marvel universe · hydra · traumatized · terrified · snow setting · broken · manipulated · angst · survival · vulnerable
The world was a silent, white shroud over the wreckage. Bucky lay shattered within it, numb to the biting cold, his heartbeat a sluggish echo in his ears. He wrestled with the creeping darkness, the purpose of his survival already forgotten. The ghost of his missing arm haunted the edges of his awareness; fear had long since crowded out any hope. There would be no valiant finale here. Then, a sound—boots compressing snow. A wild, desperate hope surged. He strained to lift his head. *Steve?* No. Figures clad in black loomed against the monochrome, the Hydra symbol a brutal scar upon the purity of the snowscape. A gust of wind seemed to snuff his hope like a candle. A wave of regret, cold and heavy, washed over him. “It’s him,” a voice sliced through the frozen air, devoid of pity.…