Exposing ELE (ELE Series #3) by Courtney Nuckels, Rebecca Gober Page B
Authors: Courtney Nuckels, Rebecca Gober
Ads: Link
smiling back at the crowd of onlookers.
Behind the gate, I hear a few shouts… one sounds like Mr. Leroy, but I can’t be sure. I just really hope they’re all going to be okay.
“This is your last chance, Willow, your last chance,” Dr. Hastings says once more.
I’m screaming inside for Tony to do something, anything! A timer flashes on the side of the building being lit from an unknown source. It has thirty seconds lit up on it. Then it begins to tick down: twenty-nine, twenty-eight. I try reasoning with Tony, begging him to help me do something, anything! The clock is at fifteen seconds and I’m about to come unglued.
“A pint of my blood or my mother’s life,” I repeat over and over in my head. Is this really a choice I need to make? It seems so simple.
Tony comes through my thoughts. “No! Dr. Hastings would never take just a pint of blood. He will kill you. I swore to your mom that I would protect you at all costs. Your mother wouldn't want you to sacrifice yourself. If she had the ability, she wouldn't let you.”
I fight back, yelling in my head. “I can’t just watch my mother die!” I grit my teeth, biting my tongue to keep from shouting.
Ten, nine… The anxiety is so intense that I find myself paralyzed by it. A single tear slips down my cheek as I frantically look at Dr. Hastings, Zack, the needle, my mother... I open my mouth to call out, not able to take it any longer. But then I hear a popping sound; like something coming apart that was never meant to do so. I watch as my mother frees up her left hand from one of the ties. Hope builds in me as I expect her to break free. That's why it takes me a second to process what happens next. As if in slow motion, I watch her hand reach upward. She swiftly removes the syringe from Dr. Hastings’s grip and plunges it into her neck. I stare in horror as she injects herself with the drug. As if in slow motion, she falls slowly to her knees and then face down on the ground. Her life force ripped from her in an instant.
“No!!!” I yell, expecting people to turn in my direction, but I must be crying out in my mind. I reach my hand out and my knees buckle beneath me, but Tony pulls me close to his side preventing me from falling. “No...” I whimper aloud quietly. “I can help her!” I tell Tony.
“No, Willow. She's gone. She did that for you. You have to stay strong. Please stand back up,” he urges me.
Before I can process what's happening, chaos from the crowd of people erupts and they begin to rush Zack and Dr. Hastings. I hear some of their thoughts like, “that was our only hope”, and, “what are we supposed to do now?”
I feel like a rag doll when Tony pulls me with him. “Get us through the bars, Willow, now!”
I look him in the eyes. It’s like he’s speaking another language. I can’t understand what he’s saying.
“We have to go!” he yells out loud.
I shake my head. “My dad. My mom.” Something breaks inside me with the last two words.
He sets me down on the ground and I watch, with a glazed expression, people running around panicking, trying to figure out what to do.
I didn't even notice Tony leave until he returns with my dad at his side. My father's arms and legs are free and he looks just as broken as I do. His eyes are glazed over as if he still can't process what just happened.
I hear something that sounds as if it could be the bars behind me bending. The next thing I know, Mr. Leroy is running past us into the mix of chaos. He returns a second later with my mother's lifeless body in his arms. That's when my father's knees hit the ground. He puts his hands over his face and falls face forward to the earth, sobbing heavily.
I should comfort him but I can't move. I can't take my eyes off my mother's small and ever so still form. Tony puts his hand on my back. With that, my breath catches, my heart breaks and the flood gates open. Tears that I can't control stream down my face like a river of sorrow. I
Behind the gate, I hear a few shouts… one sounds like Mr. Leroy, but I can’t be sure. I just really hope they’re all going to be okay.
“This is your last chance, Willow, your last chance,” Dr. Hastings says once more.
I’m screaming inside for Tony to do something, anything! A timer flashes on the side of the building being lit from an unknown source. It has thirty seconds lit up on it. Then it begins to tick down: twenty-nine, twenty-eight. I try reasoning with Tony, begging him to help me do something, anything! The clock is at fifteen seconds and I’m about to come unglued.
“A pint of my blood or my mother’s life,” I repeat over and over in my head. Is this really a choice I need to make? It seems so simple.
Tony comes through my thoughts. “No! Dr. Hastings would never take just a pint of blood. He will kill you. I swore to your mom that I would protect you at all costs. Your mother wouldn't want you to sacrifice yourself. If she had the ability, she wouldn't let you.”
I fight back, yelling in my head. “I can’t just watch my mother die!” I grit my teeth, biting my tongue to keep from shouting.
Ten, nine… The anxiety is so intense that I find myself paralyzed by it. A single tear slips down my cheek as I frantically look at Dr. Hastings, Zack, the needle, my mother... I open my mouth to call out, not able to take it any longer. But then I hear a popping sound; like something coming apart that was never meant to do so. I watch as my mother frees up her left hand from one of the ties. Hope builds in me as I expect her to break free. That's why it takes me a second to process what happens next. As if in slow motion, I watch her hand reach upward. She swiftly removes the syringe from Dr. Hastings’s grip and plunges it into her neck. I stare in horror as she injects herself with the drug. As if in slow motion, she falls slowly to her knees and then face down on the ground. Her life force ripped from her in an instant.
“No!!!” I yell, expecting people to turn in my direction, but I must be crying out in my mind. I reach my hand out and my knees buckle beneath me, but Tony pulls me close to his side preventing me from falling. “No...” I whimper aloud quietly. “I can help her!” I tell Tony.
“No, Willow. She's gone. She did that for you. You have to stay strong. Please stand back up,” he urges me.
Before I can process what's happening, chaos from the crowd of people erupts and they begin to rush Zack and Dr. Hastings. I hear some of their thoughts like, “that was our only hope”, and, “what are we supposed to do now?”
I feel like a rag doll when Tony pulls me with him. “Get us through the bars, Willow, now!”
I look him in the eyes. It’s like he’s speaking another language. I can’t understand what he’s saying.
“We have to go!” he yells out loud.
I shake my head. “My dad. My mom.” Something breaks inside me with the last two words.
He sets me down on the ground and I watch, with a glazed expression, people running around panicking, trying to figure out what to do.
I didn't even notice Tony leave until he returns with my dad at his side. My father's arms and legs are free and he looks just as broken as I do. His eyes are glazed over as if he still can't process what just happened.
I hear something that sounds as if it could be the bars behind me bending. The next thing I know, Mr. Leroy is running past us into the mix of chaos. He returns a second later with my mother's lifeless body in his arms. That's when my father's knees hit the ground. He puts his hands over his face and falls face forward to the earth, sobbing heavily.
I should comfort him but I can't move. I can't take my eyes off my mother's small and ever so still form. Tony puts his hand on my back. With that, my breath catches, my heart breaks and the flood gates open. Tears that I can't control stream down my face like a river of sorrow. I
Similar Books
