Captured by Lightning

Chpt.11

Alara's head snapped down, confusion clouding her electric blue eyes. Before she could protest, Rex drained the stolen power, leaving her limp against him, gasping for breath.

"Alara?" he whispered, his voice thick with concern. "Are you alright?"

Silence hung heavy in the air, broken only by Alara's ragged breaths. The consequences of Rex's actions hung over them like a storm cloud, threatening to unleash a torrent of destruction.

"Please, let me go, Rex," Alara said, her voice a chilling monotone.

Rex obeyed, the weight of her words a crushing blow. He watched as she retreated down into the cabin, slamming the door with a finality that echoed his own sense of despair.

Alone on the deck, he felt like the monster everyone perceived him to be.

Below deck, Alara curled up on the bed, tears blurring her vision. Betrayal gnawed at her. The one person who promised anything, who made her feel strong, had just ripped that feeling away.

All she ever craved was equality. Since childhood, she'd been labeled "nerd," her intelligence mocked, her small stature an invitation for bullying. Even among the "smart" kids, she was an outsider. Yet, for a fleeting moment, with the scar-ring Rex created, she felt a power she'd never known. A taste of freedom.

Rex stole it away, leaving her feeling even more helpless.

A gentle knock on the door startled her. "Go away, Rex," she mumbled, voice flat.

The voice that answered wasn't Rex. "Al, it's your brother, Voltaic. Rex contacted me. Can I come in? Or do I have to kill your 'beloved' Rex?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Alara's face. She wiped away tears, not wanting to show Voltaic her vulnerability. "Fine," she conceded. "But Rex stays out there."

Voltaic entered slowly, taking in the cluttered cabin with a raised eyebrow. "Sheesh, laundry much? What's the deal with all these clothes?" He pushed aside garments with his foot, making room on the bed beside her.

"Look, Alara," he began, his voice soft. "We may not see eye-to-eye, but Rex thinks you've become… empowered somehow. Absorbed the charge from the ring. Something the weakest among us can do."

Alara turned away, anger replacing the despair. "Great, so I'm a freak now? Some impossible anomaly? Shouldn't Rex have noticed? Empowered people can sense each other's energy, right? Why can't he sense mine? And why doesn't the feeling come back?!"

"He thinks you absorbed some of his… 'essence,'" Voltaic clarified, carefully choosing his words. "Over time, enough to hold a charge temporarily. But you can't generate your own power, which explains why the feeling hasn't returned."

He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey, remember when we were tested? You didn't have the genes for Pathogen-H, while I got stuck with it. Pathogen-V is different, stronger, but…" He hesitated. "There's no documented case like yours. Maybe you should see some doctors. I know a secluded compound in Russia, far from Rex's reach. They might be able to analyze how Pathogen-V interacts with you, and even enhance my Pathogen-H to take down jerks like Rex." He squeezed Alara's hand, his grip tightening around the lightning scar-ring.

Alara jerked her hand away, a steely glint in her eyes. "I may be upset with Rex, but if what you say is true, he can give me that power back just as easily. And this ring," she gestured at the mark on her finger, "it binds me to him. Even at the end of the world, I choose him."
With newfound determination, Alara stormed onto the deck, where Rex paced anxiously.

"You may not have hurt me physically with this ring," she said, her voice ringing with a mixture of anger and desperate longing, "but taking that power away… it hurt me deeply. If I'm truly your queen, and if you'd give me anything, then give me back what you took."

Rex, overwhelmed by her unwavering loyalty, could only nod. He cupped his hands, palms up, offering his power. Alara grasped them, and like a plug entering a socket, she absorbed his energy until she felt sated.

Rex looked up into her face, now lit by a radiant smile and eyes that crackled with a newfound, electric blue intensity. He'd underestimated her. Alara, his queen, was more extraordinary than he ever imagined. But with this newfound power, had he created a monster, or a formidable partner? The answer hung heavy in the air, as uncertain as their future.