Free Surviving ELE (ELE Series #4) by Rebecca Gober, Courtney Nuckels

Mess Hall. You can tell he has full trust in his wife because he doesn’t walk timidly. He has full confidence, as if he can see the hall before him. Perhaps he actually can see it, through his wife’s eyes.
    As we enter the huge dining room – which is in fact labeled in childish block letters as The Mess Hall – we find Erik, Alec, and Connor. They must have circled around the facility because they are already in line for the buffet-style dinner.
    Erik invites us to sit with his family. When I come to the table, I notice a familiar person sitting next to a man that looks like a younger version of Erik. Except this man, or boy, has neon-yellow eyes.
    “Willow!” Molly jumps up from her seat and comes running towards me.
    “Hi, Molly,” I say not as enthusiastically, as I set my tray down. I like the girl, but last time she drove me a little nuts.
    “I was hoping I’d see you again.” She pulls my arm and jerks me around the table.
    She looks at me excitedly with her bright purple eyes as she introduces the boy she was sitting next to. “This is my boyfriend, Seth!” She smiles giddily.
    Seth wipes his mouth with his napkin before he stands up to greet me. “Nice to meet you,” Seth says as he holds his hand out to me.
    I shake his hand. “Nice to meet you too. I’m Willow.”
    “Yes, my brothers have told me about you.” He lowers his voice and leans in to speak to me more intimately. “Thank you for taking care of Molly. I’m sorry that I left her like that. I had no idea I would react in such a way. I regret that day very much.”
    Molly, having heard his thank you, slaps him playfully on the arm. “Yeah, I make sure he never forgets it.”
    I chuckle. As much as I’d love to have given this boy a stern ‘what for’ because of his actions, I can see that Molly has probably made him pay for it tenfold. “You’re welcome,” I answer him.
    I introduce Molly and Seth to my friends and then take a seat. I wave Candy and Jake over to our table after they make their way through the line. They sit on the opposite end as us. For the most part, they seem to keep more so to themselves as opposed to getting involved in our conversations. I can tell that they are really into each other.
    I dig into the steaming hot meal of chicken and dumplings. It is so freaking good that I’m sure I’m making embarrassing moaning and awing sounds as I shovel it into my mouth. I don’t care though; having a warm meal really hits the spot.
    After dinner, we meet with Erik and Morgan and hash out some basic plans. Since we don’t know Zack’s exact location, we’ll have to send out a few surveillance teams. We set up a mission to check out the area west of the shelter. There have been reports of strange lights shining in the sky in that general vicinity. We figure that it’s as good a start as any. In addition to our strategies to hunt Zack down, we make plans for our newest members to begin training. Some of the new arrivals that we have with us haven’t been adequately trained. We nominate a few of Erik’s men as well as mine to lead the defense training. We also set up for people with similar gifts to work together to sharpen each other’s powers.
    It feels good to take action and make plans. When I retire to my room with Claire, I find myself feeling exhausted, yet hopeful. Perhaps we can do this. We can take Zack down. I fall asleep easily and when I dream, I dream of Tony.

     

CHAPTER 5
     
    I wake up when the first wisps of light filter into our room. Taking advantage of being the first person up, I tiptoe to the bathroom and take a quick, cold shower. I’m towel drying my hair as I walk back into the room ten minutes later.
    Claire is sitting Indian style on her bed. She’s already fully dressed and ready to go. She smiles at me as I enter the room. “Good morning, sunshine.”
    “Good morning to you too. You seem like a happy camper this morning.” I eye her, wondering why she looks so at peace.
    She