Holding hands

Chapter 1

Rain was pouring down over the city and the wind was tickling the color changing leaves in the trees. Her favorite temperature in her favorite season. Robin knew today was going to be a good one. The sun wasn't even up yet but she was. Actually she hasn't gone to sleep since she woke up the day before, studying neuroscience biology.

Neuroscience was the worst class she ever took. Especially in her last year in university. She wanted to be ahead of the class . She wanted to understand more about herself. She looked at her watch, 6:30. She should get ready for class.

An hour later, Robin was walking through the early morning traffic. Walking was a way for her to help her think and be sane. Headphone on her ears, blasting her favorite music, the only way she could cover the voices in her head. She came to a busy intersection but the pedestrian light just turned red. The cars were driving fast, always in a hurry to arrive on time at their destination and the people were piling up behind her, on the sidewalk.

~

He was walking calmly, the rain never bothered him before, so why would it now? For once in the last six months, he wasn't hunted. He just needed to stay low and everything was going to be alright. And that day wasn't gonna be different. Until he saw her.

When he got to the intersection, there were already a lot of people waiting to cross the intersection. He looked around at the men and women, intrigued. There was an old couple with their groceries bags, a few teenagers going to school, business men and women in their finest wardrobe and his attention got caught by a young woman with a black baseball cap in front of everyone. Her short brown hair was drenched in rain water but it didn't seem to bother her much. A car honked on their right, making her look at it. A shiver passed in the man's spine when he saw her face. She was beautiful. It sure was a long time since the man saw such beauty in a woman. But he had a rule, only one; never fall in love. Why? Because he decided so after he found out he was created to destroy. Love hasn't been part of his life since over seventy years ago.

The light was still red and the teenagers were inpatient to cross. They started to push each other as a game. The man knew this was going to end badly. One of the gang pushed his friend too hard and he fell on the young woman, making her fall in the busy street. He didn't think twice. He ran through the crowd, pushing everyone off his path.

Robin was still on her knees, when a delivery truck driver honked as he saw her laying in the middle of the street. At the sound of the honk, she lifted her head and knew what was going to happen. People were screaming, yelling at her to get up and run but she knew she didn't have time. She closed her eyes and waited for the fatal shock to hit her. So much for a good day, she thought. In a fraction of a second, she felt a bump in her ribs and a cold grip on her left arm as she was taken to the other side of the street. When everything stopped moving, she opened her eyes to see a young man with a grey baseball cap over his brown hair, kneeling next to her, breathing heavily. He did look familiar but she couldn't say who he was.

Her headphone fell off during the accident and the voices started to fill her head, but one came through stronger than the others.

She's safe.

He lifted his eyes toward her, looking at her seriously. She knew something was wrong when she saw a little light flash in his eyes.

In the short time their eyes met, a flood of information hit her. She saw a lab and what seemed to be researchers. She heard a painful screaming. Male screams. She felt scared and the second the screaming stopped, she felt nothing, no emotions. Then a symbol appeared, an octopus with a skull for a head and the name HYDRA. Suddenly she was back on the wet sidewalk, the handsome stranger still in front of her, eyes locked into hers.