Rumors of War || The First Avenger

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Pyrrhic Victory

Picture is Eva Green as Marilyn Barnes and Grace Kelly as Sarah Barnes.

Music is "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" by Judy Garland.

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CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE: Pyrrhic Victory

{August 15, 1945 - Six Months Later}

"Three months have passed since I asked you to join me in an act of thanksgiving for the defeat of Germany. We then rejoiced that peace had returned to Europe, but we knew that a strong and relentless enemy still remained to be conquered in Asia. No one could then tell how long or how heavy the struggle that still awaited us. Japan has surrendered. So let us join in thanking all mighty God that war has ended throughout the world."

The sound of the radio broadcast and the voice of His Majesty King George VI causes my eyes to flutter open. At first, all I see are florescent lights. The smell of antiseptics enters my nose. I no longer feel the frigid waters of the Arctic. I feel warm and safe. I turn beside me to see an open window showing the streets of Manhattan, a familiar sight. An even more familiar sight is that of the traffic on the streets below as I get up from the bed in which I laid to see outside.

"I'm home," I mumble to myself. "Well, almost."

I hear a gasp behind me and turn to see a nurse holding a vase of flowers. The drops them in shock, her eyes wide. "Oh my heavens," she breathes, covering her mouth with her hand as the vase shatters on the floor.

I offer an awkward smile. "Hello, there. Can anyone tell me where I am?"

The nurse blinks several times, readjusting herself. "You're...You're in the Stark Building, Mrs. Barnes. You've been here for months. I apologize for staring, but I've been caring for a comatose patient since February."

I wave off her apology, sitting back down on the edge of the bed. I pull several wires off my arms, what I assume is Howard trying to monitor me, and adjust my hospital gown. A radio sits beside the hospital bed. "What date is it?" I ask, brows pulling together.

"It's August 15th," a new voice says, and Howard walks into the room. He turns to the nurse, asking her to fetch something to clean up the broken glass. She leaves the room, and Howard shoves his hands into his pockets, looking at me with a grin. "Well, I'll be. You really are something, Emma."

"It's still '45, yes?"

Howard chuckles, walking over to sit beside me on the bed. "Yes, it's still 1945." He sighs. "We won, Emma. We won the war. The German's surrendered on May 8th, and the Japs surrendered yesterday."

I nod to the radio. "I heard King George say that we had won." I turn to shake my head, staring at nothingness ahead of me. "By George, we won. We actually won."

Howard wraps an arm around my shoulders, giving a friendly side hug. "We won. It's over."

A moment of silence passes. When I died, we were still at war. Now I'm awake. They say we won. "Where's Rose?"

"At home. I sent her there last night. She's been sleeping over at the hospital for weeks. I asked the nurse to call her."

"What happened to me?" I finally ask, turning to my friend.

Howard's arm drops as he clasps his hands together in his lap. "Steve radioed Peg. He told her briefly that he pushed you off the Valkyrie. He said you would survive, gave us the coordinates to find you, and we found you floating on a chunk of ice two days later."