Exposing ELE (ELE Series #3)

by Nuckels, Courtney

  I think I can figure out a way to decipher the map though. I come back around to the exit sign, silently and stealthily slink out the door, and close it quietly behind me, making sure it latches. I pick up my bag and toss it over my shoulders. I stretch my arms above my head and look around, trying to gather my bearings.

  I spot a fire escape ladder hanging from the side of the hotel. I unlatch it and flinch at the loud squeak it lets out. I hold it in midair, making sure that I’m still undetected. After a few seconds, I let the ladder down the rest of the way and set it quietly on the ground. I grab the metal sides and begin making my way up the numerous series of ladders, to the top of the roof. The wind whips across my face the higher I get up. Instead of the trepidation I thought I would feel at these heights, I feel rejuvenated and energized… like I’m on top of the world.

  I reach the top of the ladder and carefully make my way onto the gravel-paved roof. There’s a few old air conditioners and other machinery here I can’t identify. I watch my step, making sure I don’t trip. It’s a little creepy that there’s no railing, but I guess no one is really supposed to be up here in the first place.

  I saunter over to the middle of the roof and set my backpack down. Scanning the horizon, I take a mental note of any particular landmarks that are around me. I pull out the piece of paper and hold it so the moon’s reflection allows me to see what’s written. Glancing this way and that, I try to match up what’s drawn on the paper with what’s out there. Then I see it, to the east, a small glow dotting the horizon. I’m not sure if it’s where they took Tony and my parents but it’s the only light that’s illuminating the sky… besides the moon and stars that is. I point the piece of paper in that direction and sure enough, it’s an exact match for where I need to go.

  I glance back up and focus in on the small glow that’s illuminated in the distance. It's strange to see what must be electricity being used. That definitely has Dr. Hastings written all over it. Who else would manage to find a way to turn the power on? Thoughts of government conspiracies pass through my mind. I wonder if they have any knowledge of what's going on here or if this is all at their discretion. I sure hope not, because if so, I may be headed into a battle I have no chance of winning.

  I take a few more seconds to note what’s between the place I’m headed and me; then I grab my things and head back down.

  Once safely on the ground, I take a deep breath and start to run. I run as fast as my body will take me down an abandoned paved road. I figure if I stick to solid ground, that I could cover more distance than if I traveled in the trees. It does mean more risk of being seen, but I have to take that chance if I want to get to Tony and my parents as soon as possible.

  For the longest time all I hear is the clap, clap of my shoes hitting the hard ground. I run against the wind and it gratefully pulls the hair away from my face. For a moment I feel like I am back in that dream I had only a few hours before… except this time I’m racing to save Tony instead of being hunted by him. The thought makes me shiver and I immediately relinquish it.

  I run for what seems like hours, mentally checking off in my head the landmarks as I pass them. An old abandoned gas station, a rest stop, a tiny Wal-Mart, and then a fork in the road. I curve off to my left and come around a corner.

  After a few more miles, I begin to see small slivers of light through the trees on my left. I take this as my cue to get off the road and into the woods. I slow my pace, scared that my speed may work faster than my brain. The last thing I need is to catapult myself into a tree and knock myself out.

  I slow down to a jog and then to a steady walk. I want to try to rest my powers before I attempt to use them again. Goodness only knows what waits for me behind those trees. Hopefully, it’s the place I need to go.

  With no advanced warning, a hand wraps around my mouth and waist. I try to scream and struggle away but to no avail. Then a voice whispers in my ear, “Shhh, it’s me…Tom.”

  It takes me a moment before my body registers that Tom isn’t an enemy but an ally. In fact, he’s part of the fab four my mother assigned to protect me early on when we went on smaller missions. When he feels my body go lax, he lets go of his death grip and turns me around to face him. I squint in the darkness and see him holding his index finger over his lips. I nod my head in understanding of his signal to stay quiet. He grabs me by the hand, leads me over to a small group of trees, and has me squat down next to him. “I don’t know how on earth you found us,” he whispers. “But the fact is you’re here and we could use an extra set of hands… er powers. Right now, our team is doing reconnaissance. We are meeting up in twenty to define our plan of attack.”

  I nod my head in understanding. “What have you observed so far?”

  “You see over there,” he points to an opening in the trees. I look over at a large brick wall with barbed wire affixed to the top. While I can't see beyond the fence, I can see the light from within its perimeter shining out. Seeing electricity on the 'outside' still seems unreal. “Inside that facility is where they're keeping them.”

  I’m guessing he’s meaning all the people that were seized next to the mountainside, including my parents and Tony. My spirits lift a bit at the realization that they’re so close… yet so far. The wall and barbed wire looks vicious. “Do you know how many there are on the other side?” I ask.

  He shakes his head.

  Nerves start setting in as I stare at the wall. I have all of these comic worthy powers, where the heck is the x-ray vision when I need it? If I weren't so scared right now, I'd probably laugh at that joke. My hands begin to sweat and I wipe them on my pants. I whisper, “How are they keeping those people locked up now that all of their powers are unleashed? Why wouldn't some of them just walk through walls or go invisible and escape?”

  I watch Tom shrug. “One can only wonder what they’re going through in there.”

  Thoughts of kryptonite pass through my head. If Dr. Hastings had a device that took down Reapers, what might he have in store for everyone else? I shiver at the thought of metal chains and steel bars holding those people prisoner. Feeling helpless with the endless possibilities, I make sure my mind doesn't digress into the what-if's. Instead, I take control of what I can do. “What can I do to help?”

  “We will know more when we meet up with the others. I think that your many abilities will come in handy. Other than our kind, we have a few people with us who can go invisible, a few who can walk through walls and some healers. Since you can do all of the above, we can place you anywhere. Your compulsion may come in handy too,” he whispers.

  “I’ll do anything, just as long as I get to go inside,” I declare. I know I'm going inside no matter what, but I can't help but think about how hard my mom and the others worked to protect me from the Reapers. I don't want them to continue in that trend in this instance… especially since we aren't dealing with Reapers here. I refuse to stand on the sidelines any longer.

  “Don't worry about that. We’ll take all the people we can get if we expect to pull this off,” Tom says. Without another word, he signals for me to follow him.

  We stealthily maneuver through the tree line that encircles the prison. At one point, the only thing standing between the prison and us is an electric fence. I have no idea if it's electrified but I don't plan on finding out. We do get a good view of the prison yard. The prison itself is two stories tall with small, barred windows dotting the grey brick exterior. The makings of it look cold and hard.

  An armed guard makes his rounds along the inside perimeter. Tom and I stay in the same spot for a few minutes to see if there is a routine. Every three minutes the guard passes by. He must be walking back and forth, back and forth. Tom takes out a pair of binoculars and takes note of all the guard’s eye colors he can see. We aren't sure if they have abilities, but we need to be prepared just in case. It's best to just assume that they do for now.

  Realizing it's time for the rendezvous, we head towards the rally point. About a quarte
r a mile up the road, we meet up with the others. I count about fifty people in all. Around three-fourths of the soldiers have yellow eyes and the last quarter of the group is a mix between purple, navy, and brown eyes.

  What surprises me most is the man that steps to the front of the group. Mr. Leroy. He eyes me and nods his head in acceptance of my being present. First, he asks for feedback on what everyone saw. Each designated leader of the different reconnaissance teams takes turns relaying information. They refer to Dr. Hastings's soldiers as Unfriendlies. I'm amazed at how organized the information is relayed from person to person. So far, we know that there are fifteen Unfriendlies guarding the outside perimeter of the prison. We still don't know what's on the inside.

  After hearing more about the approximate layout of the prison, Mr. Leroy speaks up. “We will split up into teams with at least one person who can turn invisible, one who can walk through walls and one who can heal on each team. We will have four teams total. Our goal is to get in and stay invisible for as long as you can. Look around; find out how they are keeping everyone contained. Look for any weaknesses or ways to escape. You must know that this mission is for reconnaissance only.” Mr. Leroy turns his attention on me for the last part of his speech. “You are not to engage in combat at all on the inside. Go in and look around. Get a feel for the layout and get out. Our goal is to remain undetected. If they know we are in there, we will lose our advantage and they may beef up security or worse, they may come looking for the shelter where we’re keeping all the children.” I involuntarily shiver. “We’ll meet back at this rally point in one hour. If we find that the situation is something we can take on our own, without reinforcements, then we will lay out more plans. Please split off into teams.”

  Mr. Leroy allows the team leaders to work out the arrangements as he heads over to speak with me one-on-one. “I'm glad you’re here, Willow.”

  I raise my eyebrow at him in surprise. “Really?” For some reason it seemed like the last thing he would say.

  He seems to ponder the question as if it's a surprise to him as well. “Well, yes. Your powers are very useful. What won't be helpful though, is your emotional tie to this situation.”

  “This isn't a situation, Lee.” He jerks back in surprise. We’ve never been on a first name basis… at least not until now. “This is about my parents and Tony,” I emphasize.

  “I understand, Willow. At this point, we could be walking into a blood bath. We have to get information first to figure out how to proceed. I need to know that I can trust you not to do anything rash.”

  I lie, “I won't.” He is about to walk away but I stop him. “Why are you leading this? I thought you just wanted to leave and escape. That you didn't want to fight,” I state, recalling the night before the Reaper attacked the shelter. Mr. Leroy, along with more than half of my mother's group, was planning to break away and go to the new safe house. They were ready to abandon the mission of keeping the shelter safe in order to keep themselves safe. I understand the parents of the children making that decision, but not people like Mr. Leroy who seemingly had nothing to lose.

  “You may not believe that Mr. Grumps-a-lot has friends, but I do.” My eyes widen when I hear him acknowledge the name I used to call him behind his back. He brushes off my acknowledgement and continues. “Most of them are inside that prison; including your mom and your dad. They didn't ask to be captured. Whatever is going on here just upped the stakes. It's no longer about a war on Reapers. We may be fighting something a whole lot bigger and I have a duty to protect and serve.”

  By the way he declared his last statement, I wonder if he’s ex-military. “I respect that.” I say it because I do.

  “Good. Then respect my orders when I say that you are not to show yourself to anyone or try to break anyone out until we rally back and make a more precise game plan.” He stands firm, awaiting my assurance.

  “Fine,” I say. Yeah right! If I see my family and Tony, you better believe I will be busting them out of there. It’s not likely that three people gone will be noticed. It’s like leaving a pile of unopened Halloween candy in front of a child and telling them that they can only look at it… but not eat it.

  He tries to give me a hard stare with his yellow eyes to reinforce his orders. I don't back down, so after a few seconds he nods and excuses himself to meet with the other team leaders.

  After a few minutes, we are all split into teams of around thirteen people. My heart is pounding as the adrenaline pumps through my veins. I can hardly contain myself as I wait for the others in my group to get their guns and ammo together. One of the soldiers must see my fidgeting because I feel a hand steady my bopping shoulder. I take a deep breath and give him some semblance of a smile. His hand leaves my shoulder, taking away the warm comfort he provided.

  As luck should have it, Mr. Leroy… or Lee as I have come to call him, is the leader of the group I'm in. Oh goodie, I think to myself in a sarcastic manner. If I have any chance of getting what I need, which is my parents and Tony, I can’t be around Lee. I’m going to have to separate from him and go AWOL, hoping the others don’t take notice.

  Thankfully, there is one more person that can go invisible and one that can pass through walls in our group. So, if I do leave it won’t be like they can’t get out, I tell myself. We form a line, each person holding the person’s shoulder in front of them. I use my invisibility and so does the person towards the front. It still feels draining, but not near as much as if I had to do it all on my own. I made sure I was near the back for good reason… Lee is in the front.

  We do a short, very quiet march to the barbed wire fence. I can feel the intensity of emotions in the group and I do my best to ignore them. I don’t blame them when they stiffen up as a guard looks our way. Thankfully, the guard has purple eyes. It’s difficult to get your brain to understand that the guard can’t see you. The only real enemy here would be the blue-eyed people, those with Candy’s gift.

  We pass through the fence uneventfully. The lights are on all around us, which makes it look like daytime. It’s a bonus for us because we can at least see the one thing that tells of someone’s ability… their eyes.

  We quickly run the perimeter of the yard and stop when we get to a darkened corner. I try not to let my guard down because I know all of these people depend on me and the other dude to keep us invisible. To be honest though, the guards that walk the perimeter and those stationed high above us, give me the heebie-jeebies with their large weapons that point where they’re looking. I give an involuntary shiver as we near the inner brick wall, which most likely houses all of the people from the mountain.

  A brown-eyed man helps me get each soldier through the wall. We start with the man who can keep everyone invisible.

  I’m the last to cross through, and as soon as I do, my stomach threatens to lose whatever little sustenance it has inside it. All around our feet are people still in their scrubs, as well as a few of our soldiers. They lay lifeless on the floor, drooling from their mouths. I reach down quickly, still holding onto the person in front of me, and check for a pulse. It’s weak but it’s still there.

  The room is relatively small, maybe ten feet wide and ten feet long. We stand there staring at the carnage, awaiting instructions from Lee. I look around at all the faces, some slightly familiar from life in the mountain. There are some I’ve spoken with when I was a Runner or just seen passing by in my daily routes. I think I see my teacher somewhere in the corner so I turn away. I can’t get distracted from the real reason I’m here.

  Sadly, I don't see my parents or Tony in this room. One person in particular makes me queasy; it’s the woman from the first day my father and I arrived at the shelter. She’s the one that, while standing in line for our meal, told us that this was all a conspiracy and we’re going to die. I don’t think she’s crazy anymore, that’s for sure.

  Seeing that prisoners, not Unfriendlies, occupy this room, Lee steps away from the person behind him, becoming visible. He motions for
us to drop our hands and all of us become visible too. I reluctantly drop my hand from the person in front of me. Lee quickly instructs us about what to do. “I want you all to try and find out why these people are like this. Work quickly and quietly so we remain undetected. If you suspect someone is about to open the door and enter, you all need to run to the wall over there.” He points in the direction of the northerly wall. “Invisibility people, you need to immediately grab as many people as you can. If for some reason you can’t make it then you need to lie down and remain motionless.” We nod our heads and get to work.

  I walk over to the woman that makes my toes curl and examine her. She looks normal except for the vacant expression she exhibits. I look over all the visual parts of her body and see nothing out of place. There must be something that is causing them to be like this, I think to myself.

  I listen into her thoughts but all I hear are jumbled words that make no sense whatsoever. After listening to her for a little while longer though, I hear two words that come up often… ‘arm’ and ‘hurt’.

  I look down at her arms but don’t see anything unusual at first glance. I roll up her sleeve and hit something with my hand. A small white patch sticks to the fleshy part of her arm. I run my fingers over it and feel a strange sensation go through my body. It looks like some sort of an adhesive is holding it in place. I decide to attempt to remove it. I remember my dad always telling me when I was younger to make sure I rip the bandage off instead of spending the time to pick it off little by little. So that’s what I do. I rip it off and I'm startled by the moan the woman makes. I look down at her arm where the bandage once was and see hundreds of teeny-tiny pinprick dots of blood.

  I look back at the bandage and realize that the bottom of it is filled with hundreds of short needles. I have to fight the gagging sensation that comes with the sight of this. It looks so otherworldly, not like anything I've ever seen.

  I make eye contact with Lee and motion him over to me. I show him the bandage and the spot where it was on her arm.