BIOHAZARD,
chapter four: the monster!

          MANY SAY THAT THE CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT. But Avery decided to act in such a stupid way that he considered himself a feline and not a mercenary with principles. The green-eyed mercenary silently rose from his woody bed and set out to leave the tree's cave. He looked for a branch and from there he took fire to light his way. He began to move away from the small camp that the group had done and continued chasing the figure trying to escape him.

          Avery looked for a gun and remembered that his gun was inside the sleeping bag. Stupid, he thought in his head, you're stupid. He checked his pockets and then remembered something: a knife. The knife that he had in his boot. Avery took it in a slow motion and felt the weight of the handle in his hand. He reassured himself for a moment and continued chasing his silhouette. He knew perfectly well that he wasn't crazy and that what he saw wasn't something produced by his mind. It was real. But what was it?

          The figure stopped and he, too, waiting for some muscle movement that was quick or abrupt. Avery's body was tense, as if something told him that this whole situation was wrong or that he was approaching a terrain that was dangerous for him. Avery put those thoughts aside and walked slowly through the woods. He felt that several violins played such a dark melody - which caused him to suffer such an intense chill down his back.

          The violins didn't stop. They continued playing. Avery didn't stop in his footsteps and his slack in the handle of the knife didn't. The figure suddenly looked back and Avery stopped. Why did he stop? Why did he feel that there was someone else there? Why was he so afraid? Muller analyzed his options, also cursing under his breath why he had done what he did. He had to escape. But it wasn't enough. Suddenly he felt that knot in his throat, as lethal as having a knife there. At least that was a warm feeling. He felt the slight detune of the violin, creating an atmosphere so sinister and tense at the same time that it looked like a horror movie reaching a kind of climax.

          Avery didn't move a muscle in that lapse of time and thought about walking backwards to escape - going back to camp, obviously. But nothing moved. Neither did he move. Suddenly, that figure looked to the side and started to run. Avery ran too. It was as if his legs had no owner and ran by themselves. However, these didn't escape the danger, if not that they approached him faster and faster.

          The mercenary chased the figure without rest until he stopped in a clearing that was surrounded by trees. Avery took off his knife, standing guard. "You have exactly 5 seconds to identify yourself or I swear I'll cut your neck."

          The figure looked at him suddenly and Avery flinched. "Why are you pointing a gun at me? I'm you."

          Avery blinked repeatedly, not believing what he saw. He wasn't crazy, definitely. But what was it that his eyes saw? A ghost, a madman or maybe...his mind? The green-eyed mercenary shook his head quickly, refusing to see that it was some product of his destroyed mind.

          "Fuck, this is already going to an extreme," he murmured in a low voice.

          "You really think you're safe, right?" The figure asked. "This is just the beginning of a nightmare, of your nightmare."

          Avery raised an eyebrow. "My nightmare? That nightmare will be my fortune, then."

          The mercenary heard a childlike giggle, identical to his. The violin stopped playing, producing an off-key noise at the end. The figure didn't move again and Avery took a step forward.

          "That nightmare will be your undoing, you damn idiot."

          That figure, as if it were something sudden, started running towards Muller - who really didn't expect that. The figure jumped with a howl and the image was much clearer. A wolf. Avery fell face down on the ground, the torch he had in one hand fell into the snow and the fire went out. The mercenary pushed the wolf aside and saw that it was dark. Shit, he said in his head, I should have stayed at the camp.

          The wolf howled again and Avery took advantage of the moment to run out of that clearing. He used some force to get away as quickly as possible from the wolf, who was calling more of his pack and that made Muller's skin stand on end. Not only because of the terror he felt at seeing that figure, but also because of the surprise of the attack. The mercenary stopped behind a tree, waiting for some movement of the wolf or his pack. Another howl. They were close.

          Avery watched out of the corner of her eye and found two white wolves walking slowly towards him. He went back to cover the tree and closed his eyes, looking for an option to survive and escape with life. There were no longer options, there was no time: it was escape or death. Not today. The dark-skinned man began to run with all his strength and hoped to find some light trail of the camp with his teammates. The mercenary jumped a stone and fell perfectly to the ground, continuing his escape.

          Light. Avery spotted the armed camp a few meters away and decided to do something to wake up his companions. First he put two fingers in his mouth and whistled "VIOLET! VIOLET, WAKE UP!"

          Violet at that moment was already standing, rubbing her eyes and finding the image of Avery running towards them - but with three white wolves chasing him quickly behind. He heard his screams and woke the Birkin siblings, who slept peacefully in their bags.

          "Look for fire!" She yelled and reached for her weapon. "We must scare them away!"

          "Shoot!" Avery shouted, running quickly. "SHOOT THE WOLVES!"

          The Birkin siblings took out their weapons and fired at the two wolves that were at the mercenary's sides. Avery jumped over the fire and fell into the hole, looking for his weapon in the process and Violet grabbed a large stick that was between the firewood and then set fire to it. He began to attack the remaining wolf while Avery came out of hiding. The green-eyed mercenary pounced on the animal and a dry shot was heard in the forest.

          Anika Birkin gasped as she took her brother's hand when she saw the scene. Violet's brown eyes stared at the mercenary's greens, his face filled with blood from the animal's blood vessels and Avery watched what he had done. He felt that same presence of the figure next to him, in such an impartial but scary way at the same time.

          And from the gloom of darkness, the Winter Soldier had seen it all.

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          The sun began to sneak into the mountain, making the sky clearer. The image had become much clearer and the trees were beginning to perceive the small rays of the sun. Avery let out a yawn to settle into his bed better while trying to cover his face with what was left of his bag - thus, continuing his dream. The previous night was quite hard, not only because the whole team was tired from the walk, but also because of the attack of the white wolves.

          Avery dreamed of that atrocity, dreamed of the figure that chased through the forest - each time he came closer, each time the chill became more intense than ever, creating a lump in the throat; which didn't even let him breathe. He dreamed of the blood of the wolf that painted the snow in red, it was as if something corrupted something as delicate as snow. Avery dreamed of having the blood of the same wolf all over his body, as if he had taken the life of an innocent woman - which he would never do. That night, they all went through horrors that they didn't understood, nor will they understand. However, Violet and Avery took it as a warning: that was one of many horrors that were coming.

          The mercenary opened his eyes completely and uncovered himself, letting the cold weather help him to wake up completely. Violet stretched out beside him, letting out a yawn and opening her eyes - blinking a couple of times to accustom her eyes to the light her eyes received. She sat down and rubbed her eyes while Avery watched her watch. There were still hours to continue walking, but they had to be at the end of the forest at noon to be taken to the base. They both got up and left the small shelter they had found. Avery pressed his lips together so that he could exhale a little cumulative air.

          "What was that, Muller?" The green-eyed mercenary heard his partner say behind his back.

          He turned, so focusing on his companion. "What do you mean?" Violet gave him a murderous look. "Okay, I know what you mean. Sorry."

          "Where did you go? Why are you such an idiot when you expose yourself to wild wolves that want you to become their dinner?"

          Avery pursed his lips again, searching for the right words to tell what he saw. "There was someone else here." Quinn raised an eyebrow at the phrase the mercenary had released. "I have followed someone who was like me. Or really, it was me but at the same time it wasn't me. You understand?"

          "Okay, I think some of those wolves made you hit your head when you escaped. That always happens, Avery."

          Muller rolled his eyes. "You're a great moral supporter, Violet Quinn."

          The brunette smiled without showing her teeth and looked back, watching the Birkin siblings sleep in a silent way. Avery observed that the white wolves were still in their places, clearly releasing a foul odor - as they had begun the decomposition process. Violet touched Avery's shoulder and he looked at her, the brunette pointed to the two twins with a snowball. He smiled sideways and took one in his hands to hurl it at Anika Birkin, who jumped as soon as the ball crashed into her face.

          The two mercenaries began attacking the SHIELD agents with snowballs and they covered themselves with their sleeping bags when they felt more blows to their backs. Avery and Violet laughed at the reaction of their partners, continuing their task of awakening them. Anika turned a couple of times, evading - or at least trying to evade - the snowballs to then get up and throw more to her team mates. Jake sought asylum behind the tree, only to continue his dream but Violet threw another snowball that crashed into his head.

          "Good morning, ladies!" Avery shouted, still throwing snowballs. "It is time to continue."

          Anika ruffled her red hair while snorting between her teeth. "With a glass of water, it was enough."

          Violet smiled as she picked up her belongings in the backpack. "We thought the snow was going to be much better."

          After a brief breakfast, the team continued its journey in the forest of Lena River, leaving behind the murdered wolves of the previous night. Avery, walking, didn't feel that figure close to him again - but felt something else. Something that watched them quietly, almost without having a physical presence. Blue eyes, as cold as ice, but at the same time warm as fire. Avery felt threatened at that moment, but he knew that he was in the presence of his team mates and they would help him with a much bigger threat than them. The group walked for the rest of the miles that had to be walked to reach the foot of the mountain.

          It was silent, above all, but the group was alert to any mishap that came before them - mostly, white wolves. Avery kept his hands in his pockets, one had a gun and remembered before leaving to return the knife to its place: inside his boot. The green-eyed mercenary returned again and again to the same situation that had happened the night before. That figure wasn't a product of his mind. Or was it? Avery Muller wasn't crazy. He was a man as sane as a clock. Destroyed, but sane. However, he kept pondering the phrase that his figure had said: "This is just the beginning of a nightmare, of your nightmare". But what nightmare was it? Was there something he didn't know? Nick Fury had made it very clear to him: To infiltrate the base of HYDRA in the mountains of Siberia, to steal the Book of the Soldier and to take it in person. An easy task for a soldier, an easy task for a mercenary. Any idiot could end up dead in a matter of hours if it tried. Avery Muller wasn't an idiot, at least not at all.

          Violet was behind her partner Avery, trying to plan an escape plan if things went wrong. Facing the Winter Soldier wasn't so common, but it was a lethal enemy that a single bullet wouldn't kill him. Quinn felt that feeling that triggered something in a person who was afraid of the consequences. A bad feeling. Panic. Terror. And, to add, a lump in the throat - the same as Avery had. They were entering one of the limbs of hell, clearly something dressed as heaven in person, however, that was a lie. HYDRA was hell on earth and would take care of plunging everyone so deep into the fire. Violet, for the first time, and just as she had felt when she began to be a mercenary, felt that she was terrified of her life. She was terrified of losing it or, rather, being snatched. After seeing that file and listening to the ramblings of his mercenary partner, she wished he hadn't accepted Nick Fury's request with all her soul.

          The team continued walking, passing a small stream with stones in the middle, jumping branches or roots of trees that grew without ceasing. Avery looked up and the figure of the mountain had already reached its true height, which was too high. The wind began to blow with more force and the clouds covered in a much more imposing way to the sun. A storm was coming to the forest and they had to hurry. The team walked the last two kilometers until they found a lookout post. There was a soldier who was staring at them, while they went to a waiting truck. Jake and Anika were tense to see that from that moment they should speak Russian - which really cost, even though they had an excellent level of language - and looked at the brunette who nodded to them, showing them confidence.

          Avery approached a soldier who was standing in front of the truck's bumper and held out his hand. "Dobroye utro, soldat, nas pereveli na etu bazu (Good morning, soldier, we have been transferred to this base)."

          The soldier shook his hand and snapped. "Priyatno videt', chto ty ozhil, mne nuzhno, chtoby ty identifitsiroval sebya (It's good to see that you came alive, I'll need you to identify yourselves)."

          "Menya zovut Nikolay, ona moy partner Dominika (My name is Nikolay, she is my partner Dominika)" Avery pointed to Violet and then pointed to the two siblings. "Oni brat'ya i sestry, Kler i Maks, oni iz Anglii. (They're siblings, Claire and Max, they're from England.)" His sight returned to the soldier, trying to make his lie believable.

          "Huh, British, isn't it?" Snapped the soldier in English, with a slight Russian accent. "I'm Commander Vasily Karpov. Welcome to hell on earth."

          Anika pressed her lips. "Damn, it's hell, a frozen hell."

          Karpov smirked. "In a couple of days you'll get used to being in cold environments." Suddenly, the lookout shouted a couple of words in Russian, indicating that something was coming. Did they believe that they would only come?

          Avery and Violet soon understood those words: "The soldier is here." The two mercenaries turned around, meeting a man who was dressed in black. A weapon holster tied to his leg while holding a metal-colored rifle in his hands. Violet felt her soul move away from her body as she looked at the man who was slowly approaching them. The Soldier of Winter. A legend that Violet did not want to corroborate if it existed.

          "Der'mo (Shit)" she murmured under her breath.

          The Winter Soldier looked at the group standing next to Commander Karpov and nodded, focusing his blue eyes on Avery Muller's greens. The mercenary felt that lump in his throat again and knew something wasn't right. Or at least, something that in the future wouldn't go well. However, he wouldn't give up. He had to complete the mission and the Winter Soldier was one of many obstacles that prevented him from reaching his goal. Oh, how wrong he was.

          Commander Karpov opened the door to the van. "Shall we begin?"

          The team looked at each other and everyone entered the vehicle without hesitation, not knowing that they had already signed the death sentence that the mountains of Siberia had for them. Karpov told the driver that they could leave and the vehicle was lost in the forest quickly.

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          Avery watched the white snow that completely painted any surface that was stuck to the ground. Somehow he found tranquility in his surroundings, even though the atmosphere was too tense. His eyes wandered through the snow-covered mountains, with a few trees in the shape of shadows. Commander Karpov introduced the team into a series of rules that they should follow while on base and missions. The first, despite being one of the most demanding, is to use brute force if it is necessary - Muller's team would be in the zone with the so-called elite of death and with the soldier, so they should use it to keep them at bay.

          The second rule is never to interfere in the soldiers' mission. Changing or even interposing in some objective could complicate things a lot. A mission caused consequences and those consequences changed the course of history. If the course of the story couldn't be changed, the punishment was severe - not just the soldier, but the entire team. The third and last rule wasn't to hurt the team mate and not to betray duty - in other words, not to betray HYDRA.

          Each rule had consequences, however, Karpov didn't decide to make clear what those consequences might be. Avery Muller had only one rule: to stay hidden until the indicated time. The truck jumped a little, feeling as if a stone had crashed in the back and that took the green-eyed mercenary out of his trance. He heard the commander laugh and that didn't alleviate anything to Avery, he looked forward and observed that there was a small entrance, where they were a pair of snow vehicles and soldiers helping others.

          Anika Birkin opened her mouth to say something, but the commander busied himself interrupting the agent on deck. "Leave, those who enter here, all hope."

          Avery admired those words carefully and remembered that Nick Fury had said them days before. They were entering the limbo, it would be very difficult to get out of there. Leave, those who enter here, all hope, once said and Avery felt that the hope was gone as soon as he had accepted the mission.

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