Exposing ELE (ELE Series #3)

by Nuckels, Courtney

  He checks another person’s arm beside me and, lo and behold, there’s another bandage on their arm, identical to this one. He quickly removes it and examines it as well.

  While he’s looking at it, I see the woman below me begin to stir and wake up. “Lee,” I whisper.

  He turns and witnesses her waking also. She seems extremely groggy so I place my hands on her and focus healing her. Color floods back into her cheeks and her eyes are no longer glazed over.

  I put my finger up to my lip to do my best to calm her and tell her she can’t scream. I bend down over her and whisper, “It’s okay. I’m one of the good guys and we’re trying to help you. Can you tell me anything about what’s going on… anything that you remember?” I look at her with hope that maybe she can tell me where my parents and Tony are. The thought of them like this makes me want to hurl.

  “They shot us. They killed us.” She looks like she's about to start freaking out. “They shot us. They killed us.” She keeps repeating this mantra over and over and is growing steadily higher in volume.

  Maybe this wasn't the best person to try to get inside info from. I get as close as I can to her face so she will shut up and look into my eyes. “YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN AND NOT SAY ANOTHER WORD.” Just like that, her eyes glaze over and she nods her head.

  Lee gives me a funny look.

  The other woman that Lee pulled the patch off of is starting to wake up too. I decide the best thing to do is to start straight off with compulsion. “YOU ARE SAFE. DON'T SCREAM. WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU. YOU NEED TO HELP US FIRST THOUGH. TELL US EVERYTHING YOU SAW AND EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE YOU WERE CAPTURED.”

  Her black eyes glaze over. Of all the gifts to have, feeling other's emotions right now would be the suckiest of all. She speaks in a monotone voice. “They shot us. When we woke up we were in a huge room filled with guards. They pricked our fingers and placed the blood on strips, which they ran through handheld machines. Sometimes the machine beeped. When that happened, they took the person out of the room at gunpoint. The machine didn't beep for me. The rest of us that remained in the room were scared. The guards came by one by one and placed a patch on each person's arm. They all fell down within seconds. I thought they were killing us.” I can sense her emotions starting to rise.

  “IT'S OKAY. YOU ARE NOT DEAD. YOU ARE SAFE. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE TESTS WERE FOR? OR WHERE THEY TOOK THE OTHERS?” I doubt she knows but it's worth a shot.

  She shakes her head. “We don't know what the tests were for or where the others went.”

  I have to fight off the frustration that builds. It's not like it's her fault that she doesn't know. I clench my hands into fists and stand up quickly.

  Lee takes over my position, kneeling down by the woman. “Thank you for the information. You will need to follow our instructions to the dot to stay safe. Do you understand? We will do our best to get you out of here.”

  I steadily back away as I watch Lee continue to comfort the woman. Soon enough I find my back against the wall. Everyone in the room is busy looking elsewhere so I take my opportunity. I turn myself invisible and step through the wall.

  I find myself in a dreary, grey-bricked hallway lit by long rows of fluorescent tube lights. To say the decorating is cold and uninviting is an understatement. This is a place that you don't want to stick around for long, if at all. I move through the hallway, thankfully not running into any guards. Eventually the grey brick walls turn into barred jail cells. I look from side to side into each one expecting to find someone. They are all empty.

  Hearing footsteps around a nearby corner, I step through the bars to hide in an empty cell. The bars offer little protection, but I'm not taking the chance on running into anyone who can see through abilities. A guard holding an assault rifle walks purposefully down the hallway.

  The thought of him finding our people in that room, sends me into panic mode. I don't know if that's where his destination is but I have a duty to help them. I step quietly out into the hallway, reaching for the knife in the waistband of my pants. I speed up to where I'm right behind him. He turns around all of a sudden and looks right through me. I hold my breath. His eyes are copper like my dad's. I wonder if he saw this coming. I look down at my knife and back up at the guy who is about to turn back around. My heart hammers in my chest as I think about what I'm about to do.

  I move closer to the man and raise the knife. That's when I feel it. His emotions. Something within him is torn. He despises himself and feels helpless at the same time. So many feelings go through him and into me. I slowly lower the knife, realizing that this guy is just a pawn. He doesn't deserve to die.

  A lesson Tony taught me on knocking people out comes to mind. I move forward and wrap my arm around his throat so fast that he doesn't stand a chance. With his neck in the crook of my elbow like Tony showed me, I pull him off balance and he falls, with me underneath him. I didn't mean for that to happen but he is so much taller than I am. I do manage to keep my grip on him and squeeze my arm tighter. I'm hoping to block the artery on the side of his neck like I learned from Tony. I have to focus my strength in order to not do major damage to this guy. The entire time my heart is beating so loudly that I can feel it in my own throat. The man struggles against me for a few seconds before, eventually, he passes out.

  Whew! Thank goodness. That was probably one of the scariest things I've ever done. I push the guy off me and drag him through the bars of a jail cell using my abilities. I grab a dusty sheet from the metal bed in the cell and tear it up. I tie a gag around his mouth and then bind his hands and feet, leaving him unconscious in the corner. I go back and get his gun. I use my strength to bend the muzzle so that the gun is no longer usable, and place it in his newly acquired jail cell.

  I head back out in the hallway and stop prior to the corner that the guard had come from. I listen for any sounds of more guards. After a few seconds I feel confident the coast is clear and step into the hallway.

  This one looks a little different; stark white walls with glass windows dotting the hallways, ending with a pair of windowless steel doors. I move to the first window and peer in carefully. An unconscious person lies on an exam table with tubes in their arms. A surgical tray with unidentified tools is at their side. I want to go help them but I can't chance waking someone up here. That would be another person I would have to carry with me; I can't risk that. I have to find my parents and Tony.

  I continue down the hallway checking each window. Every time I hope that I'm going to find my parents or Tony, but no such luck so far. At the ninth window, I begin to feel like this mission may be hopeless. I peer in and find that this room is larger than the others are. A hospital curtain is drawn halfway around a table. I can only see the prisoner's feet.

  Not wanting to leave any stone unturned, I step into the room to get a better look. That's when I see him. Even though his back is to me, I immediately recognize his hair and his tall, muscular frame. My heart starts racing. Not knowing what new abilities Zack may have acquired, I duck behind a small filing cabinet.

  Zack opens the curtain a little further and looks around the room. I cringe and scoot further behind the cabinet. It isn't the best form of protection but it's something. I don't know if I can take Zack and I don't want to chance anything. Not with the red I saw in his eyes the last time we met. Plus, I have no idea what in the world he has turned into. Last I saw him in the mountain he only had one gift. It's obvious he's been experimenting with the immunizations. He may even be able to see through gifts now, which is why I hide in fear.

  I hold my breath and make myself one with the cabinet as I hear the curtain open up further. I can't see what's going on but I hear a few footsteps and then the cling of instruments hitting the metal tray.

  I wait for a few seconds before I get the courage to peak around the cabinet. When I do, my heart drops. I watch in horror as Zack finishes injecting the prisoner with a shot. Not just any shot, but a red shot. I can't see the prisoner becaus
e Zack is blocking him from my view.

  I have to shrink back behind the cabinet when he starts to turn around. I listen to the sound of the needle hitting the tray and then the curtain is moved some more. More footsteps follow and then Zack comes into view.

  My heart pounds in my chest and I swear he can hear it. He doesn't flinch though. Instead, he moves purposefully to the door and leaves the room.

  In one strong whoosh, I release the breath I was holding. My stomach turns upside down as I quietly stand up. Whoever was given that red shot is either about to die or will be turning into a Reaper. Either way, it's a death sentence. I move hesitantly towards the curtain that Zack had fully closed.

  At first, thoughts of a Reaper jumping out at me cross my mind. Then I remember when Tony told me about Chris, one of the soldiers who hated me, and his girlfriend who took the red shot. He said it took several days for her to turn after taking it.

  I move a little more confidently to the curtain now. I grab the light blue fabric and begin pulling it back. When the prisoner comes into view, my knees buckle and I hit the floor. As if a freight train hit me straight in the chest, I suck in a haggard breath. Tears come to my eyes as I look up at Tony. “No!” I cry out in a muffled whisper. My heart beats heavily as I gain the energy to stand up and move to his side.

  He too has a patch on his arm and he's unconscious but breathing. I reach out and run my hand through his copper hair. He looks so peaceful. He has no idea what was injected into his blood stream. He doesn't know that in a few days he will turn into the very monster he worked so hard to destroy.

  I don't realize I'm crying until my tears land on his arm. This can't be happening! He cannot turn into a Reaper! My hands ball up as I consider the complete unfairness of this situation. He saved me. I was supposed to save him! He doesn't deserve this fate! No, I can't deal with this. I just realized that I may have feelings for this man and now he's going to die? No!

  I kick the wall next to the examination table, leaving a heavy indentation in the paint. “Crap!” I cry out. That freaking hurt! I have to walk around in a few small circles to walk off the pain, praying all the while that no one heard that. If I have any chance of getting Tony out of here, he has to be awake.

  This sobers me up. “Screw this!” I yank the patch off his arm and place my hand right over his heart. Maybe I can heal him. Perhaps if I try hard enough, I can heal whatever that red shot is doing to his body. I focus all of my energy on helping him.

  Within a few seconds, he opens his eyes. He looks up at me as if in a dream. Realization plays across his expression and then he darts up off the bed lightning fast. He moves so quickly that I start to fall back. Life feels like it is going in slow motion as my weary body falls backwards.

  He catches me before I hit the ground and pulls me to him. “Willow.” He strokes my hair; my face is planted in his chest. I feel so tired but I still notice how good he smells. Like fresh cut grass and soap. “Willow, you have to open your eyes. You can't pass out now,” he whispers in my ear.

  The darkness is calling my name. He shakes me some more. “Not right now. Focus on healing. You can do it. Heal yourself. I believe in you. I need you.”

  With his words of encouragement, I focus on healing once again. This time I focus my abilities inwardly. I begin feeling more alert in less than a minute. My muscles strengthen up and, eventually, I find the ability to stand on my own.

  Begrudgingly I back away just enough to look into his eyes. They are still the same beautiful neon yellow they have always been. My heart catches as I realize how close we are. “Hi,” I whisper in a throaty voice.

  His eyes light up and he smiles slightly. “Hi.” Time stops in that moment as we stare into each other's eyes. He breaks the silence that's settled over us by saying, “You saved me.”

  I nod my head.

  “Thank you.” He runs his hand through my hair. I hold my breath. What an awkward situation for such a beautiful moment to occur. His hand moves to my cheek and I rest my head into it.

  “You're welcome,” I say.

  He slowly drops his hand to his side. My cheek still feels warm from his touch. “We need to get out of here, Willow. They’re planning some crazy stuff.”

  I nod my head. “Yes, we have a team inside right now doing reconnaissance. We have to find my parents first though.”

  “Definitely,” he says. His face turns serious for a moment. “I don't want to alarm you but I have to tell you that I haven't seen your parents; not since we saw them taken down in that field. I did my best to look around the room they herded us into at the beginning, but didn't have any luck.”

  A lump forms in my throat as my brain starts pondering a million things a minute. “Do you think they survived? Why wouldn't they be in here?”

  He places his hand in mine and gives it a small squeeze. I rub my thumb over the side of his hand, trying to squelch the feelings I’m having. “Don't worry, Willow. I'm sure they’re fine. The room was huge and filled with chaos. It's very possible that I didn't see them.”

  I doubt that. Tony is very observant and I'm sure he could spot my mom from a mile away. He was trained to look after his leader. “I hope so.” A thought comes to mind. “Do you think they got away? Perhaps before they brought everyone here?” I say as false hope fills me.

  His expression tells me that he highly doubts that possibility but he humors me anyway. “You never know. Anything could have happened.”

  My eyes widen at the thought of 'anything' since that's such a broad range of outcomes; including horrible ones.

  He sees my thought process and quickly adds, “I mean, yes, they could have gotten away. They could be safe and sound this very second.”

  “But you don't think so,” I say, hoping I’m wrong.

  His expression softens. “I think that your mom is a very strong woman. Your dad has to be one heck of a guy too, in order to keep up with her. I think they’ll survive. We do need to find them quickly though. I don't know what Dr. Hastings's plans are, but they can't be good. Not with how that militia swooped in like that, shooting people point blank. I don't care if they were tranquilizers or not. That was definitely a hostile takeover.”

  “Yes it was.” The memory of the scene sends chills up my spine. Dr. Hastings’s plans can't be good, especially not if his son Zack was shooting Tony up with the kill shot. My chest tightens. I can't let Tony become a Reaper. I can't think about that right now though. I focus my mind knowing I need my thoughts to be clear. My parent’s lives are on the line.

  “We should get a move on,” Tony says.

  “Okay.” I grab my backpack that I had set on the floor and hand Tony my extra pistol with some ammo. He gladly accepts and puts the gun under his shirt at the small of his back. Hot! Urgh, when did I start thinking about Tony this way? I don't know. All I know is that now, this man next to me makes my palms sweat and my stomach flutter. This is such horrible timing to be developing these feelings.

  “Ready?” He holds his hand out for me to accept.

  I wipe mine off on my jeans, nod, and then take his hand. He smiles and squeezes my fingers gently. With Tony’s hand in mine we head out of the room and move into the hallway, careful not to run into anyone.

  Thankfully, we don't notice any signs of guards in the vicinity. We make our way up the row of windows checking each one carefully. I can tell that Tony wants so badly to help the other prisoners, as do I. There will have to be another time for that though.

  After checking the last room at the end of the hall next to the steel doors, we realize that my parents aren't in this area.

  “We need to go in there,” Tony says quietly, while pointing towards the steel doors.

  “Do you know what's on the other side?” I ask, hoping he may have some inside knowledge.

  “No, this hall is as far as they took me.” His expression turns serious.

  “Well, I guess it looks like we are going in blind.” I reposition my hand in his. “Hopefully
anyone on the other side is blind too, at least when it comes to seeing powers.” I turn us invisible again.

  The steel doors don't seem to be locked but I use my gift to move us through the doors anyway. After all, if a door magically opens, I doubt that someone on the other side would blame it on a ghost.

  We step through to the other side effortlessly and find ourselves in the middle of a large room that I assume is either a clinic or the prison hospital. A few makeshift hallways run behind rows and rows of curtains that are all attached to tracks on the ceiling. The smell of ammonia burns my nose and I find myself having to breathe through my mouth. A fluorescent light in the corner of the giant room is on its last leg, so it's flickering eerily.

  A sinking feeling starts welling up in the pit of my stomach. Everything about this place tells me to run. There isn't a soul in sight and the room is so silent that all I can hear is Tony’s and my breathing.

  Tony gently squeezes my hand. I look up at him and find comfort in knowing that he's just as thoroughly freaked out as I am.

  We walk silently down the corridor of curtains, peeking into each one as we go. Nobody occupies them, so we continue moving. When we peek into the fifth curtain, I suddenly remember why I hate odd numbers so much. I double over and dry heave from the sight. If I had any food in my stomach, I would have spilled it onto the floor. The poignant copper scent fills my nose and throat, causing me to gag even more. Tony pulls me to him and tries rubbing my back in comfort. Eventually the dry heaving calms enough for me to stand back up. This room is covered in so much blood that it's impossible for me to fathom where it all came from. It stains the white linen coverings of the bed. The floor is wet and sticky from it and the rear curtain has splatters of red across it.

  “What happened here?” Tony asks. I look at him since this is the last place we should be talking and realize I must be reading his mind.

  “I have no idea, but we have to find my parents. Now!” I think to myself.

  “I agree!” Tony confirms.