Monster (Gone 7)

Shade nodded dully.

“There will be more,” Dekka said. “It’s all going to hell now. There will be a lot more. When it comes, reach out to me.”

“Yeah,” Armo said. “Me too.” He swung his leg over the back of the bike and settled in behind Dekka.

Shade’s face, which she had managed to form into a stiff mask, now collapsed. Her jaw quivered. In a strangled voice she said, “How do you do this? How do you live with this?”

Dekka started her engine, leaned toward Shade, put a hand on her trembling shoulder, and said, “Welcome to the FAYZ, Shade Darby. Welcome to the FAYZ.”

She drove away, and Shade folded the blood-smeared paper.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

Remarks by the President on Events in Los Angeles

The Oval Office

1:59 p.m. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:

Good evening. My fellow Americans, five years ago we were confronted with a great mystery in the area around Perdido Beach, California. The existence of the Perdido Beach Anomaly, the dome, and the effects on the unfortunate children trapped inside that dome were events far outside our understanding. These were disturbing events.

Yesterday we saw events that are more disturbing still.

I want to tell you what we know at this time. Fragments of the same meteorite that initiated the events at Perdido Beach are falling to Earth. Those fragments contain an alien virus, probably a deliberately engineered virus, which has the effect of causing extreme mutations in some of those who are exposed to it, or who consume it.

We all saw the video from Los Angeles. We mourn the terrible loss of life. At this time we have fifty-two confirmed deaths, including the crew of the Okeanos Explorer. Many of the fallen were first responders, police, federal agents, and emergency medical personnel. These brave men and women went into harm’s way to perform their duties, and paid the ultimate price. We honor their sacrifice.

This is a great and unprecedented challenge. But I want you to know that your government is responding. We are redoubling our ongoing efforts to understand this phenomenon. We have already appropriated hundreds of millions of dollars to explore countermeasures. But we will need more to cope with this unprecedented threat to our way of life. In light of yesterday’s events, I am asking Congress for an immediate appropriation of thirty billion dollars to study the causes and begin to find solutions.

Let me be clear: that will not be the end of our efforts, but the beginning. At the start of World War Two, the US government launched the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb. The threat we face now demands a si

milar level of commitment. Therefore I am, by executive order, establishing a crash military program to give us the knowledge and the tools to fight back against this threat.

And I call upon the world—not only our allies, our friends, but all nations, even those with which we have had differences—to work together.

We stand on the brink. The threat we face is serious. The challenges we face are daunting. But we have no choice but to face up to our problems, to come together not only as a people, but as the human race, to work together, to face the danger squarely, and not to give in to fear.

Thank you, and God bless America.

Federal Bureau of Investigation

The Hoover Building, Washington, D.C.

For Immediate Release

FBI Ten Most Wanted

Vincent Vu

Thomas Peaks

Shade Darby