Connection

Chapter Thirty-One: Charlotte

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Chapter Thirty-One: Charlotte

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Her body ached with pain. Her throat had grown hoarse from screaming and she had little control over her limbs. She felt like she'd been in this chair for hours. The wires they'd attached to her arms moved uncomfortably and thin streams of blood flowed from more than a few of them.

Charlotte's captors watched her with hungry eyes, but it didn't seem they were doing anything to her. She just sat in consuming pain, her lips dry and her body tired.

When she couldn't take it anymore, she croaked, "Are you gonna do anything or can I get off this thing and try to sleep."

In all honesty, the constant pain was chipping away at her already damaged sanity, but the whole thing felt a bit anticlimactic. So many threats; days leading up to it, all to sit in a chair with needles puncturing her arm.

Brooklyn laughed sadistically at this before running her finger along the machine Charlotte was attached to.

"Growing bored, are you?" she drawled and Charlotte kept her mouth shut, her eyes drooping.

The faint sound of nail against plastic hit Charlotte's ears just before she was jolted awake--literally.

A scream tried to force its way out of her throat but because of her hoarseness, it came out little more than an animalistic grunt.

Waves of new and different agony coursed through her body and more intense rates than before. Her brain felt as if it was being fried and her body jerked in the chair uncontrollably.

The shock stopped, but the pain did not and Charlotte found herself waiting in heightened awareness.

She panted and jumped slightly as Graham appeared right behind her. He held out a glass filled with water and she drank gratefully, the liquid washing down her stark throat smoothly.

"Don't help her again," Brooklyn snarled, her face flushed with red. Graham nodded mutely, but she could tell he wasn't off the hook. Out of the corner of her eye, she could spot Brooklyn's fingers tighten around his shirt and yank him toward her.

A heavy silence settled over the room once more as they watched Charlotte fall back into a dazed state of pain.

Though her mind couldn't focus on one thing with pain pounding against her on all sides, she wouldn't forget that Graham helped her; she wouldn't stop being grateful as she was absorbed into her own situation once more.

All of a sudden, a new sensation was pulsing through her body. It wasn't painful, or cold. It was pleasing; warm even.

She closed her eyes in bliss as the feeling consumed her. Her mind and body fed on it, using it as fuel to live.

It was so wonderful, in fact, that she barely noticed as she flipped herself over the back of the chair, nearly breaking her arm and causing blood to spike out of more of her skin. A dull shot of pain disrupted the calming sensation, but not enough to put a damper on her feelings.

She was on top of the world; all powerful and in complete control. She felt as if she could conquer nations; she felt as if she was above everything else. Charlotte felt strong for the first time in months.

Loud cackling rang through the room and pierced through the warmth once more, this time more substantially. She looked distractedly toward her captors and pressed her mouth together firmly. They were laughing at her. She'd have to stop that; she didn't have the time or emotional capacity to deal with it.

With the fling of her hand, a column of fire appeared in front of her, raging and hot. She ordered it toward her captors and watched contently as the warmth settled back to the rhythm of their screaming.

She knew then, that she didn't just feel powerful; she was powerful and strong. She had forgotten all these weeks that she was all these things.

Ross dove out of the way of a fireball that had shot right at his head. He shouted as it caught his side anyway and singed his clothes and skin.

It bounced off the wall and chased a startled Brooklyn as the column of fire attacked Aria and William. She tried to avoid Graham, but if he got caught in the crossfire then so be it.

The warmth continued to flow seamlessly as she attacked and their terror just fed the feeling, putting her even further above them.

As she stood in control of everything around her, she was sure that nothing could take her down now; she was positive that she had won.

Amidst the chaos, she heard the door to the room open and turned toward the source, the fire raging on.

For a moment, she stared in confusion and then a slight bit of recognition pushed itself forward in her mind.

Cliff Hallowglite stood before her.