soon enough, I could feel the bullet inside that wound moving towards her hand until it popped back out of me. I squeezed my eyes tight in pain as she did the same thing to the rest of the wounds. We had nothing to cover them up or dress them with so I had to wait until I started healing again.

"You're amazing," I whispered to her.

She grinned happily and gave me a hug. Barnes held out his hand to help me up and I took it this time instead of shrugging him away.

"We need to go before they find us again," he said. "They're tracking us."

I nodded at him and took Valerie's hand, making our way towards a jet that was conveniently parked at the airport. I didn't bother going into the cockpit as I knew that Barnes would be able to fly it - thank god - so I made myself and Valerie comfortable in the back of the jet.

"Can you lay down with me?" Valerie asked as I was about to hop up and check on Barnes.

I thought for a second before bending down and laying next to her. I held her close to me and hummed a song off Anastasia - her favourite movie. We'd watched that over and over again while in The Compound with Wanda and Pietro. Soon enough, we'd all learnt the lyrics to every song.

"Someone holds me safe and warm, horses prance through a silver storm. Figures dancing gracefully, across my memory," I started to sing softly.

Valerie dozed off quickly so I gave her a gently peck on her cheek before slowly getting up to go and talk to Barnes.

"How are you?" I asked him.

He grunted. "I've been better."

I lingered on his response for a bit then sat down in the cockpit chair next to his. He didn't look at me, he just concentrated on flying the jet so I sat back and made myself comfortable.

"How much do you remember?" I was curious. 

"Not enough," he said. "Why do you ask?"

I shook my head. "I was just wondering."

"No," he laughed. "There'd something you wanted to know, isn't there?" He looked at me with question in his eyes.

I leant forward onto my knees and clamped my hands together. There was no way that I was getting out of this one.

"I wanted to know how much you remember of -" I stuttered. "Us."

He looked away from me. "I think it's best that we don't go there." He spoke quietly and softly but in a way that clearly said that he wasn't interested in talking about it.

I was disappointed to say the least. He always avoided that area of talk with me.

"You can't avoid talking to me about it you know," I informed him.

"Perhaps not forever, but I will try for as long as I can," he replied.

"Why?" I huffed.

He paused. "Because I don't want to hurt you."

Oh Barnes...