Shattered, Not Destroyed

Chapter 1

     I hear sounds. They're voices. I don't know who they are. Everything's dark. I open one eye and then the other and blinding light floods my vision.

     I'm in a brightly lit room, with beeping machines and white walls. I'm in a hospital room. There's no one here with me.

     I try to sit up and I feel something dig into my wrists. I look down and I see a glint of metal surrounding my wrists.

     Handcuffs.
 
     What's going on?! Why am I cuffed to a hospital bed?! What did I do?! I can't even remember who I am!

     The sound of a door opening catches my attention and I look up. A redheaded woman enters the room.

     "You're awake," she says, surprised.
     
     Instinct tells me to keep my mouth shut.

     The lady sits in a chair next to me. She's wearing brown leather boots, a matching jacket and dark pants. Her gaze is blank but there's something in it, something that looks like caution.

     "Do you know me?" she says.

     I shake my head. "I don't even know who I am." I say and I promptly burst into a fit of coughing.

     The lady puts a glass of water to my lips and I sip it. The water is cool and it trickled down my throat, which is sore and aches a lot. My voice is hoarse, almost like I've been screaming at the top of my lungs, and it hurts.

     Once the glass is empty the lady puts it on a table next to her. "My name is Natasha Romanoff," she said gently, "You were here for two days."

     "Why?" I ask and wince, my stupid excuse of a throat giving out entirely.

     "Here." says Natasha and hands me a stack of paper and a pen. "For you to write on." she adds.

     She removed the handcuffs from my hands and I rub my wrists gratefully.

     Why am I here? I write, Who am I?

     "Your name is Ivy Wang," said Natasha, "You're nine years old and turning ten soon in November. You're technically twenty three. And you're an assassin who works for hydra."

     I'm suddenly thrust into a memory. Screaming, pain and electricity zapping through my head.

     "Ivy?" Natasha's voice sounded far away, "Ivy!"

     My head is pounding. I can hear a voice in my head. It belongs to a man.

     "Raven! No! NO! PLEASE!" it shouted, "RAVEN!"

     A pair of hands gripped my shoulders and I snap out of the sudden memory. Natasha's face swims into view and she looks concerned. Another man is standing beside her. He has dark skin and hair that is closely cropped to his head. He's got a mustache and a little goatee and is wearing a dark leather jacket and dark pants.

     Seriously, what is with all this leather?!

     "Hey," said Natasha and she looked into my eyes, "Look at me."

     My breathing is uneven and fast, my mind still reeling from what happened.

     "Focus on me," she said, "Breathe in."
    
     I inhaled deeply.

     "Breathe out," said Natasha and I let the air exit my lungs.

     We repeated this until I was calm enough to communicate once again.

     "Raven this is Sam," said Natasha.

     Sam nodded at me but kept quiet.

     I grabbed the pen and sheet of paper in front of me and messily scrawled out, Why am I hydra? I can remember pain and shouting and a man.