Finding ELE (ELE Series #2) Written By: Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels (18 page)

I feel Alec's hand squeeze and I quickly
grab ahold of my dad. I turn us invisible and spin around to see
that Claire has taken care of Candy and Connor. Turning my
attention back to the source of the noise, I see a group of six
Reapers blocking our path. The seventh one, a male, is lying on the
ground with a gunshot wound to the head. One of our people must
have fired the shot.

Of the six Reapers four are men and two are
women. Other than their beet red eyes, their clothing and
appearance seems normal. Their bodies are tense and ready to
attack. One of the women, a tall slender red head seems to be
staring in my direction. She has a hungry look in her eyes and I
have to remind myself that she can't see us.

The stand-still only lasts for less than
thirty seconds before all hell breaks loose. Our people start
attacking the Reapers. Gunshots ring out. Grunts and screams fill
the forest along with a metallic copper scent of blood that drifts
about in the air. Tony and the fab four remain around us along with
my mom who is hovering directly in front of my dad even though she
can't physically see him.

It’s over in less than a minute. Two of the
Reapers, one of them the tall red head, escaped. The other four lay
lifeless on the ground. I do my best not to look in their
direction. I can't help but notice that two of ours lay still near
them. My heart starts accelerating with shock and I end up letting
go of the invisibility. I look in horror in their direction. They
can't be dead! They were here to help us, they can't be dead!

I look over to Tony. "I can help them." I
say and start moving forward having let go of Alec's hand.

Tony stops me by putting his hands on my
shoulders. I try to fight him by dodging to the right and he just
scoops me back with ease with one fail swoop. The next second my
face is in his chest as I try to break free again. "I can help
them!" I cry out, tears start to fall as I struggle against him. I
pound at his chest with my fists but to no avail. His grip never
falters.

"You can't Willow! They are gone." Tony
whispers to me, trying to get me to see the obvious.

"No," I sob. This horrible feeling of
despair and sorrow overtakes me. "They can't be." I say. "It was my
fault," I cry. Something in me knows that I am not the cause of
this attack but a completely illogical part of me tells me that I
should have had their back. I could have protected them. I cry
harder feeling immense guilt overtake me.

"Willow, you need to stop this. We have to
get going." He tells me continuing to stroke my hair. "You couldn't
have prevented this. They are in a better place now." I know I
shouldn't look up but I do. I look into his eyes. I see a second of
hesitation in his and then he turns to look over his shoulder but
doesn't let me move.

A second later he looks back at me and
steadies me with both hands on my upper arms. He looks into my eyes
and says, "Your eyes are black."

I shake my head not understanding what he
meant, tears continue to flow down my cheeks as the feeling of
grief ripples through me. Then it finally hits me. I look around
Tony to see a man weeping next to one of our dead. When I look
closer I notice that it's a woman that lies there still as night. I
push my head back into Tony's chest and cry for them. I cry for the
grief and sadness that is overwhelming that man so much that it has
spilled over into me. I realize now that my feelings are not my own
but his.

I allow myself to lose it for only a minute.
Then I quickly straighten up, wipe my eyes and focus everything on
blocking out the emotions. I take a few deep breaths and back away
from Tony.

I don't look at him again. Instead I wipe my
hands on my dress and turn to see Alec looking at me. His face is
filled with concern and his posture is rigid. His expression seems
to be a mix between worry and jealousy. I notice my dad's hand
cupping his shoulder. I'm guessing my dad held Alec back from
coming to my side for whatever reason. My dad releases him and I
meet Alec halfway and jump into his arms.

Alec hugs me and whispers in my ear. "I'm so
sorry babe. Are you okay?"

"Yes." I tell him a moment later. I do my
best to not break down again. "I could feel his pain, you know?" I
tell Alec.

He looks into my eyes and nods his head.
"Another gift?" He says reaching up and caressing my cheek near my
eyes, wiping the tears away.

I nod and we stand in silence, I stay in
Alec's arms as we watch a few of the others build two make shift
stretchers to carry the ones we lost back to the hotel. I have to
work hard to not hone in on everyone's emotions. I already have
enough turmoil inside my own heart.

When everyone is ready, we start moving
again. The rest of the journey is taken in silence. My dad doesn't
have any more premonitions on the way back and we don't run into
any more Reapers.

When we reach the Holiday Inn after a few
hours of walking, several people come spilling out. I hear the
cries of a few and we watch in silence as they gather around the
lost ones.

***

The funeral and burial was quick with no way
to preserve the bodies. Afterwards we get everyone settled into
their rooms, reunite Sabby with his dad and eat dinner. Back in my
room I crash hard, falling asleep to the soft snoring coming from
Claire who's sharing my room with me.

I wake in the middle of the night to someone
tapping softly on my arm. I blink trying to adjust my eyes in the
dark. A soft voice calms me pushing my hair away from my eyes. I
look up to see Alec kneeling beside my bed.

“
You know,” I say with a sleepy
whisper. “My dad would probably have you shot if he found you in
here.” I crack a smile as Alec lets out a small grunt. I quickly
place my finger over his lips shushing him so he doesn’t wake
Claire.

He kisses my finger softly; then kisses my
lips. I run my fingers through his hair reveling in the simplicity
of the moment. Alec pulls away and says, “I just wanted to come
check on you. We had a pretty rough day and I wasn’t sure how you’d
be feeling or if you’d even be able to sleep.”

I rub the sleep from my eyes. “Thanks, but
I’m okay. I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the
pillow.”

He gives me a small grin. “Good, I’m
glad.”

I run my fingers through his hair. “Thanks
for checking on me though. We haven’t had much time to be alone
lately. Hopefully that will change now that we’re back together
again.”

He takes my hand in his. “Willow, I'll make
you the promise right now, I will never leave you again. The last
time we were apart I couldn’t function. It’s like you’re the thing
that grounds me to this earth and without you, I feel lost.”

My heart soars hearing his declaration to
me. I know he never really left me the first time but still, it
feels good to hear.

Alec kisses me softly on the forehead.
“Well, I’ll let you get some sleep. See you in the morning,
okay?”

I nod my head at him and yawn. “See you in
the morning,” I manage to say as my eyelids become heavy again.

“
Goodnight,” I hear Claire say from
the other side of the room.

I unsuccessfully stifle a laugh, biting my
lip.

Alec smiles and shakes his head, getting up
off the floor. “Goodnight to you too, Claire,” Alec jests. I listen
as he walks to the door and closes it behind him gently.

“
That was sweet,” Claire says between
yawns. She rolls over and goes back to sleep.

I fall back to sleep easily with a smile
splayed upon my lips.

“
Willow,” someone softly shakes my arm
whispering my name. Fighting out of a groggy sleep, I roll over to
see who woke me. My mother stands hovering over me. “Time to wake
up sleepy head. If you sleep any longer, you’ll miss
breakfast.”

I groan softly but manage to sit up after a
little more of my mother's coaxing. I rub the sleep out of my eyes
and look beside me and see that Claire is not in her bed.

My mom answers my question before I even get
a chance to ask it. "She's already downstairs. Connor and her seem
pretty…inseparable."

Stretching my arms up overhead, I yawn and
talk at the same time. "Yeah, they are kind of adorable in that
way." I can't help but notice that my mom seems to almost be
glowing. I haven't seen anyone in my family this happy in a long
while. It's nice.

"So, I didn't really come here on my own
accord honey. There is a hunky boy outside the door waiting to
escort you to breakfast." She tries to straighten out some of my
bed head by running her hand through my hair. Of course it gets
caught in the mess of curls, but a little hair pulling isn't going
to get me down. My boyfriend's outside! My mom coos over my beaming
smile. "Yeah, he seems like a good one Willow."

"Are you sure you can't read minds too mom?"
She's doing an amazing job of reading me this morning.

"Nope, you are the only one that can do
that." She adds, "I'm glad too! I would hate to know what everyone
else is thinking. Some things we think should never be heard."

"Tell me about it." I hop out of bed. That's
the exact reason I've avoided using that gift. Plus, a part of me
is worried that once I start listening into other people’s minds, I
wouldn’t be able to turn it off again. I shiver recalling when I
first realized I had that gift. I was a hot mess until I learned
how to shut it off.

"Alright, well, go get dolled up or at least
change your dress or something." My mom shoos me towards the
bathroom.

I look down at my tattered dress from
yesterday. Yeah, that's not flattering in any way. My mom pulls a
pair of cut off jeans and a tank top from a drawer and brings them
to me before I shut the door. "Thanks for replenishing the stock.
Hopefully I won't be stuck with anymore dresses." I laugh.

"You used to love dresses!"

"I still do. I just don't want to go on
rescue missions in them." I give my mom a quick hug then I start my
cold shower. I don't waste time and within fifteen minutes I'm
dressed and ready to go. I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror
on the way out. That same glowing light I saw in my mom's eyes is
in mine too.

My eyes are still a deep black but the other
colors can be seen through a prism effect when the light bounces
off them. The red fleck is prominent, as always, but today it looks
less menacing. Perhaps it's because for the first time in a while,
I look happy. I take a deep breath and allow the fact that my
family is safe and sound to soak in. Then I run my brush through my
wet hair and skip to the door. Pinching my cheeks a few times I
open it and find Alec standing against the wall.

I don’t waste any time running to him. He
gathers me up in his arms and spins me around once before he sets
me down. I hug him tightly, well not too tight but just enough.
With my head in his chest I take a moment to commit this moment in
my memory. The amazing smell of fresh soap and shaving cream coming
off his skin, the secure feeling I get when he holds me in his
strong arms and the way he whispers that he loves me in my ear. I
will remember it all. I lean my head back just enough to see his
eyes and tell him, "I love you too." We both beam at each other
like fools in love for a few more seconds and then hand in hand we
head down to breakfast.

The second I walk into the dining area I see
Sebastian’s curls jumping up and down from a table across the room.
My mom and dad are on each side of him. They wave us over and we
end up sitting with them for breakfast. To say it’s a bit awkward
at first is an understatement. I know my mom is on board with Alec
but my dad…well, that remains to be seen. He still doesn't seem too
keen on the idea of his daughter dating.

“
Mornin’ guys. Did you sleep well?” I
ask trying to break the tension.

My dad nods, “Oh yeah.” He gives my mother’s
hand a squeeze.

Oh brother. “T.M.I. dad!”

He lets out a small snort.

I introduce Alec to Sebastian whose
enthusiasm and joy is so contagious that Alec catches it
quickly.

Alec and I sit next to each other and are
each handed a bowl of eggs and bacon.

“
Wello, lookie, lookie.” Sebastian
says. I peer over to the paper and crayons he has in front of him.
“I drew our family. So happy daddy’s back!” He says stumbling over
his words.

My dad gives his curls a shake and I give
him a big grin. “Are you sure some famous artist didn’t draw that?”
I tease playfully.

“
Noooo, Wello! I's drawed it.” He says
giggling.

I see Alec give me a sideways smile before
he begins digging into his food.

“
So,” I say to the table between
mouthfuls of food. “Got any big plans for the day?” I spear a
forkful of eggs.

My mother politely finishes her bite before
answering. “Not today honey; we usually rest after a big day like
yesterday.”

I smile and bite my lip. Yipee! I think to
myself. I get to spend my whole day doing whatever I want. I can’t
remember the last time I tasted the freedom of a whole day to
myself…with Alec of course.

My mother raises her eyebrow at me. “Within
reason. You can’t leave the compound or anything, just in case I
need you.” She states pointing her fork at me for emphasis.

“
That’s fine,” I say with a smile. I
reach my hand under the table and squeeze Alec’s leg lightly.
“There’s somewhere I want to take Alec; in the compound of course.”
I tell her reassuringly.

“
Can I go too Wello?” An all too
familiar voice asks.

I grimace just a little before my dad saves
Sebastian from being hurt. “Actually little man, I have something
for us to do together today. What do you say we go fly a kite?”