Don't forget to vote and comment x enjoy

. ☾ .

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞

HYDRA Base, Austrian Alps

. ☾ .

Allie's eyes flutter open and they are immediately blinded by the bright lights that hang above her head. She goes to rub her eyes to rid them of the blurriness that she sees but she can't seem to move her hands. She looks down and realizes that her arms are being held back by thick ropes. She looks to her legs and sees the same. She pulls as hard as she can but to no avail as she is bound tightly to the steel chair that she is sitting on. She slowly lifts her aching head up off of her chest and analyzes the room that she is in.

She sees a familiar brick wall that features many large cracks and chips that reveal its true age. A single barred window sits nearly touching the roof on the wall to her left, the only source of natural light in the room. I'm back in the cell, Allie groans inwardly as she drops her head back down onto her chest. She notices that she is still wearing the now torn HYDRA uniform that she had been wearing when she tried and unsuccessfully escaped from this hellish place. The once pure black uniform is now stained with her crimson blood and features many large rips as a result of her tumble from the motorbike. She studies the damage that has been done to her body but luckily only finds some large cuts that need to be stitched and some heavy bruising.

She grimaces as the heavy steel doors open and reveals the two most hated people in Allie's life right now. She tries to jump up, forgetting that she is restrained in the chair and winces when she aggravates the deep cuts on her thigh and abdomen. Herr Schmidt laughs at her pain and walks to the center of the room, eyeing her mockingly. Zola follows closely behind but shows no emotion as he stands behind Schmidt in the shadows.

"How are you feeling today Ms. Williams? Have you got that insurgent attitude out of you yet?" Schmidt retorts tauntingly and cocks a thin eyebrow at the girl. Once again, her fiery attitude gets the best of her and she snarls at the man in fury, clenching her fists until they turn as white as the snow that falls outside.

"You killed my family and then brainwashed me with your stupid ideals, you dick! What did you expect? Me to just move past that and forgive you! No way in hell." She spits venomously. She sees the smile falter on Schmidt's lips and a newfound rage blazes in his dark eyes. He steps forward dauntingly and suddenly slaps her across the face. Her head whips to the side at the sudden force of the blow but she quickly turns back to look at the smirking man. She sends him a bitter glare as she tries to hold back the animalistic growl that threatens to fall from her lips.

"Now Ms. Williams, I thought we had taught you better than that horrible language. But HYDRA saved you from that abhorrent home. We rescued you! And this is how you repay us? With this defection?" He speaks with malice as he saunters back to his spot, right in the middle of the room.

"Saved me! Are you joking? You turned me into a soldier whose job is to go around killing innocents! This is no safe haven, this is hell." She seethes and untenses her fists that were starting to throb.

"No Liebling /darling, we turned you into a weapon. We gave you strength and power that others could only dream of. You eliminate our enemies that threaten our mission to make the world a better place." Schmidt preaches and pats Zola on the shoulder with pride. Allie's eyes flash over to the man but he keeps his eyes averted from her, staring at the wall behind her and not uttering a word.

"Geez, what sort of God complex do you have! You kill hundreds and hundreds of people! But for what? Power, your ego or is there some other reason that deems people worthy of being sentenced to death? You are delusional!" She splutters out in disbelief. How can someone be so horrible? How can there be no humanity or empathy left in a person that they turn out like this, she questions.

"Well my dear, somebody needs to save the world and the people in it from killing themselves. You may think I am the villain of this story, but I am not the one who is pulling the trigger am I? No Ms. Williams that is you. " He answers accusingly and then turns and walks back to the exit. 

Allie sits in the chair, horror washing over he face. Yes, he is the one ordering the kills but she has always been the one to actually take their lives away. For once in her whole life, she agrees with Schmidt. She is a monster. 

"Bringen Sie einen Stuhl und die Tasche mit. / Bring in a chair and the bag." He raps his knuckles against the slightly ajar door and orders to the soldier who stands behind it to gather the materials that he asked for.

Worry fills Allie's body as she wonders about the pain that she is about to endure. She thought that she had become somewhat immune to HYDRA's condemnation but she had never done something on this scale. She knows that she will be tortured until death becomes a welcomed friend. Until dying seems more desired then living her life. And that pain that she is going to experience is something that she really wants to avoid.

Allie tilts her head back and takes a deep breath. You can do this. You are strong. Don't let them win, she chants in her head as she watches the guard hand Schmidt a black leather bag. The man then disappears behind the door but returns carrying a metal chair and places it right in front of Allie. He shuffles back outside not sparing a glance at the prisoner chained to her own chair. He doesn't see that whilst she may not be begging for escape, her eyes show her silent pleas for freedom. Nobody understands her desire for liberation, not when everybody here believes that HYDRA is their liberators.

Schmidt bends down and takes his place in the chair then drops the black leather bag filled with equipment on the floor. Chimes ring throughout the room as the various steel weapons inside the bag clang when they connect with the rough concrete floor. He unzips the bag and pulls out a long jagged knife and spins it between his fingers deliberately.

"Well Ms. Williams, do you have anything to say before the fun begins?" He questions with a derisive laugh and leans forward slightly, eager to hear what she has to say.

"Geh zum Teufel / Go to hell." She sneers angrily, not bothering to hide the pent up anger inside of her. She watches as Schmidt leans forwards and quickly jabs the blade deep into her thigh and in response, she lets out a muffled scream in pain at the action. Agony sears down her already injured leg and blood runs freely in thick scarlet rivers, staining her previously shredded clothes. She bites down on her lip to stop the whimpers that threaten to spill out and lifts her gaze up to Zola in defiance. She watches as his face remain neutral to the torture that is occurring right in front of him and as usual, he doesn't challenge Allie's gaze. Instead, he once again flicks his eyes over to the wall behind her and clasps his hands behind his back.

Schmidt pulls the dagger out of her leg, causing more pain to erupt inside her body. She bites down on her lip again in a vain attempt to keep quiet. The action resulting in the metallic taste of blood filling her mouth and she turns her head to expel the substance onto the concrete floor. As she continues to glare at Zola across the room, she feels the hairs on her neck stand up as Schmidt walks silently behind her. He gently pushes her matted hair to the side and moves his head down so that his mouth is parallel to her ear. She shivers as she feels his cool breath fan down onto her neck and she immediately itches to move away from the horrid man.

"Now be a good soldier and let me hear you scream..." He whispers into her ear and agony once again overtakes her body.

. ☾ .

Allie now sits alone, beaten and bruised in the cell. She shakes as she hangs from the cold chains that bind her to the brick wall of the chamber. Her head draping on her chest as she stares at the floor. An unwelcoming silence not only overtaking the room but overtaking her mind. An eery stillness engulfing her aching soul. A coldness in her bones, reminding her of the dead winter that lays outside awaiting her return. An emptiness that perhaps is always there, but only becomes apparent when you are out your lowest point. She feels completely devoid of any humanity.

The last hours of her life have become a large blur as she struggles to comprehend what was happening because the pain became too disorientating. She remembers crying out in pain as Schmidt seethed, whimpers tumbling from her lips as he roared in anger. His meaty hands hitting her body repeatedly as her eyes rolled into the back of her skull. With nonchalant ease, he slowly chipped away at her spirit with every cut, hit or electrocution that he induced. Delighting in the forceful blows that he left all over her tired body.

She recalls the torturous shocks of electricity that froze her mind and silenced her body. The feeling of being in so much pain that it became the only thing that she sensed. It was much more than a small tingle that ran underneath her delicate skin. No, it was as if they attached a live wire to every single nerve in her body and flicked the switch, letting her body convulse as the electrical current pulsated through her. In between blows, a paroxysm of agony triggered guttural cries from her throat. The sound lighting up Schmidt's languid eyes with a sickly glow that has been left imprinted in Allie's memory. Serving as a reminder to never try to leave again.

Deep wounds cover every inch of her body making her resemble a painted canvas. A map of bruises and cuts cover her ribs and stomach. Carvings are littered on her thighs and arms, still heavily oozing out crimson blood. Her veins are an unnatural purple color from the high voltage of electricity that they made her endure. Newly open whip marks cover her back making it extremely difficult to find a comfortable way to sit or even to lay down. The pain from the broken bones in her arm create a dull, never-ending ache that increases tenfold when she attempts to move her hand, as a result of the heavy metal cuffs that lay there. Each wound resembling a physical sign of her treacherous act. Her attempt to abandon HYDRA.

Stiffly, she presses her index finger down onto one of the cuts on her arm and sucks in a sharp breath as the pain spirals through her body. She bites down on her lip that has already been chewed raw as she suffers through the pain. Her body feels as if it has been beaten in every corner, every place possible. There is no stretch of skin left untainted.

How can they not see the truth of this organization, she thinks, this place is the literal hell on earth. Somebody must acknowledge the pain that fills her eyes. The pain that has resided there throughout most of her lifetime. Monsters are the only things that belong in hell and I'm trying so hard not to become one, but how much longer can I resist, she sighs with despair.

She desperately wants to fall asleep but her aching body protests. There is no position for her to lay in that doesn't anger any of the wounds on her body. She has to stay awake and sit through the agony. There is no relief for her yet.

Suddenly, the doors once again open eliciting a low groan from Allie's cracked lips. She sees Schmidt's black boots come into her vision and she drops her head even lower. Please, just let the pain stop, she begs silently.

"Ms. Williams, you have a visitor!" Schmidt speaks cheerily and then a body is thrown onto the cold concrete floor. Allie lifts her head up slightly and sees the mother who she gave the apple to lying on the floor, cradling her now bleeding arm. Both the women know what is going to happen, they both know the destiny that awaits them.

"Please don't do this," Allie begs, raising her pain filled eyes up to meet his. An unnerving smile overtakes his lips as he holds himself high with power. "Don't do this..." She begs again.

"Ms. Williams, it seems that you gave this woman some contraband yesterday, during your daring escape. You know what we do to prisoners who disobey the rules." He quips as another guard enters the room and holds out a gun in his hand.

"Please no..." She whispers softly and watches as Schmidt takes the gun from the guard's hand. The woman weeps for her life and she pleads for her baby. Allie watches as the tears stream down her emaciated face and drop to the floor, leaving little marks of her despair. She begs Schmidt to have mercy, to forgive her but he remains stoic. He loads the gun with a single bullet and closes the chamber, taking aim at his target.

Allie leaps up to her feet. Her legs feeling shaky and she struggles to support her own body but she is somehow able to maintain her balance. The woman knows that her death is imminent and she reaches out to the chained soldier and lets a soft smile plague her features. The tears still run down her cheeks but her cries have been stifled. Allie runs as far as the chains allow her but she is too late.

She was dead before the gunshot had reached Allie's ears. The violent noise breaking the stillness of the October morning. The sound that heralded death and destruction rings throughout the room as Allie stands there in shock. She slowly falls to her knees and stares at the woman who had only seconds ago been sitting there begging to stay alive. The red hole in the middle of the woman's forehead indicating that she had at least died swiftly and without any pain.

Death wasn't kind, Allie knows that but it still has never got any easier. It stole what it could, taking the lives of those who were too young and too good for this world. It never distinguished between the worthy and the unworthy. It takes everything with it, the light from their eyes, the warmth from their body and the love that they gave. The life that had dwelled within her body is gone. No harm can come to her now as the heart in her chest that used to beat melodiously is forever still. Her mind that felt so many emotions is blank. Death had reaped all of it. All that it leaves behind is a pale body covered in blood. Her eyes wide open in fear with tears still residing under her cold, dark eyes.

Allie stares at the growing pool of blood that endlessly flows onto the rough, grey floor. Silent tears staining her cheeks, making her eyes glassy as she whispers goodbye to the woman that she tried to help but ended up being the one sole cause of her death. The rest of the world becomes a blur as she grieves for the woman that she never got to know. Oh God, she cries, the baby! The poor innocent baby is now going to become a slave for HYDRA because she got the child's mother killed. That child is going to turn out exactly like Allie because she failed to make good on her promise. The promise that she would never let what happened to her, happen to anyone else.

She feels two pairs of arms, abruptly pull her up from the ground and drag her out of the room, away from the worse torture that she ever had to endure. She closes her eyes as they drag her down various different hallways with her legs lagging on the floor. Tears still fall from her eyes as the woman's death plays repeatedly in her head. She shivers as her mind goes haywire with images of the macabre scene that she left behind.

Then without any hesitation, she is painfully thrown into a new cell. One that is not tainted with the blood of another. Once again, surrounded by four brick walls painted grey with a single barred window that nearly touches the roof. She sits on her knees staring at the wall in grief. Looking at the paint that has started to chip off or has been gouged by other prisoners who once resided here too. The steel door is slammed shut and she is alone again. She is left to do nothing but stare at the walls of the cell, trying to pass the perpetual time. She slowly crawls her way to the bed that is just a plank of wood on legs and laboriously pulls herself on top of it. She shuts her eyes and listens to the suffocating silence of the chamber.

She failed. She failed herself, she failed that woman and she failed that baby. Three lives have been damned because of her incapability to escape. She condemned one life to eternal death, another to live a life made of hell and another to experience ceaseless torture for God knows how long. The mother, the child and her. But only one of the three deserves the punishment that they were given, and it isn't the mother or the child.

"It was just an apple," she sighs in desperation.

. ☾ .

A/N - Hey guys! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! I know that this chapter is really angsty but it'll get better soon?

Anyway, don't forget to comment and vote!! I really enjoy hearing what you guys have to say so, please leave a little comment and I'll definitely reply to you!

That's enough from me today so, have an amazing day !!!

-Grace xx