Expect the Unexpected

Thunder Struck, Part II

Kira's eyes widened as she entered the base. "What happened?" she gasped, looking around as the others stepped of the stairs. The base was completely and utterly trashed.

"Anabel?" Tommy called.

"Over here," said Circe, spotting movement in the rubble. She dashed across the lab, shoving aside boulders and debris until she uncovered the Mayor.

Brushing past Circe, Conner lifted Zoey Brooke's into his arms and carefully laid her on a table that Ethan and Kira uplifted from the other side of the lab. The older woman groaned in her sleep but didn't wake up.

"Blade?" Circe asked, and Kira looked around to see her kneeling beside her brother. "Blade, wake up! Blade!"

Kneeling beside the older elf, Kira felt around for a pulse. She swallowed and looked up, meeting Circe's gaze.

"No," said Circe, tears in her eyes. "No! He can't -" her tears turned quickly to anger, and she turned to the others still loitering around at the back of the base. "What happened?!"

Trent cocked his head to the side as he spotted a blinking black box under the rubble nearest him. "What's this?" he asked, digging it out.

"It's a security camera," said Hayley, taking the device. "Let's see what it picked up." She seized the laptop that she kept at the base from beneath the destroyed mainframe, and powered it up, linking the black box up to its hard drive and presenting the security footage to the others.

The grainy images on the screen showed the last few hours at the base.

Circe gasped as she watched Zeltrax throw a blast of energy at Zoey and Anabel but hit her brother instead as he threw himself into its path. Her anger then turned to fury as she watched Zeltrax strike Anabel from behind, lift her into his arms, and walk out of the base with her.

"Why didn't she fight back?" Conner asked, as Hayley replayed the footage. "Why does she just sit there and let him strike her? Do you think she's given up?"

Kira shook her head. "Look at her body language," she said. "I don't think she gave up, exactly. It's almost like she knew Zeltrax would get her out of here one way or the other. Why put up a fight, getting hurt in the process, and then be dragged out, as opposed to just letting him take her."

"But she did get hurt," said Conner.

"A bump to the head is nothing compared to what he could've done to her if she had fought back," said Ethan. "I agree with Kira. Anabel just gave him what he wanted. I mean, she knows we're going to come for her, so why fight?"

Realising he wasn't going to win the debate, Conner sighed and shrugged. He understood that both Kira and Ethan had a point, but he still couldn't quite grasp why Anabel wouldn't have fought back. If it had been him? Zeltrax would've had to drag him from the base, kicking and screaming.

"This is all my fault," said Anton, rubbing his weary face with his hand. "I should've stopped him."

"Don't blame yourself for what you did when you were him," said Trent, shaking his head.

"Trent is right, Anton," said Tommy, placing a reassuring hand on his old friend's shoulder. "This is between me and Smity. It had nothing to do with you."

Anton shook his head. "That may be true," he said. "But, he targeted my daughter. This has much to do with me as it does you."

"Maybe so," said Tommy. "But, Zeltrax went after Anabel long before any of us knew about you and Mesogog."

Trent nodded. "Besides, I don't think Zeltrax actually knows that Anabel is your kid," he said. "Mesogog never targeted her specifically because of you."