Healer’s Wrath

CHAPTER 2B – RESONANT BLOOD

The city swallowed Fred whole. Rain hissed down the glass towers, washing the ash from his hair. Sirens howled somewhere behind him, chasing ghosts through the night.

He ducked into an alley, pulse hammering in sync with the thrum inside his chest. The glow under his skin dimmed, barely.

He whispered to himself, “Okay, Fred. You just exploded through a wall. You can handle… whatever this is.”

“Talking to yourself now?” Fred froze.

A figure leaned against the graffiti-smeared wall, hood up, cigarette tip glowing ember red. The stranger’s voice was dry, almost amused. “Don’t worry,” the man said. “I’m not with them.”

Fred’s stance stiffened. “Who’s them?”

“Anyone hunting what you’ve become.” The man stepped forward, rain catching on his coat. His eyes shimmered faint blue. “Name’s Silas.

I heard your resonance from three blocks away. Thought I’d see if the stories were true.”

“Stories?” Fred repeated.

“About a kid who survived a death surge. About someone who balanced both polarities.”

Fred frowned. “You mean this” He raised his palm; a faint pulse of golden-red shimmer flickered.

Silas’s grin widened. “Exactly that.”

Fred backed away. “Not interested.”

“Too bad,” Silas said, flicking away his cigarette. “Because the Hunters just picked up your trail.”

A shrill whistle cut through the rain, mechanical, inhuman. Silas cursed. “Too late.”

From the rooftops above, dark figures dropped like shadows made of iron and static. Their eyes burned white through metal masks. “Hunters,” Fred muttered.

“Yeah,” Silas said. “And they don’t stop.”

Fred turned. “Then we run.”

Silas chuckled. “Run? Kid, I didn’t come to run. I came to see.”

The first Hunter landed between them, pavement cracking beneath its boots. It extended a hand, razor claws clicking. Fred’s instincts surged. The hum roared to life. “Get behind me!”

“Didn’t plan on it,” Silas said, and vanished.

Fred barely had time to react before Silas reappeared behind the Hunter, blade gleaming with blue light. “Try not to blink.”

The slash was silent. The Hunter froze, sparks spraying from its mask. Then it turned, still moving. Fred shouted, “It’s still alive!”

“Correction,” Silas said. “It’s still powered.”

Another Hunter landed. Then two more. Fred backed against the wall, his chest burning with unstable energy. “What do they want?”

“You,” Silas said. “Your core. Your resonance’s pure. They harvest it.”

Fred clenched his fists. “Not happening.”

The first Hunter lunged. Fred dodged, slammed his palm against its chest, and released. A shockwave blasted through the alley, light and sound colliding.

The Hunter shattered into shards of metal and smoke. Silas whistled. “Okay. I take it back. You’re more interesting alive.”

Fred exhaled hard. “They just keep coming!”

“Then keep hitting.” Silas drew twin knives that thrummed with electric current. “You take left. I’ll clean right.”

Fred didn’t answer, he was already moving. Every strike was instinct, every dodge a whisper between survival and collapse.

The resonance energy inside him obeyed with terrifying precision, healing his bruises even as his muscles tore under strain.

Silas fought like a ghost, appearing and vanishing, blades cutting arcs of lightning. “Don’t burn out!” he yelled.

“Too late!” Fred’s voice cracked as another wave of Hunters closed in. His vision blurred; the red in his power was eating at the gold, the destructive energy hungry.

“Control it, Miller!” Silas barked. “You lose balance, it eats you next!”

Fred’s heart hammered, energy screaming. He forced his mind to focus, Kane’s words echoing: You are the resonance.

He slammed his fists together. Light exploded outward, gold and crimson spiraling. The alley detonated with force enough to blow out every window on the block. Silence followed.

The Hunters were gone. Only rain remained. Fred dropped to his knees, gasping. “What… did I…?”

Silas crouched beside him, inspecting the scorch marks. “You leveled them. But your pulse…” He placed two fingers against Fred’s wrist, frowned. “Unstable. You’re leaking energy.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning you’ll burn yourself out in a day, two, tops, unless you learn to anchor.”

Fred tried to stand. “And let me guess, you know how?”

Silas grinned. “You’re catching on.”

Fred narrowed his eyes. “Why help me?”

Silas rose. “Because I’ve seen what happens when a Resonant burns out. Whole city blocks collapse. I like my apartment standing.”

Fred didn’t smile. “And after that?”

Silas looked skyward, the rain streaking across his scarred cheek. “After that, you’ll have to choose a side.”

“There are sides?”

“There’s always sides,” Silas said quietly. “Kane’s people, Rhea’s Order, the underground, the Woken, and the Hunters. Each one wants the same thing: control of the Phoenix Core.”

Fred froze. “The what?”

Silas’s grin returned. “Whatever’s living in you right now.”

Before Fred could reply, thunder rumbled, not from the clouds, but the air itself. A ripple of red light cut through the city skyline, painting the rain crimson. Silas stiffened. “Too soon. They’re accelerating the purge.”

Fred stared at him. “Who?”

Silas met his gaze. “The Board.”

Fred’s stomach dropped. “The same Board that runs half the country?”

“The same,” Silas said grimly. “And if you’re the real Phoenix Core, they won’t stop until you’re ash.”

Fred’s breath hitched. “So what do we do?”

Silas pulled a metallic ring from his pocket and tossed it to him. “We vanish. For now.”

Fred caught it. “What’s this?”

“Anchor key,” Silas said. “It links your resonance to mine. If you flare again, I’ll know.”

Fred frowned. “You expect me to trust that?”

“Trust’s overrated.” Silas turned, disappearing into the mist. “Survival’s better.”

Fred stood in the rain, staring at the ring, the hum in his chest quieting for the first time. He slipped it onto his finger, and the city’s noise dulled, as if the world itself was holding its breath.

Then, from somewhere high above, a whisper echoed through the storm, soft, mechanical, and female. “Subject Miller located. Phase Two authorization granted.”

Fred’s head snapped up. On a rooftop across the street, a woman stood in a sleek black coat, her eyes glowing with the same gold-red duality as his own.

Fred whispered, “Who the hell?”

Lightning flared. The woman vanished.