Gone (38 page)

And yet> Astrid wasn't returning his gaze, she was focused entirely on Little Pete. Almost as if she was crying for his benefit, communicating her terror to him.

Of course she was. But it wasn t working. Little Pete was in his game, in another world.

"I think time's about up for you, Sam," Drake said with a laugh. "Try pulling your hands out. Can't do it, can you?"

Drake stepped up behind him and swatted him on the back of his head.

"Come on, Sam. Even Caine's scared of you, so you must be tounh. Come on, show me what you've got" He hit Sam again, this time with the barrel of the gun. Sam collapsed facedown in ihe dirt.

Sam raised himself up. He tugged as hard as he could, but his hands were imprisoned. His tlesh itched. He fought against a tide of panic. He wanted to scream curses, but that would only entertain Drake.

"Yeah, take it like a man" Drake crowed. "After all, youVe fourteen, right? So how long till you vacate? It's all just a passing phase here in the FAYZ, right?"

The mixers dug the concrete block out of the dirt, and now, as he tried to stand, Sam felt the terrible weight of the thing. He could stand, but not without struggling.

Drake got up close to him. "So who's the man here? Who brought you and the rest of these freaks down? Me. And me without any powers at all."

Sam heard a door slam. He craned his head and saw Caine and Diana coming across the lawn.

Caine walked at a languid pace across the lawn, smiling more broadly the closer he got,

"Well, if it isn't the defiant Sam Temple" he said. *Let me shake your hand. Oh, sorry, my bad" He laughed, a sound thai seemed more a release of tension than anything else.

"I got him," Drake announced. "I got them all"

"Yes, you did," Caine said. "Good work. Drake. Very good work. And I see Sam's little friends are likewise caught."

"Why don't you give Drake a little scratch behind the ears, Caine, he's been such a good dog," Diana said.

The mixers had dug Astrid's hands out of the dirt. She was crying hysterically, unable to stand all the way up. Little Pete went to her, walking like he was in a dream, head down over his Game Bov.

Astrid bumped her concrete block into Little Pete-

And suddenly Sam knew what she was doing. He had to provide distraction. He had to keep the focus away from Astrid and Little Pete.

"You don't want to mess with this girl, her name is Lana ," Sam said, jerking his chin toward her. "She's a healer"

Caine's eyebrows shot up. "A what? A healer?"

"She can heal anything, any kind of injury" Sam said. Astrid, barely able to move, was slowly, rhythmically swinging her block back and forth ir a narrow arc, bumping it against Little Pete's Game Boy.

"She healed me" Sam said. "Coyote bit me. Want to see?"

Caine said,"I have a better idea. Drake: give the girl something to heal."

Drake laughed out loud, a gleeful sound. He pressed the muzzle of his pistol against Sam's knee. "No," Diana yelled.

The explosion was shocking. The pain, at first, didn't register, but Sam collapsed. He fell on his side like a felled tree. The leg, blown half off, buckled and twisted beneath him.

And then came the pain.

Drake smiled hugely and yelled an exultant, "Yeah!"

Astrid, startled, slammed the concrete block so hard against Little Pete that she knocked the Game Boy from his hands and knocked him back a s:ep.

Diana frowned, alarmed. For the first time she really registered Little Pete's presence.

Through a red mist of pain Sam saw her eyes fly open, her finger stab toward Little Pete.

"Drake, you idiot, the kid. The kid."

Astrid dropped to her knees, slammed the concrete block down on the Game Boy,

There was no Hash of light. No sound.

But suddenly the concrete enotsing Astrid's hands was gone. Simply gone.

So was the concrete block on Sam's hands.

And every one of the other children.

Astrid was on her hands and knees, knuckles pressed into the soft dirt.

The concrete blocks were gone like they had never existed, though the hands of those who had been trapped longest were masses of pale, dead, sloughing skin.

Caine was quick. He backed away, turned, and ran for the building. Diana seemed torn, uncertain; then she bolted after Caine,

Little Pete picked up his game. The block had disappeared a split second before smashing down on the game. It was dirty and had a piece of grass sticking out of it now, but it still worked.

Drake stood rooted. The gun was still in his hand, smoking from the bullet he had fired into Sam's knee. He blinked.

He raised the gun and fired at Little Pete. But his aim was wild. His aim was off because of the blinding flash of greenish-while light-Drake's arm> the entire arm holding the gun. burst into flame.

Drake screamed. The gun fell from his melting fingers. The flesh burned black. The smoke was brown-Drake screamed and stared in stark horror as the fire ate away at his arm. He broke and ran, the wind fanning the

(lames.

"Good shot. Sam," Edilio said.

"I was aiming at his head" Sam said, gritting his teeth through the pain.

Lana knelt beside Sam and laid her hands on the bloody mess of his knee.

"We have to get out of here " Sam managed to say. "Forget me, we have to run. Back to ... Caine will ..
T

But that was the last of his strength. It felt as if a black hole was swallowing him up. He swilled down and down into unconsciousness.

86 HOURS, 11 MINUTES

"WHERE ARE WE?" Sam woke up all at once and was embarrassed to find that he was being half dragged down the road by Edilio and a kid he didn't know. Edilio slopped, "Can you stand?"

Sam tested his legs, Lana's healing of his leg had been complete, "Yeah. Pm fine. Feel okay, actually"

He looked back and realized they had been leading a sort of ragtag parade. Astrid and Little Pete, Lana holding a boy's hand while her dog bounded into the woods to chase a squirrel. Quinn walked by himself along the shoulder of the road, shunned and ashamed. And there were almost two dozen kids, the liberated freaks from Coates.

Edilio saw the look on his face. "You got yourself a crowd of followers, Sam,"

"Caine hasn't come alter us?"

"Not yet."

The group of them was straggling down the road, bunched here and there, spread out elsewhere, wandering, undisciplined.

Sam winced when he saw the hands of the Coates kids. The concrete had leeched all the moisture from their skin. Their skin was white and loose, hanging in tatters in some cases, like the tattered bandages of some horror movie mummy. Their wrists revealed red circles where the concrete had rubbed the flesh bloody. They were filthy.

"Yeah," Edilio said, knowing what he was seeing. "Lana's going through them one at a time. Healing them. She's amazing."

Sam thought he heard something extra in Edilio's voice. "She's cute too, huh, Edilio?"

Edilio's eyes went wide and he started blushing. "She's just . . . you know ,, "

Sam slapped his shoulder."Good luck with that"

"You think she , ■ ■ I mean, you know me, I'm just . . " Edilio stammered his way to a stop,

"Dude, let's see if we can stay alive. Then you can ask her out or whatever"

Sam surveyed the scene. They were on the Coates road, passing the iron gate, still many miles from Perdido Beach.

Astrid noticed that he was awake and hurried her pace. "About time you woke up" she said.

"Well," he played along with her bantering tone, "usually after I get shot and then fire lasers out of my hands, I like to enjoy a brief nap." He caught Lana's eye and mouthed the word "thanks."

Lana shrugged as if to say "no biggie."

"Caine won't let this stand" Astrid said, turning serious.

"No. He'll come after us" Sam said. "But not just yet. Not until he's come up with a plan. He's lost Drake. And he's gotta be worried that we have all these kids with powers who hate his guts."

"What makes you think he won't just come after us?"

"Think about when he first came rolling into Perdido Beach," Sam said. "He had a plan. He trained his people and rehearsed."

"So we go back to Perdido Beach?" Astrid asked. "Ore is still there, and a few others. There may be trouble with them"

"We need to get some food for these kids" Edilio said. "That's first."

"Three or four miles to Ralph's" Sam mused. "Can they make it?"

"I guess they have to," Edilio said."But they're scared, too. I mean, you got some messed-up kids here. What they been through and all?"

"We're all scared, there's not much we can do about that," Sam said. But he didn't like the sound of that. It was glib. !t was meaningless: sure, they were all scared, but there was something they could do about it.

In lact, they had to do something about it-

Sam stopped in the middle of the road and waited for the others to catch up.

"Listen "he said. He raised his hands to get their attention, calm them down, but they had seen what happened when

Sam raised his hands. They flinched and seemed about ready to dart off the road and into the woods.

Sam dropped his hands hastily-"Sony Let me start over: Could I have everyone's attention?" Sam said> using a gentler voice. He kept his hands by his sides. He waited patiently until he was sure everyone was listening. Quinn still hung back.

"Some bad stuff has happened to all of us" Sam said. "Some very bad stuff. We're beat up, we're tired. We don't know what's going on. The whole world has gone bizarre on us. Our own bodies and minds have changed in ways that are even weirder than puberty."

That earned a few smiles and one grudging laugh.

"Yeah. I know we're all shook up. We're all scared. I know I am " he admitted with a rueful smile. "So, let's not try and play like it isn't scary. It is. But sometimes the worst thing is the fear. You know?" His gaze traveling over the feces, he realized anew that they had another concern, greater even than fear. "Although hunger's no joke, either We're a few miles from a grocery store. We'll get you all fed there. I know some of you have been in hell since this happened. Well, I would like to tell you it's over, but it's not"

Grim looks on every face.

Sam had said all he had really planned to say, but they still needed something more. He shot a glance at Astrid. She was as solemn as anyone, but she gave him a nod, encouraging him to say more.

"Okay. Okay" he said so softly that some had to move closer to hear him. "Here's the thing. We're not going to give in. We're going to fight."

"Got thai right" a voice cried oul.

"First thing we need to have clear: there's no line between freak and normal here. If you have the power, we'll need you. If you don't, we'll need you"

Heads were nodding. Looks were being exchanged.

"Coates kids, Perdido Beach kids, we're together now. We're together. Maybe you did things to survive. Maybe you weren't always brave. Maybe you gave up hope"

A girl sobbed suddenly.

"Well that's all over now* Sam said gently. "It all starts fresh. Right here, right now. We're brothers and sisters now. Doesn't matter we don't know each other's names, we are brothers and sisters and we're going to survive, and we're going to win, and we're going to find our way to some kind of happiness again"

There was a long, deep silence.

"So," Sam said,"my name is Sam. I'm in this with you. All ihe way" He turned to Astrid.

"I'm Astrid, I'm in this with you, too."

"My name is Edilio. What they said. Brothers and sisters.
HttntanosT

"Thuan Vong" said a thin boy with yet-unhealed hands like dead fish. *Tm in."

"Dekka,"said a strong, solidly built girl with cornrows and a nose ring. "I'm in. And I have game"

"Me too" called a skinny girl with reddish pigtails. "My name's Brianna. I... well, I can go real fast"

One by one ihey declared iheir determination. The voices started out soft and gained strength. Each voice louder, firmer, more determined than the one before.

Only Quinn remained silent. He hung his head, and tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Quinn" Sam called to him,

Quinn didn't respond, just looked down at the ground.

"Quinn," Sam said again. "It starts fresh right now. Nothing before counts. Nothing. Brothers, man?"

Quinn struggled with the lump in his throat. But then, in a low voice, he said, "Yeah. Brothers."

"Okay. Now let's get everyone some food " Sam said.

When they started out again* they no longer spread in every direction. They didn't march like an army, but they came as close as a bunch of traumatized kids could. They walked with their heads a little higher.

Someone actually laughed, it was a good sound.

In a low voice Astrid said, "Nothing to fear but fear itself"

"I don't think I said it quite that well"

Edilio slapped him on the back. "You said it well enough, man"

"Sam's back." "What?"

"Sam. He's back. He's coming down the highway" Howard's chest tightened. He was halfway down the steps of town hall, on his way to McDonald's for one of Albert's waffle-burgers.

It was Elwood, Dahra Baidoo's boyfriend, who had delivered the news. He sounded relieved, there was no denying it. He sounded glad. Howard made a mental note that Elwood was disloyal, but he realized at the same time thai he might have bigger issues to worry about than ElwoxTs loyalty.

"If Sam's coming back, it's on the end of a leash held by Drake Merwin," Howard blustered.

But Elwood was off to tell Dahra and was no longer listening.

Howard looked around, feeling a little lost, not quite sure what to do. He spotted Mary Terrafino pushing a shopping cart loaded with juice boxes, A&D ointment, and some bruised apples across the plaza toward the day care. Howard trotted down the steps and caught up with her.

"Tsup* Mary?" he asked.

"Um, your time?" Mary said, and laughed at her own wit. "Yeah, you think? My time's up?" "Sam's on his way" "You saw him?"

"I had three different people tell me he's coming down the highway. You better rush out and stop him, Howard" Mary crowed.