The Gifted (ONC 2023)

Chapter 14 Monster

Aleks pressed her back to the cage's wall, which was some hard bulletproof glass, which she realised after jamming her elbow several times at it to no avail. There was no way out of there.

The woman in front of her growled again, foaming at the mouth. She looked like some monstrosity out of nightmares. Her muscles bulged to caricatural size, and sharp claws and fangs made her look like she was made to be an apex predator. And she was ready to jump at Aleks at any second now.

She was terrified. Her legs wobbled like jelly, and her heart raced as fast as hummingbird wings. But she also felt something else.

Pity.

Rioters did that to this poor woman. In pursuit of their own selfish goals, they injected her with some experimental drugs, turning her into a mindless monster, and then kept her in the cage like an animal. It made her furious and gave her the courage to overcome her fear.

Aleks raised her hands. "I'm not with people who did this to you," she said, trying to keep her voice from trembling. "I'm not your enemy. I came here to help."

The woman's growl got even lower and more guttural, and before Aleks could blink, she jumped. One moment the woman was crouched on the other side of the cage, and the next, her clawed hand was closed on Aleks' neck, claws piercing the skin and her fangs inches away from her face.

"Please..." Aleks uttered, barely able to draw a breath. "I know you are... angry. But killing me... will not... help you..."

The woman hissed at her, spraying her face with saliva, but her aura shifted slightly, and now deep dark purple was peppered with red and orange dots of fear and anxiety. The hand crushing Aleks' throat loosened its grip a fraction.

Her sanity was still there.

"Please," Aleks repeated. "I'm here to help you and all other imprisoned people. And I need to find my brother. I fear he might be in trouble."

The woman cocked her head, and more orange spots appeared on her aura.

"Do you have someone you left behind too? A family member, maybe? You are scared for them, aren't you?"

The woman uttered a painful whimper and let go of Aleks' neck, stalking back to the other side of the cake and sitting down in a crouch, her head lowered with dirty hair covering her face again.

Aleks exhaled deeply and touched her stinging neck. Her fingers came out bloody. Luckily the gashes weren't deep. She looked back at the woman who, just seconds ago, was ready to kill her. Now she was again huddled in the corner, trembling and whimpering.

"Aleks, are you alright?" Diego and other kidnapped gifted gaped at her with eyes wide as if they were surprised she was still alive. Their auras were still anxiously orange, but something else was peeking through.

The palest greens of hope.

They all looked at her and saw something. Somehow, even though she was trapped here, helpless, just like them, they still believed her when she said she would help them. They still trusted her word even without a flashy power, weapons, or any plan. All those gaunt and scared people took just one look at her and chose to believe that she could be the one to save them all.

The tears choked her.

She might not be the stronger gifted.

She might not be able to stand her ground against the deviants.

But unlike all those people dragged here against their will, she was trained to handle situations like this. She wasn't an all-powerful hero, but she was all those people got right now.