Chapter 11

"Oh shit!" Sam yelled.

"What is it?" Wanda asked, springing up from her seat and pacing quickly over towards them. Sam extended his arm to hold her back from the window as she approached, and gave her a shove forward.

"Ross." He answered, "They found us."

Wanda's eyes widened, whereas Scott's nearly popped out of his head. "How!?" He exclaimed.

"I don't know," Sam picked up his jacket from the edge of his chair and threw it on. "But we gotta go – shut those lights off." He gestured to Bucky and the switch on the side of the kitchen wall. Without hesitation, Bucky sprinted over and forcefully turn off the light. The downstairs of the house, aside from the dim bulb in the back hallway, was now engulfed in an eerie darkness – darkness so strong, the four of them were tripping over their own feet.

Bucky stumbled over to them, "Go where?" He asked, confused as to where Sam planned for them to hide.

To his suspicion, Sam responded, "Haven't gotten that far – just go!" He urged, pushing everybody closer towards the back door, "Grab a jacket, but leave everything else! Go! Go! Go!"

Wanda reached up to grab her black cardigan sweater from the top of the coat rack and quickly slipped it on over her shoulders. She tossed Scott his jean shirt. Throwing it on over his white tee, Scott informed, "We need to get to the shed!"

Bucky shook his head and blocked Scott from leaving the back hall, "No!" Scott looked up at him and raised his eyebrows. Bucky pushed him back, "The shed's too far to the front – they'll see us before we even make it across the lawn."

Scott opened his mouth to speak, but quickly realized that Bucky was right. Actually, trying to get to the shed was most likely the worst thing they could do.

     He pushed past Bucky to peek out the blinds. The men were getting closer, and Scott was beginning to panic. He paced back and forth trying to think of something, someplace they could hide safely in such a short amount of time.

Wanda, who was looking down at the floor, raised her head with sudden realization – "The trees..."

Bucky turned his head, "What?"

"The trees! Run for the trees!" She exclaimed and pointed her finger towards the door. She grabbed Scott's arm and tugged, urging him and the others to go with her.

Scott objected, "The trees are just as obvious as the shed!–"

" –But we can get to them faster! And they're at the back of the house, so we can at least get some distance between us and them before they start to look there." She explained, still pulling at the boys' arms.

Bucky tried to pull away, but her grip was too strong on his real arm. "Wanda, are you sure?"

This time, she whipped around to face him – annoyed. "If you happen to get any better ideas, let me know." She spat, backing up to grab the door handle and sprinting for the field of trees.

Scott, whom was still in the house with the other two, turned anxiously to Sam, "Sam?" He gestured to the open door – hoping that he would decide they shouldn't go.

Instead of Scott's desired response, Sam shrugged his shoulders, "You heard the woman!" He darted out the door, following Wanda's route and adding, "Go!"

Scott exhaled sharply, gave Bucky a look of worry, and took off running. He closed the door silently, trying hard not to make any loud noises, and then ran to catch up with them.

The field was a good couple meters away from the house – easy to reach before Ross' men noticed them, if they ran fast enough.

But as Scott looked back, he realized how much closer the men had gotten between the time they first saw them coming and now. They needed to pick up their pace, or it wouldn't be long before they were like fish caught on Ross' hook.

They ran as fast as their legs would carry them, but staying light on their feet had never exactly been easy and they tried desperately not to trip over or make any loud, heavy noises as their soles touched the ground. Their breathing was pretty steady and quiet – except for Wanda's, that is, because despite her excellent health and physical capabilities, she had never been able to find a way around her heavy panting.

     She panted loudly as they ran through the trees and gasped for air the faster they went. Sam brought his pointer finger to his lips and gestured for her to be quiet. She covered her mouth with her hand and stopped in her tracks.

At her action, Sam slowed down and he too came to a stop, as did the other two, and he turned to her. She had her hands gripped tightly on her kneecaps and she hunched over, struggling to hold back the sudden urge to cough. Sam jogged over to meet her and he squatted slightly to see her face, resting his shaky hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, hey... shhh..." he whispered, rubbing her shoulder, "You good?"

She nodded as she wiped her mouth free from drool and sniffled. As Sam began to help her stand up straight, they heard a roar of footsteps pounding against the crunchy leaves on the forest floor. They saw a ripple of lights start to appear one by one and shine through the tree branches – Ross' men.

"Go." Sam whispered with alert and helped guide Wanda over towards a nearby boulder to hide behind. Bucky and Scott followed behind them and quickly took cover.

They still heard the cluster of footsteps, but it didn't appear as if they were getting closer. They all bit their lips to keep from breathing loudly as a light passed over the boulder. As hoped, they weren't seen – at least, not right at that moment. They thought, maybe if they waited longer, the men would pass by the area and head in a different direction.

Sam, who still had his hand over Wanda's mouth, lowered it in trust that she had gotten a hold on her volume and that the men had left. But as he did, Wanda exhaled a loud gasp. All three boys shot her a worried look and the light returned to the boulder. They held their breath and Wanda pursed her lips.

This time, the light moved slowly over the large rock. Nobody moved – nobody breathed. Then the light stopped where it was. Automatically, the four of them had assumed that the men saw something else in that direction and was stopping to double check themselves.

But instead, the light had stopped at the sight of Bucky's foot, which was poking slightly but visibly out to the side. He looked at it, realizing why the light was focused on that specific area, and regretfully, he pulled it in closer to his body in a swift movement.

Damn it! He thought.

It's not like they were focused on the men's voices, but Bucky swore he heard one of them utter to another, "I see them!"

The man in control of the large light sneered at the sight, and he moved his hand to his headpiece. On the other end, Ross was listening in – this was his way of communicating with his assigned men.

"We've got eyes on the targets." He said firmly, and gestured to the other men to immerge.

Ross, who was both thrilled and pissed, yelled angrily through the earpiece, "Well don't just stand there, imbeciles – shoot them!"

The other men moved their hands to their headsets, alarmed by their boss' sudden orders. The first man furrowed his brows and clarified, "But... sir... you gave us strict orders not to–"

"Do it! Shoot!" Ross demanded venomously.

The man gulped and ordered the others, "Shoot! Shoot!"

Chaos ensued.

Dozens upon dozens of bullets began firing from their guns. The four targets didn't waste a moment – they sprang to their feet and took off in a mad dash to escape the gunfire.

They skipped, ducked, and swerved from side to side to dodge the steel bullets that were rapidly being fired at them, and ran fast as they could to lose the armed troopers trailing not far behind them. Horrible, aggressive things were being yelled at them as they ran – things like "Traitors!" "Lowlifes!" "Criminals!" – As if they hadn't already heard it half a million times within the past week. The anger that dwelled inside them upon hearing those names made Bucky want to turn around and throw punches at every single one of Ross' men. But he kept running – as did the rest of them.

He ran, that is, until one of the trooper's silver bullets sliced through the air and pierced the skin and muscle of his thigh. He blared in pain as he tripped over himself; lurching to the ground and crashing into a nearby rock that was half buried into the ground's damp soil.

It happened so fast, but from his eyes it was seen in slow motion – slow contact, slow impact; slow fall. Everything flashed before him; not that he hadn't suffered the pain and shock of a bullet wound countless times before, but this time he couldn't walk – or at least that's what he figured as his leg smashed hard against the rock.

Wanda shrieked, "Bucky!!"

"Shit!" Sam yelled out of habit.

Bucky hissed, moaning in agony as he tried staggering to his feet. In fast motions, he propped himself onto the tips of his fingers and almost steadied himself on his uninjured leg, only to grasp his wounded leg in sharp jolts of pain and flail back onto the ground.

He gasped, shaking his head 'no' as Sam forced his arm out to reach him – "I can't walk! I can't walk!" He cried, "You have to leave me behind! I can't... I can't... I–"

Sam ignored his pleads, "Man, do you have any idea what Steve would do to us if we left you here!? – It's not gonna happen! C'mon!" He yanked at Bucky's arm and called for Scott, "Scott! Grab his other arm! Help him up!"

Scott sprinted to Bucky's side and wrapped his other arm around his shoulders and pulled, "It's alright, Mr. Barnes – we got you!" He was immediately embarrassed by his choice of words, but had no time to wallow in self-pity when Ross' men were just yards behind them.

Hastily but carefully, they helped Bucky to his feet and guided him. It was hard to run at their previous pace with Bucky's leg injury, not to mention they were still being fired at, but they managed to keep a steady jog through the trees. Unfortunately, at this disadvantage, the distance between them and Ross' men decreased drastically, and the four of them could almost hear their heavy breaths behind them. In a matter of minutes, they would be able to feel them as well.

Scott turned his head back to see the men and his heart dropped – they were so close; too close for comfort. "Guys..." He warned, "They're gaining on us!"

Bucky wouldn't let it go, "I'm slowing you guys down!" He claimed – which he was, but the only thing they could do about it was the only thing they wouldn't. "You have to leave me!"

"I already told you, man!" Sam retorted in between breaths, "It's not happening!"

Wanda had had enough. She slowed down where she was in front of the other three, whipped around, and began running in the opposite direction – towards Ross' men.

She planted herself like a wall; a barrier, between the men and the others. Sam slowed down their steps and he screamed at Wanda, terrified of what the hell she was planning to do. "Wanda!" He yelled, "What are you doing!?"

She didn't look back to acknowledge him. Instead, she twirled her hands in a circular motion, slowly curling and lengthening every finger, brewing a thick glowing red ball of energy. Her hands twisted and turned, and the more so they did, the larger the energy within them unraveled. Still completely focused on her doings, she hollered to Sam, "You guys go on! I'll hold them off."

Sam raised his brows with anger and concern, to the point where he almost released his grip on Bucky, and he roared, "Are you insane!?"

Wanda's bottom lip quivered and she bit down hard on it out of a mixture of emotions such as fear, determination... worry – etc. Still fixated on the projection of energy she was creating, she urged Sam and the others, "Go! Get as far from here as you can! I'll catch up!" She didn't need to look back to know that they weren't budging, so she whipped her head to look at them firmly and she ordered, "GO!"

Reluctantly, they forced themselves away and took off, but they refused to break eye sight of Wanda as she turned back around to face Ross' men, who were rapidly approaching her.

She watched the men come at her – quickly, feverishly. She knew right then how this would end for her. At that point she admitted to herself, this is where I go. But the closer they got, she remembered what she had said to Clint back at the Compound when she tried to control Vision. Her words echoed in her head, I can't control their fear... only my own – and then they rolled off her tongue with fury, "I can't control their fear... only my own!" It was not as if she were saying it to Ross' men, but she was saying it to herself – reminding herself that they would only destroy her if she let them... and she was not going to let them do so.

Then it truly began. They were feet away from her – almost all of their guns had ran out of bullets to fire. And with the flick of her wrist, she sent that ball of energy surging towards them at high speed – taking out a good five or six of the men at the front.

She continued this – manipulating the energy and using it to her advantage – exposing it to the troopers so aggressively, yet effortlessly, and radiating a power so mighty that she almost felt safe. Well, not safe – but not in danger – it was something she couldn't describe; only feel. And it raged through her blood and her veins. As the number of men firing at her decreased, it was as if a shield had been created and set around that small sliver of hope left within her – like the shell of a precious seed.

Then, in the blink of an eye and the sound of a trigger being pulled, it was all snatched away from her. She didn't have time to sense it and react before she was being tangled in a harsh, ragged net. The energy almost disappeared, as did that sliver of hope.

She flailed her arms viciously, trashing at the large net she was trapped under – trying to escape. But she couldn't. It was so heavy, and it pressed her so far against the ground that she couldn't even sit up straight without straining a muscle. She screamed; struggled, "Let me go!" As she tried to break free.

Then she felt a sharp, aching pain in the center of her back. She yelped and moved her hands quickly to grasp the hurting spot, and found her fingers wrapped around something plastic – something that felt much like one of those big needles at the doctor. She hissed and trailed her hands carefully up the needle and felt something fluffy.

No... she thought. She turned her head back to get a decent look at it while still trapped inside the net, and just as she worried, she had been shot with a tranquilizer dart. No! God, no!!

A chill traveled down her spine. It was less than a matter of seconds before her eyes and the sounds of the men around her blurred from her senses. She struggled to keep her eyes open and focus them on something – anything. But they didn't. And she felt her body give into the serum the second it spread through her bloodstream.

She dropped seemingly motionless to the side, and everything around her went black.

Bucky, Sam, and Scott had watched from afar; saw the entire thing from middle to end – wishing so desperately that Wanda had let them help. But she didn't, and now she was unconscious underneath a black net with Ross' men surrounding her.

Bucky lost it, "NO!!!–" but his wails were interrupted by Sam as he lunged at him; wrapping one hand around his head almost like a chokehold, and clasping his other hand tight over Bucky's mouth. Bucky moaned and cried through Sam's fingers, and Sam tightened his grip in worry and urged him to hush before they were caught a second time.

The three of them raised their heads above the large broken tree trunk that they had taken cover behind away from Ross' men. They watched in fear as Wanda was slowly scooped up and thrown over one of the men's shoulders; knowing full well that that was their fault for leaving her behind and there was nothing that they could do right then and there about it.

Sam wanted to act upon it. He wanted to bash Ross and his men with his fist and get Wanda back – save her. But it was like he was living through one of those horrible nightmares where you can't speak or move; only watch, so you just stand there like a deer caught in the headlights until you finally wake up. Only this wasn't a dream... and he wasn't waking up.

Scott trembled as he watched them carry Wanda's motionless body off, and he mumbled in panic the whole time, "Oh my God... oh my God... oh my God... no...."

And with that, Wanda and the men disappeared from their sight.

The man who had Wanda swung over the side of his shoulder tapped his earpiece and began to talk, "We've got Maximoff," He said to Ross through the device – raising his brow at the sight of her fragile body dangling from his shoulder and rolling his eyes in annoyance. The idea of enhanced beings disgusted him, let alone the sight of them. Not to mention the fact that the one he was carrying happened to be one of the world's biggest weapons of mass destruction. He looked away and continued talking into the earpiece, "We'll get her back to the helicopter and proceed looking for the others as planned–"

"Don't." Ross cut the man off.

The man stopped walking and brought his hand to his headset, once again confused by Ross' orders. "Sir?"

Ross sighed from the other end in an irritated manor. He impatiently explained, "We have Maximoff – that's an automatic advantage. At some point they'll come for her, and when they do..."

"When they do?" The man repeated in question.

Ross took a moment of pause before he finished, feeling so sly and victorious at his men's accomplishment... "We'll be ready."