Tremor (25 page)

He arrived at the door and ran both hands through his hair. It had turned thick and wavy from hours in flight without the advantage of a bullet suit to protect him. He was suddenly aware of how cold he was—chilled to the bone.

He opened the door to a small, dark room with the curtains drawn. A small shaft of light split the curtains in two, the last remains of the daylight leaking into a secret space. There were so many comforters and blankets layered on top of the bed that it was hard to tell if anyone lay beneath them. He moved in, closing the door behind him.

“Faith?” he whispered as he knelt down near the sleeping figure. He leaned in close and felt her warm breath. She was alive, this much he knew, and that was enough to close the sound ring for the night.

He pressed in and turned away from the bed.

“She's okay. We're safe. Signing off until tomorrow.”

Clooger pressed in: “We promise not to bother you. Get some sleep, both of you.”

“Talk tomorrow, buddy,” Hawk said. “I'm looking forward to seeing you both.”

“Me, too,” Dylan said, pressing his sound ring for the last time that day.

He took a deep breath and walked around to the other side of the bed. Shoes were removed, and he slid in under the heavy coat of blankets. The sheets were cold on his side, but as he inched closer, the warmth of Faith's body comforted him. She stirred, rolling her head toward him.

“Dylan?” she asked, dreamy.

“Yes, it's me. I'm here.”

“Come closer, just be gentle,” she said. “The wound is on my side, here.”

She took his icy hand in hers and guided it toward her. Faith's hand was warm and soft, and as he felt the place along her side where the damage had been done, she flinched.

“It's okay,” she said, smiling but tearful. The wounds of loss and the happiness of being together again were swirling her emotions into something she couldn't begin to control. She felt doubt and regret and love and triumph.

Faith pulled Dylan's arm around her as she slowly rolled toward him. Dylan's eyes had adjusted to the softness of the waning light. She was the most beautiful person he'd ever seen, and touching her face with his cold hand, her eyes brightened.

“We're going to need to warm those up before you touch anything else.”

He kissed her and she drew him near, Dylan's body beginning to warm. Faith felt the coolness of his lips and the soft, dark stubble that had filled in his face. Her senses stirred as she looked into his dark eyes—he was her one and only, come back to take her in his arms.

Dylan held her as tightly as he could without hurting her, and he thought of all the things he could say. He could start down the long road strewn with doubts and losses, but instead he chose not to say anything at all. He touched her soft hair and wiped a tear from her face, and then he kissed her again. They settled into a cup, he behind, and he smelled the flowery blossom of her hair.

“I'm never leaving you again,” he said.

 

Dylan lay awake as he felt Faith drift back into a deep sleep, the sedative working its magic once more. It felt to him like the safest place on Earth, there in the cold house in the zeroed town under all those blankets, holding her close. He took comfort in more than just Faith. It had been a very bad day, the worst one of his life. He'd lost both parents, one he'd never known. They'd lost their entire army, meager as it was. But he had Faith, and he had his closest friends: Clooger and Hawk. It was the four of them now, and that would have to be enough.

There needed to be moments of silence in a journey this difficult. This would be one of them. Soon enough they would come together again. They were moving toward a time when they would regain their strength and formulate their plans. They would go to a secret place so far into the wild even Hotspur Chance couldn't find them. They would have a few weeks to recover, maybe a month.

After that, one way or another, the end would be upon them all.

About the Author

PATRICK CARMAN
is the
New York Times
bestselling author of such acclaimed series as the Land of Elyon and Atherton, the teen superhero novel
Thirteen Days to Midnight
, and the first book in the Pulse series. A multimedia pioneer, Patrick authored
The Black Circle
, the fifth title in the 39 Clues series, and the groundbreaking Dark Eden, Skeleton Creek, and Trackers books. An enthusiastic reading advocate, Patrick has visited more than one thousand schools, developed village library projects in Central America, and created author outreach programs for communities. He lives in Walla Walla, Washington, with his family. You can visit him online at www.patrickcarman.com.

 

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Praise for
Pulse

“Compelling and original, with pulse-pounding action and a poignant love story.”—
PITTACUS LORE
, #1
New York Times
bestselling author of
I Am Number Four

 

“Impressive! Fascinating and thought-provoking.”—
JAMES DASHNER
,
New York Times
bestselling author of the Maze Runner trilogy

 

“The successful mix of suspense and romance combines with unexpected twists to keep readers engrossed from the start and begging for more.”—
Kirkus Reviews

 

“[An] impressive take on the postapocalyptic novel.”—
Publishers Weekly

 

“Engrossing and suspense-filled.”—
School Library Journal

Books by Patrick Carman

PULSE

 

DARK EDEN

DARK EDEN:
PHANTOM FILE

DARK EDEN:
EVE OF DESTRUCTION

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Credits

Cover illustration © 2014 by vimark/Max Mitenkov

Cover design by Joel Tippie

Copyright

Katherine Tegen Books is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

 

Tremor

Copyright © 2014 by Patrick Carman

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Carman, Patrick.

    Tremor / Patrick Carman. — First edition.

             pages cm

    Sequel to: Pulse.

    Summary: “In the year 2051, one group of telekinesis masters attempts to use their powers to stop another group of telekinesis masters from destroying the world”— Provided by publisher.

    ISBN 978-0-06-208580-1 (hardcover bdg.)

    EPUB Edition JANUARY 2014 ISBN 9780062085825

    [1. Science fiction. 2. Psychic ability—Fiction.]    I. Title.

PZ7.C21694Ts 2014

2013015453

[Fic]—dc23

CIP

AC

13  14  15  16  17    LP/RRDH    10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1

FIRST EDITION