2025-01-27 18:59:18The control center was silent. Kiera’s breath was ragged, her heart pounding
in her chest as she lay on the cold floor, her body aching from the force of the
blast. Her hands trembled as she reached out, her fingers brushing the floor
as she tried to push herself up. She could feel the weight of the weapon within
her, its power thrumming beneath her skin like a live wire, but she couldn’t
focus on it. Not now. Not when Jace was lying just feet away, motionless.
“Jace,” she whispered, her voice strained with panic. “Please. Wake up.”
She crawled toward him, her movements slow and unsteady as if the very
gravity of Mars had intensified in that moment. Every inch closer to him felt
like a struggle against the weight of the weapon inside her, pulling at her,
urging her to abandon him, to give in to the power.
But she couldn’t. Not now.
“Please,” Kiera whispered again, reaching for Jace’s wrist, her fingers
brushing against his skin. It was cold. Too cold.
Her heart dropped into her stomach.
“No, no, no…” She shook him, her hands now gripping his shoulders, her
voice rising in desperation. She had felt him moving, the flicker of life before
everything had gone wrong. But now, there was nothing. Just the cold, the
silence, the emptiness.
Her eyes blurred with tears, but she forced them back. She couldn’t break
now. She wouldn’t. She had to fix this.
But as she touched Jace’s face, she felt the faintest pulse, like a flicker of light
in a vast darkness. His eyes were closed, his breathing shallow, but he was
still alive. That was all that mattered. She couldn’t afford to lose him.
Her hand hovered over his chest, hovering just above his heart. She could feel
the pulse of energy inside her, pulsing with her every breath, echoing in sync
with the beating of her own heart. She reached deep within herself, calling
upon the power of the weapon, desperate to pull Jace back from the brink.
But as soon as she did, something shifted.
“Stop.”
The voice was cold, familiar yet foreign. The weapon’s presence inside her had
been growing stronger, more insistent, and now it spoke directly to her, filling
her thoughts, drowning out all other noise.
“He is not yours to save.” Kiera froze. The words chilled her to the bone, but she refused to back down.
She wasn’t going to listen to this. She had to save him. He was everything to
her. Everything.
Her vision blurred again, and the air around her shimmered with the weight
of the weapon’s influence. She felt it pulling her in, urging her to let go of the
remnants of her humanity and give herself fully to the power that now defined
her.
But she couldn’t. Not again.
She pushed against the overwhelming pull of the weapon, focusing only on
Jace. The air around her hummed with power, the walls of the control center
vibrating with the sheer force of the energy coursing through her. She could
hear the weapon’s voice in her head, louder now, telling her that it had
control, that she was nothing without it.
“You are ours, Kiera. You cannot fight it.”
She gritted her teeth, ignoring the voice, ignoring the weapon’s pull. It was
time to take control, to choose her own fate. She would not be consumed.
She focused again on Jace, and this time, she didn’t just try to heal him. She
reached for the power of Mars itself, calling upon the energy of the planet, the
force that had given the weapon its power. She felt it surge within her,
amplifying with every heartbeat.
But as she did, a sudden, overwhelming pain shot through her body. It was
as if the entire planet was rejecting her, as if Mars itself was trying to push
her out. The ground beneath her feet buckled, and she collapsed, the power
of the weapon surging uncontrollably, threatening to tear her apart.
Jace stirred, his chest rising as his breathing deepened. For a moment, Kiera
thought she might lose him, that the weight of the weapon had already
claimed him. But then, his fingers twitched.
A flicker of life.
“Jace?” Kiera’s voice was barely a whisper. “Please… Please, come back to
me.”
Slowly, Jace’s eyes opened. His pupils were wide, unfocused, his gaze shifting
as if he were waking from a deep, disorienting sleep. The weapon’s influence
had taken hold of him, but it wasn’t too late. He wasn’t gone.
He looked at Kiera, his eyes filled with confusion, and for a moment, Kiera
feared that he wouldn’t recognize her. But then his gaze softened, a flicker of
recognition sparking behind his eyes.
“Kiera?” His voice was hoarse, weak. “What happened?”
Kiera’s heart swelled with relief. He was alive. He was here.
But the weapon inside her pulsed again, a reminder of its ever-present power,
its constant tug to control. Kiera’s vision blurred, the energy in the room
intensifying as she struggled to stay grounded. She couldn’t hold on much
longer.
“We need to get out of here,” Jace said, his voice steadying as he pushed
himself up. But Kiera didn’t move. She couldn’t.
“It’s not over yet,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. The weight of the
weapon threatened to crush her, and she couldn’t escape it. Not now. Not
when everything was on the line.
She felt the power surge again, but this time it wasn’t hers to control. The
weapon had a mind of its own, and it was beginning to take over.
“No,” Kiera whispered, fear creeping into her voice. “I won’t let you.”
But the weapon had already made its move.
The walls of the control center cracked, and the ground trembled beneath
them. The lights flickered, and the air grew thick with the energy of the planet.
The power had become too much. Kiera had tried to stop it, but the weapon
had already decided.
Mars itself was calling.
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CHAPTER 12: THE HEART OF MARS
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