Leave Me Bleeding [Winter Soldier] I

Hurt [Chapter 11]

"People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. Never throw out anyone." 

-Audrey Hepburn 

              Pain tells a person that they are still alive; Ophelia was alone in that room for over an hour, feeling the lacerations upon her flesh burning. She was hungry and tired, and most of all suffering. All she could think of, the only thing that made the pain subside ever so slightly, was thoughts of Bucky. But thoughts of Bucky led to thoughts of what they might be doing to him. After all, Bucky was easier to regain control of, his mind did not link to anyone's like hers did. 

           She would always come back, she would always remember, no matter the pain it caused her. 

            Ophelia knew that these thoughts were driven by one thing, and one thing only; Bucky had been the only human being who saw her as exactly that, human. She hardly knew him, and he hardly knew her, and yet she was drawn to him in ways she couldn't explain. Her whole life she had lived in a cell, hardly able to see the sun, forced to do things that made her stomach twist and lie awake at night. The reason she felt her thoughts go towards Bucky was because he was the only light she had ever seen; while he didn't know it, he had lit a fire in her. She clung on to that even as every part of her body hurt, ached, burned. As the blood seeped from her stomach, as her flesh paled from the blood loss. 

             Over what Ophelia figured was an hour later, a female HYDRA agent came in, her black garb tight around her muscular body. Ophelia stared at her, wondering how the woman could simply move around her like she was not there. She hardly even looked at Ophelia strapped down on the stretcher. Just a shell of a human, Ophelia was nothing to any of these people. 

           The HYDRA agent poorly wrapped Ophelia's stomach, without applying anything to soothe the shredded flesh. She draped white gauze over the wound and it soaked through almost immediately. After she wrapped Ophelia up she moved her to the chair. Then she studied her in the chair for a brief second before leaving. No words were exchanged; Ophelia wasn't even worthy enough for that. 

             This time she was only alone for a few minutes. When they returned, they brought Bucky. His eyes were wide, slightly crazed. She had seen that look in his eyes once before. Ophelia strained to keep her eyes opened, but it was easier when she was looking at Bucky. But as Ophelia forced herself to look Bucky in the eyes, she studied his expression. There was something different in his expression, and it was something that was becoming far too familiar to her; he was gone. They kept taking him from her, and they wouldn't stop until he was a perfect soldier with no flaws; she was a weakness, a flaw, and they had brought Bucky here to break her for good. This was her last chance, she had to be smart about everything she did from this moment on if she ever wanted to survive. 

                "Do you know this woman?" The man asked; it was the same one who had tortured her, only now he wasn't wearing a face mask. She could tell from the velvet sound of his voice that he was sadistic; he liked what he had done to Ophelia. He had light brown hair that was pulled back, slicked. 

                "No," Bucky replied.

                "Do you care about her?"

                "Why would I?"

                "Every time you do something wrong, we hurt her." The man glanced at Ophelia and grinned pleasantly, flashing his white teeth towards her. 

                Bucky pursed his lips; he was torn between caring about Ophelia, a stranger to him yet again, and between showing that he had no feeling left. "Why should I care?"