Project ELE (22 page)

"I understand." Connor says stoically then steps up out of the floor and onto solid ground. Well, the ground has always been solid but I guess Connor made himself solid again...or something.

I'm surprised he listened to me that easily and so is everyone else because they give me a strange look. I shrug my shoulders to act like I don't know what's going on. Deep down I have an inkling this new ability has something to do with Zack.

"Well I guess you have some powers too babe." Claire says patting him on the back.

He shakes his head as if coming out of a daze and replies, "Yeah, I guess so." He runs his hands through his hair and then adds, "I don't think I like them very much."

We all laugh at that, which eases the tension in the room. A thought hits me and I blurt it out. "If Connor was able to pass through stuff, then why didn't your hands pass through him when you helped him up?"

We all contemplate it a little. Connor answers. "I don't know. Maybe I can control it like Claire can control the invisibility thing. I just focused on their touch."

"We should really work on this and try to see what all of it means." Claire says.

"Like practice using our powers?" Connor asks.

We all laugh again at him calling these oddities powers as if we are in a comic book.

"I think that's a good idea." Alec says. "I don't think we should tell anyone about this stuff though. At least not until we figure out what's happening."

Everyone agrees and my cheeks heat. I feel guilty knowing that I have talked to Zack already. I haven't told them about the others though, I tell myself, trying to make myself feel less blameworthy.

"Maybe we can go down to the cave on Friday. We all have the day off right?" Claire asks.

Alec looks at me, "Yeah, but Willow has community service." He looks like he still blames himself for my needing to do service.

Man, I feel needles of shame prick my heart. "Yeah, but you should all go and try this out. If I can get out early I'll join you." I lie. My bad conscience justifies it as doing my duty to figure out how all of this is happening.

"Okay, we better get to work." Alec says while typing something into his tablet. He leans in and gives me a kiss before he heads back to the office.

The rest of us follow in his footsteps a few minutes later. We still think it's best that the other workers don't know that Alec is fraternizing with his employees. The last thing we need is more attention shined on us.

I walk out of class on Friday to find Alec waiting for me. He hasn't come to my class before so I'm pleasantly surprised to see him.

"Hey babe." He throws his hand over my shoulder.

"Hey!" I look up into his eyes, which look impeccably blue. The same color blue as my eyes now show.

Alec kisses me on my cheek then pushes my bangs out of my eye. "Beautiful." He says softly while staring at me intently.

I blush under the scrutiny of his gaze. I've been walking around half blind for the past several days ever since my eye has taken on even more freaky shades, including purple. Unlike the changes I've seen in my friend's eyes, mine is only occurring in that one eye. It looks almost like a marble and the colors have swirled together in a strange intricate design.

It didn't take me long to realize that the colors in my eyes correspond with the new colors of my friends eyes. What I haven't figured out though is why.

"I wish you could come with us." Claire calls from behind Alec. I gaze over at her and see that she's staring at my eye now too. I consider briefly allowing my shield to go down so I can hear what she really thinks about my eye color but I avoid invading her privacy.

"I wish I could too." I reply. My chest is tight with anxiety. I hate lying but I have to get to the bottom of this. My friends seem to only be exhibiting one newfound ability, but I'm somehow exhibiting multiple abilities.

I even realized that I have that gift of persuasion or compulsion or whatever the heck Zack calls it. I had asked the lunch lady for an extra dessert yesterday and she gave it to me for free. I know it sounds small and trite but that lunch lady has never given anyone an extra portion of food without charging for it.

"Do you want me to walk you to community service?" Alec asks.

My heart speeds up, that would not be a good idea. Man, I hate lying. "No, I’ll be fine."

"Do you at least get to have lunch with us first?" He asks.

I think about it. I really would rather get this done with. I don't really feel hungry either; all of this lying has made me lose my appetite. "No, they will have sacked lunches there."

"Okay. I’ll see you tonight at dinner then?" Alec looks hopeful.

"Yep! I want a play by play run down of all of the amazing comic book worthy stuff you guys do." I smile.

"Deal." Alec leans in and gives me a kiss before we part ways.

I find Zack leaning against the wall in the isolated hallway that leads to the assembly room. He turns to smile broadly at me when I start approaching. Zack is way too slick for his own good. His boyish good looks and big smile make him seem like a mix between a High School quarterback and a magazine model.

"Hey sugar." He drawls.

"I think you need to stop calling me that." I cross my arms over my chest feeling slightly annoyed.

"Why? Don't you like terms of endearment?" He raises his eyebrow at me.

"Look Zack. I'm not your ‘sugar’ so I prefer you don't use that term on me. We’re not really friends or anything. This is a business arrangement and we are just working together this time to try and get some questions answered." I hope I've made myself really clear and have drawn that line in the sand for him.

"Hmm, okay." He moves closer to me then stares into my eyes. I swear that the colors, which make up his hazel eyes are moving around like clouds in a churning thunderstorm. He says slowly, "I can call you sugar."

I cock my head at him then say in a monotone robot like voice, "You-can-call-me-sugar."

He gives me a questioning look and I bust out laughing. I know it might seem sick but I get a bit of pleasure when I see his cheeks heat for once. He looks annoyed.

"Don't try that compulsion crap on me anymore. Are we clear?" I say. "Because it doesn't work." I flash my teeth and give him a prideful smile.

"We'll see." He says to which I just roll my eyes. No use trying to fight with him. After all, boys like Zack must always think they are right.

"Oh, by the way, I have a present for you sug...Willow." He pulls a small white box out of the front pocket of his scrubs shirt and hands it to me.

I accept it a little nervously looking down at it. "What is it?" I ask. Visions of strange jewelry and inappropriate gifts flood my mind.

"Open it and find out."

I open up the flip top of the box slowly and see several small colored contacts. "Ah! Genius!" I exclaim.

"I figured this would make it to where you could stop wearing your hair in front of your face. You do look a little ridiculous after all." He pokes.

I look back down at the contacts ignoring his off handed insult. “Um, I’m not sure I know how to use these. No one in my family wears them.”

Zack takes the box from my hands. “Here,” he says. “I’ll show you.” He walks over to one of the single person bathrooms along the wall and opens the door. He turns the light on and looks around making sure the coast is clear. He ushers me in, closes and locks the door. “Here, have a seat.” He says, gesturing to the toilet.

“Eww, seriously?” I question.

His look gives nothing away. He puts the toilet seat down with his foot and takes ahold of my shoulders to sit me down. I squirm a little under his gaze. He hands me back the box of contacts and proceeds to wash his hands. “These contacts are special. You see, they don’t need any contact solution like they used to. And, you can use them for up to thirty days at a time. Then you dispose of them and get a new pair.” He dries his hands with paper towels and turns back towards me. He takes the box from my hands and reaches inside and grabs a pair of contacts. He holds them up to the light and looks back at me. “Yep, I picked just the right color.”

My cheeks blush. It seems so intimate that he'd know my eye color that well.

He opens the package and balances a contact on the tip of his finger. “Lean your head back and hold still.”

I do as I’m told. With one hand he holds my eye open so it’s unable to blink; with the other hand he gently places the contact on my eye. The urge to blink is so strong but I fight it.

“Just give it about five to ten seconds for the glue to dry, then you can blink,” he says. He lets go of my eye and my lashes blink rapidly. I furrow my brow. It feels like something is actually in my eye…like an eyelash or something. I go to rub it, but Zack stops my hand. “Whatever you do, don’t rub it for at least an hour. You’ll get used to it; don’t worry.”

I nod my head at him and stand up. I go to the mirror by the sink and move my bangs aside. My eye is a little blurry but already I can tell how much better it looks. “Wow, it looks…normal.”

I see Zack’s reflection in the mirror and he looks mighty pleased with himself.

Suddenly the handle to the bathroom begins to jiggle followed by a loud banging on the door. I whip around and stare at Zack, wide eyed. He puts his finger to his lips and moves me by my shoulders to the corner by the sink. He walks back over to the door and opens it, releasing the lock.

“Hey man,” some guy says. “I really need to go.”

In that eerie voice Zack uses for compulsion he says to the man. “This bathroom’s closed. The only one available is the one on the fourth floor, behind the cinema.”

I gasp slightly and put my hand over my mouth. It’ll take that poor guy at least fifteen minutes to get there. Ten if he runs. Zack slowly pulls the door closed and rearms the lock. I can’t help it, I bust out laughing. Zack’s eyes light up and I say, “I shouldn’t be laughing you know. That wasn’t very nice.”

Zack tries to stifle a snicker. “What can I say?” He shrugs his shoulders. “Is it feeling any better?” He asks me, changing the subject.

I nod my head. “Yeah, it’s just going to take some getting used to.”

“Good,” he says and then pauses. “I’m going to make sure the coast is clear, then you can follow me out, okay?”

“Okay,” I respond. Do I really have a choice not to trust him?

Zack opens the door quietly and peers around it. After a few seconds he motions for me to come along beside him.

Once we’re safely in the hall I say rather meekly, “Thanks for doing this for me.” My guard around Zack is beginning to falter. He still seems sly and snake-like; but now, it’s like there’s another layer under him. Like maybe he really is nice and caring once you peel off that outer layer.

“Don’t mention it,” he says while looking both ways. He grabs my hand and hurries to the other side of the hallway. I don’t even have a chance to protest before he lets go again. He takes his tablet out of his satchel, places it next to the wall and begins punching numbers in. It looks like he’s scanning the wall…but why would he do that? I hear a click as something releases and I watch in amazement as the wall opens up revealing a hidden hallway. He grabs my hand and pulls me in with him and closes the …wall? I don’t know if I should even call that a door.

“Um, Zack, what the hell was that?" I say trying not to yell.

He gives me a sly smile. “That,” he says extenuating the word, “was something you,” he pokes me with his index finger, “were not supposed to see.”

I swallow hard and nod my head. I place my fingers up to my lips and pull them across imitating a zipper.

That must satisfy him because he turns and begins walking up the steep hallway. There is dim lighting coming from the ceiling. Some of the lights flicker like they haven’t been on in a while. They emit a slight buzzing noise putting me on edge.

“Hey Zack, would you mind telling me where we’re going?” I ask a little out of breath from the climb.

He doesn't answer me.

I don't like not knowing what's going on and I have a sinking feeling inside my stomach like something is out of place. Is it really safe for me to be in a secret hallway with this guy? I’m like putty in his hands here. I could scream but it’s painfully obvious no one would hear. Having no choice but to follow the leader, I stay one step behind him and remain silent. We walk a little further up the twisting pathways until we come to a steel door with a small keypad adjacent to it.

Zack reaches his hand up to press in the code but stops abruptly, turning to me. “Do you mind?” He asks.

“Oh,” I say. “Sorry, sure.” I turn around and listen to seven numbers being typed in followed by a quiet beep after each. The door releases and I turn around. Zack is already halfway through the doorway so I follow behind him.

Inside is a large lab. It looks like something from a movie; with all the twisting tubes and smoke billowing out of glowing beakers. The room is illuminated in a dull blue light. As if on cue, Zack chimes in answering my unasked question. “This is my father’s lab. You might know him.”

“Oh?” I ask, suddenly curious. Why I would know his dad puzzles me.

“Dr. Hastings?” He asks it in more of a question than a statement.

Suddenly, I’m at a loss for words. His dad is Dr. Hastings? “Dr. Hastings, as in the leader of this entire facility?”

He gives me a sinister look and turns away. “The very one.” He says, not giving anything away in his voice. I guess that explains his living arrangements and the fact that he doesn’t have to work.

Zack walks through the lab like he’s been here a thousand times before. He starts checking on beakers, swirling different fluids around.

I begin to relax, just a little, and browse around. “So, what does your dad do in here?” I ask rather curiously.

Zack pauses and looks up at me. “You really want to know the answer to that?”

I think for a second. “Yeah, why not?”

Zack lets out a huff of air. He seems more amused than irritated. Zack drones on about his dad being in charge of the vaccinations that were given to each of us when we entered.

I lose interest when he starts talking about durable immunological responses. I run my hand along the shiny stainless steel countertop. Spotless. My eyes land on a file as I peruse around. I look down at its label: Immunizations. It's the same file I saw Dr. Hastings leave Alec's office with. I open it and find a large stack of paper, held together with a heavy duty staple. I scan over the papers, which consists of a very long list of names and other scientific mumbo jumbo. I scan it briefly and one name jumps out at me, my fathers! My eyes dart over to Zack who is still lost in his own world. I don’t waste a second longer as I slip the stapled list inside my satchel, careful not to let Zack see or hear what I’m doing. I button it back up praying he didn’t notice.

“…So, all in all, my dad and I tested different strands trying to see if we needed a monovalent or a multivalent Vaccine. We settled on a polyvalent hoping it could fight off more than one antigen.”

He looks over at me and I nod my head feigning understanding. He lost me at Dr. Hastings.

Who would have guessed that Zack was so scientific? "Um, cool." I scratch my head and then add, "So, what does this place have to do with our new abilities?"

He looks thoughtful. "My dad hasn't always been very forthcoming about his studies so I figure it wouldn't hurt to do a little snooping. You never know what we could find."

"He's not forthcoming yet he allows you access to his 'secret' lair?" I ask quizzically.