Exposing ELE (ELE Series #3) (17 page)

I stop by my dad's room. Sabby and him haven't woken up for the day. I tiptoe in and give each of them a kiss on the forehead. I whisper, “I love you,” before leaving the room again.

I meet Mr. Leroy and Tony in the makeshift command center. They are going over some more hand drawn maps. We further lay out our plans. We will have two different teams going in and another team will stay along the perimeter. One will start at the end of the maze and the other team will start at the beginning. The goal will be to find Zack and trap him in the middle. We will have to contain him until Candy can get there. We are hoping she will be able to get through to him. She still believes there is good in him. I can only hope that she's right, but chances are she's not. I’d like to give her the benefit of the doubt, even when it seems senseless.

After we plan some of the more grueling details, we head out into the conference room. The room is full to the brim with at least a hundred people. Unlike times in the past, I am not looking out at a sea of only yellow eyes. Instead, there are a myriad of different shades present. Everyone is talking amongst themselves but once Mr. Leroy and I stand up at the podium, they quiet down.

“We want to thank you all in advance for being here. This won't be an easy mission and the number of volunteers for this particular one is phenomenal. We will be going over team assignments first, and then you will break away with your team leaders, who will outfit you with the appropriate gear and weapons. Our goal is to run this mission so smoothly that no lives will be lost...” Mr. Leroy continues hashing out the plan and calling out assignments. Since Tony refuses to be on a different team than me, he announces that Tom will be leading the third team who will be patrolling the perimeter. Knowing the details of the mission, I take the time to memorize each person's face. I heed the fact that these soldier’s lives will be partially my responsibility. I refuse to take that responsibility lightly.

I don't realize Mr. Leroy has finished talking until all eyes turn on me.

“Willow, would you like to add anything?” Lee asks me.

I wasn't aware that I'd be talking. I feel ill prepared. I stand up anyway and take his place in front of the podium. “Thank you, Lee...” At first, I'm not sure what to say, but then it hits me. I swallow back the emotion that threatens to overcome me. “Seeing all of you, who have volunteered to go on this mission, it's quite moving. We all know how dangerous this undertaking is. Some of you have friends and family who are being held prisoner that you want to save.
Some of you don't know anyone in there but you are going on this mission to save the lives of strangers because it's the right thing to do. Every one of you has counted the cost and realizes that this assignment is going to be tough and that it could cost you your life, yet you still stand with us. When I look out at this sea of dedicated soldiers, I can't help but feel the pride that my mom must have felt each time she stood before you. I know that had she been here today, she would be immensely proud, just as I am. Thank you for your service.”

I hadn't realized that I closed my eyes the second I brought up my mom. I open my eyes to see several tear-filled ones staring back at me. Then everyone starts clapping and cheering each other on. I smile and step away from the podium.

Mr. Leroy’s face is filled with pride and before he steps back up, he quiets the crowd. “Thank you, Willow, for those moving thoughts. I know that your mother would be very proud of you as well.” He looks to me and I have to force the tears back to keep them from falling. He turns to address the soldiers. “Please regroup with your designated leaders now. You are dismissed.”

Everyone starts walking this way and that. Tony and I head to the far corner of the room where our team has planned to meet. My friends, including Candy and Jake, are on my team as well as another thirty soldiers. We will be going into the maze ruins at the beginning. I lay out some directives and plans. Due to the number of turn offs in the maze, we will be taking each twist in groups of three. I break them all off, making sure I have at least one person with strength for each group. Tony had asked at the beginning for Alec to be assigned to the two of us. At first I didn't like the idea, as I wasn't sure if it would complicate matters. Tony makes a good point though; we need a strong healer with us in case anything happens. I essentially could be using so many other powers that having to fully heal someone who is critically injured would take too much from me. I also justify to myself that not only will I be able to make sure Alec stays safe, perhaps Alec can help me if anything goes wrong with Tony. Maybe the two of us healing him at the same time will have a greater effect of keeping him from turning into a Reaper. I don't want to tell Alec about any of this unless absolutely necessary so I keep the idea in my head… where it belongs. Tony hasn't had any relapses in the past twenty-four hours. Maybe my healing back at the cabin worked.
Deep down inside though, I don’t believe it.

I go over with the team once again on how to remove the collars; then Tony works on handing out weapons and supplies. Once everyone is comfortable with their weapons and the action plan, we meet with the other teams outside.

We convene once more as a whole and go over the details one last time. You can never be too prepared on an action plan. Then we head out.

The trip to the maze ruins takes around three hours. Throughout the trip we have to not only be aware of any of Zack's soldiers, but we also have to watch out for Reapers. Like before, we run into no signs of Reapers. If there are any out there, I doubt they would attempt to take on a group of our size anyhow, unless they had enough of them to actually do some damage, which is doubtful.

When we reach the point in which the land slopes downwards into a valley, we see our first glimpse of the maze ruins. It doesn't look anything like I remember. The once brightly painted buildings are now faded and years of inattention have caused them to dilapidate. Now they just look eerie and sad. The cornhusks are surprisingly quite tall. The land was still being used to process corn for cattle feed even when the amusement park was closed down. We are too far off to fully judge, but I can only guess that the husks will reach well above our heads. They are no longer green and full of life though, they are dried and brown, far past the time of harvest. The rows of thorny bushes still seem to be in decent shape as they are the only things looking lively down there.

I stand up on my tiptoes even though it does no good. If only we were higher up. Then perhaps I could visually see the correct route through the maze. I guess it doesn’t really matter anyway, since our goal is to find each prisoner and, technically, they could be held anywhere throughout the twists and turns.

“Creepy looking, huh?” Alec asks from close behind me.

I nod my head and then turn to him with my finger over my lips. He's obviously had a momentary lapse in memory and forgotten our total silence rule. We need the best advantage we can get. It's awkward not having spoken for so long so I smile, making light of his slip-up.

He sticks his tongue out at me, which makes my smile that much brighter. I catch Tony looking at us from the side and I quickly avert my gaze and focus on the task at hand.

Before making our way down into the valley, we implement the next part of the plan. Every person who can turn invisible is called to action. Surprisingly, those with this power make up nearly one third of our people. Other than those with yellow eyes, they are the next majority in our group.

The people with this skill make their way to the outside of each team. The rest of us are to hold onto them and allow them to keep us invisible until we are at our points of entry. The people on the outside perimeter duty will remain invisible for as long as possible unless they are able to find places to hide. I grab onto Claire's arm. I give Tony a funny look as I do. I wanted to offer my use of the power but once again, Tony thinks it's best that I save my strength. I hate it when he has to make sense.

Together as one large, invisible army, we make our way down through the valley. It only takes twenty minutes for us to reach the outside of the maze. As instructed prior, my group separates from the others. We head to the front entrance. When we get there, I look up at the old sign that states: Maze Ruins- Enter If You Dare. Someone came back with a can of red spray paint and covered the sign with the word CLOSED. The paint has faded to a salmon pink color and looks oddly childlike.

A creepy looking clown face that's weathered from the elements looks down at us as we reach the front gate. A shiver runs up my spine; I've always hated clowns. A rusted chain and padlock keep trespassers out. I wonder how Zack got everyone in so easily without breaking the padlock. I let go of Claire, becoming the first person visible. I feel slightly vulnerable. Tony is at my side, out in the open, before I know it though. We inspect the lock and sure enough, the lock has been cut. Zack, or whoever else, must have put it back up just for appearances. We pull it off and do our best to remove the chain quietly. The clanking sounds make me cringe and I half expect an army to come running out from around the corner. Eventually we’re able to get it off.

Seamlessly and without any words, we break apart into our groups. Those that have a person who can use invisibility stay connected. They will have better chances of not being seen that way. Since those teams don't have healers, that's their best line of defense.

Tony walks to my left and Alec to my right. All three of us have our pistols drawn and ready. We take the first split off. I vaguely remember this being one of the correct ways to go. It was so long ago that I was here last but I chose this route for us anyhow.

My hand shakes a little with nerves as we come upon the first rows of dried, dead corn. I was right that it does reach up over our heads. It looms over us, caging us in to the left and the right. I wonder how this plays in with Tony's claustrophobia. It can't be pleasant for him. I squeeze his hand and he squeezes back, letting me know he's dealing with it the best he can.

So much of the corn is starting to break down, that every once in a while I can look through it and into another row of the maze. That's when I see my first glimpse of bright red hair blowing gently in the wind. I can't see entirely through the husks, but I can tell that the person is lying on the ground and barely moving.

Without thinking, I grab both Tony and Alec's hands and pull them through the corn, using my powers. I'm sure we could have just hacked our way through the dead sea of husks, but this way is faster and much more quiet.

“Is she…?” My heart starts accelerating.

“No, I think she's still breathing,” he assures me. We run to her. She's lying on her side and her long red hair is covering her back.

I bend down to where I can see her face. Her eyes are open but her expression is vacant. Nausea rolls in my stomach and my chest tightens up as I see the collar first hand. It's black with small, clear vial studs in quarter inch increments all around it. Inside the see through vials, you can see a substance that's looks clear like water. This one is running low but the liquid is still noticeable. I've never seen anything so horrendously clever in all of my life. A neck collar filled with needles, how could anyone make something like this?

I force myself to look away as Tony and Alec work on finding the button to remove the collar. I look into the woman's vacant eyes. They are a unique shade of grey. Unlike most grey eyes that can be almost another form of blue, these have no blue tint in them. They are a perfectly stunning shade of grey with a hint of metallic silver around the edges.

I hear the grotesque sound of each vial losing suction as they remove the collar slowly.

“Carefully,” Tony tells Alec as he starts removing his side. Alec looks down at the needles protruding. There are four small needles for each vial. He nods his head realizing that Tony means for Alec to be careful to not prick himself with one.

It takes them about a minute to successfully remove the entire collar. Much like Marya, this woman's neck is covered in red splotches. The part where each vial sat is bruised as if the collar was pulled way too tightly against her skin. Alec places his hands on the woman's neck. I watch him as he concentrates on healing her. I realize that I've never really watched Alec using his powers. It's amazing the concentration and dedication that flashes across his features as he focuses all he can on helping this woman. I begin to wonder if that’s how I look when I heal. After a few seconds, Alec sways a little. I grab ahold of his arm to keep him steady. His eyes look a little glassy. He removes his hand from the woman's neck and takes some deep breaths.

“Are you okay?” I whisper worriedly.

He takes a second before nodding. Then he shakes his head as if to clear his mind. “It's weird, it's like I could feel some of the effects of the drugs as I was healing her.”

I know personally that at times when I've healed people, especially when they are close to death, I have felt the smallest portion of the pain that I assume they must have been feeling. I don't know if it goes hand and hand with the gift or not. It's usually only in the most extreme cases. “Those drugs must be very powerful.” I put my hand on his leg.

He runs his hands through his hair and then notices my hand on his thigh. I focus on giving him some strength. He notices my eyes turn navy. “You need to save your strength.”

“Not at the detriment of your safety,” I tell him quietly. I'm not going to just sit around and let him turn all loopy every time he helps someone. Alec and I exchange a long, silent stare until Tony interrupts us.