Maluridae

Two young women ran along the cobblestone edge of the city sewers, both clothed in deep blue cloaks that flapped furiously behind them as they dashed ahead.  One caressed a flickering candle, her hand carefully hovering over the flame as not to let it go out.  Her partner fled from behind and constantly glanced back behind them to make sure that no one was lurking in the shadows.  The only sounds were the clicking of their heals that echoed against the stone and the thunder that could be heard above them in the city streets.  

The girl in front gasped as she tripped over the fabric of her own gown and collapsed to her knees.  The candle sizzled out before the blackened wick could even touch the damp ground before her.  Hot wax sluggishly poured from the silver gilded candle holder and burned the woman's fingertips that blindly searched the ground in front of her.  She hissed in pain and clutched her throbbing hand into a fist.  Her partner knelt before her and placed a reassuring hand on the woman's shoulder.  The one who had not been burned removed her hood and did her best to strike a match.  After a few failed attempts, the area was illuminated with a soft glow and both their faces were revealed to each other.  The one who had lit the match had hazel eyes and deep wrinkles along her dark skin from years of wear, but the remnants of a grin showed in the laughter lines above her lips.  The other woman was young and her skin shimmered like a gem under the gleam of the light.  Her lips had been sewn shut with golden thread and her eyes were solemn and lavender.

"We must continue on," the older woman breathed in an unfamiliar yet beautiful language and lit the candle that had fallen to the ground.  "They are coming.  I can hear the march of their footsteps as they follow our trail.  If we do not escape the city tonight then you and I will be tortured to death in the most dreadful ways."  The young woman closed her tearful eyes and took a deep breath before giving a quaint nod.  The older woman hoisted herself onto her feet first and then offered a hand to her partner.  The young woman reached an arm from her cloak, but it was not human flesh and real fingers that clutched the worn leathery palm of the older woman.  Instead, the girl possessed a prosthetic that was made of shining onyx metal.

"Do not stagger any longer or I will be forced to leave you behind," the older woman said now in a harsher tone as she guided the two of them through the underground labyrinth.  The younger woman used her free hand to pull her hood over her head and took up the responsibility of watching the path behind her.  

The young woman listened to the sound of the rain hitting the roads above intently in order to calm her nerves and took deep yet gentle breaths as she and her partner splashed through the puddles.  

"We grow closer to the exit," the old woman whispered encouragingly.  "You will soon be free..Maluridae."  The two found themselves in silence for just a moment before the sound of the cathedral bells overhead broke the silence along with the sound of the old woman's painful gasp.  

Both of them crashed to the ground in a heap of deep blue fabric.  Maluridae knew her partner was dead before she even felt the sticky blood that had pooled around them.  She could not scream, for her lips were sewn so tightly shut that she could barely even move them, so she let out a terrified shriek from between her lips.  Tears rushed to her eyes but she used the sharp tips of her prosthetic to grab the crumbling stone wall in order to help herself to her feet.  Her knees trembled which caused her to stumble as she hastened towards the dim light that had revealed itself to be the end of the tunnel just up ahead.

Several knives just barely grazed her skin as the pursuer raced after her at an inhuman speed.  Her thoughts scrambled inside her mind as she tripped over her own feet as she ran in the haunting darkness.  The light up ahead grew larger and opened with each staggering step she took.