Finding ELE (ELE Series #2) Written By: Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels (21 page)

"I don't care!" When I jerk back from his
outburst he takes a deep breath and works to calm down. "He seems
like a loose cannon. Then when I walked in with him on top of
you..." He tightens his hands into fists and places them on the
wall to each side of me, locking me in. "I was ready to pummel
him." He admits in a whisper.

I shiver. Then looking into his deep navy
eyes, I say, "We really were just training."

"Are you sure there is nothing else there?"
He demands earnestly, his hands are still boxing me in against the
wall.

"No, Alec. There's nothing there." I close
my eyes for a second to confirm that revelation within myself. I
open my eyes again and see the man that I love staring back at me.
"Nothing is there. I love you and only you."

As if he felt the need to confirm this, his
lips collide with mine in a passionate kiss that blows my worries
and thoughts away like embers in the wind. We hold onto each other
like we could slip away forever if we let go. He says everything to
me with that kiss. It tells me that I am his and that I hold his
heart in my hands. I will not take such an enormous responsibility
lightly. I kiss him back with just as much passion and when we
break away the worry and anger in his eyes is gone.

"Alec and Willow kissing in a tree..."
Connor chides in his best singsong voice. We both turn our heads to
see him and Claire walking down the hall towards us. Candy is on
their heels. She looks every bit of the uncomfortable third
wheel.

"Um, I think you meant sitting in a tree."
Alec playfully punches Connor on the shoulder.

"You two were not just sitting." Connor
laughs then makes his move, trying to put him in a headlock. Alec
blocks him and the games begin.

I roll my eyes and turn my attention towards
the girls as the boys do that weird wrestling thing that guys do.
"Awkward." I joke.

"I guess for guys a simple hug doesn't do."
Claire laughs.

We laugh for a second and then I turn my
attention to Candy. "So, how are you doing?" I ask her seriously.
She stands a step behind Claire and looks like she wants to melt
into the background. I can't believe how much the tables have
turned. I actually feel bad for this girl who bullied us for three
straight months.

She looks up at me with her baby blue eyes.
"Fine."

I stare at her for a moment and then let her
unspoken emotions sink in. I can feel the anxiety, sadness and
homesickness that she feels. Pushed away in a far corner is a mix
of anticipation and determination that might just get her through
all of this.

"Please don't do that." Candy tells me
firmly.

I cock my head to the side, surprised by her
statement. "What do you mean?"

"I can sense you reading my emotions." She
tells me.

"Oh, and your eyes are like...black." Claire
says in wonderment while moving a step closer to get a better look.
"That's pretty cool how quick they just changed. It was like neon
yellow and then slowly the black came on like an eclipse."

I instinctively reach my hand up towards my
eyes. Then I tell Candy, "Sorry."

"It's okay. I don't like the invasion of
privacy though." She tells me. Her voice lacks passion and she
seems a bit beat down.

"I’ll work on that." I twiddle my thumbs a
little lost for words. "If you ever want to talk or something...
Um, you know." I look up and her eyes are locked on mine. I say a
little more sure of myself, "Claire and I are here. We are pretty
good listeners."

"Yes, anytime." Claire agrees.

Candy looks to each of us and her eyes
soften a bit. "Thank you. I know, I've been a total queen B to you
two and I'm sorry."

"You’re forgiven." I tell her sincerely.

"Yes." Claire confirms.

"Thank you." Her lips turn up slightly into
the closest thing to a genuine smile that I've seen from her in a
while. She turns her attention to the guys who are coming up behind
us.

"Group hug?" Connor comes at us with his
arms open wide.

"You are such a goober!" Claire punches at
him and he kisses her on the cheek. This earns a laugh from the
rest of us. Candy even lets off a little chuckle. Surprisingly, it
doesn't sound anything like her famous hyena laugh, for which I'm
grateful.

"So, is it dinner time?" Connor asks.

"Probably. Let's go check." I grab Alec's
hand in mine and lead everyone back in the direction of the
cafeteria.

We sit with my family during dinner. Once
again, Tony is a no show. I do my best not to think about it
though. We talk as we eat. Candy sits next to Sabby and dotes over
him. I think he's going to be good for her. Slowly but surely, I
see some of her fragile state disappear. Nobody is impervious to my
baby brother's charms.

My mom does a great job of involving Candy
in the conversations too. She takes care of everyone like they are
her own. My mom totally rocks.

We all laugh and make fun of Connor because
he gets a talking to for trying to get seconds of food before
everyone has gotten their fair share. He sulks for a bit and then
we move on to more interesting topics of conversation.

Apparently, two gathering groups have been
sent out to search for supplies in the area and they should be back
by midday tomorrow. My mom explains about how they go out on
missions to search nearby neighborhoods and stores for supplies and
food rations that can be useful. On a side note, she tells me that
Tony joined one of the groups.

Another bonfire party is scheduled for
tomorrow night after they return. It's a tradition to celebrate
when a mission is successful.

They didn't hold a celebration for us when
we returned out of respect for the two soldiers who lost their
lives.

After dinner, we lounge about for a while
more, talking about this and that. My mom introduces my friends to
the soldiers that they will be training with tomorrow. The trainers
just happen to be the fantastic four. One for each: Alec, Connor,
Claire and Candy. My mom tells us that she will be personally
training my dad. That should be interesting.

Since Tony won't be around to train me, I
get to tag along and join in wherever I want. Everyone is set for a
six-hour training session tomorrow which starts immediately after
breakfast. Connor seems the most excited about the training, which
doesn't surprise me at all. Every so often he’ll do a random ninja
move to show his enthusiasm.

When the vicious cycle of yawning overtakes
our group, we head off to our respective rooms. Claire and I talk
for a few minutes about the boys before we fall asleep. I tell her
about the situation with Tony and Alec. She eyes me warily and
warns me to be careful because it sounds like Tony might have a
thing for me. I brush the comment off but it doesn't really leave
me. No, it weighs heavily on my conscience. I lie in bed quietly
and listen to the sounds of Claire nodding off. I guess it's going
to be one of those tossing and turning kind of nights.

***

A thunderous knock on the door pulls me
abruptly from my sleep. I hop out of bed to answer the incessant
knocking. Claire groans as I open the door and the light from a
lantern filters in. The lady that I healed with the burn a few days
ago is standing there looking scared out of her wits.

"Willow, we need your help. He's hurt!" She
grabs my hand and doesn't wait for me to answer her. She pulls me
out the door and down the hall.

Claire jumps out of bed and comes after me
but I tell her to go back to the room.

I let the woman lead me without question,
down a few flights of stairs and towards a room at the far end of
the hotel.

"You need to help him!" She tells me in a
panic as we enter the room. A group of people that I recognize as
part of the search party that helped me, is standing around a bed.
They part when they see me, allowing me to view the 'him' she was
talking about.

I gasp and my heart starts doing flips as I
look onto Tony's crumpled, beat up body lying on the bed. His eyes
are closed and I have no idea if he's even breathing. I run to his
side as tears flow from my eyes. "What happened?" I demand
franticly.

"He was leading our group when some Reapers
ambushed us. We weren't prepared and didn't have our weapons armed.
He took two on by himself as we fended off the other three of them.
He killed the first one good, but then the other one jumped him and
they took a tumble down a steep drop. We got to him as quick as we
could. The other Reaper broke his neck during the fall. Tony, he
didn't make out so well either." A man says. "We brought him back
as quick as we could, but he's been like this for more than two
hours. The trip was long."

I don't take my eyes off Tony while the guy
tells me the story. Two hours! That's forever when you are injured
this badly. Tony looks so still and even up close I can't tell if
he's breathing. Cuts and contusions are all over his body. One of
his arms is broken and positioned unnaturally. His clothes are torn
and covered in blood, dirt and other debris from the fall. I place
my head to his heart, just to confirm that it's still beating. I
can feel it but it's weak if anything. I’m not sure what a weak
heartbeat means, but I do know it means he’s still alive.

I place my hands over his chest, not sure
which part of him to focus on since he's beat up all over. I close
my eyes and focus everything on healing him. My heart is racing so
fast as my mind wanders a million miles an hour with worry.

I open my eyes and a sick feeling swells
inside me. He doesn't look like he's getting any better. I'm not
helping him! I turn and catch the reflection of my eyes in a mirror
on the wall. They are swollen with tears but they are the right
color of navy blue. Why is this not working?

Panic starts to overcome me and I take deep
breaths, not removing my hands from Tony's chest. I focus on
steadying my heartbeat remembering that my abilities don't work as
well when I'm panicked. Closing my eyes once again, I focus with
all of my strength on healing him. Slowly I feel his chest warm
under my hands. When he starts to breath in and out I open my
eyes.

His yellow eyes flutter open slightly and he
stares back at me as I continue to focus my healing powers on him.
I watch as his cuts close up and his bruises fade away on his face.
The light returns to his eyes and warmth returns to his cheeks.

I wait until his heartbeat is strong
underneath my hands before I finally let go. And when I do, I
crumple beside him on the bed.

When I wake up it's still dark outside and
candlelight makes the room glow softly. My eyes flutter open slowly
and my body feels numb, my muscles weak. Remembering what it felt
like when I healed my mom after she was close to death gets my
heart pumping. Memories of Tony's nearly lifeless body lying on
that bed flood back to me. I open my mouth to call out but my
throat is parched.

Alec moves to my side quickly and places a
glass of water to my lips. I lift my hands up to grab it but my
muscles are too weak. Allowing him to help me, I gulp it down like
it was the last drop of water on earth. When I'm done, he sets it
on the bedside table and then he helps me sit up.

Before I am fully positioned, he pulls me
into his arms. "You scared the crap out of me. I didn't know if you
were going to wake up!"

"I'm okay." I croak out, my vocal chords not
fully up to speed yet. "Tony?" Alec moves away just a little
bit.

"Yes." Tony comes into view behind Alec. His
face is masked with concern and a bit of envy. Feeling his
emotions, he is wishing he were the one holding me right now.
"Thank you Willow..." He wants to say more but can't think of what
to say.

"It's okay." I can't say more than a few
words since my throat still feels like sandpaper. Tony and I stare
at each other speaking unspoken words with our eyes.

Claire interrupts, "I'm so glad you are okay
Willow! I saw what you did, that was freaking amazing!"

I guess Claire didn't follow my directions
about staying behind. I try to smile but even my facial muscles are
hard to move.

"You should let her rest a little more." My
mom comes into view. Alec moves away from my side, allowing my mom
to take a seat next to me. A proud gleam is in her eyes. "Like
Claire said, you are freaking amazing." She smiles and brushes the
hair back from my face. "I am so proud of you." She tells me.

"Thanks." I whisper. My eyes feel heavy and
I struggle to keep them open.

"You get some rest. We will be here when you
wake up, don't worry." My mom tells me. She moves off the bed.

Alec comes back to my side and kisses my
forehead. "I will be right here." He tells me, squeezing my hand.
Then he goes and takes a seat near the window.

Tony comes to my side next. I notice his
hands clenched at his side. He's doing his best to keep them to
himself. "Thank you." His voice is full with emotion.

"You're welcome." I say sincerely then I
allow my eyes to shut again.

***

This time when I awake, my eyes open easier.
The sun is streaming in through the windows. Alec is lying on his
back next to me in the bed. I look around the room and see that
we're alone. I move my arms and realize that my muscles feel
stronger this time.

Alec sits up realizing that I'm awake, he
hops out of bed and grabs the water for me again.

I sit up on my own and take a drink. "How
long was I out this time?" I ask him, my voice back to normal.

"Only a few hours." He smiles at me.

"Wow, I feel completely better."

He nods his head. "I don't know why I hadn't
thought about it before babe, it's just your mom told me that you
would be fine. I should have done it earlier. Then when Tony
recommended it, I felt like a complete idiot."