Lost + Found [Bucky Barnes] ✓

Chapter 41

It was her.

Artemis.

My sister blew up the nursing home where I used to work. We watched the video, my mind reeling as I saw her step into the building - every inch of her body glowing like a coal - while the camera waited outside. A minute later, everything was gone.

The explosion shook the ground, even causing the person holding the camera to stumble, while the flames lapped at the sky. Smoke billowed around, darkening the bright sun until it was impossible to see anything. I know what it looks like though. I saw the news report.

Gone. Everything gone. Everyone gone.

My sister. My work. My friends.

Paul.

Oh god, Paul. I loved working with that sweet old man, and I couldn't bear thinking about his death. His murder. All of them dead because of me.

How will I tell my mom? How will I tell her that the maniacs who kidnapped my sister killed her? Because I didn't listen to them? She'll hate me. Hell, I hate myself.

I could've stopped this. I could've stopped them, prevented this from happening. If I had gone alone, if I had kept Bucky out of this, then it never would've happened. Artemis would be alive right now. Paul would be alive right now. My colleagues and patients...

Moving forward, I open my mouth to tell Sam to stop the video - I don't want to watch any more of this horror - but a movement in the clearing smoke causes me to freeze. I can see a silhouette, my eyes straining to make out the form, and I nearly choke when I realize that it's my sister.

Artemis is stepping through the wreckage of the explosion, picking her way through the rubble and the bodies, and I can hear her laugh echoing over the noise. It's a cacophony of sounds - crying, sirens, the crackle of the still-burning fire - but her laughter stands out. Her smile twists over her features, and I can barely make out the orange glow still burning beneath her skin. Smoke pours off her body, and there's a maniacal glint in her eyes painting her features until I can hardly recognize the results.

"Handy trick, isn't it sis?" Artemis calls out to the camera. "Thought you'd appreciate a demonstration."

She kicks a piece of rubble, and I nearly vomit when she leans down to prop it up.

It isn't debri, it's a body.

"All you had to do was turn yourself in," she continues, playing with the burnt corpse. "I mean, sure, your boyfriend would've been a nice acquisition as well, but no. You had to go and make it difficult."

Bucky watches me closely, hazarding a step toward me, but I ignore him. I can't look at him. I can't look at any of them. I can only watch the stranger on the screen.

"You know, you're special, Chloe," Artemis hisses, dropping the body and standing upright to motion at the wreckage around her. "All this? Just for you."

My teeth dig into my lip, biting into the soft flesh until I can taste the metallic tang of blood in my mouth. I can hardly see through the tears clouding my eyes, and I inhale a shaky breath as she continues to talk.

"This is only the beginning, Chlo," she tells the camera, spitting out my nickname with unparalleled venom. "Magnus wants you. Unless you give him what he wants, more people will die."

She's now standing right in front of the camera, her skin no longer burning from within, and she smiles as she takes the camera and flips it around. Pointed at the ground, I see a pair of shoes come into view as the camera moves up a body clad in yoga pants. Slowly, a familiar face - gagged and handcuffed with a gun pointed to the back of her head - comes into focus.

Her red hair is wild and knotted, the curls flying away from her face at all angles. Normally pink cheeks are ashen and streaked with tears that continue to pour down her face. I can see the fear in her eyes - fear and confusion - as my sister zooms the camera on her face.

"Mara and I are gonna play a little game," I can hear Artemis' voice sing out. "It's called 'Let's Go Visit The White House'. Maybe there will be a school tour happening. Wouldn't that be fun Mara?"

Fresh tears pour down my best friend's face, and all of the oxygen is sucked out of my lungs.

"Come out, come out and play, Chloe," Artemis says, flipping the camera around to show her face. "You've got 48 hours."

*****
AUTHOR'S NOTE

Warning: Every chapter from this point onward will be...ummmm...intense.

Good luck.

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