I still don't own.
"Be kind, everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about." ~ Wendy Mass
Anora was sobbing, gasping for breath, as she stumbled along after her brother, clutching his hand like a life line. She could feel someone following them, and she wasn't wrong. She saw her brother's foot catch on a root and he let go of her hand as he tumbled forward.
"Jace!" she cried as a figure came toward them through the trees.
Jaycen was in pain and in a panic. Why? Why hadn't he watched where he was going?
"Jace!"
"Nora what are you doing? Run!" Why had come back? She had to keep running.
"No! We just lost Mummy and Daddy, I'm not losing you too!"
"Nora-" Jace felt his heart break a bit more. Nora knew, she knew that they weren't going to see mom and dad again, she knew that they were dying, she knew.
"No Jacy!"
He tried to stand, but his ankle hurt, he cried and fell back to the ground, why did it have to hurt so bad? Jace's eyes flicked past his baby sister and what he saw made him freeze. The man was there, the one from the house. The one who had pointed the gun at mom and dad, the one mom had been staring at like she'd seen a ghost.
Jace saw Nora turn and follow his eyes.
The soldier saw the boy fall. He heard the girl call the boy's name and run back to him. The soldier stopped a few yards from them.
"Nora what are you doing? Run!"
"No! We just lost Mummy and Daddy, I'm not losing you too!"
"Nora-"
"No Jacy!" the girl was sobbing, they both were. The boy tried to get up, but cried out in pain and collapsed when he put weight on his ankle.
The soldier stepped toward them, gun out in case it was needed to retrieve the targets. The soldier felt his stomach roll and his heart clench. He didn't want to do this. It doesn't matter what you want. You have your orders. Complete the mission.
Nora looked up at the man, her eyes wide as she clung to her brother's hand and to her teddy bear. Why? Why was he doing this? Anora could tell he didn't want to, so why was he?
"Why?" she asked her voice shaking. The man froze and looked at her. "Why are you doing this? Why?"
"Orders."
"Whose orders?" Nora stared at him, she wanted to know who was doing this and why. She was curious, just like always. Daddy had told her curiosity was a good thing, but sometimes you don't like what you find out.
"HYDRA."
Her eyes widened even more. HYDRA? They were the people who tried to hurt granddad and his friends in the war. They were supposed to be gone.
"Wh-why?" Jace was just as scared as she was, more than she was probably. Jacy always got really, really quiet when he was super scared.
"You're special. They need you as assets."
"T-to do w-what?" Jace stuttered. Anora glanced at him. She had no clue what 'assets' meant, but she knew he did, Jace was always reading.
"Change the world. Free it."
Anora was confused. "Free it from what?"
"Freedom."
"wha-? But that's silly. The world doesn't need freed from freedom. It- it needs people to care about each other and love each other and to stop caring about themselves more than everyone else. The world needs freedom. It needs people helping people cuz it's the nice thing to do. It needs love and hope and faith in the good things. Not- not what HYDRA did- not what it does. 'Specially if it tears families apart and hurts people and makes 'em do things they don't wanna do. And you don't wanna do what you've done or are gonna do, you shouldn't have to."
"It doesn't matter what I want. I have my orders. I have to complete the mission."
"What d'ya mean what you want doesn't matter? You're a person, what you want matters. You don't wanna follow your orders. You think it's wrong. Why doesn't that matter?"
The girl looked at him.
"Freed from what?"
"Freedom." He saw her face change from confusion to disbelief.
"wha-? But that's silly. The world doesn't need freed from freedom. It- it needs people to care about each other and love each other and to stop caring about themselves more than everyone else. The world needs freedom. It needs people helping people cuz it's the nice thing to do. It needs love and hope and faith in the good things. Not- not what HYDRA did- not what it does. 'Specially if it tears families apart and hurts people and makes 'em do things they don't wanna do. And you don't wanna do what you've done or are gonna do, you shouldn't have to."
It didn't matter. It didn't matter what he thought or felt. Orders were orders. He had to complete his mission. But he felt dizzy. What the child had said made his head spin and made him feel ill.
"It doesn't matter what I want. I have my orders. I have to complete the mission." He managed to grind the words out. His head hurt.
"What d'ya mean what you want doesn't matter? You're a person, what you want matters. You don't wanna follow your orders. You think it's wrong. Why doesn't that matter?"
the girl's head tilted to the side. The boy was breathing hard, trying to stave off the pain. The girl was looking at him with wide sad eyes. The soldier couldn't let HYDRA corrupt their innocence. The children's parents protected them. They probably protected each other. The boy had tried to protect his sister. She had run back for him. Something stirred in the back of his mind.
"Courage is listening with your heart and doing the right thing. It's not charging into battle and war and conflict without fear or thought. It's… it's showing mercy and compassion. It's doing the right thing, even when you're afraid and uncertain. It's saving a life and making a different call when you're told to pull the trigger."
The soldier was on his hands and knees, panting, his vision swimming. He knew that voice, he'd known the woman who'd said that. God, his head hurt. Those kids needed to get out of here, he had to get them out of here before the rest of his team showed up.
"Run." He gasped, looking up at the two terrified children. "Run. Quick, before they get here, before they make me- Go."
"Thank you." The girl helped her brother stand. They started away from the soldier going as quickly as they could. The soldier looked around for a way to incapacitate himself, he didn't want to know where the kids went in case he would have to go after them.
The children stopped. The boy leaned against a tree. He looked at them. Wondering why they stopped. The girl looked at the branch above him then directly at him.
"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, they'll hurt you and I'm so sorry." She said, her eyes glowed for a moment, he heard a crack, and then everything went dark.
"Thank you." Jace said, he didn't trust the soldier, not totally, but Nora had been right, he didn't want to hurt them. Nora helped him to his feet and helped him limp away as fast as he could. They were several yards away when she stopped. Jace looked at her, he knew what she was thinking, she was thinking of what Uncle Nick had told them to do if they needed to run and someone was following them. Jaycen leaned against a tree as she turned around. The man looked up at them, obviously confused.
"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, they'll hurt you and I'm so sorry." Jace knew Anora really was sorry, not just for what she was about to do, but because HYDRA would hurt him for letting them get away. He watched as he branch above the man crashed down on him, making him crumple to the ground.
"Come on Nora." Jace whispered gently tugging his little sister's arm. "We have to go. We have to hide."
Nora nodded. He knew she hated hurting people, even if there was no other choice. He swung his arm around her little shoulders and they walked, or in his case, hobbled, away quick as they could. The others were probably looking for them, and they didn't know when the man would come to. Jace sent a little prayer to whoever would listen.
Keep Nora and me safe. Keep that man safe too. He helped us and he disobeyed orders to do it. God help him. Have mercy on him.