Stasis || Bucky Barnes

Seven

The days passed in a disorientating fashion. There was no natural light within the concrete room. Only shift change of the guards and the daily meals hinted at the passing of time. Basil didn't know if they had been there days or weeks. He had found that most of the men in the cages around them were captives from multiple different squads. There was the remains of a english troop and some from another American squad. They managed a count up and found that there were over a hundred men crammed in the room.

Despite the undetermined passing of time, Basil settled into a strange sort of calm. His concussion faded after the first day and his bruised ribs began healing slowly. The ever present fear had dulled from needle sharpness to a low slinking shadow. He spent his time reading and re-reading the little book from his pocket and trying to keep to himself.

Some more men had been locked in Basil's and Bucky's cage, there was five of them in there now. All stuck in a small space. There was just enough space if they were all standing for them to spread out slightly. But when they all sat down, they were forced to sprawl over each other in the limited floor space. The three men who had joined them were also from the 107th. Their names were Darwin, Hollis, and Creevy. Darwin was a guy in his late twenties with dark skin and a grumpy attitude. Hollis was the oldest of them, in his mid thirties with greying blonde hair and a moustache. He was quiet and jaunty. Basil was glad that the man kept mostly to himself. Creevy was a twenty four year old with russet curls and big grey eyes. He flinched at every loud noise.

The cage was close enough to their neighbours for them to talk but the rest of the cages were too far away. Men had to shout to hear each other across the room. Basil could hear snatches of French, and heavy American accents, some Canadian as well. Not to mention the Scottish, Welsh, Irish and other dialects from the uk. It was a relief to hear his fellow countrymen after a month of Americans.

Everyone settled into a resigned sort of submission. After the first few day, no one talked loudly anymore. Just hissed voices and whispered conversations. Basil stayed at Bucky's side. Even his normally snarky tongue hidden behind his teeth. It was on what must have been the third or fourth day that Bucky reached out and tapped the top of Basil's book. "Whatcha reading Parrish?" He asked, blue eyes half lidded with exhaustion. No one got much sleep there.

The cover of Basil's book had faded long before he joined the army. The pages were dogeared and soft with use. The binding cracked and smooth. It was his favourite in school and the one thing of personal value that he kept on his person. Basil instinctively clutched the book tighter as the other men turned to look at it. "How the hell did you manage to smuggle that in?" Darwin scowled, Texan accent thick.

Basil ignored the man. "It's Frankenstein by Mary Shelley", he answered.

"Would you", Creevy whispered, eyes on the floor. The thin man was curled up in the corner, knees tucked to his chest. Basil had felt sorry for him and given him his jacket. The material was draped round the man's shoulders. The sleeves too short for his arms. "Would you possibly read it out loud?" He requested softly.

"Please do Parrish", Hollis added. He was leant against the barred doors. "I'm dying for a smoke and this might help take my mind off it". He sighed loudly and flashed Basil a reassuring smile. There were a few more vocal agreements from the surrounding cages. The men bored and searching for any distraction.

Basil found himself turning to Bucky. The man was sat at his side, hair greasy and the bags under his eyes dark. "Go on Parrish", he prompted.

Basil flicked back to the first page and cleared his throat. The air was damp and cold so he coughed a few times before starting. "Letter one. To Mrs Saville, England.

You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise"...

——

It continued like this for a few days. Basil reading aloud to the quiet room and the soldiers held captive until his voice gave out and he was forced to stop. The next day he would continue where he left off. The soldiers all listened more eagerly than Basil expected. When he stopped, they talked about the book and started sharing stories of their homes. He learned that Hollis had two children, aged seven and ten, waiting for him. Creevy had a older brother stationed somewhere else and a mother waiting for them. Darwin was a only child with parents who had died before the war started.

"I have a younger sister called Rebecca", Bucky revealed once, a nostalgic smile on his face. "She's thirteen. And then there's the twins. Mary and Winnie. Both of them are eight". He chuckled at a memory. "God the pair of them would follow me and Stevie ground the house like little ducklings every time we came over for dinner. Rebecca would be trying to shoo them away".

Basil snorted. Amused by the mental image of it. Three little girls all with dark hair and blue eyes following in Bucky's shadow. His mind brought up the last image of his brother. Philip with a scowl on his face as he watched Basil walk out the front door in uniform. The scowl hadn't failed to hide his worried eyes. Philip shared his curly brown hair and golden tinged skin but he looked more like their father, all regal features with their mother's colouring. Basil had more of his mother's softness but his father's green eyes. He hoped that his brother was safe from the bombings.

The stomp of boots jerked him out of his thoughts. Three black uniformed soldiers were stomping down the room followed by a man in a white lab coat. The man had a pair of golden rimmed glasses on his face and was peering at the captive men like he was examining livestock. He looked like a scientist or doctor of some kind. It was sending warning bells off in Bail's head. He jumped to his feet, Bucky following him. He glared at the scientist as he passed by.

"What are they doing?" Creevy whispered, voice shaking. No one answered, too busy watching. Some men were yelling, hurling insults at the scientist. They were ignored like the buzzing of flies.

The scientist stopped at one cage five down from Basil's. He pointed and said something to his men in German. The soldiers unlocked the doors and pulled a man out. Basil recognised him as Jameson from back at camp. The man was filthy and spitting curses at his captors as the cage door clanged shut. The scientist looked at him, nodded then began walking back along the room towards the doors he had come through. Basil watched as the soldiers forced Jameson after him. The blonde screaming and shouting as he struggled.

The doors shut with a clang and the screaming was cut off.

"There goes another one for the tests", a solider who had been here longer than the 107th, commented with a resigned sigh. Basil exchanged wide eyes with Bucky. The horror of what they were suddenly being kept for dawning.