Broken Wings [Completed!]

Chapter 6

"This guy's heavier than you, but he's literally made of fat," Evira groaned as she lifted the Consul up and onto the table. Logan looked over him, checking for any injuries. As a Callopian Warrior, they were expected to know every medicine and every cure; they were the saviours of the Hellions, the hope in the deteriorating world. "So, Logan, time for the truth. Do you have any muscles at all?"

Logan scoffed, but didn't answer. Sweat was forming on his forehead -- it was a hot, summer's day.

The Underworld circulated all the frustration of the people, until all fires were lit and heat radiated off every angle. There were no fans or any way of cooling down. Hell would always be Hell. A frozen peak during Winter times, leaving the weak to starve and die of cold. Now, the sun beat the land into submission. No such plants grew. Existence relied on the scrape of life Underworlders carried, but now the candle in their palms were burning out.

"You shouldn't talk about the Consul like that," he said quietly. Ever since his enrolment in the Academy, talking badly about the Consul was a taboo to him. It was an oath he took by blood to respect the Consul and Callopia no matter what.

Evira never wished for decisions to be made for her. Opinions were the last dish on the plate of humanity that Callopia had not fed on yet and she wanted it to be kept that way.

Remy poked her head in the room, a brutal scar across down her neck. The blood had only just dried. "How long until Consul wakes up?"

Logan bit his lip. "I'm not sure, but not soon. I predict around six hours?"

"Twenty four." Evira looked behind Logan, where Almalek had snuck into the room without anyone noticing. With a pang of happiness, she realised her brother wasn't with her. Almalek handed Logan a jar of yellow liquid, which sloshed around the glass as if attempting to escape. "A drop will be enough."

Logan proceeded with the instructions. Remy and Evira stood there awkwardly, not understanding the process. Noticing this, Logan turned his head towards them. "We'll be a while. You guys should go on ahead, rest a bit." His eyes softened at Remy's scar. "Did they let you out of the infirmary already?"

Remy shook her head; she hadn't ever broken rules before. Playfulness danced around her eyes. "Evira and I have stuff to do anyway."

Leading Evira out the room, Remy said, "I've been thinking. We should retrace our steps, see if it leads us anywhere." Fervour in her eyes and determination stretched across her mouth, Remy continued, "We saw Sophia... change first hand. Perhaps there was something we missed?"

Evira stepped out of the institute, and a blaze of heat struck her harshly on her skin. Around her stood empty, dilapidated houses, cracked roofs and blocked roads. The shock of being in Hell had seemed to cause an earthquake; the damp earth held a scar trailing across its body, and buildings slanted, as if were to fall. Above, the sky was an angry red, making Evira's surroundings seem under some red filter. A filter that reflected off any signs of happiness and only absorbed the most upsetting and brutal memories. A filter that would stretch across the whole expanse until unhappiness was all they could feel.

They reached a set of stairs, where the paint of the bannister reeked of blood, and each step was made of fossils of humans. It wasn't carved to look like a staircase - the Hellions accepted that it was one, just for some sense of normality. Instead of rectangle platforms, there was only a rough shape of what looked like a pile of beings reaching for the top, but never quite getting there. As if they were running away from something beneath them.

And now Evira stood at the base of the staircase, her face glassy, scarred eye staring at the sight in front of her. When she had first returned to the mortal realm, she'd hesitated on stepping on the people's heads, worried they'd feel her. Now, she stepped on them with a heaviness on her feet, grim and despairing. They were just stones to her.