The Winter Warrior // Captain America

«Chapter 8»

"Good morning, Winter!" the cheerful voice of James Duran caught my attention. I had been sitting in this jail cell for over three days now and to say the least, I was scared out of my mind. I couldn't remember anything that had happened before I got here or what would happen to me next.

"Morning, James," I greeted my only friend here. I got up from the cold ground and slumped over to the bars. 

"I brought you something to eat," James said as he passed me the food. I took a bite and sighed contently as the sweet flavour spread through my mouth. HYDRA wasn't giving me much to eat and the hunger had turned into nausea days ago. 

"You have another session later today, I saw," James said as he sat down on the other side of the bars, I followed his lead and placed my back against his. I sighed deeply, running a hand through my tangled, greasy hair. "You'll be okay, right?" he asked. 

"I think so. The headache that was bothering me yesterday has somehow disappeared. I just feel disgusting, I haven't showered in ages," I said with a sigh. 

"I'll see what I can do," he said before jumping to his feet again. 

I immediately missed the warmth of his back against mine. For as long as I had could remember, I had been wearing the same gross shirt and pair of pants. James Duran had been the only reason for me to keep fighting. I had no sense of time I had been in this hell hole, but James had made it slightly more bearable. 

"Winter! Session room, now!" Camren, my cell guard, called. I sighed deeply before getting to my feet. Camren unlocked my cell door and I got out. James sent me a sympathetic smile. I offered him a smile back before following Camren.

I entered the so-called 'session room', also known as the room where they wiped my mind before I was put into cryo-freeze. 

The only times I was awake were the times I either had a mission or had to wait for my brain to restore any damage that had been done during the mind-wiping. I couldn't remember who I was, where I came from, or who my family and friends had been. All I knew was that HYDRA was my new home and I had to obey their orders or I would have to face the horrid consequences. I still had scars from the first and only time I had dared to disobey them. 

The only thing I knew was that James was my friend and that he was the only one here I could trust. He helped me remember myself every time I came back. Most of the time, I remembered him on my own, but when I didn't, he helped me and made sure I was caught up on every moment we had spent together since the very first second I had been brought into this hellish place. 

I sat down on the chair and stared at the terrifying contraption that was dangling over me. Doctor Zola put a cloth ball in my mouth to suppress my screams, not that it did much. I sat back and waited for the metal straps to tie me down. 

My grown out bangs were framing my face and my once shoulder-length brown hair had grown out to my waist. I had it in a braid most of the time. 

The metal straps closed around my arms to keep me pinned down during the wiping. I closed my eyes as I saw the mask approaching my face. 

***

Slowly, I pried my eyelids off of each other, being met with a blinding white light. I blinked a few times before my eyes focused on the figure sitting in a corner, sketching on a sketchpad. "James?" I said, my voice raspy. The figure got up and approached me. 

"Hey, how are you feeling?" he said, placing a warm hand on my forehead. 

"My head's pounding," I groaned, prodding myself up on my elbows. "What were you drawing?"

"N-nothing," he muttered. 

"James," I said. 

"I eh... I was drawing y-you..." he mumbled. 

"Ahw, really? That's so sweet. Show me!" I asked. He chuckled before grabbing his sketch pad, showing me a detailed portrait of myself. "James, this is amazing. Who taught you this?" I gasped, amazing by his drawing.

He smiled to himself. "My mom. She used to draw with me when I was little." 

I traced my finger over the page. "How long have I been out?" I whispered. 

James sighed and took the sketchpad from my hands, flipping it shut. "Five months." 

"They have to keep making it longer, don't they?" I asked, exhaling deeply. I thought for a moment before speaking up again. "James, how old are you?"

"Thirty-five," he answered. 

"What?!" I exclaimed while sitting up from my hunched-over position. "What year is it?"

"1963," James replied. 

My eyes grew wide as I started pacing around the room. "What year did I get here?" 

"I think it was 1945." 

"No, no, no, no..." I muttered, running my hands through my hair. 

"What's going on?" James asked, clearly confused about my sudden erratic behaviour. 

"I remember them... I had a brother and a best friend. I left them behind. They must think I'm dead. I can't remember their names..." I mumbled to myself. 

"Winter, calm down," James said. 

"How can I calm down? I left them, James!" The realisation hit me. "James... James! James Barnes and-and Steve!" 

"How is this possible? How can you remember them?" he asked. 

"I don't know. Your name, it triggered something in my mind. James Buchanan Barnes and his best friend Steve. James kissed me, Steve was my brother," I said. 

"What's going on here?" Camren barked. I hadn't even noticed him approaching. "Are you remembering things?" I remained quiet. "Soldier!" he yelled in Russian, causing me to duck as if he was about to hit me. 

"I-I'm re-remembering my f-family..." I mumbled quietly.

"What? Speak up!" he barked. 

I sucked in a breath and stood up straight, looking Camren dead in the eye. "I remembered my brother and my best friend."

Camren took in a deep breath before turning away. "She is remembering things. Wipe her!" he shouted at one of the doctors. Two guards came stalking towards me, pulled me out of my cell roughly before pressing me into the chair again.

"She can't be wiped again. She just got out of cryo!" James called.

"Kill him!" Camren ordered. 

"No!" James screamed. 

"James? James! What did they say?" I yelled, fighting to get to him. 

"They are going to kill me, Winter, save yourself! Get the hell out of this-"

BANG!