The tapping of her shoes on the floor of the lab faded into a soft crunch as her soles landed on fallen leaves.
V came to a stop, taking a deep breathe of the damp forest.
Someone clamped a hand over her mouth and shoved her up against the nearest tree.
She prepared to retaliate when he spoke.
"Valery!"
She opened her eyes just in time to see Bucky standing over her.
"Where the hell have you been?" He whispered.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breathe around his fingers.
He finally took his hand away from her mouth.
"I couldn't sleep. I went for a walk."
"You've been gone for hours."
"I've got a lot on my mind, Bucky."
"So you run off into the woods alone in a warzone?"
She looked at his face in the dark.
His face was angry, but his eyes weren't. His eyes were bright with something else, something she couldn't remember.
"I just wanted to get away."
"Well, next time don't get away alone. I was about to search every inch of camp until I saw your footprints headed this way."
"My footprints?"
"It helped that you have the smallest feet of everyone in camp."
Something snapped from deep in the forest.
"It's probably an animal." Bucky told her, looking skeptical.
"There are no animals around camp." She informed him.
"You can't know that."
"Yes, I can." She glanced back at him. "Where's your rifle?"
"The arms room. The Major didn't think I needed it to be an escort."
She scoffed.
There was another snap, off to their left.
"James." She whispered.
He didn't reply, but his posture changed.
She looked out into the darkness. "There are 3 of them."
"We need to get back to camp." He took her hand.
"We won't make it." She slipped her fingers from his. "Stay here."
"What?" He reached for her again but she had vanished into the darkness.
There was a shout before it turned into a gurgling sound.
A grunt came from Bucky's right before a body thudded to the ground.
A German soldier stepped into sight and raised his weapon at the Sargent. Before he could get a shot off, a small pale hand landed on his shoulder and a knife appeared through his chest.
Valery appeared as the man fell to the ground.
"We have to report this to the Major." Bucky stated, looking from the bloody knife to V's face.
"No, we don't."
"Nazis are attacking the camp."
"They're not Nazis. They're from Hydra." She tore a patch off of one of their uniforms.
"Someone will find their bodies."
"Not once I'm done with them." She took off her jacket, handing it to him. "Go back to camp. I'll be there shortly."
"You can't move all three of them by yourself."
"Go back to camp, James."
He prepared to argue, but her face warned him otherwise. "Be back before dawn."
She nodded.