Chapter Text
CHAPTER 1
Date: 2017, December 12
The snow was thick and heavy, the cold was biting at his skin, digging his hands in his pockets, Bucky had stumbled into the evergreen forest. Large trees covered the surface with moonlight peeking through the branches. Bucky Barnes was hiding from the Mythical Agency. He wiped whatever blood was left from his lip and cheek and continued walking, following the footpath. Not many people go down into the forest because of people’s reputation of mythical creatures.
The Agency has been tracking him down because his mother was married to a werewolf. They hunt these mythical creatures and beings down for sport, experimenting or selling them for money. It wasn’t fun. Not for his family. Not for other Mythical Creatures. He just barely escaped with his life. He was panting heavily, he could see his own breath through this jarring cold weather. He heard shouting from a few metres away, flashlights circling the area, he hid behind the trees, blending into the shadows. “Anything at all?” Grumbled an irritated voice, it was none other than Francesco, the one with the power under all this mess. “No sir,” replied an agent “it looks like he’s ran into the forest.”
“Then go in there!” He cried “I want Barnes’ head on my wall by sundown. I want his heart beating on a lab desk, WEREWOLVES MUST DIE!” His heart was pounding, his palms were sweaty. Any wrong move and he could be found. Shot dead in minute…? What a great death to avenge the ancestors, he thought sarcastically.
“S-Sir the forest is known to be cursed.” Replied a scientist nervously.
“Cursed or not, I don’t give a damn!” He shouted, Bucky could smell the lingering smoke from his cigarette.
Cursed? Bucky stumbled further into the darkness, he stepped on a twig, it snapped. He didn’t care if it was cursed now, he had to run for his life. Again. The sound caught their attention and he began to run, the snow crunching under his steps, seeping into the darkness, hoping that one day he’ll get a way out of this.
Three Years Later
Date: 2020, September 2
Another bullet was shot into a nearby tree, bits of bark and wood chips flew everywhere. “Still on the search for that werewolf…uh…Barnes is it?” Natasha asked, firing another bullet into the tree.
Sam nodded, sitting down on the soft grass, reading the case file. She had hair that cascaded down her back, curled into red shimmering locks. “Sadly yes,” Sam sighed, flipping through the pages “there’s not much about his whereabouts.”
Just a few blocks down there was a beach, where the waves crashed onto the soft sand and the seagulls cackled under the sunlight of the chattering people. The two of them walked through that beach to get to this forest. They heard a rustling in the leaves, occasionally there will be a deer to two running around in the forest. “Is this place really cursed?” Natasha asked, setting down her gun.
The birds were fluttering freely as the branches swayed and danced in the wind. “That was a rumour about it being cursed. People think. Barnes ran in here to escape – no one knows if he’s dead or not.” Sam explained, looking into the thick trees of the forest. Bucky was the only one who knew where he was, which makes it even harder for Sam to do his job.
Natasha sighs, digging through her backpack and opening a can of coke, the metal releasing with the satisfying pop and soft sizzle. “I remember when I caught my first werewolf,” Natasha smiles proudly “it’s fur is currently on my floor as a rug. It was satisfying to see a werewolf up-close without being killed by one.” Sam shakes off the awful feeling of having dead animal fur laying as a decor in your house.
“What happened it it?” Sam asked.
“It got locked up, experimented on. I think it’s name was under the Danvers? Or was it Lang…? Anyways, pretty sure it died in the lab.”
She said, taking a swig of her drink. He paused, remembering the niggling stories that spread around back in HQ. “Didn’t you catch a unicorn with Maria?” Sam asked, now very interested in his experienced friend of Mythical Creature capturing. Natasha nodded in response, she looked down at her watch and rose from the floor.
“It’s eight o’clock,” she said, signalling him to get up also. “Fury would want us back by now, she said, taking out the keys from her leather jacket, jingling then for a moment.
Sam dusted himself off, they walked side by side to reach her car. “What happens after all the Mythical Creatures die?” Sam said, putting on his seatbelt, Natasha started the car. It roared with confidence as she drove onto the highway. “They never die.” She replied simply, remembering what Fury had told her.
“Are you sure? They have to be like…let’s say - Elephants, right? Because they’re going extinct because people hunted them for their tusks.” He noted, she chewed on her lip and turned a corner. She hadn’t thought about it that way “they’re magical. They must rebirth somehow.” Natasha assured, not wanting to have her rookie friend question it to authority.
Sam nodded, he turned on the radio, a familiar Queen song started playing. Their town was quiet cosy, with little shops and a bakery, with restaurants that bubbled with noise, the smell of the fresh garden roses from the parks and the smiles on the people. Sometimes there were alleyways that no one would enter because of the smell of smoke or the screams of a victim. Sometimes there were apartments where people would have loud parties, there would be chirping schools that would have students hold hands and sing songs together. Sam never thought twice about leaving this place. It was perfect. Apparently all they needed to do is to get rid of Mythical Creatures.
Sam looked back at the case file, staring into the steel blue eyes that were captured in the photo. He almost looks harmless, he thought, but he isn’t - werewolves kill twenty people a year. He’s not. That’s why Sam signed up, so he can protect his friends and family, so he can get a job and help him explore more of this strange predicament. He will find Barnes, he will find him and kill him for sure. Natasha pulled up at the HQ, the shiny tall grey building with the logo of a sword piercing through a Phoenix.
As she parked the car, they got out, walking into the foyer. People in suits walked around with clipboards and scientist scrolling through pages of information on their newest experiment, there were the wounded on medical beds, being wheeled off to another ward.
There was a lot of chatter and energy going around. The receptionist was none other than Clint Barton, an old friend of Natasha’s. “Hey Nat,” he smiled, shaking her hand “hey Sam.”
“Hey,” Sam smiled. He’s only been here for a few months and Clint treats him like a brother already. “Is Fury wanting to see us?” She asked, Clint typed on his keyboard and looked up to them.
“He just wants to see Mr Wilson. He’s got new information on Barnes. Nat, you’re to meet Rogers on the third floor, another goblin escaped the ward.”
“Again?” Natasha sighed “well, alright. See you, Sam!” She said, walking off to the elevator. “I’ve haven’t been to Fury’s office in ages.” Sam chuckled, saying goodbye to Clint. He took the second elevator to the eighth floor, wondering what this new information was.