168 Quotes & Sayings By Michael Grant

What do you think that fish is?' Sam asked Astrid., ' she said.' Yeah?' Sam made a face. 'Do you think it's okay to eat?'? Inedible? Joke, duh. Try to keep up, Sam, I made that really easy for you.' Sam smiled. 'You know, a real genius would have known I wouldn't get it. Ergo, you are not a real genius. Hah. That's right. I threw down an 'ergo.''She gave him a pitying look. 'That's very impressive, Sam. Especially from a boy who has twenty-two different uses for the word 'dude. . Michael Grant

Sam woke to a feeling of utter, profound, incredible relief. He closed his eyes as soon as he opened them, afraid that being awake would just invite something terrible to appear. Astrid was back. And she was asleep with her head on his arm. His arm was asleep, completely numb, but as long as that blond head was right there his arm could stay numb. She smelled like pine trees and campfire smoke. He opened his eyes, cautious, almost flinching, because the FAYZ didn’t make a habit of allowing him pure, undiluted happiness. The FAYZ made a habit of stomping on anything that looked even a little bit like happiness. And this level of happiness was surely tempting retaliation. From this high up the fall could be a long, long one. . Michael Grant

It’s time, ” Jack said.“ Breeze? Count the kids, ” Sam said. Brianna was back in twenty seconds. “Eighty-two, boss.”“ About a third, ” Jack observed. “A third of what’s left.”“ Wait. Make that eighty-eight, ” Brianna said. “And a dog.” Lana, looking deeply irritated–a fairly usual expression for her–and Sanjit, looking happy–a fairly usual expression for him–and Sanjit’s siblings were trotting along to catch up.“ I don’t know if we’re staying up there or not, ” Lana said without preamble. “I want to check it out. And my room smells like crap.” Just before the time was up, Sam heard a stir. Kids were making a lane for someone, murmuring. His heart leaped.“ Hey, Sam.”He swallowed the lump in his throat. “Diana?”“Not expecting me, huh?” She made a wry face. “Where’s blondie? I didn’t see her at the big pep rally.”“ Are you coming with us?” Brianna demanded, obviously not happy about it.“ Is Caine okay with this?” Sam asked Diana. “It’s your choice, but I need to know if he’s going to come after us to take you back.”“ Caine has what he wants, ” Diana said.“ Maybe I should call Toto over, ” Sam said. The truth teller was having a conversation with Spidey. “I could ask you whether you’re coming along to spy for Caine, and see what Toto has to say.” Diana sighed. “Sam, I have bigger problems than Caine. And so do you, I guess. Because the FAYZ is going to do something it’s never done before: grow by one.”“ What’s that mean?”“ You are going to be an uncle.” Sam stared blankly. Brianna said a very rude word. And even Dekka looked up.“ You’re having a baby?” Dekka asked.“ Let’s hope so, ” Diana said bleakly. “Let’s hope that’s all it is. Michael Grant

She collapsed at the bottom of the trail, at the edge of the ghost town. Dekka sat on Edilio and pressed down on the wound. The force of the blood was weaker now. She could almost hold the blood back now, not a good thing, no, because it meant he was almost finished, his brave heart almost done beating. Dekka looked up straight into the glittering eyes of a coyote. She could sense the others around her, closing in. Wary but sensing that a fresh meal was close at hand. . Michael Grant

I believe in free will. I think we make our own decisions and carry out or own actions. And our actions have consequences. The world is what we make it. But I think sometimes we can ask God to help us and He will. Michael Grant

It takes me a while to figure things out, doesn't it?" Edilio grinned. "Do me a favor. When you find Astrid, repeat that to her, word for word, the part about how it takes you a while. Then remember her exact reaction and tell me. Michael Grant

There's a lot youdon't know, Sam. There's a lot I don't tell you. I know who I am. I know what I do, and what I am to this place. I know what I am to you, and how much you depend on me. You may be the symbol, and you may be the one everyone turns to when something goes bad, and you're the big badass, but I'm the guy doing the day-in, day-out work of running things. So I don't make this about me. Michael Grant

About time, ” Brianna said.“ Hey, sorry, we were kind of busy, ” Quinn snapped. “And I didn’t exactly realize I was on a schedule.”“ I don’t like what I have to do here, ” Brianna said. She handed Quinn the note. He read it. Read it again.“ Is this some kind of joke?” he demanded.“ Albert’s dead, ” Brianna said. “Murdered.”“What?”“He’s dead. Sam and Dekka are off in the wilderness somewhere. Edilio’s got the flu, he might die, a lot of kids have. A lot. And there are these, these monsters, these kind of bugs. . no one knows what to call them. heading toward town.” Her face contorted in a mix of rage and sorrow and fear. She blurted, “And I can’t stop them! ” Quinn stared at her. Then back at the note. He felt his contented little universe tilt and go sliding away. There were just two words on the paper: “Get Caine. Michael Grant

The folks who hate the idea of women soldiers tell one set of lies, the people who like the notion of women at war tell a different set of lies. If you believe the one side, we’re nothing but a drag on the men, and the other side acts like we won the war all by ourselves. We could probably get a pretty good debate going here on the women’s war over the question of which se of lies we hate more–the one denies what we’ve done; the other belittles what our brother have done. Michael Grant

We were girls, you see, not even women, just girls, most of us when we started. And the boys were just boys, not men, most of them. We’d only begun to live life, we knew little and understood less. We were unformed, incomplete. It’s funny how easy it is to see that now. If you’d called me a child three years ago when this started I’d have been furious. But looking back? We were children just getting ready to figure out what adulthood was all about. . Michael Grant

I knew the eyes. I didn’t know the Kraut, but yeah, I sure knew that look. I see it when I look in the mirror, even now. If you stay too long in the way, it’s like your eyes try to get away, like they’re sinking down, trying to hide, wary little animals crawling into the cave of your eye socket. Michael Grant

I hear civilians saying we’re all heroes, heard someone… was it Arthur Godfrey on Armed Forces Radio? I can’t recall, but it’s nonsense anyway. If everyone is a hero, then no one is. Others say everyone below ground is a hero, but a lot of those were just green kids who spent an hour or a day on the battlefield before standing up when they shouldn’t have, or stepping where they shouldn’t have stepped. If there’s something heroic about stand up to scratch your ass and having some Kraut sniper ventilate your head, I guess I don’t see it. If by “hero”, you mean one of those soldiers who will follow an order to rush a Kraut machine gun or stuff a grenade in a tank hatch, well, that’s closer to meaning something. But the picture in your imagination, Gentle Reader, may not bear much similarity to reality. I knew a guy who did just that–jumped up on a Tiger tank and dropped a grenade (or was it two?) down the hatch. Blew the hell out of it too. But he’d just gotten a Dear John letter from his fiancée in the same batch of mail that informed him his brother had been killed. So I guess it was eight on the line between heroism and suicide. . Michael Grant

Sam. Brianna is dead.” He just stared at her. Then, in a soft, almost childlike voice, he said, “Breeze?”“She stopped Gaia. It looked like Brianna almost killed her. The second time she . But this time . .”There were tears in Sam’s eyes. “My God. How is Dekka?”“Like you’d expect. Destroyed. Roger’s dead, too, so Edilio . It’s been really bad, Sam. Really bad. It’s like we’re in a war.”“ We are. . Michael Grant

Brianna’s looking for Drake, ” Edilio said, thinking out loud.“ You sent her out against Drake?” Albert demanded.“ Sent her? Who sends Brianna out to get into a fight? She goes on her own. Anyway, it’s not like you’ve left us with anyone else.” Albert had the decency not to say anything to that.“ You know, you guys put me in charge. I didn’t ask to be in charge. I didn’t want to be in charge. Sam was in charge and all you guys ever did was give him grief, ” Edilio said. “You two, especially.” He pointed at Albert and Astrid. “So, okay, Astrid takes over. And then Astrid finds out it’s not so much fun being in charge. So it’s like, okay, let’s get the dumb wetback to do the job.”“ No one ever–, ” Astrid protested.“ And me, like a fool, I’m thinking, okay, that must mean people trust me. They asked me to be in charge, be the mayor. Come to find out, I’m not making decisions; Albert’s making decisions. Albert’s deciding we need to find more water and sending our two best fighters off into the countryside. Now I’m supposed to fix everything? It’s like you go, ‘Fight a war, ’ but you sent my army off on a wild goose chase. . Michael Grant

So asking you to take a moonlit walk with me, that would totally not work?"" What?" Again that glare. "Go away. Stop being an idiot. I don't even know you."" You're healing my little brother Bowie.""Yeah, that doesn't make us friends, kid."" So no moonlight."" Are you retarded?"" Sunrise? I could get up early."" Go away."" Sunset tomorrow?" -Sanjit & Lana Michael Grant

Beautiful songs could sometimes take a person out of themselves and carry them away to a place of magic. But when Jill sang, it was not about the song, really. She could sing the phone book. She could sing a shopping list. Whatever she sang, whatever the words or the tune, it was so beautiful, so achingly lovely, that no one could listen and be untouched. Michael Grant

I realized, when I saw the forest burning, how fascinating the firelight is. It's beautiful, and people stare at it, don't they? It destroys and kills people, but humans love it. Is it because they crave their own destruction, Sam? I want to understand your kind. I am going out into the wider world, and I must learn. (Chapter Twenty-Seven | 1 Hour, 29 Minutes) Michael Grant

I realized, when I saw the forest burning, how fascinating the firelight is. It's beautiful, and people stare at it, don't they? It destroys and kills people, but humans love it. Is it because they crave their own destruction, Sam? I want to understand your kind. I am going out into the wider world, and I must learn. Michael Grant

Look, people, I’m announcing a new rule. It’s going to seem harsh. But it’s necessary.” The word “harsh” got almost everyone’s attention.“ We can’t have people sitting around all day playing Wii and watching DVDs. We need people to start working in the fields. So, here’s the thing: everyone age seven or older has to put in three days per week picking fruit or veggies. Then Albert’s going to work with the whole question of freezing stuff that can be frozen, or otherwise preserving stuff.” There was dead silence. And blank stares.“ What I’m saying is, tomorrow we’ll have two school buses ready to go. They hold about fifty kids each and we need to have them mostly full because we’re going to pick some melons and it’s a lot of work.” More blank stares.“ Okay, let me make this simple: get your brothers and sisters and friends and anyone over age seven and be in the square tomorrow morning at eight o’clock.”“ But how about–?”“ Just be there, ” Sam said with less firmness than he’d intended. His frustration was draining away now, replaced by weariness and depression.“ Just be there, ” someone mimicked in a singsong voice. Sam closed his eyes, and for a moment he almost seemed to be asleep. Then he opened them again and managed a bleak smile. “Please. Be there, ” he said quietly. He walked down the three steps and out of the church, knowing in his heart that few would answer his call. Michael Grant

I’m trying to help, ” Albert said.“ By paying him with beer?”“ I paid him what he wanted, and Sam was okay with it. You were at the meeting, ” Albert said. “Look, how else do you think you get someone like Orc to spend hours in the hot sun working? Astrid seems to think people will work just because we ask them to. Maybe some will. But Orc?”Lana could see his point. “Okay. I shouldn’t have jumped all over you.”“ It’s okay. I’m getting used to it, ” Albert said. “Suddenly I’m the bad guy. But you know what? I didn’t make people the way they are. If kids are going to work, they’re going to want something back.”“ If they don’t work, we all starve.”“ Yeah. I get that, ” Albert said with more than a tinge of sarcasm. “Only, here’s the thing: Kids know we won’t let them starve as long as there’s any food left, right? So they figure, hey, let someone else do the work. Let someone else pick cabbages and artichokes.” Lana wanted to get back to her run. She needed to finish, to run to the FAYZ wall. But there was something fascinating about Albert. “Okay. So how do you get people to work?” He shrugged. “Pay them.”“ You mean, money?”“ Yeah. Except guess who had most of the money in their wallets and purses when they disappeared? Then a few kids stole what was left in cash registers and all. So if we start back using the old money we just make a few thieves powerful. It’s kind of a problem.”“ Why is a kid going to work for money if they know we’ll share the food, anyway?” Lana asked.“ Because some will do different stuff for money. I mean, look, some kids have no skills, right? So they pick the food for money. Then they take the money and spend it with some kid who can maybe cook the food for them, right? And that kid maybe needs a pair of sneakers and some other kid has rounded up all the sneakers and he has a store.” Lana realized her mouth was open. She laughed. The first time in a while.“ Fine. Laugh, ” Albert said, and turned away.“ No, no, no, ” Lana hastened to say. “No, I wasn’t making fun of you. It’s just that, I mean, you’re the only kid that has any kind of a plan for anything. Michael Grant

I’m killing Zil. Clear enough? I’m putting him down.”“ Whoa, man, ” Edilio said. “That’s not what we do. We’re the good guys, right?”“ There has to be an end to it, Edilio.” He wiped soot from his face with the back of his hand, but smoke had filled his eyes with tears. “I can’t keep doing it and never reaching the end.”“ It’s not your call anymore, ” Edilio said. Sam turned a steely glare on him. “You too? Now you’re siding with Astrid?”“Man, there have to be limits, ” Edilio said. Sam stood staring down the street. The fire was out of control. All of Sherman was burning, from one end to the other. If they were lucky it wouldn’t jump to another street. But one way or the other, Sherman was lost.“ We should be looking to save any kids that are trapped, ” Edilio said. Sam didn’t answer.“ Sam, ” Edilio pleaded.“ I begged Him to let me die, Edilio. I prayed to the God who Astrid likes so much and I said, God, if You’re there, kill me. Don’t let me feel this pain anymore.” Edilio said nothing.“ You don’t understand, Edilio, ” Sam said so softly, he doubted Edilio could hear him over the roar and crackle of the fire raging all around them. “You can’t do anything else with people like this. You have to kill them all. Zil. Caine. Drake. You just have to kill them. So right now, I’m starting with Zil and his crew, ” Sam said. “You can come with me or not. Michael Grant

Astrid felt a towering wave of disgust. She was furious with Sam. Furious with Little Pete. Mad at the whole world around her. Sickened by everyone and everything. And mostly, she admitted, sick of herself. So desperately sick of being Astrid the Genius.“Some genius, ” she muttered. The town council, headed by that blond girl, what was her name? Oh right: Astrid. Astrid the Genius. Head of the town council that had let half the town burn to the ground. Down in the basement of town hall Dahra Baidoo handed out scarce ibuprofen and expired Tylenol to kids with burns, like that would pretty much fix anything, as they waited for Lana to go one by one, healing with her touch. Astrid could hear the cries of pain. There were several floors between her and the makeshift hospital. Not enough floors. Edilio staggered in. He was barely recognizable. He was black with soot, dirty, dusty, with ragged scratches and scrapes and clothing hanging in shreds.“ I think we got it, ” he said, and lay straight down on the floor. Astrid knelt by his head. “You have it contained?” But Edilio was beyond answering. He was unconscious. Done in. Howard appeared next, in only slightly better shape. Some time during the night and morning he’d lost his smirk. He glanced at Edilio, nodded like it made perfect sense, and sank heavily into a chair.“ I don’t know what you pay that boy, but it’s not enough, ” Howard said, jerking his chin at Edilio.“He doesn’t do it for pay, ” Astrid said.“ Yeah, well, he’s the reason the whole town didn’t burn. Him and Dekka and Orc and Jack. And Ellen, it was her idea. Michael Grant

Hi, Albert, ” Quinn called back. He seemed distracted. And Albert was sure that he’d seen Quinn motion for someone to stay down.“ How long is this supposed to go on?” Albert asked.“ Until we get justice, ” Quinn said.“ Justice? People have been waiting for justice since the dinosaurs.” Quinn said nothing and Albert cursed himself for indulging in sarcasm. “What is it you want, Quinn? I mean in practical terms.”“ We want Penny gone, ” Quinn said.“ I can’t afford to pay you any more, ” Albert shouted back.“ I didn’t say anything about money, ” Quinn said, sounding puzzled.“ Yeah, I know: justice. Usually what people really want is money. So why don’t we get down to it?”“ Penny, ” Quinn said. “She leaves town. She stays gone. When that happens we fish. Until it happens, we sit.” He sat down as if to emphasize his point. . Michael Grant

Mr. Albert? Mr. Albert?” Harley said.“ Just Albert’s fine, ” Albert said tersely.“ Me and Janice are thirsty.”“ I’m sorry, but I don’t have any water on me.” He managed a tight smile and moved on. But now Janice was crying and Harley was pleading.“ We used to live with Mary and she gave us water. But now we have to live with Summer and BeeBee and they said we have to have money.”“ Then I guess you’d better earn some money, ” Albert said. He tried to soften it, tried not to sound harsh, but he had a lot on his mind and it came out sounding mean. Now Harley started to cry, too.“ If you’re thirsty, stop crying, ” Albert snapped. “What do you think tears are made of? . Michael Grant

Albert had created a currency based on gold bullets and McDonald’s game pieces. He’d wanted to call the currency something else, but no one remembered what. So, ’Bertos they were, a play on “Albert, ” coined by Howard, of course, who had also come up with “the FAYZ” to describe their weird little world. Sam had thought Albert was nuts with his obsession with creating money. But the evidence was in: Albert’s system was producing just enough food for kids to survive. And a lot more kids were working. Far fewer were just hanging out. It was no longer impossible to get kids to go into the fields and do the backbreaking work of picking crops. They worked for ’Bertos and spent ’Bertos, and for now at least starvation was just a bad memory. Michael Grant

One minute the teacher was talking about the Civil War. And the next minute he was gone. There. Gone. No 'poof.' No flash of light. No explosion. Michael Grant

And then the turbines generate electricity that goes into the whole town."" You mean they aren't powered by giant hamsters on wheels? I was misinformed. Michael Grant

Little Pete. He’s not exactly just Astrid’s autistic brother.” He explained briefly while Toto added a chorus of “Sam believes that’s true” remarks.“ How do we get Little Pete to do anything?” Dekka asked.“ The last time Little Pete felt mortal danger he made the FAYZ, ” Sam said. “He needs to be in mortal danger again.” Jack and Dekka exchanged a wary look, each wondering what the other had known or guessed about Little Pete.“Little Pete?” Jack asked. “That little kid has that kind of power?”“ Yes, ” Sam said simply. “Next to Pete, me, Caine, all of us, we’re like . like popguns compared to a cannon. We don’t even know what the limits of his powers are, ” Sam said. “What we do know is we can’t communicate with him very well. We can’t even guess what he’s thinking.”“ Little Pete, ” Dekka muttered and shook her head. “I knew he was important, I got that a long time ago. But he can do that? He has that kind of power?” She pondered for a moment, nodded, and said, “I see why you kept it secret. It’s like having a nuclear weapon in the hands of, well, a little autistic kid. . Michael Grant

The intruders spoke no words as they rushed in. Five boys carrying baseball bats and tire irons. They wore an assortment of Halloween masks and stocking masks. But Derek knew who they were.“ No! No! ” he cried. All five boys wore bulky shooter’s earmuffs. They couldn’t hear him. But more importantly, they couldn’t hear Jill.One of the boys stayed in the doorway. He was in charge. A runty kid named Hank. The stocking pulled down over his face smashed his features into Play-Doh, but it could only be Hank.One of the boys, fat but fast-moving and wearing an Easter Bunny mask, stepped to Derek and hit him in the stomach with his aluminum baseball bat. Derek dropped to his knees. Another boy grabbed Jill. He put his hand over her mouth. Someone produced a roll of duct tape. Jill screamed. Derek tried to stand, but the blow to his stomach had winded him. He tried to stand up, but the fat boy pushed him back down.“ Don’t be stupid, Derek. We’re not after you.” The duct tape went around and around Jill’s mouth. They worked by flashlight. Derek could see Jill’s eyes, wild with terror. Pleading silently with her big brother to save her. When her mouth was sealed, the thugs pulled off their shooter’s earmuffs. Hank stepped forward. “Derek, Derek, Derek, ” Hank said, shaking his head slowly, regretfully. “You know better than this.”“ Leave her alone, ” Derek managed to gasp, clutching his stomach, fighting the urge to vomit.“ She’s a freak, ” Hank said.“ She’s my little sister. This is our home.”“ She’s a freak, ” Hank said. “And this house is east of First Avenue. This is a no-freak zone.”“ Man, come on, ” Derek pleaded. “She’s not hurting anyone.”“ It’s not about that, ” a boy named Turk said. He had a weak leg, a limp that made it impossible not to recognize him. “Freaks with freaks, normals with normals. That’s the way it has to be.”“ All she does is–” Hank’s slap stung. “Shut up. Traitor. A normal who stands up for a freak gets treated like a freak. Is that what you want?”“ Besides, ” the fat boy said with a giggle, “we’re taking it easy on her. We were going to fix her so she could never sing again. Or talk. If you know what I mean.” He pulled a knife from a sheath in the small of his back. “Do you, Derek? Do you understand?” Derek’s resistance died.“ The Leader showed mercy, ” Turk said. “But the Leader isn’t weak. So this freak either goes west, over the border right now. Or…” He let the threat hang there. Jill’s tears flowed freely. She could barely breathe because her nose was running. Derek could see that by the way she sucked tape into her mouth, trying for air. She would suffocate if they didn’t let her go soon.“ Let me at least get her doll. Michael Grant

But then had come the voice that said, "Come on, you little freak, wherever the hell you are, whatever the hell you are, let’s get this done with. Michael Grant

But then had come the voice that said, Come on, you little freak, wherever the hell you are, whatever the hell you are, let’s get this done with. Michael Grant

I realized, when I saw the forest burning, how fascinating the firelight is. It's beautiful, and people stare at it, don't they? It destroys things and kills people, but humans love it. Is it because they crave their own destruction, Sam? I want to understand your kind. I am going out into the wider world, and I must learn. But first things first. First, to escape this shell, this egg in which I have gestated, all eyes will be on the fire, all eyes blinded by the smoke, and when I walk out of here, out into your large world with its billions, no one will even see. It's the beauty of light, don't you see, Sam? It reveals, but it also distracts and blinds. It's even better than darkness. Michael Grant

I don’t care what your excuse is, I don’t care what you think God told you to do, if you are in the business of closing children’s minds and obliterating their capacity to imagine, and depriving them of a capacity to laugh, then you are a criminal. Maybe not under the law, but under any decent system of morality. Shame on anyone who brainwashes a child and attacks their individual liberty and deprives them of the freedom that is the very definition of a human being. Shame. . Michael Grant

They said a lot of things to each other that night, but nothing that involved words. Michael Grant

Edilio lay on the steps of town hall feeling as weak as a kitten. He had barely heard Caine’s big speech. He couldn’t have cared less. There was nothing he could do, not with delirium spinning his head. He coughed hard, too hard. It wracked his body each time he did it so that he dreaded the next cough. His stomach was clenched in knots. Every muscle in his body ached. He was vaguely aware that he was saying something in between c . Michael Grant

Hunter’s entire body writhed and squirmed. The side of his head was partly gone. A creature, like some monstrous melding of insect and eel, protruded from Hunter’s shoulder and as they stood there rooted in horror it took a vicious bite of Hunter’s flesh. Taylor was suddenly gone. Dekka’s face was grim, her eyes wet.“ I tried. , ” Hunter said. He held up his hands, mimicked pressing them against his head. “It didn’t work.”“ I can do it, ” Sam said softly.“ I’m scared, ” Hunter said.“ I know.”“ It’s ’cause I killed Harry. God has to punish me. I tried to be good but I’m bad.”“ No, Hunter, ” Sam said gently. “You paid your dues. You fed the kids. You’re a good guy.”“ I’m a good hunter.”“ The best.”“ I don’t know what’s happening. What’s happening, Sam?”“It’s just the FAYZ, Hunter, ” Sam said.“ Can the angels find me here so I can go to heaven?” Sam didn’t answer. It was Dekka who spoke. “Do you still remember any prayers, Hunter?”The insectlike creature was almost completely emerged from Hunter’s shoulder. Legs were becoming visible. It had wings folded against its body. It looked like a gigantic ant, or wasp, but silver and brass and covered with a sheen of slime. It was emerging like a chicken breaking out of an egg. Being born. And as the creature was born, it fed on Hunter’s numbed body. Jerky movements beneath Hunter’s shirt testified to more of the larvae emerging.“ Do you remember ‘now I lay me down to sleep’?” Dekka asked.“ Now I lay me down to sleep, ” Hunter said. “I pray the Lord my soul to keep.” Sam raised his hands, palms out.“ If I should die–” Twin beams of light hit Hunter’s chest and face. His shirt caught fire. Flesh melted. He was dead before he could feel anything. Sam played the light up and down Hunter’s body. The smell was sickening. Jack wanted to look away, but how could he? Sudden darkness as Sam terminated the light. Sam lowered his hands to his side. They stood there in the darkness. Jack breathed through his mouth, trying not to smell the burned flesh. Then they heard a sound. Many sounds. Sam raised his hands and pale light glowed. Hunter was all but gone. The things that had been inside him were still there. Michael Grant

The light of day showed you the limits of possibility. But walk through the dark, the absolute, total darkness, and the possibilities were limitless. Michael Grant

Sam, no! ” Edilio snapped. Sam missed a step, then stopped. He looked at Edilio, puzzled.“ We’re scattered. And we can’t risk you. You die and the light dies with you.”“ Are you out of your mind? You think I’m going to let Drake come in here and take Diana?”“Not you, Sam. Dekka, yes. Orc, yes. He’s out there, too. And send Jack as well. Anyone but you.” Sam looked like he’d been punched. Like someone had knocked the wind out of him. He blinked and started to say something and stopped.“ You aren’t replaceable, Sam. Figure it out, okay? It’s going dark and you make light. So this isn’t going to be your battle. Not now. It’s on the rest of us to step up. . Michael Grant

Sam sent me to give you a message, Edilio. He said, ‘Tell Edilio I couldn’t kill the bugs.’”“ The things that came out of Hunter?” Howard asked. Taylor closed her eyes. Tears squeezed out and rolled down her cheeks. “Yes. The things that came out of Hunter. Sam shot them, you know, with his light. But they’re like, reflective or whatever. Anyway, it didn’t kill them. Michael Grant

People are idiots, Choo. Always remmber that: people are faithless, backstabbing, weak, creepy, stupid, lazy idiots. Michael Grant

Who am I? I’m the Breeze, bitch! Michael Grant

That's right. Endgame. The FAYZ barrier is coming down; at least that's my bet. But there's also a ninety percent chance you and me both end up dead. Ten percent chance we both actually get out alive. In which case we end up sharing a cell somewhere." He laughed. "Kind of unfair, really, what with me being evil and all, and you just so darned virtuous and heroic. Michael Grant

(..) But Gaia had absorbed the new information. "I won't need to kill billions, Diana. When Nemesis is gone, there will be no other like me. Just me alone. I will grow and spread, one body and then another, and soon there will be so many of me that it will be impossible to eradicate me. Eventually all will be me, and I will be all."" Won't that be boring?" Diana asked. "You'd be dating yourself. You'll have no one to discuss your evil plans with. (..) . Michael Grant

Caine erupted in disbelieving laughter. "Yeah, that'll do it. 'I'm just a kid, Your Honor! ' Hah. They'll have to find a few scapegoats, and guess who it will be? You and me, surfer boy. You and me. Michael Grant

Say it. But...""But what?" he asked. She whispered it, sounding too vulnerable. "But only if its the truth, Caine. Only. If.""I love you, " he said. Michael Grant

Caine tried to roll to his feet, but something was jabbing him in the crouch. He shook off the stars and saw Edilio standing over him. Edilio had the business end of his automatic rifle in a very sensitive place. "If you move, Caine, I will shoot your balls off, " Edilio said. "Toto?" "He will, " Toto said, "Although he's not sure it will be just your balls. Michael Grant

Come live with us, Diana. Don't argue. Just say yes." Diana looked at the ground to hide her emotions. Then she said, "Would I have to be hearing you two going at it night and day? Michael Grant

Hello, Darkness, " Caine said. Gaia's face fell. Her bloody, feral grin faded to be replaced by lips drawn right with fear. Her killer blue eyes widened as she looked at Caine who was no longer Caine."Nemesis, " Gaia said. Michael Grant

It's over, Sam. Finally.""Yeah, " he said. "I guess it is."" Turn out the light, Sam."Sam reached for the switch and turned out the light. Michael Grant

I’m sorry for hurting you. I know I did. I’m most likely dead now, and I guess if there’s any kind of fairness in the afterlife I’m probably in hell getting roasted. But if that’s where I am, I want you to know, I still love you. Always did. Love, Caine Michael Grant

What’s Albert going to do?” a boy named Jim demanded. “Where’s Albert?”Albert stepped from an inconspicuous position off to one side. He mounted the steps, moving carefully still, not entirely well even now. He carefully chose a position equidistant between Caine and Sam.“What should we do, Albert?” a voice asked plaintively. Albert didn’t look out at the crowd except for a quick glance up, like he was just making sure he was pointed in the right direction. He spoke in a quiet, reasonable monotone. Kids edged closer to hear.“ I’m a businessman.”“ True.” Toto.“My job is organizing kids to work, taking the things they harvest or catch, and redistributing them through a market.”“ And getting the best stuff for yourself, ” someone yelled to general laughter.“ Yes, ” Albert acknowledged. “I reward myself for the work I do.” This blunt admission left the crowd nonplussed.“ Caine has promised that if I stay here he won’t interfere. But I don’t trust Caine.”“No, he doesn’t, ” Toto agreed.“ I do trust Sam. But . .”And now you could hear a pin drop.“ But . Sam is a weak leader.” He kept his eyes down. “Sam is the best fighter ever. He’s defended us many times. And he’s the best at figuring out how to survive. But Sam”– Albert now turned to him–“ You are too humble. Too willing to step aside. When Astrid and the council sidelined you, you put up with it. I was part of that myself. But you let us push you aside and the council turned out to be useless.” Sam stood stock-still, stone-faced.“ Let’s face it, you’re not really the reason things are better here, I am, ” Albert said. “You’re way, way braver than me, Sam. And if it’s a battle, you rule. But you can’t organize or plan ahead and you won’t just put your foot down and make things happen.” Sam nodded slightly. It was hard to hear. But far harder was seeing the way the crowd was nodding, agreeing. It was the truth. The fact was he’d let the council run things, stepped aside, and then sat around feeling sorry for himself. He’d jumped at the chance to go off on an adventure and he hadn’t been here to save the town when they needed it.“ So, ” Albert concluded, “I’m keeping my things here, in Perdido Beach. But there will be free trading of stuff between Perdido Beach and the lake. And Lana has to be allowed to move freely.” Caine bristled at that. He didn’t like Albert laying down conditions. Albert wasn’t intimidated. “I feed these kids, ” he said to Caine. “I do it my way.” Caine hesitated, then made a tight little bow of the head.“ I want you to say it, ” Albert said with a nod toward Toto.Sam saw panic in Caine’s eyes. If he lied now the jig would be up for him. Toto would call him out, Albert would support Sam, and the kids would follow Albert’s lead. Sam wondered if Caine was just starting to realize what Sam had known for some time: if anyone was king, it was neither Sam nor Caine, it was Albert. Michael Grant

I need you both to trust me, " Vincent said. "I don't mean that I would like you to trust me. I mean that I need you to trust me. Michael Grant

He pictured himself at the lake, on a houseboat. Dekka would be there, and Brianna and Jack. He would have friends. He wouldn’t be alone. But he couldn’t stop himself from looking for her. She no longer had Little Pete to worry about. They could be together without all of that. But of course he knew Astrid, and knew that right now, wherever she was, she was eaten up inside with guilt.“ She’s not coming, is she?” Sam said to Dekka.But Dekka didn’t answer. She was somewhere else in her head. Sam saw her glance and look away as Brianna laid a light hand on Jack’s shoulder. Dahra was staying in the hospital, but a few more kids came. Groups of three or four at a time. The Siren and the kids she lived with came. John Terrafino came. Ellen. He waited. He would wait the full two hours. Not for her, he told himself, just to keep his word. Then Orc, with Howard.Sam groaned inwardly.“ You gotta be kidding me, ” Brianna said.“ The deal was kids make a choice, ” Sam said. “I think Howard just realized how dangerous life can be for a criminal living in a place where the ‘king’ can decide life or death. Michael Grant

Quinn came forward and Sam pulled him aside. His old friend looked tortured and sad.“ What’s up, brah?” Sam asked. Quinn couldn’t speak. He was choked with emotion. “Dude .”“You want to stay in town.”“ My crews . my boats and all .”Sam put a hand on his shoulder. “Quinn, I’m glad you found something so important to do. Something you really like.”“ Yeah, but .”Sam pulled him into a brief hug. “You and me, we’re still friends, man. But you have responsibilities. Michael Grant

There were dozens of theories about what it was, that dome. Every scientist in the world, it seemed, had made a pilgrimage to the site. Tests had been conducted, measurements taken. They had tried drilling through it. Under it. Had flown over it. Had dug beneath it. Had approached it by submarine. Nothing worked. Every species of doomsayer from Luddite to End Times nut had had his say. It was a judgment. On America’s technological obsession, on America’s moral failure. This. That. Something else. Then the twins had popped out. Just like that. First Emma. Then, a few minutes later, Anna. Alive and well at the exact moment of their fifteenth birthday. They told tales of life inside the bowl. What they called the FAYZ.Connie Temple’s heart had swelled with pride for what she had learned of her son, Sam. And crashed into despair with tales of her other son, her unacknowledged child, Caine.Then, nothing. No other kids arrived for a while. Black despair settled over the families as they realized that it would be only these two. Months passed. Many lost faith. How could kids survive alone? But then, the Prophetess had reached into their dreams. One night Connie Temple had a lurid, incredible dream. She’d never had such a detailed dream. It was terrifying. The power of it took her breath away. There was a girl in that . Michael Grant

Delay of pain: that was the meaning of life, wasn’t it?“ I’ve made some bad decisions, ” Caine said, not really meaning to say it out loud. Michael Grant

I've never been able to grow an organ back, " Lana said. "Last time I tried... Let's just hope you don't end up with whip eyes. Michael Grant

Yeah. A feeling. Like the whole point of my life from the alleys in Bangkok to the yachts and private island to coming here like a crazy person trying to fly a helicopter like all of it from birth to here point A to point Z was all some big cosmic trick to get me to meet you. - Sanjit to Lana Michael Grant

Which was how Britteny ended up nestled next to Mickey, under the shelter of a painter's drop cloth. She felt no pain. She saw no light. She heard, but barely. Her heart was still and silent. Yet she did not die. Michael Grant

Here’s the thing, people: We have some serious problems. The lights are off. And it seems like that’s affecting the water flow in part of town. So, no baths or showers, okay? But the situation is that we think Caine is short of food, which means he’s not going to be able to hold out very long at the power plant.”“ How long?” someone yelled. Sam shook his head. “I don’t know.”“ Why can’t you get him to leave?”“ Because I can’t, that’s why, ” Sam snapped, letting some of his anger show. “Because I’m not Superman, all right? Look, he’s inside the plant. The walls are thick. He has guns, he has Jack, he has Drake, and he has his own powers. I can’t get him out of there without getting some of our people killed. Anybody want to volunteer for that?" Silence.“ Yeah, I thought so. I can’t get you people to show up and pick melons, let alone throw down with Drake.”“That’s your job, ” Zil said.“ Oh, I see, ” Sam said. The resentment he’d held in now came boiling to the surface. “It’s my job to pick the fruit, and collect the trash, and ration the food, and catch Hunter, and stop Caine, and settle every stupid little fight, and make sure kids get a visit from the Tooth Fairy. What’s your job, Zil? Oh, right: you spray hateful graffiti. Thanks for taking care of that, I don’t know how we’d ever manage without you.”“ Sam…, ” Astrid said, just loud enough for him to hear. A warning. Too late. He was going to say what needed saying.“ And the rest of you. How many of you have done a single, lousy thing in the last two weeks aside from sitting around playing Xbox or watching movies?“ Let me explain something to you people. I’m not your parents. I’m a fifteen-year-old kid. I’m a kid, just like all of you. I don’t happen to have any magic ability to make food suddenly appear. I can’t just snap my fingers and make all your problems go away. I’m just a kid.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Sam knew he had crossed the line. He had said the fateful words so many had used as an excuse before him. How many hundreds of times had he heard, “I’m just a kid.” But now he seemed unable to stop the words from tumbling out. “Look, I have an eighth-grade education. Just because I have powers doesn’t mean I’m Dumbledore or George Washington or Martin Luther King. Until all this happened I was just a B student. All I wanted to do was surf. I wanted to grow up to be Dru Adler or Kelly Slater, just, you know, a really good surfer.” The crowd was dead quiet now. Of course they were quiet, some still-functioning part of his mind thought bitterly, it’s entertaining watching someone melt down in public.“ I’m doing the best I can, ” Sam said.“ I lost people today… I… I screwed up. I should have figured out Caine might go after the power plant.” Silence.“ I’m doing the best I can.” No one said a word. Sam refused to meet Astrid’s eyes. If he saw pity there, he would fall apart completely.“ I’m sorry, ” he said.“ I’m sorry. . Michael Grant

Let them go, Caine, ” Diana pleaded.“ Why, Diana? Why do you betray me?”“ Betray you?” Diana laughed. “Betray you? I’ve been with you every day, every hour, from the start of this nightmare! ” Caine looked at her. “But you hate me, anyway.”“ No, you sick, stupid creep, I love you. I shouldn’t. I shouldn’t. You’re sick inside, Caine, sick! But I love you. Michael Grant

Ot everyone liked Albert. Not everyone was happy that he had become the most important person around. Lots of people were jealous that Albert had a girl to clean his house and the porcelain basin where he did his business at night when he didn’t want to go outside to the only actual outhouse in Per-dido Beach. And that he could afford to send his clothes to be washed in the fresh water of the ironically named Lake Evian.And there were definitely people who didn’t like working for Albert, having to do what he said or go hungry. Albert traveled with a bodyguard now. The bodyguard’s name was Jamal. Jamal carried an automatic rifle over his shoulder. He had a massive hunting knife in his belt. And a club that was an oak chair leg with spikes driven through it to make a sort of mace. Unlike everyone else Albert carried no weapon himself. Jamal was weapon enough. Michael Grant

Then, Zil and a half dozen of his crew swaggered into the plaza from the far side. Astrid clenched her jaw. Would the crowd turn on them? She almost hoped so. People thought because she wouldn’t let Sam go after Zil she must not really despise the Human Crew’s Leader. That was wrong. She hated Zil. Hated everything he had done and everything he had tried to do. Edilio moved quickly between Zil and a few of the boys who had started toward him, sticks and knives at the ready. Zil’s kids were armed with knives and bats, and so were those who wanted to take them on. Edilio was armed with an assault rifle. Astrid hated that this was what life so often came down to: my weapon is bigger than your weapon. If Sam were here it would be about his hands. Everyone had either seen what Sam could do, or heard the stories retold in vivid detail. No one challenged Sam. Michael Grant

How am I supposed to feed you?” Drake demanded.“ Darkness say to coyote: don’t kill human. Did not say don’t eat dead human.” Drake laughed with a certain delight. This Pack Leader was definitely a smarter animal than the original one. Michael Grant

Too bad we don't have marshmallows. This is an amazing fire." Howard emerged through the smoke behind Edilio. Michael Grant

And yes, we do have some food. Maybe you'd like to join us? Unless you want to stick with your sheep sushi. Michael Grant

Hey, Sam, ” Drake shouted. “I thought you’d like to know this isn’t my whole army.” Sam didn’t doubt it.“ Your girl Brianna tried to stop us.” Drake waved a bowie knife in the air. “I took this from her. I whipped her, Sam.” He snapped his whip hand. The crack was like a pistol shot. “I broke her legs so she couldn’t run. Then . .”Dekka was halfway over the side, ready to swim ashore. Jack grabbed her and held her.“ Let me go! ” Dekka yelled.“ Hold her, ” Sam ordered Jack. “Don’t be stupid, Dekka. He wants us to come rushing at him.”“ I can beat him, ” Jack said. “Dekka and me together, we can kill him.” Sam registered the fact that Jack was actually making a physical threat. He didn’t remember ever hearing that kind of thing from Jack. But Dekka was Sam’s greater concern.“ I’m going to kill him, ” Dekka said in a voice so deep in her throat she sounded like an animal. “I’ll kill him. I’ll kill him.” Then she shouted, “I’m going to kill you, Drake. I’m going to kill you! ” Drake grinned. “I think she liked it. She was screaming, but she liked it.”“ He’s lying, ” Toto said.“ Who?” Sam snapped.“ Him.” He pointed at Drake. “He hasn’t killed that girl or hurt her.” Dekka relaxed and Sam and Jack let go of her.“ Truth-teller Toto, ” Sam whispered. “He can tell when people are lying.”“ I just decided I like you, ” Dekka said to Toto. “You might be useful.” Toto frowned. “It’s true: you just decided you like me. Michael Grant

But when reality was hopeless, fantasy became more and more necessary. Michael Grant

Sam, there comes a time when the world no longer needs heroes. And then the true hero knows to walk away. Michael Grant

If God gives you a Quiznos, can I have a bite? No way. You have to pray for your own food. Michael Grant

At the moment that target was eating tacos his mother had brought in despite hospital orders against outside food.“ Oh, God, this is good, ” Sam said as juicy beef and crisp lettuce dribbled out onto the tray on his lap.“ Still not tired of eating?” Connie asked him.“ I will never be tired of eating. I’m going to eat until I’m huge. Food, hot water, clean sheets. At least I’ll get those three in prison. . Michael Grant

Lunch had been at a McDonald’s in Santa Barbara. It had been so clean. It had smelled like food. It had sounded happy and alive. In the bathroom, the toilet flushed. Water ran in the sink. He had passed a trash can on the way back to his table and stopped just to look at it. It was full of food. Leftover burgers, the last few fries, smears of ketchup on cardboard. He’d had to hold back tears when he saw it.“ Candy bar?” Vicky asked, and held a Snickers out to him. At that moment they slowed to turn off the highway and head cautiously, carefully, through recently bulldozed streets, toward the town plaza. That’s where the McDonald’s was. His McDonald’s.A candy bar. People had killed for less. Michael Grant

She found Diana’s room. Diana was sitting in her bed using a remote control to idly flip through the channels on the wall-mounted TV.“You, ” Diana said by way of greeting.“ Me, ” Astrid said.“ Can’t believe it, ” Diana said. “All this time. And there’s still nothing on.” Astrid laughed and lowered herself slowly into a chair. “You know how they say hospital food is so awful? Somehow I’m not having that reaction.”“ Tapioca beats rat, ” Diana said.“ I never minded rat as much as that dog jerky we were getting for a while. The stuff Albert had them flavor with celery salt? That was the culinary low point for me.”“ Yeah, well, I had a lower low point, ” Diana said, sounding angry. Or maybe not angry, maybe hurt. Astrid put a hand on Diana’s arm, and Diana did not shake it off. Michael Grant

I’m trying to make a profit. I’m using batteries, toilet paper, and paper towels as currency. Each is something that will eventually be in short supply.”“ You’re trying to get all the toilet paper in town?” Astrid shrilled. “Are you kidding?”“ No, Astrid, I’m not kidding, ” Albert said. “Look, right now, kids are playing with the stuff. I saw little kids throwing rolls of it around on their lawns like it was a toy. So–”“So your solution is to try and take it all away from people?”“ You’d rather see it wasted?”“ Yeah, actually, ” Astrid huffed. “Rather than you getting it all for yourself. You’re acting like a jerk.” Albert’s eyes flared. “Look, Astrid, now kids know they can buy their way into the club with it. So they’re not going to waste it anymore.”“ No, they’re going to give it all to you, ” she shot back. “And what happens when they need some?”“ Then there will still be some left because I made it valuable.”“ Valuable to you.”“ Valuable to everyone, Astrid.”“It’s you taking advantage of kids dumb enough not to know any better. Sam, you have to put a stop to this.” Sam had drifted away from the conversation, his head full of the music. He snapped back. “She’s right, Albert, this isn’t okay. You didn’t get permission–”“ I didn’t think I needed permission to give kids what they want. I mean, I’m not threatening anyone, saying, ‘Give me your toilet paper, give me your batteries.’ I’m just playing some music and saying, ‘If you want to come in and dance, then it’ll cost you.’”“ Dude, I respect you being ambitious and all, ” Sam said. “But I have to shut this down. You never got permission, even, let alone asked us if it was okay to charge people.” Albert said, “Sam, I respect you more than I can even say. And Astrid, you are way smarter than me. But I don’t see how you have the right to shut me down.” That was it for Sam. “Okay, I tried to be nice. But I am the mayor. I was elected, as you probably remember, since I think you voted for me.”“ I did. I’d do it again, man. But Sam, Astrid, you guys are wrong here. This club is about all these kids have that can get them together for a good time. They’re sitting in their homes starving and feeling sad and scared. When they’re dancing, they forget how hungry and sad they are. This is a good thing I’m doing.” Sam stared hard at Albert, a stare that kids in Perdido Beach took seriously. But Albert did not back down.“ Sam, how many cantaloupes did Edilio manage to bring back with kids who were rounded up and forced to work?” Albert asked.“ Not many, ” Sam admitted.“ Orc picked a whole truckload of cabbage. Before the zekes figured out how to get at him. Because we paid Orc to work.”“ He did it because he’s the world’s youngest alcoholic and you paid him with beer, ” Astrid snapped. “I know what you want, Albert. You want to get everything for yourself and be this big, important guy. But you know what? This is a whole new world. We have a chance to make it a better world. It doesn’t have to be about some people getting over on everyone else. It can be fair to everyone.” Albert laughed. “Everyone can be equally hungry. In a week or so, everyone can starve. Michael Grant

We’ve searched all of the homes and carried the food to Ralph’s, ” Sam continued. “The problem is that all the fruit and veggies spoiled while we were all filling up on chips and cookies. The meat all rotted. People were stupid and careless, and there’s nothing we can do about that now.” Sam swallowed the bitterness he felt, the anger he felt at his own foolishness. “But we have food sitting out in the fields. Maybe not the food we’d like, but enough to carry us for months–many months–if we bring it in before it rots and the birds eat it.”“ Maybe we’ll get rescued, and we won’t have to worry, ” another voice said.“ Maybe we’ll learn to live on air, ” Astrid muttered under her breath but loudly enough to be heard by at least a few.“ Why don’t you go get our food back from Drake and the chuds up there?” It was Zil. He accepted a congratulatory slap on the back from a creepy kid named Antoine, part of Zil’s little posse.“ Because it would mean getting some kids killed, ” Sam said bluntly. “We’d be lucky to rescue any of the food, and we’d end up digging more graves in the plaza. And it wouldn’t solve our problem, anyway. Michael Grant

First off, ” he said, “I want to say I’m sorry about E.Z. He was a good kid. He didn’t deserve…” For a moment he almost lost it as a surge of emotion welled up from nowhere. “I’m sorry he died.” Someone sobbed loudly.“ Look, I’m going to get right to it: we have three hundred and thirty-two… I’m sorry, three hundred and thirty-one mouths to feed, ” Sam said. He placed his hands on his hips and planted his feet wide apart. “We were already pretty bad off for food supplies. But after the attack by the Coates kids…well, it’s not pretty bad off, anymore, it’s desperate.” He let that sink in. But how much were six-and eight-year-olds really grasping? Even the older kids looked more glazed than alarmed.“ Three hundred and thirty-one kids, ” Sam reiterated, “And food for maybe a week. That’s not a long time. It’s not a lot of food. And as you all know, the food we have is awful.” That got a response from the audience. The younger kids produced a chorus of gagging and retching sounds.“ All right, ” Sam snapped. “Knock it off. The point is, things are really desperate. Michael Grant

The food is ready, ” Zil announced to loud cheers.“ But we have something more important to do, first, before we can eat.” Groans.“ We have to carry out some justice.” That earned a silent stare until Turk and Hank started raising their hands and yelling, showing the crowd how to act.“ This mutant, this nonhuman scum here, this freak Hunter…” Zil pointed, arm stretched out, at his captive. “This chud deliberately murdered my best friend, Harry.”“Na troo, ” Hunter said. His mouth still didn’t work right. Brain damage, Zil supposed, from the little knock on his head. Half of Hunter’s face drooped like it wasn’t quite attached right. It made it easier for the crowd of kids to sneer at him, and Hunter, yelling in his drooling retard voice, wasn’t helping his case.“ He’s a killer! ” Zil cried suddenly, smacking his fist into his palm.“ A freak! A mutant! ” he cried. “And we know what they’re like, right? They always have enough food. They run everything. They’re in charge and we’re all starving. Is that some kind of coincidence? No way.”“ Na troo, ” Hunter moaned again.“ Take him! ” Zil cried to Antoine and Hank. “Take him, the murdering mutant scum! ” They seized Hunter by the arms. He could walk, but only by dragging one leg. They half carried, half marched him across the plaza. They dragged him up the church steps.“ Now, ” Zil said, “here is how we’re going to do this.” He waved his hand toward the rope that Lance was unspooling back through the plaza. An expectant pause. A dangerous, giddy feeling. The smell of the meat had them all crazy. Zil could feel it.“ You all want some of this delicious venison?” They roared their assent.“ Then you’ll all grab on to the rope. Michael Grant

[Caine]"Interesting. Me, I've always wanted to know who my real parents were."[ Sam]" Let me guess: you're secretly a wizard who was raised by muggles. Michael Grant

You weren’t going to tell us about Orsay?”“I didn’t say I–”“You don’t get to decide that, Sam. You’re not the only one in charge anymore. Okay?”Astrid had an icy sort of anger. A cold fury that manifested itself in tight lips and blazing eyes and short, carefully enunciated sentences.“ But it’s okay for all of us to lie to everyone in Perdido Beach?” Sam shot back.“ We’re trying to keep kids from killing themselves, ” Astrid said. “That’s a little different from you just deciding not to tell the council that there’s a crazy girl telling people to kill themselves.”“ So not telling you something is a major sin, but lying to a couple of hundred people and trashing Orsay at the same time, that’s fine? . Michael Grant

Drake's whip hand spun Diana like a top. She cried out. That sound, her cry, pierced Caine like an arrow. Diana staggered and almost righted herself, but Drake was too quick, too ready. His second strike yanked her through the air. She flew and then fell.“ Catch her! ” Caine was yelling to himself. Seeing her arc as she fell. Seeing where she would hit. His hands came up, he could use his power, he could catch her, save her. But too slow. Diana fell. Her head smashed against a jutting point of rock. She made a sound like a dropped pumpkin. Caine froze. The fuel rod, forgotten, fell from the air with a shattering crash. It fell within ten feet of the mine shaft opening. It landed atop a boulder shaped like the prow of a ship. It bent, cracked, rolled off the boulder, and crashed heavily in the dirt. Drake ran straight at Caine, his whip snapping. But Jack stumbled in between them, yelling, “The uranium! The uranium! ” The radiation meter in his pocket was counting clicks so fast, it became a scream. Drake piled into Jack, and the two of them went tumbling. Caine stood, staring in horror at Diana. Diana did not move. Did not move. No snarky remark. No smart-ass joke.“ No! ” Caine cried.“ No! ” Drake was up, disentangling himself with an angry curse from Jack.“Diana, ” Caine sobbed. Drake didn’t rely on his whip hand now, too far away to use it before Caine could take him down. He raised his gun. The barrel shot flame and slugs, BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM.Inaccurate, but on full automatic, Drake had time. He swung the gun to his right and the bullets swooped toward where Caine stood like he was made of stone. Then the muzzle flash disappeared in an explosion of green-white light that turned night into day. The shaft of light missed its target. But it was close enough that the muzzle of Drake’s gun wilted and drooped and the rocks behind Drake cracked from the blast of heat. Drake dropped the gun. And now it was Drake’s turn to stare in stark amazement. “You! ”Sam wobbled atop the rise. Quinn caught him as he staggered. Now Caine snapped back to the present, seeing his brother, seeing the killing light.“ No, ” Caine said. “No, Sam: He’s mine.” He raised a hand, and Sam went flying backward along with Quinn.“The fuel rod! ” Jack was yelling, over and over. “It’s going to kill us all. Oh, God, we may already be dead! ” Drake rushed at Caine. His eyes were wide with fear. Knowing he wouldn’t make it. Knowing he was not fast enough. Caine raised his hand, and the fuel rod seemed to jump off the ground. A javelin. A spear. He held it poised. Pointed straight at Drake.Caine reached with his other hand, extending the telekinetic power to hold Drake immobilized. Drake held up his human hand, a placating gesture. “Caine…you don’t want to…not over some girl. She was a witch, she was…” Drake, unable to run, a human target. The fuel rod aimed at him like a Spartan’s spear. Caine threw the fuel rod. Tons of steel and lead and uranium. Straight at Drake. Michael Grant

Don’t want no more rock, ” Orc repeated. The bleeding stopped almost immediately.“ Does it hurt?” Lana asked. “I mean the rock. I know the hole hurts.”“ No. It don’t hurt.” Orc slammed his fist against his opposite arm, hard enough that any human arm would have been shattered. “I barely feel it. Even Drake’s whip, when we was fighting, I barely felt it.” Suddenly he was weeping. Tears rolled from human eyes onto cheeks of flesh and pebbles.“ I don’t feel nothing except…” He pointed a thick stone finger at the flesh of his face.“ Yeah, ” Lana said. Her irritation was gone. Her burden was smaller, maybe, than Orc’s. . Michael Grant

Mother Mary wants to draft two more kids, ” Astrid told Sam.“Okay. Approved.”“Dahra says we’re running low on kids’ Tylenol and kids’ Advil, she wants to make sure it’s okay to start giving them split adult pills.” Sam spread his hands in a helpless gesture. “What?”“We’re running low on kid pills, Dahra wants to split adult pills.” Sam rocked back in the leather chair designed for a grown man. “Okay. Whatever. Approved.” He took a sip of water from a bottle. The wrapper on the bottle said “Dasani” but it was tap water. The dishes from dinner–horrible homemade split-pea soup that smelled burned, and a quarter cabbage each–had been pushed aside onto the sideboard where in the old days the mayor of Perdido Beach had kept framed pictures of his family. It was one of the better meals Sam had had lately. The fresh cabbage tasted surprisingly good. There was little more than smears on the plates: the era of kids not eating everything was over. Astrid puffed out her cheeks and sighed. “Kids are asking why Lana isn’t around when they need her.”“ I can only ask Lana to heal big things. I can’t demand she be around 24/7 to handle every boo-boo.” Astrid looked at the list she had compiled on her laptop. “Actually, I think this involved a stubbed toe that ‘hurted.’”“How much more is on the list?” Sam asked.“ Three hundred and five items, ” Astrid said. When Sam’s face went pale, she relented. “Okay, it’s actually just thirty-two. Now, don’t you feel relieved it’s not really three hundred?”“ This is crazy, ” Sam said.“ Next up: the Judsons and the McHanrahans are fighting because they share a dog, so both families are feeding her–they still have a big bag of dry dog food–but the Judsons are calling her Sweetie and the McHanrahans are calling her BooBoo.”“You’re kidding.”“ I’m not kidding, ” Astrid said.“ What is that noise?” Sam demanded. Astrid shrugged. “I guess someone has their stereo cranked up.”“ This is not going to work, Astrid.”“The music?”“ This. This thing where every day I have a hundred stupid questions I have to decide. Like I’m everyone’s parent now. I’m sitting here listening to how little kids are complaining because their older sisters make them take a bath, and stepping into fights over who owns which Build-A-Bear outfit, and now over dog names. Dog names?”“ They’re all still just little kids, ” Astrid said.“ Some of these kids are developing powers that scare me, ” Sam grumbled. “But they can’t decide who gets to have which special towel? Or whether to watch The Little Mermaid or Shrek Three?”“No, ” Astrid said. “They can’t. They need a parent. That’s you. . Michael Grant

Brianna! Is Sam okay?” Astrid cried.“ No. Drake tore him up.” She wanted to sound tough, but the sobs came bubbling up and overtook her. “Oh, God, Astrid, he’s hurt so bad.” Astrid gasped and covered her hand with her mouth. Brianna put her arms around Astrid and sobbed into her hair.“ Is he going to die?” Astrid asked, voice wobbly.“ No, I don’t think so, ” Brianna said. She stood back and wiped her tears. “I gave him something for the pain. But he’s messed up, Astrid. . Michael Grant

Where’s Dekka?” Astrid asked.“ In the basement, ” Edilio said. “She kept going for a long time. Her and Orc and Jack. But she’s sick. Tired and sick. And she got a bad burn on one hand. That was it for her. I made her go to Dahra. Lana will…you know, when she’s done with… Man, I’m sorry, ” he said as he began crying again. “I can’t be digging graves. Someone else has to do that, okay? I can’t do that anymore. Michael Grant

Yeah, let’s get John here. That way we can stall for a while longer. We can keep on doing nothing for just a little while longer.” Albert said, “Take it easy, Howard.”“Take it easy?” Howard jumped to his feet. “Yeah? Where were you last night, Albert? Huh? Because I didn’t see you out there on the street listening to kids screaming, seeing kids running around hurt and scared and choking, and Edilio and Orc struggling, and Dekka hacking up her lungs and Jack crying and…“ You know who couldn’t even take it?” Howard raged. “You know who couldn’t even take what was happening? Orc. Orc, who’s not scared of anything. Orc, who everyone thinks is some kind of monster. He couldn’t take it. He couldn’t…but he did. And where were you, Albert? Counting your money? How about you, Astrid? Praying to Jesus?”Astrid’s throat tightened. She couldn’t breathe. For a moment panic threatened to overwhelm her. She wanted to run from the room, run away and never look back. Edilio got to his feet and put an arm around Howard. Howard allowed it, and then he did something Astrid never thought she would see. Howard buried his face in Edilio’s shoulder and cried, racking sobs.“ We’re falling apart, ” Astrid whispered for herself alone. But there was no easy escape. Everything Howard had said was true. She could see the truth reflected in Albert’s stunned expression. The two of them, the smart ones, the clever ones, the great defenders of truth and fairness and justice, had done nothing while others had worked themselves to exhaustion. Michael Grant

Sam, I know you’re upset over what happened with you and Drake, ” Astrid began.“ Upset?” Sam echoed the word with an ironic smirk.“ But that’s no excuse for you keeping secrets from us.”“ Yeah, ” Howard said, “Don’t you know only Astrid is allowed to keep secrets?”“ Shut up, Howard, ” Astrid snapped.“ Yeah, we get to lie because we’re the smart ones, ” Howard said. “Not like all those idiots out there.” Astrid turned her attention back to Sam. “This is not okay, Sam. The council has the responsibility. Not you alone.” Sam looked like he could not care less about what she was saying. He looked almost beyond reach, indifferent to what was going on around him.“ Hey, ” Astrid said. “We’re talking to you.” That did it. His jaw clenched. His head snapped up. His eyes blazed. “Don’t push me. That wasn’t you with your skin whipped off and covered in blood. That was me. That was me who went down into that mine shaft to try to fight the gaiaphage.” Astrid blinked. “No one is minimizing what you’ve done, Sam. You’re a hero. But at the same time–” Sam was on his feet. “At the same time? At the same time you were here in town. Edilio had a bullet in his chest. Dekka was torn to pieces. I was trying not to scream from the… You and Albert and Howard, you weren’t there, were you?”“ I was busy standing up to Zil, trying to save Hunter’s life, ” Astrid yelled.“ But it wasn’t you and your big words, was it? It was Orc who stopped Zil. And he was there because I sent him to rescue you. Me! ” He stabbed a finger at his own chest, actually making what looked like painful impact. “Me! Me and Brianna and Dekka and Edilio! And poor Duck. Michael Grant

They closed the door on the cabin. There wasn’t room enough for them to stand, so they fell into each other’s arms on the bunk. Sam kissed her and tried not to think that it was for the last time. He was happy. That was the hell of it. He was finally happy. Right here, right now, in this place, with this girl in his arms, he was happy. Was that why he felt the hammer about to fall on him? No, that was crazy. He was happy. Happiness didn’t mean that tragedy was coming around the corner. Did it? . Michael Grant