Ending ELE (ELE Series)

by Gober, Rebecca

  We hike over to where several gigantic tree trunks lay in a pile under a few inches of snow. They measure to what I would estimate to be sixty feet in length. With the branches cleared and perfect cuts, I can tell that a machine took these down a while ago. My only question would be how they got machinery down here, but I guess that’s better thought out for another day.

  Tony stares down at the trees with a focused expression. We all watch him in silence as his body goes rigid with concentration. I keep looking back and forth from Tony to the tree and then back at Tony. He clenches his hands and perspiration begins building on his forehead, despite the arctic temperatures. The wood doesn’t move an inch.

  I put my hand on his shoulder a moment later and he relaxes his body. He turns to look at me. There is a gold swirl running through his irises but not nearly enough to give him the strength to move such a large object with his mind. “This one took me a while too,” I tell him with a soft smile.

  “Well, I guess even I have to have an Achilles heel.” He smiles.

  Much to my relief, he doesn’t seem embarrassed or defeated. “It’ll just take some practice. Perhaps start with a pencil or something that isn’t ten times your body weight,” I tease.

  He grunts and then turns his attention back to the pile of wood. I turn as well to find that one of the tree trunks at the top has started shaking. We all back up and watch Marya. With seemingly no effort, she starts moving one of the trunks away from the pile. We watch her in awed silence while she slowly positions it to where it lays perfectly over the river. The process takes about ten minutes in all as she finagles it just right so that it doesn’t end up crashing to the bottom of the riverbed.

  “That’s so cool!” Connor says with his eyes wide. Then his face goes pouty. “I wish I could do something as cool as that.” He kicks the dirt in frustration.

  “Walking through objects is just as cool, babe.” Claire pats her man on his shoulder consolingly.

  He perks up and shrugs his shoulders. “You’re right. I am pretty awesome.” He cocks a half-smile at Claire.

  I laugh and roll my eyes. What a goober. “My turn,” I say as I step up to the pile of wood. I focus on channeling my telekinesis gift as I stare at one of the logs at the top of the pile. A gold haze starts to rim the outermost parts of my vision. I focus harder and watch the log vibrate. It takes several minutes for me to get it off the pile of wood. My breathing is labored and sweat is accumulating on my brow. This sucker is heavy. Or, I’ve just been using my gifts too much these past few days and I’m a bit weakened by the over-usage.

  Tony puts his hand on my shoulder and I suddenly feel a burst of strength. The large tree trunk floats in the air and I maneuver it to lay next to the other one across the riverbank.

  I let out an exerted breath and wipe my forehead. “Thanks, babe,” I tell Tony. He smiles.

  “My tun!” Sebastian calls out.

  We turn to look down at the little guy who is standing tall with his hands on his hips in a Superman sort of pose. You can’t help but smile and giggle a bit at how serious his little face is.

  “It’s awfully heavy, son,” our dad tells him.

  Sabby’s eyebrows crease inward as he turns to look at our dad. “I so stwong!” he says and flexes his arm muscles to show us. Even though he has a jacket on and it would be impossible to see the bulge, I know it’s there. I just don’t know if my little brother could lift something that could be well over several thousand pounds.

  My dad’s look turns from humor to concern. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself though, buddy.”

  “I no hurt myself. I stwong.” He does his Superman pose again.

  Then without waiting for my father’s approval, he darts towards the logs, using his gift of speed. We watch in dumbfounded silence as he picks one of the logs off from the side of the pile. He gets behind one end and starts lifting it up, moving further towards the middle as he gets the trunk off the ground little by little. My eyes are open so wide that I can’t even blink. He manages to push it to the bank of the river. Then he works the trunk up to where it is standing straight up in the air.

  For a second I get a sickening fear that the tree trunk—that is several times taller than my little brother is—will fall on him. It doesn’t though. Instead, Sebastian balances it just right so it stands without his effort. He steps slightly away from the trunk and, with a push of his index finger, he sends it falling. He darts to my side while the tree is still in mid-fall. A second later, it crashes down across the river. A huge spray of water flies in the air and the ground shakes from the impact.

  I realize my mouth has been open during the entire process. Wide-eyed, I look around at my friends, at Tony, and at my dad. All of us wear the same expression of pure amazement.

  Sabby giggles. “Toll you,” he says in a cheerful tone, wagging his finger at me. He stands proudly once more, looking at all of us until my dad scoops him up in a giant bear hug.

  My dad shakes his head in awe. “Wow, son! You weren’t kidding… you are stronger than Superman!” My dad beams with pride.

  “I know,” Sabby says smiling, hooking his thumbs in his belt loop and rocking back on his heels.

  “Way to go, Sabby!” Lillie holds her right hand up in the air for Sabby.

  My little brother gives her a high five and then... winks at her? That sends an eruption of giggles from the crowd.

  Tony ruffles the top of Sebastian’s curls. “You are quite a champ.”

  “Yes! I can do anyfing.” He smiles very big and stands even taller.

  Tony raises his eyebrows at him with a humorous smile. “I bet you can. Do you want to help me secure the bridge?” he asks him.

  My little brother’s big, neon-yellow eyes light up and he nods his head with eager enthusiasm.

  "Give me just a second." Tony quickly crosses the bridge to the other side, checking for its sturdiness. He returns a moment later seemingly confident that it's safe for my little brother.

  “Alright, follow me,” Tony says. He gestures with his hand for Sabby to follow as he trots over to the newly made bridge, making sure it’s safe for all of us to cross. Sabby stays close behind Tony, mimicking his every move. Every once in a while, Tony looks back to make sure that Sebastian is safe and still following him closely. I see an amused expression on his face when he turns around one final time to look down at him. Then Tony climbs to the middle of the bridge and, seeing that Sebastian’s close behind, he stops, runs in place, does ten jumping jacks, and sprints to the end of the logs, jumping off for a final effect.

  I look at him in confusion, trying to figure out what the heck he’s doing.

  “Watch,” I hear him say in my head. Without asking, I know he means to watch Sebastian. I turn my attention to my little brother. Then it dawns on me; Sebastian is going to copy what Tony just did—or is he? He is still standing in the middle of the logs with a look of utter confusion on his face. I see him take a deep breath, shrug his shoulders, and then he’s off to the races. He runs as fast as his little legs can go, does ten jumping jacks… well, as good as a youngster can manage, then sprints off the log and jumps into Tony’s waiting arms.

  A smile spreads across my face. Someday that may be our own child he’s catching. I shake my head, embarrassed for even having that thought. Tony looks up and meets my eyes from across the river in that same moment. I feel the warmth flooding to my cheeks, knowing he heard me. Tony just smiles at me adoringly and winks at me in agreement.

  My dad, who’s been standing next to me, leans over and whispers in my ear. “Yep, he’s a keeper.” He playfully jabs me with his elbow in my side and I can’t help but laugh.

  “Dad!” I say, feigning embarrassment.

  All the rest of us make our way over the bridge. At the end, Tony takes my hand and helps me step down off the logs.

  “The cabin should be only a little ways to the west of here,” Tony tells me.

  I nod my head and look up at the sky. The snow is s
tarting to fall again. I hope it won’t get as bad as it did yesterday.

  “Wello! Wello!” I hear a little voice call from my side. I turn and find Sebastian with his hands in the air. I grab him in my arms and we continue walking towards the cabin. All the while, I’m praying we’re going the right way.

  We wade through the snow like a duck wading through water. The snow is still pretty deep and continuing to accumulate. I’m hoping that maybe the weather will warm up a bit in the next few days so the snow can begin to melt. I feel chilled to the bone and I almost find myself wishing for the crazy high temperatures that we had when they first implemented Project ELE.

  After an hour or so of hiking, Tony reaches for Sebastian and places him on his shoulders. Sabby giggles at being so high up. He reaches his hands towards the sky and slaps the tree branches in the air as we go by. One of the branches must have been packed with snow, because Sebastian hits it and a huge wad of snow lands on Tony’s head. I can’t hold back the laugh as Tony becomes a human snowman. Tony tickles him and Sabby wiggles in delight.

  Tony passes me a sideways glance and smiles. Grabbing my hand in his, he starts walking again. I look back at the others who are with us and notice my dad and Carrie carrying on what looks to be a very interesting conversation. Carrie lets out a huge laugh and my dad smiles, a genuine smile… one that I haven’t seen in a very long time.

  Tony sets my brother down. Sabby runs over to tag Lillie and they run around us as we walk, playing their own game of tag. They can’t run very far because of the snow being so deep. Lillie and Sabby alternate being ‘it’ every few seconds or so.

  I look at everyone around me. Even in the snow, they all seem to be in pretty good spirits. Then I bite my lip because I know from experience that things just can’t be going this well for this long. Something is bound to happen soon and it’s going to discombobulate us all. Call me a pessimist, or a glass half-full kind of girl… but I’m just keeping it real.

  Tony squeezes my hand, bringing me back to the present. Instinctively, he can tell that something is up. Thankfully, he doesn’t ask questions or search my mind for answers.

  After a few more minutes of walking, Tony stops. “The cabin should be around here somewhere.” He looks around the landscape for a moment, lost in thought, trying to put the pieces together with what he saw from the binoculars back in the cave.

  I try to look around but I didn’t even see what he pointed out in the binoculars, let alone any sign of a dwelling place in this area.

  We walk a few more steps before Tony shakes his head, looking perplexed. “No, I think we passed it.”

  “I didn’t see any signs of a cabin,” Alec says, scratching his head.

  “It’s very well hidden, at least from what I remember. We need to look closer,” Tony answers while he turns around and starts doubling back.

  We walk slowly, examining the landscape around us carefully. After we walk a few hundred yards, I make out something from the corner of my eye. I look a little closer and find something sticking out of the snow. It’s small, red, and out of place. I wade through the snow so I can examine the little piece of red metal. My knee hits something in the ground just below the red flag-looking thing. I reach my hand out and gingerly touch the piece of metal. It takes only a second for me to grasp what this is. I start brushing snow off around the metal and find that it’s screwed into the side of a brick base. I push more snow off the structure to find the black mailbox door.

  “A mailbox,” Tony says simply.

  I turn and smile at him, then I look back at my dad. The memory of the few times I was allowed out of the house in the years prior to Project ELE, comes flooding back to me. I would walk with my dad each evening out to the mailbox. Together, we would take the mail from the box and place it in a sterilized bag. He would sometimes leave a letter or a small package in the mailbox for the postman. My dad would then allow me to raise the small, red flag that tells the postman that there’s outgoing mail to be picked up. I always felt so official raising the little warning flag. It’s strange thinking back on it now. I used to breathe in deeply on those short trips outside. I’d try to take in all the landscape I couldn’t see from my windows. I used to wonder what life on the outside would be like if we didn’t have to stay indoors all the time... Now I know. Sometimes I find myself longing for those times of simplicity—when even if everything wasn’t all right in the world, in my child’s mind, it was.

  Tony puts his hand on my shoulder and gives it a squeeze. “The house must be down that way just a little,” he states.

  I begin to notice that the trees are spaced out in a way that tells us they line a trail, or a driveway. With the snow covering everything, those telltale signs are hard to spot. Walking around the mailbox, we gesture for the others to follow us. We walk a few yards before we see the outline of a fireplace breaking out from behind brush and overgrown trees.

  “This is the place. This is it!” Tony says excitedly. He starts walking quickly towards it—a man on a mission. The closer we get, the more we can spot the features of the huge log cabin behind the vegetation and under the snow. It’s just not noticeable from the road but up close, it’s very much a house. Great camouflage—perfect for our situation.

  There isn’t an entryway on this side of the house. We walk around it to the back and find the porch. It wraps around the side of the cabin and is covered in snow. This side is much clearer and easier to see. Windows cover nearly every inch of the home along the porch. I turn to see the view that the owners must have built the house to capitalize on. Mountains for as far as you can see line the landscape, looking perfectly majestic in all their glory.

  “It’s unlocked!” Claire calls.

  I turn to find Connor and Claire hustling inside with Lillie. “Wait, shouldn’t we check it out first?” I yell.

  “Nothing’s here,” Tony tells me. “I don’t know how I know that, but I can feel that this place is empty and has been so for a while.” He holds out his hand for me to take.

  I nod my head and take his hand. If it’s good enough for Tony, then it’s good enough for me. Together, we follow the others inside.

  The cabin appears to be much larger than it looked on the outside. The windows give it plenty of natural light. Ceilings that soar up to a large skylight give it a grandiose appeal. Alec and Marya start pulling the white dust covers off all of the furniture. The rich, leather furniture and high-end accessories tell me that this home belonged to some people that were quite well off.

  “I wonder who lived here,” Mayra says in wonder after she pulls a dust cloth off a large china cabinet filled with silver and fine china.

  “I don’t know but I hope their propane tank is still in working order,” my dad calls from the other side of the room. He’s standing next to a gorgeous, double-sided fireplace that divides the living room and formal-dining room. River rock covers the outside of the fireplace and reaches all the way to the ceiling, giving a warm accent to the room. My dad flips a switch next to the fireplace. Nothing happens. He grabs a long lighter from the mantel, lights it, and places it over the gas logs. A second later, the gas catches flame and the fireplace lights up the room with an orange glow.

  “Sweet!” Connor says. He takes Claire and they sit in a large, oversized chair next to the fireplace. Connor rubs his hands to get warm and Claire snuggles close to him.

  I smile when I see Lillie walk up to them. Her freckled face looks a little unsure, but when Connor pats his leg, her face lights up and she climbs into the chair with them. They sit together like a small family. Claire says something that makes Lillie giggle. Lillie shows Claire how one of her front teeth is loose. Claire and Connor both appropriately ooh and ah and congratulate her on her upcoming loss of her first tooth, promising her a trip from the tooth fairy.

  “This kitchen is drool worthy!” Carrie calls out from another room. “And it has a gas stove!” she exclaims.

  I walk past the formal-dining room that has an exqu
isite chandelier hung low over a long, mahogany table that sits at least twenty. Several dust cloths cover large paintings in the room. The kitchen is just beyond it. I walk into the room to see Carrie gushing over the industrial-sized, stainless steel appliances, the tall, cherry-wood cabinetry, and the black, granite counters. The kitchen island has a pot rack hanging over it, filled with expensive copper pans and pots. Colorful, yet tasteful dishes are displayed in some of the glass front cabinets, giving a splash of liveliness to the room. A small kitchen table sits in a nook that has bay windows facing the mountains. “It’s beautiful!” I tell Carrie.

  She smiles with excitement. “I’ve only seen kitchens like this in magazines or on those fancy cooking shows. I’ve always wanted to have one.”

  “Well, now you have one,” my dad says to her.

  “This place is hardly mine,” she says with a playful pout.

  “I don’t see anyone claiming it,” my dad tells her.

  She grins. “I could sleep in here.”

  “That wul hurt your booty, Ms. W,” Sabby says to her.

  She gushes at him, then continues perusing the cabinets and drawers, oohing and ahhing over the fancy gadgets and appliances.

  “Check this out!” Alec calls from the other side of the house.

  Tony and I walk together back through the living room and near the front door. A staircase leads to the top level of the home and another long hallway leads to a door just behind the staircase. Alec is inside the room behind the stairs. I walk in to find a fancy office and library. It smells like leather and cigars from a long history of smoking indoors. You can tell the room definitely belonged to a man. Dark browns, blacks, and greens make up the furnishings. A spiral staircase leads to an upper level of the library. A tall ladder connected to a track in the ceiling allows someone to access the books that are up high.

  Connor runs into the room and jumps on the ladder. He goes sliding across the length of the bookcase.