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2014
Reader's POV
I shuddered when I was snatched out of sleep by a singeing slap across the face.
"Soldat. Your eyes tell me you were dreaming."
A soldier with a thick Russian accent stood looming above me, his gaze cold and resentful. "What exactly did you see?"
What I saw... I have absolutely no idea. Some kind of amusement park... and two men. One brunette, one blonde.
"I..." I grimaced as I strained my mind, ravaging my thoughts for a clear answer. "I was with people, two men. I don't remember their names. We were out somewhere."
He stared at me sourly, sucking on his teeth.
No... it wasn't enough.
"Come along then." He yanked me up onto my feet by the arm, his talon fingers digging into my flesh.
"I couldn't have been asleep for too long." I thought to myself as I was led down the dungeon-like corridor. I don't know who those men were. Why the hell were they in my thoughts? The people, the laughter.
That certainly never happened here.
The thought of a life like that was almost laughable, like a fairytale told to small children before bedtime. Not a drop of blood stained on your hands, no war at stake of being lost. The entirety of my life has been as an asset of HYDRA.
Nothing more. Nothing less.
The soldier unlocked the door to the room to reveal that machine. I fought the urge to shake his grasp from my arms and run. But to where?
It didn't matter what I did. It didn't matter the soldiers injured in the process or the amount of time it took; I'd end up strapped down to that thing one way or another. The searing pain was unforgettable, despite that being the sole purpose of the machine. Regardless of the amount of times they threw me into this chair and stuck the prongs on my temples, the feeling would never numb.
"Sit down."
I obeyed without question. A few other scientists and soldiers were scattered around the room, some hovering their shaky fingers over their firearms in case of an attack.
Typical.
They placed the attachments on my temples and strapped down my limbs from head to toe in steel restraints. I heard a saying somewhere, think happy thoughts when faced with pain.
Doubt there will ever be a time where I could even manage that.
I clamped my eyes shut, preparing myself for the lasting sensation that would come at any moment. I took a deep breath, clenching my jaw, as the scientist began the wipe. I was... The Winter Shadow.
