Surviving ELE (ELE Series #4)

by Gober, Rebecca

  I don’t hear any pursuers yet, but the alarms haven’t quieted in the distance. Wispy clouds stream across the full moon, giving a creepy feel to the night. I imagine the sound of helicopters and vehicles will be roaring to life soon. I’m their moneymaker. There is no way they are going to let me go without a fight.

  I reach the first building before I hear any sign of pursuit. I turn around and see him running for me. Tony! Even though my heart wishes he were coming to save me, I don’t dare turn to him. I know Zack well enough to realize that there is no way he will relinquish control over him at a time like this.

  I push aside the hopeless idea that Tony found a way to break free of Zack’s power and is coming to save me. This isn’t a fairy tale. I have to save myself.

  He’s gaining on me, so I push myself harder. I whiz down streets of tall, empty buildings that cast eerie shadows across the ground. The night is dark but the moon is bright enough that I can’t find easy cover.

  I take a fast right, hoping to lose him. I run behind an alley that lines a steel graveyard of refineries and more old buildings. Something about this place is frighteningly familiar. 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 again, not even when he adds an evil, “much,” to the end of that sentence a second later.

  My stomach drops with his words. The vision! I remember it as I spot a fork in the road a few yards ahead. I don’t debate whether I should take it or stay on this straight path. I remember the vision. The fork leads to a dead end. I fake like I’m going to go left but I keep going straight. I push the limits of my power, running so ridiculously fast that I can only imagine there’s a smoke trail beneath my sneakers.

  I can see water up ahead. The moon reflects off its shiny surface. Soon, I find myself at the end of a street with another choice to be made. Left or right. I don’t have time to really study the different routes because he’s so close now. Right! I decide at the very last second. I turn and find myself running along a street lined with boarded-up shops and restaurants.

  My heart is like a jackhammer pounding in my chest. The sound of his pounding feet hitting the pavement is so close now. He’s had this ability longer than I have and sure knows how to push it further. I’m sure the fact that he hasn’t been drugged helps.

  I’m shoved from behind, sending me plummeting to the concrete. Reaching my hands out just in time, I keep my face from smashing into the ground. I wince at the stinging sensation as I feel the cold ground scraping the skin from my knees and palms.

  He laughs, only inches behind me. Like in the vision, it’s just Tony and me. Nobody else around and once again, he has me in his snares. I think about how I should have killed Zack when I had the chance! If only I had sent ten buildings tumbling on top of that creep instead of just one.

  I stand up and turn around slowly, with my head faced towards the ground. I don’t know if my heart can take seeing the image of the man I love, looking so smugly at me. I know what I have to do, but will I be able to do it once I see him?

  I can feel Tony only a breath’s distance apart. He doesn’t say anything. Instead, he lifts my chin with his finger and forces me to look at him. 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 he hunts me for the rest of my life, I will not hate him. His copper hair shines under the moonlight and his eyes glow an eerie, burgundy red. I hate the evil in those eyes. Not an internal evil, but one that has been forced upon him. If only I could hate him. It would make this easier.

  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 puppet master who pulls his strings. It comes out as I plead, “Please, Tony.” I hope beyond hope that the simple words will stop what is sure to come next.

  He doesn’t so much as flinch at my plea. He smirks. “You have been a giant pain, sugar! I will have to punish you for this attempt at escaping. Although I will say that the bounty on your little head just got a little higher, so thanks for that.” He grabs my shoulder and squeezes.

  My blood boils and the exasperation of the situation overtakes me. I can’t stop what happens next, even though I want so badly to. The edges of my vision blur with a bloody-red haze. My heart beats ferociously as I look into his eyes. His look turns from pure confidence, to doubt. Then fear.

  I hate Zack for doing this to me! I hate his dad for cursing me with these gifts that people will hunt me for. I hate that Tony has been taken over and that there will be no way for me to save him now. That there is no out! My body is shaking with rage when he turns to run.

  This time I chase him down the long boardwalk that lines the lake. He thinks he’s fast, but my hatred pushes me faster. He doesn’t make it further than a few yards before I jump on him and he goes crashing to the ground. He tries to fight against me but I use my strength to hold him down. I try not to look at any resemblance that he has to the man I love. I just focus on the red in his eyes and the red haze surrounding mine until all I see are sheets of crimson sparking across my vision, clouding everything. I hold my hand over his forehead and use the rest of my body to hold him down as he struggles beneath me. I don’t stop seeing red. Even when I try to close my eyes, it bursts forth behind my eyelids. I faintly hear someone calling my name in the background but I don’t stop. I take! I feel it coursing into my body like a drug, the evil that is in him. I keep taking!

  The sound of footsteps approaching doesn’t stop me. I don’t stop until something is thrown at me and I’m flung to the ground, off Tony.

  “Willow!” someone screams in my ear.

  I realize that someone is on top of me. I struggle but I feel too weak and sick to give much of a fight.

  “Stop, Willow. You have to stop,” a man’s voice says, holding me down.

  I writhe beneath him. My whole body hurts; it feels like it’s on fire. Inside I feel like slime is running through my veins. I cry out in pain. Right before I give myself up to the horrendous pain, a cooling sensation washes over me. Something is putting out the flames, like water on fire. I finally relax when the pain subsides, when the red fades from my vision. I open my eyes and find Alec hovering over me. His eyes full of concern and fear. The sound of other voices around us brings me back to reality.

  Reality has its disadvantages. My stomach lurches when I realize what I just did. Tears burn my eyes and my breath is caught in my chest. My heart feels like a dagger has been slammed through it. “I killed him!” I say in utter horror. My eyes are wide with shock. I can’t even blink. I’m paralyzed with fear. Fear for what I’ve done, what I will become.

  Alec looks at me with such sadness that it breaks the remaining pieces of my soul in two. I killed him. I killed Tony. Tears fall as I lay there, motionless in shock by what I just did. The world fades as I let my sorrow drown me. I want to cease living. I can’t take this. I can’t...

  I’m pulled into a sitting position between two people. They hold me between them. “It’s going to be okay, Willow,” Claire says as she strokes my hair. I stare off behind her, calling her bluff. It will not be okay.

  I see Alec leaning over Tony. Several others surround him, trying to block my view. I hear someone say, “We have to get moving. They’ll be coming after us soon!”

  Alec turns and glares at the man that I vaguely recognize as one of Erik’s men. Alec looks back down at Tony’s lifeless body, which they have hidden from me. My mind tells me to breathe even though I don’t want to. I want to stop breathing, just like Tony stopped breathing.

  Claire continues to stroke my hair. Connor pats my shoulder, unsure of what to do. I don’t close my eyes. I keep sta
ring at Alec, hovering over Tony. His body is tense and I see his arms shaking. I wonder if he’s shaking because of his anger towards me. For taking a life. For becoming a Reaper.

  Then someone sits up beyond him. Alec starts trembling as he turns to look at me. He gives a shaky smile before he slumps to the side, leaving me a full view of Tony. My heart stops as I stare at him in disbelief. He’s sitting up, his expression disoriented. When he looks at me, he comes to his senses. “Willow?” he whispers, in a state of confusion.

  My hope turns to horror as I wonder if Tony’s ghost has come back to haunt me. I barely notice the woman crouching over Alec, trying to heal him.

  Tony is dead... Am I seeing ghosts now? Is this a new gift? What’s wrong with Alec? Maybe I’m dead too.

  Tony’s eyes look different, they aren’t red, but they aren’t yellow either. He looks down at Alec and seems torn between making sure he’s okay and coming to me.

  “He’s alive!” Claire exclaims in my ear. She shakes me.

  Is he really alive? How? Claire and Connor both grab a hold under my arms and help me stand.

  I walk shakily forward and Tony meets me in the middle. I look into his eyes. They are brown, flecked with bits of amber and a hint of green. I’ve never seen an eye color like this. “I’m so sorry, Tony,” I say to him in my head.

  He doesn’t look affected by my apology. I realize that he must not be able to hear me. I repeat it aloud. “I’m so sorry, Tony.”

  His face softens and he reaches out and pulls me into him. “No, I’m the one that should be sorry, Willow. I tried...” He reaches a shaking hand to my head and pulls me tighter against him. “You saved me,” he whispers.

  “We have to go now!” Alec calls out.

  We both turn to see that Alec’s okay. He’s back to normal. The sound of a helicopter’s blades chopping through the night air approaches. I see the lights not far from where we are.

  “They’re coming,” Tony says with surety.

  We make sure everyone in our party is accounted for. Then we run. Alec leads the way. He takes us down several twists and turns of alleys. We have to stop and hide in the shadows of the buildings every few minutes to avoid the searchlights of the helicopters overhead. Tony keeps pace with the rest of the group but finds himself easily winded. I wonder what’s wrong with him.

  Eventually, we find ourselves out of the city area and in the middle of an open clearing. Up ahead, the familiar tree line of the forest greets us. I grab as many of the people as I can. Claire grabs a few, and the other people with us who have purple eyes grab the rest, turning our entire party invisible. We run through the clearing while the helicopters roar right past us, unable to see our group. I pray the whole time that no one in the helicopters has the gift Candy has. We can’t risk having them see through our invisibility. We run, huddled together, for miles, until the sound of the helicopters are just a distant memory.

  I shiver under the moonlight, noticing the weather has gotten even cooler. It’s a weird feeling knowing this shouldn’t be the case. Alec unzips his coat and drapes it over my shoulders. “Thanks,” I whisper. He nods his head and moves up towards the front of our group.

  Tony places his arm around me and squeezes. I tense up at his touch. He starts to loosen his grip, realizing that he’s made me uncomfortable, so I quickly reach up, grab his hand, and lace it in mine. We both relax our posture. It’s going to take a while to get used to the fact Tony’s back to normal. He isn’t going to turn all Zack zombie-monster on me again... Hopefully.

  The walk back to Erik’s camp is done mostly in silence. It takes us several hours in the dark to travel, but we eventually make it.

  As soon as we set foot on the camp grounds, several of Erik’s soldiers meet us and help us inside. Steaming hot chocolate is waiting in the mess hall, along with some dinner leftovers. I greedily take a cup and warm my hands. It has to be in the forties outside…far too cold for the thin jeans and t-shirt I’m wearing.

  I’m thankful Alec lent me his jacket. I would have been an icicle before we got here had it not been for him. I eye him sitting at a table, talking with Marya. She looks relieved to see him. I begin to warm up, so I take the jacket off, walk over, and hand it to Alec. He gratefully accepts it and slips it back on.

  “Thanks for keeping it warm,” he playfully tells me.

  I smile and try not to look at Marya and him awkwardly. “Thanks for aiding in the keep Willow warm project.” That one gets a laugh out of Marya. I wave by to them and go in search of Tony.

  I find Tony standing in a corner by himself. The others have given him a wide girth. I can feel the tension in the room and know it’s partly due to his presence. I walk over to him, making sure to check his eyes before I wrap my hands around his middle. I hug him tightly, afraid to let him go. Afraid I’ll lose him again.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” he tells me, kissing the top of my head.

  Erik walks into the room and finds us. “Hey, Willow, can we speak for a minute in private?”

  “Is that cool?” I ask Tony in my mind. He doesn’t answer me. I look up at his eyes and he gives me that smile that says it’s fine. I’m going to miss not being able to talk to him in our own private way. “I’ll be right back,” I say and squeeze Tony’s middle before walking away.

  Erik and I walk into his conference room. He closes the door and purses his lips. I can tell he’s trying to figure out how to ask a question that’s on his mind. He shifts his feet on the floor and hesitates. He opens his mouth, and then closes it a few times.

  “Erik, whatever you have to say, just say it. I’m not going to get mad,” I urge him.

  He studies me for a moment and then says, “Okay...” He runs his hand through his dark hair. “I’m not comfortable having Tony here. I’m just being honest, Willow. I’m in charge of keeping a lot of people safe and I’m not sure if having him stay here is the best idea.” He looks torn and relieved at the same time.

  I was afraid he would feel this way. Erik is very protective of his people and he doesn’t take strangers into his home easily. I think about my response for a minute before actually saying it. “I completely understand. Maybe it’ll be a good idea to take Tony away for a few days to make sure all is well. Then, if he shows no signs of a relapse, we’ll come back when we know all is safe.”

  He runs his hand under his chin in thought, and then nods his head. “Three days. If by the third day you haven’t seen anything happen that would raise a red flag, you can bring him back here.”

  I nod. I think that’s only fair and, honestly, it’s a huge concession for Erik to make for me. “Can we at least stay here tonight?” I ask, even though I’m pretty sure of the answer.

  Erik shakes his head.

  He doesn’t need to explain. I nod my head in silent understanding. I put my hand out to him and we shake on it. Erik opens the door for me and we walk back to the main room together.

  I smile at Tony when I see him standing right where I left him. He greets me with open arms and I gladly accept them as they wrap around me. Looking up at him, I say, “We need to talk.” A look of concern flashes across his features. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad,” I assure him, although I guess it could be bad seeing as how we are going to go out on our own, while everyone else is out there hunting me down.

  “Okay,” Tony says. His tone shows me that he’s still worried. He looks at Erik, who doesn’t look too happy to see him.

  “Meet me in the hall?” I ask. “I need a quick second.”

  He nods his head and exits the mess hall.

  I grab Alec, Connor, and Claire really fast, and lead them out to the hall. Marya follows us out, probably because Alec naturally grabs her hand. I can’t help but feel a little ping of annoyance. I guess I don’t feel like she belongs in our little clique, but that seems mean, so I brush it off. I have to get used to her presence if they are going to be together.

  We grab Tony along the way and I take them back to the room wh
ere Erik and I just were. We all take a seat at the small, circular table.

  “Alright,” I begin once the door’s closed and I have everyone’s attention. I notice Connor has taken his dinner plate in here with him and is nibbling on a chicken bone. I laugh inwardly and then get back to business. “I just spoke with Erik and he has some reasonable concerns he’d like me to address.” Everyone waits expectantly so I continue. “I understand what Erik is saying. His main responsibility here is to keep everyone safe. He feels like that could be compromised if Tony were to stay here at the camp. And I have to agree with him to some extent.” I glance over to Tony, who I can tell is battling between understanding and feeling hurt by my words. “Anyhow, we’ve hashed out a plan so we can get what we both want: he wants safety and I want Tony.” My face heats up, realizing how that just sounded. I don’t look at Tony when I continue, “The plan is this: Tony and I will go somewhere and stay there for three days. If Tony exhibits no signs or symptoms of being controlled by Zack, then we’ll come back here.”

  I look up to see Tony’s expression perk up. His emotions roll off him and I can’t help but sense them. It’s clear that he’s excited, yet scared, about spending three days alone with me. He doesn’t feel like Zack is going to take over again, but he can’t help but feel like he isn’t safe for me. Like a seesaw, the feelings switch back to excitement about having time with me alone. I try not to blush but fail miserably.

  Alec intercedes, “I don’t think that’s such a good idea, Willow. I don’t like the idea that you’ll be with Tony alone. What if something happens and he returns to the way he was? If you’re alone with him, you may not be able to defend yourself properly.”

  Marya crosses her arms defensively. I can tell she’s slightly jealous at Alec’s concern. This only makes me smile. I wipe it off my face quickly, to address Alec’s fear.