The air hung heavy with silence as William and Angelo stared at the gruesome remains of Laurel and his father, Danny Benigine. The shock was still sinking in, the realization that they had lost one of their own, a boy who had fought with them, even if for his own reasons. The brutality of it all made the entire Power Royale feel more like a twisted nightmare than ever before.
"How did it come to this?" Angelo muttered, kneeling beside Laurel's lifeless body. His fists clenched, his usual optimistic demeanor darkened by grief. "He was just a kid."
William remained silent, staring at the ground. His mind raced with thoughts of their next move, of survival, but there was a gnawing emptiness that he couldn't shake. He was no stranger to loss, but this hit different. Laurel had fought so hard, and for what? To end up like this?
"William... what do we do now?" Angelo's voice cut through his thoughts.
William opened his mouth to respond, but suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit him. His connection to the metal around him faltered. He tried to reach out with his mind, to manipulate the fragments of metal in the ground—but nothing happened. His eyes widened.
"My powers..." William gasped. "They're gone."
Angelo tried to shift into an animal form, something small and quick to scout the area, but nothing happened. He remained in his human form, his usual fluid transformation ability nowhere to be found.
"Mine too," Angelo said, his voice laced with confusion and fear. "What's happening?"
The two of them exchanged alarmed glances. Powers were the only reason they had survived this long, and now, without them, they were just ordinary people in an extraordinarily deadly situation.
"This has to be someone's ability," William reasoned, his mind racing to make sense of it all. "A power dampener, or something like that. But how far are they? How close do they have to be for this to happen?"
Angelo scanned the area, his senses heightened despite the lack of powers. Every rustle of leaves, every distant sound, felt like a potential threat. "We need to move. If someone can shut down our powers, they could be nearby. We can't just sit here and wait to be picked off."
William nodded, the strategist in him taking over. "We move quietly. If this person is close, we need to find them before they find us. And... we need to be ready for anything."
The chapter ended with the two of them creeping through the forest, every step filled with tension and uncertainty. The stakes had never been higher—without their powers, they were vulnerable, and the unknown enemy could be anywhere.
*To be continued...*
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Lr stories part 1: Power royale
Action*Power Royale* is a high-stakes battle royale set in a sprawling, shrinking arena the size of Rhode Island. Contestants, each endowed with a unique superpower, fight for a $1 billion prize. As the arena contracts, the pressure mounts. The story foll...
