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

by Nuckels, Courtney

  "Molly, do you want to come up with us?" I ask her along the way.

  She looks at me with her frightened purple eyes. "Yes please."

  I gesture for her to take the lead through the crowd that's gathered for the newest version of live entertainment.

  My mom meets us at the courtyard entrance of the hotel. "What happened out there?" She looks worried. "I was just putting Sab down to bed and heard the racket.

  "Chris was giving your daughter a hard time again." Tony speaks for me.

  "I think I broke his hand." I say a bit confused.

  The first thing I see flash in my mom's eyes is pride. I have to stifle my laugh after seeing that emotion. Then she asks, "How did you break his hand?"

  "I'm not sure, he had his hand on my shoulder and I just tried to remove it and then he was screaming on the floor." I start panicking again, worried that I'm going to get in trouble. Can I go to jail for that? Is there even a jail on the outside anymore?

  My mom looks at me and suddenly her expression changes to the same one Tony had earlier. She's looking at my eyes. She doesn't say anything though. She turns to Molly. "Let's get you to your room honey. I made you a room next to Willow's."

  Molly nods her head. "Thank you."

  The four of us walk Molly to her room. We get her situated with a lantern light then let her have her privacy.

  My mom immediately leads us into my room next. She closes the door and lights another lantern that I hadn't realized was in here. "What's going on Willow? Your eyes, they are starting to look like mine now."

  "What?" I ask shocked. I run over to the nightstand where I kept the hand held mirror that Tony gave me last night. I pull it up and sure enough mixed into the swirls of purple and blue, is neon yellow. The red spot stands in an even more bizarre contrast.

  "You must have our ability now!" Tony seems to realize.

  "Oh man, I really did break Chris's hand." I feel dread in the pit of my stomach. I start pacing the room. Chris is an absolute butthead, and sure he deserved to be sucker punched but to have his hand broken? I don't know. "I should go heal him."

  "Yeah, I don't think he wants you anywhere near him." Tony laughs.

  My mom gives him a disapproving look before she tells me. "Look, I will go check on him in a moment. Right now we need to figure out what we are going to do about your eyes. I don't know if I'm ready to tell the whole compound about your multiple abilities yet. When they see your eyes though, I know the questions will begin."

  "I bet Chris has already leaked the news anyhow." Tony says respectfully to my mom.

  She shakes her head. "No, I had Lee speak with him. He shouldn't be sharing Willow's secret."

  "I don't know about that mom. He called me a Reaper in front of everyone." Anger starts bubbling up inside me.

  Anger flashes across her face and she clenches her jaw. "Well, we’ll have to have another talk with him tonight then. For the meantime, let’s still try to keep your abilities on the down low." I giggle at her use of the phrase 'down low.' Her mood lightens with my laughter. "Do you know how your eyes are changing colors so much? Just a few hours ago they were mostly light blue."

  "I've been thinking about that. I think they are taking on the predominant color of the most recent power I've used." I say.

  "That makes sense." Tony interjected. "You can still see the other colors but there is only a trace amount. Other than the red of course, that seems to be a constant."

  "Okay, so can you work on using another power tonight so your eyes aren't neon yellow? The other colors are fine, but everyone will notice if you suddenly start looking like one of us." My mom tells me.

  "I can do that, I think." Although, I'm not sure which one I should try. "Anyone need to be healed?" They shake their heads. I briefly consider reading their minds but that's the one power I feel guilty using. Sometimes I think of horrible and stupid stuff. I wouldn't want anyone to read my mind. I decide to go invisible.

  My mom gasps and I chuckle. "I don't know if I will ever get totally used to you being able to do all of this." My mom smiles in my direction. She tries to keep looking at where she last saw me.

  "Don't worry, I'm not even used to all of this." I say. I slowly focus on turning back visible again. "So, are they purple yet?" I ask.

  My mom shakes her head.

  Tony looks closer. "Well, I can see that the neon doesn't seem as bright. Maybe it takes a few minutes."

  "Hopefully by tomorrow you will have purple eyes again." My mom says. She sees my worried expression then adds. "If not, then that will be fine too. I will tell everyone if I have to."

  "Okay." I say. I look down feeling a little bad about tonight's events. "I'm sorry mom." I say quietly.

  She puts her finger under my chin and makes me look up at her. "Don't ever be sorry for standing up for yourself. I'm sure Chris had it coming."

  Tony says, "Yep!"

  "I love you no matter what and don't listen to jerks like Chris. You are perfect just the way you are." She looks so sincere that I nearly cry in relief. I try and hold back the tears as she pulls me into a hug.

  "I love you." I say.

  "Love you too honey." She pushes my hair out of my face.

  "I need to go check on Chris." She turns to Tony. "Let's leave Willow to get her beauty sleep."

  He nods. "Goodnight Willow."

  "Goodnight." I say to both of them.

  Tony opens the door for my mom and they start to head out.

  "Wait." I say to my mom. "I promised I'd tell Sabby a story tonight."

  She smiles. "Okay, I’ll take you to his room on the way down."

  I follow her and Tony out. She leads me down one flight of stairs and then over to Sebastian’s room.

  I walk inside and close the door behind me. "Sabby?" I call out.

  "Wello!" He shoots up from the bed and runs up to me, giving me a tight squeeze. This time my body is stronger and I don't crumble under his grip. "I no think you come." He says.

  I pull gently on his curls. "How could I ever forget you Sabby?"

  He gives me a contagious grin and my world instantly feels just a little bit brighter. I lead my brother over to the bed and hop in next to him. The lantern light bathes the room in a gentle glow. I look around the room. It's much like mine with two double beds. Some of my mom's clothes are strung out on the other one. I'm glad that Sebastian doesn't sleep alone in here. Kicking my shoes off, I scoot closer to Sebastian and he rests his head on my shoulder.

  "Once upon a time...." I tell him a story about a world where everything is right and life ends in a happily ever after. Then I fall asleep with my little brother curled up beside me.

  CHAPTER 5 (TRAINING DAY)

  I wake up in the morning still holding Sebastian in my arms. Rain is pounding on the rooftop and windows; something I haven’t heard in what seems like forever. Memories of my childhood flood my mind. I remember playing digital games with my family and putting on puppet shows during stormy weather.

  I glance over and see my mother curled up on top of the covers in the bed beside us. She looks so young and innocent when she sleeps; a major contrast to her outward appearance during the day.

  As if she senses me looking at her, my mother’s eyelashes begin to flutter. A smile fills her face as she takes us in. “It’s so good to see you two together again.”

  I smile back and give Sebastian a little squeeze. He stirs and nestles in closer to me. I put my cheek against his head and breathe in the scent of baby shampoo.

  Thunder claps, rattling the windows, which startles Sebastian. He looks frightened until he realizes that I’m here next to him. “Wello, whatchu doing in my bed?”

  My mom and I laugh. Gosh this little guy is too cute for his own good. He rubs his eyes with his little pudgy hands and lets out a big yawn.

  “I guess I fell asleep while telling you your bedtime story last night. I don’t mind though; you’re awful cute when you wake up.” I kiss his forehead.

  S
ebastian gets a stubborn look on his face. “I not cute Wello, I hansome. Mommy tells me so.”

  I smile. “Is that right…” I give his curls a ruffle and climb out of bed. The cold hard floor hits my feet causing me to shiver. I instinctively wrap my arms around myself for warmth.

  I look to my mom who is still trying to wake up. “So what do y’all do when it rains like this? You know, to pass the time and all.”

  She rubs her hands over her eyes and stretches her arms up over her head. “Well honey,” she says while still yawning. “Usually we use this time to strategize or train. We always have someone watching the outside, but there’s usually no use going out when the weather is like this.”

  I nod my head and say, “Well, I guess I should go talk to Molly. I don’t think we’ll be able to take her home till this weather clears up.” My mom nods again and slowly gets out of bed. “Alright then. I’m going to get back to my room and get ready for…well, whatever it is we do today.”

  "Sounds good. By the way, your eyes are mostly purple now." My mom says.

  I instinctively reach my hand up to them. "So it worked?"

  She nods her head. "There's still a bit of neon yellow in there, but it's only as noticeable as the other shades. The purple is the most prominent. It’s quite amazing."

  I laugh, "Well that's me, amazing Willow."

  "You are amazing honey. I'll see you at breakfast. Love you." She smiles.

  "Love you guys too." I quietly shut the door behind me not knowing the sleeping schedules of the others. For all I know they stayed up half the night and partied downstairs. I tip toe to my room but just as I reach for the doorknob, Molly’s door opens slightly. I let go of the door handle and walk next door. Molly’s head pokes out and she lets out a little squeal and jumps back when she sees me.

  I guess she wasn’t expecting my face to be the first thing she saw when she opened the door. “Hey,” I say. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I was just going to my room when I saw your door open. I figured I’d come and see how you were doing.”

  She purses her lips together and then squints her eyes. “Why were you returning to your room? Were you out…you know. All night?” Her eyebrows wiggle up and down.

  I stare at her with nothing less than shock. “Excuse me?” I question. I’m not sure I heard her exactly right. Is she accusing me of what I think she is?

  Molly leans against the door jam. “Because I’m not going to judge you or anything.” She examines her nails while talking to me. “I mean, Tony, is that his name?” She doesn’t wait for me to answer before she moves on. “Yeah, Tony is pretty hot. I wouldn’t blame you. But you really do need to be careful and all. We don’t want anything to happen, if you know what I mean.” And with that she pats my stomach.

  I think I’m going to puke! I was totally wrong. This girl is nothing like Claire. What happened to that nice sweet little girl that we rescued yesterday? I not so gently remove her hand from my stomach. “Uh, no. I was with my little brother in his room. I fell asleep telling him a bedtime story.”

  Molly’s expression never sways. “Yeah, okay,” she says. “Whatever you say.”

  I clear my throat. This is getting awkward so I try and change the subject. “So, I guess you’ve noticed it’s raining outside.” She nods her head. “So, after talking with my mother this morning, we’re going to have to postpone taking you home until the weather lets up.”

  Molly gives me a half smile and says, “K, guess we’ll just have to find something to do in the meantime.”

  Oh great. I guess I expected her to be maybe…disappointed or something. She seems indifferent now and it doesn’t make much sense to me. Was the quiet, gentle girl I spoke to yesterday just in shock? I can tell this girl is going to be a hand full. I begin to wonder if I can pass off responsibility of her to my mom today.

  We stand there for a few moments in an awkward silence. I finally break it, “Well, I’m going to go and get ready. I guess I’ll see you down at breakfast in a few?”

  She perks her head to the side. “Yeah, sure. Whatever.” She turns back into her room and closes the door. I roll my eyes for dramatic effect and march back to my room. Maybe I was wrong and her super power isn't just invisibility, perhaps she suffers from extreme mood swings. I've never seen someone's mannerisms change in such a short period of time.

  ***

  The rain is still beating against the windows as I stroll into the dining area. Thankfully someone had left me a change of clothes in my room the night before. I’m feeling pretty good and refreshed…until I see Molly flirting full speed ahead with Tony. I stop dead in my tracks and watch the master at work. Flirting with full on hair flipping and lip biting. I let out a sigh and walk over to their table. Molly bats her eyelashes at Tony a few more times until Tony sees me.

  Like a rocket he jumps out of his seat so fast I only see a blur. He stands like he’s at attention and ready for inspection. “Willow,” he says and clears his throat. “I was just talking to uh, Molly here. Waiting for you, of course.”

  I scratch my head. “Yeah, okay. Well, I’m here."

  Tony waits for me to sit and then follows suit. I guess we’re a little early for breakfast since it hasn’t been put out yet. My bet is it’s almost ready though since the smell of grits is starting to permeate the room. My stomach growls loudly and Molly giggles. I roll my eyes.

  We sit at the table in an awkward silence for about a minute until people start walking in with huge metal containers filled with breakfast. I am the first to hop up and I nearly knock my chair over in progress. Tony catches it before it hits the floor. "Thanks." I say quickly before I run over to get in line.

  A few people manage to get in behind me before Tony and Molly claim their place in line. Something bizarre is going on this morning. Molly is a completely different person. Tony seemed freaked out that I caught him talking to the little flirt. The most inexplicable thing that happened this morning is that I felt a little something...like it was very small, but it was there. I don't even want to say the word in my head but I will anyway. Was I really jealous? I ponder on it while I make my plate and heap all kinds of yummy breakfast fare onto it. There's no way I would feel like that when it comes to Tony and Molly.

  I grab my silverware and start heading back to the table. I pass by the two of them who are still in line. Tony stares at me strangely and Molly puts her hand on his shoulder completely unaware of my noticing. Crap! Double crap, crap! It's there! I have no idea why or how but it's there. A small pang of jealousy that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever is there.

  I walk past the table I was going to sit with them at and set my tray down next to Sebastian at the kid's table. The kids wiggle over giving me space to sit. Their little eyes light up excited to have someone new at their table. I eat my food and answer all kinds of silly questions that the kiddos throw at me. Sebastian is beaming. He seems so proud to have his big sister sitting with him, especially when I'm gaining all of the awe and attention from the other children.

  Every once in a while I glance over and catch Tony staring at me. He has a brooding scowl on his face. Molly has even taken notice because she's inched her way to the edge of the table, eating her food in silence. I try not to think of what Tony's look means. I don't understand what is going on here. There is absolutely no reason I should be jealous at all when it comes to Tony. I have Alec. I love Alec. I miss Alec. Alec, Alec, Alec. I tell myself. I close my eyes and the first thing that comes to my mind is the hottest guy in the universe with black hair and navy blue eyes. My Alec. I open my eyes and realize that whatever I'm feeling must have to do with something else. Perhaps it is jealousy but it's not the: I am pissed that you want to touch my man kind of jealous, it's something else. I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that my feelings for Alec aren't jeopardized.

  After breakfast I walk Sebastian to his class then head out in search of my mom. I find Mr. Leroy downstairs and at first I hesitate but then I gain the courage to go talk to
him. "Do you know where I can find my mom?" I ask him.

  He studies me for a moment. I don't have to listen in on his thoughts to hear that he's catching on to the faint neon yellow swirl in my eyes. I expect him to wig out or handcuff me again but instead he surprises me. "I'm sorry Willow."

  I look at him in surprise but don't say anything.

  "I misjudged you. I can see now that you are not a Reaper. I had to be careful though. I have to help protect these people. It's my job." He says to me.

  I nod my head. "I understand sir."

  He nods his head. I guess that's all he has to say about that because he swiftly changes the subject. "Your mom is in the weapons room."

  "Thank you." I say then head there. That was definitely unexpected but his apology meant a lot to me.

  My mom is alone in the dim room. I catch her cleaning a pistol at a table close to the thin windows. A lantern lights her view since the clouds outside have blocked out most of the morning sun.

  "Hey mom." I call out as I walk towards her.

  She looks up and smiles. "Hi honey."

  "Can I talk to you for a moment?" I hadn't really realized why I felt compelled to find my mom until now.

  "Sure." She pats the chair next to her. "What's going on?"

  I take a seat and rest my hands on top of the table. "Mom, I really need to find my friends."

  She puts the gun down and gives me her full attention. "I know you do sweety. We will do our best to find them, but I can't tell you enough that you need to prepare yourself just in case."

  "I know they are out there, they can't be gone. I'd feel it, right?" I say.

  She looks at me with love. "I don't know for sure if you'd be able to feel it. I wouldn't say that it's impossible though. I knew that your father and you were going to be okay. I knew it deep down in my chest. I believe whole-heartedly that if something happened to any of my loved ones, I would know. I don't know how I would feel it but I imagine that the world would grow dimmer and I'd just know." She takes my hand in hers. "But, we are connected in a way that is different than friendship, so I don't really know if you'd feel it or not."