Chapter Text
Steve's POV-
It is a war zone down here. Rubble blocks the streets—if the road hasn’t been torn apart entirely. People with thousand-yard stares stumble into the arms of first responders, to safety. Ash rains down from above like snow and everything is coated in a thick layer of grey. It’s pure chaos.
I help lift a man, who had been trying to navigate the rubble with a walker, into an ambulance. When he’s secured to a gurney, he thanks me with a pat on the shoulder while muttering something about me being a childhood legend of his. I get that a lot these days.
More often than not, I fail to comprehend just how much time passed between going into the ice and being thawed. 70 years. That man couldn’t be much older than that. A whole generation lived and died in that time.
I force myself to say something that Captain America would say. Keep it short. Catchy. Stoic. Maybe even throw in some patriotic undertones to be safe. The old man seems delighted by my words, and I hop out of the ambulance, not even knowing what it is I said.
As I survey the surrounding area for more survivors or injured, my head snaps in the direction of a whimper. It’s so soft that I wonder if it truly could have been the wind…but no. there it is again. Small, soft, and scared. A child’s cry.
The thought sends a rush of adrenalin through my body and I pick my pace. I search under over turned cars, peak into shop fronts, and scour the piles of broken concrete. Gosh…the image of fining a kid dead in the debris hits me with a wave of nausea. Luckily, that’s something I haven’t seen today, though it’s not an unfamiliar sight. Saw it a lot back in the war.
When I reach a pile of cars, it is undeniably the source of the noise. The vehicles had been thrown together in the battle into a twisted ball of sharp shredded metal. I find a hole big enough to squeeze through and peek under the heap of metal. And it’s not long until a young girl, bruised and bloody, catches my eye.
It is so dark under the wreckage that I can’t quite make out the features of her face, but it isn’t hard to see that she’s shivering. The weather is rather mild but with the added heat coming off the many burning structures throughout the city, it’s pretty warm tonight. I can’t imagine how scary this day has been for her.
"Hey there,” I ask kindly trying not to startle her. The girl looks up at me with tear filled eyes. “what's your name?”
"L-Lily," she whispers, only just loud enough for me to hear.
"Nice to meet you, Lily, I'm Steve. If you come with me, we can go look for your parents together."
She shakes her head, chin wobbling at my words, as more tears streamed down her dirt-covered cheeks.
"They're right there," she points to a car on my left.
It’s upside down and the frame of the roof is bent in. But through the shattered windows…Shit…a man and woman hang limply, held in place only by their seatbelts. The sight is unnerving and gruesome, to say the least. Blood drips down from the seats into a pool that has stained the concrete and crept close enough to Lilly that the toes of her shoes sit in the red liquid.
Her parents…they were long gone. Both she and I knew that. At least she looked old enough to understand the concept of death.
"Um,” I mull over what to say next. It’s hard enough to know what to tell an adult when someone dies. But what do you say to a child. “I’m sorry, Lily…how about you come with me, and we’ll get you to safety."
She shook her head, not wanting to leave her parents behind. My heart breaks for the girl. No kid should have to grow up without one of their parents, let alone have to watch the literal life force drain from both of them.
Seeing a few deep cuts littering her pale skin and possibly a broken bone or two, I reached out my hand and take her chin in my palm steering her eyes away from the graphic sight before her. "Lily, you’re hurt. Come on…you'll be safer out there than in here. I promise."
After a moment, the girl nods.
Slowly, I wriggle back out of the rubble, making that she never leaves my sight. It was apparent, by the way Lily struggled to crawl out, holding her right arm close to her chest, that the limb was broken. When she’s nearly out, I grab her up under her armpits and pull her to her feet.
"See,” I dust some ash off the top of her head and try to sound encouraging, “you're safe now."
My attempt to comfort must’ve had some effect as Lily pulls me into an unexpected one-arm embrace around my torso.
"Thank you," she breaths shakily through small sobs.
"You are very welcome," I smile as drop down to a kneel and meet her emerald, green eyes. "How old are you?”
"Twelve."
My heart sinks knowing that she likely fully understands that her parents are gone, and probably watched the life leave their bodies. She winces in pain as she shifts her weight. Something is definitely wrong with her right leg, too.
"Would you like me to carry you," I offer as she struggled to disguise the pain. Lily nods, almost imperceptibly, so I scoop her up. "Let's get you to an ambulance."
She nestles her face into the fabric of my suit, trying to hide her cries.
Carefully, I make my way to the flashing lights of the line of ambulances that wait at the end of the street for survivors. Finally, I get to an open one and set Lily on the gurney.
Her right shoulder seemed to be dislocated, and she said her wrist hurt, so there could be more unseen damage. A large bruise ran down the side of her right leg, too, spanning from where her shorts stopped, down to her knee. Cuts littered her skin, but they all seemed to be superficial and not immediately concerning.
After talking to the medic for a bit, I started to walk away but stopped by a small hand grasping onto mine for what seemed to be dear life.
"Please don't leave," Lily pled, tears threatening to spill over her lashes. Her small fear ridden face pulled at my heartstrings. It would be cruel of me to say no. She’d been alone under that rubble for too long.
"I won't leave," I smile and her face instantly relaxes with relief.
"Promise?" Her eyes sparkled with hope.
"Yeah,” I ruffle her dirty blonde hair, “I promise."