Project ELE (26 page)

Hearing inner thoughts (my original power)

Healing (Alec)

Compulsion (Zack…shiver)

Invisibility (Claire)

Changing molecular structure…if that’s what you call it (Connor)

If my theory is correct and I do in fact have all these powers, I may just make it out unscathed. As to my friends…I just don’t know. One thought that crosses my mind is about Connor. If he is able to change his molecular structure maybe he will be able to walk through the wreckage caused by the explosion and get help. A spark of hope ignites within me…a very tiny spark, but nonetheless a spark.

I’m brought back to the present as Zack pulls my arm again jerking me around yet another corner. I should have been paying attention to where we were going because now I have no idea how we got where we are. The tunnel has become smaller and Dr. Hastings and the other man have turned into a narrow walkway that's offset to the side. It’s so small one might not see it if they didn’t know what they were looking for.

Zack shoves me in first and follows right behind me, never letting go of my arm. I’m sure that I could try and use Connor’s ability right now to move straight through Zack’s grip but I should probably save it for a time when I wouldn’t get immediately caught. Plus, then they would know more than they already do about me. At this point that is probably the only power Zack doesn’t know about and knowledge of that is definitely on my side.

We round a few small turns and come to a door. There is a single bulb light flickering haphazardly above us. Dr. Hastings walks up to the door and punches in a code. It’s nine digits in length…too long for most to memorize…and it’s an odd number. I hate odd numbers. My photographic memory steps in as the numbers become ingrained in my brain: 4-2-6-8-4-9-0-1-2. Who knows, that may come in handy later.

A small beep sounds and the door releases. Zack pushes me into the room after the other two had gone before me. A light turns on illuminating Dr. Hasting’s lab. I can tell this is where Zack had taken me in the past because the layout is identical. The only difference is the bed that is fixed in one of the corners…that wasn’t there before. A small feeling of panic escapes my lips as I see the restraints they are probably going to be using. Large leather belts with multiple belt holes reinforced by large silver rings. They look impenetrable…well at least for normal people. An IV pole stands to the side of the bed with a clear solution hanging from a bag. On the other side is a heart monitor and some other machine I have yet to identify. It all looks so wrong, it scares me to death. I begin shaking and my feet won’t move. I feel myself slowly sinking to the ground, shaking and sweating.

“Oh no you don’t,” Zack says forcefully. “You can do that over there if you want.”

I shake my head and feel a scream of panic rising from my lungs. I dig my heels in the ground realizing that if they get me where they want me, I might never leave here alive. I begin scratching frantically and pulling at anything I can from the counters throwing it on the ground. I scream and flail my arms trying desperately to get Zack to let me go.

“Stop Willow…relax a little would you!” I feel a sting in my neck and my eyes open wide in surprise. Then the world around me grows dim as I slip slowly away into nothingness.

I wake to the sound of beeping machines. It takes me a second to remember where I am and all the memories come flooding back. I keep my eyes shut to try and assess the situation. I hear at least two people in the room. One is scribbling on a pad of paper in the corner while the other is typing something on some sort of device…I can’t tell. I listen for a few minutes concentrating on keeping my heart rate down. I know that if I panic, my heart rate will go up, and it could go
from bad to worse really fast.

Someone taps a pencil against a piece of paper. “When is she going to wake up? She’s been out for over three hours.” I can tell that the voice belongs to Zack.

“The serum is different and is contingent upon the person. It could take another hour or so, or it could take a few more minutes. Try and exhibit some patience, would you?” I recognize that voice as that of Dr. Hastings.

A chair scrapes against the floor and I listen as feet begin pacing the room. “I’m going to try the smelling salts again.” Zack’s voice reverberates off the walls of the room.

“You must get your impatience from your mother’s side.” Dr. Hastings remarks.

Zack’s footsteps stop suddenly. I wonder to myself if that’s a sore subject…Zack’s mother. I hear him coming around to the side of my bed. I try not to breathe or move. I know what smelling salts can do, and I know for a fact it will give away the fact that I'm awake.

I feel something tickle under my nose. I try and hold my breath, but one of the machines starts beeping. My oxygen levels must be dropping. I can feel the machine clipped to my index finger. When I can hold my breath no longer I breathe in the smelling salts and immediately cough and sneeze at the same time. Realizing it’s over, I open my eyes.

“Well, well, look who’s up,” Zack says with that sinisterness back in his voice. The hairs on my arms stand on end as he leans over the bed assessing me. I open my mouth and he cuts me off. “If you scream, I’ll gag you,” Zack says simply.

I hear Dr. Hastings chair scoot back and see him come into my peripheral vision. I try and move my body but I'm held down by the straps. I even have one around my head and my middle making it impossible to move even an inch. A single tear slips down my face. "What do you want with me?"

"We want to know why you are possessing more than one power." Dr. Hastings says rather matter of factly. “Your blood work was inconclusive.”

"Why are you doing this?" I ask.

"Well to find out how to duplicate it of course. We are going to do several tests and some require you to be awake. Don't worry, they won't last too long but they may hurt. I will put you out as soon as we are done." Dr. Hastings says.

Put me out? Like a dog or like a light? My heart races and I hear the monitor tattle tell on me by beeping ferociously.

"Well sugar, you could always tell us how you came to possess these additional powers...That is if you know." Zack chimes in, smiling creepily down at me.

I try to shake my head, but it's no use. I don't know how and even if I knew some special secret I wouldn't share it with these guys. The type of power I've come across could be extremely dangerous in the hands of the wrong person. In my peripheral vision I see Dr. Hastings pick up some sort of scary looking metal instrument. My heart starts raging war again and the monitors go wild.

Zack seems pleased when he sees this. “What’s the matter sugar? Are you scared?” He makes a pouty face at me and then laughs. “This will only hurt a bit.” This last statement must seem even funnier to him because he laughs harder.

I close my eyes trying to regain my composure. I can’t seem weak in front of Zack. It’s like adding fuel to the fire. He likes it, and it makes my stomach recoil in disgust. I force my heart to move into a steady rhythm.

“Hold still,” Zack demands. “I need to remove your contacts. We need to run a few…tests.” He says the last word with more venom than I’d like to admit.

Zack pries my eyes open with his fingers and puts a few drops of liquid in my eyes. It burns like crazy for a few moments, and then the sensation subsides. He does the same action to my other eye, then removes the contacts with the tips of his fingers. I watch as the world comes back into focus. Zack’s eyes are wide with shock. “Dad, you might want to take a look at this…”

I listen as Dr. Hastings footsteps approach. His footsteps stop abruptly and my eyes meet his. We stare at each other for what seems like forever. I watch him appraise me; he approaches with what seems like caution. “Brilliant,” Dr. Hastings whispers. “Just…spectacular!” He seems at a loss for words.

I glance back over at Zack and he has the same wonderment in his eyes. Far too soon the both of them snap out of their appraising trance and look at each other. “You ready to start?” Zack asks his dad.

He nods and I hear them beginning to clank metal instruments around in a drawer. I clench my fists knowing I’m about to become a lab rat. There is no remorse in their beady stares. I know they will show no mercy or pull out any stops for me. I am just an object to them…an object on which to study. Well, at least I’ll go with my pride, I think to myself. I’m not going to cry, no matter how bad the torture. I. Will. Not. Cry.

I begin to hear the sharpening of metal objects to my right and I stare straight up at the ceiling. Even if I was able to get myself out of these straps I wouldn’t be able to get out of the room…or would I. A plan begins to form in my brain. And before I have a chance to think it through I begin to put it into action. It’s now or never in my mind. These two will show me no mercy and I have to act now…or I will surely die. I concentrate hard opening my mind up to channel Connor’s gift. Silently and swiftly I lift my arms up from the straps and set them back down on top of them. I do the same with my feet. I take a deep breath and allow the head restraint to fall below my head and the waist restraint to do the same. I listen intently and hear Dr. Hastings and Zack still perusing through the various drawers and cabinets. I take this time to go completely invisible. I wait a few seconds and then look down at my arm. I lift it but see nothing. I glance over at Zack and Dr. Hastings. I realize I only have seconds before they realize what I’ve done. I quickly and silently get up from the table. My head is still woozy and I try and make sure that I don’t fall. I’m not very graceful but I manage to get back on my own two feet. I inch away from the two of them when I hear the sound of numerous metal objects clatter to the ground.

“Zack,” Dr. Hastings says in a panic.

Zack looks over and seems surprised for a second to find me ‘not there.’ “Dad, I told you she can turn invisible. She’s still there.” He goes back to what he’s doing, but it doesn’t look like Dr. Hastings is buying it. I inch my way quietly through the room getting as far away from the two of them as possible.

“If she’s only invisible, then why are the restraints not holding their shape?” Leave it to Dr. Hastings to realize this.

Zack stops what he’s doing and lunges for the bed. He grabs for the strap and feels around it. In a furry of anger he slams the empty strap back down on the bed. His face turns red and he turns facing right at me. I have to keep whispering in my head that he can’t see me. “Where are you,” he yells. “I know you’re in here. There’s no where you can go.”

I inch closer to the door as he begins searching the room. He flails his arms out making sure he covers every inch of the room. Dr. Hastings joins him in the search. My heart pounds in my chest as more than one time I catch Zack’s eyes with mine. I’m sure he doesn’t know it, but it still puts me more on edge. I find the doorway. Dr. Hastings is only a few feet from me at this point. I’m scared to death because if this doesn’t work then I know I am done for.

I take a deep, silent breath and concentrate on becoming nothing. Concentrate on not only being invisible but also allowing my body the ability to pass through the door. I’ve never tried to use multiple abilities simultaneously before. It’s a feeling like no other when I finally manage to slip past the solid oak. I watch the wood splintering past my eyes as my body melts through the door, first one leg, then the other. My body is almost through it when Dr. Hasting’s hand hits the remainder of my arm. He grabs on and holds it like a death grip. “Got her,” he says.

I don’t panic at all. I know that won’t help me here. I just allow my body to calm and focus. I know I can get away from his grip; I’m doing the same thing with the door. Slowly, ever so slowly I inch my arm from his grasp and through the door. “What the…” Is the last thing I hear as I slip into the hallway.

I take off in a sprint and make my way down the long, winding tunnels. I have no idea where I'm headed but I continue to run away from the sound of footsteps and shouting. By the sound of it I can assume that I'm not only being followed by the Hastings men but by at least two other people. I approach a fork in the tunnels and make a gut choice to take the path to my left. I pray that it's the right one as I hurry through it.

My heart starts pounding as I reach a dead end. What the heck? Why would any tunnel have a dead end, I mean why even build that portion of the tunnel?

"Ah, Sugar. I can see you again." Zack says from behind me.

I look down at my body. The panic must have been what made me lose my concentration. I slowly turn around. Zack is standing only a few feet away looking smugger than ever. "Why are you doing this to me?" I hate it when the victim says that in movies but I couldn't think of anything better to say. Plus, I need to stall until I can calm myself down enough to possibly move through this tunnel wall. My heart is beating way too fast to control any of my powers.

"It's nothing personal Sugar. You see, you have a few things I want." He looks me up and down.

I do my best not to show any emotion. Instead I just raise my eyebrow and ask, "Like what?" I take a few non-exaggerated breaths willing my heart to calm.

"When I found out about my dad's little experiment he had to do a lot to keep me quiet. The most important demand I made in order to promise my silence was that he give me the strongest power of them all. He obviously hasn't kept up his end of the bargain."

I try pushing my hand through the wall at my back but it doesn't go through. Crap, I have to keep him talking. "Why would your dad have to bribe you to keep you quiet? You're his son. Are you saying you would have thrown him under the bus?"

His hazel eyes turn dark and I worry that I just made him even angrier. "Let's just say that some of his experiments didn't turn out so well."

"Zack! Did you find anything?" Dr. Hastings voice echoes through the tunnels.

Zack walks a short distance to the mouth of the tunnel and yells, "Yep! I've got her!"

This is my only opportunity. I take a deep breath and focus my mind on being fluid. I push my hand into the tunnel wall and it passes through. Yes! I take a few more deep breaths and push my full arm and leg in.

"No!" Zack yells. "Stop!"

Yeah right, like I would really stop. Instead I focus on pushing the rest of my body into the cold rock. I close my eyes and literally walk through several layers of dark sediment until I see light behind my eyelids. I open them again and find myself standing in a hallway somewhere in the shelter. Feeling a bit disoriented, I lean up against the wall and take a moment to get my bearings straight. I have never passed through anything that thick and it really wore me down.

I focus my healing powers internally and soon I feel back to normal. I look around and notice that I'm in the school wing of the shelter. Thankfully nobody was around to see me materialize from the solid wall.

I run past a few classrooms and into the stairwell. I reach my room a few minutes later. I know it's not the safest place to be but I don't know where else to go. I shut the door behind me and lock it.

"Warning! We have a high risk red alert. Please proceed to lock down mode. I repeat high risk red alert." A female announces through the intercom system.

A second later a new voice takes over, this one I recognize. "Please proceed to follow lock down instructions. We are currently looking for a suspect, Willow Mosby. She is a five foot seven Caucasian teen with light brown curly hair. She was last seen wearing purple scrubs. This suspect should be considered dangerous. If you believe you have seen Willow Mosby please report her through the emergency app on your tablet. Please do not approach her as she may be dangerous." Dr. Hastings announces.

What? My heartbeat starts running frantically again. They are going to hunt me down! I feel the panic attack coming on strong so I sit down and place my head in between my knees while taking deep breaths.

The female voice comes onto the intercom again. "High risk red alert. Please proceed to follow lock down instructions. I repeat, High risk red alert."

What the heck are lock down instructions? I must have missed that part of orientation!

The lock on the door jiggles. No! I don't have time to react so I throw myself under the bed. As if that weren't an obvious place to look. I watch as a single set of shoes enter the room. The door closes behind them and I hear the lock click back into place. I will my heart to calm down so I can go invisible but it's beating way too frantically.

"Willow?" My dad whispers.

My breath whooshes out of me in a loud sigh of relief. My dad must have heard it because he kneels down beside me.