Surviving ELE (ELE Series #4)
Read Surviving ELE (ELE Series #4) Online
Authors: Rebecca Gober,Courtney Nuckels
By: Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels
Copyright
2012 by: Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels
Cover Photo: Copyright
Valua Vitaly, Dash, Andresr and Vitaly Krivosheev
/ Fotolia and Shutterstock
Cover Work: Marya Heiman
Editing: Cynthia Shepp
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.
I heed not that my earthly lot
Hath little of Earth in it—
That years of love have been forgot
In the hatred of a minute:--
I mourn not that the desolate
Are happier, sweet, than I,
But that
you
sorrow for
my
fate
Who am a passer-by.
~ “To---” by: Edgar Allan Poe
I can see the thinning tree line peek above the horizon. The safe house is near. I question whether I’ll have enough time to get there and save everyone before he catches up with me. My heart is pounding like a drum in my chest. Every breath I take feels like sharp spikes stabbing through my lungs. I push my powers to the extreme, using every last seed of energy to beat him.
“Slow down, sugar. You don’t want to bring all of those innocent people into this, do you?”
Zack’s voice penetrates my thoughts.
I’ve been listening to his rants for the last two miles. I don’t know how far this ability reaches. Is he a mile behind me or a few yards? I don’t dare turn around and refuse to answer him. I miss dodging a low-lying branch and it scrapes viciously against my cheek. Wiping at my stinging face, I do my best not to slow down when my hand comes back streaked with red. With no energy to try to heal myself and keep my speed up, I leave it be.
“Are you going to put your dad in danger because of this? Just give yourself up! What about that cute little brother of yours? I think you call him Sabby,”
he taunts me.
I nearly stop dead in my tracks at the sound of my sweet brother’s name coming from that horrible monstrosity of a man.
“Don’t you ever speak his name. I will kill you, Zack! If you don’t turn around now, you’ll have forced my hand and I will take you out just like I took out your father.”
An angry red haze begins clouding my vision.
Zack seems unaffected by the mention of my killing his father.
“I think you forget who it is that chases you right now. If you wish to take him out...”
he pauses to make sure the word
him
sinks in nice and deep,
“...then be my guest.”
An icy chill runs up my spine and mixes with the heat that my body is pouring out. I find myself gasping for breath as I continue to push myself towards the safe house. Hearing Zack’s voice made it easy to forget the person who is
really chasing me.
Tony
. I clutch my hand to my chest as if I can keep my heart from spilling open onto the forest floor.
Zack laughs hideously inside my thoughts.
“You did forget...”
I shut it off in that moment and break the line of communication that I thought was meant for only Tony and me to share. I don’t have to listen to any of it!
I push myself harder as I break through the tree line. The safe house is only a matter of yards away now. I need to get everyone’s attention. “Help!” I yell as loudly as I can. It’s hard to grasp the breath needed to call to them. “Hel...!” I end the last part of the word in a coughing fit.
The doors to the hotel slam open and people start spilling out to help me. I hunch over, placing my hands on my knees, and gasp for breath.
“Willow!” Alec, my ex-boyfriend, comes bounding towards me first. His face is masked with concern. He rushes to my aid and pulls me into his arms, giving me some much-needed comfort.
I lean my head against his chest; my breath comes out in huge, jagged inhales and exhales. My heart has gone up into my ears and I can feel the blood coursing into my head, making me dizzy. Now I know why you’re supposed to walk it off after a run like that. Within a few seconds, I begin to feel better again. I know it’s because Alec used his healing ability on me.
Not needing him to keep me stable any longer, I take a slight step back from Alec and look around. A crowd of people surrounds us now. “We have to get out of here. They’re coming,” I say as loudly as I can, so everyone can hear.
“What do you mean? Who’s coming?” Alec asks me. An uneasy panic fills his face as he tries to understand what I’m saying.
“Zack and his army,” I say with certainty. I suppress my desire to give in and rest. Too much is on the line now; I can’t let anything happen to these people.
Alec’s eyes widen. Everyone thought that Zack had died when I caused an entire building to come tumbling down on top of him two days ago. Alec opens his mouth to question me but stops when we hear someone yelling.
“Willow!” My heart lurches in my chest at the sound of his real voice calling for me from across the clearing. We all turn our heads in unison to see Tony standing at the edge of the trees. His arms are crossed over his chest and his expression is calculating. He’s too far away for anyone to truly see the red in his eyes.
“Is Tony hurt too?” Alec asks from behind me.
I don’t know how to answer that. Yes, he’s hurt. He’s no longer himself. An evil monster is controlling the man I’ve fallen for.
“Tony?” I hear Claire call out nearby, from within the crowd. She begins to wade through the people to get to Tony and make sure he’s okay. I see her pale blonde hair and petite form come to the front of the group, only a few feet from Alec and me.
“Stop!” I yell to her.
She looks bewildered as she stops and turns to look at me, her purple eyes filled with confusion.
I turn my sights on Tony again. He stands tall and unmoving, looking vigilantly near the corner of the tree line. His copper hair is disheveled by the wind. Everything within me wants to go to him, to take his hand in mine, and pretend that everything is okay. Pretend that my Tony isn’t lost somewhere within his own mind.
To keep from doing so, I reach behind me and grasp onto Alec’s shirt. I’m using him to tether me to this place, as an anchor, to keep me from running into the trap set forth in front of me.
“What’s wrong?” Alec whispers in my ear. He steps closer; his posture is tense and alert.
I shake my head, not sure how to answer his question.
Everything, everything is wrong.
Tony takes a step forward. “Willow!” he yells to me again.
“Stay back, Tony!” I scream at him. Alec moves to take a step in front of me, having recognized the fear in my voice. I clench his shirt tightly to keep him in place. I hold my shaking hand out in front of me. “I mean it! Go back now or I
will
have to hurt you!” My voice trembles at the end. Will I be able to do this if I have to? Can I really hurt Tony?
He tests me by taking one more step forward.
That’s not Tony!
It’s Zack controlling Tony. I have to repeat this mantra over and over again in my head. I hate this! The complete unfairness of the situation peaks my anger. The gold haze begins lining my vision as my outstretched hand moves an inch to the right, focused on a large evergreen that towers above him. The tree begins shaking, causing the earth underneath Tony’s feet to quake. I watch him look from the tree to me with horror as he does his best to keep his balance.
“Leave now, or else!” I yell again.
At this point Mr. Leroy, who I now call Lee, and several others, have come to the front and are holding their weapons out for Tony to see. I’m amazed that Lee would trust me in such a way that he would aim his pistol at Tony. Tony is his friend; he was my mother’s second in command. They’ve fought many a battle alongside one another.
I push the thought of my mom, who died all too recently, to the back of my mind and focus on making the earth shake some more. “Now!” I yell again to Tony, hoping he’ll find me intimidating.
Even from this distance, I can see the angry glare he gives me. I’ve never seen such a look come from him. Well, at least not one directed at me for that matter. Goosebumps run up and down my arms and I shiver uncontrollably. Alec, noticing this, puts his arms on the back of my shoulders to support me.
Finally, Tony turns around. “Later then!” he yells before he darts back into the woods.
With my mind, I let go of the tree that I was ready to rip from the earth. I lean back into Alec, accepting his support as I exhale the breath I’d been holding for so long.
Alec holds onto me tightly from behind. I know he’s worried about me. I can feel it emanating from him. I also know that he’s healing me as we speak. I’m
not hurt, physically at least. He doesn’t really know that, so I accept the gift he’s using on me.
Everyone allows me a minute to compose myself, but the questions in their eyes remain. I let go of Alec and stand upright, looking at Lee. “We have to leave this place now. Zack and his people will be coming after me. I can leave you and go out on my own to divert them, but first I need to
make sure you get to safety.”
