Finding ELE (ELE Series #2) Written By: Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels (17 page)

Alec places his hand at the small of my back
while we eat. Not wanting to break contact for any period of time.
When he tries to feed me a piece of the energy bar, I turn my head,
cracking up. "You are so not feeding me like a child!"

"Hey, I think it's romantic!" Claire jumps
in.

"Well, I don't." I turn and smile at Alec
hoping he doesn't take offense.

He laughs, "Ms. Independent. No feeding food
to you, duly noted." He acts like he's making a check mark in the
air. Then he hands me the piece of food and I accept it with a
thank you.

I look around at everyone in the room. It
kind of seems unnatural that everything is finally getting better
and turning around. Almost like it’s an impossibility to be this
serene and at-ease. I can’t help the smile that lights up my face.
As soon as we reach the compound tonight my family will be reunited
for the first time in what seems like ages. I can’t wait to show
Sabby his daddy again. He will be ecstatic! My heart goes out to
that little guy and all that he’s had to endure these past few
months. Hopefully this will help make things right in his small
world again.

We all huddle around my mom waiting for
instructions. "It's about time to meet up with the others. We have
two options. We can go back through the shelter to get to the
original rally point or we can make our way outside here and walk
in the daylight to the rally point." My mom tells us.

"I don't want to go back through the
shelter!" Candy's voice gets really high as she proclaims this.

I look over at her and nod my head. "I think
we can go out here and Claire and I can keep everyone invisible as
we make our way to the others."

My mom looks to my dad first, then Tony and
finally she nods. "Okay. I think with it being dawn, the chance of
running into a Reaper is minimal. If you both can keep us invisible
we should be able to avoid detection just fine."

"We can." Claire says confidently.

"Let's do this!" Connor throws his arm up in
the air in a fist pump. Claire and I giggle. It's good to be around
my quirky friends again.

With the decision made, Connor and I split
everyone up evenly and begin taking them out through the wall. We
take Claire in the first group so she can work on keeping everyone
invisible. Halfway through the wall with Alec, I almost lose focus.
He kisses me between the rocks making me lose my train of thought.
We end up tumbling out of the wall with me landing on top of
him...Oops. I get to my feet and brush my hands off on my
pants.

My dad gives me the stink eye and I try and
act as innocent as possible. “What?” I ask him hoping he realizes
my intention of the question being rhetorical.

As soon as we’re all gathered on the outside
my mom, dad, Candy and Connor all connect with Claire. Their group
takes the lead leaving me with Alec and Tony. Alec holds my hand
and stands close to my right while Tony stands as close, if not
closer on my left. Tony's hand lightly cuffs around my upper arm.
Awkward.

As if knowing my thoughts Tony leans over
and says to me, “Your mother’s orders still stand until we’re back
at the compound.”

I smile and nod my head trying to not show
my annoyance that he's been assigned to protect me. As if I can't
protect myself. I have to not think emotionally though. It is
logical to have Tony protect me. He has a lot more fighting
experience than me and nobody wants to chance a Reaper getting
ahold of what I have. A Reaper with my abilities would be
horrific.

The walk around to the rally point is longer
and more uncomfortable than I thought it would be. You can cut the
tension right now with a knife. Knowing Tony is standing close on
my other side, Alec squeezes my hand even tighter. I squeeze back
and forget my strength. He gives a small shriek as he pulls his
hand to his chest.

He becomes visible again and I quickly grab
ahold of his elbow. Biting my lip I say, “Oh, Alec. I’m so sorry!
Sometimes I forget I can do that.”

I watch him heal his own hand and catch
sight of the grin on Tony’s face in my peripheral vision.

Luckily Alec can't see Tony. I have to
remember that nobody can see each other since we are invisible. The
only reason why I can see them is because I have Candy's
ability.

Accepting my apology Alec puts his hand
around my shoulder. “How about this instead?”

I nod and keep up the pace walking behind my
parents.

“
You know Alice, I can’t quite figure
this out but I feel like I've walked around this corner before.
It's almost like deja vu." My dad looks back in my direction and in
the same instant says, "Watch your step Willow."

I gasp in surprise. His eyes have taken on a
coppery orange hue. The direct sunlight must have accelerated his
change. My dad turns his head back around to face forward and I
blink several times trying to clear my thoughts. I haven't seen
that color before and I can't help but be extremely curious as to
what gift is in store for my dad.

I let out a screech as I stumble over a
loose rock. Tony, having a hold of my upper arm, is able to right
my balance quickly and I don't even hit the ground.

My dad turns around and says in my
direction, "I told you to watch your step honey."

I look up at him and ask, "What? How?"

He just shakes his head like he’s not sure
himself. He looks slightly to my right since he can't see me. The
sun hits his eyes and I am instantly reminded of a penny. He turns
back around.

When we near another bend at the base of the
mountain, my dad stops and his posture turns rigid. "This is so
bizarre. I know I've been around this corner before but I really
don't think it's actually happened. I know this doesn't make
sense." I watch my dad run his hand through his hair.

My mom's hand squeezes his and she tenses
slightly. "What do you mean by you can see them?"

"I can see the people with the same eyes as
you. They are right around the corner. It plays in my mind like a
memory or a sort of deja vu. I can't really explain it." He
says.

"The people that you see, they only have my
color eyes, right?" My mom asks.

My dad nods his head but realizing my mom
can't see him he says aloud, "Yes."

We round the bend in silence and there
waiting for us at the rally point are my mother's fighters.

"Wow." I say at the same time as my mom. How
in the world did my dad call that?

Claire and I let go of our invisibility and
the group notices us at once.

Immediately one of the head guys comes up to
my mom and whispers to her. I can barely make out the words he’s
saying. He’s telling her that the coast is clear but we need to
head out ASAP.

My mom turns to my dad and gasps upon seeing
his eyes for the first time. He looks taken aback so she quickly
tells him. "Sorry honey. I just didn't expect the change to happen
so quickly. Your eyes have already turned."

He touches the area under his eyes. A worry
line forms between his brows. "What, what color are they?" I've
never heard my dad sound nervous like that.

My mom puts her hand up to his cheek. "They
are the most handsome shade of copper I've ever seen." She kisses
him on the lips.

A few months ago I would have been grossed
out by their PDA but not now. Not after all we've been through. No,
that kiss makes something in me melt. It tells me that things are
becoming right again. I mean, there are still some thoroughly
freakish things going on, but the family part...yes that is right
again.

My mom, dad, Tony and the others convene for
a few minutes. Alec, Connor, Claire, Candy and I take a seat on the
ground. Connor uncaps a canteen of water that someone handed him.
He takes a swig and we pass it around our little circle. None of us
say much. I can't help but notice that Candy looks really freaked
out. She keeps picking at her nails and staring at the ground. I
feel kind of bad for her. I try to pat her leg in a comforting
gesture but she flinches so badly that I decide to keep my
distance.

Claire sits across from me weaving wild
flowers together to form a daisy chain. I’ve always wondered how to
do that. Before long she’s made a beautiful crown out of
multi-colored wild flowers. Without a word she reaches over and
places it upon Candy’s head, fitting it perfectly within her blond
locks. At first Candy seems startled but then softens, reaching up
and gently touching the woven daisy chain. She politely mutters
thanks to Claire and gives her a small sincere smile. I grin at the
gesture. What a big thing for Claire to do…to give a peace offering
to the girl who once made her life miserable. She truly is a
beautiful example of humility.

Alec must sense my emotions because he takes
my hand in his. I smile and give it a gentle squeeze. The next
thing I know he takes one of the wild flowers and threads it around
my ring finger making a flower ring. I bring it up to my nose and
inhale the floral scent, closing my eyes and reveling in the sweet
smell. I nestle into Alec and enjoy the sunshine for a few more
minutes while we wait.

When everyone is ready to go, my mom comes
to give us direction with my dad at her side. "Just like before,
you six will be heavily guarded. I know it will be hard, but you
need to keep your eyes at your feet the entire time. We don't need
any rogue Reapers catching sight of those colors."

"We could just keep everyone invisible while
we walk if that will help." Claire suggests to my mom.

Tony answers for her. "It's quite a long
walk and that would take a lot of your energy." He looks over to
me. If I were to listen in on his thoughts, I know he'd be thinking
about how much it took out of me just taking that many people a
short distance inside the mountain.

"Okay." Claire says.

"Are you ready?" My mom asks us. We all
agree and immediately a group of ten, which includes the fantastic
four, Tony and my mom, flank our sides forming a strong perimeter
of neon yellow eyes. Tony of course stands next to me and Alec
stands on the other side.

Tony's gaze drifts down to the flower ring
on my finger and he looks away with a surly expression. I can't
help but wonder if Alec chose to walk on my other side for just
that reason. I give a little snort realizing his attempt to mark
his territory.

My father walks directly behind my mom. I
hear him whisper to her, “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to the
fact you’re the protector now.”

She lovingly pats the hand that he has
placed on her hip. The six of us keep our eyes to the ground as we
walk. Once again, we don't run into any of the Reapers out in the
open. We make our way into the forest without a hitch.

After an hour of walking next to Tony I
start having trouble blocking out his turmoil of emotions. I can
sense that he's feeling extremely torn and there is an escalating
amount of jealousy building within him. I look down at my hand that
is encasing Alec's. I hate that this is tearing Tony up inside but
still, I don't let go of Alec's hand. I know it's completely
unreasonable but I have an underlying fear that if I part too far
from Alec, we may be separated. I don't want to go through that
again.

We stop halfway to our destination to take a
break. Keeping my eyes to the ground I accept the canteen from my
mom.

"Close your eyes as you drink." She says
softly.

I shut my eyes as I lift my head and take a
drink. The water feels amazing sliding down my parched throat. I
rub the back of my neck with my hand. It's sore from hanging my
head down for so long.

Someone bumps into me from behind causing me
to spill the water down the side of my face. I make the mistake of
opening my eyes but quickly right myself and hang my head down
again.

"Sorry, Willow." My dad tells me quickly
before he hurries over to my mom. I watch as best I can by looking
down at my parent’s feet as they move about and talk.

"It's happening again Alice. I saw them.
They’re coming." My dad tells my mom quickly. The edge in his voice
sends a shiver down my spine and it takes everything in me not to
look up.

"What do you mean? Who's coming?" My mom
asks, fully alert now.

"The people with the red eyes." He tells
her. "It's like a deja vu. I remember walking a little ways down
and running into them. I look up on accident and they charge us." I
can hear the fear in his voice.

"Okay, okay." My mom paces a few steps back
and forth. "Last time you said you recalled a deja vu, it came
true. I haven't met anyone that was clairvoyant but then again, I
haven't met anyone who had copper eyes. That may be your ability.
Either way, we are going to treat this like it's real. You will be
okay, but no matter what, you must keep your head down if this
happens. You can't look up." My mom tells him.

He agrees and she walks over to me next. "I
know you just heard that Willow."

I do my best to nod my head even though my
head is bowed down.

"If anything happens, I want you to go
invisible. Tell Claire, and you both grab a hold of the others. If
things go bad, you get out of there fast. Do you understand?" She
asks me.

Goosebumps rise up on my arms and I respond,
"Yes." A sick feeling starts twirling around in my stomach and
adrenaline pulses through my body.

"Good. I need to go tell the others. Tell
your friends okay?"

"I will." I hug her quickly. "I love
you."

"Love you too." She says and then quickly
walks away.

I relay the instructions to Claire and the
others. When our group decides to get moving again, the six of us
walk even closer to each other than before. I'm prepared to grab
ahold of them quickly if need be. We walk slowly for several
minutes and for a second I start thinking that maybe nothing is
going to happen. Perhaps my dad was wrong. That's when I hear the
gunshot.