The Hate-Forged Queen

The wind stung grit across my face. I knelt in the ruins, my fingertips pressed against Andrew Carl's chest. His wound still bled—a gaping hole pierced by a mutated hyena's fang. "Hold on." I gritted my teeth, summoning the last of my healing power. Warm light seeped from my fingertips into his skin, my veins burning as if on fire. It was the third year after Doomsday, and healers had long since become scarce. I was the camp's only healer—and Andrew's girlfriend. When my powers ran out, darkness blurred my vision and I nearly collapsed. Andrew's breathing gradually steadied. When he opened his eyes, the first words out of his mouth weren't thank you. "Where are my compressed biscuits?" He reached for my backpack. Before I could react, he snatched my backpack away. Florence Baker walked by, shaking the Space Bracelet on her wrist. "Andrew, my space supplies are running low." Her voice was laced with a teasing tone. Florence is a Space-type Psychic who only joined the camp last month. Andrew handed her the last pack of biscuits from my backpack, his gaze as cold as ice. "Cecily, your psychic powers are gone. Staying at the camp is just wasting resources." I froze, thinking I must have misheard. "I just saved you." My voice trembled. "That was your choice." Andrew kicked away my outstretched hand. "Now, get out of the camp." Florence leaned against his shoulder and raised an eyebrow at me. "Useless people should know their place." A cold wind seeped into my collar. I looked at those two, and my heart felt like it was being squeezed tight. I slowly pulled myself up, a faint glow flickering at my fingertips. With Andrew distracted, I swiftly pressed against the wound on his chest. That was the life force I left lingering inside him when I healed him earlier. And the source of his proud Lightning Ability—I quietly siphoned a thread of it. "You'll regret this." I fixed my gaze on his eyes, speaking each word slowly and clearly. Andrew sneered and signaled the Guardians Team to haul me away. They threw me out into the rubble beyond the camp, with Florence's laughter ringing behind me. Dusk was settling, and in the distance, the snarls of mutated beasts echoed. I clutch my empty chest, hatred spreading like wild vines.