( PH 2 )
The corridor was empty now.
Only moments ago, it had been filled with sound impact, energy, movement, voices clashing against each other in violent bursts of chaos.
Now…
there was nothing no footsteps,no commands,no resistance and Just silence.
A heavy, suffocating silence that lingered in the air as if the walls themselves were still trying to understand what had just happened.
Fragments of broken concrete were scattered across the floor.
Cracks ran along the walls like scars.
Dust still floated faintly in the air, drifting slowly under the flickering lights above.
The aftermath remained but the battle was gone.Anie knelt on the ground right beside him.
"Eli…"
Her voice came out soft.Too soft.
As if even speaking louder might break something fragile in this moment.
Her hand moved slowly toward his shoulder.careful hesitant The moment her fingers touched him she froze.
Warm, wet,blood .
Her fingers trembled slightly as she pulled her hand back.The red stained her skin.bright unmistakable.
For a moment she just stared at it.
Her heartbeat quickened.loud,
heavy .
Almost drowning out everything else around her.
"…this…"her voice broke slightly.
"…this is because of me…"
The words barely formed.but the weight behind them was undeniable.
Eli didn't respond.
His breathing was faint.so faint that it almost felt like it could disappear at any second.his chest rose slowly.
Then fell too slowly.
"Eli… can you hear me…?"
No answer her hand moved again.this time to his face cold,not lifeless.
But close enough to make her chest tighten painfully.Something inside her shifted.the fear that rose now was not the same as before.This wasn't the fear of losing control.this wasn't the fear of her own power.
This was something deeper.something sharper.the fear of losing someone,her eyes closed.Tightly,
"No…" she shook her head.
"…not now…"
A faint sound echoed from the far end of the corridor.footsteps fast, uncertain.
approaching.Anie turned immediately.
someone was running toward them,
voices followed.
"Hey! What happened here ?"
The question cut through the silence.
but Anie didn't answer she turned back to Eli.Her voice dropped again quieter.
more fragile than before.
"…please...help him…"
It wasn't a demand It wasn't desperation in the usual sense.It was something simpler. a plea for the first time she didn't want power.she didn't want control.
She just wanted help the people reached them.security staff maybe both.
One of them knelt beside Eli quickly.
Hands steady eyes focused he checked his pulse.a moment passed.
"…alive…"
He said under his breath then more clearly,
"…but critical."
Another person immediately pulled out a communicator.
"Emergency response needed.",,
"Severe external trauma.",,
"Possible internal damage."
"Send medical team now."
Anie slowly moved back,not because she wanted to.But because she didn't know where she belonged in that moment anymore.she stayed there,
sitting.watching her eyes never left him.
"Don't lose him…"
Someone said quietly,those words
echoed.again,and again and again.
Don't lose him...,,
For a moment Anie forgot to breathe.
then suddenly she inhaled sharply.
as if she had been pulled back from somewhere far away. Inside her
there was nothing now.
No storm, no power,no movement.
Just emptiness.
ahollow space where something had been burning only moments before.
Time passed slowly,then in the distance a sound,a siren.
Faint at first then closer.
Louder more urgent her heartbeat followed its rhythm.faster, unstable the medical team arrived.Fast efficient precise.
"Move back."
They worked without hesitation.
Eli was lifted carefully onto a stretcher.
His arm fell slightly to the side loose.
uncontrolled.
Anie saw it her body moved forward instinctively just one step.
But then she stopped her hand lifted slightly.then froze she didn't reach him.
she couldn't.a strange fear held her back.
As if touching him nowbmight make everything worse.As if he might disappear if she tried.
"Which hospital?"
Someone asked quickly there was a brief pause.then the answer came,
"Synapse Medical Complex."
The name settled into the air and into her.synapse her lips moved slightly,
"…Synapse... "
She repeated it silently.
As if holding onto it meant holding onto him.they moved.Fast Eli was taken away.the stretcher wheels echoed briefly then faded.
Anie pushed herself up her legs trembled.weak,unstable for a moment
she almost fell.her hand caught the wall beside her.
Breathingn slow deep then she moved.
following.
Each step felt heavier than the last as if the ground itself resisted her.she stepped out of the corridor.and into the open.the sky above was clouded dark.
Heavy with rain neon lights reflected off the damp surfaces around her.Colors blurred into the night everything felt distant muted.
Unreal the ambulance doors closed.
"THUD "
The sound echoed final like something ending.Or something beginning,Anie stood still.she didn't move her eyes remained fixed on it the ambulance pulled away.
Lights flashing,sound fading, becoming smaller.further gone.
She was alone again just like before.
But this time it felt different Inside her
a voice.quiet steady...
"You weren't late…"
"…not this time…"
Her eyes closed memories surfaced Eli's face.his voice the way he stood in front of her.
Again and again and again,they didn't fade.
They grew stronger clearer closer.her eyes opened slowly.
Something had changed it wasn't just fear anymore.It wasn't just confusion
It was something else.
something forming a decision,
"…I won't lose you."
Her voice was quietn but firm.in the distance the ambulance lights were still barely visible.Faint but there she took a step forward.then another.
Slowly but without stopping toward that direction.toward him....