Light (Gone 6)

There was a helicopter with some sort of logo, maybe a news station or a police department, impossible to read from this distance. It was hovering above the “out there” marina, most likely aiming a camera into the dome. Perhaps focusing, as well as they could from that distance, on the four of them sitting there.

Sam fought a sudden childish impulse to give them the finger.

Edilio was still talking, and for the second time Sam felt like a distracted student in class.

“What we need most of all is simple information,” Edilio was saying. “What are Drake and Diana and that kid going to do? And what can they do? Right now we’re blind.”

“Irony,” Astrid said. When everyone just stared at her blankly, she sighed and explained, “For the first time we can see the real sky, and the world outside of this fishbowl, and we’re still blind.”

“Ah,” the three said in unison. “Yeah, right.”

“You know, it’s not a witty remark if I have to explain it,” Astrid said, obviously disgruntled.

“I want to talk to Caine,” Edilio said. “I’m going to head down to PB

. We need to work together.”

“You want me to come?” Sam asked.

“If it’s you down at the barrier trying to get kids motivated, it will just get Caine pissed off. And we don’t have time for that whole enemies thing. To be honest with you . . . Well, I was wondering, Sam . . . I mean, just a suggestion . . .”

Sam smiled affectionately at his friend. “Dude: if you got a job for me, just tell me what it is.”

“It’s not just a job. It’s . . . Okay, here it is: Even Breeze can’t be everywhere. She searches, but she doesn’t search smart. I love her, but she just zooms around randomly and doesn’t let anyone tell her where to look.”

Sam nodded. “You want me to go looking for trouble.”

“Breeze is all over the area around PB, looking for any sign that Gaia and Drake are heading toward town—and of course making sure the TV cameras see her. But maybe Gaia is holing up somewhere, waiting. Getting stronger. Or maybe she’s on the move.”

Sam thought about it. “The mine shaft, the National Guard base, the Stefano Rey, or the power plant.”

“Same as my list. And you can’t take Dekka with you; I—we—need her here.”

“Who can I take?”

“We don’t know what Gaia can do. Sam, you may not be strong enough to take her, it, whatever. Not alone for sure, or even with Dekka.” He nodded respectfully at Dekka. “No offense to you, Dekka.”

Dekka nodded slightly to say no offense was taken. Dekka knew the limits of her powers.

“I don’t think we should wait for Gaia to choose the time and place,” Edilio said.

“She ran away with Diana and Drake,” Astrid said. “She didn’t come right back; she ran off. That doesn’t make me think she’s all that dangerous.”

Sam looked down and smiled. “If Toto was here, he’d call BS on that, Astrid. The gaiaphage did not choose to take on a body thinking it would get weaker. You know that.”

The mood, which had been light earlier, thanks to Brianna, had grown steadily darker. Edilio had brought reality with him. And reality had a bad feel.

Astrid was looking for something to say, some argument, but in the end all she had was, “I don’t want you getting killed, Sam. If you go after Gaia . . .”

“Edilio isn’t thinking I’ll go alone, are you, Edilio?” Sam said. He reached for her hand, squeezed, but she did not return the pressure.

“We should probably leave soon,” Edilio said. “One hour?”

Sam nodded, a condemned man accepting the inevitable sentence. “One hour.”

THREE

77 HOURS, 37 MINUTES