Raven

The Sewers

It felt warm like how it feels when you run through a meadow in the mid summer. The birds chirped and the sun warmed my cold skin. I was jealous of the birds who were flying so freely. Oh how I wish I could fly again. It was my only freedom back when Little Man left me, my wings in the open air, my hair flowing in the breeze and the warm sun shining down on my back. I would let my wings drag behind me and pull me up through the clouds then let myself fall just before pulling me back up so as to not crash into the ground. It was truly my only freedom and that night when the fire burned my whole life down it was the last time I would ever fly again. They tore my wings from my back, not even caring enough to ask if I was alive or not. Ever since that night I have never felt whole again not with a gaping wound or even with a huge scar that would eventually run the length of my back. I felt like some animal going to slaughter having its own parts being auctioned off while it was standing right there knowing its fate but never accepting it.
    My back started to tingle pins and needles ran up and down my wounds, my skin felt like it was going to break. I screamed as the pins and needles turned to knives and bullets. Pain started to run up and down my spine. It hurt to scream, it hurt to breathe, it was unbearable. I didn't want to move. It seemed to all centerEd on my back it began to burn and I could feel the fire crawling up my back and legs just like how it had been that night. The waves of nausea hit me soon after. My stomach yelled and my brain felt the waves wash over me pulling my hard under the water relentlessly it just kept getting faster. My head felt light and my mouth got numb I threw up a simey black substance. It was thick and stuck to my throat i tried to cough but it was just too much it wouldn't stop coming. One after another over and over again I felt my mind going blank I felt my lungs grasp for whatever air was left over but I couldnt find any left. My brain hurt, my throat hurt, my back hurt, my stomach hurt, everything hurts. The tears ran down my cheeks and the violent vomiting wouldn't stop. My body shook and shivered with every new hurl. My muscles all fired off and my back burned. I felt the meadow crumble around me. The wind stood still, the birds fell out of the sky and the sun turned black. The grass turned brown and then crumbled away into small dust particles that broke the dirt underneath and fell into an endless pit. The pit swallowed me and my screams to never be heard again.

"Holy shit. How the hell is she still alive?" I looked at the strangers' wounds on her back. Two huge gashes going from the top of her shoulder blades to her mid back were so deep I could see the white bone of her soulderlades. She shifted in the bed wincing at the pain and the wounds started to move. They looked like they were becoming smaller and smaller. I squeezed my eyes shut. I must be trippin right? It was healing right in front of my eyes. When I opened my eyes the bone was no longer visible; it was healing faster and faster. I'd only seen something like this when someone was on a shimmer but she was in a cell for at least the past month there is no way she could have gotten her hands on some. I loomed over the now almost completely healed wounds. "What the hell is going on"?
"I might have an idea on what she is, '' said a small voice from behind me. I jumped and turned around to see the himeldinger standing in the doorway. He was a short creature with reddish gray fur, a long gray mustache and long pointy ears that poked out from the sides of his head. He was a former head member of the council who were the rulers of piltover and had made all of the decisions that have led us to this situation. He himself had been trying to stop the madness that was bound to happen but he was voted out of office before he could do anything to actually stop it.  He had recently been forced to leave his position. He was an engineer and a scientist and he was over 400 years old. I came across him after my recent fight with Jinx and I've been showing him the way in the undercity and exactly what it's like in the undercity ever sense .
"I looked through her records when we sent her to the prison and she could be a big problem," he said, moving towards the bedside with the strange figure with black hair and a snake tattoo on her neck.
"Well what is she then"? I asked, still staring at now fully healed back all that was left now was two large scars that stretched from her shoulder blades to her mid back.
"Well you know how the prison she was in was one meant to keep sorcerers"?
My blood ran cold and I stepped back from her bedside "Wait, are you telling me that she's a.."
"Oh great heavens no, my boy I would tell you to get her out of here before I even came in the room." Said heimerdinger almost laughing. I just kept my eyes on her back afraid something else would happen when I turned away.
"Let me explain. I believe she is some type of creature and I'm not quite sure just how human she is. I know it sounds weird but she was just arrested for arson and 1st degree murder. I know it sounds bad but nothing so simple could land you in a prison like that so I think that the enforcers..."
"Must have been trying to cover something up". I said before he could finish.
"Exactly. However the problem would then be what could she have done that needed to be covered up?"
"Wait you're telling me that you don't even know what she is but under your order she was detained here and imprisoned here?"
"Well to be quite frank she used to be used as a test subject because ... you know what nevermind"
"Because what? You can say something like that and just stop talking."
"My boy, some things are better left unsaid, especially things like this. I think it would be better to ask what happened to her when she wakes up, don't you?" He spoke in a condescending tone but with that he walked right back out of the door. I'm not going to lie, I was scared. I mean in that prison she bent metal like it was dough and she even looked scared when she saw the door. But when she looked at me I didn't feel threatened. I felt somehow safe l even though I had just seen a creature with horns, a moving snake tattoo and hands and feet that faded to black bend metal like it was making a fresh batch of dough. Himeldinger was also hiding something from me. I had a feeling he knew exactly what she was but for some reason refused to say it. I had only been working with him for a month or two though so I didn't really know if I could trust him completely yet either. After the attack on the capital things had gotten out of hand and we just decided to stay in our hideout for the time being but when we got word of this creature something pulled me towards her and I knew she had something we needed. I couldn't explain it to Vi or Caitlyn or anyone really. It was just a gut feeling so me, Vi, and Caitlyn went on a mission to find her and take her back with us. It was honestly pretty easy because of the shambles in the upper city as they didn't have any time or resources to garud this one person.
I pulled the covers slowly over her back and sat down in the chair next to the bedside. It was a warm night and the candle made the room shift under its light. I didn't want to use the overhead lights. It was just too bright right now. The shadows danced across the floor and the woman shifted one more time to find comfort underneath the blankets. She settled down and her back started to rise and fall with every breath she took in. It was quiet for the first time in weeks and I tipped my head back to relax.
"It's late, what are you still doing up"? I turned my head now annoyed that someone had interrupted my rest. A tall figure stood in the doorway now as she stepped into the light of the candles sitting on the cluttered desk across the room. I saw it was Vi. Her pinkish red hair waved off to one side and the depths of her eyes seemed to glow in the candlelight.
"I guess I fell asleep" I pointed to the girl lying in the bed. "And I wanted some answers". She looked almost disappointed.
"I thought you would say that". She walked over to the chair that was hidden under the desk and took a seat.
"Well have you figured it out yet"? She asked as she settled into her newly found chair like it was some sort of nest. "Have I figured what out yet." I was a bit skeptical.
Her voice changed and she spoke in a hushed tone "Have you figured out what she is? I know for damn sure she isn't human but she didn't look like any species I know, and well I figured you are being torchered by Hiledinger than you would know."
"Well first off I'm not being torchered." I said with an eye roll looking back over my shoulder. "But I did ask about it and he said I would have to ask her when she wakes up."
"What that's bullshit he obviously knows what she is, so why is it such a big deal if he tells us rather than having to wait for her to heal?" She said, almost yelling now she was obviously not in favor of heimerdinger.
"Well I don't know but all I know is we won't have to wait very long for her to wake up." I was about to tell her that her wounds had healed in seconds but she just looked confused.
"What do you mean those two giant gashes on her back and also, what about the fact that she looks like a stick? She has no muscle in her body and she herself was scared when she Folded that door in half! I don't think that she knows what she can do"
"Well first of all..." I looked at the girl, her long black hair pulled off to the side and slowly peeled back the heavy covers to reveal her back had fully healed. The only thing that was left was the two fully healed scars that stretched the length of her back. "We won't be waiting for a long time because she heals faster than anything I know." I said when Vi moved to start her questions again I cut her off. "And no, I don't know how this is happening nor do I know what else she can do. We are going to have to wait and see. Ok?" I pulled the covers back over her so she wouldn't get cold and blew out the candle
"Ok no need to get worked up over this" she said as I turned around to walk out of the room. She followed me as we walked over to the railing. The kids were playing by the fire next to the small cabins below. Their shadows were dancing on the walls making an illusion that they were 10 times taller than they actually were. They must have found this amusing and started fighting each other with sticks. There was a huge mural with over 20 people on it who we had lost in the fight against silco and enforcers but it was only a small part of the hideout. The main part of this place is the giant tree that had somehow survived down here in the undercity. It was a winding tree, the leaves were a dull green and saggy but it was perfect for the massive base we have planted here. All of the sewers were connected to this place so we had ways to escape and ways to attack. We basically have our very own highway system and especially with the hoverboards it was very easy to get supplies and plan attacks. We built small houses for the families and kids that lived here on the ground but for the main base and of course my room we made it in the tree. It was honestly the perfect little place and to think we did all of this with just 4 people to begin with and now there are over 30, all under the promise that we would create a safe place for these people to live. We have a training ground for the people who chose to fight with us and we also have a small school house that the kids go to if they want to learn. The hideout was a big place but with all of the stuff going on it was always busy. Whether it was the kids running around or the teenagers flying on their hoverboards it was just crazy but they were finally able to live without the worry of danger. The moon was blocked out by the smoke of the fire that had been going on the capital for a few weeks now. Jinx had started the fire when she blew up the capital and killed all of the government officials and silco who controlled the undercity. Ever since that day the world has sunken into chaos, but not the good kind. people have begun to rise up and fight but they just keep fighting each other. If we didn't have to deal with jinx then we would have taken over the city by now, but we don't have enough people to actually fight and we also need some time to mourn the loss of our people we have lost in the last fight. It was dangerous out there but for now we were safe and I will not stop at any cost to save these people from this hell hole we call a home.
"We'll there is no use in staying in that room forever" said Vi as she looked up towards the sky.
"Yeah I know" i said with a sigh "but it's hard not to worry I mean I don't know what it is but i feel like She has something or she knows something that we need." I put my hard down and looked at the wooden railing.
"We'll figure it out ok but for now just try not to stress about it to much." Said Vi as she walked towards her room. "Oh and goodnight."
"Good night Vi" I said and with that I went to my bedroom and fell asleep.