Bedeviled [Bucky Barnes] DISCONTINUED

09

Sitting in silence, that's what I do most of the time except for when I occasionally talk to myself.

I find myself clutching Bucky's dog tags from time to time. Sometimes when I'm nervous watching Ophelia train and sometimes when I feel sad and lonely in my cell.

I'm clutching them right now.

I look at them maybe more often than I should. They just give me a sense of protection which is stupid, because they're just his dog tags. He's not actually here.

Although sometimes it feels like he is.

Sometimes it feels like somebody is out there in the hall, hiding in the dark, just looking at me. It makes me a little bit uncomfortable but somehow it also feels familiar.

A thought about him being out there has popped into my mind a couple of times but if he was there, he would surely answer my calls. I occasionally call out his name at night just in case he's magically appeared from wherever he was taken to.

It's sad how hung up I am.

It all got so much worse when I realized he had left his dog tags behind.

Wait...

How come it took me a few weeks to find them?

Before I get to think about it any further a guard comes to my cell and opens the door. I stand up and he gestures for me to follow him and I do.

They've started to be less rough with me. They've realized that they don't need to watch so closely over me. I'm very obedient since I have no will to even think about disobeying them anymore.

To be fair they haven't made me do anything that bad. All I've been doing is healing people and going to the training room to support Ophelia.

If you think about it, I've done nothing but good if you push aside the fact that I've been doing the latter to help HYDRA turn her into a weapon.

We get to the training room and I'm surprised to see Ophelia already training by herself. She's always had someone to train with her.

She looks focused as she holds a knife in hand, looking at the target. I wait until she throws the knife before I call out for her. "Ophelia!" She turns around and I wave at her. She runs up to me and I frown as I see a new cut on her cheek. "Darling, you've cut your cheek," I say and place my hand on her cheek, running my thumb over the cut, healing it instantly.

My powers have improved slightly. A while back I could feel the energy draining from my body after healing a small wound but now, I don't feel a thing.

I don't know if that's good or bad, not feeling anything, I mean.

"There," I say and pull away. "All gone." She smiles which makes the ends of my mouth flicker upwards as well. "So are you training all alone?"

She shrugs, looking around. "For now." She says and grabs a gun.

I can't help the grimace from making its way to my face. A nine-year-old with a gun. That is wrong on so many levels.

I place my hand on her head and ruffle her hair and she lets out a giggle before she runs off, still smiling.

How does she manage to be so happy?

***

"Ankins?" I hear a voice say behind me.

"Yes?" I ask as I turn around to see a man wearing a lab coat. I've seen him in the lab a lot.

"We need you. It's urgent," he says and starts to leave.