I can see the wheels of his brain churning as he decides if he wants to share the answer with me. "I can sense people's emotions and in a way, I can manipulate them. That's how I could tell that your group wasn't a threat to us."
"You can sense emotions?" I wonder what that entails.
He smiles a little, which is the first time I've seen him relax an inch. "Yes, I can sense right now that you are extremely curious. I can also sense the nervousness and worry you feel for your friends. There's also some other sort of confused emotion that I sensed earlier when you looked at Tony."
My eyes open wide and I quickly look around to make sure nobody overheard what he just said. "I think your reader is broken."
He laughs a nice hearty laugh that relaxes me. "It's all good Willow. Your secrets are safe with me. I wish you the best in finding your friends today."
"Thank you for everything Erik." I shake his hand and watch him retreat back into the building. A deadbolt clicks in place. I can't help but shake the idea that I'll have a piece of Erik's ability soon...maybe.
"Willow?" I turn around at Claire's call. I forgot how beautiful she is with her pale blonde hair and large purple eyes. She almost looks like an anime figure.
"Hey Claire." I run my hand through my hair worried about what I'm about to tell her. "I was thinking that maybe you should stay here."
I cringe as her pretty stare turns deadly. "Absolutely not! My boyfriend is in there too and there's no way I'm letting my best friend go there alone. I listened to them when they made me stay here, I'm not listening again." She puts her hands on her hips and tries to make herself look taller.
I pull her into a hug. "I didn't think you would say yes, but I had to try."
"Good try." She sniffs. "Hey, are you going to introduce me to your mom or what?" She hits me on the shoulder playfully.
"Oh, my bad." I drag her by her hand over to where my mom is consulting with Tony. "Hey mom. I didn't get to officially introduce you to my best friend Claire."
Claire holds out her hand to shake but my mom pulls her into a big motherly hug. "I've heard so much about you sweety. I feel like I know you already."
Claire hugs my mom in a way that reminds me that this is something she hasn't had for a long time. Claire is an orphan and has been one for many years. She won't have to worry about that in the future though. I know that my parents will take her in like one of their own. That's just how they are. "It's so nice to meet you Mrs. Mosby."
"Oh, you make me feel old honey. You can call me Alice; Mrs. Mosby was my mother in laws name." She winks at my friend.
"Okay, thank you Alice." Claire looks at Tony and then to me.
"I'm sorry Claire. This is Tony. He's my mom's right hand man." I look over at Tony then add, "And we've become pretty good friends."
That makes Tony's eyes darken a bit. "Friends," he repeats.
"Nice to meet you Tony." Claire extends her hand and thankfully Tony doesn't pull her into a hug. That might have been awkward.
"Nice to meet you Claire." He says to her.
My mom and Tony fill us in on the plans for infiltrating the shelter. It sounds like only my mom, Claire, Tony and I will be going inside. They think it's best that we keep a low profile to not draw too much attention to ourselves. Once inside we will be splitting up to cover more ground. Claire will be going with my mom and I will be going with Tony. We had to split it this way since both Claire and I can help them go invisible. The team will meet us outside at the rally point tomorrow morning. So we have a little over a day to find everyone. I hope that's enough time for us to go in, get them and get out.
I take a deep breath trying to place myself in the correct frame of mind. The last time I was near the mountain my mother and I almost died. I don't think I'm quite ready to revisit those fresh wounds but it has to be done and I'm the only one that can do it. It's time to put my big girl pants on. I see Claire fiddling with her nails. I can tell she's nervous. I put my arm around her and whisper in her ear, "They're fine Claire Bear. Alec and Connor are two of the strongest, smartest guys I know. We'll get to them before we know it." Claire gives me a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. "I hope you're right," she replies.
We refill our water bottles and grab some extra canteens from some of the other men. They'll have access to a kitchen tonight; this way no one goes without. Tony hands me a pack and I toss it on my back. He hands Claire one too, which drops to the ground like a piece of lead. Everyone looks utterly baffled until we all remember that Claire doesn't possess the extra strength we all have. "Sorry Claire, I think they forgot about your ability being different from theirs."
She looks confused for a second then says, "Oh, right. Yellow eyes, strength. Got it."
Tony grabs her bag and loops it over his other shoulder, balancing two at once.
The usual suspects gather around Claire and me as we descend into the tree line. We don't talk for hours making sure that we're not seen or heard by any reapers nearby. We made a promise we wouldn't compromise the other compound's position and we're set on holding to our word.
The sun is beginning to set in the horizon. Our group stops for a quick break that also doubles as surveillance time for a small team of soldiers. Those of us waiting set our packs down and take out an assortment of food. I end up getting something called Spam. I've never heard of it, but it doesn't taste bad. A little mushy, but any food is food right now. It's the least of my concerns.
We've stopped on top of a hill, skillfully hidden in the foliage. From here we can see the base of the mountain, most importantly the sealed off entrance. A little smirk forms on my face. Well, not sealed for everyone, I think to myself.
I finish the majority of my Spam but can’t seem to get it all down. It doesn’t sit well.
Tony leans over with a mouthful of food and points at my Spam can with his fork. “You gonna eat that?” He asks in a muffled voice.
I don’t even have to answer him, I just hand him the can. I see my mother smiling out of the corner of my eye but she quickly looks away. Claire is sitting cross-legged in front of me eating some form of meal bar. Her pinkie fingers are pointing up as she eats. She cracks me up with how dainty she can be at times.
My mother wipes the crumbs from her hands and stands up. Taking a deep breath she looks at each one of us before speaking. “I don’t know if the Reapers are around or not. If they are, they’re pretty well hidden.”
I cup my hand and put it on my brow to block the setting sun. I look panoramically to see if I can sense anything. “The coast seems clear to me,” I say reassuringly.
My mother shakes her finger at me. “Willow, you must always be prepared for the worst. Those Reapers are smart…sometimes too smart. And with your abilities, we have to be extra careful. You’re not only a rare commodity, but you’re my daughter. We all go in together; we all come out together. Got it?” We all nod our heads. "Are you ready?" She asks me specifically.
"Yes, I'm ready." My stomach feels like it's holding a million jumping jellybeans. I've been doing my best not to think about what could happen inside the shelter. I can't focus on that right now. I need to focus on just making it to the shelter. The land between here and the entrance is mostly bare. There are a few shrubs and an occasional tree, but not enough to provide us cover.
Tony gets up next. "Let's do this." He holds his hand out to me and I accept it allowing him to pull me to a standing position. Everyone else follows our lead.
My mom addresses the group. "I want double the enforcements to surround Willow and Claire. My hope is that if the Reapers notice us they may not engage in a fight." She looks at Claire and I. "You girls need to keep your heads down. Don't look around. The last thing we need is for one of their spies to catch sight of your eye color. If they think you’re just like us, they may not bother with starting anything. Will you do that for me?"
"Yes." We say simultaneously.
My mom heads to the front of the group. Eight guys, not including Ton
y surround Claire and I. Tony stays to my left allowing me to walk next to Claire. As we walk I catch sight of her in my peripheral vision. She's shaking. I grab her hand in mine and squeeze lightly. "It’ll be okay. Tony can kick Reaper butt and I have a gun."
She lets out a shaky laugh. "Good to know. I'm sorry, it's just that I know what they can do...the Reapers, I mean. We saw them kill one of the men from the village when they tried to save us. It was horrible Willow. They sucked him dry in less than five minutes."
I can't hold back the shiver that runs up my spine. "I've seen them kill but only with weapons. I'm sorry you had to witness something like that."
She lightly squeezes my hand. We both look down at the ground and walk silently as we leave the forest. One can't help but feel immensely vulnerable out in the middle of the open. I can sense everyone around us readying their weapons. Tony inches slightly closer to me. I can feel his shoulder brushing up against mine as we walk. I want to look up at him but I have to force myself to keep my gaze down. I don't want to put everyone in danger because I can't follow simple instructions.
We walk for a good twenty minutes without any sign of Reapers. Much to my relief Tony tells me we are nearly there. My heart has been pounding so hard that I can feel it in my ears. I take several deep breaths to keep calm. I need to be able to flawlessly get them inside the mountain. My mom had told me earlier that she needs Claire to turn us invisible before we move through the mountain. After all, if the Reapers saw us just walk into the mountain they would be ready for us when we came out for sure. That is the last gift we would want them to acquire.
I know we are up against the mountain when my mom appears at my side. I don't look up though. She whispers to Claire, "Are you ready? What do you need us to do?"
"I'm ready. You all need to be touching me." She does a good job of keeping her gaze on the ground while talking to them.
"You will need to touch me as well so I can pull you through." I tell them.
Tony moves to stand behind me so my mom has to stand behind Claire. I feel his hand land softly on my side. Butterflies kick up inside me and I do my best to ignore it. Even if I have to clip their wings, I will ignore it. I feel my mom's hand on my other shoulder and that gives me comfort. I hold Claire's hand. We stand like that for a moment and nothing happens, we are still visible
Claire looks up at me and asks, "Are you ready?"
"Put your head down Claire. You need to turn us invisible first." I whisper.
"We are already invisible. It's your turn now." Claire tells me.
I look up at her. I've got to remember that Candy's gift allows me to see her. Keeping up with all of these abilities is going to be confusing. "Okay, everyone stay close and walk with me." The mountainside isn't more than a few feet away. I take a deep breath and count to ten. Holding my hand out I slowly move through the sediment. "Hold on tight." I tell them. I close my eyes as I step into the mountain. I walk through as fast as I can, hoping to get everyone to the other side in one piece.
I breathe a sigh of relief when I feel the cool air hit my skin. I open my eyes but can't see anything, it's pitch black in here. I hear everyone let out a heavy breath as they step out of the mountain. Tony is the first to break contact. I can still feel the warmth of his hand on my side as I hear him shuffling around in his bag. A moment later a flashlight kicks on. I look around the dimly lit corridor. A flash back from when I first walked into this shelter with my dad hits me. I was so full of despair and my heart was broken in two. Anticipation fills me as I think about how close I am to having my family fully reunited.
"Okay, so are you ready to split up?" My mom asks us.
"Yes." We murmur at different times.
"Okay, Willow, I need you to tell me how to find your dad." My mom says. Claire looks a little taken aback by this but my mom quickly clarifies. "Don't worry, we will be looking for Connor too. I'm hoping that my husband will have an idea about where they might be."
Claire nods her head in understanding.
I give my mom the instructions on how to find our room. I also tell her some of the sanitation routes that my dad might be on if he's still at work. Luckily Claire has been to my room before, so she’ll be able to help her find it. I look to Tony, "We’ll start in the cave. I need to get my mom and Claire into the main hall though first so will you wait here?"
He doesn't look happy about it but he complies. "Yes."
I grab my mom's hand and Claire's. "We are going to walk straight out into the middle of a common area. Are you going to be able to keep yourself and my mom invisible for a while?"
She points her thumbs at her herself, "Um, of course! I'm practically an expert now." We all laugh at that.
"Good luck." I tell her. "Love you." I direct to my mom.
"Love you too. Go find your man." My mom smiles at me.
It's hard to ignore the grunt that Tony makes. "Let's go." I wait for Claire to confirm that all three of us are invisible then we start walking through the wall. We come out on the other side into the busy common area. I look out onto the sea of people in scrubs. Virtually every color is represented in a perfectly uniformed way. I forgot how goofy it looked to see everyone in those.
I hug my mom and Claire, then without a word I walk back through the wall.
"See, I wasn't gone long." I say to Tony once I appear on the other side. A slight woozy feeling overcomes me and I sway on my feet.
Tony is at my side in less than a second. He puts his hand on my back steadying me. "Whoa, are you okay?" He asks me.
I feel light headed and drained but I nod. "Yeah, It's been a while since I've used this many abilities at once. It's harder on me now because I'm not only using multiple abilities on myself but I'm also using them to cover other people. I think I just need to sit for a second." My head starts pounding so I quickly drop to the ground and prop myself up against the wall.
"Has this happened before?" He sits next to me looking worried.
I close my eyes so I don't have to meet his gaze. "Well, only after healing my mom. That took a lot out of me. I don't think it helped that I had run the gambit that day using every ability I had access to."
I feel his hand on my shoulder and it makes my heart beat a little faster. I don't like the clenched up feeling I get in my stomach when Tony is too close to me. It makes me feel confused and even a little bit guilty because I can't understand why I have those feelings. I'm too tired though to shrug his hand off. Plus, I don't want to make him feel bad.
"Maybe you need to take it easy for a few minutes." Tony says gently.
I shake my head and run my hand through my curls. Cringing when my fingers get stuck, I think about how my locks could really use a good brushing right about now. But that's a more frivolous need, what I need right now is to find Alec and Connor. "No, I'm feeling better. We should get moving." I stand up too fast and end up falling to the side.
"Crap, Willow!" Tony catches me before I fall. He wraps his arm around my shoulder and forces me to sit back down.
I end up leaning my head against his shoulder. Feeling frustrated I sigh loudly.
"Maybe you just need to eat something." With his free hand he wrestles something out of his bag. He hands me a protein bar.
My hands are shaky as I accept it from him. I slowly open the wrapper and then take small bites. After I finish it off he hands me some water. I take a few sips. The food was a good idea. I start feeling a lot better. "Thanks." I tell him.
"Are you feeling better?" He asks.
Remembering how close we are, I sit up. I feel the heat spreading across my cheeks so I'm grateful for the dim lighting. "Yes. I'm surprised that I just got wiped out like that."
"I'm not. You haven't really gotten much rest the past few days. You've also been using an awful lot of your powers lately." Tony says. "Do you want to rest for a little while longer?"
"No, I think we should get going." I'm anxious to find Alec. Plus I don't need any more close moments with Tony.
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br /> "Okay." He says a bit weary.
I stand up without a hitch and he looks a little more comfortable with the idea that I'm not going to faint like a damsel in distress. "We’re going to move down a few levels from here. I'm going to have to keep us invisible while we move. This is going to be difficult to do, so we need to do it quick. Are you ready for that?" I ask him.
"Yes." He nods.
"Let's do this." I grab his hand and focus all of my energy on making us go invisible. Then I slowly allow us to fall through the ground. We land in the field of spinach. I inhale the crisp damp air that tells me that this time I missed the sprinkler rotation.
We both stand up. I grasp Tony's hand again and we move slowly through the floor and land with a thump on top of the storage container.
Tony throws his hand over my mouth. We both stand there in silence while we hear a pair of footsteps investigating the area. I remove Tony's hand from my mouth with my free hand and peak over the edge of the container. A tall man that I don't recognize, in black scrubs is looking around curiously. After looking around for a few minutes he seems satisfied that it was nothing because he walks back to the front of the storage area. We wait until the man gets on the elevator and the doors close before we hop down.
Tony jumps down first and holds his arms up for me to jump. A deja vu of jumping into Alec's arms so many times hits me. I take a deep breath and drop into Tony's arms. He slowly lets me down, allowing his hands to linger on my sides for a little too long. I avoid looking at him. Instead, I hold his hand and slowly move us through the floor, down to the tunnels.
Finally having made it through all of the floor levels without a hitch, we start crawling through the tunnel towards the cave.
Tony makes a groaning sound as I hear him pulling out his flashlight. He clicks it on and swallows loudly.
“Now, this part is a real tight fit. But don’t worry, it doesn’t get too tight. Just enough to make yourself a little uncomfortable.” I tell him.
I look back and Tony doesn’t look too pleased but he nods his head in affirmation and we start to move further through the tunnels. Halfway through I feel Tony grab my hand in a not so sweet manner. I turn to look at him and see his face is white as snow. “What’s wrong?”
Finding ELE (ELE Series #2) Written By: Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels Page 10