Finding ELE (ELE Series #2) Written By: Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels (13 page)

The door to the room opens and a high pitch
scream lets out. "Willow!" Claire comes running in. She nearly
jumps over the table and pulls me up out of my chair. She hugs me
much tighter than I would have imagined she could.

"Claire!" Tears of relief fall from my eyes.
I hug tightly, but not tight enough to break her ribs with my new
super strength. She seems so small and fragile. It's been too long
since I've seen her tiny figure.

"I thought they..." Claire sniffles into my
shoulder. "We all thought the worst. We didn't know what they were
going to do to you." She pulls back. Her light purple eyes are
filled with tears and her face looks tired from worry.

"I'm okay. I got away. I was so worried
about you guys." Tears escape my eyes.

"It was scary outside but these people
helped us." She hugs me again quickly. Neither of us wants to part
from each other. "Alec was so sick with worry Willow. I've never
seen anyone react like that before. He nearly went mad trying to
get back into the shelter. The second we stepped foot outside and
Alec realized that Connor could move us through the mountain, he
wanted to go back for you. We tried to turn around and go back but
these horrible people came after us. They came down in droves from
the mountainside. Erik and some of his people saved us."

I look to Erik. "Thank you." I say to him
and I mean it. If anything were to happen to them, I don't know
what I'd do. He nods and I return my attention to Claire. I'm so
grateful to have found her. "We have to go and let them know that
I'm safe. If Zack or Dr. Hastings finds them, who knows what will
happen?" I decide more determined than ever to find Alec and Connor
as well.

I turn towards my mom for confirmation but
my eyes focus on Tony. His eyes look pained. As soon as he sees me
turn his way he looks the other direction, clearly avoiding my
gaze.

Claire opens her mouth but Erik interrupts
her. "We only have one person here that can take you through the
shelter walls and she's sick. You will have to wait until your
friends come back or until she's better."

"When are they coming back out?" I ask.

"In two days. We have plans to meet them
first thing in the morning at the drop off point." He answers.

"That's too long!" I say a bit too loudly.
Erik moves back an inch at my outburst, eyes widening.

"Honey, do you think they will be in danger
inside the shelter?" My mom asks me.

Both Claire and I say "yes," simply and
simultaneously.

My mom looks to Erik. "Willow can take us
inside. Can you provide us with the coordinates of the pickup spot
so we have a starting point?"

"Yes, but I am unable to provide any of my
people to accompany you." He says.

"We will be able to accompany her." Tony
speaks up. Caught up with my reunion with Claire, I nearly forgot
he was there.

"We will need a place for our team to camp
out while they wait for us to return." My mom tells Erik.

He thinks it over for a few seconds then
says, "They may bunk at the lake house. It's large enough to house
them all and has a full kitchen. I will have some of my people set
some supplies there for them to use when they return."

"Thank you." My mom tells him, she turns to
Tony. "We need to make preparations. I think the best thing will be
to head out immediately."

"Yes ma'am." Tony stands up. "I will go make
arrangements." He shoots me an interesting look that I can't
decipher and then he leaves the room.

What is going on with him, I wonder. The
desire to listen in to his thoughts is strong but I fight the urge.
I’ll just need to find a time to talk with him when we get back.
Maybe this place just puts him at unease. Maybe he’s worried about
my safety. For sure, it couldn’t be jealousy over my need to find
Alec. No, I tell myself. That can’t be it.

"Thank you for taking care of my friends
Erik. Is there anything I can do for you in return? Do you need us
to check on anyone inside the shelter for you or your people?" I
ask him.

He shakes his head. "None of our people have
any family on the inside but thank you for the offer." I remember
what my mom told me about the people on the outside who have other
abilities. They never entered the shelter because their family
members were declined.

He stands up and we follow suit. "Our main
concern right now is that none of your people lead the Reapers back
to us. We have managed to keep a safe perimeter and don't want it
compromised."

"We understand. The team we have with us are
some of our best soldiers. They will be careful to avoid
detection." My mom tells him. Erik must take her word because he
turns and walks out of the room. We follow him into the empty foyer
and he escorts us to the front door.

I'm the last one out. I stop to ask Erik a
question that's been on my mind since I first saw him. "May I ask
what your ability is? I've never seen black eyes."

I can see the wheels of his brain churning
as he decides if he wants to share the answer with me. "I can sense
people's emotions and in a way, I can manipulate them. That's how I
could tell that your group wasn't a threat to us."

"You can sense emotions?" I wonder what that
entails.

He smiles a little, which is the first time
I've seen him relax an inch. "Yes, I can sense right now that you
are extremely curious. I can also sense the nervousness and worry
you feel for your friends. There's also some other sort of confused
emotion that I sensed earlier when you looked at Tony."

My eyes open wide and I quickly look around
to make sure nobody overheard what he just said. "I think your
reader is broken."

He laughs a nice hearty laugh that relaxes
me. "It's all good Willow. Your secrets are safe with me. I wish
you the best in finding your friends today."

"Thank you for everything Erik." I shake his
hand and watch him retreat back into the building. A deadbolt
clicks in place. I can't help but shake the idea that I'll have a
piece of Erik's ability soon...maybe.

"Willow?" I turn around at Claire's call. I
forgot how beautiful she is with her pale blonde hair and large
purple eyes. She almost looks like an anime figure.

"Hey Claire." I run my hand through my hair
worried about what I'm about to tell her. "I was thinking that
maybe you should stay here."

I cringe as her pretty stare turns deadly.
"Absolutely not! My boyfriend is in there too and there's no way
I'm letting my best friend go there alone. I listened to them when
they made me stay here, I'm not listening again." She puts her
hands on her hips and tries to make herself look taller.

I pull her into a hug. "I didn't think you
would say yes, but I had to try."

"Good try." She sniffs. "Hey, are you going
to introduce me to your mom or what?" She hits me on the shoulder
playfully.

"Oh, my bad." I drag her by her hand over to
where my mom is consulting with Tony. "Hey mom. I didn't get to
officially introduce you to my best friend Claire."

Claire holds out her hand to shake but my
mom pulls her into a big motherly hug. "I've heard so much about
you sweety. I feel like I know you already."

Claire hugs my mom in a way that reminds me
that this is something she hasn't had for a long time. Claire is an
orphan and has been one for many years. She won't have to worry
about that in the future though. I know that my parents will take
her in like one of their own. That's just how they are. "It's so
nice to meet you Mrs. Mosby."

"Oh, you make me feel old honey. You can
call me Alice; Mrs. Mosby was my mother in laws name." She winks at
my friend.

"Okay, thank you Alice." Claire looks at
Tony and then to me.

"I'm sorry Claire. This is Tony. He's my
mom's right hand man." I look over at Tony then add, "And we've
become pretty good friends."

That makes Tony's eyes darken a bit.
"Friends," he repeats.

"Nice to meet you Tony." Claire extends her
hand and thankfully Tony doesn't pull her into a hug. That might
have been awkward.

"Nice to meet you Claire." He says to
her.

My mom and Tony fill us in on the plans for
infiltrating the shelter. It sounds like only my mom, Claire, Tony
and I will be going inside. They think it's best that we keep a low
profile to not draw too much attention to ourselves. Once inside we
will be splitting up to cover more ground. Claire will be going
with my mom and I will be going with Tony. We had to split it this
way since both Claire and I can help them go invisible. The team
will meet us outside at the rally point tomorrow morning. So we
have a little over a day to find everyone. I hope that's enough
time for us to go in, get them and get out.

I take a deep breath trying to place myself
in the correct frame of mind. The last time I was near the mountain
my mother and I almost died. I don't think I'm quite ready to
revisit those fresh wounds but it has to be done and I'm the only
one that can do it. It's time to put my big girl pants on. I see
Claire fiddling with her nails. I can tell she's nervous. I put my
arm around her and whisper in her ear, "They're fine Claire Bear.
Alec and Connor are two of the strongest, smartest guys I know.
We'll get to them before we know it." Claire gives me a smile that
doesn't quite reach her eyes. "I hope you're right," she
replies.

We refill our water bottles and grab some
extra canteens from some of the other men. They'll have access to a
kitchen tonight; this way no one goes without. Tony hands me a pack
and I toss it on my back. He hands Claire one too, which drops to
the ground like a piece of lead. Everyone looks utterly baffled
until we all remember that Claire doesn't possess the extra
strength we all have. "Sorry Claire, I think they forgot about your
ability being different from theirs."

She looks confused for a second then says,
"Oh, right. Yellow eyes, strength. Got it."

Tony grabs her bag and loops it over his
other shoulder, balancing two at once.

The usual suspects gather around Claire and
me as we descend into the tree line. We don't talk for hours making
sure that we're not seen or heard by any reapers nearby. We made a
promise we wouldn't compromise the other compound's position and
we're set on holding to our word.

The sun is beginning to set in the horizon.
Our group stops for a quick break that also doubles as surveillance
time for a small team of soldiers. Those of us waiting set our
packs down and take out an assortment of food. I end up getting
something called Spam. I've never heard of it, but it doesn't taste
bad. A little mushy, but any food is food right now. It's the least
of my concerns.

We've stopped on top of a hill, skillfully
hidden in the foliage. From here we can see the base of the
mountain, most importantly the sealed off entrance. A little smirk
forms on my face. Well, not sealed for everyone, I think to
myself.

I finish the majority of my Spam but can’t
seem to get it all down. It doesn’t sit well.

Tony leans over with a mouthful of food and
points at my Spam can with his fork. “You gonna eat that?” He asks
in a muffled voice.

I don’t even have to answer him, I just hand
him the can. I see my mother smiling out of the corner of my eye
but she quickly looks away. Claire is sitting cross-legged in front
of me eating some form of meal bar. Her pinkie fingers are pointing
up as she eats. She cracks me up with how dainty she can be at
times.

My mother wipes the crumbs from her hands
and stands up. Taking a deep breath she looks at each one of us
before speaking. “I don’t know if the Reapers are around or not. If
they are, they’re pretty well hidden.”

I cup my hand and put it on my brow to block
the setting sun. I look panoramically to see if I can sense
anything. “The coast seems clear to me,” I say reassuringly.

My mother shakes her finger at me. “Willow,
you must always be prepared for the worst. Those Reapers are
smart…sometimes too smart. And with your abilities, we have to be
extra careful. You’re not only a rare commodity, but you’re my
daughter. We all go in together; we all come out together. Got it?”
We all nod our heads. "Are you ready?" She asks me
specifically.

"Yes, I'm ready." My stomach feels like it's
holding a million jumping jellybeans. I've been doing my best not
to think about what could happen inside the shelter. I can't focus
on that right now. I need to focus on just making it to the
shelter. The land between here and the entrance is mostly bare.
There are a few shrubs and an occasional tree, but not enough to
provide us cover.

Tony gets up next. "Let's do this." He holds
his hand out to me and I accept it allowing him to pull me to a
standing position. Everyone else follows our lead.

My mom addresses the group. "I want double
the enforcements to surround Willow and Claire. My hope is that if
the Reapers notice us they may not engage in a fight." She looks at
Claire and I. "You girls need to keep your heads down. Don't look
around. The last thing we need is for one of their spies to catch
sight of your eye color. If they think you’re just like us, they
may not bother with starting anything. Will you do that for
me?"

"Yes." We say simultaneously.

My mom heads to the front of the group.
Eight guys, not including Tony surround Claire and I. Tony stays to
my left allowing me to walk next to Claire. As we walk I catch
sight of her in my peripheral vision. She's shaking. I grab her
hand in mine and squeeze lightly. "It’ll be okay. Tony can kick
Reaper butt and I have a gun."

She lets out a shaky laugh. "Good to know.
I'm sorry, it's just that I know what they can do...the Reapers, I
mean. We saw them kill one of the men from the village when they
tried to save us. It was horrible Willow. They sucked him dry in
less than five minutes."