I put the news on sitting in the enormous living room. The walls were painted a soft faded white, everything in it, graceful. The south wall was completely glass, it made the room so bright, and open. If you looked out from it, you could see right on to the river. The ceiling was high beamed and carpeted, in the same shade of faded white, as the walls. In the living room stood a grand piano, which I itched to play. 

There wasn't much else to do right now, Wanda, Sam and Vision were out making sure the area was safe, it was just Bucky and I. Steve was in his office, Tony and Bruce in the lab.

I flicked through the channels at top speed. There was nothing interesting on so I stuck with the news. I sped to my room to grab one of the many books occupying my shelves, a romantic novel I had yet to read, and came to rest on the sofa. I was getting to a good part. I was reading at world record speed, I'd be finished soon. I liked that bit about it, the past months I'd been here I couldn't get enough of speeding through all the books occupying the house, I loved reading very much. Then something from the news caught my senses, I turned the volume up a fraction so I could take in the words the woman was throwing at me.

'HEADLINE NEWS!'

'Another unexplained death in New York.' - 'What are the Avengers not telling us.' - 'Many missing, where have they gone?'

They all flashed across the screen.

"The first victim a girl of only seventeen years, walking home from her friends house. The second a young man in his twenties, thought to have been making his way home from a local bar. And the third another young woman, it is unclear where she was heading to or from. No signs of evidence only spats of blood left at each scene. Are they possibly linked? Is there a dangerous killer out there on the loose? Police investigations are underway, so far nothing can be explained.- If you have any information please contact..."

I trailed off, what if this person killing or kidnapping these people was the same person that had been in the clearing just under a week ago, and these attacks happened all in a matter of days. What if this was him. What if this was HYDRA?

I decided I would not let it bother me, not just yet, after all it might just be coincidence. People went missing everyday.

I turned the news off and tried to get back to reading. Everything still played on my mind, but I tried my best to push it aside. Bucky came in the room then, he had been in the kitchen making coffee. He read the distress on my face. I flicked the news back on.

A few hours later and it was pitch black outside, I'd got through a few dozen books. I'd started reading some medical ones that had intrigued me. Bucky paced the room, wearing the carpet thin as he waited for everyone to come home. My mind kept wandering back to the news, I was unable to rid my unease and the worry I felt.

Finally, happy that no one was going to break in to the compound everyone returned. Vision stayed on the perimeter, and Tony had put up some technological barriers via FRIDAY.

Bucky filled everyone in, and Tony pulled up the news. They couldn't be certain if it was HYDRA or not, but it certainly looked that way.

We all stood in the kitchen. Tony could find no information about the stranger and I wondered where he was now. What he was doing. Who he had kidnapped. 

"I think it might be Ruskin." I spoke. My voice shook. "You said he got away, there's no other explanation. It had to be him at that base."

"We've been thinking the same." Steve said. "But there are some inconsistencies, Ruskin got shot in the leg, and that guy, whoever he was, he wasn't limping."

⋆⋆⋆

I had to leave, something was telling me too.

Alice, she knew of this desire, but she was sadistic, and had forced me to work with them. She had pretended to be a friend.  I didn't know anything of my past, no one could tell me, and to be honest I didn't want to know. Alice had wiped my memory. All I knew was that I had medical knowledge, that was the only part of me, including my name, that they didn't erase. My name was Bennett Roberts. I had no reason to have my past on my conscience, the odds are it wasn't a good one anyway, the only good thing I cared about was Anna. I had to save her.

I managed to get away from Ruskin and Alice, the day 'they' came. For three weeks I had been trying to leave, but I couldn't leave Anna, I couldn't allow them to torture her anymore. Ruskin kept us like prisoners. I on the other hand had little bit more freedom than the others, but I could not take him out on my own. I managed to get some information out, a leak. That HYDRA had captured a girl, and where she was being kept, I wasn't expecting them to come so soon, they had no reason to believe the leak, but they did, they came to help. As long as she was safe, I was happy. But she was still in danger.

On that night, when the sky was a deep blue, and the moon was invisible, the clouds non-existent in the dark skies, I took the chance to flee, I watched from afar as they helped Anna, cradling her in their arms as they flew her away. I ran for it, so fast I was out of their sights in the blink of an eye. I never looked behind me once ,in fear that Ruskin would be on my trail, they had killed Alice during the rescue attempt. But Ruskin had escaped. He was still at large. I vowed to watch her, if they took one eye off her, she wouldn't be safe. I ran so fast the wind rushed past me fiercely. It was beginning to rain a bit, but I could barely feel it on my skin. I didn't understand what I was feeling, but Anna had this hold over me. The feeling was so odd, and unexplainable. If I knew what love felt like, I guess I could say that's what it was. It wasn't... I didn't know what was pulling me, urging me on. It was like a magnetic pull, and the force felt strong. It felt like nothing I had ever felt before, and I could not explain it. I had to protect her.

I travelled for hours, days and weeks, passing through towns and cities on my way. Each town different to the next, one was filled with lots of stores, and shopping centres. The next was bright, and lit up with colourful lights. I kept going. Never stopping.

It was early morning when I finally arrived, there were trees all around, all different degrees of green. It was quiet... mostly. I started to head north, something was pulling me in that direction, for what reason I did not know of course. Through the trees I could see the solid brick of a towering warehouse. She was here. I was sure of it. I could not imagine what Ruskin was doing right now, but if he was here with her. Then Anna was in danger.

I hoped so much that she was okay, that Ruskin had not got his hands back on her. Maybe she had succeeded in her bid for freedom and got away from his clutches. I tried not to think too much about it, it would only worry me more. I should not be worrying.

I soon made it to a forest of tall evergreen trees, pretty scenery, I was nearly always used to the city perspective rather than this. The air was sweet, and the greenery was well...green. The most green I had ever seen, and beautiful.

I walked further on, coming to a standstill in some small, young ferns. It felt like someone, or something was present, yet I could not see them, though I could have sworn I saw a blurry figure of some sorts standing in the clearing just ahead of me. I was feeling confused, and I showed it too.

The air smelled sweet and fruity, like papaya. Someone must be here, but where? I thought I had saw something, someone. It was her. Anna. Suddenly I heard the sound of racing feet crash against the ground, coming from ahead, too quick and insanely fast. I turned too run, hide away. I did not want a fight. I ran and I ran.

He followed me for a while, I covered my tracks well. He followed no further than a fair few miles and then, I presumed returning back to where he had came charging from. I dare not return, so I settled where I was for now. I would set up camp, and search more within the next few hours. I was still in the dense forests, not the same one as before. The trees where different here, less pine.

The sky was beginning to darken again. The stars were out tonight, the moon now present and creamy. I was trying to find that delicious scent again, but she was gone, I couldn't feel the pull. Not here.

I ran for miles. Suddenly I felt that pull again. I walked and ran until I came across a house, it was big in size. There where six primordial cedars that shaded the acres in which this magnificent house occupied. The house itself was more than three stories high. I could hear the river close by.

I kept my distance, being sure to be very quiet, although I could still manage a peek through their oversized window. I watched them, the ones that had seen me in the forest, they talked and they ate. I would not intrude, I couldn't risk it. I stayed put and watched for what seemed like a few more hours at what they were doing, they upted their security measures. A few came outside to patrol so I backed off.

Anna was there, they all moved to a big spacious room and started running at her, as if they were in a fight. Then one minute she was there and the next... gone. She vanished right before my eyes. None of this made any sense. I knew Ruskin had experimented on her but this wasn't true, was it? I tried to think everything over. I departed, setting up camp a few miles way in case I hadn't been careful enough and they had caught wind of my presence.

I watched her for a few more days. I was lucky to not have been caught watching, or trespassing on their property.