Exposing ELE (ELE Series #3)

by Nuckels, Courtney

  Exposing ELE

  By: Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels

  Copyright 2012 by: Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels

  Cover Photo: Copyright Valua Vitaly, Yusuf Yilmaz , Dash, and Roman Krochuk, Fotolia/Shutterstock

  Cover Work: Marya Heiman @ Strong Image Editing

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  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Epilogue

  Eye Color List

  Acknowledgements

  About the Authors

  Connect With Us

  CHAPTER 1 (Ambush)

  Chaos abounds all around us. Tony, my protector, stands before me in a defensive stance while Zack’s sinister glare penetrates me to the core. To say that Zack and I don't get along is a bit of an understatement. He and his dad tried to turn me into a lab experiment after they attempted to kill my friends.

  I shiver at the sight of his bizarrely formed eyes and I grip Lily, Connor’s little sister, a bit tighter to my chest in response. Thankfully, she's still passed out and is completely unaware of the danger we are in.

  For a few seconds no one moves or breathes; we just wait and watch to see if the other will make the first move. Even though I desperately want to, I don't dare break away from Zack's gaze. I watch in horror as the colors continue to swirl through half of his iris, while the outer half turns a crimson, blood red. He grins eerily and Tony raises his gun a little higher.

  Suddenly a sound like a freight train breaks our staring match. We all turn in unison to watch a multitude of helicopters begin surrounding the area. Large black SUVs pull up around us on all sides, entrapping us like circus animals. I find myself stunned, in awe at the sight of working vehicles. It seems like forever since I've seen any type of running automotive, much less an aircraft.

  Not wasting any time gawking, Tony yanks my hand and rushes Lily and me into the nearby brush while Zack is distracted. I watch as Zack turns around quickly and realizes we are gone. He looks royally pissed, but he starts moving in the direction of the SUV's.

  The brush that we are hiding in is still a few hundred yards from the tree line and, truth be told, I don’t think we could make it without someone spotting us for sure. Some of the others we’ve rescued, around fifteen in all, huddle around us, trying desperately to hide as well. We all try our best to find cover between the wispy blades of grass, but it seems futile.

  Something bad is about to happen, I can feel it in my bones. The brush offers us little protection and I know that if I don’t turn us invisible, and soon, our chances of being seen increase tenfold. I've never tried to mask this many people before, but I have no choice but to try. I look around and, unfortunately, I don't see any other purple eyes amongst us. Realizing that it's up to me, I have everyone that is with us place one of their hands on me. Tony holds my left hand and I hold Lily tight with my right arm. The poor thing still hasn't woken up, but that's probably best right about now. Tony links his fingers between mine. I don’t have time to process how intimately he’s holding my hand, so I concentrate on turning us invisible.

  “Did it work?” I ask Tony, since I can still see us even if we are invisible. It's one of my other gifts.

  He looks down at our hands and whispers, “Yes.”

  I fight back the feeling that I am being drained of power and energy, focusing instead on what is happening just twenty yards in front of us. The helicopters are hovering over the clearing and the trucks sit idle, apparently waiting for instruction. The masses of people are still one big blur of confusion.

  I spot Zack and his father, Dr. Hastings, standing off to the side next to one of the SUVs. Dr. Hastings holds what looks to be some sort of remote control in his hand. Zack is holding his right hand high up in the air, watching for what looks to be a particular moment to release it. As soon as his arm comes down, all of the helicopters open up and ropes fall fluidly to the ground. Men in black uniforms begin rappelling out of the helicopters, making their way down to solid ground. Simultaneously, the SUV doors begin opening and swarms of men in the same black uniforms begin piling out of the vehicles, armed with automatic weapons.

  I watch as Dr. Hastings pulls an antenna out of the remote control device and presses several buttons. At the same time, Zack pulls out a large pair of headphones and places them over his ears. Within a few seconds, to my dismay, all of the Reapers that had been fighting up until this point begin dropping to the ground, cupping their ears as a high pitch noise reverberates around the mountainside.

  I must have cringed a bit because Tony instantly becomes worried. “Willow, what’s wrong?”

  With my hands full, I attempt to rub my ear against my shoulder, trying to get the sound to stop. “It’s the noise,” I tell him. “It’s hurting my ears.”

  He looks at me in confusion. “What noise?”

  I furrow my brow, trying to understand why I hear the noise and he doesn’t. I look back out to the field and note that, indeed, only the Reapers are affected by the noise. Dr. Hastings's remote device must be omitting a sound that only a Reaper could hear. That has to be why Zack is sporting the headphones.

  Everyone else has stopped fighting each other. They stumble about, confused, as the army of men circle in on them.

  It only takes a few seconds for the peacefulness to reinstate itself back into chaos. The people that are in the clearing begin running away from the men holding the large ammunition guns. The ‘soldiers’ are indistinguishable, with black fabric covering every square inch of their body. The only thing you can see is their eyes that peer through small slits made in their masks.

  When the first shots ring off, I instantly duck and cringe while hiding my face in Tony's chest. He puts his other hand around my lower back and holds me close. Everyone else seems to huddle closer to me in fear and I struggle to keep my powers going. My body starts feeling weak. I’m not sure if it’s the fact I am sharing my power of invisibility with all of these people that is draining me or the fact that I can feel the fear permeating through their pores and into mine.

  I look back up to find that the ‘soldiers’ are grabbing people and shooting them point blank with their weapons. My heart begins to race knowing my parents are out there somewhere. I can’t for the life of me figure out how they’ll escape.

  With all the worry and anxiety that is flooding through my veins, and with the added stress of keeping this many people invisible, I begin to weaken more and more. I close my eyes and pray that my parents are going to be okay. As soon as I open them though, I see that my prayer has not been answered. To my horror, I watch as my parents struggle against two armed men who have them each in a chokehold. I watch as they point a smaller gun at their necks. Tony must see what I’m seeing because his hand covers my mouth the second I am about to let out a panicked scream.

  I hear a gunshot – maybe
it was two – and watch as my parents fall to the ground in a heap. Tears sting my eyes as I try to convince myself that this isn’t happening. The urge to run to them is so great that I can barely contain it.

  Tony glances over at me, his face red with fury, and asks me if I’m okay. I don’t know how to respond so I don’t; I just try to tell him with my eyes what my heart wants so badly to say. It wants to say that I am in utter disbelief; I just saw both of my parents shot point blank a few yards in front of me. All of this heartache, combined with the people around me who are draining my powers, makes me instantly weak. My head drops a few inches as I rest it on the top of Lily’s head.

  Tony asks me again in a more intense whisper, “Willow, are you okay? Answer me!”

  My eyes begin closing against my will. Between the slits of my closing eyelids, I see a pair of men in black coming our way. I can't let go now. They will surely see us if I do.

  “Willow,” Tony whispers again, looking from me back to the men who are gaining on us.

  “My…powers,” is all I can manage to say. The men are only a few feet away now.

  Suddenly, Tony lets go of my arm, turning visible. I want so badly to protest. I try to reach my hand out to grab him, but my arm doesn't move, it's too weak. He can’t let go… he’ll get himself killed!

  Tony leans over me very briefly and says, “I can see your powers slipping. Please get these people to safety. I’m going to see if I can help your parents. God willing, I will see you again.” He kisses the top of my head and runs towards the men. I try to say something to stop him, but I’m just not strong enough. He tackles the men to the ground effectively and manages to keep from getting shot. I begin hoping against hope that he can make it through this.

  I use all the energy I have to keep the people around me safe, while Tony works to lure the other soldiers away from our hiding place. All I can do is watch helplessly as person after person is shot and falls to the ground. Tony reaches the area where my parents lie. He bends down and looks at them, then looks back in the direction where we hide. His expression seems perplexed and I wish I could hear what he's trying to tell me with that look.

  Another soldier walks up behind Tony. I want to call out to him but it happens so fast. All too soon, I watch as Tony becomes the newest victim and falls slowly to the ground next to my parents.

  A scream wells up inside my throat as I watch two of the ‘soldiers’ drag their lifeless bodies into the back of an SUV. No! Everything that I love is being ripped away from me. I want to move – I want to go after them – but I couldn't even if I had the energy to do so. The lives of fifteen other people depend on me.

  About ten more minutes go by before all the victims and soldiers have been piled into the trucks. The doors securely close them inside. The helicopters lift away as the SUV’s peel off down a dirt path, leaving nothing but a cloud of dust in their wake. I feel myself falling though a dark tunnel, Tony’s name whispered on my lips as I lose consciousness.

  CHAPTER 2 (Visions)

  Run! It's all I can think to do at a time like this. My mind can't comprehend why he would be chasing me or why he has murder in his eyes. I run behind an alley that lines a steel graveyard of refineries and old buildings. The sound of his feet hitting the pavement behind me propels me forward. My eyes must be glowing neon yellow with how hard I'm pushing this ability.

  “Don't worry, Willow! I'm not going to hurt you.” His breath doesn't even sound winded. I don't dare glance behind me, not even when he adds an evil, “much,” to the end of that sentence a second later.

  A few yards ahead, there is a fork in the road. I debate whether I should take it or stay on this straight path. At the last possible second I decide to go for it. I push the limits of my power, running so ridiculously fast that I can only imagine there's a smoke trail under my sneakers. I take the turn and the pit in my stomach bottoms out. Wrong freaking move!

  He laughs from behind me as I come to a standstill in front of a brick wall. My hands meet it and grip into the grooves of the grout holding the bricks together. There was a time that his laugh would have comforted me. Not today. No, that laugh has an edge to it that tells me he no longer is in control of his actions. He's the marionette for a powerful puppet master. I should have killed that jerk when I had the chance! I turn around slowly with my head to the ground. I don't know if my heart can take seeing him.

  “Please,” I say, before I lift my head up to meet his glare. My breath catches as I take him in and my heart betrays me by perking up at the sight of him. So many emotions run through me and no words can express the way I feel. Something incomprehensible tells me that even if I die at his hand, I will not hate him. There is no such fortune for me to be able to hate the man who haunts my dreams and hunts me in the night. His copper hair shines under the moonlight and his eyes glow an eerie burgundy red, swirling together with hints of yellow. There is evil in those eyes. Not an internal evil, but one that has been forced upon him. I don't mean for my plea to come out in a throaty whisper, one that begs him to see me, but it does. I need him to see through everything that has been done to him, to us, and to break away from the one who pulls his strings. It comes out as I plead, “Please, Tony.”

  ***

  As if adrenaline has been pumped into my veins, I shoot up from the bed, gasping for air. I look around the room and expect to see him in front of me. I have no idea where I am. I push my fingers through my sweaty hair as my eyes try to focus in the minimal light. What was that? A dream? A premonition?

  A door opens and candlelight filters in through its crack. “Willow?” The door opens wider and I watch Alec step into the room.

  “Alec?” I blink a few times not sure what's going on. “Where am I?” I ask.

  “You’re in the new safe house; everything’s going to be okay. We managed to get everyone here and situated while you were out. What you did back at the mountain took a great deal out of you, but you saved a lot of people. They are all calling you a hero.” He steps closer to the bed. Something in his expression seems torn, but I'm not sure if it’s just my imagination.

  “Oh,” is all I can think to say as I focus on withdrawing my memories from the far recesses of my mind. As if hitting me like a bullet, it all comes back to me. The mountain, the shooting, Zack and his dad, the soldiers, my parents and then Tony. The last two thoughts feel more like a landmine blew up in my heart than a bullet. Tony sacrificed himself for me, trying to save my parent’s lives, even though they had already been lost.

  “Are you feeling okay?” Alec asks me. I can see clearly now that there is a hesitancy about him that I can't quite explain. He seems hurt and conflicted. His hands keep clenching and unclenching as if he wants to reach out and touch me but he has to hold back. Something is definitely wrong.

  I move my legs to the side of the bed, intending to stand up. I still feel weak so I lean back against the headboard. “Yes, I think so.” I look up to Alec. “I need to find Tony and my parents,” I tell him strongly. Even if they are all dead, I need to see them. It’s as if I am trying to comprehend what happened at the mountain… it doesn’t feel real.

  Alec takes a step back; a hurt look overcomes his expression. “You were calling for him in your sleep you know.”

  I remember the dream I had right before waking up. It seemed so real. Those feelings I felt were vivid and unexplainable. I open my mouth but don't really know what to say. I try to divert his previous statement. “My parents. I think they’re dead.” The moment I say it aloud, it becomes a reality. I try to stifle a sob. “And Tony… I think he’s dead too.” I put my face in my hands, squeezing tight, trying to make the pain go away.

  Alec comes to my side and crouches down beside me. “Willow, please stop crying and listen to me.”

  I can’t for the life of me figure out why he is acting so blasé about the death of three people that I care so deeply about. He takes my chin in his hand and lifts my face so I can see him. I am instantly lost in his beautiful
ly haunting, dark blue eyes, and a sense of peace moves over me. “They’re not dead, Willow. The guns the ‘soldiers’ were carrying were loaded with special bullets that contained tranquilizers. It apparently knocks them out just long enough to get them transported to wherever they are going.”

  My heart begins hammering in my chest. My parents, Tony, they’re alive? I think it to myself over and over again. It’s as if grief and elation are fighting an internal battle inside me. I can’t grasp my mind around it.

  As if to reassure me that I heard him correctly Tony states, “Willow, Tony and your parents are alive. One of our soldiers who escaped came and told us what happened. He was able to tell us that, along with information about where they are keeping them locked up.”

  I take a moment to wrap my mind around everything Alec just said. I’m sure my mother and father are going to be okay, especially if they're together. For goodness sakes, my mother has been leading one of the largest militias around for the past several months. She can handle her own. Tony, however, I can’t be sure. He’s strong and smart but my heart is tugging at my feet to move and find him immediately. I have an uneasy feeling about his fate.

  I voice this to Alec, “I need to find Tony.”

  Alec looks flustered the moment I say it aloud. “Look, Willow.” Alec runs his hand through his hair.

  Worried about what he's going to express, I cut him off, “He saved us! We can't leave him. I have to help him. And I have to help my parents too.”

  My words seem to wound Alec even more and that ricochets back onto me. I don't want to hurt Alec. Can't he just see that I have to help Tony and my parents? He seems to be at a loss for words, so I muster my strength and stand up. I start to walk past him towards the door. “I have to help them.”