VI I
"Claggor…Mylo…Vander…I'm sorry...Powder…Powder!" I woke up with a jolt but as I lurched forward, I found myself chained to a post. My eyes darted around my surroundings and found nothing but darkness so I turned to my other senses for help. The steady sound of raindrops on the metal roof told me I was trapped in some sort of container and the smell of the sea was an indicator that I was probably on a boat currently being moved elsewhere. I tested the chain again with all my strength but they had no give.
A sharp pain drilled into the side of my skull as I tried to recall how I ended up here. I was in pain and leaning against a wall when I heard someone approaching. But before I could move, someone else snuck up behind me and pressed something to my face. No, that wasn't everything, what happened before that? "Finally awake, eh?" a man's voice pierced through the darkness and as my eyes adjusted, I saw two other chained figures with me. The whites of their eyes glowed in the dark as they watched me curiously.
"Where am I?" I asked cautiously.
The man chuckled, "You must have had one hell of a trip."
"I'm not a druggie."
"No? All you've been muttering about since they've put you in here is powder this and powder that. Must be some good stuff if it's got you dreaming about it in your sleep. If you ever get some sent to you, let me have a hit too."
"That's my sister, you dumbass!"
"Sure," he said sarcastically, "and I'm Councilor Medarda."
"She's not lying," said a second voice, "she's one of Vander's pups. He kept his clean."
"Not clean enough or else she wouldn't be here going to Stillwater with us lot, would she?" Stillwater? What was he talking about? I heard the clinking of chains as the man leaned in closer to me. His breath was awful but the outline of his crooked smile in the darkness was what made my stomach sink. "Tell me little girl, were you the one that killed Vander?" My eyes widened and at that moment, the memories came rushing back like a flood through the dam of my mind.
"You're not doing this alone, Vi."
"He's our father too."
"Take care of Powder."
"Why did you leave me?!"
I remembered watching Claggor and Mylo's mangled corpses being consumed by the fire underneath the rubble. I remembered seeing the purple light leave Vander's eyes as the drug ran its course. I remembered the impact of my fist on Powder's face and the desperate sound of her cries. Oh god, what have I done? I looked down and saw the hands that were stained with my sister's blood and tears started to pool in my eyes. This was all my fault.
I thought I was a strong leader like Vander but I was just a stupid little girl that got everyone I loved killed. Powder might have been the one that set off the bomb but as Vander said, I called the shots and whatever happened was all on me. Sobs escaped my lips as guilt racked my body. Everything was my fault. If only I hadn't led that heist topside or told Powder to keep those gems or came up with such a shit rescue plan, our lives would still be normal right now.
We would be hanging out in the basement of The Last Drop. Claggor, Mylo, and I would be playing cards while Powder and Ekko tinkered away at their little projects. Vander would come down to join us once he closed up shop and make drinks for all of us. There would be no alcohol but we would pretend to be drunk from the carbonated drinks. Everybody would still be happy. The illusion was so real in my mind that it just made reality all the more painful to bear.
Suddenly, the door to our container was cracked open and a bright flashlight was shined in all of our faces. "Get up and keep moving!" shouted the enforcer as he yanked the chain that bound us together. I tried to remain proactive as I looked for ways to possibly escape but as soon as I paused to look around, I felt the skin-splitting crack of a whip on my back and fell forward. "I said, keep moving!"
"Kafshë," the man behind me spat out.
"You've got something you wanna say, Noxian bastard?!"
"Animal," he repeated in Common.
The whip snapped again but he had a warrior's build and didn't fall so easily. He grunted in pain as he whispered down to me, "Get up, pup." I gritted my teeth and took the opportunity to clean up the mess on my face. I didn't want to let them think it was their brutality that was breaking me nor did I want this stranger's sympathy. The whip mark on my back hurt like a bitch but it was nothing compared to what I was feeling within my heart.
I crawled to my feet and moved into line with the prisoners from the other boats. That's when I got my first good look at Stillwater Hold. It was a rigid and ugly structure built with the sole purpose of storing the people Piltover wanted to forget about. The Pilties didn't even want to have to see it, that's why they built it on these black rocks off the coast. We stood in front of its red doors like sinners before the gates of hell. The lighthouse above was the ever-vigilant angel that made sure none of us would ever escape alive.
As I followed the group inside, one of the enforcers grabbed me out of the line and dragged me in front of a fat guard with an iron cane and a warden's cap. "This is the one. Remember, no records," said the enforcer in a strangely familiar voice as he handed him a folder that discreetly hid a few gold coins between its pages. The warden's lazy eyes shone as he pocked the money and showed a toothy smile to me.
"You didn't tell me she was a girl," he said as he looked me up and down.
"Is that a problem?"
"No, no, not at all. She'll be in good care." The warden then turned to another guard nearby. "Get one of the female enforcers to do the strip and search and escort Prisoner #516 to Level 1."
"Yes, sir."
As I was given custody to another staff, the enforcer gave me one last pitied look and whispered an apology under his breath before turning away. Who was he? How did he know me? As I was being escorted through the hallway, more pieces came together in my head.
"You gonna let us make the arrest or not?"
"What the hell have you done? This wasn't the deal!"
"Shh. He'll kill you if he hears you."
Now I knew why his voice sounded familiar, he was there in Benzo's shop and he was the one that drugged me unconscious. Out of all the enforcers there, why was he the only one left alive by Silco? Thinking about it again, how did Silco know exactly when and where we would be? That message canister was only supposed to go to Grayson…unless someone within her team leaked the information.
"You fucking rat."
"Hey, keep mov-" I elbowed him in the face before he could finish and got behind him while he was still dazed. He was a big guy so I jumped on his back to wrap my chains around his neck. He quickly backed up until he crushed me against the wall but I wasn't letting go. He tried to defend the choke by putting his hands between the chains and his neck but he was getting weaker from the lack of oxygen.
Suddenly, I was pried off his back by two other pairs of hands and thrown onto the ground. Two other enforcers had shown up from the sound of the commotion with stun sticks at the ready. I screamed as the electricity coursed through my body. "Trencher trash!" he tried to kick me while I was down but I swept his feet from underneath him. "She can still move?!" The second one tried to wrap me up but I tackled him against the wall and headbutted his face.
More enforcers came and I fought as best I could while restrained but it didn't take long for them to subdue me again. I kicked and screamed with all my might as the exit got further and further out of reach. The elevator doors shut my view of the outside world and on the ride down to the 40th floor, I was given the most brutal beatdown of my life. The enforcers threw my semi-conscious body into an empty cell, stripped off my clothes, and slammed the door shut behind me.
The floor of the cell was bitterly cold and all I could do was curl up in a bloody ball. Every time my body shook from the freezing temperature, it rattled the broken bones inside my body and made me cry out in pain. Every second felt like hours and my will to hold on was like a dying flame in a storm. How easy it would be to just let go? Then all my pain would be washed away and I would be reunited with my family.
"Why did you leave me?!"
I gritted my teeth and dug deep for whatever strength I had left to protect that dying flame. There were still things I needed to do on this side. Wrongs that I had to right before I had the privilege of seeing them again. But as time passed, exhaustion laid siege to my defenses while hunger and thirst battered down my walls. "Powder…" The voice that came out of my cold lips was soft and weak. The image of her begging for me to come back for her haunted my vision. "I'm…coming…"
Just as I was about to close my eyes, a deep and smooth voice called out to me from the cell beside mine, "This is only your first day here, giving up already, kiddo?"
"I'm no-," I snapped back but my throat was too dry for it to carry any weight. "I'm not giving up."
"You remind me of my daughter," he chuckled. "It's bloody cold here, ain't it? Gods, what I wouldn't do for a smoke right now."
"Yeah." The chilling air sent another shiver up my spine, forcing me to curl up even more. "You got any advice?"
"Gotta stay moving for the body to keep warm."
"I'm injured, it hurts to move."
"Ah well, you can just freeze to death then."
"Jackass," I whispered to myself.
"I heard that."
"Jackass!" He laughed and it somehow made me feel marginally better about my situation. I pushed myself to my feet, took up my fighting stance, and tried throwing a jab but my body was not happy with my decision. It screamed at me to lie back down and I was ready to listen until the nameless voice pushed me again.
"Hurts, doesn't it?"
"It does."
"You think this is hard."
"It is hard!"
"You think what she's going through right now is any easier?" That felt like a slap to the face but at the same time, was the wake-up call I needed. I couldn't imagine how much pain Powder must be in right now. All alone after I put the blame for everyone's death on her. If she was fighting through all that then I was responsible for at least fighting through this. I put up my hands again and battled with the cold and wrestled with the pain.
"That's my girl."
"Who are you?" I asked but the man never spoke another word to me. I continued my workout and eventually, the agonizing pain reduced to a dull ache and the bitter cold was kept at bay by my burning blood. I continued to check for a way to escape but I found nothing but concrete and metal bars. After all, this was the infamous Stillwater Prison where no inmate has ever broken out of.
If I was going to walk out of here someday, I would need something I sorely lacked: patience. It was my hot-headedness that lead us through that open window without stopping to consider the possibility of it being a trap. It was my rashness that left me with nowhere to go but here after escaping my escort. If I was going to ever see Powder again and make up for my mistakes, my next attempt would need to be well-thought-out.
Time passed quickly after that as I immersed myself in every detail I could remember about this place so far. I tried, again and again, to engage my neighbor in conversation but he continued to give me the silent treatment. Finally, one day, the doors to the elevator opened again, and out came the warden with four other guards. He marched up to my cell and raised his eyebrow when he saw me, "Hmm, most people are curled up in a corner crying after their first time in solitary."
"Sorry to disappoint you," I said sarcastically. An ugly set of prison clothes was tossed in and I quickly put it on to get out of just being in my underwear. "Like the show? Maybe it should be you guys that are in here, fucking pedophiles."
"You're funny. In all my years working here, the only thing that never survives is a sense of humor," he laughed heartily and slammed his metal cane on the ground. "Are we going to have any more issues, Prisoner #516?"
"I know you have some shady dealings going on with that enforcer that brought me in to keep me locked up here," I raised my chin defiantly, he could beat me all he wants but I wasn't going to let him scare me into submission. "But I'm going to be such a nightmare that by the end, you are going to be begging me to leave."
"We'll see," he said as he turned his back. "Move her assigned cell to Level 39. The prisoner is showing signs of mental deterioration from her time in solitary confinement and deemed to be a danger to the less aggressive inmates on the higher levels."
After the warden left, the other guards cuffed my hands and feet and grabbed both of my arms to ensure I couldn't escape again. I had to slowly wade forward like a penguin but at least I had earned some respect. As I walked past the cell beside mine, I turned to look at who was in it but to my surprise, it was empty. "Wait," I stopped as I turned my head to the guard, "what happened to the other guy?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"The guy that was in the cell beside mine. Who was he? Where did he go?"
The enforcer looked at me like I was crazy, "There was no other guy here, you were the only one on this entire floor." My eyes widened as I looked back into the empty cell. How was that possible? "Now, stop wasting my time," said the guard as he pushed me forward. "Hurry up and move along, I don't have all day." I complied but the whole walk back my mind was trying to figure out what the hell was happening. Was I really going crazy?
"You remind me of my daughter."
"Gods, what I wouldn't do for a smoke right now."
"You think what she's going through right now is any easier?"
"That's my girl."
I laughed to myself as it finally made sense. To think I would conjure up his voice to give me the push I needed to press on. Even though he was gone, his spirit remained with me in my heart. With that in mind, I felt my strength and purpose renewed. As the elevator doors opened to the prison cell block, I held my head high and walked forward with confidence as Vander would have.
It was like a zoo except instead of animals, there were men in cages. As I was escorted to my cell, it felt like every pair of eyes on the entire level was on me. Watching me like starving men would a piece of meat. Some hollered and whistled while others whispered in hushed tones. When I made it to my cell, I saw that my cellmate was the same Noxian man that was with me on the boat. "Little pup," he greeted as the guards loosened my restraints and left.
"My name's Vi," I corrected him as I rubbed my wrist. "What's your name?" He didn't answer so I threatened him, "If you don't tell me I'm going to call you Grumpy from now on."
"Geralt," he answered finally.
"Ah, even starts with the same letter, I think I'm just going to call you Grumpy."
Just as he was about to protest, a few other inmates showed up to our cell with devious smiles on their faces. "Pretty little flower," one of them said with a creepy singsong voice, "how about you share a little taste of your nectar with us?" Geralt stood up but I placed my hand on his shoulder and stepped past him. The men looked so excited and who was he to deny them what they deserved? I gave the creeper my most innocent look and smiled.
"Just a taste?"
A/N: Thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed this week's chapter! Getting to this chapter was a milestone that I've been looking forward to ever since the release of the first chapter and I wanted to thank everyone who has supported this work with reviews, follows, and favorites. It really means a lot to me and keeps me motivated to continue writing. If you're one of the few people that has been here since chapter 1, it would mean the world to me if you dropped a hi so that I can give you a big shoutout. Anyhow, happy holidays to all of you and looking forward to continuing this story into 2022!
Voraces Lector: The chemtanks' involvement should make more sense in the next Powder chapter. To be honest, I wrote it as a contrived plot point to realize a romantic moment but it has turned into a nice piece that'll pay off later.
dreadnod244: Haha definitely had that queued as well alongside Misfit Toys, Dirty Little Animals, and Dynasties and Dystopia while writing that scene. Glad you are enjoying the story even though the fighting scenes aren't super detailed.
BL4CK 4NG3L: I'll try my best to make the chapters longer but maintaining a weekly update schedule has been tough as is so no promises. Writing more detailed descriptions has been one thing that I've been trying to improve as a writer so hopefully, as the story goes on I'll get better and the chapters will naturally start getting longer.
Warlocktoungue: Hmm I think I didn't do as good of a job as I could of for that scene to convey Ekko's state of mind. I'm playing with the idea that sometimes the narrator (i.e. Powder, Ekko, etc.) is not reliable. In this case, I was picturing his world in slow motion but in reality, Powder wasn't just standing still. You'll get another (perhaps equally as unreliable XD) perspective in the next Powder chapter.
reading-maddness: Glad you are enjoying the story and thanks for taking the time to leave two reviews! This chapter wasn't about Ekko or Jinx but I hope you were still able to enjoy it.
Guest: Gracias!