CHAPTER 35: SECOND POWER [2]

I glanced down at my right arm and gasped. There, wrapped around my forearm like a chain, was a tattoo that definitely hadn’t been there before. The design was complex and beautiful, all flowing lines and geometric patterns that seemed to shift and move when I wasn’t looking directly at them. It was a dark green hue flickering.

What was happening to me? First the time manipulation, now this... whatever this was.

What was I becoming actually?

I flexed my fingers experimentally, half-expecting the tattoo to react somehow, but it remained still and silent. Still, I could feel it there, like a warm weight against my skin, and I had the distinct impression that this was only the beginning.

Behind me, I heard the soft click of the storage room door opening.

"Is everything okay?" Elena’s voice was small and worried. "I heard... sounds."

I quickly pulled my sleeve down to cover the new tattoo, not wanting to frighten her any more than necessary. She’d been through enough already.

"It’s fine," I said, turning to face her with what I hoped was a reassuring smile.

But right after the world tilted sideways.

My eyes widened in shock as a wave of agony crashed over me like a tsunami of fire. My knees buckled, and I hit the concrete floor hard, my vision swimming with dark spots that threatened to pull me under completely.

My right arm—the one now adorned with that mysterious marks—felt like it was being dipped in molten lava. The pain was so intense, so all-consuming, that I couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t do anything except clutch at my arm and try not to scream.

"Ughhh!"

I’d been hurt before—cuts, bruises, even a broken rib once—but this was different. This was pain that seemed to reach into my very soul and set it on fire.

Through the haze of suffering, I was dimly aware of Elena rushing toward me, her face pale with concern and fear.

"H..Hey?!"

I forced myself to raise my left hand, the movement taking every ounce of willpower I possessed. "G...Get inside..." I managed to gasp out between waves of pain. Even through my agony, I could hear them—more infected, drawn by the sounds of our earlier fight, their shuffling footsteps echoing down the hallway toward us.

Elena’s eyes widened as she caught sight of the approaching figures. She scrambled back toward the storage room, and I followed on unsteady legs, my right arm still clutched against my chest like a wounded bird. My fingers fumbled with the key, my vision blurring dangerously, but somehow I managed to get the door locked behind us.

The moment the bolt clicked home, I collapsed against the door, sliding down until I was sitting on the cold concrete with my back pressed against the metal.

Was this the price of using that new power? The time manipulation always left me with splitting headaches, but this was something else entirely. Maybe it was because I’d gained not just one ability but two—the glowing blade and whatever that tattoo represented. Maybe my body was struggling to adapt to changes it was never meant to handle.

"Ryan, are you okay?" Elena asked. She knelt down beside me, her earlier hesitation forgotten in the face of genuine concern.

"Y...yeah..." I lied through gritted teeth. "Just give me some water."

She nodded quickly and retrieved the water bottle from my backpack, pressing it into my left hand since my right was still useless. I drank greedily, hoping the cool liquid might somehow quench the fire in my arm. It didn’t, but the act of swallowing gave me something to focus on besides the pain.

Minutes crawled by like hours. Gradually, agonizingly slowly, the searing agony began to subside to a more manageable throb. But in its wake came something almost worse—a complete numbness that spread from my shoulder down to my fingertips. I flexed my fingers experimentally and felt nothing, as if that entire limb belonged to someone else.

Elena watched me carefully, her brow furrowed with worry. "Did you get bitten?" She asked.

"No, just..." I scrambled for a plausible explanation. "Hit it against the wall, nearly broke it." The lie felt bitter on my tongue, but I was too tired to explain to her and also maybe I didn’t want to drag her further in my messed up body problem.

I forced what I hoped was a reassuring smile and pulled out the floor plan I’d grabbed from the wall. "Anyway," I said, "I know how to get to the upper floor now. Tell me when you’re ready and we’ll go find the others."

"I...am fine," she said. "I can walk and run a bit if I need to."

"Okay..." I sighed, feeling the exhaustion settling into my bones like lead. "Just give me a few more minutes."

Going out there without access to my Time Freeze would be suicide. I needed to be sure I could use it if we got cornered, and right now I wasn’t sure I could manage anything more complex than standing upright.

Elena used the time to break another chair leg. She really needed another weapon.

I made a mental note that we needed to find her something more substantial, assuming we survived long enough.

When I finally felt steady enough to move, I pulled myself to my feet. My right arm was still numb, but at least the pain had faded to a dull ache that I could function through.

"Stay close to me, Elena," I said, testing the door handle. "I can freeze time for both of us, but only if I’m touching you when I do it."

She nodded, moving closer until I could feel the warmth of her presence beside me. Despite everything that had happened between us, despite the awkwardness and the trauma, she trusted me which I was feeling strangely grateful and good about it.

I eased the door open, peering out into the hallway. There were more infected now—I could see at least four of them shambling around—but they seemed to be concentrated toward the left side of the corridor. The path we needed to take, toward the stairwell marked on the map, was relatively clear.

"Thank god for small favors," I muttered under my breath. Being in the administrative section of the building had its advantages—fewer people meant fewer potential infected.

We moved slowly, Elena matching my careful pace. I kept one eye on our destination and the other on the infected, ready to grab her and freeze time if any of them noticed us.

The door to the stairwell was exactly where the map indicated it should be. I said a silent prayer to whatever gods might be listening and turned the handle, relief flooding through me as it opened to reveal a concrete staircase leading both up and down.

"Alright, it’s here," I whispered, gesturing for Elena to go first. I followed close behind, pulling the door shut as quietly as possible.

"Do you think they managed to get to the Director’s office?" Elena asked as we climbed.

It was the question that had been gnawing at me since we’d fallen through that skylight. Sydney and the others—had they made it safely to the rooftop? Had they found a way inside the building without incident? Or were their bodies already cooling somewhere in the upper floors, torn apart by the same monsters we’d been fighting?

"We’ll see," I replied, not wanting to voice my fears aloud.

We climbed in silence for a few more steps before Elena spoke again, her voice hesitant.

"Ryan."

"Yeah?"

"I don’t want to pry...but I’m not the first one you’ve cured, am I?"

"No, you’re right," I said finally. "There were two others before you."

"I...I see." I could hear the wheels turning in her mind, processing the implications of what I’d just admitted. She wanted to ask more—I could feel the questions radiating from her—but something held her back.

The silence stretched between us as we continued climbing, broken only by the soft scuff of our shoes on concrete and the distant sounds of chaos from somewhere in the building. Finally, Elena gathered the courage to voice what was really on her mind.

"Are you human?"

The question caught me completely off guard.

I managed a wry smile despite the circumstances. "I was born human, but...I can’t be sure anymore," I said, the honesty of the admission surprising even me. "Maybe I’m just a human with some kind of supernatural abilities. Maybe I’m something else entirely. I honestly don’t know."

Elena nodded thoughtfully, as if my answer confirmed something she’d already suspected. "There must be a reason you awakened these powers at this particular time, don’t you think?"

"Yeah, probably," I agreed. "But I have no idea what that reason might be." I paused, a bit. "Besides, I don’t feel like I’m the right person for this kind of responsibility."

"What do you mean?"

I scratched my cheek awkwardly, struggling to find the right words. "You know...going up to women I don’t even know and asking them to have sex with me because it’s the only way I can cure them. It’s not exactly easy to explain. The woman before you...I had to threaten her just to get her to let me help her."

I don’t know why but I confessed that guilt I felt toward Rachel.

"Is she alive?" Elena asked quietly.

"Yeah, she is. But I still feel guilty about the whole thing—about her, about you, about all of it." I stopped climbing and turned to face her fully. "You deserved to have your first time with someone you loved like her..."

Elena was quiet for a long moment.

"It’s true that I would have preferred to have my first time with someone I loved," she said. "But the truth remains that you saved my life, Ryan. And I’ll be grateful for that, no matter how it happened."

"That doesn’t make it right," I said. I paused, trying to collect my thoughts before continuing, almost ashamed of what I was about to admit. "I can... save women by having sex with them. Releasing inside them, it—somehow it heals them. So I could probably do it faster, just... get it over with quickly. But maybe, deep down, subconsciously, I’ve been dragging it out on purpose. Trying to feel more... pleasure, you know?"

Elena didn’t respond right away. Her eyes flickered down and she fidgeted with her hands, her fingers brushing nervously against her skirt.

"Maybe..." She finally whispered. "But if you had done it quickly, it would have hurt me more." Her voice grew quieter, her cheeks flushed a deep crimson. "You said it yourself... that you needed to um... get me wet first so it wouldn’t hurt as much."

She looked away, clearly embarrassed, but I could tell she was trying to make me feel better. And she wasn’t wrong.

I wasn’t exactly an expert, but I knew enough. You couldn’t just force it—not without hurting her, and I hadn’t wanted that. I had taken my time, made sure her body was ready, because I cared—even if I hadn’t admitted that to myself then.

"Besides..." Elena continued, "I... I let out weird sounds too, so... you don’t have to feel guilty." Her face was glowing red by now, her eyes locked on the ground.

During sex, it’s hard to control your body’s reactions. The sensations overwhelm, and no matter how much you tell yourself to stay focused, the desire for pleasure creeps in. I had felt it, and apparently, so had she. Knowing that brought me an odd sense of comfort.

"Thanks," I said sincerely, meeting her eyes. "You didn’t have to say that, but I appreciate it."

She gave a small nod, her lips curling into an awkward smile.

I took a breath and shifted the conversation. We had other things to worry about now.

"Okay, let’s go," I said, standing up straighter, trying to refocus.

I moved toward the heavy door leading to the director’s office floor and pushed it open. The metallic creak echoed slightly as I stepped through.

The hallway beyond was eerily silent.

I peered around, half-expecting something to lunge at us, but... nothing.

Blood stained the floor in dark, congealed pools, and deep gashes and dents lined the walls—clear signs of a struggle. But the space was empty.

No Infected.

"It’s clear," I murmured, stepping inside carefully, still on edge.

Hope flickered in my chest.

Maybe... just maybe, they’re still alive.

I unfolded the old map from my pocket and traced my finger along the route. The director’s office should be down the hall to the left, then tucked away at the far corner.

"Come on," I said quickly, striding forward.

As we turned the corner, I stopped dead in my tracks.

Three Infected stood there as they clawed and pounded at the closed door at the end of the hall—the door to the director’s office.

They hadn’t noticed us yet.

I let out a shaky breath, more relieved than I’d expected. None of them were Sydney or any of the others. That was something.

But... were they inside the office?

"What do we do?" Elena whispered.

"I have an idea. Stay close and follow my lead," I said, stepping forward into the open hallway.

Then, I raised my voice, loud and sharp.

"Hey! You bastards!"

All three of them turned in unison, their eyes glowing with that terrifying, inhuman light. Snarls erupted from their throats as they stumbled toward us with animalistic rage.

"R...Ryan?!" Elena gasped in panic, frozen for a second.

"Don’t worry. Just a bit more," I said, grabbing her hand.

As they lumbered toward us, I yanked open a nearby door, revealing an empty room inside. Timing was everything.

I waited until the Infected were just a few feet away—close enough that I could see the veins bulging beneath their grayish skin. Then I acted.

Gripping Elena’s hand tightly, I froze time.

Everything stopped.

The snarls of the Infected faded into silence, their twisted faces frozen mid-roar.

"Help me push them inside—now!" I said urgently.

"Y...Yes!" Elena nodded, quickly understanding.

Together, we shoved the first one inside the room. He toppled easily, unmoving like a statue. The second one went in with more effort. The third was halfway through the doorway when time tugged at me, trying to resume.

My muscles ached with the strain, but we managed. Elena slammed the door shut behind them just as time snapped back into motion.

Inside, the muffled sounds of rage erupted from the other side of the door. I leaned against the wall, panting, sweat dripping down my brow.

"That should do it..." I said, breathless but smiling.

Elena looked at me with concern. "It’s exhausting you, using it... isn’t it?"

"Yeah," I admitted, wiping my forehead, "but it’s still better than fighting three of those things head-on."

"Yes, maybe..." She muttered, her eyes still on me.

I straightened, gathering what little energy I had left. "Come on, we’ve reached the office."

We walked slowly to the director’s door. I hesitated for a second, heart pounding.

Then, I knocked. "Sydney... it’s us."

A long silence followed—so long that my nerves began to fray. I exchanged a glance with Elena.

But then, we heard the soft click of a lock turning, and the door creaked open.

Christopher stood there, eyes wide, face lighting up as soon as he saw us.

"Guys! You made it!"