Finding ELE (ELE Series #2) Written By: Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels

By: Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels

Copyright
2012 by: Rebecca
Gober and Courtney Nuckels

Cover Photo: Copyright
Valua Vitaly, Dash,
Burak
Ç
akmak,
and Vitaly Krivosheev
/ Fotolia



Cover Work: Marya Heiman

http://www.eleseries.com

http://www.facebook.com/eleseries

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Thank you for downloading this ebook. It
remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be
reproduced, copied and distributed for commercial or non-commercial
purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends
to download their own copy at Smashwords.com, where they can also
discover other works by this author. Thank you for your
support.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Eye Colors and Their
Meanings

Acknowledgements

Personal
Acknowledgements

About the Authors

Connect with Us

"MOM!" No, this can't be happening! My mom
is not bleeding out on this mountainside. Not when I just found her
again!

I sit up and examine the damage. Like ink on
paper, the crimson red stain slowly grows larger and larger in
diameter. I do my best to ignore the chaos of the war that is
happening all around me. My mom's breaths become ragged as she
gasps greedily for air.

"No Mom, you need to hang on," I whisper.
Tears blur my vision as I push her shirt away from the wound on the
lower left side of her abdomen. Blood is pouring out of a small
hole no larger than a dime.

A gunshot rings out just inches away from my
ear. For a second I think I was the intended target but then a new
body falls down next to my mom. It lies there, splayed at an
unnatural angle. I sit paralyzed for a moment looking into the
lifeless red eyes of a woman my mother's age.

The cold metal of a gun barrel presses up
against my temple. "Move away from her." A man commands in a gruff
voice.

I look up to see a young man, not much older
than me, kneeling down next to my mom. His coppery red hair is
drenched in sweat and he's covered in the rusty dirt that coats the
mountainside. His eyes are the same nuclear yellow hue as my moms
were. This thought wakes me up from my stupor. No, not were! Are!
She will survive; she has to!

The man kneels down next to my mom to check
her pulse with one hand while his other hand keeps the gun trained
on my head. His eyes flash with a heavy sadness.

I brush the gun away from my head as if it
were a fly and lean back over my mother.

"I said move away from her!" He orders
me.

I look up at him with the most lethal stare
I can muster and his mouth drops open. "What the...? Your eyes!" He
stutters.

The last time I saw my reflection, my eyes
had a multitude of colors swirling throughout them like a marble.
They look otherworldly. I don't have time to assure him of my good
intentions. My mom is dying as we speak!

"Do you mind?" I push his gun out of my face
once again. "I can help her but I can't do it when you are pointing
that thing at me!" Not waiting for his response, I look back down
at my mom. She's stopped breathing. I place both of my hands over
the wound in her side, praying it’s not too late. I close my eyes
to concentrate and feel the silent tears slip past my lashes. I
take several deep breaths to force my heart to return to a steady
rhythm. I eventually find the ability to tune everything out and
that's when I feel the power go out of me.

At first it feels like a slight tingle that
moves through my body and out of my fingertips. Then it gradually
increases, feeling almost like an electrical current flowing from
me and into my mother. I take several deep breaths and focus all of
my energy on healing her.

I've done this before, when my boyfriend was
shot in the shoulder. It didn't feel like this though. I healed him
with very little effort. Then again he had his own healing
abilities. He also wasn't standing on death’s doorstep like my
mother is.

My mom gasps a deep breath of air. It's the
most beautiful sound I've ever heard. I open my eyes to find her
staring at me with eyes the same intense yellow as the man with the
gun. Her skin is still a sickly white so I push myself to the
limits trying to exert all of my healing powers on her. I watch as
life slowly filters more and more into her eyes and her cheeks glow
pink with warmth.

"Willow." She says in a dry throaty
whisper.

The man next to me is too enthralled to do
anything more than watch in utter disbelief. For the last five
minutes he was witness to the transformation of my mother coming
back to life. She makes a small noise and it’s enough for him to be
brought back to the present. He reaches into a pack on his side,
pulls out a canteen and puts it up to my mother's mouth.

As if someone took the television off mute,
the world around me erupts with the overpowering clamor of war. My
head begins to spin as a splintering headache overtakes all of my
senses. White stars dance in front of my eyes as my mother sits up
looking at me with concern.

"We have to go. Now!" An urgent, all too
familiar voice calls out behind me. I look back cringing as every
inch of movement causes a new piercing pain to echo through my
skull.

"Mr. Leroy?" I barely finish saying his name
before a powerful pain blinds me. I feel myself crashing to the
ground and then my world goes black.

"SHE'S ONE OF THEM, ALICE." Mr. Leroy
demands quietly.

My brain is foggy and my body feels numb. I
want to open my eyes and move but the effort seems
overwhelming.

"No Leroy. Have you ever seen one of them
show any sign of compassion? She healed me! I don't know how she
did it, but she did. She is not one of them!" My mom does her best
to try and hush her tone but her passion can't be contained.

"Her eyes did have red in them." Another
man's voice chimes in. I vaguely recognize it.

I try to pry my eyelids open but they feel
as if they've been glued shut. I still can't move my muscles.

"Yes, but they weren't solid red. There were
a myriad of other colors too. None of the others displayed any type
of symptom like that." My mom reminds them.

"Look Alice, I know she's your daughter, but
that doesn't mean we can trust her. You know yourself just how much
damage they can do." Mr. Leroy whispers.

"I know how much damage they can do. I also
know that my daughter is not one of them! Yet, here you have her
shackled to the bed like a criminal. She saved my life for goodness
sake! Doesn’t that count for anything?"

"I know she did. Don't worry Alice; as soon
as she wakes up we’ll be able to further assess the situation." The
other man says. I vaguely hear him pat my mother's back.

"She is not a situation! She is my daughter,
Anthony."

I worry that my mom is getting too worked
up. I don't know if she's completely healed but stress can't be
good for her. I try harder to open my eyes. It feels as if I'm
swimming through quicksand but eventually I manage to move my hand
slightly. I blink my eyes until my eyelashes finally part and I can
see the dim light of the room.

"Honey!" My mom calls out.

I watch her run to my side through blurry
eyes. "Mo..." My voice cracks and I gasp for air. My throat feels
like sandpaper and merely breathing through it hurts.

"Shh. It's okay sweety." My mom lifts a cup
of water to my mouth. The soothing water slides down my throat and
it feels so good. I drink greedily.

When I try to reach up to grab the cup from
her, my hands are stopped. I jerk away quickly and water runs down
my chin and cheek. Looking down at my wrists I see the handcuffs
holding my arms down next to my sides. I pull at them and hear the
metal clink against the bedposts they are attached to. Startled, I
give my mom a questioning look.

A look of anger flashes across her face and
she looks behind her. "Give me the key Leroy!"

If I were Mr. Leroy, I would have obeyed
immediately based on my mom's tone alone.

"Not yet Alice, we need to make sure she's
safe." He moves into my line of sight. The stunned look on his face
tells me that he's only now noticed my eyes. He runs his hand
through his shiny grey hair in confusion.

He looks exactly the same as I remember him,
apart from the yellow eyes. I first met Mr. Leroy outside of the
shelter when we were waiting in line for permission to enter. He
was just as ornery as he seems to be now.

I hear the sound of metal snapping and
suddenly my left arm is free. I look over to see my mom moving to
the other side of my bed.

"Stop!" Mr. Leroy yells out.

My mom grabs the metal chain between the
handcuffs that hold my right arm to the bedpost and she pulls. It
didn't seem to take any effort on her part to snap the metal like
it was a twig.

I look at her surprised and then lift my
hands up to take the cup of water that is sitting on a bedside
table. I gulp more water down until I can get my throat comfortable
enough to speak. "What's going on mom? Are you okay?" I reach
forward to touch her side where the wound was but another hand
stops me.

I turn to see the man from the mountain. His
hair is still as coppery red as I remembered and his neon yellow
eyes assess me. I look down at his hand that is encircling my
wrist. I try to yank my arm away but he doesn't budge. Either my
pull was the weakest attempt ever or his grip is just that
strong.

"It's okay Anthony. She's not going to hurt
me." My mom grabs my other hand and holds it up to where her wound
was. "You healed me Willow. I don't even have a scar."

The love and appreciation in her eyes opens
up the waterworks. Tears run over my eyes and I shake with relief.
Anthony lets go of my arm as mom sits on the bed next to me and
pulls me into her arms. Dropping my head to her chest all I can do
is sob, she is alive!! After all the months I am in her arms again.
I still can't believe that she's alive.

She runs her hands over my curls and rocks
me back and forth repeating, "It's okay honey. You are safe. You
are safe now love."

It has been nearly four months since I lost
my mom. She was supposed to go into the shelter with us but my
little brother was denied entrance. Sebastian!

I sit back and look into her eyes. "Sabby!
Is he okay?" I have no idea if he survived or not. They told us
that he had the virus…the same virus that has killed off millions
of people and forced our government to implement Project ELE.

She smiles really big and nods. "Yes honey.
Sebastian is safe."

"Is he sick?" I never saw anyone who got the
virus but I was told that the virus caused the most excruciating
pains. That's why they offered everyone a red shot when they were
denied entry to the shelter. Knowing how painful the virus is, the
government gave them a shot that would end the life of someone who
was infected, if they chose that route.