Fear (Gone 5)

“Brianna didn’t wake you up?” Sam asked.

Jack looked uncomfortable. “We’re not talking.”

Sam pointed angrily at the boats bobbing on the lake. “I got five-year-olds getting two-year-olds where they’re supposed to be, but one of my two certified geniuses is asleep?”

“Sorry,” Jack said.

“He is,” Toto confirmed.

Sam ignored him. He was pumped full of adrenaline. Ready to forget about the disgusting mutation under the tarp. Ready to forget, for the moment, at least, that this might be the last real day they had. Ready to forget his worries about Caine and the missiles. Ready to push all those intractable problems and unanswerable questions aside, because now—now, finally—he had a straight-up fight.

Astrid took his shoulder and pulled him aside. He didn’t want a conference with Astrid: he had things to do. But he couldn’t quite say no. Not without listening first.

“Sam. This means your letter isn’t getting to Caine or Albert.”

“Yeah. So?”

“So?” Her incredulity was so sharp it made him take a step back. “So? So the lights are still going out, Sam. And we’re still facing a possible disaster. And you don’t know what Caine or Albert might do.”

“That’s for another day,” he said, chopping the air with his hand to cut off debate. “We have a slight emergency here.”

“Where is that ninny Taylor, anyway?” Astrid said angrily. “If she doesn’t show up, then send Brianna to get that note to Caine and Albert.”

“Brianna? Pull her off hunting for Drake? Good luck.”

“Then send Edilio and a couple of his—”

/> “Not now, Astrid. Priorities.”

“You’re choosing the priority, Sam. You’re doing the easy thing instead of the smart thing.”

That stung. “The easy thing? Drake suddenly shows up after being off the radar for four months? Don’t you think maybe it’s all one thing? Drake, the stain, whatever your ‘ignorant’ force is?”

“Of course I suspect it’s all one thing,” Astrid said through gritted teeth. “That’s why I want you to get some help.”

He held up one fist and began running down a list, raising a finger with each bullet point.

“One, Breeze locates him. Two, Dekka, Jack, and I converge. Three, whether he is Drake or Brittney, we cut him up, burn him in detail, piece by piece, and sink any ashes into the lake inside a locked, weighted metal box.”

He closed his fingers back into a fist.

“We’re putting an end to Drake once and for all.”

Drake heard the pealing of the bell. It was a distant sound but edgy and penetrating. He felt the urgency behind it. He guessed what it meant.

He cursed the coyotes, and not quietly, either. “They found the mess you left back on the road. Now they’ll be ready for us.”

Pack Leader offered no comment.

How soon before they sent Brianna after him? Soon. If she found them she would take out the coyotes in a few bloody seconds. And then she would keep him from advancing.

He had fought the Breeze before. She couldn’t kill him, but she could slow him down. She had chopped limbs from him. That kind of damage took time to repair.

And, of course, she would bring Sam. Sam and his little helpers. This time maybe Sam wouldn’t be put off by the emergence of Brittney. Maybe this time Sam would burn him inch by inch, as he had started to do once—

“Aaaarrrgh!” Drake shouted. He raised his tentacle and snapped it down, making a loud crack.

The coyotes watched impassively.