Buzzkill: The Reckoning

Chapter 37

Pushed continuously through this Hydra facility, far from the one she had been in before, Ruth could feel the deep rooted fear creep it's way through her body, tightening her chest. Through the journey here, she sat in a cell aboard a jet, a bag kept over her head until they reached the building. Now, standing who knows how many floors beneath the earth's surface, Ruth walked the halls, held onto by one guard on each arm, a dozen more surrounding her, Kal leading the pack.

Ruth could feel the pull of the cuts on her face sting every time she moved a muscle. Underneath her eyes were bruised, the bridge of her nose still throbbing as if a hammer continuously hit her in a pulsing rhythm.

The familiarity Ruth felt walking through these halls was odd. Although she had never been to this Hydra facility, they both seemed to hold the same air. It was as if the life had been taken out of the place. The lab coats who walked around each held the same expression; worn, drained from the lack of warmth.

After a seemingly endless walk down long stretches of hallways, Kal turned into a room on her right, the guards behind her following her in, the two holding Ruth becoming even more forceful as they shoved her into the room.

Ruth clenched her teeth, every muscle within her tensing up once she saw who was inside.

"Miss Rogers, how great to see you again," Mage cheerfully called to her as Ruth walked in. The familiar grin was still plastered on his face, his bowtie in a perfect knot at the base of his neck. He stood at the far end of the room by a chair with seemingly a hundred pieces of medical equipment attached to it.

Ruth's breath quickened. Her stomach dropped. Were they continuing things now?

"I have to admit," Mage continued as the guards holding Ruth set her down in the chair, lab coats immediately strapping her wrists and ankles down, preparing her left hand for an IV. "I was pretty heartbroken when I saw that you had escaped from the facility in DC. But then when I saw who got you out," He laughed a deep, low, twisted laugh, "I suddenly realized all the mistakes I made during your time there."

It took everything in Ruth to not at least try to get her hands on Mage. It was like an instinct. All the toxic emotions bottled up from when she was last around him.

Ruth winced as the IV was slid into her hand, they definitely weren't trying to be nice about anything.

Mage took a couple steps over, leaning closer to Ruth, his smile gone, his voice cunning, "I won't be making any of those mistakes this time, Ruth. I'm not going to take my time to make sure the serum develops properly, I'm not going to have you go train or do missions before I know that you won't disobey me," He let out a low chuckle, "And I'm definitely not going to let you have your own room."

Mage's breath fanned across Ruth's face, the muscles in her jaw strained from holding back her words.

"You'll be tied to this chair until I give orders that say otherwise," Mage spoke, looking into Ruth's eyes, "The thing is, Miss Rogers, this time, I don't care if you die. You are now truly an experiment. A lab rat. If you wanted to be treated differently, you should never have left in the first place."

Ruth held her gaze to Mage's eyes, not wavering for a moment. A pulsing anger rose up her body, but fear sunk in her chest.

Mage stood back up and took a step over to his medical stand only a foot from Ruth.

Ruth watched him as he flipped through his notebook, seemingly inspecting notes while other lab coats around him moved in an organized pattern, as if they had planned for this for months; and maybe they have. Looking throughout the room, Ruth spotted Kal standing towards the entrance, her posture confident, cocky. Her arms were crossed, a smug smirk on her face.