Chapter 6

Eirin

I know very little about Sam. Is he a good guy? We all know Zemo isn’t, but is Sam? He looks like the type of guy that’s a hero but he gives off pissed off villain energy, too. Bucky stood with a woman and they began talking about Zemo. The two then argued, making me flinch. I walked over, grabbing onto Bucky’s arm. She glared at me, scaring me. Bucky touched my hand gently and sighed.

“Please, we just need a little more time with him. We need to figure something out before you take him. You can-.” The woman grabbed his metal arm and fiddled with it. Then it fell to the floor making a loud clump. I jumped back, watching as Bukcy’s chest rose and fell fastly. My ears rang as she walked away. He grabbed the arm and stuck it back into place. Sam ran over to us, yelling. My hand touched Bukcy’s shoulder, looking at him with a concerned look. After an hour, we began walking around town with Zemo to see if we could get any information from the people we saw about what was going on around here.

Mostly, people would look at us disgusted. We found a group of children playing a game.Zemo walked over and began talking to them in Russian. Remember. Think. What is he saying? My memory sucks. It’s terrible. Worse than my ability to speak, okay? Think. Just think. What is he saying?

“Privet. Izvinite, chto preryvayu vashu igru, no u menya yest' vopros.” Zemo spoke slowly. C’mon you Russian piece of shit! Help me out here! I breathed out, Bucky touched my shoulder, making me flinch. I looked at him and closed my eyes, breathing out.

⛧

They strapped me to a chair and told me to stay calm. When the needle poked through my skin, I could feel everything getting colder and the muscles in my body tightening. It hurt. I couldn’t feel if I was dead or alive but it hurt. More than anything, I wanted to cry. A scream left me, but I saw the smile grow onto Zemo’s face. He began saying the words that triggered me. And just like that. . .I’m Phoenix. The killing machine everyone knows me as.

A woman tried to tell me she wanted me to help her, but my head was too high in the clouds to realize that she was actually talking to me. I spun around to her and then smiled, faking that I was nice and not going to kill her. The two of us walked into a store and watched as people bought things and left. She smiled, taking me to the back. When we both sat down, I waited for her to speak. The second she opened her mouth, I stabbed her in the throat and covered her mouth. Tears filled her eyes while her weak hands grabbed onto my wrist. I pulled the knife out and stabbed her again repeatedly.

She held onto my wrist, her body slowly losing all heat in my arms. When she finally finished struggling, and that’s when I knew. . .she’s gone. After this, I sat there on the floor, watching my blood drip from my thigh. I cut myself. Why do I need to do this? I don’t get it. I want to die. Maybe others will live better without me. When Zemo found me, he yelled at me in Russian. I would answer back with a snarky comment. He would smack me and then we’d be back in the facility, treating my wounds and giving me more serum.

One day, he didn’t show up. That was the only day that I talked to myself. I taught myself some Russian phrases that I had picked up from the various missions I have been on. I coughed, my throat dry from practicing so much. This is okay. To be normal like a student attempting to read for the first time, or ever carving their name onto a piece of lined notebook paper. After Zemo found out that I was trying to teach myself something, He left me with the shock color on and threw me underwater so it would hurt even more.

⛧

The children ran away, giggling at the small candies that Zemo had given them. I waited until Zemo was ahead of us to tell Sam and Bucky about what he said.

“Eti lyudi pozadi menya plokhiye. Begi, poka oni ne prichinili tebe bol'. Or, in English, ’These people behind me are bad. Run along before they hurt you. He’s making them think we’re the bad people.” I mumbled, but they heard me, clear enough to look at each other and roll their eyes. Zemo, of course, isn’t working with us. He hates us and just wants to run free. The two then looked at me, trying to figure out how to tell me something without hurting my feelings. Zemo walked over to us, then yelled, pulling a mask over his face.

The Flag Smashers are of course here. Bucky pulled me behind a wall and sighed, pulling a pistol out of his jacket. When he handed it to me, he was hesitant. I could see the fear in his eyes and the confusion. I took the gun from him and sighed, crouching down. Seeing three of the members, I put my back against the wall, standing up. Bucky touched my arm, reaching for the pistol. I pulled away, looking at him.

“I can do this, I’m not weak.” My voice echoes when I turn to walk, he clears his throat and nods, beginning to walk with me. When we come into contact with a few members, I throw the pistol down and use my fists. If we kill any of them, they will put us into jail. No one wants that. I don't want to go back to that hell. Within minutes, the fighting is over and Sam, Bucky and I, are walking down a road. Bucky yells at Sam, telling him we should have just beat their asses. While listening to them, I hear a vehicle grow close to us.

A weird-looking golf-cart stops beside us. I glare at the man wearing the Captain America suit. John Walker and his friend Agent Hoskins sit inside, both looking at us. They offer us a ride and we accept, tired of walking. When we hop in, Walker won’t stop staring at me. When I finally look at him, he grins, raising a finger.

“Well shit, I know how I remember you! You’re the chick that was put into that rehab facility to fix the crap in your head. How’s that going? I heard you have to take this big exam to see if you changed.” He chuckled, making me shiver. Chick. Bucky’s eyes grew narrow, my hand touched his leg slightly. He relaxed. Hoskins chuckled.

“Sorry, he’s excited to meet you three. He’s a giant fan, I mean, he’s Captain America now!” Hoskins and Walker bumped their fists together, laughing. Sam’s face turned away from them. Hoskins and Walker then had a side conversation, whispering about something. I sighed, playing with the ring on my thumb. The vehicle came to a stop when Bucky yelled something. I looked up to see Bucky climbing out, Sam following him. I sat there, confused. Bucky called out to me, making me jump. I sped over to them and waited.

After thorough convincing, Walker made us bring him and Hoskins to Zemo’s hideout. We walked around, looking at each room. Zemo is gone. Walker would keep giving me these looks each time he came out of a room. I tried my best to avoid all kinds of eye contact with him, but it was difficult. We finally exited the penthouse just to be blasted off of our feet. Karli ran up a flight of stairs with Sam chasing behind her. Bucky helped me to my feet. Sam’s voice whispered in our ears ‘Don’t hurt her, just try to get her to talk. She’s just a kid.’ Even though I wanted to at least hit someone, Sam’s right. She’s just a kid. Bucky walked away, leaving me alone. I watched as Walker fought a man in a mask. I panicked, hiding in a dark corner. He saw me. I don’t know him but he’s terrifying. He grabbed my ankles and punched me. He then threw me to the ground. The world spun. All I remember last was Bucky’s eyes.