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

from going on a mission. It would be hypocritical of me to deny her when I was in her place before. “You can come if you agree to follow our directions to a T,” I tell her. I hold her gaze, making sure she’s really willing to abide by these conditions.
    She nods her head and keeps her composure, even though there is obvious excitement in her eyes. “I will, I promise.”
    Her cousin Joseph sees her excitement and approaches. I nod to him, and then continue addressing Marya. “Good. Now, has Joseph told you about the Reapers?”
    Marya’s eyes turn dark. Joseph answers for her. “I didn’t have to tell her much about them. She witnessed their fury when she first escaped the shelter. Thankfully, her powers came on strong and quick that day.” He looks at her with pride. “She took out four Reapers before they were immobilized by Dr. Hastings’s device.”
    I smile at her. “That is quite a feat, Marya. Good job,” I say, impressed.
    She shivers slightly as she adds, “If I had seen them shoot me in my back, I would have been able to keep from being captured too.”
    I nod my head. “I have no doubt you would have been able to stop bullets.”
    The darkness starts to fade from her eyes and she smiles. “Yes, I suppose I could do that. I just have to see them coming first.”
    “I think Erik’s ready for you, Willow,” Alec says from behind me.
    I turn around, acknowledging him. “Thanks. Have you met Marya and her cousin Joseph?”
    Alec looks over my shoulder at Marya. For an instant, an interesting expression crosses his features. I don’t know what to think of that look but just as quickly as it comes, it leaves. “I’ve seen them around, but we haven’t been formally introduced,” Alec says loud enough for them to hear.
    Marya steps forward and introduces herself boldly. I leave them to their introductions and head out to find Erik.
    I find him easily, at the front of the crowd. He goes over our plans for the mission. Even though I would like to take the lead like my mother did so many times before, I agree to stay in the middle of the pack. Once again, I’d be a huge liability if a Reaper got me. Plus, if Zack’s men are present, it would be best if they don’t see me right away.
    After a few more instructions, we leave. It takes a little over an hour to get anywhere close to the shelter. My head feels a little dizzy as we walk through the forest towards the tree line that leads to the clearing. The thought of stepping foot into the place where one of my worst nightmares came true makes my stomach tighten. My vision blurs on the edges, but I shake it off and keep moving. I can’t wimp out now. We have to pass by the shelter to get to the area where the lights were last seen.
    We step out into the open and I come face to face with the mountain that once was my home. Its metal doors are still wide open and are tinged with black. Debris is littered around the clearing, making it look every bit like the war zone that it was. I can’t help but wonder if anyone was left inside those doors. I do a double take when I look past the doorway into the blackened inner workings of the shelter. A pair of red eyes glares at me from the inside. A shiver runs up and down my body as I stare at it with wide eyes.
    “Is that what I think it is?” Claire whispers in my ear.
    I nod my head, unwilling to remove my gaze from the Reaper. As if it were a spider or some other equally scary thing, I don’t want to let it out of my sight in fear that it will disappear and gain an advantage on us.
    Erik must have noticed this too, because he stops our group by outstretching his arm. The soldiers on our outer perimeter arm their weapons, pointing their barrels towards the doors. The clicking sound of the ammunition loading makes me shiver.
    He motions for the first rung of men to follow him. At first, I wonder why he’s going after the Reaper. This isn’t our mission, but then again, those eyes could actually belong to