Exposing ELE (ELE Series #3) by Courtney Nuckels, Rebecca Gober Page A

for what I’m not sure. The doors behind them open once more and four people emerge. Two of them are bound together with steel chains and black cloth sacks have been pulled over their heads, making them indistinguishable. The other two guards have them by the crook of their arm, ushering them to where Zack and Dr. Hastings stand.
    They each grab one of the black sacks and simultaneously pull them off the prisoner’s heads. My knees threaten to buckle when I stare back at my mother and father.
    My dad shakes his hair out of his eyes. My mother doesn’t have to shake her hair back because Zack does it for her. His face so sinister and menacing… it makes me want to risk everything to run to them. Tony holds me back though. “Not yet.”
    Zack puts his hand under my mother’s chin, lifting it up for inspection. My dad tries to yell between his gag to stop him but it only comes out as a jumble of grunts. My mother turns her face quickly to the left, releasing herself from Zack’s grip.
    Dr. Hastings then turns toward us ‘onlookers’ and addresses us. “As you all know, we are under a code orange. This means we detected infiltration from the outside and went into lock down mode. All those with the gift of purple have been sent into the fields around us to pick out the intruders as they attempt to escape. Since I know they haven’t all left, one in particular, we’ve decided to provide some entertainment. Willow…”
    I hear my name and it sends ice through my veins. It ricochets off the walls a few times and Tony’s grip tightens tenfold on my hand. “Don’t do anything irrational, Willow. We have to wait if we’re going to win this game.”
    I can’t answer him now. Not even in my head. My parents are in harm’s way and the outcome can’t be good. I try to use my gift to see what the future holds but I am too shaken up to make it work.
    “Willow,” Dr. Hastings continues. “I have something you want, and you have something I want. I know you’re here… I can feel it.” He stops talking for a moment, letting what he says seep in.
    One of the guards brings a briefcase and places it at Dr. Hastings’s feet. Dr. Hastings bends down and unlatches it, pulling out a long syringe with a clear liquid. He flicks it with his finger and pushes the syringe up just enough so that a small amount sprays from the top.
    My heart is beating with the pulse of a thousand horses. My breathing grows ragged as tears come to my eyes. I don’t look away though, no, I can’t give up my position now. I may be the only one who can save my parents at this point. Dr. Hastings comes around to the back of my mother and places his free hand on her shoulder; taking the time to place his fingers down one at a time. I can see my mother trying to move but it’s no use. The straps that have her tied down are just too strong.
    “All I need is a pint of your blood, Willow,” Dr. Hastings says while running the needle around the surface of my mother’s neck. “Just one pint,” he reiterates. I struggle to hold on to my sensibility instead of running immediately to my mother’s aid. Tony’s right. If I have any chance of winning this evil game Dr. Hastings has created, patience is my greatest ally.
    “However, if you don’t want to give it to me, then I’ll take the one thing you love most from this world.” Dr. Hastings takes his hand from my mother’s shoulder and pulls her face to the side, exposing her neck even more. I swallow the bowling ball that’s lodged in my throat. My hands are shaking in anticipation. I’m fearful that I may not know the difference between the right time, and the point of no return.
    “Steady,” Tony’s whisper enters my thoughts.
    “I bet you’re wondering what’s in the shot,” Zack says, pointing to the syringe in his father's hands. “That is a mega dose of the stuff they use for lethal injections. It will kill your mother the instant it reaches her blood,” he says nonchalantly,