Estelle met their questioning gazes, a faint, almost imperceptible shimmer around her pink bandana as she began to speak. "It's difficult to explain," she started, her voice a low murmur against the backdrop of the crackling fire. "When the meteor's energy washed through us, it wasn't just a physical change. For me… I felt connections. Faint threads linking me to others in the facility. To you three, specifically. It was… a pull, an awareness of your presence, your fear… your will to survive. A kind of… telepathy, I suppose, but not with words. More like a shared instinct, a guiding hand."
She paused, searching for the right words, her gaze distant as if reliving the chaos. "When the breach happened, when panic erupted and the facility fell… I somehow knew, instinctively, where you were. And… I pushed. I focused on those threads, trying to guide you, to create a sense of direction amidst the pandemonium. It was like whispering into your minds, urging you towards the less dangerous paths, the hidden exits, away from the worst of the fighting. I don't fully understand how it worked, how I could project that, but somehow… it did. It led us out, safely." Her gaze then softened as she looked at Kael. "And with you, Kael... I feel an even stronger connection. It's like our energies resonate on a deeper level."
Her explanation was brief, almost dismissive, as if she were still grappling with the nature of her own abilities. Jax and Orion exchanged skeptical glances, but the fact remained: they were alive, outside the ruined facility, together. Whatever Estelle had done, it had worked.
A heavy silence settled over them once more, the initial shock and the explanations giving way to the daunting reality of their situation. The ruined cityscape of Mombasa stretched before them, a silent testament to the cataclysm that had reshaped their world.
Finally, Jax stirred, his crimson brow furrowed with worry. "My family… my mother, my sisters… they were in the city. I need to know… are they…?" His voice trailed off, the unspoken fear hanging heavy in the air.
Orion, his usual detached demeanor momentarily fractured by a raw emotion, echoed Jax's concern. "My parents… they lived near the port. If the city is like this…" He didn't finish the sentence, the devastation around them painting a grim picture.
Kael, surprisingly, remained silent. He looked out at the ruined city, the flickering flames casting long, dancing shadows. A strange emptiness resonated within him. He tried to conjure an image of his parents, their faces, their voices… but it was like grasping at smoke. There was no surge of panic, no gnawing worry, only a disconcerting blankness. He felt… nothing. The realization was more unsettling than any fear.
Jax and Orion looked at him, noticing his unusual quietude. "Kael?" Jax asked, his voice laced with concern. "Your family… are you alright?"
Kael turned back to them, his new blue eyes reflecting the firelight. He hesitated for a moment, the alien lack of emotion still a strange and unwelcome guest in his mind. "I… I don't know," he said slowly, the words feeling hollow. "I don't… feel anything."
The honesty in his voice was stark, unsettling. The shared worry about loved ones had created a fragile bond between Jax and Orion, but Kael's unexpected apathy seemed to set him apart, a strange anomaly in their small group of survivors.
Estelle watched him, her gaze thoughtful, perhaps sensing the unusual nature of his response.
The silence stretched, thick with unspoken anxieties and the weight of an uncertain future. Finally, Orion broke the stillness. "So… what do we do now?" He looked from Estelle to Jax, then to Kael, a question hanging in the air that none of them seemed ready to answer. The vast, ruined world lay before them, and the path ahead was shrouded in a terrifying unknown.
Kael's blue eyes, which had been reflecting the firelight with an almost detached intensity, now seemed to ignite from within. A raw, unyielding resolve hardened his jaw, and a quiet power settled over his features. He looked at each of them, his gaze piercing, a silent challenge and a promise. "We must survive," he stated, his voice low, but resonating with an unshakeable conviction that silenced the night. "No matter the cost. No matter what comes next."