Quotes From "Hunger" By 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

A smile flitted across War's mouth, hidden by her helmet. She had little patience for religion (although she approved heartily of the religious fanatics who sought to cleanse the world of heresy), and the only faith War had was in cold steel and hot blood. Jackie Morse Kessler

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

What do you mean by yuanfen?" She thought for a minute and replied, "It means: that apportionment of love which is destined for you in this world. Lan Samantha Chang

Haven't we all, as time continues, found that we must be kind to ourselves and listen to our thoughts, because fewer and fewer of those remain who know what is most real to us? Lan Samantha Chang

I opened my eyes; how could I keep them shut when I could not sleep? The same darkness brooded over me; the same unfathomable black eternity which my thoughts strove against and could not understand. I made the most despairing efforts to find a word black enough to characterize this darkness; a word so horribly black that it would darken my lips if I named it. Lord! how dark it was! and I am carried back in thought to the sea and the dark monsters that lay in wait for me. They would draw me to them, and clutch me tightly and bear me away by land and sea, through dark realms that no soul has seen. I feel myself on board, drawn through waters, hovering in clouds, sinking--sinking. Knut Hamsun

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

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

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

We’re here to execute a murderer, ” Zil said, pointing at Hunter. “We are bringing justice in the name of all normals.”“ There’s no justice without a trial, ” Astrid said. Zil grinned. He spread his hands. “We had a trial, Astrid. And this chud scum was found guilty of murdering a normal.“ The penalty, ” he added, “is death.” Astrid turned to face the mob. “If you do this, you’ll never forgive yourselves.”“ We’re hungry, ” a voice cried, and was immediately echoed by others.“ You’re going to murder a boy in a church?” Astrid demanded, pointing toward the church. “A church? In God’s house?” Zil could see that those words had an effect. There were some nervous looks.“ You will never wash the stain of this off your hands, ” Astrid cried. “If you do this, you will never be able to forget it. What do you think your parents would say?”“ There are no parents in the FAYZ. No God, either, ” Zil said. “There’s just humans trying to stay alive, and freaks taking everything for themselves. . Michael Grant

What am I doing here?” she demanded, bewildered.“ You’re having dinner, ” her little brother said.“ Stop it! I’m not hungry. Stop it! ” John held the spoon in front of her. His cherubic face was dark with anger. “You said you wouldn’t leave me.”“ What are you talking about?” Mary demanded.“ You said you wouldn’t do it. You wouldn’t leave me alone, ” John said. “But you tried, didn’t you?”“ I don’t know what you’re babbling about.” She noticed Astrid then, leaning against a filing cabinet. Astrid looked like she’d been dragged through the middle of a dog fight. Little Pete was sitting cross-legged, rocking back and forth. He was chanting, “Good-bye, Nestor. Good-bye, Nestor.”“Mary, you have an eating disorder, ” Astrid said. “The secret is out. So cut the crap.”“ Eat, ” John ordered, and shoved a spoonful of food in her mouth. None too gently.“ Swallow, ” John ordered.“ Let me–”“ Shut up, Mary. . Michael Grant

What is the matter with people?” Sam fumed. “I said we needed a hundred kids and we get thirteen? Fifteen, maybe?”“ They’re just kids, ” Astrid said.“ We’re all just kids. We’re all going to be very hungry kids.”“ They’re used to being told what to do by their parents or teachers. You need to be more direct. As in, Hey, kid, get to work. Now.” She thought for a moment then added, “Or else.”“ Or else what?” Sam asked.“ Or else… I don’t know. We’re not going to let anyone starve. If we can help it. I don’t know the ‘or else.’ All I know is you can’t expect kids to just automatically behave the right way. I mean, when I was little my mom would give me a gold star when I was good and take away a privilege when I wasn’t.”“ What am I supposed to do? Tell three hundred kids spread out in seventy or eighty different homes that they can’t watch DVDs? Confiscate i Pods?”“ It’s not easy playing daddy to three hundred kids, ” Astrid admitted.“ I’m not anyone’s daddy, ” Sam practically snarled. Another sleepless night, in a long string of them, had left him in a foul mood. “I’m supposed to be the mayor, not the father.”“ These kids don’t know the difference, ” Astrid pointed out. “They need parents. So they look to you. And Mother Mary. Me, even, to some extent. . Michael Grant

You’re supposed to be the big boss.” Sam said nothing. The crowd hushed, ready to watch this one-on-one confrontation.“ You’re the big boss of the freaks, ” Zil yelled. “But you can’t do anything. You can shoot laser beams out of your hands, but you can’t get enough food, and you can’t keep the power on, and you won’t do anything about that murderer Hunter, who killed my best friend.” He paused to fill his lungs for a final, furious cry. “You shouldn’t be in charge.”“ You want to be in charge, Zil? Last night you were running around trying to get a lynch mob together. And let’s not even pretend that wasn’t you responsible for graffiti I saw driving into town just now.”“ So what?” Zil demanded. “So what? So I said what everyone who isn’t a freak is thinking.” He spit the word “freak, ” making it an insult, making it an accusation.“ You really think what we need right now is to divide up between freaks and normals?” Sam asked. “You figure that will get the lights turned back on? That will put food on people’s tables? . Michael Grant

I’m mean? That’s the worst you can throw at me?”“ Mean and self-pitying. Does that make it better?”“ And what are you, Astrid?” he shouted. “A smug know-it-all! You point your finger at me and say, ‘Hey, Sam, you make the decisions, and you take all the heat.’”“ Oh, it’s my fault? No way. I didn’t anoint you.”“ Yeah, you did, Astrid. You guilted me into it. You think I don’t know what you’re all about? You used me to protect Little Pete. You use me to get your way. You manipulate me anytime you feel like it.”“ You really are a jerk, you know that?”“ No, I’m not a jerk, Astrid. You know what I am? I’m the guy getting people killed, ” Sam said quietly. Then, “My head is exploding from it. I can’t get my brain around it. I can’t do this. I can’t be that guy, Astrid, I’m a kid, I should be studying algebra or whatever. I should be hanging out. I should be watching TV.”His voice rose, higher and louder till he was screaming. “What do you want from me? I’m not Little Pete’s father. I’m not everybody’s father. Do you ever stop to think what people are asking me to do? You know what they want me to do? Do you? They want me to kill my brother so the lights will come back on. They want me to kill kids! Kill Drake. Kill Diana. Get our own kids killed.“ That’s what they ask. Why not, Sam? Why aren’t you doing what you have to do, Sam? Tell kids to get eaten alive by zekes, Sam. Tell Edilio to dig some more holes in the square, Sam.”He had gone from yelling to sobbing. “I’m fifteen years old. I’m fifteen.” He sat down hard on the edge of the bed. “Oh, my God, Astrid. It’s in my head, all these things. I can’t get rid of them. It’s like some filthy animal inside my head and I will never, ever, ever get rid of it. It makes me feel so bad. It’s disgusting. I want to throw up. I want to die. I want someone to shoot me in the head so I don’t have to think about everything.” Astrid was beside him, and her arms were around him. He was ashamed, but he couldn’t stop the tears. He was sobbing like he had when he was a little kid, like when he had a nightmare. Out of control. Sobbing.Gradually the spasms slowed. Then stopped. His breathing went from ragged to regular.“ I’m really glad the lights weren’t on, ” Sam said. “Bad enough you had to hear it.”“ I’m falling apart, ” he said. Astrid gave no answer, just held him close. And after what felt like a very long time, Sam moved away from her, gently putting distance between them again.“ Listen. You won’t ever tell anyone…”“ No. But, Sam…”“Please don’t tell me it’s okay, ” Sam said. “Don’t be nice to me anymore. Don’t even tell me you love me. I’m about a millimeter from falling apart again.”“ Okay. Michael Grant

Go, Breeze, ” someone yelled. But another voice yelled, “Quit showing off, stupid mutant.” Brianna stopped dead. Her dress settled back into place. “Who said that?” Zil. The same jerk who had picked on Jack over the phones.“ Me, ” Zil said, stepping forward. “And don’t bother trying to look tough. I’m not scared of you, freak.”“ You should be, ” Brianna hissed. Suddenly there was Dekka, up off her chair, hand extended between Brianna and Zil. “No, ” she said in her deep voice. “None of that.” Quinn joined her. “Dekka’s right, we can’t be having fights and stuff here. Sam will shut this place down.”“ Maybe we should have two different clubs, ” a seventh grader named Antoine said. “You know, one for freaks and one for normals.”“ Man, what is the matter with you?” Quinn demanded.“ I don’t like her acting like she’s so cool, is all, ” Zil said, stepping beside Antoine.“You should be on our side, Quinn. Everyone knows you’re a normal, ” another kid, Lance, said. “Well…kind of normal. You’re still Quinn. . Michael Grant

He’s a murdering chud, ” Zil was yelling.“ What do you want to do? Lynch him?” Astrid demanded. That stopped the flow for a second as kids tried to figure out what “lynch” meant. But Zil quickly recovered.“ I saw him do it. He used his powers to kill Harry.”“I was trying to stop you from smashing my head in! ” Hunter shouted.“ You’re a lying mutant freak! ”“ They think they can do anything they want, ” another voice shouted. Astrid said, as calmly as she could while still pitching her voice to be heard, “We are not going down that path, people, dividing up between freaks and normals.”“ They already did it! ” Zil cried. “It’s the freaks acting all special and like their farts don’t stink.” That earned a laugh.“ And now they’re starting to kill us, ” Zil cried. Angry cheers. Edilio squared his shoulders and stepped into the crowd. He went first to Hank, the kid with the shotgun. He tapped him on the shoulder and said, “Give me that thing.”“ No way, ” Hank said. But he didn’t seem too certain.“ You want to have that thing fire by accident and blow someone’s face off?” Edilio held his hand out. “Give it to me, man.” Zil rounded on Edilio. “You going to make Hunter give up his weapon? Huh? He’s got powers, man, and that’s okay, but the normals can’t have any weapon? How are we supposed to defend ourselves from the freaks?”“ Man, give it a rest, huh?” Edilio said. He was doing his best to sound more weary than angry or scared. Things were already bad enough. “Zil, you want to be responsible if that gauge goes off and kills Astrid? You want to maybe give that some thought?” Zil blinked. But he said, “Dude, I’m not scared of Sam.”“Sam won’t be your problem, I will be, ” Edilio snapped, losing patience. “Anything happens to her, I’ll take you down before Sam ever gets the chance.” Zil snorted derisively. “Ah, good little boy, Edilio, kissing up to the chuds. I got news for you, dilly dilly, you’re a lowly normal, just like me and the rest of us."“ I’m going to let that go, ” Edilio said evenly, striving to regain his cool, trying to sound calm and in control, even though he could hardly take his eyes off the twin barrels of the shotgun. “But now I’m taking that shotgun.”“ No way! ” Hank cried, and the next thing was an explosion so loud, Edilio thought a bomb had gone off. The muzzle flash blinded him, like camera flash going off in his face. Someone yelled in pain. Edilio staggered back, squeezed his eyes shut, trying to adjust. When he opened them again the shotgun was on the ground and the boy who’d accidentally fired it was holding his bruised hand, obviously shocked. Zil bent to grab the gun. Edilio took two steps forward and kicked Zil in the face. As Zil fell back Edilio made a grab for the shotgun. He never saw the blow that turned his knees to water and filled his head with stars. He fell like a sack of bricks, but even as he fell he lurched forward to cover the shotgun. Astrid screamed and launched herself down the stairs to protect Edilio.Antoine, the one who had hit Edilio, was raising his bat to hit Edilio again, but on the back swing he caught Astrid in the face. Antoine cursed, suddenly fearful. Zil yelled, “No, no, no! ” There was a sudden rush of running feet. Down the walkway, into the street, echoing down the block. . Michael Grant

Sometimes in life, as in literature, people get their just desserts. The greedy man loses everything because he cannot resist seeking more riches. Elise Blackwell

Sorry, folks, but the maximum occupancy is seventy-five, ” Albert said. Then he spotted Jack. “Jack, how’s it going?”“ What? Oh, fine.” Jack was confused as to how to proceed. He didn’t want to wait in line if Brianna wasn’t even inside.“ You look like a man with a question, ” Albert prompted.“ Well, I’m kind of looking for Brianna. We had this…it’s a…tech thing. You wouldn’t understand.”“ Breeze is already inside.” One of the kids in the line said, “Of course she is, she’s a freak. They always get in.” A second kid nodded. “Yeah, the freaks don’t wait in lines. Bet she didn’t have to pay, either.” Albert said, “Hey, she got here a little before you guys did and she waited. And she paid.” Then to Jack. “Go ahead in.”“ See?” the first kid crowed. “He’s one, too.”“ Dude, he set up my sound system, ” Albert said. “What have you done for me other than stand here and bust on me?. Michael Grant

The intelligent poor individual was a much finer observer than the intelligent rich one. The poor individual looks around him at every step, listens suspiciously to every word he hears from the people he meets; thus, every step he takes presents a problem, a task, for his thoughts and feelings. He is alert and sensitive, he is experienced, his soul has been burned... Knut Hamsun

Living means constantly growing closer to death. Satisfaction only temporarily relieves hunger. Find the balance, and plant your feet. Jackie Morse Kessler