Finding ELE (ELE Series #2) Written By: Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels (24 page)

Alec and I scoot down a row and take a seat
next to Connor and Claire. Even though Claire is sitting between
us, I can hear Connor's stomach growl. Mine growls too.

"So, what does this mean about dinner?"
Connor asks me.

I shrug my shoulders. "I'm not sure. This is
the first meeting like this I've been to."

"Great." He complains.

My mom walks in and the room grows quiet.
"Thank you all for coming here." My mom says in a strong voice. I
notice Mr. Leroy standing to the side watching her. I haven't seen
him in a few days. This hotel is pretty big though, so I guess
that's not uncommon.

My mom continues. "We've gathered you all
here to talk about plans for the future. We've sent out some scouts
over the past two days and some of the reports we've received have
been concerning. The Reapers seem to be furthering their mission to
gain access to the shelters. There's been a lot of activity around
the base of the mountain. We have reason to believe that they may
have gotten their hands on some demolition devices. We don't know
their plans for such things, but we believe they may be planning to
rig some explosions. We can only assume that they think that these
explosions will help them get inside. I'm sure that you understand
what this means. We must make a decision now on how to proceed."
The crowd starts mumbling.

Mr. Leroy takes a step forward to add. "This
has given us leaders a lot to talk about. Unfortunately we have
been unable to come to a unanimous decision on how to proceed.
Therefore we’ve come to a fork in the road. Some of us want to move
on and leave this area quickly. There are some deserted towns that
we believe may be a good place to set up shop only a few days
travel down the road." This sends the crowd into another roar.

Tony steps out from the background and makes
a high pitch whistling noise that grabs the crowd's attention.

My mom steps forward again. "We have decided
that we will give everyone the choice. You may leave with Lee
tomorrow or you can stay with me and fight."

Hollering and chaos breaks out with that. My
mom does her best to gain the attention of the crowd again. Tony
tries the whistling again and that gives my mom a second to add,
"You will need to make your personal decisions by tomorrow morning.
Anyone wishing to leave will need to be ready at sunrise." Then the
crowd dissolves again into its chaotic state.

Not sure what to do or what to think, we
make our way out of the dining hall to find my mom. I run into Tony
in the hall. Without discussing with Alec or my friends I raise my
chin proudly and say, "I will fight with you."

Everyone agrees with me except for Candy.
Jake has told her that he wants to leave so she's planning on
joining him. Not because they are inseparable in such a short
period of time, but because she doesn't want to go anywhere near
the shelter again. She can't handle it.

Honestly, I've watched Candy try to train,
so I think it's probably in her best interest as well as our own,
that she not join us. We let her know that we understand and then
part ways to follow Tony who is taking us to my mom.

Tony leads us to a room I hadn't seen
before. When we enter, my mom is in there with my father and a few
of my mom's other main soldiers. "I'm fighting with you." I demand
the second I walk in. Alec, Connor and Claire stand quietly near
the entry to the room as I walk to my mom's side.

My mom looks up from some maps that she was
going over with my dad. Pride flashes on her face and then regret.
She stands up and puts her hands on my shoulders. My dad joins her
a second later. "I think you need to go with Mr. Leroy." She tells
me.

"What? No!" I yell. "Absolutely not! I can
fight!" I tell her. "I'm not bad at it either." I turn and look to
Tony who looks like he already knew my mom would try to send me
away. "Tell her Tony! Tell her that I can hold my own."

His expression softens. "You can definitely
hold your own Willow."

My father interrupts him, helping him dodge
the bullet. "We don't doubt that you can fight. Your gift is too
precious and too dangerous to fall into the hands of a Reaper. You
know this." He tells me.

I look at him and angry tears start to make
their unwelcome way into my eyes. I blink rapidly, not wanting to
seem weak. "Yes I know that and frankly, I'm sick of hearing it. I
am capable. My gifts if anything give me an edge not a hindrance. I
am not going to tuck tail and run away with Mr. Grumps-a-lot!"

"This isn't up for discussion. You will be
leaving here tomorrow morning." My mom tells me.

"No, I can be useful!" I stomp my foot. I
know it's not giving me maturity points, but who gives a crock! My
family is on the brink of splitting apart, yet again.

"You will be useful Willow. We are asking
you to take care of Sebastian." My dad tells me.

Sebastian? They are going to send him away
too? I guess he can't very well fight, but still... Another
revelation comes to me: "So you’re fighting dad? They are going to
let you? You have a gift too. You are just as much of a
liability!"

My dad stands firm. "First, you need to
watch your tone young lady. Second, I left your mom once, I will
not leave her again."

I can’t take any more of this, so I stomp
away from my parents ignoring anything that anyone says to me. I
push past my friends in an angry tirade. Fury and anger are about
to reveal themselves and I don’t want anyone around when they do,
out of fear for what I might say.

I run up the stairs utilizing my full speed
knowing good and well I will beat any of my friends. I lock my door
and lean a chair against the handle for extra protection. I grab a
pillow from my bed and rip it in half with one motion. Feathers
come flying out of the pillow, coating the room in a snow like
haze. I grab feathers out of the air trying to slap them down.

My anger is still pulsating through my veins
as I grab the sheet off my bed and begin ripping it into shreds,
screaming and crying in fury. I rip it into smaller and smaller
pieces until there is nothing left to rip.

My energy is spent and I collapse on the
floor. My mind is finally calming down and I take deep breathes as
I feel my blood pressure return to a somewhat normal level. My face
is stained with wet tears and my nose is running. I get up off the
floor and go to the bathroom, turning on the sink to splash water
on my face. I blow my nose a few times and focus some more on
breathing.

Grabbing the sink with both hands, I look in
the mirror and my heart stops as I view my reflection. Those are
not my eyes, no! I look in horror at the image of myself that can't
be real. No, I must be having a nightmare. My eyes are red, the
color of a reapers. I don’t know how long I stare. It could be a
minute, an hour, a day…all I know is that I am in serious
trouble.

Am I a Reaper now? I don't understand.
Nothing in me feels different. I only let the rage overtake me,
that's all. I can't be a Reaper. If anyone finds out about this I
will be locked up or killed. I have to hide this secret at all
costs. No one, not my family, not Alec, not any of my friends can
know about this.

I place my back against the cabinet and
slide to the floor. Cupping my head in my hands, I cry some more.
Even when the tears stop coming I heave and choke on my sorrow,
desperate to make it all go away.

I’m so scared because I don't know what any
of this means. I don't know if I can handle being in charge of
Sebastian. What if I lose my temper at him? I look around the room
at the huge mess I’ve made. If I can do this to objects, who’s to
say I won’t do it to people? When my anger was at its highest point
it was like something else out of my power took over my body. Rage
seeped from every pore of my skin until I took out the anger on any
object in my path.

I run water over my face once more before
going back in my room. Fists pound against the door calling my
name. They don’t sound mad, they sound worried. Lord knows how long
I’ve been raging, they’ve probably heard my screams. I work with
quick speed to brush all the aftermath of my frenzy under my bed. I
use my speed ability to get it done even though I feel more than
spent. By the time it’s finished I’m out of breath.

I run to the bathroom and look at my eyes
breathing a sigh of relief when they’ve changed to a nuclear
yellow. I hurry to my door and remove the chair from under it. I
unlock it and find six furious people staring back at me. I’m not
sure what to do. I can’t cry, I don’t want to get mad, for the life
of me I can’t smile, so I just stand there not doing or saying
anything. My eyes drop to the ground as I go to move past them. I’m
not sure where I’m going but I can’t stay here with judgmental
stares.

Someone grabs my arm and whips me around.
“Young lady, explain yourself.” My dad says through clenched
teeth.

“
I have nothing to say. Apparently my
entire future has already been decided for me.”

You can see the anger and hurt that wells up
in my dad’s eyes. “For your information, your mother and I thought
long and hard about how we can best keep you safe. It is for your
own good that you are being sent away and not staying to fight. If
you go, you will not only endanger yourself but everyone around
you. Would you feel comfortable putting your family and friends at
risk for your own personal gain?”

A horrible dose of pride that I didn’t know
I had, wells up inside of me not allowing me to really see or take
in what my dad is saying. I grit my teeth trying to control my
rage. I look at the floor completely unsure what color my eyes are.
"I need some air." I don't wait for anyone to respond. I grab a
lantern from the hallway and leave with my gaze to the ground the
whole way.

Outside, the night air is crisp. I can feel
that same small dose of chill in the air. I take several deep
breaths trying to calm my brain. I have got to control these
emotions that are bubbling within me. Anger, fear, anxiety and a
whole lot more are overflowing in abundance. Don't let it control
you. I tell myself.

When I hear the inevitable door open up from
behind me I focus everything on going invisible. I step to the side
and turn around to see Alec looking for me. I watch his worried
expression as he darts this way and that way looking for me. Just
seeing his concern strips away some of the layers of anger. I walk
toward him and with every step I take it eases more and more. When
I am next to him I let go of my invisibility.

“
Willow!” He pulls me into his arms.
My tears are spent so I just hold on keeping my head close to his
chest.

"It's going to be okay Willow, everything is
going to be okay." He sooths while brushing my hair over and over
with his hand.

I tell myself I believe him. I know I'm
lying, but I say it anyway. I know that my world, which only seemed
right for a total of three days, is about to be turned upside down
once again. I can feel it in my bones, my life will be different
tomorrow. I hold onto Alec tighter and when I hear him grunt, I
loosen my grip. "Sorry." I whisper into his chest.

"It's fine. I love you and I will never
leave you." He tells me. "If you want to stay, I will stay. If you
want to go, I will go. I will help you with Sebastian, I will do
anything for you."

He lifts my head up to meet my eyes. My
heart stops for a moment as I worry what he will see there. He
looks into my eyes and then pulls me into a kiss. Relief pours out
of me as I get caught up in the kiss. I pull him closer and kiss
him harder, releasing all of my emotion on him. Allowing him to be
an outlet for my roller coaster of feelings. When we part I feel
the last layers of my anger wither away into nothingness.

"I love you." I tell him.

"I love you too." He says.

With that we walk back into the hotel. Not
feeling like discussing anymore tonight, I allow Alec to walk me to
my room. I know I should discuss more of this with my parents but I
can't, not tonight. We will have to speak of it tomorrow.

When I close the door to my room, I'm
surprised to see my bed fully made with new sheets and a new
pillow. "Thank you." I tell Claire who is doing a horrible job of
acting like she's sleeping.

She cracks one eye open and smiles.
"Anytime." She waits till I get settled under the covers to
continue. "I will stay with you Willow. If you don't want to go
tomorrow, we will all stay with you. Connor, Alec and me are all
with you till the end."

I peak at her from under the covers. "Thank
you Claire."

"Do you know what you want to do?" She
asks.

I shake my head. "No." I whisper.

"Maybe you will know in the morning." She
says with a yawn. "Just remember, we got your back either way."

"Thanks." With that I turn over and flip off
the lantern, which plunges the room into darkness. With all of the
crying and emotions, I fall into a heavy deep sleep instantly.

Red eyes, dozens of red eyes pile in through
the doors of our hotel. Carrying weapons, they walk with a mission
breaking into each room and taking everything from our people. They
take until they are dry.

Screams erupt but are silenced within
seconds as the Reapers do their dirty work. The hallways are a mess
of people running this way and that, trying to find their way out
of this nightmare. The sounds of weapons clashing and gunshots in
the small narrow spaces, ring out. Blood is splattered about as a
massacre begins.

I try to run but someone stops me. I turn
around to look into the all too familiar eyes of the Reaper who has
me in his clutches.

"Huhhh!" I shoot up from bed breathing in a
deep ragged breath. My heart is accelerated at unnatural speeds. I
look around the room, it's still dark out. I put my head between my
legs and take several deep breaths trying to remove the dream from
my memory. Finally my pulse slows and returns to a normal pace. I
lie back down and pray that the memory of my dream will go away.
The sick feeling it left in the pit of my stomach hasn't ceased. I
close my eyes hoping that I won't see anything.