To Be One of Them

Chapter 11

What did she mean by use the bracelet? I look at the bracelet that I had almost forgotten was there. It looks like a completely ordinary metal band.

I look up as some men are unlocking my cell door. Welp. Here we go again. They pull me to my feet and force me to move forward. We walk out of the cell and down the hall. I feel dizzy. The Winter Soldier is standing by a metal door with a small window.

He looks up as I approach. I nervously smile at him in hopes of getting even the tiniest smile back. He doesn't smile, but I can see the worry and confusion in his eyes.

They lead me into a room. There's a chair with a machine attached to it. They sit me down and strap my arms down. One of the men walk up to me with a mouth guard and puts it close to me. "Bite." He says coldly. I hesitantly bite onto the mouth guard.

Pierce walks into the room. "I've thought for a good bit, and I've realized that you're not going to willingly cooperate with us. So, I've decided that we're going to brainwash you. Make you forget everything." My eyes widen. No. Not my memories.

The men force me to sit back as they lower the machine onto my head. I struggle as much as I can in an attempt to keep my memories. They turn the machine on and the pain is excruciating.

I bite the mouth guard harder as the pain gets worse. I try to keep my parents in mind as I wait for the pain to end. It suddenly stops. I feel like I'm forgetting a bit, but I still remember a lot. I'm out of breath when they've stopped the machine.

"Take her back to her cell. We'll experiment some more tomorrow, and then we'll wipe her again." Pierce says as he scratches his chin. I don't want to forget..but at the moment, I don't have a choice in the matter.

I'm unstrapped, but my legs feel like jelly, so they drag me out the door by my arms. Winter gives me a sympathetic look as I pass by him. He knew what was going to happen, yet he did nothing to stop it. Why?

I'm tossed into my cell and just lay on the floor to regain myself. I hear footsteps walk to my cell and someone opens the door. I don't even bother looking to see who it is. What? Did they not get enough out of seeing me in pain already?

I feel someone pick me up carefully and set me on the bed. Huh? I look to see that it's the Winter Soldier. I smile a bit through my pain. He looks away with a guilty expression. Does he feel bad about not stopping it? He sits against the wall and stares at the cell door.

I feel safer knowing that he's there.