Ivan woke me up this morning and rushed me to the washroom to get ready. He gave me a black pair of pants, a dark grey shirt, a pair of shoes, and a black coat. When I was done getting dressed, Ivan handed me a medium sized bag and told me to hurry up and pack my things. I didn't really have many items to pack considering I only had a few pieces of clothing, so it didn’t take long. When Nikolay had his head turned, I made sure to slip my hand under my mattress and place the Soldier's knife at the bottom of my backpack. I'm now sitting in the dining room eating breakfast as Ivan barks orders outside. Nikolay’s the only one in the room with me, the others packing the rest of the boxes in trucks. Once I'm finished eating, Nikolay guides me outside where 4 military type trucks are parked. The other officers have already started piling into the trucks and are driving off towards a road that leads through the trees. As I'm climbing into the vehicle, I catch a glimpse of the Soldier exiting the building and heading to the truck behind this one. The truck only sits 5 people, so I scoot all the way down towards the window to make room for Nikolay and Sadovsky. Shrugging off my backpack, I place it on my lap and turn towards the window. Anton gets behind the wheel and starts the truck, while Ivan sits in the passanger seat. We're soon pulling out and driving down a road with trees on either side. No one speaks as the vehicle moves and I'm thankful for that. The quiet is nice, it’s making the drive feel more relaxing. Last time I got to leave the building, then we were on our way to the Bolshoi, there weren't any windows for me to look out of. Now, I'm trying to take in as much as possible. As we pass more and more trees, I try to imagine how someone could survive out here. Starting a fire is difficult but possible in weather like this and if the snow is fresh enough, you can melt it and drink it. But food, however, would be more of a challenge to acquire. I’ve never recalled hearing any wolves around here but there may be deer or rabbits. So food is somewhat manageable and on top of that staying warm, especially during the night where it gets much colder. Fire will help and if you're wearing the right type of clothes, that could be helpful too. As well as being active will keep you from getting hypothermia or frostbite.

A bump in the road jolts me out of my thoughts and makes me turn my head to see out of the front window. A grey building can be seen through the trees, looks to have 6 stories. Anton drives into a clearing where we can see the building more clearly and continues to drive towards it. It gets closer and closer and eventually we stop right in front of it where 2 other trucks are already parked as well as some other vehicles off to the side. Looks like Kovalev and his men are already here. Ivan and Anton are the first to get out which leads to officers getting out of the other trucks. The 4th truck pulls up next to us and Dominik, the Soldier and a number of other officers exit the vehicle and gather at the front doors. Sadovsky opens the door to the truck first and slides out, Nikolay then follows him and I'm close behind. Putting my bag back on, I follow Nikolay until we're with everyone else. The doors to the building open and out comes Kovalev followed by a few of his officers. The General greets Ivan and leads him inside. When we enter the building I almost gasp out loud. The inside is nothing I've ever seen before. There are square-shaped white tiles along the floor that look like no one has ever set foot on them yet. The walls are made up of brick, painted a cream color which smells as though it's just been freshly painted. Off to the left is a wide staircase and further down is a room with rows of tables. To the right, down a fairly wide hall, are 2 pillars that meet at the ceiling to form an arch. The pillars lead to a giant room where there are 3 large bay windows lined up next to each other, they're not boarded up. Bright light shines through each of them, illuminating the entire building making the lamps on the walls almost useless compared. What really catches my eye in this room is the grand piano sitting in the corner. The entire building is magnificent, almost like I'm in the inside of a castle. It's not as grand as the Bolshoi but it is magnificent. On either side of the walls are 2 hallways that I'm just itching to explore. Ivan, Anton, the Soldier and a few other Red Room officers follow Kovalev and his men down one of the halls. A KGB officer stays behind and begins making his way up the staircase. Assuming I'm suppose to follow him, I trail behind him up the stairs until we pass the 2nd floor which looks just as beautiful as the 1st. Then we continue up until we reach the 3rd floor and the officer leads me down a hallway where he stops in front of a door. He opens the door and turns the light on to reveal a decently sized room. Stepping inside, I take in every detail. There is a twin sized bed in the far left corner against the wall with a nightstand. On the right side of the room is a dresser with 3 drawers and a vanity table next to it. In front of me is a window near the foot of the bed with dark grey curtains keeping the light from entering the room. Taking a few steps further in, I suddenly hear the door behind me shut and turn around to find myself alone. Shrugging off my coat, I place my backpack on the bed and spread out everything that's inside. I first place the Soldier’s knife under the mattress then proceed to pack away the little clothes I have in the dresser. Turning my head towards the vanity table, I find a hair brush. Picking it up, I start to run it through my hair. I close my eyes and spend the next few minutes enjoying this little luxury. A knock at the door makes me put the brush back down and turn towards the person opening the door. General Kovalev steps in and assesses the room.

“I hope the room is to your liking. I would like to give you a tour of the building.” Kovalev offers but never looks at me, instead checking out the room as if he's never seen it before. He steps aside to give me room to walk past him and shuts the door. I follow him all the way down to the first floor where he stops at the foot of the stairs. “The first floor has the dining hall.”

He leads me into the room with the rows of tables. All the way to the back of the room is a door to the right that looks like it leads into the kitchen. Kovalev then takes me to another room nearby. Inside is a medical operating table, wooden cabinets, and a sink. This must be the infirmary, it's much nicer than the other one. Next Kovalev shows me the washroom. It's similar to the other washroom except it's a little bigger. To the right of the room is the sinks, to the left is a line of showers all with curtains, and all the way at the back of the room are a row of toilets. Finally the General shows me the room with the piano and it's quite big. To the left of the room is a fire place that's burning and near it is the sleek dark oak colored piano. To the right of the room against the wall are a few chairs. Before I can take in anymore details, I realize that Kovalev has already started walking up the stairs to the 2nd floor. We first go into a room with individual desks. There is a chalk board, a bookshelf that's much bigger then the one back in Leonov's old classroom, that goes all the way up to the ceiling. There's also a larger desk and a projection screen. Next I'm shown the training room which is three times bigger than I imagined it. There are punching bags in one corner, targets in the other, and 4 training mats. Kovalev then continues to explain that the rest of the floors just have extra rooms for the officers which I don't believe. One of these rooms will have the equipment that will wipe me.

As the General takes me back to my room, I try to guess which floor the Soldier's on. Also if there is any way onto the roof, maybe I'll be able to get a better view of the city. When we arrive at my room, Kovalev tells me I'll resume my training tomorrow and that today I'll get to take a break. I've never had a day off before and I'm not sure what to do. Am I allowed out of my room? Can I do some exploring? I'm sure there are some parts of the building they don't want me to go to. Walking to the window, I pull back the curtains to find a wall of trees a few yards away. Out of sheer curiosity, I grip onto the bottom of the window and pull upwards to try and open it. Like I expected, it doesn't budge. It was worth a try.

I wonder how long until I get my first assignment. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't eager to have one. My training still isn't over so I'm guessing the Soldier won't be leaving yet, at least I hope not. And if he does stay, will he go with me on my first mission? I know the Black Widow will do some undercover work but the Winter Soldier doesn't seem like an undercover type of assassin but he may surprise me. The thought of getting to go on a assignment with him excites me. Will we be accompanied by other officers, or monitored?

Walking over to my bed, I sit down and stare at the wall. The light grey color makes the room feel dreary but also kind of warm. Though the entire building is beautiful, it still has a melancholy feel to it. It's kind of weird to have my own room where I can get dressed and sleep in privacy. A sudden thought pops into my head making me whip my head around to get a better view of the ceiling. What if they have cameras? I wouldn't be able to sneak around to see the Soldier. But from what I can see, there aren't any or they're just well hidden. Will I risk the chance though, sadly yes. When the new equipment comes they may or may not wipe me, so I might as well get to enjoy my last few days of remembering him.

Kicking off my shoes, I lay back on my bed and pull the thin sheet over me. The bed is much more comfortable than what I'm used to and I immediately begin to feel drowsy. I can hear footsteps walking up the stairs, making me tense up a little bit but once they pass I relax. Even though they've given me all of these luxuries I've never had before, that doesn't mean I should get comfortable and let my guard down. I need to be aware of everything now more than ever. I need to look over my shoulder until it becomes second nature. I need to know every move and decision they make just so I know what's going on around here. I don't like being in the dark especially if I'll be following their orders and going on assignments. I at least would like to know what I'm doing and why I'm doing it, even if I don't agree with it. But I need to be able to follow orders without question. I shouldn't need to know why or how, just when. Like the Soldier, he doesn't ask questions. I wonder if that bothers him.

**

A knock at the door brings me out of my sleep. Sitting up, I hear the door opening to find Anton sticking his head in.

“Come down for lunch.” Anton orders, opening the door wider. I slip back on my shoes and follow him out of the room and down the staircase. On our way down, I can hear talking and laughter. When we finally enter the dining room, I see Kovalev, Ivan, and a mixture of KGB and Red Room officers sitting at a table off to the right eating. A few tables away the Soldier is sitting by himself eating as well. At the other side of the room there is a plate with food and Anton points to it and tells me to go and sit. As I make my way to the table, I can see from the corner of my eye 2 KGB officers I've never seen before pointing at me and whispering. As I eat, I turn my head a little to catch a glimpse of the Soldier who is now picking at his food. I don’t have much of an appetite but I force myself to eat anyway. For the next 30 minutes, Kovalev spews out terrible stories while everyone else pretends that they're funny. It's pretty pathetic actually. I finished eating 15 minutes ago, but I'm not ready to leave yet. What will I do? Go back to my room and sleep? It's odd not having anything to do. I feel so useless. I can't even explore the building. Finally, Kovalev stands up and everyone else follows. They all exit the room except Anton and the Soldier. Turning my head, I find Anton standing next to me and looking down. Quickly getting to my feet, I follow him out of the room. I keep my head facing forward as we pass the Soldier. I can't look at him, if I do I'll just end up doing something stupid like sneaking to go and see him. Instead I analyze the room to see if there are any cameras, which there doesn't seem to be. As I do this, I can feel his eyes burning into me and try to use every ounce of my being not to turn around and look at him. We need to be more careful. There are double the amount of eyes watching us, we can't get caught staring at each other. We've been much too reckless and I can't risk getting either of us caught. They may wipe him and wipe or better yet kill me.

We finally arrive back at my room. As soon as I step inside, Anton shuts the door and leaves. For the next few hours I just wander around my room, studying every nook and cranny to familiarize myself with it. Top to bottom, left to right until I've memorized every inch of it. I want to leave my room, I never thought I'd hate not having something to do. I then decide to brush my hair again, rearrange the clothes in my dresser for a 4th time, and then stare out of the window and watch as the sky gets darker. This is ridiculous. What exactly did they think I was going to do in here? As soon as I'm about to go and rearrange my clothes for a 5th time, the door opens and Anton tells me it's time for dinner. How many hours has it been? I'm so eager to leave my room that I nearly bolt out. I'm still quite full from lunch but I don’t even care. We pass some officers talking to each other and looking down at a piece of paper. Everyone looks so busy and I'm kind of annoyed that they have something to do. When we finally enter the dining room, I find it empty. Sitting down, I begin to eat. Again I have to force the food down. Anton stands a few feet away with his back to the table. The sound of someone talking makes me turn around and find a short plump man coming out from the door at the back of the room. He's wearing a dirty white apron and is cursing under his breath. He must be the chef. I then wonder what happened to the other one. When I finally finish, Anton leads me to the washroom. Since I didn't really do anything today, I just throw some water onto my face. Anton doesn't question me and instead takes me back to my room. Again I'm left alone. Looking out of the window, I find that the sun has already set completely and decide to just go to bed. I take off my shoes, neatly pack away my clothes, and change into something to sleep in. I then turn off the lights and get under the covers. I honestly can't wait until tomorrow so I can begin my training again. I'll be pushed even harder than before and I'm eager for the challenge.

As the hours pass, the building goes quiet but I still don't feel sleepy. Maybe I can just check out a few floors or maybe just one. I need to do something. Should I go and search for the Soldier's room? No, it's much too soon for that. I'll wait a couple of days first so I can get a better idea of how things will work around here. Before I can do anything rash or stupid, I get up from the bed and make my way to the dresser. Opening the 2nd drawer, I pull out a pair of handcuffs and get back in bed. I don't think I'll be needing these anymore since no one has come to make sure I have them on but I still think it's better to be safe than sorry. It feels wrong not to have them on. Closing my eyes, I will myself to fall asleep. Everything will be different tomorrow. I'll get back into my normal routine and everything will be fine, I try to convince myself.
____________________________
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Please vote, comment, and share.