I look around the room and realization dawns on me. “Dr. Hastings secret room!” I exclaim. Questions of confusion float to the surface as we try to figure out what the purpose of all this mystery is.
“He needed an escape. A no-fail way out,” Connor says matter-of-factly. He was the last to ascend into the room.
It makes perfect sense. Dr. Hastings knew that what he was doing was risky. He needed an escape plan—one that would buy him time to get away if need be.
Claire finds the light switch. “Let there be light,” she says as she flicks it on.
I squint as it takes a few moments for my eyes to adjust to the brightness.
Alec takes the door that we just came through and closes it back up. It closes with a thud and I am in awe when I can’t see the door any longer. It completely blends in with the linoleum on the floor. I squat down and examine it. I run my hand along the floor and sure enough, I can feel the outline.
“I would have never found this door. Not in a million years,” I exclaim.
A round of “Me neither,” sounds throughout the room.
“So this is that evil Hastings guy’s office?” Michael asks. He’s already started snooping around and shuffling through drawers.
“This is his house,” Marya tells him. “Or was.”
Michael looks up at her with his eyebrows raised. He looks surprised by her answer, which is a strange reaction. I can’t really pinpoint why it was strange but it just was. Didn’t he only just learn about Dr. Hastings?
“Yeah,” Tony answers my question. I give him that look that says, Don’t you be listening in on my thoughts, and he throws his hands up in mock surrender. “I’m just saying he’s strange. I can’t pinpoint how either. Something is off about him though. It’s like at times I feel like he’s only showing half of himself. Plus, all you girls seem to be drawn towards him. It’s a bit freaky. I can’t say I like it.” He arches an eyebrow at me.
“Um, not me!” I give him a stern look, but inside I know I felt some strange moth-to-flame reaction too. “We only met him an hour or so ago. Of course, we haven’t seen all of his sides yet. All that matters right now is that he’s here and he saved your life. That’s enough for me to know that he’s on the good side.”
Tony flinches slightly, recalling his fight with the Reaper. “Yeah, that’s true.” He doesn’t seem too happy about it though. It’s like Michael stole his man-card or something. “I still don’t know how that Reaper got the best of me. When he had a hold of me, I couldn’t use any of my powers. It was strange.”
“There are a lot of strange things going on here, but I did see that Reaper’s eyes. He had many gifts and among them, there was a silver swirl in there. That’s probably why he was immune to all of your powers.” Tony still doesn’t seem satisfied with that but it is what it is. I shiver when I think about what that Reaper had done to get so many gifts. How many people had he killed? I don’t want to think about it and thankfully, a banging door pulls me away from my thoughts.
“Freeze!” a booming voice calls from the top of the stairs.
Michael’s hands go up and so do Connor’s. The rest of us knowingly recognize it as my dad. “It’s us, Dad!” I call up.
Claire slaps Connor’s arm and he drops his hands.
“Willow?” I can hear the sound of his boots clambering against the stairs. “How did you—?” He stops mid-sentence when he sees the room and sees Michael. He raises his gun at him. “Who are you?”
Strangely enough, Marya takes a step closer to Michael and so does Claire. Almost like they are willing to take a bullet for him. This takes me by surprise. “He’s okay, Dad. We ran into each other outside and he saved Tony from a Reaper.”
My dad’s eyes go wide. “Reapers? There are more of them?” His gun aims a bit off-kilter as he contemplates this.
I nod my head. “It was foolish to think that we got rid of all of them,” I say.
My dad nods in understanding and then he looks to Tony. “You needed saving?” A humorous twinkle shines in his eyes.
Tony sucks in his cheeks and through gritted teeth answers, “Yes, I guess I did.”
My dad knows better than to ruffle a man’s feathers, so he moves on to address Michael. “Who are you?” he asks. His gun is at his side now and no longer pointed at his target.
Marya and Claire relax instinctively. I give them a wide-eyed ‘what the heck’ look. They look a little dazed and confused. With bowed heads, they each go stand by their man.
“My name is Michael, sir. I was running from the Reapers after the people I had been holed up with disappeared on me,” Michael tells my dad.
I look over at my dad, who has completely put his gun away now and has moved closer to Michael. In fact, everyone I notice now has moved closer to Michael. Everyone that is, except for Tony and me. I look over to Tony and see the silver in his eyes.
“Yes, I agree,” he tells me before I can even think of it.
“Twilight-zone bizarre,” I confirm inside my head to Tony.
“You say these people disappeared?” my dad asks Michael.
“Yes sir. I don’t know what happened. One morning I woke up and they were gone,” he says.
“Do you have any powers?” my dad asks him.
I straighten up at the question, earnest to hear the answer.
“Not that I’m aware of, sir,” Michael answers, but I sense of hint of dishonesty in his words.
“Are you sure about that?” I butt into the conversation.
Michael looks over at me with mock innocence. “Like I said. Not that I know of.”
“You weren’t given any shots? Immunizations?” Tony interrogates.
“No. If you recall, I awoke in the hospital with nobody around.” Michael seems slightly flustered, but he quickly pulls his calm facade back over himself.
“Look, it’s been a long day. Let’s stop with the interrogations for a little while,” Claire says.
I eye her warily. She’s standing between Michael and Connor, but her body is slightly tilted towards Michael, almost like she’s leaning into him. “Fine,” I say.
The unusually loud sound of a rumbling stomach breaks the tension in the room. We all train our eyes on Connor, who shrugs and says, “What? I’m hungry!”
The air in the room relaxes with that. “Well, Carrie has dinner almost ready. Biscuits and soup,” my dad announces. He looks to Michael. “I’m sure we have enough for one more.”
Michael smiles. This I don’t try to judge, as I know it’s genuine. There is something strange going on with Michael, but I don’t think that he has bad intentions. “Thank you, sir,” he says.
“Please don’t call me sir. You’re making me feel old,” my dad tells him.
“Yes sir. I mean, okay,” Michael corrects himself and flashes a smile. Everyone leans in towards him for a second before turning to head up the stairs.
I shake my head, trying to figure out if I’m imagining this ridiculousness. Then I follow them up the stairs and out of the secret room. The smell of fresh-baked biscuits fills the air as we walk towards the kitchen. My stomach growls in hungry response.
“Wello!” Sabby comes bounding at me when we reach the kitchen.
“Co-co!” Lillie jumps into Connor’s arms.
“Hey buddy!” I tell Sabby as he hugs my knees.
“Did you go exploring?” Sabby asks me. “Dad said you did.”
“You could say that.” I smile down at him.
“Who’s dat?” he asks when he sees Michael just behind me.
“That’s Mr. Michael,” I tell him. “He helped us.”
My brother doesn’t waste any time letting go of me and running to hug Michael.
Michael looks down in surprise at the little boy with adorable curls that is wrapped around his legs.
“Tank you for helping my sister.” Sabby beams up at him. He is still hugging onto him.
Michael leans down and says, “You’re welcome. What’s your name?”
Sabby leans back and stands tall to announce, “I Sabby. I jus turned five!” He holds his hand out, displaying all his fingers proudly.
“Wow, that is old!” Michael tells him.
“Not as old as you, Mr. Michael. But I a big boy, yes.” He smiles widely and hugs Michael again. Lillie has come up to join him, hugging Michael’s other leg.
“I’m Lillie,” she tells him.
“Nice to meet you, Lillie. Nice freckles! You must have been kissed by so many angels when you were a baby,” he tells her.
She beams up at him. “That’s what my mommy says!” She hugs him again. I can sense her mixed emotions that range from missing her parents to being excited about this new visitor.
“All right, kids. I think it’s time that you give our guest a little personal space.” Carrie comes up and puts her hands on each of the kid’s shoulders, redirecting them towards the table. “Take a seat. Dinner is nearly ready.”
“Yes, Ms. W.”
Michael holds his hand out to introduce himself to Carrie. “My name is Michael. Your food smells amazing. I can’t tell you how good a hot meal sounds about now.”
“Thank you. I’m Carrie Wallobee, or Ms. W. for anyone that is pint-sized.” She smiles and takes Michael’s hand. She leans in a tad while shaking it for an awkwardly long period of time.
Michael is the one to pull his hand away and take a polite step back. “Is there somewhere I can get washed up?” he asks.
“Yes, there is a bathroom just off the living room,” Carrie answers. “Would you like me to take you there?”
We all stand open-mouthed. Carrie immediately realizes what she just said and blushes. “I mean,” she corrects herself, “let me know if you need anything.”
He tips his head back and says, “Thank you,” before retreating to the restroom.
“That wasn’t awkward at all,” I say under my breath, close enough so that only Tony can hear me.
“You’re telling me,” he replies.
We all take turns washing our hands at the kitchen sink and Michael joins us a few minutes later. His face is washed and he looks excited to eat, rubbing his hands together.
“I haven’t had a warm meal in a long time,” Michael tells Carrie as the biscuits are passed around the table and the soup ladled out into bowls.
“I know. We’re getting spoiled with Carrie being around,” my dad says with a smile.
Carrie waves him off like it’s nonsense.
“How did you come about this place?” Michael asks.
“I had a vision about it. I didn’t realize it was Dr. Hasting’s house though,” Tony tells him.
“You had a vision?” Michael asks, his eyebrows furrowed.
“Yes, sometimes we can see stuff that happens in the future. Little glimpses,” I answer for Tony. “My dad has them as well.”
“That’s really cool,” Michael says, looking over at my dad. He seems like he is just noticing the strange copper shade for the first time.
“Yeah, we lucked out to find a place with electricity. Leave it to that jerk to be the only house with running power and water!” Connor says with half a biscuit in his mouth.
The remainder of the dinner conversation is filled with us catching Michael up on all that has happened since we left the shelter. We tell him about our run in with Dr. Hastings and Zack, as well as our friends being taken by the military. I get a strange sensation when we talk about the military part and I wonder if that might be who took his friends away too.
Michael asks if he can stay with us a while longer. My dad tells him that he can stay however long he needs. We aren’t the kind of people who would turn someone out in times like this. After dinner, we settle in for bed. With little energy left from the crazy day we’ve had, we all find ourselves falling asleep rather easily.
CHAPTER 9
The sound of someone moving about in the room wakes me up. I wrestle my sleep-filled eyes open and try to look around in the dark. I make out a shape near the far side of the room. I sit up quietly as not to disturb Tony or Claire, who lay close to where I am, and I tiptoe over.
The pale light of the moon is enough for me to make out Michael working his shoes on near the front door. He looks up when he sees me approach. I don’t know if it’s because I’m tired, but he doesn’t seem surprised to see me standing there.
“What are you doing?” I ask in a hushed whisper.
“I need to show you something,” he whispers back.
I step closer, intrigued and pulled to him.
“Put on your shoes and coat,” he tells me.
I comply, not thinking twice about where we are going. A strange man, alone in the dark woods, all of a sudden doesn’t feel strange at all. We stealthily slip down the hall a moment later. I expected that we would be going outside, but instead, we head in the direction of Dr. Hastings’s study. We quietly open the path to the secret room. Michael finds a battery-operated lamp and works to open up the other secret passageway in the floor. I climb in after him. It isn’t until we’ve closed the door and are lit in lamplight that we talk again.
“Where are we going?” I ask him, a little out of breath as I descend on the ladder above him.
“I couldn’t sleep because I kept thinking about what you said about the military taking your friends. I feel like I’ve seen something that could be their operation. It wasn’t far from here, but there is a city of tents set up with a barbed-wire fence surrounding it,” he tells me as we continue to climb down.
He hits the ground first and then reaches up to help me off the ladder. His hands are on my sides as he helps to set me on the ground. A strange sensation pangs through me. I turn and find myself standing only an inch or so apart from him, yet something makes me want to stand closer. I lean into him, my ear is pressed up against his chest and I can hear his nervous heartbeat. I feel glued, stuck, yet I can’t bring myself to move. My thoughts are nowhere to be found until he clears his throat lightly.
I startle and try to pull myself away. It’s as if a thousand pounds are pushing me into him though. I have to call on my power of strength to merely step back a foot from him. The daze washes away and I’m left feeling extremely awkward. What in the world was that? I think to myself. I look up at him blushing. Thankfully, it’s quite dark in here.
He smiles at me with pearly white teeth as if nothing happened. I take another step back because I want so badly to lean into him again but I know that isn’t right. I’m not attracted to this man. I mean, sure he looks like James Bond and hasn’t been hit by the ugly stick or anything, but this isn’t attraction that I feel. I love Tony and no other guy does what Tony does for me. This is different though. It’s like a force is pushing me to Michael and I’m drawn like a helpless moth... He’s a flame, a flickering... I step forward...
I shake my head again and take another two steps back. Get it together! I tell myself. My body still feels exhausted from the previous day and spending the energy to stay apart from Michael leaves me even more spent.
He tries to act like he hasn’t noticed my strange behavior. He turns and starts walking down the path. I follow him like a lost puppy, still unsure what is up with my strange behavior.
We walk in silence the whole way. I end up walking beside Michael after a few minutes. Every once in a while, I lean in so far towards him that our arms brush each other’s and I nearly get my foot stepped on by his because I’m moving into his walking space. He doesn’t say anything though. It’s almost like this is normal for him.
When we come to the end of the tunnel, Michael fumbles with the lock. It’s rusted and unwavering. I have to spend a few moments clearing the hazy fog in my brain to be able to focus on the gift I got from Connor. After a few unsuccessful tries, I eventually manage to get us out into the frosty night. A light dusting of snow is falling softly from the sky.
The cold air does a lot to wake me up. Michael starts moving towards the trees. I zip my jacket up and begin following him. The longer
we remain outside, the clearer my mind becomes.
We don’t walk too far before Michael says, “It’s only down past that ridge.” He stops mid-step and I pummel into his back. I have to exert nearly all of my energy to break myself apart from him again. I follow his fingertip as he points somewhere beyond the trees. I focus my eyes a little better and eventually make out the glowing haze of lights a few miles off in the distance. “Let’s go check it out.”
I stop. The not-rightness of the situation washes over me. Instinctively, I make to protect myself. I know my eyes must be silver because when Michael looks back at me, expecting me to follow him, he startles. The magnetic pull I had to him has been severed and now I’m left feeling very unsettled with this whole situation.
“Why didn’t you wait until everyone else woke up, Michael?” I ask, taking a step back. My heart starts beating frantically, notifying me that something isn’t right.
His eyebrows furrow and he gives me his best look of shock. I try to read his thoughts but they are blank. His feelings, I can read though. There is a hint of nervousness and almost like a scant feeling of second-guessing himself. Other than that, I don’t get any malicious intent coming from him, so I relax slightly.
“I don’t know what you mean, Willow,” he says carefully. “Why are your eyes silver?” he asks me.
I wave off his question. He doesn’t need to know about this particular gift. “My question was clear, Michael. Why did you not wait until we were all awake? Why take only me?”
I’m brought off balance as my mind is drawn into another place. I vaguely feel myself hit the ground and my eyes go dark before the hazy vision takes over. The sun is beginning to rise and I’m back in the Hastings’s living room. No pillows or blankets are lying out and I wonder why everyone woke up so early. The sky is still dark as night. Then the glass shatters. A spraying of bullets flies into the room. I dive to duck for cover. Michael is there. He’s jumped on top of me to shield me. I feel his body jerk back as a bullet hits his shoulder. He groans. I quickly focus my healing on him.
Ending ELE (ELE Series) Page 12
