Soldiers (Completed) •Soldiers Series• Bucky Barnes/ Avengers Fanfiction

Chapter 4: Beyond The Limit

"What have you done?"

"Nick, I'm losing her!"

I struggled to open my eyes but the darkness behind my eyelids provided a strange sort of comfort. Groaning, my throat felt like sandpaper grinding against gravel floor. My muscles burnt like a ball of sun under my fragile skin.

I opened my eyes and my vision slipped in, causing a wave of panic into my stomach pit. At the same time, someone gasps sharply besides me.

Everything I saw was bloody red. It was as if red paint had been poured over every surface. My lungs worked vigorously in an attempt to sort out my breathing. I panted, swallowing back a scream. I snapped my head up, only to see a guy in uniform. His concerned eyes were set on me.

What was happening to me? I pushed myself up despite my body's exhaustion. I felt like a overloaded machine awaiting to fall apart. A hand took grip of my arm and helped me up. "You should sit still," The man said with great difficulties. I twisted around to glare at him, even though the world threatened to tip away from me as I did so. When I looked at him, I realised he was shaken. But what was the reason behind his horrified expression? And why couldn't I blink away the vicious red in my eyes?

It no longer smelled like dust and smoke from where I was standing. In fact, when I looked around, the room was almost blank with only a bed in the corner. I remembered.

There was this Director, called Nick Fury, who had told me he was going to test me with something. Images of my mother walking towards me with a gun, Matron and Auntie Marie holding me down. It had all been a test. A cruel test on me.

I closed my eyes briefly to calm myself. When I opened them again, my vision was still dyed in red. Scared and helpless, I could only turn to the man next to me. "Are my eyes bleeding?"

The man took a second to reply me with only another question. "Why?"

It used up all my strength not to scream out my jumping thoughts. "Because all I can see is red, like blood."

"Your eyes aren't bleeding, ma'am." Oblivious towards the man's strange addressing, I sensed a 'but' coming on its way in his speech. "Your pupils, your eyes. They are red."

I didn't understand him at first. But as Director Fury approached me and steadied with my gaze, I saw the graveness in his eyes. My heart almost slowed to a stop when I finally understood his words. I worked through my memories to capture the man's name. "Captain?" I asked timidly, and the man with gentle words stirred. "Can I have a mirror?"

I blinked several times and glanced around me. Strangely, as I adapted into this wicked way of vision, the reddess seemed to cease and gather at some area. I gaped when I realised what was happening.

The reddess was like an indication of electromagnetic waves. The wall around me was humming slightly with waves of dark red bouncing off it. "Machine," I muttered lightly. Director Fury frowned and placed his hand behind his back.

"What was that?"

My eyes scanned the wall as I worked my brain for an explanation. "Are there machines behind this wall?"

Director's answer was reluctant. "Of course, that's how we created your test, Miss Black. May I ask, how did you come to that conclusion?"

I was wondering if telling Director I could see energy bounching off the wall would be a good idea when my eyes fell on him. My heart threatened to drop. His whole figure was radiating slight red, yet around his waist, a high energy subject was present. It took me a while to figure out it could be a more advanced version of a gun or some sort.