Project ELE (15 page)

"Hmmm." I bite my lower lip while contemplating what might be in those cabinets. I look up to see Alec staring at me. His eyes have that same glossy look that they had right before he kissed me. My stomach flutters and I secretly hope he will do it again, even if his dad's in the next room. I see his desire pass through in his expression but he shakes it off. Why must Alec be so sensible? Surely he could lose his job or get in trouble for making out with one of his employees, but I think he should just throw caution to the wind!

I guess my disappointment must show because Alec chuckles. "You are really beautiful Willow." He says sincerely.

"Yes she is!" Claire says in a chirpy voice and comes up from behind Alec. "I'm so glad you're feeling better Willow!" She seems mighty bubbly today.

Honestly I'm amazed at how different this Claire is to the timid fragile girl that used to hide behind her hair. Connor comes up behind her and pokes her in the ribs and she giggles. I wonder if Connor might have a lot to do with that fact.

Connor smiles at me. He has a few packages in his left hand so I'm guessing he's in the middle of his shift. "Yep, it's good to see you up and moving around. Is the boss making you work on the same day you got out of the hospital?" He shares some type of weird handshake high five, combo thing with Alec.

"Nope, I stared at the white walls of my room for all of ten minutes before I decided I had to evacuate. I've felt like a caged animal over the past several weeks being stuck in a room day in and day out. A girl has to have some fun you know." I blush when I think about how much fun I just had kissing Alec, blushing even more when I realize how badly I want to do it again.

"Speaking of caged animals, when are we gonna go on another adventure?" Connor asks.

"I don't think that's a good idea, especially after the debacle that happened last time." Alec lifts my left arm up gently as if the cast doesn't stick out like a sore thumb already.

"Hey, a few broken bones isn't going to stop this girl!" I say yanking my arm back. "Ouch!" My pain meds must be wearing off because my arm is killing me.

"You okay?" Alec asks worried.

I nod my head and cradle my arm to my body. "Yeah, I think I need to take my medicine. Anyhow, what I was trying to say is that as soon as this cast is off I'm ready! We have got to go back and check out what is down there."

"Yay!" Claire says excitedly. "Wow, that drawing on your cast looks pretty rockin’!" She moves closer to examine it.

"Alec drew it." I say proudly, looking up at Alec who seems like he may need more convincing about our side adventures. I figure he won't be so worried when I'm all healed and back to normal.

"Dude, that's cool!" Connor looks at it. "You should keep that after they cut it off you."

"Yeah, maybe I'll frame it and put it above my bed." I say jokingly and everyone laughs including Alec. I'm grateful that he's lightening up a bit in regards to my injuries.

The door to the office opens and Mr. Blake and Dr. Hastings step out.

"So, after you are done with that run, you will need to stop back by the office. I have a few extra assignments for the two of you." Alec addresses Connor and Claire who both take the hint, nod their heads and walk away quickly.

"I'm checking back in from my break sir." I say to Alec. He gives me a look that says he didn't know I could act as well.

"Are you done in the filing room sir?" Alec asks his dad.

"Yes. Get back to work." That's all Mr. Blake says before walking away along with Dr. Hastings who is holding a file in his hand. I stare at it for a few seconds curiously. My eye catches the word immunization but that's all.

When they are out of hearing range Alec says, "Mr. Blake can be a bit of a jerk wad sometimes."

I smile up at him sympathetically trying to make him feel a little less let down by the non-existent father/son emotions. "Yep."

He grins in return and we both head back inside to work.

The next several weeks consist of the same thing, day in and day out; with the exception of all the stolen kisses Alec and I sneak. I go to school with Connor and Claire, and then I go to “work.” It can’t really be called work though. Alec has me filing but he makes sure I don’t get much done.

Today I get my cast off. I’m not too excited about that, because it means I’ll need to go back to running soon. On the upside, it also means on our next day off we’ll be able to explore the “sewer system” further. Alec’s been trying to talk me out of it every time I bring it up but I give him ‘the look’ and he quickly changes the subject.

“Alec, you really don’t have to take off work. I can get there on my own you know.” Alec is insisting that he go with me to get my cast off. Deep down though, I really do want him to go, I just don’t want to come across as needy.

He playfully tugs at my hair inching closer. He closes the door to the office with his foot and a lump forms in my throat. He takes hold of my cheek in his hand and puts his lips to my ear. His breathing on my neck sends shivers down to my toes. “I’m pretty sure you can get there on your own. It’s just that…” He nibbles at my ear. “…I will pretty much make any excuse to spend more time with you.” The huskiness of his voice makes me melt. He takes a step back furthering his distance and speaks as if what just happened didn’t. “So, are you ready to go.”

I take a deep breath and put my hair behind my ears. I will myself not to speak for fear of sounding like a mouse and nod my head. It's been a couple of weeks but our relationship, at least that's what I'm calling it, still seems brand new.

He opens the doors and we make the short journey to the doctor’s office. In the elevator his lips find mine in a greedy manner, and when it dings, he composes himself like nothing happened leaving me speechless and breathless.

I sign in on the clipboard at the front desk and we sit down to wait. I pick up a magazine and flip through it. I find a crossword puzzle and fold back the page. “Okay, smarty-pants. Let’s see how you are at crosswords!” I say a little too smug. “Alright, seven down: To go astray or diverge. It’s eight letters.” I tap the pen I got from the sign in sheet on my chin. I look over to Alec who has a funny expression on his face. “What,” I challenge, letting a small laugh come through.

“Oh, nothing. I just like watching you while you’re thinking. You get these cute little lines between your eyes.”

I roll my eyes, “Oh really, do I? Okay, smarty-pants what’s the answer,” I ask, knowing full well he won’t know it.

“Aberrate,” he says simply.

I raise my eyebrows at him in response. “Lucky guess,” I say as I write it in. “Okay, next one, and this one is going to be really hard.” I scan the side column looking for one no one would ever get. “Ah, here we go. You ready?” I don’t wait for him to respond before starting. “A morbid fear of sounds or the fear of your own voice. Fifteen letters, starts with an ‘A’.” There, I think, that should keep him busy.

“Acousticophobia.” He says cockily.

“What!” I yell a little too loudly. I soften my tone when other people start looking at me. “How on earth did you know that?”

Alec just shrugs his shoulders.

I scribble in the answer. “Either you’re the smartest person I’ve ever met, or you’re pulling my leg. Which is it? And I expect an honest answer!”

Alec tries to keep from laughing but he’s not doing a good job.

“What?” I say as his laughter becomes contagious. I playfully slap him on the arm. “Tell me!” I say.

“Okay, okay, you don’t have to get all violent on me!” Alec tells me playfully. “I spent a lot of time in the waiting room the first several days you were in the hospital. Got tired of watching reruns of boring old soap operas so I did all the crosswords.”

“Willow Mosby,” a voice from the other side of the room calls. I glance up to see a plump nurse looking around the room.

“Here,” I say holding up my hand.

Before I can stand up, Alec puts his hand on mine. “You want me to go with you? You know, to hold your hand and stuff?”

I don’t really need to give it much thought. “Yeah, sure, if you want to.” I catch a gleam in his eye. Of course he wants to.

I lead the way over to the nurse and she puts us in a small room off to the right. She lays my chart down on the table and turns to leave. “The doctor will be with you in a minute,” she says as she turns and walks out, shutting the door behind her.

I take a quick glance around the room and get really nervous when I see this mean saw looking thing hanging on the wall. “You don’t think that’s for me, do you Alec?” I turn to him as my anxiety increases ten-fold.

Alec sees this as a sign to comfort me. He takes my hand gently from my lap and wraps it in his. I slump into him finding immediate comfort.

It doesn’t take long before the doctor comes in. He’s wearing the typical white lab coat. He has white hair that is sticking up all over the place and bottle-cap glasses. He looks at me over the rim, “And you must be Willow. I’m Dr. Pain. Please, don’t think I’m being funny, that’s my real name. Got the birth certificate to prove it.”

I try to let out a small laugh, but my mouth won’t let me. I squeeze Alec’s hand a bit harder and he rubs the side with his thumb in a comforting gesture.

The doctor begins shuffling around the room gathering tools and cloth and that dreaded saw readied to be used. I can’t seem to take my eyes off the blade. The doctor wheels the tray over to where I’m sitting and pulls the rolling chair over as well.

“Now, just trust me, this won’t hurt a bit,” the doctor tells me.

Yeah, trust a doctor named Dr. Pain. Not going to happen.

He reaches for my arm and I reluctantly give it to him. “Oh,” he exclaims when he sees the small mural painted on my cast. “You want me to cut around this for you? It would be such a waste of good art.”

I nod my head and try to smile. “Yes, it’s very special to me,” I reply. My heart is picking up speed and I work to keep from going into a panic attack.

The second I hear the saw blade turn on I close my eyes and put my head in Alec’s chest.

“Now don’t move, okay?” The doctor asks me, shouting above the noise. A sound of cutting wood penetrates my ears and my brain is screaming, danger, step back! I try not to flinch as I hear the plaster cracking on my arm. It doesn’t take more than ten seconds before I feel the cool air hit my arm for the first time in what seems like months. I look down at my pale weak arm that hasn't made an appearance in a while. It’s really skinny compared to my other arm and looks kind of funny.

The doctor turns off the saw and hangs it back up out of the way. I bend my wrist cautiously, thankful there’s no pain. It just feels weird. I turn my arm slightly and see a small bruise that has almost dissipated as well as a three inch long scar. That must have been where I had the surgery.

“Just make sure you take it easy for the next few days. I’m going to give you a sling to wear while you adjust to not having the cast on. After that, you’ll be good to go.” The doctor hands me my empty cast and leaves the room with the door still propped open. He returns a second later with another navy sling. He helps me put it on then leaves.

“Well, I guess we can go,” Alec says while helping me up. I clutch the cast as we leave. He puts his arm around my waist. As we walk away I wonder about us. Are we in a relationship? I don't ask though. For right now, I feel good with how things are. I don't need a label to tell me how I'm starting to feel about him.

As usual school’s a bore. For the next few days all I can think about is finding where that storm drain thing leads. We've been talking about it every chance we get. Alec has set our next day off together on Saturday, which is tomorrow. I know I’m going to have a hard time sleeping tonight!

I lie in my bed going over the maps in my head. It’s hard to think about the maps when Alec’s perfect face keeps flooding my thoughts. I keep trying to figure out what we are. Are we together? Boyfriend, girlfriend? I’m too afraid to ask such a silly question so I figure I’ll just let it ride, hoping he brings it up in conversation.

I eventually fall asleep sometime after two a.m. I hear my dad come in sometime in the night but I'm too tired to greet him. I feel so awful for how much they’re working him.

My tablet wakes me up at six a.m. the following morning. There’s a new group message to us from Alec. Meet me by the lower elevators in twenty minutes, is all it says.

I wipe the sleep from my eyes and drag myself into the bathroom. I brush my teeth, put on my blue scrubs and pull my hair back in a ponytail. I grab my tablet and slip out of the door. No need to wake my dad who will have to
get up in a half hour anyway.

The hall lights are still dimmed; apparently they conserve electricity in the night hours this way. They’ll come on full force at seven.

I run into Claire on the elevator down. “So, you and Connor, huh?” I ask jabbing her lightly in the ribs. I've noticed their looks during class and even caught them holding hands one time. They don't say anything about it so I figured, now is as good a time as any to ask her.

A blush spreads over her pale face as she looks down at her shoes.

“Hey, it’s all good,” I say trying to reassure her. “Connor’s a really nice guy.”

She finally smiles and looks up at me. “Yeah, he really is. I think I might be falling for him, but it scares me. Everyone I’ve ever loved in this world has either left me or died. I feel like my heart is too far out there right now…like maybe I should pull back.” She takes a second. “Oh, Willow, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound so depressing this morning!” She has a pleading look on her face.

I put my hand softly on her shoulder. Sometimes I forget how alone Claire is. She finally told me a little more about her parents when I was in the hospital. Her mom had died from the virus and her dad went into a heavy state of depression. He had to give her up because he couldn't properly care for her. She often thought that a part of his depression had to do with how much Claire had resembled her mother.

“Claire, look at me.” She does. “Connor’s not that type of guy, okay. He's not going to leave. And you can be assured that I’m not going to leave you either! You’re my best friend.” I have never said that to Claire before, but it’s true.

A sparkle gleams in her eyes. “You mean, I have a bestie now? I've never been able to use that word and 'I have' in the same sentence before.”

I laugh at her use of the word bestie. The elevator dings and Claire takes me in a crushing hug. I hug her back as the elevator doors open.

Connor and Alec stare with mouths dropped open. “That’s hot,” says Connor and apparently Alec agrees, nodding his head.

“Oh, shut up!” I say playfully. Claire and I get out of the elevator.

“So,” Connor says while rubbing his hands. “What’s the plan?”

Alec grabs his satchel and opens it up. We all peer inside and see flashlights, power bars, and an assortment of other things I guess we might find useful, and a pack of gum. Way to plan ahead Alec, I think. “I have the supplies we’ll need for the day. Now, we just need to take care of our tablets.” Alec hands us each a small roll of duct tape. “Okay, let’s get rid of these and meet back here in ten.”

I take my duct tape and set off to find a maid cart.

****

Alec and I meet up on our way back from hiding our tablets. He gives me a small wink and that’s all it takes to get the butterflies in my stomach moving. Just the proximity of being so close to him makes my heart soar.

We round the corner back towards the elevators and find Connor and Claire in a rather passionate embrace. I stop abruptly and turn my head. Alec does a little coughing thing and they both jump so high their feet leave the ground.

Claire puts her hand on her heart. “Oh my gosh, you guys scared me!”

“Sorry about that,” I mutter.

“Well,” says Alec breaking the awkward silence. “I think it’s about time to go, yes?” We all hop in the elevator and Connor pushes the ‘S’ button for Storage. The door opens and we all hobble out taking a moment to make sure nobody is around.

When we feel the coast is clear we slink over to the grate. Connor goes to work, like before, taking out the individual screws and handing them to me. I take it I’m the official screw holder-er, if that’s even a word. Connor slides the grate off a little bit at a time making some slight squeaking noises as he goes.

We take turns crawling in as before with me being the point man, or woman, I guess. Connor slides the grate back on and we begin our journey to the ‘sewer systems’. You would think with all the twists, turns, and pathway changes, one would get lost, but that’s so not the case with me. It feels like second nature already.

It takes us a while but we eventually make the last turn and stop next to the final grate.

Connor removes it and Alec puts his hand on mine. “Let Connor and me go first. Then we’ll help you ladies down.” The guys have a rope ladder in their bag but they are trying to avoid having to take it out until we are on our return trip.

I hate being seen as a weak link, but I’m not about to break another limb. He already helped me successfully down the first jump from the platform, the one where all heck broke loose before.

We nod our heads at the boys and they begin to jump down. Claire goes first and Connor helps her down. I’m next. I jimmy my way as close to the edge as humanly possible and stop. Alec has his hands lifted up towards me putting my anxieties at rest. I scoot down backwards like a small child and take the leap of faith. Alec catches me immediately and slowly lowers me down to the floor. He leans in to my ear and whispers, “I’ll never let you go, Willow.”

Goose bumps run up and down my arms like freight trains. “Thanks.” I manage to say without swooning.

"Dude, it's another freaking tunnel." Connor complains. "This one better lead somewhere."

We shine our flashlights around the tunnel trying to see ahead of us. I catch sight of all of our gear from the last trip in the corner and chuckle. It was pretty useless.

"I'll take the lead on this one." Alec says and heads to the front. Since there is no recorded map of these tunnels, my memory isn't useful for navigation. I fall in place behind Alec and the others follow single file as the tunnel becomes increasingly narrow.

"There it is again." Claire says.

I stop and try to listen to what she hears and when I focus really hard I manage to hear the steady dripping sound. "It must be coming from up ahead." I say.

We start walking forward and I can nearly feel the moisture in the air the further we go into the cold, dark tunnels. The tunnel takes a turn and we end up in an even narrower one that gets increasingly shorter in height as we walk. We go from standing full up, to crouching down and eventually we have to get on all fours to crawl. All of us put our flashlights away to better crawl except for Connor who is in the back as usual. He's holding onto the flashlight in his mouth. It casts eerie shadows that bounce off the tunnel walls.

"I guess your big mouth finally came in handy." Alec jokes as we crawl. Connor can't answer which makes Alec's anecdote that much funnier.

I'm grateful for the lightening of the mood because this tiny tunnel is making my insides go crazy. My stomach starts to clench and my heart races. I've never been claustrophobic but something about the way the flashlight bobs up and down against the tunnel walls and the cool damp air makes me feel nervous. The further we crawl the louder the dripping sounds become and the smaller the tunnel seems to get.

"Ah crap." Alec calls from ahead of me.

I realize what he's complaining about when my hand lands in shallow water and the first knee of my scrubs gets soaked. "Well, no turning back." I say.

Alec stops and grabs his flashlight to get a better look. The ceiling of the tunnel is wet in some places and dripping water. Up ahead there is another turn. "Interesting. I wonder where all of this water is coming from." He says.

None of us answer because we don't know. In my head I just pray this water is clean water and not sewage. It doesn’t stink so I think we're good.

He starts crawling again and when we make it to the turn we enter a new tunnel that is getting increasingly taller as we crawl. Eventually we are able to stand up again and I breathe a sigh of relief. The nervous feeling starts relenting as I stretch my aching, soaked knees.

We all are able to turn our flashlights on again which makes the tunnels look a lot less eerie. We walk forward and take one last turn. "Oh my gosh!" The air whooshes out of me and I stop dead causing Claire to run into my back.

"Hey don't just stop...Whoa!" Claire says upon looking around the cavern.

Connor makes a whistle sound showing his amazement. We all stand quietly for a few moments just illuminating the area in front of us with our four flashlights.

It's unbelievable. I have never seen a place like this in real life before. We are standing at the entrance of a gigantic cavern the size of two football fields. Stalactites drop down from the ceiling in thousands of inconsistent sizes and lengths. Five or six of them are so long that they reach all the way down to the ground. The most amazing thing about the cavern is that it's filled with a lake or spring or whatever you would call this body of majestic looking sea-blue water. The dry or actually semi damp ground only extends twenty feet into the cavern before the water starts. We walk further in to the water's edge and shine our lights against its surface. The water is clear and seems to get deeper the further out it goes.

"Cool." Connor whispers.

"I know." Claire whispers too.

"Why is everyone whispering?" I ask quietly.

"Perhaps subconsciously we are trying to keep from scaring the bats awake." Alec says in his full voice.

Everyone giggles but I shiver. I never liked the idea of bats or anything with fanged teeth. Creepy!

"I wish we brought our swim suits." Connor says. I turn around to look at him. He's sitting on the ground taking off his shoes.

"Wait, you aren't gonna go swimming in your underoos are you?" I ask nervously. I'm not prudish about seeing a guy in his boxers but I certainly don't want to dress down to my white underwear and bra in front of Alec.

"Only if you want me to." Connor jokes sarcastically and Claire slaps him on the back of the head. I stifle a giggle while Connor rubs his wound. "Ow!" He says in a whiney voice.

Claire laughs and says, "Man up Connor. I didn't hit you that hard."

That sets Alec into a laugh and Connor gives him the 'don't knock me when I'm down' stare. Alec stops laughing.

Connor rolls his pants legs up and touches his toe to the water. "Freezing!" He says then tests it a little further. I see him visibly shiver as his whole foot steps into the water.

I lean over and touch it with my hand. It isn't necessarily freezing but it's mighty cold. I would say it's either in the high sixties or low seventies in temperature.

Claire trots over barefoot and walks into the water close to Connor. "Oh my." She says. Connor puts his hand around her as she shivers.

I look to Alec and shrug. We both start taking off our shoes and socks. I roll up my scrubs to mid thigh and step in. It feels even colder on my feet then it did on my hands. I stand there for a moment allowing my body to adjust to the temperature.

Alec comes to my side. We stand there for a few more minutes and then I start inching forward.

"Be careful babe." Alec says.

The term of endearment warms my heart and I feel more courageous to move forward. I grab ahold of his hand and he matches my step. We walk forward slowly. We keep our flashlights shining on the water in front of us. For the most part, the water seems clear all the way down to the bottom. We are able to walk twenty feet into the water before it reaches knee level. When we get to a stopping point we all just stand there in silence shining our flashlights around the cavern and enjoying the beauty of this secret place.

"I wonder how many people know this place is down here." I say.

"Most likely only a chosen few since it's not marked on any of the maps." Alec answers.

"Yeah, but somebody must know. After all there is a manmade tunnel leading to it." Claire offers.

"Well it's our place now." Connor says and mimes the action of sticking a flag into the ground like the astronauts did when they made it to Mars so many years ago.

"Yep! This can be our secret hangout." Claire says sounding youthful like a kid.

Connor gives her a loving look and it makes me smile. I like to see people who have been through a lot find happiness. Alec must like it too because he squeezes my hand just so.