Finding ELE (ELE Series #2) Written By: Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels (12 page)

"Hmm, I don't even feel hungry." He smiles
at me. His expression turns intense and I dart my eyes away
quickly. "Anyhow, we better head out."

I nod my head quietly while helping him put
away the games. I tuck the game for Sebastian under my arm and
follow Tony up the million stairs back into the hallway.

"I had fun." I tell Tony when we reach my
door.

"Me too." He stops and looks at me. I can
see some type of emotion stirring in his eyes and I do my best to
try and ignore it. "Hey, your eyes are dark green. I haven't seen
you have that color before."

"Oh?" I say reaching my hand up to my
eyes.

"What power does that correlate to?" He asks
me.

"Um, reading minds." His look turns to worry
so I quickly clarify myself. "I didn't listen in on your thoughts.
I do my best not to use that ability. I don't like to invade
anyone's privacy. Well, maybe I cheated a time or two on the game
and read your thoughts without realizing it."

He looks relieved and he even chuckles.
"Okay then, next time we play, no cheating. Deal?"

I nod my head and smile. "Deal. I guess I
didn’t realize how competitive I really am."

He laughs quickly then his expression turns
serious again. He stares at me for a good several seconds, all of
which I hold my breath during. Finally he says, "Goodnight
Willow."

"Goodnight." I say letting out the breath
that I'd been holding.

He hesitates at first but then turns around
and walks to his room down the hall.

As I lie in bed, I think about how that is
probably the first and last time I will play those games with Tony.
God willing, tomorrow I will find Alec and things will go back to
normal. I do my best to swallow down any feelings that I might have
about losing what I have somehow built so quickly with Tony. "He's
my friend." I tell myself out loud before I fall asleep.

I hop out of bed when my alarm goes off at
five in the morning. My stomach is in knots. It's been four days
since I've lost touch with my friends. I pray that we will find
them today.

After a cold shower I feel even tenser but
at least I'm fully awake. I look around my room for some clean
pants but all I have left from the pile of clothes I was given is a
yellow summer dress. I go to the laundry hamper and open it up but
find it empty. Someone must have cleared it out last night. "Crud."
I mumble aloud as I shimmy out of my towel and throw the dress on.
I check myself out in the mirror before heading out. There's no way
I'm going to be able to fight in this, but it's either this or the
flimsy pajamas. I need to get some clothes from my mom before we
head out.

The first person I run into out in the hall
is Molly. I look her over and consider asking if she has any
clothes left but she looks like she'd be some ridiculous size like
zero or something. "Where'd you get a dress?" She says
snarkily.

"It's all I had left to wear. I need to find
something else before we leave."

"I'd give you something of mine but there's
no way you can fit your hips into it." She seems overly satisfied
by the statement.

I want to remind her that I saved her life,
well that could be an exaggeration but still, I healed the heck out
of her. I hold my tongue and walk past her. The huff she lets out
as she follows is satisfaction enough for me. What in the world is
up with this girl?

I rush down the stairs and literally run
into Tony at the bottom nearly knocking him over.

"Whoa, slow..." Tony stops his exclamation
mid sentence and stares at me with wide eyes. His mouth drops ever
so slightly. "What are you wearing?"

Molly laughs behind me and I go flush from
head to toe. I answer angrily. "Look, it's all I could find. I need
to get something else to wear before we leave."

Tony shakes his head. "No can do. We are
leaving now. I was just going to look for you. Your mom and the
rest of the search party are already in the parking lot."

"What?" Exasperated I look around hoping
that maybe a pair of jeans will appear out of thin air.

"You will be fine." Tony hands Molly and me
a muffin and a bottle of water. I slip the bottle of water into a
small draw string bag I managed to snag. I pull the wrapper from
the muffin and take a bite as we head out into the parking lot.

The air outside is warm and crisp. The sun
has barely started to rise so most of the search party's holding
lanterns and flashlights. I finish off the muffin as we come up to
them.

To my complete embarrassment several eyes
land on me. They looked shocked at my choice of attire.

My mom walks up to me. "What are you wearing
Willow?"

"The only thing I had left in my room.
Please tell me you have an extra pair of jeans in your bag?" I look
hopeful.

She shakes her head then sighs. "It'll be
fine. We've got to move out. It's best to get an early start if we
are going to travel the distance to Molly's village and make it
back here by nightfall."

"Fine." I grumble.

"I know Tony taught you some moves but we
will still have the same team assigned to Molly and you today. Make
sure you follow directions." She eyes me like she knows about the
stunt I pulled last time.

"I promise." I cross my heart and she gives
me a hug.

We move into formation. The fantastic four
flank our sides and thankfully Tony takes his place between Molly
and me. I try not to focus on the next several hours I have to
spend with her.

"Here you go." Tony hands me a pistol.

I look down at it. "And where exactly should
I put that?" I raise my eyebrow.

He seems a little too amused by my
predicament. "Hold it. Or you can put it in your bag. You won't
need it with our protection anyway."

"Is the safety on?" I ask as I start to put
it in my bag.

"Of course." Tony smiles at me and those
butterflies start moving around in my already tense stomach. I
break the gaze and look over at Molly who is flirting atrociously
with Tom. Gag, he looks old enough to be her father. Okay, a young
father but still, gross! I roll my eyes and focus my attention
ahead as we near the tree line.

The silence makes my nerves stand at
attention. We move quietly, stopping on and off like we did the
last time to listen for any sign of trouble. After several hours of
walking, we reach the spot where we found Molly. My mom moves
through the group to ask her for directions. I listen partially as
I look around the woods. Nausea builds as I remember the red eyes
of the crazed Reaper who tried to kill Molly.

Tony senses my unease and places his hand
gently on the small of my back. It comforts me yet makes me feel
more nervous. My heartbeat accelerates as we start moving
again.

"It shouldn't be much further." Tony
whispers.

My mouth is too dry to talk so I nod my
head.

We walk for another hour before we come out
of the woods and land on a paved road. Confused I look around.

Molly says quietly. "It's only a little ways
down there." She points ahead. We follow the road quietly, sticking
close to the trees. Everyone is on guard being out in the open like
this.

Soon I can make out a group of buildings up
ahead. A sign stating: Camp Cheley marks the entrance. Numerous log
cabins dot the area around a group of large common area
buildings.

"It used to be a summer camp." Molly
says.

"Well it looks like it hasn't been occupied
for years." I whisper as we enter the grounds. There is no sign of
life anywhere.

"I should move to the front, they may think
we are hostiles." Molly says.

"That might be good." Tony looks at me. "I
need to go with her. You will be safe though. Hang tight."

I nod as he escorts Molly to the front of
the group. The knots in my stomach grow tighter and tighter. I can
feel the nausea move up into my throat. I pull out my water and
take a few small sips as we walk forward. I try to breathe and
count to ten in my head to stave off the panic attack that's
threatening to overcome me. My friends could be here, right
now.

Molly startles me when she yells out, "It's
okay, they are safe!"

I look around expecting people to come out
in groups at her proclamation. Nothing happens. We move up to the
front of the building. A metal placard labels it The Commons.

"I said it's safe." Molly yells out even
louder. She starts to pull on the front door and Tony pulls her
back as someone pushes the door out so hard that it bangs against
the wall.

"Get your hands off her." A guy sputters
loudly. He walks out into the light to where I can get a good
glimpse of him. He must be at least six feet tall. He has dark
tanned skin, which tells me he has affection for the sun. I'm
guessing he is in his late twenties and by his tone and stance, he
must be a leader or someone in charge. The most striking thing
about him is his eyes. They are as black as night.

Tony takes a protective stance in front of
Molly. My bodyguards pull closer to me.

"Who are these people Molly?" The man asks
her. He looks us over and looks none to pleased with what he
sees.

"They helped me. I was being chased by a
Reaper and they saved me." She steps out from behind Tony. "Your
brother left me to die in those woods." She snarled.

Oh this is getting interesting! I move to my
tiptoes to try and get a better view of the unfolding drama.

"Come in Molly. The rest of you need to
leave." He gestures for Molly who isn't moving forward.

She keeps her hands on her hips. I can only
see the back of her long black hair but I can bet her expression is
livid. "Are you not listening Erik? They helped me. We need to help
them in return."

I'm mildly surprised that she even cares
enough about us to speak up. Bonus points earned back for
Molly.

"We don't need to do anything." Erik spits,
looking at our group like we are contagious.

"The girl who healed me is looking for her
friends. They are the ones we found the other day." Molly says
gesturing her hand back towards me.

Erik's eyes follow her pointer and he raises
his eyebrows. "You may come in too then." He says to me. "They stay
outside."

"Absolutely not!" Tony yells.

I try to move forward but the fab four won't
let me through.

My mom steps forward diplomatically. "I
realize that you have every reason to be cautious. There is nothing
to fear from us. We obviously don't wish you or your people any
harm, otherwise we wouldn't have protected and returned Molly to
you. My daughter Willow needs to find her friends and we believe
they are here. I would like for her to be able to reunite with them
but you also need to understand that she is my daughter and I am
protective of her. I do not know you or your people. However, I've
gotten to know Molly, and she tells me that your people are
trustworthy. I hope that you can put a little trust in me by
allowing Tony and me to escort Willow."

Erik considers my mom's speech. "Why do you
need the guy to come?" He looks at Tony with disdain.

"Tony has been assigned as Willow's
protector. When you see my daughter up close you will notice that
she is very special. She must be protected at all costs." My mom
looks back at me and gestures with her hand for me to come
forward.

The red sea made up of burly bodyguards part
allowing me to walk forward. I move to stand between my mom and
Tony. "I'm looking for my friends Connor, Claire and Alec." I say
to Erik.

He does a double take and blinks a few times
while he takes in my eyes. He looks curious enough that he tells
mom. "You both may escort her." He doesn't wait for a confirmation.
He turns and walks into the building, followed by Molly, then my
mom, me and finally Tony.

The door closes behind Tony and I turn to
see another man in his thirties with purple eyes shut the door. He
raises his eyebrows at me in surprise and I realize that he must be
using his invisibility.

"Molly, go to your room." Erik demands.

Molly huffs then turns on her heal and
stomps away.

Erik leads us into a small inner office not
far from the front entry. Inside is a square table with several
chairs. Erik takes a seat on one side of the table and all three of
us move to the other.

When Erik looks into my eyes again, his
mouth drops. "Your eyes just changed. What is going on here?"

Tony looks over at me and tells me, "They've
turned light blue."

"Oh," I say. That must be because I just saw
the guy using his invisibility. How in the world have my eyes
suddenly sped up in the changing process?

I look up at Erik who looks part freaked out
and part curious. "I have multiple gifts. I am not a Reaper though.
I promise." I say remembering Chris's reaction to the red in my
eyes.

He thinks it over. "I believe you." He rubs
his chin. "Tell me this, how do you get your powers?"

"I'm not sure. We think I absorb the ability
to use other people's gifts. I don't take it from them though." I
say not sure how to explain myself.

"When Willow is around a new power, within
days she is able to use it. The person she was around is never
affected. We still don't know the semantics of it but we plan on
doing more research once things are settled. Right now we have been
focusing on finding her friends. Are they here?" My mom speaks for
me.

Erik nods. "The girl is here."

"Claire." I say, excitement filling my
chest. It turns to dread. "What about Connor and Alec? What
happened to them?" I grip the edge of the table to steady
myself.

"They left this morning. Some of our people
escorted them to the mountain and have already returned. They made
it in safely. They wanted to go back into the shelter to look for
someone. I'm guessing that someone is you." Erik answers me.