Prologue

Selene was trapped.

Somehow she had always known that it would end up like this. Since the day it all had started.

Since the day, she had chosen to fight for what was good. Since the day, she wanted the world to be a better place for Lorelei and others like her.

Somehow she had always known that the day will come where she had to make a choice. She just didn't know how hard it would be to make that decision.

"It doesn't have to end like this. Don't make me do it please."

Her throat tightened, feeling the tears threatening to escape her eyelids. She wasn't that person anymore. She didn't beg anymore.

"That's where you're wrong honey…I warned you."

She shuddered. He was behind her, whispering in her ear. His mouth was practically kissing her ear and, she could smell cigarette emanating from him, making her want to puke. She could also feel the pressure of the blade on her back. The gun, in her hands, felt heavier as the minutes passed and her body was shaking.

"You're not going to kill me. You made a promise." she said, her voice low, and he chuckled.

"But you know I like to play dirty, don't you?" He replied, adding pressure on her back.

She bit her lips. He wouldn't hear her cry tonight. She wasn't going to give him this satisfaction. He had tried to make her break, but somehow she managed to keep herself sane.

She must tried to stay sane. She must tried to survive. People were counting on her.

She dropped the gun on the floor. She had made a decision. He laughed behind her.

She kept her eyes on the floor, avoiding to look at the man who was tied to a chair before her. She didn't want to look at his bruised face. Shame and guilt overcame her, and tears finally escaped her lids.

Selene felt the man moving from behind, then he was in front of her. He crouched to take the gun from the ground.

When she heard him triggered the gun, her head snapped up to look at him. He was pointing the gun to the other man's head, and she suddenly felt dread taking over her body.

"No!" she screamed, but she felt herself being pulled backwards.

Two men were holding her back. Still, she kept on struggling against them but it was pointless.

"What are you doing?" She yelled, still staring at the gun that was against the man's head.

"I told you to choose but you chose wrong."

"Selene..."

She finally looked at him. His face was barely recognizable but his eyes were still the same. He smiled at her and she felt her heart clenched.

"Adam, I'm so sorry." She sobbed. "I wasn't strong enough."

"It's ok Selene, you're going to be ok."

She shook her head, disagreeing. No, it wasn't going to be ok. She felt like everything would become worse from there.

"You're right buddy! Everything will be fine."

Selene watched with horror as the man finally pulled the trigger, and the other man's face blew up from the shot. Her eyes closed shut as she felt blood spilling on her face, and she dropped on her knees.

She felt him moving again and, in a second, he was before her. He crouched down as well and forced her to look at him, his hand was encircling her throat. "Don't make that mistake again."

Anger filling her veins, she spat at him. He said nothing and stood up, still watching her. She held his gaze, not wanting to show him that she was terrified inside.

"This day was eventful, wasn't it?" He said, cheerfully. "But now, it's time to sleep honey."

Her eyes widened, but she remained silent. A part of her eager to finally sleep. She needed to sleep.

She felt herself being dragged out of the room and minutes later, she was back to her cold room. Her new place. They set her on her bed and she felt the needle entered her skin once again.

She was smiling when her eyes finally closed.

(…)

When she opened them again, it was to find herself in her apartment back in Bucharest.

"Hey? You ok there?"

There he was, standing in the middle of her living room. His blue eyes were the only thing that kept her sane in this world of madness. With a smile, she hurled herself towards him and he welcomed her in his arms.

"I miss you James."

-/-

The bus came to a halt and Lori exited it, wearing a backpack. She noticed the public restroom and looked around her to see if she wasn't being followed. She pushed one of the toilets' door and closed it behind her, before she sat on the john.

She removed the bag from her back and put it on the floor before her. She pulled the sonogram out of the bag and carefully scanned it with her eyes.

She grinned, knowing that she had been right all along. She put the paper back in the bag and pulled a pocket knife out of it.

"I can't believe I'm going to do this."

But the teenager was determined. She needed to do this.

She raised her T-shirt and carefully felt around her left side. She froze when she finally felt the little bump under her fingers. Shaking a little, she pressed the blade on her skin.

"Come on Lori, you can do this…" she whispered.

Selene's face came into her mind and she took a deep breathe. She bit her lips hard when the blade entered her skin, the pain was immediate and she muffled a cry. When she was done, the blade dropped from her hand. She, then, removed the little black device from her body before she crashed it with her foot.

"Shit."

She must have cut deeper because the blood was flowing a little bit much for her liking. She put some bandage on the wound before she lowered her shirt.

Lorelei took the knife from the ground and put it back in the bag. Now, she needed to go somewhere.

-/-

She hold her left side with her right hand and gripped the banister with her other hand, as she walked up the stairs. Every move she made pulled a moan of pain from her lips and she took a break to breathe again. When she reached the floor she'd been looking for, she sighed with relief and then she headed for his door.

She hesitated for a moment before she knocked on the door. Her vision was starting to get blurry and she could feel her hand being soaked with blood. A few seconds later, she heard a muffled sound and then, the door opened. When she saw his face, she smiled – relieved that she had finally found him.

James Bucky Barnes was standing in front of her, looking confused but she cannot blame it. After all, he didn't know who she was.

"Hi. I need your help."

He stared at her left side, frowning for a moment and then, back at her. "Are you ok? Who are you?"

She glanced at her injury and then she looked at him again, smiling faintly. "Don't worry about it. And for your other question, my name is Lorelei – but you can call me Lori. I'm here for my friend Selene. I need your help to find her, she had disappeared."

Chapter 1 coming soon.