Immortalized | Viktor - arcane

Red

Rose had always loved the color red. It was the color of her favorite flower, the one her parents had named her after. It was the color of her hair. But now it was everywhere. There was too much of it. It was on her hands, on her clothes, and in the air. It was hot and suffocating.

She could barley see through it. She heard shouts and gunshots, some were so close she felt the bullets whirl pass her ear. She could see figures through the red haze and smoke, narrowly avoiding her as she moved slowly across the bridge.

There were bodies strewn all over the bridge, with all the smoke she could mistake them for shadows but she knew better. She tried not to trip over them but there were so many it was difficult to avoid when she could barley see her footing.

She never wanted to be there. She begged her parents not to leave her alone. She couldn't stand the thought of continuing without them. Aside from Beatrix, they were all she had. She wouldn't survive in the fissures without them.

They assured her she was old enough to take of herself if the revolution failed, and that they had to take a stand for their people, for her. She couldn't understand it. How could they be doing this for her when all she wanted was for them to stay.

Vander would lead them to greatness, to freedom. He would save the fissures, raise them up until they were equal to Topside. Rose didn't care about any of that, she just wanted her family. After Kai died, the only thing she wanted was what was left of their family. She didn't care if she ever left the fissures.

Rose and Bea walked them to the bridge and watched them disappear into the crowd. Beatrix's parents had left as well. They could take care of each other if everything fell apart, that's what her mother had said.

They almost turned back until they heard the firing squad. What happened next was so painful that the pair couldn't bring themselves to tear their eyes away. They watched as bodies fell and the bridge was engulfed in smoke and became red with flames and toxic gases.

She decided she needed to bring them back. They couldn't die there, lost in an endless red cloud. Beatrix tried to stop her and drag her back to the fissures but Rose managed to shake herself free of her grasp and Bea had enough sense not to wander out on the bridge after her.

Rose wanted to scream and cry out their names, but she knew against all the shouting and shooting they would never be able to hear her. She tried to avoid colliding with anyone, and weaved her way through the moving crowd without engaging. She hoped no one would even notice her, but she was unlucky.

It wasn't long until an enforcer saw her. With their mask covering all their features, she couldn't tell that they were even looking at her until they were charging at her and by then it was too late. She tried to run but they tackled her the the ground. She felt them try and grab hold of one of her wrists and pin it behind her back.

She knew they were trying to arrest her. Maybe her young age was what kept her alive. The enforcer felt guilty shooting a child on sight, so they would take her to Stillwater instead. She tucked her free arm towards her chest so he couldn't grab it as she tried to break free with her legs, but the enforcer was twice her size.

As she struggled to keep her arm at her chest she noticed a body ahead of her. She tried not to look at their wounds or their face, but saw the knife still lying perfectly in the palm of their hand. It was small, but anything would work.

With her free arm she elbowed the enforcer's side just enough so they loosened their grip so that she could crawl forward and grab the knife. Once it was wrapped tightly in her hand she flipped herself over and buried the blade deep in the enforcer's shoulder.