White noise… that's all she could hear. It was Thomas in front of her, she knew that much, his mouth was moving and his eyes were full of worry as he spoke to her but she couldn't hear him or take in anything he was saying. All she could hear was white noise. Everytime she blinked, Evelyn would see Olive look at her before fiery flames engulfed her and it made her feel sick. Olive was gone and now they were lost in this forest.

She had no idea what to do next.

The wooden angel that Olive had given her weighed heavily in her pocket along with the photograph that she had ran back and got out of her room before the bomb had hit. Before…

Olive shouldn't have given you that… if she had it then she wouldn't have died. It's your fault.

Closing her eyes, Evelyn couldn't help but listen to the small voice in her head even though it made her chest hurt. The guilt ate away at her and she jumped slightly as Thomas put his hands on her shoulder and she finally blinked and the white noise disappeared.

"Evie! We have to keep moving," Thomas snapped, shaking her slightly, his eyes narrowing onto hers "Peter's already not talking, I don't need you doing the same. C'mon now."

Evelyn registered his words and looked over to see Peter sitting listlessly on the ground, staring blankly into the woods. He was in a bad state and needed her. They both did. Evelyn let out a shaky breath, "Olive died…" she whispered unable to stop herself from saying it even though saying it out loud made it true, "she… she died…"

"You're still in shock… I know that," Thomas murmured, his voice softening as he kneeled down in front of her, "first time I seen a bomb explode and kill people, I was a mess but unfortunately we need to keep moving. We have to get to the next camp."

"There's another camp?" Evelyn asked quietly and her eyes widened with faint hope, "Is that where the others will be?"

"It's where everyone would go in case of an emergency," Thomas nodded and patted his jacket pocket and it was then that Evelyn noticed it was sticking out slightly, "These papers have to get to Colonel Phillips so that means the Germans can't find us and take them off my corpse. So get your ass up and let's get going."

Pulling on her hands slightly, Thomas gave her a smile as she stood and gave him a weak nod "Sorry for…" Evelyn stopped and felt her throat close up before she could finish her sentence. She hated feeling so weak. Especially at a time like this.

"Don't worry 'bout it, lass," Thomas said softly, squeezing her arm, "it's a shit time we're all going through. Don't beat yourself up."

Evelyn watched as Thomas brought out a map and begin to read it. At least someone knew where they were going. Sighing, she walked over to Peter and forced a small smile onto her face to try and calm him but he didn't even make eye contact with her, despite Evelyn standing right in front of him.

"Come on, Peter," Evelyn said quietly, holding out her hand to the trembling man "we're going to get you somewhere safe."

Peter looked up at her, "Nowhere's safe, Nurse Myers," he whispered, "they're everywhere… there is no-one H.Y.D.R.A can't get too."

Frowning, Evelyn shook her head, "H.Y.D.R.A? What is that? Do you mean the Nazis?"

"It's not just Germans," Peter said shakily, digging his nails into his hands so hard that they were turning white, "the worst people of mankind join them and H.Y.D.R.A makes them worse…" he stopped talking and his face blanched as he suddenly gripped his head and shook it vehemently "remove one head and two more will take its place! You can't stop them, we tried and we couldn't!"

Thomas came over and frowned at Peter as he repeated the phrase over and over, "What's got him all riled up?" he asked and Evelyn shrugged in response. She wondered what the hell H.Y.D.R.A was and why it terrified Peter so much.

"I don't know… something about H.Y.D.R.A?" Evelyn repeated, wondering what the hell Peter and his team had been doing before he was brought to the hospital. It had obviously affected him.

Shrugging, Thomas shook his head, "We should start walking this way. With any luck we'll get there in a couple of days," he rubbed his shoulder that previously had had bullets in it and winced, "unless God smiles on us and sends a patrol with a car to give us a lift."

Evelyn pulled on Peter's hand and he obediently stood up and began to follow her and Thomas through the woods. As they walked Evelyn couldn't help but wish that Steve was here, to say something comforting… to help her through this like he had always done. All the letters from him were now burnt to a crisp along with all those new clothes she had bought-

Tripping over a root, Evelyn felt the immense guilt as she steadied herself and told Thomas she was fine while shakily pushing her hair out of her face. People had died, lost their lives and all she could think of was letters and clothes. And shouldn't she have wanted Bucky here? He would be beside himself with worry wondering what the hell had happened to her and where she could be and here she was wishing that Steve, her best friend not her boyfriend, was here instead.

Rubbing her arms in an attempt to keep warm, Evelyn sniffed and pushed all thoughts of Bucky and Steve from her mind. She already hated herself for what happened to Olive, the last thing she needed was more guilt to weigh her down.

The night air was cool and Evelyn could feel herself shivering as Thomas led them through the darkened woods. Every so often she would hear a noise and the hairs on the back of her neck would stand up, imaging Nazis coming out of the darkness with their guns aimed at the three survivors and the sound of gunfire. A noise that she knew only too well now.

How she wished that it was daylight… although, they at least had the cover of darkness to hide them. She just had to suck it up and keep moving. It felt like several hours that they had been walking, stopping a few times for Thomas to check the map or to make sure Peter was alright. The sky was starting to lighten a little and Evelyn wondered what time it was.

"How're you both doing?" Thomas asked, glancing over his shoulder at them, "We'll stop for a break soon."

Evelyn nodded, "Thank god," she said, her breath hitting the cold air "I feel like my legs are going to give out."

"You doin' okay, Pete?" Thomas asked, looking concerned as the man walked slowly behind them both.

"… two more take it's place," Evelyn heard him mutter and shared a worried look with Thomas "no point, they always win…"

"Oh, that old chestnut," Thomas murmured and slowed his pace to catch up with Evelyn, "he's cracked…" he whispered to her, looking back at Peter, "we're gonna have to keep an extra eye on him."

Evelyn frowned a little "I don't think he's a danger to us…" but the doubt was in her voice, "I mean… has he ever reacted violently in the hospital?"

"Just once…" Thomas admitted, "A nurse accidentally tuned into a German radio show and he thought we were under attack and that the nurse was a spy. Started choking her and it took three of us to pull him off of her."

Shaking slightly, Evelyn looked down at the ground as she continued to stumble through the forest, "I think he's more scared of what's happening…" she said softly, hoping that her gut was right, "he knows we're his allies… he won't do anything stupid."

"Well, here's hoping that you're right," Thomas sighed, shifting the gun in his hands in a way that made Evelyn a little nervous, "I have to get back to that camp. These papers are important."

Biting her lip, Evelyn glanced back at Peter and felt a rush of sympathy for the man. As far as she knew, he had no family back home. He certainly never received any gifts or letters while he was in her care at the hospital. To think of him in this state with no family made Evelyn's heart ache.

Though who was she to talk? All she had was an alcoholic aunt who hated her. Hardly a family. Who knows what she would have turned out like if she didn't have Steve and Bucky in her life?

„Wir verschwenden unsere Zeit . Keine Nachzügler würden so weit gekommen!"

Evelyn felt her blood run cold and froze on the spot as did Thomas and Peter, looking around for the source of the voice, Evelyn suddenly caught sight of a flashlight searching the dark woods. Thomas turned and she seen that his face was incredibly pale, "Get down!" he ordered, quickly lying on the ground.

Following suit, Evelyn pulled Peter down beside her and was glad for the thicket of bushes to help them remain unseen. It sounded like only two Germans but she didn't dare raise her head to check for fear of giving them away. With her head pressed against the ground, she pressed her lips together in an attempt to remain quiet and heard her heartbeat thundering in her chest. Glancing at Peter, she seen him shaking and gently put a hand on his and was glad when he put his hand over hers and squeezed.

The last thing they needed was for him to panic and give them away.

The German voices seemed to get so close that Evelyn closed her eyes and just waited for them to shout out as they caught sight of them but it never happened. Shakily turning her head, she looked at Thomas who was bravely sitting up with his back to a tree, gun in his hand, watching as the Germans slowly walked by them. He turned his gaze and gave her a weak smile.

They just might make it through this.

Evelyn was just ready to hope when the two soldiers suddenly laughed and shouted out a comment, something that made Peter tense up and begin to tremble.

"Hail H.Y.D.R.A!"

"No, no, no, no!" Peter muttered, pushing his face into the dirt and then banging it on the ground as Evelyn began to panic at his reaction to those words, "NO!"

Thomas swore under his breath and glanced at Evelyn, "Shut him up!" he hissed, holding his gun tighter as he looked through the bushes "He'll bring them back this way."

Evelyn reached over and tried to calm Peter down, "Peter, please!" she whispered desperately "You have to be quiet!"

"I can't go back… I won't go back!" Peter said, his eyes wild and wide with fear, "I won't let them change me!"

"Peter, shhh! Please!" Evelyn gripped his hand but he wrenched it away and started to get up, "Get down now!"

Peter met her eyes and gave her a sad look, "H.Y.D.R.A will get to you too…" he said sadly, "and then you'll understand."

Evelyn felt chilled by his words but it felt like she had just blinked and suddenly Peter was on his feet and running through the woods, whimpering and pleading with God to save him. Evelyn raised herself up slightly, ready to run after him without thinking when there was a shout and then several gun shots.

And suddenly Peter wasn't running anymore.

Evelyn covered her mouth to stop herself from screaming as a German soldier walked over to Peter's corpse and gave it a kick, she closed her eyes and shook as she heard the other soldiers walk not that far in front of them and thanked God with everything in her that it was dark.

"Er ist tot. Es kann nicht mehr Nachzügler sein. Mach weiter."

They both began to walk back in the direction that they came and Evelyn lay there in the dirt with tears streaming down her cheeks. She didn't know how long she lay there but it felt like an age before she heard movement and Thomas knelt beside her with one hand on her back.

"Evie… we need to keep moving," he whispered and she heard him let out a haggard sigh "we can't do anything else for him."

"They shot him… I couldn't save him, he just-he just got up and ran. I couldn't help him… just like I couldn't help Olive," Evelyn could hear the anxiety in her voice as it got higher, "he's dead… he's dead."

Thomas let out a shaky breath, "Evelyn… you couldn't have stopped him. If you had tried, you'd be lying dead as well. Peter was too far gone to be saved, even by you," he said quietly, "he wasn't going to have a life… but you can."

It began to rain and Evelyn felt the cold hit her even more as the wind blew through the trees but it didn't matter, she already felt numb, "I'm like the angel of death," she whispered, feeling the wooden angel against her leg, "people die around me."

"Are you hell," Thomas said, sitting down next to her and sounding confused, "how the heck did you come to that idea?"

Evelyn felt herself tremble and closed her eyes, "You're going to think I'm being stupid," she whispered, hoping that the rain was hiding her tears "God… it's going to sound absurd when I say it out loud."

"Try me, I worked with Dugan for a year and a half," Thomas joked, rubbing her back comfortingly "I doubt anything you could say can beat him and his conspiracy theories."

Evelyn sat up and wiped her eyes before bringing out the wooden angel and showed it to Thomas, "All her life Olive has been in danger but she's gotten through it. This was her lucky charm…" out of the corner of her eyes, Evelyn seen Thomas give her a sympathetic glance "and I can't stop thinking about how the night she gives me it… well, we both know how that night ended. For her and for Peter."

Thomas was silent for a moment before he sighed, "Yeah, we do... but I will say this," he said softly "it isn't your fault that Olive died or Peter. Evie… you didn't curse them because you had the angel and if Olive was here, we both know that she'd slap the back of your head and tell you to stop thinking like this."

"But…"

Holding up a hand, Thomas tilted his head and looked at the starry sky, "What's that Olive?" he asked and Evelyn smiled faintly "Yeah, I know… she's being a total eejit. I'll do that now," he gently tapped the back of her head and smiled at her, "stop thinking like this, Nurse Myers. Now, come on, we need to go."

But what about Peter?

Sniffing hard, Evelyn got to her knees and wiped her hands on the now dirty shirt she had put on, the smile slipping off of her face "So we leave him lying on the ground with no funeral?" she asked, her voice shaking as she spoke "Two bodies that we can't bury," her voice broke at the word 'bodies'.

"That's the thing about war," Thomas answered her sadly and she met his eyes slowly "people die… and there's fuck all we can do about it."

Evelyn lowered her gaze and nodded, "I know… it's just so unfair," she whispered and glance over to where Peter had fallen, "we should at least get his dog-tags," she said despite the apprehension she felt to see yet another corpse tonight.

As if he knew what was making her hesitant, Thomas shook his head, "I'll get them off of the…. Off of Peter," he corrected himself and stood up slowly, glancing around, "it isn't something that you should do. You've been through enough."

"So have you," Evelyn pointed out as he helped her to stand and she felt like a standing target now and Thomas gave her a weak smile.

"I'm a soldier… protecting people is what I do," he said quietly, "wait here, I'll get them and we can get the hell out of here. I don't know about you… but I'm sick of these woods."

Evelyn sighed as he walked towards Peter's body and felt exhausted. In the blink of an eye, everything had gone too shit. Looking up at the night sky and feeling the rain hit her face, she held back her tears and said a silent prayer for Peter and for Olive and Dr. Martell, hoping that they all had finally found peace.

"Here… you take care of them just now," Thomas said, wiping his eyes quickly and looking like he had aged a decade tonight, "he trusted you the most."

Instead of making her feel better, his words just made Evelyn feel worse inside. He trusted me and I let him down… another person dead because of me.

Holding out her hand, Evelyn accepted the dog-tags and closed her fist over them tightly before putting them into her pocket. She stood quiet for a moment, listening to the sound of the rain and let out a shaky breath before turning to Thomas, "Let's get the hell out of here," she said.