The Legends

Chapter 1 - The Beginning

My name is Natasha. I am a street rat, living in a crowded city. I live in garbage and in the sews. I sustain myself from what other people throw in the garbage. Basically, I am a nobody. Don't bother to find out more about me, because there really is nothing much. I don't have parents or friends. Just a few kindly people give me something to eat, some clothes in winter and sometimes a few cigarettes. Maybe I could consider them as my friends... or maybe not.

Other people make fun of me. Almost everyone wants me out. Almost everyone wants me to vanish from their faces. But where should I go? I run from the sews and hide in a trash dumping area. Then I run from there in an abandoned building and so on.

What do I hate the most? Males, with their desire for sex. I am a sfenist. May that be clear to anyone! Nobody is to touch me. Quite nobody. Even if I am poor, if you are a man and try to touch me, I will kill you. Many guys have tried, with money or with force.

Was I like this? No. I had parents and a house, but one day I lost all. I don't want to talk about that and to remember anything that my life was before. I just focus myself to the world I live now in. For me, the only pleasure I still have, from time to time, is to smoke a cigarette.

This city is dangerous. There are gangs, there are other street rats and... a lot of immigrants. I know how to hide, how to avoid dangers. Keeping distance to everyone is the best solution. I search for good places to sleep during day and I move by night.

Today it is very cold. I found something to eat. Now, to find a shelter. I know an abandoned building with a basement. That should do the work. It is always warmer underground. If I manage to enter there and cover myself with my 3 blankets, it will be better. And this is what I do. I throw my things through a hole inside, then I squeeze in. Good! It really is a bit warmer then outside. Some snow managed to enter here too. Time to see if I can get a few moments of sleep in here. I get in a corner and cover myself with all blankets. What is even better for heat? Paper. I put newspapers beneath my clothes. This should work for a few hours.

After doing this, I take a few unfinished cigarettes from my pocket. I have a lot of them. They are still good for one or two smokes. I fall asleep.

When I wake, it is night outside. I again smoke a few unfinished cigarettes, as I look for a plan. What to do now? I know very well where gangs are now... and don't want to mess with them. Slowly, I pull my bag out and try to squeeze myself through the hole, back to the street.

Once out, I find myself surrounded by a few guys.

"Hey, Hawk, don't you want to play?" says one of them.

"Just look what we found here, Snake!" says the other one.

"Guess we can sell her pretty cheap", says another one.

Oh mine! I am now surrounded by some guys. What are they going to do with me? And how can I get out? I look for a way, but don't see any.

"Do you have a name, bitch?" asks one of them.

I don't answer, just watch them to see a way out.

"She doesn't answer", says someone else.

"What should we do with her?"

One of them, which appears to be their leader, comes to me. He examines me, then hits me on the face. I feel the pain, but don't scream.

"She looks strong", he says. "Not crying, not shouting. She is hiding something".

"Come on, Devil!" says one of the guys. "Let's have fun with her, then we sell her for body parts!"

"If you want to, it's fine", says Devil, which appears to be their boss, "but do it fast!"

Soon, they take me by force to a cornered street, where I can see nobody. It is clear that they want to rape me. Should I cry? That is the worst decision. If I cry and police shows up, they will do the same. It happened... and that's how I became a sfenist. Come on, Natasha, think fast! I have to find a way! I must come with a plan.

I know this place! I did sleep twice here, in the sews. There is a house close to here, with its back door always opened. I know, because their son leaves to get to his girlfriend in night... and he lets the door open. Now, it is my chance!

I hit one of the guys in his organs, then the other one holding me, in his belly. Then, I run. I enter the house and run fast through all the rooms, without knowing which way to go. They come after me. I reach the front door and run, only to see them running after me.

"Get her, Snake!" screams one.

"Hawk, to left! Brick, to right! Snake, follow her! Corner her, guys!" orders Devil. Now, what? They will get me. I run, but one of them is running faster. What to do? As he comes close, I lean down to the ground. He just jumps over and falls on the street. I grab his bag and run in a different direction. But where?

"Get her!" screams the guy down. "She's got my package!"

I run as fast as I can. To left, there are many empty streets. To right, I can get in a crowded place... but when a street rat is followed, it means that it has stolen something... and will be sent to police. The only way out is in front, to a former research facility. That is my way out. People avoid it, because it is said to be haunted. Some say it has radioactive debris. Could be. But, what other option do I have? I tried to enter there. It is full with twisted passages, holes, tunnels and many places to hide. Only that now it is night and I have no way to see.. but they also have no way to see.

So, I enter the ruins. I find a corridor. It is some sort of building, but with its floor partially collapsed. There are holes and cracks everywhere. The only light I have comes from the sky. I also hear them, searching for me. I hear them speaking. Devil says:

"Kill her if necessary, but get me the package!"

Then, with one foot I fall into something. It is a big hole. I hardly grab myself to an object, that is lacking stability and falls. I fall too! I hardly manage to put myself together... but the noise was heard. They will come here.

I light the lighter, to see a bit my way through. I am in some sort of a room, with a door at one end. I open the door and move forward, through some sort of tunnel. Let's make no noise! Gently, I continue, one step after the other, but unable to see anything at all. Everything goes on, until I reach water. From here, the tunnel might be flooded.

I sit down and light the remnants of a cigarette. Now, all I can do is hope. Well, what is in the package? I gently open it. It is a metal container, only that it almost has no weight. I also find some cubes of gold. Wow, that is important! That is why they will keep on searching for me until they will find me. Since the last hyperinflation, people now don't trust any sort of money. They prefer to trade using metals and objects. Today, we call these cubes of metal 'money'. Well, I also find a fresh pack of cigarettes and light one. My lungs are so happy, after smoking only used cigarettes for weeks.

I look at the container. It is about 50 cm long and 20 cm round, but weights only a few grams. It has a sealed metal cover and the seal looks old. With the cigarette in my mouth, I open the seal and remove the cover. Something comes out of it, something that doesn't look like anything I've ever seen. It is some sort of gas, but not a gas. It is glowing green and just comes out from the container. I watch this amazed, as the whole tunnel is illuminated by this thing.

"There she is!" shouts someone at the entrance to this tunnel.

"Get her!"

"You will die. bitch!"

The light in front of me takes the shape of a woman. Well, not quite. She has wings and horns and something like a green fire surrounds it. Watching this, amazed, I take another drag from the cigarette. The bad boys are coming and these are my last moments of freedom. I just give-up myself. Fighting is useless now. The strange hologram completes taking its form.

"Help me!" I say to her, without even knowing what she is.

The guys are close now. I see them in the reflected green light.

"Stop!" shouts the hologram, with a powerful voice. "What is happening?"

"Who are you?" says one of the guys.

She does not look at them, only at me. What amazes me is that she also takes a green cigarette and lights it. Smoke comes out green through her mouth.

"They will kill me!" I whisper.

"What is going on?" says the hologram. "Who are you?"

"Natasha", I say.

"And who are them?" she asks to me.

"I don't know".

"Take her!" shouts Devil, this time very close to me.

Two guys get very close to me and try to grab me, but they simply cannot touch. Their hands are unable to reach me.

"Stop now!" the hologram says. "You released me from my prison", she says to me. "As for them, I see in their eyes what they want. To sell this box and you, after they sleep with you. What you want me to do to them?"

I look shocked. What is going on? Who is the hologram? The two guys, after trying to touch me, give-up and sit down. Snake takes a pistol. Oh no! He targets me. I shout and he shoots... but the bullet remains at 20 cm in front of me. It scares me to death. And in fact, it is death, pointing to me.

"I know what is to be done", says the hologram. "Why don't you sell them?"

"What?" I ask, very scared and unable to understand what is going on.

"People like them don't deserve to live, while people like you don't deserve to die. You will have a better life, like you did have".

"Who are you?" shouts Devil to the hologram, as he lights a cigarette.

The hologram instantly turns towards him.

"Now I can see you. Until now, I could only feel you. How many women have you sold? Ten, a hundred? You know, people like you don't deserve to live".

Devil takes a knife and turns towards the hologram, with much anger. As he touches her, he yells of pain. Each part of his body that touched her, is burned. Black. Carbonized. The hologram moves and touches Devil's body at his genitals. Then, she moves towards the other guys. They try to move, but simply cannot. They are paralyzed and scream. She touches them all at their genitals.

"Now, all these guys will be women. Let's see who will they rape now. Just tell everyone you met The Legend. Run, guys! Run and save your lives, but everyone will laugh at you!"

They abandon their things and run. The hologram then turns to me and says:

"Thank you for setting me free!"

"Who are you?" I ask.

"I was something like you", she says, gently touching my face. I feel her fingers are a bit cold and pass through me. "Take all their things and build a new life. Buy yourself a house, wash, get clothes and find a job. Now, please come with me".

We go through the water. On surface, it is frozen, but I feel no cold. It is like walking in a river in summer. Quite nice. We travel through the tunnel and reach an exit. At that point, she looks at me, gently touches me again and says:

"Once, I lived in the mountains. People like them sold me and killed me. Now, I am back. Take good care of you, Natasha!"

She opens her wings and starts flying. A green trail of fire remains after her. I watch all this, not knowing what to say. She said she is The Legend. Well, she saved my life.

"Thank you!" I shout from where I am.

As she moves away, I feel my feet wet. Oh no! It is freezing outside and I am wet. This is not going to look well. Where can I change? When this happens, I only have one way: to the sews, to where the hot water pipes are located. In order to stay there, you have to pay, but now I have money. So, there is where I go. Then, suddenly, I see a bright light behind me, followed by a powerful sound. A huge explosion in the ruins! When I look. I see a ball of fire rising from the ground and a small and bright green light circling it.

I go to the sews and pay for entry. I know this place well. The 'owner' is a rich street rat. I go to a corner and put my feet on a hot pipe, to dry-up. Then, in morning, I move away and look what I have in all bags. It is just enough to buy a small house in the suburbs and to get a few clothes. My life has changed.

*****************

Everybody in the city has seen the explosion. It was on the news. What nobody could understand, is what actually was the green light circling around. For a few nights, people had seen the same green light moving above the city. Some feared it was a drone, maybe from a rival state wanting to nuke us. I was the only one to know... and I moved to a local television, to confess what happened. I did, but nobody believed me. Still, some people confessed that they have seen her in the coming days, but nobody could take a photo.

About two weeks later, I got a job, as a barman, where I still work today.

*****************

Now it's summer. I am here at the bar, serving clients. A woman comes and takes a seat and lights a cigarette.

"A beer!" she says.

I take a beer and brings to her.

"Natasha?" she says, looking at me.

"How you know that name?" I ask.

People no longer know me as Natasha. I changed my name into Natalia since I changed my life.

"You were in the tunnel", she says. "You stolen my bag. I am Snake... I mean, I was".

I look so shocked at this.

"What happened to you?" I ask shocked.

"The Legend touched us... and we hardly made it back. We were very sick. We had huge pains in our bodies. For a week we screamed and convulsed of pain. Then, we were no longer us. All of us became women in this time".

I also light a cigarette near her. I no longer feel her (or him) as an enemy, but as a friend.

"Without papers, we were simply immigrants. What should we do as girls? Some of us went night to make a robbery, but were caught by others and sold. The others had no other choice but to prostitute. This is what I did until I earned enough money to get a house and find a job. The Legend punished us exactly with what we did to women many times and exactly with what we were going to do to you".

"I am sorry for you", I say.

"No need to be sorry. I got what I deserved. There is only one thing that I don't understand and I will never understand. Who is that Legend? Or, more precisely, what is her?"

"She said she comes from the mountains", I answer.

"From the mountains? We found that container in the ruins", he/she says. "There was a nuclear research facility. Brick picked it up of curiosity".

I never seen The Legend again. I have no idea who she is or what she is. From that moment on, me and Snake became good friends. He is now a woman, but his soul remains that of a man. Even if he is a woman, having a relation with a man is strongly repulsive to him. I understand him very well and I will help him adjust his life as a woman... as a lonely woman, just like me.