Surviving ELE (ELE Series #4) (9 page)

Erik walks up the steps to stand on top of the small stage. He raises his voice and offers directions. “Thank you all for meeting with us this morning. As many of you have seen, we have some new faces at camp today.” He finds my eyes in the crowd. “I have accepted the responsibility of helping Willow Mosby’s people on their mission to stop the one’s responsible for giving us these powers. I believe that her mission is one that will impact us all and this is why I’ve chosen to get involved when we have remained neutral previously. Those of you gathered here today will be split into two groups. I have already assigned each of you a number, which will tell you how you will be actively participating in this operation.”

“Group one will be going on the mission with us today to investigate the lights that were reported west of the shelter. We will need to be prepared for possible Reaper attacks during our journey. I ask that those of you with strength form the outermost perimeter of our group.”

“Those of you in group two will be staying here and forming training sessions. Each of you have a special gift or power that I believe you have learned to master. You will be working with those left behind to develop their skills as well as help the remaining members of our team when we return. Group one, please gather your supplies and meet me outside in fifteen minutes. I want to thank everyone in advance for their participation.”

He walks off the stage and the crowd disperses. Since we have already prepared our supplies, we are the first outside. Twenty people from my team stand around me. We have asked the newest survivors, who we saved, to stay behind to learn. That’s why I’m surprised when I see Marya, standing tall, next to her cousin.

She notices me eyeing her immediately and approaches. Her golden eyes are set with determination. “Good morning, Willow.” She holds her hands up when I open my mouth. “Look, I can tell that you are surprised to see me here since I’m one of the newbies. I can’t stay behind though. I don’t do well with
staying in the shadows while everyone else does the messy work. I am strong and I know that my gift will be extremely useful to this mission.” She bites her lip. I can see through her tough-girl persona. She’s really scared inside but she’s not about to let me see any weakness. Her desire to go is so strong that it temporarily blurs my vision.

I wonder how someone that isn’t much older than I am came to be so confident. I remember not long ago, fighting with my mom and Tony when they were trying to keep me from going on a mission. It would be hypocritical of me to deny her when I was in her place before. “You can come
if
you agree to follow our directions to a T,” I tell her. I hold her gaze, making sure she’s really willing to abide by these conditions.

She nods her head and keeps her composure, even though there is obvious excitement in her eyes. “I will, I promise.”

Her cousin Joseph sees her excitement and approaches. I nod to him, and then continue addressing Marya. “Good. Now, has Joseph told you about the Reapers?”

Marya’s eyes turn dark. Joseph answers for her. “I didn’t have to tell her much about them. She witnessed their fury when she first escaped the shelter. Thankfully, her powers came on strong and quick that day.” He looks at her with pride. “She took out four Reapers before they were immobilized by Dr. Hastings’s device.”

I smile at her. “That is quite a feat, Marya. Good job,” I say, impressed.

She shivers slightly as she adds, “If I had seen them shoot me in my back, I would have been able to keep from being captured too.”

I nod my head. “I have no doubt you would have been able to stop bullets.”

The darkness starts to fade from her eyes and she smiles. “Yes, I suppose I could do that. I just have to see them coming first.”

“I think Erik’s ready for you, Willow,” Alec says from behind me.

I turn around, acknowledging him. “Thanks. Have you met Marya and her cousin Joseph?”

Alec looks over my shoulder at Marya. For an instant, an interesting expression crosses his features. I don’t know what to think of that look but just as quickly as it comes, it leaves. “I’ve seen them around, but we haven’t been formally introduced,” Alec says loud enough for them to hear.

Marya steps forward and introduces herself boldly. I leave them to their introductions and head out to find Erik.

I find him easily, at the front of the crowd. He goes over our plans for the mission. Even though I would like to take the lead like my mother did so many times before, I agree to stay in the middle of the pack. Once again, I’d be a huge liability if a Reaper got me. Plus, if Zack’s men are present, it would be best if they don’t see me right away.

After a few more instructions, we leave. It takes a little over an hour to get anywhere close to the shelter. My head feels a little dizzy as we walk through the forest towards the tree line that leads to the clearing. The thought of stepping foot into the place where one of my worst nightmares came true makes my stomach tighten. My vision blurs on the edges, but I shake it off and keep moving. I can’t wimp out now. We have to pass by the shelter to get to the area where the lights were last seen.

We step out into the open and I come face to face with the mountain that once was my home. Its metal doors are still wide open and are tinged with black. Debris is littered around the clearing, making it look every bit like the war zone that it was. I can’t help but wonder if anyone was left inside those doors. I do a double take when I look past the doorway into the blackened inner workings of the shelter. A pair of red eyes glares at me from the inside. A shiver runs up and down my body as I stare at it with wide eyes.

“Is that what I think it is?” Claire whispers in my ear.

I nod my head, unwilling to remove my gaze from the Reaper. As if it were a spider or some other equally scary thing, I don’t want to let it out of my sight in fear that it will disappear and gain an advantage on us.

Erik must have noticed this too, because he stops our group by outstretching his arm. The soldiers on our outer perimeter arm their weapons,
pointing their barrels towards the doors. The clicking sound of the ammunition loading makes me shiver.

He motions for the first rung of men to follow him. At first, I wonder why he’s going after the Reaper. This isn’t our mission, but then again, those eyes could actually belong to one of Zack’s puppets.

The red eyes disappear from view as our people approach quietly. They make it to the entry and carefully take their first step inside. I get an overwhelming sense of nausea as they move further into the dark shelter. I can no longer see them. I hold my breath, waiting for any sign that the coast is clear, or confirmation that this is Zack’s new lair. What better place to hide than in the charred remains of the shelter he watched his father create?

I release my breath when a minute later, Erik steps out into the light. He motions with his hand for us to approach. We move swiftly towards the entrance. Claire inches closer to me as we walk over the threshold in silence. The musky smell of burnt wood mixed with the chemical odor of melted wires and plastic fills my nose. I try breathing through my mouth and end up
gagging. The odor is so strong that I can taste it. Claire puts her hand on my shoulder, but doesn’t say anything. I compose myself and pat her hand, letting her know I’m okay.

Up ahead, I can see that somehow a few lights have remained unscathed and are working. We walk down the dark hall that leads to the main common area. I can’t see Erik up ahead because the hall is too narrow and only four of us can walk side by side at a time.

Our silence is broken by the first scream. It’s so low and guttural that I know it was a man who made the noise. Every muscle in my body tenses as I push Claire behind me. “Get out!” I yell to her as another cry fills the room. Then it turns into utter chaos. Gunfire rings out in the small quarters. People turn around and run past me, nearly trampling me in the process. I give Claire a slight shove, to get her moving backwards. Connor pushes through the crowd that was behind us and grabs her hand. I watch them disappear as he pulls Claire into the wall.

Bodies push me towards the exit but I know that some of my people are still up ahead. As their leader, I can’t leave them in there. I focus on allowing myself to become fluid. It takes longer than I anticipated because my heart is beating so quickly. By the time I am able to walk through the first person, I’m nearly at the shelter doors. I start running through the crowd, unhindered by their actual body mass, because I’m using the same gift Connor possesses. As I near the opening to the common area, I see Marya on the floor in an unconscious state. I pause to help her, but Alec swoops down and picks her up so quickly into his arms that I would think he has a different gift than just a healer. Knowing they are both headed towards safety, I start running further into the mess.

“Reapers!” I hear people yell as they run past me.

The tables are still strung about in the large, open common area. Some are burnt and half-standing, some are flipped upside down. Most of the chairs are halfway melted. People are running towards the exit, away from the threat up ahead. Five of our men, including Erik, are taking a last stand of sorts, shooting into the grouping of Reapers that are advancing out of the woodworks. I count twenty at least, and more running down the halls. To the left I can see the large, three-story, open shopping area where all of the offices were. At least thirty more Reapers are descending both sides of the burnt escalators.
They are living in here! They made this shelter and all of its burnt remains their home!

I see the lifeless bodies of some of our people on the floor. Anger for what these soulless monsters have done consumes me. I start trembling with fury as gold mixed with red begins clouding my vision. The escalators begin shaking, as does the large, hanging lights in the commons area. One by one, the light bulbs burst, thrusting the room further and further into darkness. Using my mind, I rip the skirt plate that forms the stairs of the escalator off. This sends the Reapers on it tumbling to the ground below. Tables float in the air and I begin heaving them at the group of monsters that have surrounded us.

Something tackles me from the side. I fall to the floor and my vision goes dark.

“Willow?” someone whispers to me. Not just anybody, Claire.

What is she doing here?
I think to myself.

“Willow?” She shakes my arm.

She shouldn’t be here. It isn’t safe. I open my eyes and find myself standing outside in the bright sunlight. We are at the edge of the woods, just shy of the clearing that leads to the shelter. My entire team is still here, safe.

“Are you okay?” Claire asks me. She moves into my line of sight, blocking my view of the shelter.

I shake my head. That had to have been a vision. My heart is still pounding loudly in my chest. The smell of charred material is still pungently attacking my nostrils. I can taste the burnt air. I don’t hesitate. I move swiftly through the crowd towards Erik.

Erik is directing his people to move into the clearing.

“Stop!” I call to him.

He looks at me with surprise. His body goes on alert and his eyes look at me with worry. “What is it?” He can read and feel my emotions before I speak. He knows my panic, my terror, my absolute distress.

“You can’t go in there. We need to leave now,” I tell him. My heart is still beating double time so I find it hard to catch my breath. Alec comes up behind me and puts his hand on my back. I feel his healing power running through my veins.

Ignoring Alec, Erik asks. “Was it Zack’s men? Did you see someone?”

“It was Reapers. They’ve taken over the shelter. I saw what will happen if we go in there, if we attempt to enter the shelter. Most of us won’t come out. There are too many of them for us to take on. I saw...” My stomach rolls with sickness from the vision and it causes me to double over. I heave the contents of my breakfast onto the forest floor.

Alec rubs my back as I try to regain control of myself. He’s saying something to Erik, but I can’t focus in on it clearly because my stomach is revolting against me.

“We’ll leave now. You did good, Willow. You did good,” Erik murmurs soothingly, trying to help me calm down.

Finally, I stop dry heaving and straighten up. I wipe at my eyes and nose and gladly accept a bottle of water that one of Erik’s men hands me. I take a few sips and then apologize. “I’m sorry, it was just... It was bad.” I feel ashamed and embarrassed that I reacted in such a way. Throwing up isn’t exactly a great leadership trait.

“I believe you, Willow. We’ll leave now. I think it’s best that we head back to camp as quickly as possible. We’ll have to make arrangements to investigate the lights on another day when we have a larger team,” he tells me.

I’m grateful for his understanding but also disappointed that we have to push our search back. However, safety is our number one priority. I think of my mom and know that’s what she would say.

Turning quickly, we head back to the camp. We take a different, more complicated route to make sure that we aren’t followed. We don’t arrive back until the sun is starting to set.

At night, I retire to my room early. The events of today have left me emotionally drained. I curl my arms around my knees and allow myself to shed a few tears. What I saw was horrific. Having seen humans cause such pain, such death, is unimaginable. The monsters looked just like us, yet they were nothing like us.