Chapter Text
Bucky, the Winter Soldier, trudged through the wasteland, his boots crunching on the remnants of a world long past. His mission was over. He had scavenged for supplies and gathered intel on other smaller groups. Gathering his weapons he climbed back into his truck and started the vehicle. The fort, a mere speck on the horizon, was his home base. But it was more than just a fort to him; it was where you lived.
You were the General’s daughter, a vision of youth and beauty in a world ravaged by despair. Bucky had kept his distance from you, but that was enough to ignite a forbidden desire within him. He knew he could never have you. He was just a soldier, a tool for the General’s ambitions.
As he drove to the entrance of the fort, he remembered the first time he saw you, standing by the fort entrance, your eyes reflecting the setting sun. You were a picture of beauty, as your father helped you out from the armored vehicle. You stood there with your mother while the General and one of his men took your luggage out of the vehicle. Bucky had avoided you ever since, his body aching with a longing he couldn't afford to feel.
The General, was a formidable man, his eyes as cold as the winter Bucky's name was derived from. He had a wife, Elaine who was your mother. Your younger brother and two sisters had perished during the initial battles of life and death when the world went to shit. Leaving you as the sole survivor of the General and Elaine’s children. They were extra protective of you, keeping you behind the fort's walls, away from the dangers of the wasteland.
The fort was really just a small town the General had been able to fortify out on the wasteland. But the General had men who were willing to fight for him to protect their claim. There were other families at the fort depending on him for protection, safety and survival.
Bucky's duty was to defend the fort, to go on runs and surveys. He had missions with the other men to intimidate, attack and take supplies and weapons from the smaller groups in the wasteland. He was a legend in these parts with his metal arm. He was an enforcer, a soldier.
As he approached the fort, the guard on top recognized Bucky and his vehicle. The guard signaled someone on the bottom to open the gates for Bucky. The fort's gates creaked open, and Bucky drove inside.
“Good day Bucky”, one of the guards by the gate greeted him as he drove inside.
“Good day,” Bucky answered back gruffly as he drove by.
The fort was a bustling hive of activity, men and women going about their daily activity and chores. But Bucky's eyes were drawn to one place, one person. You were standing by the old city hall building, talking to your mother Elaine and another woman. You were laughing, your eyes sparkling with joy. You were carrying a basket full of vegetables from the shared community garden.
The old city hall building had been turned into the Generals central command. The top of the building he had converted to his living space where you and your mother lived.
Bucky drove towards the makeshift barracks several blocks away, he was the Winter Soldier, and he had a job to do. He had to protect the fort, to protect the General and his family, protect you, even if it meant protecting you from himself.
He was the General’s strongest soldier. He knew when the local people saw him at the fort making his rounds, some of them looked at him in fright and moved away from him due to his menacing look and metal arm.
There were many whispers, “He used to be a deadly mercenary,” or it was “He was an Assassin in the old world.” Bucky ignored the looks and whispers. Because the rumors, they were all true. He was a man of duty, action and violence with a past that would give children nightmares. He was currently a soldier of the wasteland and that’s all he knew.
In this new world a man like him was valuable and the General knew it. When Bucky had come across the fort the General had immediately recognized his value and convinced him to stay. Bucky had been roaming alone for two years and the fort offered some sort of normalcy and order in the untamed wasteland.
Even Bucky did not know if the man who called himself the General had been a real General before the Apocalypse. Bucky could tell he had military experience and the people at the fort were willing to listen and obey his authority. Maybe that was all that was needed in this new world. People had done things to survive which they would have never done in the old world. Horrible, terrible actions that included blood and death. Being at the fort gave Bucky a sense of purpose. It didn’t matter to Bucky what type of life the General had before, and it didn’t matter to the General who Bucky was before. They had a mutual understanding between them.
He had just arrived back from his surveying mission and he was exhausted. He had already dropped off the supplies he had found. He had made his report and warned the General the smaller wasteland groups were getting restless and that they might band together to attack. The General’s greed for supplies and power had left a trail of embittered survivors and he had warned the General not to push the smaller groups too much.
Tonight was his chance to rest as the other men guarded the fort. Bucky parked his truck and went into the barracks. He took a hot shower to wash the dust away and collapsed on his bunk in exhaustion to get a few hours of sleep.
Later that evening the air was thick with tension, the usual hum of the fort replaced by an eerie silence. Bucky, woke up and felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He knew something was wrong. He knew the General had pushed too far, too fast, and now the smaller groups were coming for revenge. The barracks were empty, he was alone.
The first shot rang out, echoing through out the fort. Then came a volley of shots followed by screams and yells. Bucky's instincts kicked in, and he grabbed his rifle, put his pistol in his gun holster, then grabbed a couple of other weapons and threw them along with a back pack of supplies into his truck and drove off towards the gunfire.
The gunfire was coming from the entrance of the fort. He parked his truck at the side of the city hall building. He jumped out of the truck, his metal arm whirred to life as he chambered a round. He walked towards the entrance where a dozen other men had also just arrived. They stood by him and did the same getting their weapons ready, their faces etched with determination and fear. They were relieved to see Bucky. With the outside groups banded together they were outnumbered, outgunned, and outmaneuvered.
“Where is the General?” Bucky asked.
”In the city hall.” One of the men indicated.
”And his wife and daughter?”
”They are with him,” The man answered.
Their conversation was interrupted by shots of gunfire. Bucky and the men had to shield themselves behind another truck that was parked near the forts entrance.
The fort's walls were high, but the attackers had snipers. One by one, the guards on the walls fell, their bodies crumpling to the ground like discarded dolls. Bucky's heart pounded in his chest as he watched his comrades fall. He knew he had to act fast. The fort was breached, and the attackers were climbing over the wall like a tide of death. Bucky took out as many attackers on the wall as he could with his rifle. Making them fall to the ground as his aim hit true.
An explosion rocked the fort, exploding the entrance sending a shockwave through the ground. Bucky's ears rang, and he stumbled falling to the ground, his vision blurring for a moment. When he regained his focus, he saw a semi trailer, its twisted metal frame still smoking, rammed through the entrance, lying in the middle of the fort in front of the city hall building. The driver was dead, his body half way out the windshield, mangled beyond recognition. Several of the fort's defenders lay around him, their lifeless eyes staring up at the sky. Attackers streamed in through the flaming hole the semi had made through the forts entrance and walls.
Bucky was stronger than the average man and had the advantage of his metal arm. But even he knew he could not take on the hundreds of men who were coming through the flaming entrance of fort. Bucky knew he had to get to the General. The General was the heart of the fort, and if he fell, everything would crumble. Bucky charged forward, his metal arm cutting through the chaos. He fired his rifle, taking down attackers with precision. He used his metal arm as a shield against bullets and used it to break jaws and bones if an attacker got too close. Adrenaline was coursing through his veins.
He reached the doors of city hall, its windows lighted up despite the chaos outside. He could hear the General inside, his voice booming through the walls as he barked orders at the other men. Bucky burst through the door, his rifle at the ready. The General was standing in the center of the room, his face pale but determined.
"Bucky," the General said, his voice deep and steady despite the chaos. "We need to hold them off. We need to protect the fort. Everyone’s lives are at stake."
Bucky nodded at the General he was prepared, ready for action and to fight.