Chapter 4

Robin entered her mother's house. She ran to the kitchen, where HYDRA was holding her mother hostage. It was dark, no lights were lit. She avoided furnitures and corners with her memories, but the second her feet entered the kitchen, she slipped and fell into a warm sticky puddle. The smell of blood came to her nose, she started to panic, knowing what was waiting for her. She get back on all four, crawling around to find her mother. She made contact with an arm, she heard a distinctive sound; her mother's bracelet, the one Robin made when she was ten. The tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Mom?"

The silence was heavy on her shoulders. She took her mother's lifeless body into her arms, crying.

"Mom... I'm sorry!"

She was rocking the body, when the floor cracked in the next room. Her head spuned towards the sound. She couldn't see a thing. When suddenly a car turned in the street, the beam of light shined in the living room. Robin got a glimpse of a large silhouette and a metal arm holding a gun pointed at her.

She barely had time to close her eyes, she heard a gunshot and felt a sharp pain.

Robin woke up in a panic, screaming in horror. Bucky woke up on the driver's seat, his two hands in the air ready to punch someone. When he realized there was nothing to fight, he turned to Robin who was trying to catch her breath, tears rolling down her cheek.

"Are you ok?" He asked her with a caring voice.

"Yeah... I guess it was a nightmare... A realistic one..." She tightened her fist to stop the shaking. "You shot me."

He sighed and stayed silent, thinking about what to say, avoiding her eyes. She kept her eyes on him, she could hear his thoughts going a hundred miles per hour.

"I don't do that anymore."

They stayed in the car, calming themselves. She wiped her tears with her shirt and walked out of the car. They were parked in a field, surrounded by trees. It smelled like wet grass, one of her favorite scent. She took a deep breath, letting the sun warm her body. Bucky came up to her with  bag.

"Here. I bought this yesterday. We need to hide as much as possible. Put that sweater on and the baseball cap."

"Where are we going exactly?"

"Well, we can't stay here. That's for sure."

"So we go to Canada, or the other side of the US. We can even go to Alaska."

"No. When I say we can't stay here I'm talking about North America. We have to flee this country. Mostly because they would think we stayed in the US."

"But how can we fly away? They will have our photos in every airport by now."

"We don't fly. We go south."

"Mexico?"

"Keep going."

"Chile?"

"I was thinking more of Argentina, maybe?"

She scoffed.

"How are we gonna cross the border? I don't have my passport and I'm pretty sure you don't have one. Plus it'll be like the airport."

"We're not gonna cross at the border."

She looked at him, intensely.

"You mean we are illegaly crossing to Mexico?"

"Mexico is less strict than the US about their immigrants."

"I'm sorry about all this. You probably didn't expect to..."

"I was going to leave. Not at this time but, hey. We can't change the past. We can only go further."

"What are we gonna need?"

"Equipment."

"I got enough money..."

"Don't need to. We'll find a way."

"You mean steal."

He gave her a look, telling her she was right. She chuckled, looking around them.

"Where are we exactly?"

"Helen, Georgia."

"You drove for 13 hours? And I woke you up... I'm so sorry."

"Actually, I should be the one to apologize..."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your nightmare. It was mine. I was in what I guess is your mother's house and my mission was to kill you."

"Wait. I didn't tell you what it was. Was I on the kitchen floor?"

"I guess your powers are stronger than you think." He confirmed.

"That is upsetting... But I trust you when you say you don't do that anymore. Don't ask me why but I do. Just... Don't break that trust, ok?"

He nodded.

"We should get back on the road. They might already be looking for us everywhere."

"Let me drive. You can sleep while I get us to Texas."

"Alright. But try to keep the back roads."

"Isn't it always where people go? Wouldn't they look there first?"

"Look, just drive to Texas and don't kill us." He smiled. "I trust you."

Those words warmed her heart.

She took the wheel and drove to a near by gas station. She bought a few things to eat, filled up the tank and then got back on the road. It only been an hour when she heard Bucky's light snoring through the loud music she put on to help not read his mind and she finally let go of the tears. She had been holding them to no bother him with her lost. She blaimed herself for her mother's death. She could have stopped them if it wasn't for Bucky's life. But why did she care about that man? She only knew him for a few days. How come he was more important than her own mother? How could her mother told her not to come save her? So many questions in such a short amount of time.

Bucky woke up to her sobbing and sniffing but faked being asleep to give her time to grieve. Everything had been moving fast since yesterday and she didn't have time to deal with her emotions.

She had been driving for hours, everything was going fine until she realized a suspicious black SUV had been following them for a little while. She closed the radio and concentrated, trying to get into the minds of the people in the car. Nothing, just endless black.

"They find us..."

She touched Bucky's leg to wake him up. He grabbed her hand and twisted it by instinct.

"OW! It's me!"

"What?"

"They find us."

He looked behind them and saw the SUV.

"Go faster."

She pushed on the gaz, avoiding other cars on the road. Their fear was confirmed when the SUV followed their speed.

Suddenly, Robin started to hear a buzzing sound getting louder and louder. She tried to cover her right ear with her hand.

"What's wrong?" Bucky asked, seeing her being uncomfortable.

"That sound."

"What sound? I don't hear anything..."

As soon as he replied, the buzzing got so loud, her head felt like it was about to split open. She held her head into her hands, screaming in pain, leaving the car at the mercy of the road. Bucky realized the car was sworving, he grabbed the wheel to bring back the car in the lane.

"Robin! What's wrong? Are you ok?"

She just kept screaming. And it stopped as suddenly as it started. Robin, shaking, out of breath, grabbed back the wheel. Bucky had enough, he looked her dead in the eyes.

"Keep driving."

He punched the car door opened and jumped out.

"Bucky!"

He ran to the SUV and grabbed a hold of it, flying on the roof. The agents tried to shot him but like always missed him or Bucky protected himself with his metal arm. Robin kept the best she could the car on the road, cold sweat running down her spine. Bucky managed to pull one agent out of the car and into the traffic where he was struck by a van. The other one pressed the button on a weird gun and Bucky saw the Crosstrek swerve, hearing Robin scream again from a far.

Bucky felt his heart skip a beat, grabbed the agent by the neck and twisted it, killing him instantly. He saw Robin taking back control and trying to avoid another car but at the speed she was going, the car slipped over multiple time, then disappeared down a ditch under Bucky's horrified sight. 

With his Super Soldier capabilities, he ran to Robin's crash site. The Crosstrek landed on its roof, in the water of a river.  Robin was unconscious, upside down on the driver's seat. He pulled on the door and checked her vitals. She was still alive. He made sure to hold her tight and broke the seatbelt off, liberating her. He took her into his arms and rapidly left the site, walking in the water, leaving no traces for them ever passing through.

He walked for a while, until he found an old barn. He busted the door open and layed Robin on a pile of planks. He checked on her, looking for wound or broken bones. Luckily, she only had a dislocated shoulder, small open wound on her forehead and bruises on her right side ribcage. He knew he was going to need a first aid for her wound, so he left her alone in search for a pharmacy in the small village near by.

He came after a little while with a bag of gauze, rubbing alcohol, a brace, a sewing kit and a bottle of strong whiskey. She was still out when he got back at the barn. He pulled a bucket next to her and gently took her dislocated arm.

"I'm really sorry about this." And he replaced the bone back into its socket.

Robin let out a scream of pain, gaining back her senses. Surprised and disorientated, she tried to sit but everything just hurt like hell and she fell back on the planks.

"Don't move, Robin. You're just gonna hurt yourself more." Bucky slowly layed the arm back.

"It hurts..."

"I know. Here, drink this, it'll help numbing the pain." He handed her the bottle of whiskey.

"I don't drink."

"Trust me, you're gonna need this for when I'll stitch your forehead."

She stared at him, mouth open, turning white.

"Stitch?"

"Yes, it's cut pretty deep. It's either that or you get a scar for life. Are you ok?"

"Hum... Let's just say that I'm not a big fan of needles."

"Your shoulder was just dislocated, you bled all over your shirt. And yet, you are scared of needles?"

"So?"

"Just drink and lay back." He put the brace over her head and helped her install her arm comfortably inside of it.

She drank a few sips, grimacing at the strong taste of the whiskey and gave the bottle back to Bucky. He used the alcohol to sterilize the needle and his hands. After Robin layed back, he poured some on her wound without a warning.

"Ouch!" She jumped, surprised by the sudden burning sensation.

"Don't move."

He sticked the needle in her skin, getting a painful growl from Robin. Her eyes filled with tears and she started to hyperventilate.

"Are you ok?"

"No, just hurry."

It took him a few minutes to stitch the entire wound, Robin cried through the whole process. Bucky cleaned up the blood afterwards and helped her sit up.

"Want more?" He asked showing the bottle of whiskey.

She shook her head, she was already light headed and things seemed to move around her.

"Thanks."

He got up to throw the bloodied gauze out when Robin saw his shirt had blood on his right arm.

"You're hurt."

"Just a scratch, I'm fine."

"I can patch you up."

"I heal faster than you think. I don't need patching up. I'm alright."

"Fine. What time is it?"

"About three."

"We should get going... We're gonna need a new ride."

"It's gonna be hard, it's a residential area."

Robin sighed and looked around the barn. A large brown blanket covering something big. She walked towards it and pulled on the blanket, revealing the hood of a old car. She stepped back, stunned.

"No way! Are you kidding me?"

"What?"

"This..." She pointed at the car. "That's what they call a Barn Find."

"A what?"

"A Barn Find. Bucky, this car is a 69 Chevelle SS. This car is my dream car since I was 10 years old. They probably already stored it for the winter." She rushed to open the hood, examinating the engine. "What are the odds?"

"Robin, we don't have time for this."

"We do. This can be our way to the border."

She checked if everything was in order to drive.

"It got oil and gaz. Please Bucky. It's perfect."

He stared at her, he wanted to laugh. She went from crying of pain to excited as a little girl over a doll at the store.

"Fine. Where are the keys?"

"You're the one who stole a car in New York and you're asking for keys on this one?" She pulled on electric wires.

"Where did you learn that?"

"No friends, remember?"

She couldn't work the wires with just one hand, Bucky approached her and took her place. She went to open the barn doors.

"Oh, I want to drive it so bad..."

"Yeah, I think I should drive, you know... Considering..."

"I know!" She replied getting in the passenger seat slowly, loosing a bit of her smile.

"At least, you get to ride your dream car." Bucky smirked.

"Just drive." She replied annoyed at his remark.

He made the wires touch and the car roared. He turned to look at the passenger and he saw a smile reappear on her red lips. Her beauty melted his icy walls around his heart even more. He was falling for this young woman and he couldn't stop it.