The wind howled and tore at the side of the shrapnel, loosely attached to the train. I dangled, trying to pull myself up, but to no avail. Steve hustled along the rail above and reached down with one hand. I stretched my hand up, trying to grab hold, but my fingers weakened, and I plummeted through the frigid air, still reaching out to Steve, who was getting smaller and smaller as I fell farther and farther away from him. The wind stung my eyes, and I managed to move into a side position, remembering a lesson from the earliest days in the Army. I collided with the ground with a THUMP, and excruciating pain exploded in my arm like an atomic bomb. I screamed in pain, and curled up in a ball. My right arm clasped around my knee, but I couldn’t feel anything from my left arm. Curious, I looked over, and I nearly passed out from shock. Where my arm used to be, there was now a malformed, mangled, bloody stump. Breathing heavily, I lay back and looked up at the sky, where I made eye contact with someone I had never wanted to see for the rest of my life. Arnim Zola. My eyes widened with fear, and he smiled cruelly. “Sergeant Barnes,” he hissed. I felt two men grabbing me by the arms and lifting me up. They dragged me to a compact jet and tossed me inside. I grimaced as the stump of my arm hit the floor. Not willing to stay awake much longer, I blacked out. I opened my eyes later, wearily, and found I was laying on a cold metal table. Men I did not recognize held me down, and a second later I knew why. A glint of metal in the shape of an arm was carried over and set on a nearby table by a surgeon, who then proceeded to pull out a knife and saw the rest of the stump off. I gritted my teeth against the pain, and when he stopped, I relaxed, releasing my held breath. The men holding me down applied more weight as the surgeon then picked up the arm and proceeded to jam it on ruthlessly. I yelled in agony and tried to get away, but the men’s grip only tightened. My breathing became quicker as the surgeon once more tried to attach the arm. The next thrust was even harder, and I writhed in agony, screaming. Cold hard metal jammed itself into my skin, causing what I knew would later be deep scars. Finally, the surgeon stepped back, apparently pleased with his work. The men released their grip, and I lay shuddering helplessly on the table, moaning. The room became hazy. I could barely feel being hefted by someone, who carried me to a cold dark chamber, and after I felt myself being lowered into it, the sound a of a door sliding shut reached my ears just barely, and I shivered as the chamber became colder. And colder. And colder… The world came into focus once more as the chamber’s door slid away, and I opened my eyes wearily. The room I stumbled into looked different, like I was in the future. I heard footsteps come into the room, and I stiffened. ZOLA, my mind screamed, but the person who walked in was definitely not Zola. “Hello, James,” he said. “I am Alexander Pierce.” My mind raced. “Pierce?” I finally asked. “Where is Zola?”
“Zola died a long time ago,” Pierce said, shrugging as if it were no big deal. I blinked, confused. “I just saw him 10 minutes ago. How is that possible?” Pierce didn’t say anything, but instead motioned for me to sit in a nearby chair. I felt slightly suspicious of the chair’s build, like the fact that it was skeletal and looked like a torture device, but I didn’t like the look of this Pierce, so I consented. Pierce smiled. “Now, hold still.” Too late, I realized that this was a trap. I tried to stand up, but restraints clicked around my arms. I was getting sick of being restrained by now. Pierce walked over to a small console. “What is your name?” He asked me. What is my name? What kind of a dumb question was that? My name is Bucky,” I said. “Bucky Barnes.” Pierce nodded, then flipped a switch on the console. Two big black metal arms extended down and closed around my face. My heart raced. Pierce pressed a button, and a quick zap shot through the mechanism and shocked me. The arms drew back, and Pierce smiled cruelly. “What is your name?” I opened my mouth to respond, but closed it as I realized that I had forgotten. I racked my brain, searching my memory. To my horror, I realized that I didn’t remember my own name. I looked up at Pierce. “What is my name?” Pierce said nothing, but he looked extremely pleased with himself. Looking back at the console, he slid a little toggle up, and the arms extended down once more. My eyes widened in fear. Pierce pressed the same button, and this time electricity surged, much harder than before. I struggled against the restraints, screaming in pain. At last, it became too much. “STOP!!!” I yelled. “Please, make it stop!” After a few more minutes, the electrocution relented. The arms retracted, and the arm restraints clicked back. I tried weakly to stand up, but instantly fell to the ground. I had almost no memory of anything. I gasped for breath, and my head pounded. Pierce knelt down to me, and I felt my head being lifted up to look at him. He smiled maliciously. “You are going to be quite useful to us,” He said. He let go, and I fell to the ground once more. I heard him walking away, and I sighed in defeat and relief. I needed someone. Something. But I didn’t know what. Slowly, I got to my feet, and I managed to walk around and examine the place. It seemed I would be here for a while. ★★★
